Business.com

Business.com

The 2 Biggest Hurdles to Overcome During a Process Change

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 12:00 PM PDT

With the rapid evolution in technology, innovation is key to keeping your company competitive. The problem is, it can be incredibly difficult to create a culture of change in an organization – especially when change is rejected before the rationale behind it is explained or understood.

If you're in a fast-changing business, resistance to change can be one of the biggest obstacles that your leadership teams will have to face. The good news is that even if your employees resist a process change at your company at first, it doesn't mean your new process is doomed to fail.

Let's dive into how to better understand why resistance to change is practically unavoidable, and how you can overcome the two biggest hurdles you're likely to face during a process change.

Understanding resistance to change

Change is an integral part of human existence. As a business grows, it must adapt to succeed. Old processes that worked well for a team of 10 people are replaced by new methods that are better suited to function across six departments of 20 people each. Old approaches to marketing and delivering products must evolve over time to keep up with changes in markets, technologies and consumer preferences. Just like the human body, if a business doesn't adapt as it grows, it cannot survive.

If change is so central to our lives, why do we find it so difficult in our work? Here are some of the reasons for our resistance to change:

  • Change is getting faster. Today, change within organizations happens at an incredibly fast pace. Reorganizations, new technologies and different processes are introduced in most companies on a regular basis. The speed of change, rather than the change itself, can make adjustment difficult.

  • We need to know why. Neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl believed that as humans, our primary drive is not for pleasure nor power, but for meaning. His famous words ring true in many contexts: "Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how.'" When change moves too fast to understand the purpose behind it, or when the goal is not clearly explained, employees are more likely to resist the change.

  • Habit is powerful. Going for a jog may take some of your energy, but it's got nothing on the time you spend thinking. Our brains use more of our energy than any other organ, and as a result, we rely on habits to limit the number of things we need to think about. Note how influential people from Steve Jobs to President Obama wear the same outfit over and over again. We cling to our habits, and changing a work habit can be disorienting because it requires a lot of brain energy to adapt to the new way of working.

When your process change happens so quickly that your employees can't make sense of it and it threatens to interfere with the daily habits they've formed, your company is often faced with two types of hurdles. It's up to business leaders to overcome these obstacles, to make it easier for your whole team to adopt a change successfully.

Two challenges your change process needs to overcome

While resistance to change can pop up during your change process in many ways, there are two challenges your company will most likely come across. If you don't address these, you will be less likely to see the change take hold at your company. Here's what they are and how you can overcome them.

Leadership ambivalence or hostility

The C-suite can be as prone to resisting change as anyone else at your company. If executives are ambivalent about the change, your new process may flounder. If your leaders are against the change altogether, it's unlikely to ever get off the ground.

Research shows active and visible executive sponsorship is the No. 1 predictor of a change initiative's success. That's why shoring up executive support for your process change must be a priority.

You can build leadership support by:

  • Appointing an executive sponsor. This sponsor should engage other senior managers to get their support. They should also serve as the spokesperson for the initiative and manage resistance to the new process. Their goal is to build and maintain a strong coalition of employees, including executives, who support the project.

  • Creating a strong governance framework. Establish a governance structure that will systematically and regularly bring different stakeholders together. This will help keep them committed and allow you to seek their guidance on the project direction. For example, if you're implementing a major IT project that will affect the way the customer-service team interacts with clients, your stakeholders need to be part of the project's governance structure.

Ambiguity and uncertainty

Change initiatives include a degree of ambiguity to allow for flexibility as the project takes shape. Too much ambiguity, though, and the initiative will lose all direction and fail.

Your entire company needs to be certain of the purpose behind the change and the desired outcomes or the definition of success. If these are unclear to your employees, they won't know what they're driving toward, and they'll be left uncertain and unmotivated to adopt the process change. Consider using storytelling as a strategy to help employees resonate with the reasons behind the change and get them invested in its success.

It's not enough to clear up uncertainty around the reason for the change; you must also reduce uncertainty around how the change will take place. Determine and communicate your direction with a documented change management process and a communication framework. Providing a phase-based implementation approach allows you to introduce the new process gradually and effectively. By combining this with clear communication, you further reduce misunderstandings and issues among your employees.

Your entire team will know what to expect, what they have to do and by when. With a communication framework, they will even have the chance to offer their feedback. Not only does this help you fine-tune your new process to meet your company's exact needs, but it gives your employees another way to make sense of the change. Research shows that creating meaning is related to willingness to change, so these tools are invaluable to overcoming the hurdle of ambiguity and uncertainty.

The more time you put into anticipating and planning for resistance to change, the quicker and more efficient your change implementation will be. It's not easy, but it's worth it.

Benefits of a Digital Whiteboard in Your Office

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 11:31 AM PDT

Everyone who works in an office knows a physical whiteboard is a godsend. You can sketch out ideas as a team, document project timelines and track milestones. Most companies stick to the tried-and-true whiteboards that are decidedly low tech. You use dry erase markers, jot down the notes and then snap a photo with your phone.

