Business.com |
- 6 Email Marketing Tips (Plus Evidence of Success)
- How to Create an Email Drip Campaign for Increased Engagement
- 25 Action Words to Include on Your Resume
- Monthly Jobs Data Shows Slight Slowdown in SMB Growth
- What Is the Paycheck Fairness Act and How Will it Affect Your Small Business?
- Smart Recruiting Strategies for Hiring
- Tips for Effective Ecommerce Web Development
- How to Market Your Business With Video Livestreaming
- How to Manage a Multigenerational Workforce
| 6 Email Marketing Tips (Plus Evidence of Success) Posted: 08 Jul 2019 01:30 PM PDT  It's five times cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to attract a new one – especially when email marketing makes it so easy and affordable. Indeed, 80% of SMBs found email marketing to be a key tactic in customer retention, compared with 44% who found social media to be helpful. Considering it costs next to nothing, it may be tempting to employ the scattershot method, pinging out emails at random in hopes of attracting clicks. Before you succumb to such tactics, however, let us remind you of the shoddy marketing minefield that was Twitter in the days before social media branding. Free advertising is no excuse for slipshodness – don't let your email newsletter game follow suit. As it turns out, there is plenty of strategy involved in email marketing – and the best part is that it's all very easy to measure. We asked small business owners and marketing experts about the email campaign strategies they've experimented with. They laid it out in the following six tips: Planning your campaign1. Try market segmentationUnlike a billboard where you have no control over who drives down the freeway, email marketing hits its target every time. Therefore, as far as marketing campaigns go, it's the perfect medium for marketing segmentation – in other words, tailoring your message by audience. One common way to do this is by age group. Ivan Veta, a marketing consultant at Enterprise League, found this to be a helpful method for his clients, as it allowed them to switch up their strategy according to generational marketing preferences. "Our learnings thus far have concluded that millennials react positively to campaigns that contain infographics," Veta said, whereas "Gen X and baby boomers readers tend to click on action buttons to read more about a certain topic." For transregional campaigns, Josh Ogle, founder of The Original Agency, suggested his clients segment according to time zone. "We send an email at 10 a.m., for example, but always 10 a.m. in the locale where the user resides," Ogle said, thus ending the problem of their European customers receiving "Good Morning!" emails at 4 p.m. For one client, this yielded a 29% relative improvement in open rates in the first 24 hours. Segmenting can even be done in several layers. "Break lists up depending on where your contacts are in the buyer's journey, and segment based on what you know about them," said Maria Mora, content director at Big Sea. "Then tailor messages that are appropriate to those contacts at the right time." 2. Make it personableThe more personalized an email, the less likely it is to get lost in an inbox of spam. There's an easy way to make an email more personable – have it literally come from a person. "One thing we saw an instant bump in open rates from was when we put the email coming from the owner's name instead of the company name," said Jeff Moriarty, who runs Moriarty's Gem Art. As a side benefit, this helps differentiate your company as a small business. "Customers appreciate not being hit by just sales emails and find the ones we send much more valuable than most other retailers," Moriarty said. Depending on the level of friendliness you're going for, some email marketing software even allows senders to include the recipient's name in the salutation. Crafting your message3. Name benefits, not featuresOnce you've got your campaign strategy down, focus on the subtleties of messaging. This starts with the first thing your customers will see – the subject line. If it doesn't pique their curiosity among the other emails in their inbox, they'll likely delete it. To create an attractive subject, Ryan Gould, vice president of strategy and marketing services at Elevation Marketing, advised getting personal with customers by being upfront about who you are and what you can do for them. "Customers really don't care about what your email is offering. They just want to know how it's going to benefit them," he said. "If that is coming across clearly in the subject line, and it's paired with a sense of urgency, such as a time limit, odds are they will want to read more. Using questions … and mentioning current (and relevant) events are also excellent ways to pique readers' curiosity." Even better would be to personalize these benefits with subject lines such as "'X' helps influencers like you get paid by doing 'Y,'" said Quincy Smith, SEO and content manager at Ampjar. After applying targeted benefits marketing to his own campaigns, Smith increased open rates from 8% to 17%. 4. Be conciseDon't complicate your emails. Say exactly what you want to say in a way that will interest readers. You don't have to type paragraphs of content that no one will read – think press release, not manifesto. "Instead of including several long articles that will take readers a long time to scroll through, keep it brief and include a link to your blog where they can read more," said Emily Sidley, senior director of marketing and PR at Three Girls Media Inc. "This is especially important, because the majority of consumers check email on their phones. If the email is too long, they won't spend time scrolling through on their tiny handheld screen." A rule of thumb is that if your emails take longer than two to three minutes to read, you're likely to be ignored, added Mora. One way to decrease word count is to cut out all the waffling – which customers will appreciate anyway. For example, Kyle Turk, vice president of marketing at Keynote Search, found that greater transparency in subject lines increased open rates from 21% to 30%. "There is so much noise in inboxes nowadays that if you aren't clear in your messaging, it will simply get looked over," Turk said. 5. Include a call to actionWith all this focus on getting the customer's attention, it's easy to forget the initial intention of the email. Are you reminding them that they have an item in their cart? Alerting them of a sale? Promoting new products? A clever subject line may improve your open rate, but in order to increase engagement, you have to increase your click-through rate, or the percentage of subscribers following email links to your webpage. This is where you'll need a call to action. A call to action can be as simple as a direct request. "You can't expect your audience to guess what you want them to do next," said Kendra Jones, a PR and marketing strategist specializing in influencer marketing. "Placing concise calls to action, such as 'Click here to download your free guide,' that are hyperlinked to the opt-in increased my click-through rate by 18%." Broadening your reach6. Try A/B testingSo far, we've suggested marketers take the deductive approach, testing new strategies by observing relative improvement in open and click-through rates. There's another way to improve, however, and that's by pitting two strategies against each other. With A/B testing, you can experiment with two variables, such as two subject lines, to discover which performs best, said Sean Nichols, marketing manager at SiteVisibility. Nichols recommended testing just one part of the email (e.g., subject lines or images) at a time so there aren't too many variables – this will ensure more accurate results. The more of these tests you do, the more likely you are to discover an unexpected strategy. For example, after running a variety of A/B tests, Keynote Search found that using imagery with a close-up of someone's face increased their click-through rate by 17%, Turk said. It's easy enough to test preconceived strategies like the ones on this list. With A/B testing, however, marketers may find strategies it never occurred to them to try out. |