A number of digital whiteboards have recently debuted; some with powerful features for saving your digital creations automatically, holding a video chat session and allowing you to hold an interactive meeting between remote offices. The costs are much higher compared to the non-digital variety, though, so it's important to know the features and benefits that could help your business.

Google Jamboard

One of the most interesting new digital whiteboards is from Google. The Jamboard costs $4,999 (plus an optional stand that costs another $1,349), and there is a $600 annual fee. It is mostly for whiteboarding and does not currently support video calls. A key benefit, however, is once synced to your business Google account (known as G Suite), a remote user can participate in a whiteboarding session as though he or she were in the room.

Microsoft Surface Hub 2S

The Microsoft Surface Hub 2 is a giant conference room display that will be available in 50-inch and 85-inch versions with 3:2 aspect ratio. It will be available beginning in 2019 for $8,999.99, but you can opt for extras that will boost that price tag to $12,000. It will feature an Intel 8th Gen Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB solid state drive and offer front-facing three-way stereo speakers. There's even a battery you can slot into the case of a stand that will give you around 2 hours of battery life. There's a 4K camera that's powered by USB-C. 

Vibe Interactive

Another new model, called the Vibe Interactive Whiteboard, offers similar brainstorming features for drawing out ideas as a group but also works with apps like Skype for Business to hold a video conference call. The product ships in February and costs $2,499.

Samsung Flip

Samsung Flip is a third option that has one unique feature. As the name implies, the digital whiteboard flips from horizontal to vertical. It costs $2,699 for the display plus $799 for the stand. The Flip has no annual fees. It can also connect to a laptop to show Skype chats.

Do you need one? 

It's important to think about your company's workflow when considering the need for a digital whiteboard. Most digital whiteboards offer some form of image-to-text conversion, but it can be unreliable. If you jot down highly technical notes during a meeting and your handwriting is not perfect, the conversion process might not work. The critical question is about how often you need to capture the notes and brainstorming sessions from a meeting.

Here's one example of how this might work. For a small company of perhaps 10 to 15 employees, you might gather in a conference room four or five times per day. Some companies working on a mission-critical project may even meet more often than that. However, if meetings are typically not meant for brainstorming and often focus on discussion where no visual component is needed (such as designing a new office space or making a new app), a product like the Jamboard (at $4,999) or the Vibe (at half that price) might not make sense.

Some of the benefits to a digital whiteboard go beyond note-taking and image-to-text conversion. While you should think of a digital whiteboard as primarily an over-sized tablet, they do serve a distinct purpose in unifying a discussion between remote offices. For example, the Google Jamboard uses Hangouts for conference calls that are seamless and fast.

If your company doesn't have any remote office, if you brainstorm infrequently or through other means (such as Slack or another collaborative app), or if you find that you rarely need to video conference, then a digital whiteboard will be overkill.

The best use case for a digital whiteboard is when your office workflow is all about shared ideas. Many companies collaborate in person constantly, and there are major time savings in having the digital whiteboard save all your notes and discussions automatically. This way, you can focus on the task at hand instead of capturing the discussion.

5 Blogging Tips That Will Save You Time

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 11:00 AM PDT

As a blogger or a marketer blogging for a business, you know that you have to keep pushing out engaging posts to keep your readers happy. But the process of coming up with new ideas, doing research, writing blog posts and creating featured images is time consuming.

According to HubSpot, most marketers take 1-2 hours to write a 500-word blog post. If you're new to blogging, that might seem like the speed of lightning to you. Luckily though, with a few tricks and a bit of practice, you can get there.

Want to write more, in less time? Check out these five blogging tips that will save you time.

Create a content calendar.

Instead of having to come up with new blog posts ideas on the spot, create a content calendar. Creating a content calendar allows you to come up with blog topic ideas ahead of time and use it as a guide when writing new articles. For instance, you can spend a few hours at the beginning of the month to plan out your blog posts for the entire rest of the month. That way, when you sit down to write a new post, you already have a topic set out for yourself.

You can use several tools to easily create a content calendar such as Google Docs or Sheets, any calendar app of your choosing, or if you're running your blog on WordPress, you could use a free plugin like Editorial Calendar.

Set up alerts.

To be a successful blogger and write accurate, helpful posts for your readers, you need to stay on top of the latest trends and news. Plus, for many blog posts you write, you need to do some research to ensure the information you're providing is detailed and timely. But research can take time. Luckily, you can speed up the research process and have more time for writing by setting up Google Alerts.

For example, if you blog about health and fitness, you can set up a Google Alert for "fitness news" or "fitness trends." Then, Google will email you reports that contain all the new stories that have been posted on the web containing those phrases. You can set up as many Google Alerts as you want, and even get specific by setting up alerts for a product or particular person.  

Write an outline first.

Next, to speed up the blog writing process, be sure to always write an outline first. Having an outline will speed up the process of writing and make you more productive, because you'll know what you need to write before you write it.