| How to Create an Email Drip Campaign for Increased Engagement Posted: 08 Jul 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Research shows that 61% of bloggers create an email marketing campaign to increase the number of views on their blog. One of the most popular ways businesses are keeping in touch with their customers is through drip campaigns. In essence, a drip campaign is a marketing technique that allows businesses to build a rapport with customers and prospects alike through a long-tail process involving multiple emails with content, conversations and calls to action over an extended period of time. If you're thinking about creating a drip campaign to increase engagement on your website, we explain how to start and run this process using the following steps:
Start with a strong lead listThe first factor you must consider when starting an email drip campaign is your lead list. Every niche has a different type of customer persona, and it's very likely that you'll have multiple personas you want to target under the umbrella of one company. For instance, if you owned an online pet shop and wanted to create a drip campaign, you likely want to start with different pet categories based on consumer purchases. You would want to create a list for the people interested in content about dogs and create your emails around that niche. Similarly, you could strategize emails for people who have purchased cat products, bird accessories or rodent supplies – the list goes on. The more you fine-tune your email list, the more likely subscribers are to enjoy and engage with your brand. You'll have a better chance of creating a reliable lead list if you begin gathering subscribers as soon as possible. Some business owners gather leads when their website goes live; others collect leads at the start of preproduction with a Coming Soon page. If you're going to create a Coming soon page to let potential customers know you exist, let them sign up for your email list for future content and offers, which you can deliver through a drip campaign. Editor's note: Looking for the right email marketing service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs. Create content with substanceContent is one of the cornerstones of a high-quality drip campaign. It's nearly impossible to convince a subscriber to become a customer without first offering them something in exchange for their time. When you're creating your campaign, lead with exclusive content that complements the theme of the emails you'll send to customers. Let's go back to the pet shop example. If you were going to create a targeted list for dog owners, you would want to create content with topics like:
These three examples are likely to keep customers engaged because they cover a topic they find interesting. But the stakes get higher when you consider the knowledge customers stand to gain by reading each piece of content. Notice that the first two articles apply to virtually every dog owner. If you want to keep your leads engaged, you have to deliver valuable content to their inbox consistently. Split test your email copyYour content needs to be valuable, but your email copy needs to be approachable, to the point and include an enticing call to action. Most drip campaigns take two to three months to execute and usually include approximately seven to 10 emails. Here's what the email flow typically looks like:
Research suggests that the best length for an email is between 50 and 125 words. Emails of this length resulted in a 50% click-through rate. It's almost impossible to include all of the information you find relevant with such a tiny word count. You can experiment by split testing your email copy for different customers. A split test is when you change one aspect of a campaign and measure the results to see if that one change had any impact on the total number of conversions. Because most drip campaigns consist of close to 10 emails, you'll have plenty of opportunities to tweak your email copy to discover the text that yieldd the highest conversion rate. The most crucial factor to tinker with when you're split testing a drip campaign is your call to action (CTA). Your call to action will vary from email to email. In most cases, your CTA will be to convince subscribers to read your content by clicking through the link in your emails. As the campaign comes to a close, you'll want to bring customers to the end of the sales funnel by offering them a product or service from your website. Use customer service to build momentumYour customer service team can help you build momentum when you create a drip campaign. There are quite a few ways to use your customer service team (and tools) to your advantage. For example, chatbots are commonly used on blogs and e-commerce storefronts alike. In many cases, the chatbot will pop up with a prompt before the prospect ever asks a question. You can program a chatbot to ask a customer if they are interested in a specific topic based on the history of the content they've viewed, which could inspire a consumer to sign up for your mailing list and experience your drip campaign. If you use a customer support team with live people, you could encourage them to ask prospects if they are interested in signing up for your email campaign after someone contacts them for information. Generally speaking, if a customer is interested enough to reach your support team, they are a good candidate for your lead list. ConclusionCreating a drip campaign for your blog or e-commerce storefront takes time and effort. You should always work toward developing a reliable and robust lead list before starting each campaign. After you've accumulated a fair number of leads, you can begin delivering thought-provoking and engaging content. Use your social media platforms and your customer service team to identify and convert prospects who could benefit from your content and offer. Always seal the deal with a fantastic call to action that readers will find irresistible. As you develop multiple campaigns, go back and split test different aspects of your emails to further your conversion rate and generate more traffic to your website. Like many forms of marketing, drip campaigns are an art. If you have the right tools and talent, you'll have no problem creating a killer email drip campaign from scratch. |
| 25 Action Words to Include on Your Resume Posted: 08 Jul 2019 11:00 AM PDT 
Work experience, education and relevant skills are all important factors in getting a job, but if the wording on your resume doesn't adequately reflect your qualifications, you may miss out on job opportunities. The correct verbiage, like action words, can be the difference between landing an interview and landing at the bottom of the resume pile. According to Bob MacReynolds, vice president of Cutwater Dynamics, action words are the verbs on your resume that allow hiring managers to quickly understand where you spent most of your time in each job and what impact you had on the organization as a whole. "Resumes should not only be a summary of someone's experience – they should be a call to action to all those who read it that this person must receive an interview because of their positive impact on the business," MacReynolds told Business News Daily. Before your resume reaches a set of human eyes, it will likely have to pass through an applicant tracking system (ATS). These systems filter resumes based on keywords, which often include action words. Jobscan cites recent studies that showed more than 98% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS, while 66% of large companies and 35% of small organizations rely on some type of recruitment software. With the use of technology on the rise in the hiring process, it is essential for job seekers to fill in the blanks correctly. After your resume passes through an ATS, action words help hiring managers scan your information and make a quick decision about you and your experience. Jamie Cohen, career coach and HR manager for EndThrive, said the average recruiter looks at a resume for six seconds before making a decision, placing high importance on powerful descriptions that catch their attention. Cohen said action words serve two main purposes: highlighting your skills and experience, and making your resume easier to read. "Firstly, action words are used to paint a vivid picture of your experience, skills and achievements," he said. "Your potential employer needs to be able to visualize you doing the job and doing it well. Secondly, if you start every bullet point with an action word, you set an easy-to-follow rhythm for the recruiter." Gerrit Hall, CEO and founder of RezScore, added that action words can frame your accomplishments in the form of a story, which guides the reader to form a mental picture and increases memorability. "Action words contain the power to make your resume more memorable than resumes with passive language," he said. "Our regression analysis proves action verbs can improve reviewer rankings of resumes by 20% to 30%, depending on the competitiveness of your industry." How to use action wordsWhile keyword-stuffing action words may be the easy route, it is not a successful one. To stand out to a hiring manager, employ the proper usage of action words. For example, use action words to quantify the results you achieved for the company you worked for. If you can use supporting statistics too, that's even better. Showing how your efforts directly impacted an organization's bottom line demonstrates your abilities better than simply stating what you did. MacReynolds said that businesses are thinking about return on investment when they make a hire, so it helps to spell out exactly what ROI you have previously provided. "For job seekers, I always recommend they talk about ways their accomplishments increased profits for the company, decreased costs or improved efficiency," said MacReynolds. "Those are measurable results that all companies look for at quarterly earnings time and at year-end." Another way to use action words is to look for keywords in job postings and tailor your resume to use those specific action words. Cohen provided the following job description as an example: Sales manager responsibilities:
If you were to apply for this sales manager position, Cohen would recommend using the specific action words "managed," "designed" and "implemented" and explaining how you accomplished these tasks. The best action words to use on a resumeIn addition to highlighting job skills, the University of Michigan Career Center advises job seekers to use a variety of action verbs to make their resume pop. The university listed more than 135 action verbs to consider using in your resume. Cohen has his own list of 25 of the action verbs he thinks are best for resumes. He divided up the following examples by scenario. If you improved or increased something:
If you facilitated or managed something:
If you started a project:
For day-to-day activities:
If you achieved something:
Words to omit from your resumeClever, meaningful words have a positive impact on your application, while the wrong words leave a negative impression. Avoid passive words and phrases on your resume. These include any verbiage that signifies something was done to you or assigned to you, rather than signifying that you actively took initiative and did something. Avoid overused or meaningless words that add fluff to your resume. These include the terms "responsible for," "transformational," "synergy" and "dynamic." Also avoid buzzwords like "self-starter," "detail-oriented" and "team player." "Instead of saying you're hardworking because you're self-motivated, try to prove it with results," said Cohen. "Mention how you've organized a team or increased sales by 23%." While experts we spoke to had mixed opinions on using first-person language like "I" and "me" in a resume, they agreed that you should limit or even omit the use of "we." "On a resume, the word 'we,' when used repeatedly, describes someone who cannot get something accomplished on their own," said MacReynolds. "I always wonder who else had to be involved for that person to handle those duties or achieve that type of success." When writing a resume, always focus on what you did and the results you achieved for your organization. Using action words to clearly convey those messages brings you one step closer to your dream job. |
| Monthly Jobs Data Shows Slight Slowdown in SMB Growth Posted: 08 Jul 2019 10:44 AM PDT 
As the American economy continues to perform well, small business owners are adding new positions and paying their workers more, according to a new report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). According to the NFIB's monthly jobs report, June was a great month for American small businesses. Last month was the 19th consecutive month of employment growth, with the average business adding 0.21 workers. However, that figure marked a slight decline from the average 0.32 workers added in April and May. Among respondents, 12% of small business owners said they added an average of 4.3 workers per company, while 7% reported cutting employment by a seasonally adjusted average of 4.6 workers. Those shifts in employment numbers, said NFIB President and CEO Juanita D. Duggan, were encouraging for the overall SMB outlook in the U.S. "At a time when owners are continuing to struggle to find workers, they're doing everything they can to recruit them, including raising wages," Duggan said. "The demand for workers is showing no signs of abating, evidence that tax cuts and deregulation lead to job creation, so it is important lawmakers stay away from policies that could stifle this historic growth." Hiring difficulties for small businessesEven though SMB owners reported high levels of optimism back in May, respondents in June said they noticed the prospect of hiring qualified workers becoming more difficult. According to the NFIB's data, 58% of respondents said they were hiring or trying to hire, marking a 4% decrease from May. Of those individuals, 86% said they were unable to hire any new workers because there were "few or no qualified applicants" for the open positions. The NFIB defines "qualified" as someone who has "position-appropriate skills but also encompasses appearance, attitude, social skills, [reasonable] wage expectations and work history." Since this apparent shortage of a skilled labor force has the potential to slow growth, 21% of respondents see it as the "single most important business problem." Continued data shows that 36% of owners reported having job openings that they couldn't fill. This gap between open positions and the number of skilled workers available is more apparent in some industries. In the construction industry, for example, 49% of owners said they had job openings, but 90% of those openings were for skilled workers. Similarly, 69% of transportation SMB owners said they had job openings but 87% of them were for skilled workers. As a result, 10% of all respondents said they opted to use temporary workers to fill in gaps. SMB plans for future job creationDespite the somewhat dreary hiring