To create an outline, break your blog post down into manageable chunks. For example:

  • Blog title

  • Introduction

  • Heading 1

  • Heading 2

  • Heading 3

  • Conclusion

Come up with your headings – your main points of the post – and write notes for what you'll include in each section. Instead of sitting around, wondering what you're going to write, you can use your outline as a guide. This will speed up the writing process dramatically.

Eliminate distractions.

Most bloggers experience numerous distractions while writing. While I can't help you if your kids are wanting attention or the neighbor is knocking at the door, there are some ways you can eliminate other distractions. For instance, do you find yourself checking Twitter or Instagram while you're writing? If you do, that's slowing you down.

To eliminate those distractions, use a tool like OmmWriter. OmmWriter is a distraction free writing tool that helps you concentrate. The program opens up in full-screen mode, so that you can't be distracted by other tabs. Plus, they also offer natural backgrounds, audio tracks and sound when typing to inspire you and help you focus.

Automate email marketing.

As a blogger, letting your loyal subscribers know you've published a new blog post is almost as important as writing the blog post itself. You want to get as many eyes on your new post as possible – and fast. How do you do it? The answer is to automate your email marketing.

Now, you previously might have spent time crafting an email to send to your subscribers to announce your new post, every single time one came out. But that takes up too much time, precious time you could be spending on something else. So, instead, let your email marketing service do it for you automatically. Many email marketing services offer a feature like RSS-to-email, which will automatically send an eye-catching email to your subscribers to let them know you published something new.

Blog more, in less time.

With these blogging tips that will save you time, you'll be able to write more than ever before. Your readers will be ecstatic at the rate at which you publish high-quality, entertaining articles. Plus, the more blog posts you put out there, the more activity you'll see on your blog.

3 Questions to Help Focus Your Marketing Strategy

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 10:00 AM PDT

People become small business owners for any number of reasons. Mostly, though, it's because they have an interesting or new idea. They're dreamers, passionate about a certain skill they're particularly good at or a service they're excellent at providing. For the majority, marketing isn't listed as the motivation for starting a business and is simply a set of tasks that needs doing so they can spend more time focusing on the things they enjoy, like running the business itself or dealing directly with customers to help them solve their problems.

The internal dialogue for small business owners generally goes one of two ways:

  1. "I don't know anything about marketing, and I don't really care to learn."

  2. "There aren't enough hours in the day for me to sit down and really focus on marketing my business."

The result is largely the same regardless of which category a small business owner falls under. Marketing takes a backseat, basic-but-critical tasks are overlooked, the business suffers and the stress of it all becomes unbearable.

To make it worse, there are thousands of options and marketing tools available that can quickly overwhelm just about anyone. It is, however, entirely possible for small business owners to keep things simple. But simple does not mean nonexistent, which is far more often the case for small businesses than one might believe.

Editor's note: Looking for online marketing help for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Earlier this year, OutboundEngine surveyed more than 350 small business owners across a range of industries and found that nearly half didn't have a marketing plan for the coming year.

For many small businesses, it's good to create a simple plan that explores how owners want to grow their businesses, who their customers are and how those customers communicate with the business and each other. This might put a slight dent in day-to-day workflows and lengthen to-do lists, but answering these questions honestly and thoughtfully can streamline a business's marketing plan without taking too much time or insider marketing knowledge. The information can translate customer behavior and insights into real business success. 

How do you want to grow your business?

Nearly a quarter of the owners we surveyed didn't know how they planned to grow their businesses in 2019. It's a particularly critical question to answer, because even small investments in marketing – no need to go crazy with huge budget increases or unruly time commitments – can have a big difference on growth. Over 80% of small businesses that invest between 5-10% of annual revenue in marketing experienced revenue growth last year. Similarly, 79% of small business owners who invest between 5-10 hours per week on marketing tasks reported revenue growth last year. The key is to balance investments of time and money to build an efficient marketing engine. 

Who are your customers?

The beautiful part of this question is that small business owners likely already have the answer. Small business owners value their customers above all else. However, they can't afford to offer subpar marketing experiences to their target audiences, especially in markets that are overloaded with competitors and increasing ways to communicate. It's a concern that small business owners are working through. About 40% of small business owners were at least slightly worried that increased competition would affect their businesses in the next five years.

How do your customers communicate?

Small business owners overwhelmingly value social media as the primary means of interacting with their customers. Nearly 57% said paid and organic social posts were the most successful marketing tactic for their businesses. Organic posts in particular, however, are a huge time-suck for small business owners, but the business value is clear: Just over 60% of small business owners who said organic posts were their most successful marketing tactic experienced revenue growth in 2018.

As millennials and Gen Z – the two largest generations in history – accrue more and more purchasing power, social media will increasingly play a role in business success. It's no secret that social media is an important component to these generations' everyday lives and, more specifically, their purchasing decisions, presenting a lucrative opportunity for small business owners. More than half of small business owners say that they want to market to and do business with millennial and Gen Z buyers. The best way to do this is to meet them where they are with a message they care about. Millennials in particular care about small business and are willing to pay more to support them, but they first have to know you exist.

When small business owners answer these simple questions with confidence, the prospect of investing a little extra time and money – either into learning a new marketing skill or into the business directly – won't be such a daunting or stressful task.

Preparing for the Worst: How to Make Sure you Are Ready for Unforeseen Bumps in the Road

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:00 AM PDT

"Hope for the best and prepare for the worst" — wiser words were never spoken when it comes to maintaining a sustainable business.

As a small business owner, being your own boss has many benefits; you get to call the shots and make all the decisions. But it also comes with a lot of responsibility, and risk management is one of the most important responsibilities you'll be shouldering.

As you probably know, running a business always involves a certain level of risk. That's what makes entrepreneurship such a leap of faith. With a little foresight and smart planning, though, you can reduce those risks — or at least create a solid plan for dealing with them in order to minimize the negative effects they may have on your business or your income. Small business risk assessment is an essential part of setting up and running your business, and you should make sure to give it some consideration.

Possible Risks

Some of the risks involved in running a small business include:

Financial risk

No matter how well you plan, there is always a risk that the business won't run as well as you hoped. You may not be able to find as many clients as you anticipated, or your return on investment may not be as high as you predicted. You might encounter an unforeseen expense that depletes your budget or face issues with cash flow. According to a U.S. Bank study, 82 percent of businesses fail because of cash flow mismanagement

Property loss or damage

Many entrepreneurs need specialized equipment for the work they do, and that equipment can be expensive or hard to replace. No matter how carefully your guard your property, there's always a chance something will break or get stolen. Another type of property that may be damaged is intellectual property. If your business is based on innovation or uses unique materials in its services or products, and that material gets leaked or copied, your business can suffer mightily.

Injuries, illness or loss

One of the biggest risks of being self-employed is that if something happens that puts you out of commission, there's no one to jump in and replace you. If you employ a team of workers, something could happen to a key person on your staff. They could get hurt on or off the job, or come down with an illness. In a worst case scenario, they may even die suddenly.

Business interruption

As the result of either or both of the above, or other circumstances beyond your control, you may find yourself in a situation where you're unable to continue running your business as usual. Maybe you need to replace stolen or damaged property, or find a replacement for a key person on your staff. The interruption to your business means you're not getting any income while things are stalled. It also may result in missing out on landing new clients who see that you can't help them and move on to the next business.

Damage to reputation

Good public relations are essential for continuing to market your product or services. If some unflattering information about your business spreads --whether or not it's true -- it can cause significant damage to your company, because old clients may choose not to come back to you, and new clients may not approach you at all. This may happen as the result of a client being unhappy with your service or product and posting a bad online review or telling their friends about their negative experience.

Liability

Even the most careful professionals might find themselves being blamed for damages that may have been related to their work. Everyone makes mistakes, and there are always things beyond your control. Some customers might be more understanding, but some might decide to sue. Even if you win the case and don't end up paying damages, a lot of the time and energy you could be investing in running and growing your business will be eaten up by the court case.

Combating Risks

Prioritize customer service

Study after study has shown that the most effective way to reduce the risk of getting sued for medical malpractice is to spend more time talking to your patients. This research shows us something really important: that no matter how well we do our job, it is our treatment of the customer that predicts how happy they will be with our service. If you have a good relationship with your client and you make a mistake, that client is much more likely to forgive you and give you another chance or work out a settlement that is fair to both of you. "The customer is always right" isn't just a cliche; it's an effective risk reduction strategy.

Keep files in order

You can avoid many problems by establishing and maintaining a system for keeping all your files and records in order. There's often a ton of paperwork involved in starting and running a business, and you want to be able to find what you need when you need it. It's best to develop this system right from the start so you don't have to re-organize a mess of files later on. Keep your records of everything -- expenses, purchases, income, insurance information, contracts, licenses, etc. -- in a safe place, and preferably back them up online, too. If you have insurance and need to make a claim, you want to make sure you can find all the documentation you need.

Perform a thorough risk assessment

Identify all the risks that may apply to your business, and make a plan for what to do in each worst-case scenario. Ask all the scariest what-ifs. What if my equipment stops working? What if I get sick and can't work for a while? What if I make a mistake and my client sues me? Make a list.

Walk yourself through worst-case scenarios

Make a concrete plan for addressing each item on your list. Did a key employee suddenly quit? List some ways you can cover for them until you find a replacement. Is a client unhappy with your service? Think about compensation plans, and leave some room in your budget for them. What if a natural disaster strikes? Know your insurance policies well, and be familiar with what would be involved in making a claim.

Be properly insured

Having good insurance is the best answer to many of the what-ifs in your list. General liability insurance, for example, is a must. It can cover you legally and financially in situations where there's an accident or a mishap and your business might be blamed for it. For many professions, professional liability insurance might also be important. It adds an additional layer of protection in cases where you make a professional mistake. If you use a vehicle for business purposes, such as delivering products, driving to meet clients, or transporting equipment, it's a good idea to get commercial auto insurance, too. If you're an employer, you are likely legally required to have workers' compensation insurance.