prospects, small business owners told the NFIB they were still optimistic that they could create new positions and fill them in the near future. Approximately 19% of business owners (seasonally adjusted) said they planned to create new jobs, which is down two points from the previous report. Likewise, 23% (not seasonally adjusted) said they planned to add to their firms, which is down six points, while 3% said they planned to cut back in the coming months. While the construction industry reported some hiring stumbling blocks, 32% of respondents said they planned to hire for more positions, and 61% of transportation SMB owners said they would do the same thing. When it comes to compensation, owners are similarly optimistic, as 28% of respondents said they planned to increase wages. That number is down six points from May, but the NFIB said it remains "historically strong" and continues a trend that's been going on for more than a year. "Small business owners have been reporting raising worker compensation, wages, and benefits at historically near-record percentages for more than a year," said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. "The economy is showing wage gains, and small business has been leading the way." |
| What Is the Paycheck Fairness Act and How Will it Affect Your Small Business? Posted: 08 Jul 2019 09:00 AM PDT  Fair pay and discrimination are complex topics, and as a result, more than one law governs equal pay. In 2019, the House of Representatives passed a bill intended to add one more law: the Paycheck Fairness Act. What is the Paycheck Fairness Act, and how will it impact your small business? What is the Paycheck Fairness Act?The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bill introduced in the United States Congress that amends the Fair Labor Standards Act. It is intended to strengthen equal pay protections for workers and close the gender pay gap in the United States. What is the gender pay gap?The gender pay gap is the difference between men and women's earnings. On average, women who work full time in the United States earn 82 cents for every dollar that men who work full time make, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The difference is even greater for black and Latina women than women who are white or Asian. How is the gender pay gap calculated?The gender pay gap, also known as the wage gap, is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics based on salary data from around the country. It is difficult to say precisely how much of the wage gap is due to discrimination, since a variety of factors impact a worker's earnings, including their industry, location, occupation, education, negotiation ability and time out of the workforce, among other factors. However, a 2010 report from the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee found that, even when controlling for all these factors, an unexplained difference in men's and women's earnings remained that is likely due to wage discrimination. Other analyses, such as one done by the American Association of University Women, have found persistent gaps between the earnings for men and women that cannot be explained by measurable factors, such as education or choice of occupation. To address the wage gap and ensure fair pay for the work done by men and women, the United States has enacted state and federal laws. What is the Equal Pay Act?The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 made it illegal for employers to pay men and women in the same workplace different wages for substantially equal work. It was passed as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Substantially equal work means jobs that:
The Equal Pay Act allows employers to pay employees a different wage if compensation is based on:
A decade later, in the 1973 case Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, the Supreme Court clarified that the EPA was intended "to remedy what was perceived to be a serious and endemic problem of employment discrimination in private industry − the fact that the wage structure of many segments of American industry has been based on an ancient but outmoded belief that a man, because of his role in society, should be paid more than a woman even though his duties are the same." Other laws that impact equal pay include the Civil Rights Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. When was Civil Rights Act passed?The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is one of the federal laws that protects employees from wage discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability. These laws are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a government body that monitors for discriminatory hiring practices. It is illegal for an employer, including a small business, to retaliate against an employee who files a discrimination charge or otherwise participates in a discrimination lawsuit, such as by testifying, under Title VII. What is The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act?In 2009, the issue of paycheck fairness and wage discrimination was again addressed when President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. This law amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act to say that the statute of limitations for filing an equal-pay discrimination lawsuit, which was set at 180 days, resets with each discriminatory paycheck. Previously, plaintiffs could only sue 180 days after an employer made the initial discriminatory pay decision. How will the Paycheck Fairness Act strengthen the Equal Pay Act?Despite the progress that these laws made toward ending wage discrimination and closing the wage gap, the original EPA has become outdated. It also has several holes in its provisions that allow many forms of wage discrimination to persist. These include:
The Paycheck Fairness Act is intended to close these loopholes and strengthen the Equal Pay Act by increasing penalties for unequal pay and making it easier for employees to bring class action lawsuits against employers for wage discrimination. It would also:
What are arguments against the Paycheck Fairness Act?Opponents of the Paycheck Fairness Act argue that it will lead to an increase in wage discrimination lawsuits against employers, as employees feel more empowered to sue for discriminatory pay practices. Other objections include that, rather than closing the wage gap that women experience, it will:
In past votes to block the bill from passing, opposing lawmakers have also stated that it is unnecessary, because gender discrimination is already illegal. Was the Paycheck Fairness Act passed?The Paycheck Fairness Act was first introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) in 1997. It was passed by the House of Representatives in 2009 but failed to pass the Senate, which meant it was not signed into law. The bill was reintroduced on January 30, 2019, and passed by the House on March 27, 2019. It was also introduced in the Senate but has not made any progress or been brought to a vote by the Senate Majority Leader. Will the Paycheck Fairness Act actually lead to equal pay?Proponents of the Paycheck Fairness Act, who tend to be more liberal and favor workers' rights, say that it will discourage employers from making discriminatory pay offers, especially by preventing them from asking about women's previous salaries. If signed into law, it will also make wage discrimination less profitable for employers by increasing the penalties that business face for wage discrimination. Opponents, who tend to be more conservative and favor the rights of businesses, say that the act will lead to rigid pay scales in the name of equal pay. Many opponents also say that the wage gap is a choice that women opt into by choosing certain professions