Getting Paid in a Gig Economy

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 09:00 AM PDT

Ask any worker, anywhere in the world, what their favorite day is and you'll likely get the same answer: payday. Getting financially reimbursed for your time and effort not only feels great, but it remains one of the top reasons to get a job in the first place.

Though the promise of getting paid for the work you do hasn't changed in years, new technologies have shifted how we view work and payment, especially among freelance workers who crave a faster alternative to paper checks.

With the widespread adoption of smartphones and digital banking, as well as the continual rise of freelance and contracting work, most workers in the "gig economy" are staunch supporters of getting paid electronically.

According to a July 2018 survey of more than 1,400 American freelancers and contractors, conducted by digital payment service Bill.com, roughly 86% of respondents said they wished to receive digital paychecks from their employers. Some workers took their preference even further, with 41% stating they required digital payment before taking on a gig.

René Lacerte, founder and CEO of Bill.com, said the growing insistence for getting reimbursed electronically will continue to increase in the coming years.

"The gig workforce, and their influence, is poised to continue to grow each year as companies look to expand their workforce and Americans embrace a more flexible lifestyle," said Lacerte. "Digital payments not only meet the needs of both parties, but they do it quickly and with less hassle."

The payment problem

Ever since the Great Recession in 2008 and the subsequent recovery period, a growing number of Americans have taken to either supplementing their incomes or basing their entire livelihoods on freelance work.

According to an August 2018 Gallup poll, approximately 57 million Americans are part of the gig economy. When asked in the Bill.com survey, most respondents said a major issue facing this growing segment of the population was getting paid.

For Beverley Rose Nevalga, a freelance communications and marketing consultant, the process of getting reimbursed for her service through the use of digital services and direct deposit is something she calls "crucial to my livelihood."

"A majority of my clients prefer [digital] payment as well," she said. "Not only does it untether me from a physical location, I'm also able to partner up or engage with talent from across the globe who are open to a similar arrangement."

The (digital) check is in the mail

Doing freelance work for a living has its benefits, from a completely self-made schedule to the comfort of working from home. One of the major drawbacks that most freelancers keep coming back to is the consistency and speed of getting paid. After all, your bills don't slow down while you wait for your client to pay you.

According to a recent study by Australian outsourcing platform Airtasker that surveyed more than 940 freelancers, the two biggest barriers to becoming a freelance worker on a full-time basis were the pay and the availability of work. Conventional jobs are still prized by workers who prefer to earn a consistent paycheck at regular intervals.

More than half of respondents (54%) to the Bill.com survey said it took too long to get their money, and 45% said their clients don't pay on time. Liz Steblay, founder and CEO of the Professional Independent Consultants of America (PICA), said those in the gig economy are hit hard when payment is stalled.

"All small businesses struggle with cash flow, and self-employed professionals are no exception," she said.

For Rose, those figures are consistent with her own experience.

"Unless you've arranged for a direct deposit, you're at the mercy of the employer to pay up," Rose stated. "And in the most unfortunate cases, they may not pay at all, which requires follow-up."

Of the more than 1,400 people surveyed, more than half said they were still receiving their money in the form of a physical check. Steblay said cashing or depositing a paper check has become too much of a hassle in 2019.

"Most corporations have payment terms of 45 days or even 60, which is brutal when you're self-employed," Steblay said. "To add insult to injury, it's surprising how many clients still pay by hard-copy check, which can easily add another week to the payment process. With more and more professionals becoming self-employed, the companies that offer faster, more reliable payments will win the best talent."

Respondents said getting paid digitally usually meant they were getting paid on time. Of those asked, 81% said their customers who paid digitally tended to pay on time. Another 63% said they "felt more valued" when paid online.

That being said, Rose points out that there are still some downsides to only receiving digital payments, including a transfer delay as a security measure to protect against fraud and transaction fees.

"[As a freelancer], you must fold the transaction fees into your rates in order to avoid losing money, she said.

Regardless of the downsides of fees, digital payment is so paramount to some freelancers that 9% said they turned down work from customers who didn't support their preferred method of payment.

Is Your Business Social Enough? How to Boost Engagement

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:30 AM PDT

When it comes to businesses and social media engagement, make sure your account is a dinner party, not a soapbox.

Engagement has become the No. 1 goal across every social media platform, because honest engagement equals return customers and better rankings. And while it's easy to create an account, the challenge lies in creating an active, engaged audience that believes and trusts in your content.

Mallory Ottariano, founder of Kind Apparel, said engagement is all about building relationships. "Engagement shows customers trust you," she said. "And are more likely to show that with their dollars."

Editor's Note: Looking for information on social media marketing services for your business? Use the questionnaire below, and get quickly connected to our vendor partners to learn more about a customized strategy and pricing for your business:

buyerzone widget

 

As online engagement grows in importance, it's vital that your business knows how to correctly connect with your target audience. We asked social media experts to explain how to amplify your social media strategy so it's more efficient and effective.

Build a good rapport with your followers.

Consumers are demanding to see realistic depictions of life from brands, and businesses' social media accounts are following suit. 

"Abolish any ideas of perfection," said Ottariano. "Show imperfection and real life. It's what your customers are going through and what they'll connect with most." 

Make it a point to interact with your consumers, posting comments, liking mentions or tags and asking or answering questions. 

"Be an active user of the platform," said Rhea Freeman, social media and content consultant at Rhea Freeman PR. "Remember, it's social." 

Having an active back-and-forth with your consumers humanizes your brand and helps your customers see that there are real people behind the posts. This makes them more likely to develop a connection to your business and can drive up sales, especially since more than 50% of consumers will follow or look at a brand's social media before purchasing a product. [Interested in social media marketing solutions for your small business? Check out our best picks and reviews.] 

Therefore, your social media presence – or lack thereof – can make or break a customer's decision to conduct business with you. 

"Many businesses approach social media as a one-way street and inundate their potential consumers with transactional messaging in efforts to drive sales," said Ben Hordell, founding partner at the DXagency digital marketing and advertising firm. "To remedy this, companies must think [about the] customer first ... to determine what the consumers would want out of their relationship on social, and work from there." 

Prioritize one-on-one customer communications.

If a customer reaches out to you on social media with a question, don't let it go unanswered, especially for more than 24 hours. Sprout Social says 30% of millennials engage with a brand on social once a month, which means your interaction has the potential to make an even larger impression – either negative or positive. Facebook makes a business page's response rate public, so it's in your best interest to make an effort to answer every message that comes in.

While crafting an individual response takes time, it's all part of providing top-notch customer service in a timely fashion. Writing a promotional post can wait if it means getting a customer the answer they need, said Andrew Caravella, vice president of global partnerships at Sprout Social.

"The expectation is that, just like email, telephone, and even in-person interactions at brick-and-mortar locations, customers want and need to be acknowledged [on social networks]," Caravella said. "That ability to be seen and heard, in turn, works in favor of marketers, because people are actually much more receptive to brands that take the time and effort to answer their queries on social [networks]."

It's important to know the time and place for using a promotional voice, said Brian Nunnery, director of social media at Saatva. "Be thoughtful. Social media channels today are so saturated with promotional content to the point that feeds are flooded with content that doesn't offer value." Nunnery said that consumers are looking for content that matters to them, and makes them feel seen and valued by the company.

Know and own your brand voice.

Social media experts often talk about defining your brand's voice. This means finding a tone and personality that suit your brand, its mission and its values, and making sure all of your social media posts embody it.

"A common mistake I see is when a business tries to go beyond their natural brand voice and try to be funny or edgy [about] current events," said Justin Garrity, former president of social engagement platform Postano and current vice president of display and commerce at Sprinklr. "Oftentimes, it totally falls flat and does not align with a business's overall brand. The best brands on social media have a voice that is authentic to who they are and who their fans perceive them to be." 

Devon Wijesinghe, head of corporate and business development at Cision, agreed that brands should remain authentic in their messaging, especially when using popular memes and slang terms. Companies need to be very careful about this; otherwise, they risk alienating their customer base.

"[Don't use] slang language in marketing messages, especially when it doesn't fit the audience," Wijesinghe said. "Businesses should speak the same language as their audience."

Focus on a few channels to curate a special community.

New social networks and apps pop up all the time, but that doesn't mean your business has to be on every single one of them. It's better to have a well-executed, active presence on two or three social networks than a mediocre presence on each popular channel.

Instagram is a popular platform, but it may not be appropriate for every business. Ottariano said that she commonly sees other brands posting for the sake of posting, which diminishes their social presence, because it doesn't add anything of value.

"Your company is intentional, so make your posting intentional," she said. "Posting stock photos and lame quotes just because you feel you need to post dilutes your image and clout."

When launching your social media presence, be mindful of who your audience is and what social platforms they are likely to already be using. Then create your profiles to fit the culture of each platform, using existing users as your guides to create your audience.

"Being on social is about building a community," Caravella said. "Rather than unattended profiles and scattered responses, customers will appreciate the dedicated efforts, communication will persist, and your organic following will grow."

Additional reporting by Nicole Fallon and Danielle Corcione. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.

 

Love is in the Air: How to Manage Office Romances

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 08:00 AM PDT

In the award-winning American television series The Office, a small Pennsylvania workplace is rife with romantic relationships that would horrify any actual HR department. Despite its overdramatized relationships, the comedy sitcom isn't too off base regarding the real-life ubiquitousness of in-office romantic relationships.

One-third of adults in the U.S. are or have been in a workplace romance, according to research from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). This can, unfortunately, create a minefield of problems for all involved. In addition to reports of intimidation and favoritism, additional research shows that  5 percent of office romances end in litigation.