rather than the result of discriminatory practices from employers. Occupations with a higher portion of female employees, such as teaching or nursing, do pay less than careers that are more typically male-dominated. However, research shows that even in female-dominated professions, the wage gap persists, with men being paid more. The Paycheck Fairness Act will not close the portion of the wage gap caused by the motherhood penalty, which research has found contributes to unequal pay. Due to lack of social support for parents, employer expectations that women will be less committed to their careers after becoming parents, and unequal labor distribution in many homes, mothers are more likely to find their careers and earnings stagnating. By contrast, studies have shown that fatherhood gives men's careers and earnings a boost, as employers expect them to be more committed to work after becoming parents. How will the Paycheck Fairness Act affect small businesses?Small businesses are already required to follow federal law and provide equal pay regardless of gender. If the Paycheck Fairness Act passes, small business would be subject to its new transparency and accountability rules, including:
Many small businesses would be eligible for an exemption from the law's salary reporting requirements, which would place an undue burden on small and midsize companies that larger businesses do not face. However, all businesses should keep records of employee compensation, regardless of whether the Paycheck Fairness Act passes or not, in order to have that data accessible in the case of employee questions, concerns or disputes. What other laws affect how small businesses pay workers?Small businesses are also impacted by minimum wage laws, which are passed by the federal government, as well as some cities and states. These laws require employers to pay their employees a minimum hourly wage. The primary law that establishes the minimum wage is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This law covers most but not all employers and employees. Your small business must follow the FLSA if you:
Workers who are not covered by the FLSA, and are not required to be paid minimum wage, include:
Many, but not all, small business are required to follow minimum wage laws, as well as equal pay laws, when determining employee compensation. Is minimum wage supposed to be a living wage?When the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938, it provided basic protections to workers by establishing a 44-hour work week, prohibiting child labor and introducing a federal minimum wage. The FLSA set the 1938 minimum wage at 25 cents per hour, or $11 for a 44-hour work week. The average cost of buying a new house was $3,900, the equivalent of just under 355 weeks of work at minimum wage. The current federal minimum wage, which has not increased since 2009, is $7.25 per hour, or $319 for a 44-hour work week (though the standard work week today is 40 hours). The average cost of buying a new house in the United States in January 2019 was $372,600, or the equivalent of just over 1,168 weeks at work at minimum wage. A living wage is the minimum income a worker needs to afford adequate food, shelter, clothing and other necessities. The Fair Labor Standards Act did not use the term "living wage." However, a comparison between the buying power of a minimum wage labor in 1938 and 2019 shows that the original minimum wage provided a much higher standard of living than the current one does. What will be the minimum wage in 2020?The federal minimum wage is not set to increase in 2020. However, many progressive politicians are joining with workers' rights groups to advocate for the minimum wage to increase to a living wage of $15 per hour. Many states and cities set a minimum wage different from the federally mandated one, and in some cases, these automatically rise with inflation to adjust for increases to cost of living. Some states and cities recently have passed laws to raise their minimum wage, usually to a value of $12 to $15. Others have increases scheduled over the next several years. If you are unsure whether your small business or employees are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act or any other minimum wage laws, consult a lawyer before you make any decisions regarding pay. Failure to pay minimum wage when you are required to could result in criminal prosecution and thousands of dollars in fines. |
| Smart Recruiting Strategies for Hiring Posted: 08 Jul 2019 07:30 AM PDT 
Recruiting is a challenge for small businesses. Finding the right talent isn't easy, and it takes a good recruiting strategy to find and hire quality candidates. We spoke with hiring professionals to learn smart recruitment strategies small businesses can implement to attract the best talent during the recruitment process. Utilize referralsOne of the best ways to hire quality candidates is to have your current employees or people in your network refer others. Ask your employees if they know anyone who might be a good fit for the position. Referrals are a good way to screen potential candidates before even interviewing them. If your trusted employee recommends a previous colleague or a friend whose work experience they know well, it gives you a level of security knowing this new applicant can do good work. When hiring a stranger, there is less certainty about a candidate's work ethic and potential fit on the team. "The absolute best recruiting [strategy] would be to ask for referrals from your network," said Jonaed Iqbal, founder and CEO of NoDegree.com. "Ask fellow business owners if they know anyone looking for a job. Ask friends and family. Go to local business networking events (the Chamber of Commerce) and ask the other people who attend if they know anyone on the market for a job. Referrals are the No. 1 source for candidates. People usually refer good people as the person they refer is a reflection on them." While you shouldn't give referrals preferential treatment, being recommended by someone already on staff or in your network is an added benefit for that applicant. Make sure that the applicant's qualifications make them an ideal fit for the job, and use the referral as insurance that you're making the right hiring decision. One way to solicit referrals from current employees is to implement a referral bonus program. If an employee refers an applicant and that applicant eventually gets hired, the employee who referred the new hire can receive some sort of monetary compensation. Even if the bonus is only a few hundred dollars, it makes employees more willing to recommend people they know to be quality candidates. The cost tends to pay off, as data suggests that referral hires can save companies $3,000 in fees that would otherwise be spent on things like recruiters and job postings. "Create a very generous employee referral program (make it so big that you are almost uncomfortable), and tie some of the payout to the performance of the new hire," said Bryan Zawikowski, vice president and general manager of the military transition division Lucas Group. If you're a small business struggling to find candidates for jobs, look to referrals for help. Referrals can make the hiring process significantly smoother, and they should be an integral aspect of your recruitment strategy plan. An employee referral is a great way to boost the talent pool in your collection of applications, and it often leads to hiring a qualified candidate. More importantly, it's speedy and inexpensive to benefit from employee referrals. Post on niche job sitesIt's easy to post open job positions on LinkedIn, Monster or Indeed, but your small business listing may get lost in the sea of other openings. It's not easy to stand out on popular job sites when you're a small business, so it may be worth posting job openings on niche job sites. "Niche job boards offer an optimal medium for small businesses to connect with ideal candidates for three reasons," said Lee McMillan, founder and CEO of PeakSeason. "First, these candidates have demonstrated an embedded interest in the niche by visiting the niche job board in the first place. Second, niche job boards generally allow employers to customize and highlight their strengths better since they were developed to target a specific sector or job type. Third, niche job boards generally have fewer listings and fewer mega-sized employers. This gives small businesses a better chance of standing out, without getting buried among thousands of listings by larger competitors." There are hundreds of niche job boards available online and finding the right one for your small business depends largely on your industry and your recruiting strategy. Below are a few niche job boards:
Additional research can help you find online niche job boards that work best for your business. Other ways to narrow down the talent pool include posting job openings in a local newspaper or on the local newspaper's website. While the newspaper industry is far from flourishing, local papers may still reach thousands of people in your area. The online content from local newspapers also attracts thousands of readers who may seek out the paper's job board to look for openings in the area. Attracting local talent through a local news source may be easier than using a global platform like LinkedIn. Be creative with your talent acquisition plan. Using a niche job site doesn't mean you have to abandon traditional measures, though. There's nothing wrong with posting an opening in a local newspaper and LinkedIn, for example. The channels you use changes based on your business's recruitment strategy. In addition to niche job sites, using social media can attract applicants, especially if you have a loyal following. By posting openings on social media, you'll be reaching your followers, who have already made the decision to follow your business. This means they're interested in what you're doing, which makes them more likely to be interested in joining your cause. Niche job sites can help attract applicants, but don't forget to post openings on your own site and to share those openings on social media regularly. Hire on a trial basisBusinesses struggling to find the right candidates should consider hiring on a freelance or trial basis. For example, you can hire a candidate to work on a couple of projects with your team to get a better sense of their talent and skills. If you find that they do well with the team, extend a full-time offer. If they struggle, you may opt to go in a different direction. "Hiring freelancers to complete small and specific jobs with a long-term job in mind is an almost risk-free way to test out talent," said Will Ellis, security analyst at Privacy Australia. "If a freelancer completes a project and does a fantastic job, rehiring them a few times can ensure you see how they are as a worker firsthand." This route requires proper business etiquette and clear rules and boundaries. If you bring someone on for a project or two, be sure to compensate them for their work, even if you don't hire them. If you ask someone to perform a minor project that takes one to two hours solely as a test of their abilities and you won't use that work for your business's gain, it's OK not to provide payment. Be wary of how long any work-related tests take, however, as anything over an hour or two becomes cumbersome and may require payment. The one-hour guideline varies by field, but it's a good guideline to make sure you aren't wasting a candidate's time. Much like job referrals, hiring on a trial basis is a way to feel confident that the person you're hiring is a good fit for your business. Hiring on a trial basis is also a way for employees to see if they enjoy working for your company. An applicant may find after a project or two that they aren't as interested in the work as they thought, and they can decline an offer thanks to a better understanding of what the job entails. The trial period acts almost like an onboarding process, as the candidate learns the basics of the company's workflow during the projects. Write better job descriptionsWhile writing better job descriptions isn't necessarily a recruitment strategy, it's a quick way to improve your recruiting success. Hiring elite candidates means you need to attract elite candidates. Job boards are filled with thousands of openings, and it isn't easy to stand out. One way to stand out is with quality job descriptions. The best job descriptions are specific and clear. They outline what the job entails and what they're looking for in a candidate. Try to keep your job description succinct so applicants feel comfortable reading through the entire description. It can be beneficial to ask your team help write the job description so it's as accurate as possible. Place an emphasis on writing reasonable job descriptions. Some companies ask for significantly too much or too little in their job descriptions. A company looking for an entry-level employee may ask for three to five years of experience in a role, which likely isn't a reasonable request given the volume of recent college graduates applying for entry-level jobs. Other companies may use broad phrases like "seeking someone with an entrepreneurial spirit," which is vague and subjective. Write specific and reasonable job descriptions. Be fair about what you're asking for, and make sure the qualifications you want are specifically addressed. "It is important to be detailed but reasonable in your job posting," said Iqbal. "Sometimes job postings just ask for too much. Make sure that you put down the actual things that are required for the job. Don't put 10 years of experience as a requirement when someone can do it with just two years of experience. Oftentimes business owners ask for too much, and plenty of qualified people pass over the listing because they feel they can't do the job." Avoid being overly excited in your job description. It's fine to be excited about the role and to showcase your fun company culture but using phrases like "ROCKSTAR salesman!" or being overly aggressive in your use of capitalization and exclamation points can turn off qualified candidates. Keep your job descriptions professional. Offer relevant perksPerks can often be a good way to attract a diverse and talented applicant pool. In addition to good company culture, companies that offer work-life balance and comprehensive health insurance packages appeal to a broad range of candidates. There are plenty of options for traditional work perks to attract top talent, and there's no shortage of unusual and creative options either. If you're looking to attract top talent to your small business, it helps to offer relevant perks. Flexible work offerings, like the ability to telecommute, can make your business especially appealing to millennials and younger workers. According to FlexJobs, 70% of millennials have left or considered leaving a job because it lacked flexible work options, while only about half of older workers report the same. Being flexible with schedules and offering remote work appeals to today's workforce. Toptal, a company that helps connect freelancers with businesses, is completely remote. The company believes offering remote work gives them greater access to talented workers across the globe. "Your net just became a lot bigger," said Bryce York, head of inbound sales, SMB at Toptal. "There are a lot of highly skilled professionals who prefer to work remotely, or live where they want to live, not necessarily where there is a high concentration of in-office jobs and business headquarters." For businesses, York says using remote workers can help decrease infrastructure costs associated with working in an office building. For employees, York says the ability to live wherever they please and help interesting brands without having to uproot their lives is an enticing perk. He did caution that remote work isn't for everyone, and businesses need to find employees who will remain engaged and productive when working remotely. Not all businesses can offer remote work, but it's one perk that's worth considering if you're struggling to attract top talent to your small business. The bottom lineThere's no perfect recruitment strategy, and the recruitment process will vary by business, but utilizing referrals, improving job descriptions, and offering relevant perks helps attract the best potential candidates on the job market. Being a small business doesn't mean you can't hire great talent, but it does mean you need to develop a good recruitment strategy. |