The consequences of office romances

Office relationships often cross workplace superiority levels. In a CareerBuilder study, 35 percent of the women and 25 percent of men surveyed said they've dated someone at a higher professional level than themselves. In addition, 27 percent of women and 16 percent of men reported dating their direct boss. These types of relationships can create a host of problems for not just those involved, but the company as a whole.

Office relationships, regardless of whether they involve bosses and their direct reports, also threaten to diminish office morale and employee satisfaction, not to mention they might lead to one or both partners in the relationship leaving the company.

Avoid the negative ramifications of workplace romances

Generally, zero-tolerance policies are considered to be unrealistic, unnecessarily stringent and ineffective. In fact, they tend to encourage employees to keep their relationship a secret, which is the opposite of what HR departments should want.

To maintain a smooth-running office, companies should consider requiring employees to disclose in-office romantic relationships. This is something The Office's fictional company, Dunder Mifflin, got right. In those policies, be specific about do's and don'ts. For approved office romances, remind employees that professional behavior is always required in the office and at company off-site meetings and events, and those relationship problems should be left at home.

Disclosure may be difficult to enforce, but HR should welcome it by creating a no-judgment zone. It's widely understood that keeping one's work and personal lives separate is a wise practice. Phrases like "Don't mix business with pleasure" and "Leave your baggage at the door" are common when it comes to professionalism. So, employees may be wary of admitting in-office relationships to HR for fear that it will negatively impact their careers. Research shows that one in three romantic office relationships will end in at least one person being fired.

To encourage disclosing in-office relationships, company policies should clearly state that disclosure will not affect an employee's career trajectory or reputation. HR teams should stress that disclosing a workplace relationship does not mean employees have to admit their relationship to their coworkers, which may help to alleviate their fear of office rumors and gossip.

Companies often focus on recruiting top talent and analyzing the productivity and performance of their staff. But they also must understand that their employees are, in fact, human. Workplace romances are fairly common and should be expected. By enforcing strong but empathetic HR policies, companies can ensure their staff feels respected should they meet someone in the office and protected if they are mistreated by a superior or colleague.

How to Build a Successful Technology Training Course

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 05:49 AM PDT

Learning a new skill is hard, especially when it comes to tech. Tech seems to change every day, and with the pace of change for technologies like the cloud, it sometimes feels impossible to stay on top of everything. Course students need to acquire tech skills fast, and one way they do this is through the online course format.

Online courses provide the student valuable knowledge on a subject but, if not conveyed accurately, can leave them feeling bored, inattentive or just confused.

I've been building online training courses for many years and have learned a lot along the way about how to create an engaging online training course on a technical subject. In this article, I'll dive into some of the high-level pieces you can incorporate into your courses to make them stand out and leave students with a new skill rather than a waste of time.

1. Be real.

The first task to ensure your course works is to be real. Students want to learn from someone who's been there, done that and speaks in a tone that's relatable to them. Students don't want to hear academic jargon and or attempts to impress them with how smart you are. Students want to feel like you're close to their level, just slightly higher. They want to feel like, if they met you at some point, you could have a friendly chat with them, feeling like equals rather than like they're talking to a "guru."

2. Be entertaining.

No one wants to hear a monotone robot delivering dry, technical content to them. Even if your slides and demos are top-notch, if you fail to show enthusiasm in what you're providing, students will zone out, become bored and fail to learn. Even if you're recording late at night and had a horrible day, you have to transform your personality into an extroverted, happy-go-lucky presenter. Fake it!

You must be engaging in your delivery not only by showing that you care about the content you're presenting but also to be loose. Don't present in a stiff, dry manner. Crack a joke now and then. If you make a mistake in a demo, roll with it. Use errors as learning opportunities and joke like you meant to do that.

3. Show authority.

You can't teach a tech course and not know what you're talking about. You'll have to dive into the details, and students can spot a fake right away. Don't try to joke your way out of not knowing what you're talking about. You must show authority. If you make a mistake and can't correct it in a reasonable amount of time, it has to be edited out and redone.

Students are here to learn from you. You don't have to be the most prolific expert of all time on the subject, but you must show the students that you're at least a little ahead of them and can teach them some things they don't know.

4. Present in sequence.

One of the most common problems I see with tech courses is that the authors talk about a topic that hasn't been addressed yet in the course. Referring to an area that hasn't been taught nor defined in the course prerequisites can leave the student feeling lost.

You must be mindful of every area you've covered already and stick to those. If you need to use a particular tool to demonstrate something, be sure to introduce the tool and how to use it briefly. Never assume the student will know about a topic; always address it to be sure.

Delivering a successful technology training course requires a lot of thought, persistence and experimenting to ensure the combination of your content and delivery creates a fantastic course for students to learn from. If you take the pointers in this article to heart, I guarantee that the courses you author will be more engaging and informative, ultimately achieving the goal of teaching students new skills.

Armed With a Philosophy of Ethics, Bubblr Aims to Change the Internet

Posted: 17 Apr 2019 05:40 AM PDT

Steve Morris is not "CEO material." He's very clear on that point.

"I'm a software developer and have been all my life," said Morris, founder and CTO of Bubblr. "I've spent my career at various places developing software and trying to come up with really left-field solutions to problems."

Morris has worked in the auto industry on computer mainframes and developed automated manufacturing solutions, but now he's working on something different. Morris, a self-proclaimed "news junkie," wanted a better way to consume news, so he did what developers often do when faced with a problem – he created an app. Soon, though, he noticed his application might have another use altogether.

"It occurred to me that [this app] was kind of like a template for a different way to search for stuff on the internet," he said. "One that worked in a completely different way than Google does."

That was the seed that would later grow into Bubblr, a breaking news application and mobile marketing platform aimed at empowering end users, suppliers and content creators, rather than big businesses.

The problem of the internet's evolution

While Bubblr started as a personal project to create a better news aggregator, it grew into a mission to reform the internet. Driven by a philosophy of ethics and fairness, Morris wants to change what he sees as a pay-to-play system designed to benefit a digital oligopoly.

"It occurred to me that when the internet was first taking off, everyone had this dream of commercial activity being democratized," Morris said. "Small suppliers would be able to compete with giants with just a website; the real edge would be given to those who could innovate the most."

Unfortunately, Morris said, that dream seems to have died. The internet is dominated by large search engines, social platforms and massive retailers. For Morris, these companies have cornered the market and charge a "global tax" on all businesses – one that must be paid if they want a chance to compete.

"Traffic is all driven by content, which people expect to get for free, but the cost of that is being bombarded with unsolicited ads," Morris said. "Now, we're moving into this world where people's behavior, data and identity is being exploited by this model."

According to Morris, content creators don't see their fair share of the value they generate, small suppliers can't afford to compete for attention with companies that have deeper pockets, and the end users' experience suffers while their data is captured, stored, analyzed and exploited.

"People are starting to realize this model doesn't work," Morris said. He sees Bubblr's model as the solution.

Bubblr's mission to change the internet

Founded in 2015, Bubblr is building an audience with the goal of offering an alternative model. Morris said he wants to see content creators rewarded for their work, while small suppliers have an equal chance to compete with big players. He also wants to empower the end user with a superior search experience that doesn't come at the cost of their personal data.

Bubblr's model is relatively simple: All suppliers pay the same monthly subscription to be listed on Bubblr. Upon signing up, suppliers fill out specifics about their business. For example, Morris said, a bed-and-breakfast could select its location and common local activities such as fishing and hiking. The more precise these profiles are, the likelier their company will end up in front of end users conducting relevant searches. End users simply enter the information they're looking for, so someone who wanted to visit a B&B for a quiet nature retreat would see suppliers relevant to that query. The end user can then upvote or downvote the result, or flag it as completely irrelevant, improving the algorithm for similar future searches.

Morris said Bubblr needs to build an audience first, though.

"For Bubblr to work, we need at least 1 million regular monthly users and 100 suppliers across a range of different categories of services and products," he said. That's where the content creators come in.

Bubblr aims to build its initial audience with a breaking news application and "app factory," which creates branded content applications for creators. To reward content creators for their work, Morris said, Bubblr shares 50% of the revenue it generates from its search platform with them, based on how much of their content is consumed.

With Bubblr, Morris said, there are several key differences from the prevailing model:

  • No personal data about the end user is captured. There are no logins or cookies; users remain anonymous to Bubblr.
  • Suppliers get noticed based on the relevance of their listing to the end user's query, regardless of their size. Every supplier pays the same amount, so there is no gaming the system.
  • Content providers are rewarded with revenue-sharing opportunities from Bubblr's mobile marketing platform. The more they help grow the platform, the more they stand to make.

"It's just a better model," Morris said. "We know it works, and now people are realizing how dreadful the existing economic models on the internet are, especially over the abuse of private data."

Where is Bubblr now?

Currently, Bubblr is raising money to realize its model. Morris said fundraising has taken off in recent years, especially with high-profile stories of data misuse circulating in the news. Moreover, Morris believes using blockchain to authenticate genuine content and avoid promoting "fake news" is an element of Bubblr's breaking news app that everybody can get behind. The search function comes next, once Bubblr develops a sufficient audience to support it.

"We've only built a prototype of the search process," Morris said. "We've built a model, and we're going through a significant fundraise that should be completed in three months' time. We're spending hundreds of millions to develop this mobile platform. ... The key is that we first need to build the audience, which we're doing with the news app."

The backbone of Bubblr's model is ethics and fairness, Morris said. All its employees own a stake in the company, investors are aware that 50% of the revenue will be given away to content creators, and suppliers can expect to be treated equally.

"One of the reasons that I personally want to do this is to show people you can have a successful business and tech startup without being an evil, psychopathic monster," Morris said, "that you can be socially responsible but also competitive and entrepreneurial. That doesn't mean you can't be fair. All our business decisions are based on fairness." 

While Morris acknowledges that Bubblr would "never make as much as Google" even if it does take off, that's not his goal. His real objective, he said, is simple: "We want to change the world."
Posted by: at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)