| Tips for Effective Ecommerce Web Development Posted: 08 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT  From breakfast to dinner, casual wear to party dress, a wide variety of options with amazing discount tags can arrive at your doorstep. You just have to click. The growth of the ecommerce industry is at such a rising pace that all the ecommerce stores, whether small or big really need to design their ecommerce store effectively while keeping the increasing trend of mcommerce in mind. Below is the list of useful tips for ecommerce website development that can boost up your sale: 1. Easy to access web designThe website design should be in such a way that it's effectively meeting the needs of the visitors and turning the prospective buyers into customers. It should be so appealing that it attracts visitors from all walks of life and also retain them to explore various stuff uploaded on your website. The web design should be as simple as possible, not complex at all. No distracting links or images should appear in between of the product search, especially at the checkout process. Also, complicated animations, lengthy content, ambiguous terminology, stocky images, should be avoided as much as possible. Editor's note: Considering website design software? We can help you choose the one that's right for you. Use the questionnaire below to have our vendor partners provide you with information from a variety of vendors for free: 2. Do not manipulate pricesHiding shipping charges from the customers until they reach the payment gateway could leave a negative impact on your sales and result in increased cart abandonment. Always make sure that the total price of a product is displayed to the customer at the first go only. Stop playing the price change game with customers. Almost every customer has a very good memory when it comes to memorizing price. They won't forget easily the price of a product they saw a week back. The old saying, 'Honesty is the best policy' is still the best, no pricing policy can compete with this saying. 3. High-quality photos and small videosThe customers won't entertain your product if the image is blurred or unclear. They'll perceive your product cheap. That's why always try to use high-quality pictures to exhibit your product. The picture of the product should be so appealing and attractive (without losing its originality) that it compels the buyer to own it. As the customer cannot actually feel the product before buying, the way it is presented matters a lot. Videos could also be used to demonstrate the product in a better way, featuring all the angels. When it comes to apparel, jewelry or footwear, high definition short videos will have a positive impact on customer's buying decision. [Interested in website design software? Check out our reviews and best picks.] 4. Navigation menuThe navigation menu should appear either horizontally at the top of the website or vertically on the left side of the website, across all the pages. It should be well organized so that the customers can use it with ease. The navigation menu should allow the customers to easily search the product what they are looking for. The drop-down menu should be used to showcase various categories and sub-categories of products. 5. Create scarcity of the productWhat is less in number is always in demand. In fact, the product which is 'out of stock' or appears with the 'Sold' tag with sad emoji displayed on the home-page of the website is noticed more. Creating the scarcity of the product intentionally without letting the customers know the actual truth, can boost up sales of that particular product or similar products. Sometimes applying small tricks with the psychology of the customer could be good for the business. The fear of missing out the wish listed product results into impulsive buying. But remember, this tactic shouldn't be repeated much often. 6. Filter optionWhether you are dealing with an offline customer or an online customer, the ultimate goal of the seller is to sell the product with good customer experience. But things are a little different with an online customer. If a customer is not able to find the range of products he is looking for, he'll switch to different stores. That's why offering a well-organized filter option to a customer is a mandatory thing to do. Suppose a shopper visited your website with the motive to buy a beautiful pair of stilettos but when she clicked on the footwear section, a wide variety of flip-flops, sneakers, wedges, loafers, flats, bellies are getting displayed till she scrolls down to the second page. What do you expect her to do? Will she wait till she finds the collection of stilettos? Nope. To provide the best shopping experience to your customers, allow the customers to filter their required products by proving various filter options. 7. Encourage social media linksThe online retailers should understand the importance of social media on a very serious note. A lot of e-commerce orders come from Facebook and Instagram. That's why sharing and exhibiting popular products on social media could be beneficial for ecommerce websites. This may help the ecommerce store to derive good conversions. 8. Have a noticeable shopping cartThe recognizable shopping cart icon should pop-up across all the pages of the website. This will allow the users to have a persistent look over the products they added in their cart. This will continuously remind them to complete their shopping process. This strategy will help in increasing conversion rates. 9. Make customer's testimonials viableThe customer's reviews and testimonial is the best way to prove the quality of your products. The positive feedbacks can influence the buying decision of potential customers and derive sales. It would be effective if the reviews of each and every product are mentioned right below the product description. But if your ecommerce store doesn't have a variety of products and the number of reviews is also less, in that case, all the reviews can be well arranged under one page 'Customer's Testimonials/Reviews'. This page should appear on the home screen which is easily noticeable by the customers. It would be recommended that the reviews are displayed along with the customer's name and picture. This will give more authenticity and weight to the customer's words. 10. Create an easily noticeable sale sectionStudies show that online shoppers are obsessed with discounts. People prefer to buy something if it has an attached discount tag. A large section of shoppers waits until their favorite product goes on sale. To boost up the sales, it is important for an ecommerce website to announce 'Sale' at least quarterly and special discounts on Good Friday, Christmas Eve, New Year eve, etc. The multiple discount schemes, offering a discount at a discounted price is one of the major reasons behind the growth of the e-commerce industry. Therefore, it is recommended that an ecommerce store should have a special page which displays only the products that run with pleasing discounts. |
| How to Market Your Business With Video Livestreaming Posted: 08 Jul 2019 05:00 AM PDT  Whether for hosting a live event or creating a tutorial, video content has become the go-to option for small businesses. Video is an engaging medium that grabs the audience's attention and allows businesses to not just sell products but engage in brand-building efforts as well. With it being cheaper and simpler to employ professional-grade video than ever, companies can deliver compelling, emotionally engaging content to consumers and forge a strong brand connection. Social media especially serves as a vehicle to deliver video content directly to users' screens. This is embodied in the rise of livestream marketing. A livestream broadcast might initially seem like it would be more useful for a journalist than for a business, but there are many ways livestreaming fits into a digital marketing campaign. Here's how to create and use livestream video content that will keep your audience engaged and help build your brand. What is livestreaming?Video livestreaming is, quite simply, the act of transmitting live footage over the internet to an active target audience. In the past, livestreaming was typically done on a dedicated platform. Today, social media has expanded the reach of livestreaming to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, making the live broadcast a key component of social media marketing. [Check out these ways to use Instagram Live for business.] "For the first time, small businesses can really experiment with video as a means of communication," said Tom More, founder and CEO of creative multimedia company Slidely. "Livestreaming is not a new app; there's nothing new they need to learn, because it's built into social media. I think what's happening now will help empower them in new ways." While streaming platforms like IBM Cloud Video (formerly Ustream) have long been hosting live videos, social media's step into livestreaming territory presents a real opportunity for startups and small businesses to quickly get their messages out at little cost. [Read related article: How to Use Twitter Video to Tell Better Stories on Social Media] Livestream video is a versatile tool that offers audiences a clearer window into your business. You can use live video content to offer sneak peeks at upcoming products, create demonstrations or how-to videos, broadcast an event, or collaborate with social media influencers to amplify your message. Another popular use of livestreaming is to host a webinar, where the audience can interact with a presenter, ask questions and dive deep into a specific topic. Successful campaigns will position your brand as an authority in its space, as well as creating an emotional connection with your audience. Live video content has a way of demystifying the relationship between brand and customer, creating a more familiar feeling that is the first step on the road to brand loyalty. But just how effective is livestream marketing, and what benefits can you expect from a successful campaign? What are the benefits of livestream marketing?With a host of other digital marketing tools at your disposal, you might be wondering whether producing live broadcasts is worthwhile. After all, what is live video content going to do that a traditional marketing campaign cannot? The statistics speak for themselves: Live video is simply more engaging for the audience.
Livestream video is an effective tool in your digital marketing arsenal that can help you reach your audience, expand your brand and ultimately drive more sales. So, how do you go about creating live video content for the first time? There are a few rules to follow for success. How do I create livestream ads?Not all live videos are created equal. Developing an effective video ad campaign requires a strategy, and your live footage should be treated no differently. In fact, sloppy or unplanned video could damage your brand, as 62% of viewers are more likely to have a negative perception of a brand that produces poor-quality videos. When your brand's reputation is at stake, it's worth it to put pen to paper and brainstorm a bit beforehand. "The rules still apply," said Beth Mock LeBlanc, chief creative officer, founder and managing partner at MLB Creative. "You need to have a plan for your live videos; it can't just be ad lib. Find out what your audience is interested in, and come up with a plan that targets that." While planning is important, the beauty of live video is its casual, personable quality, More said. Striking the right balance between structure and comfort is key. "Livestreaming adds something in terms of honesty," More said. "From the user's point of view, it should even seem unrehearsed, but businesses need to rehearse and understand their message." Based on the advice of our expert sources, here are a few things to keep in mind when developing a livestreaming strategy:
The better your strategy is tailored to your audience's needs, the better the response will be. A successful video marketing campaign, especially social media-based livestreaming, has the potential to reach well beyond your network, Mock LeBlanc said. "People are very engaged with video," she said. "People share video more and search for it more often. If you can come up with some good content, it can be a very effective tool." "In social, we have something TV didn't, which is real-time sharing," More added. "People will give you feedback and share it with their friends, and then you have the ability to retarget those people with something a little more focused on the offering. That makes it real." Like all branding and marketing efforts, livestreaming should be all about forging an emotional bond with the potential customer. Deploying relatable, informative and entertaining video in real time on users' social media feeds is a great way to do exactly that. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article. |
| How to Manage a Multigenerational Workforce Posted: 05 Jul 2019 10:00 AM PDT  As Generation Z (those born in 1995 and onward) enter the workforce, businesses may soon have employees from four to five different generations working for them. Members of each generation have their own work styles, values and communication preferences. Resulting conflict from these differences stresses the need for intergenerational harmony in promoting an efficient work environment. Austyn Rask is a millennial and the director of content and research at BridgeWorks, a consulting company and speakers bureau that educates businesses on the dynamics of a multigenerational workforce. For her, educating workers about the different generations is critical. BridgeWorks recognizes that each company will have a different approach to bridging the generational divides. A hip startup, for example, will have different problems than a centuries old, family-owned corporation. Rask emphasizes the importance of understanding how – and why ‒ each generation communicates in the distinct ways that they do. By understanding the cultural, political and social dynamics that shape each generation, employers are able to have a diverse workforce that works together cohesively while carrying out the mission of the company. Generations in the workforceToday, you will find the following generations in the workforce, according to BridgeWorks: Silent Generation/Traditionalists
Baby Boomers/Generation Y
Generation X
Millennials
Generation Z
Cuspers"Cuspers" are an additional category worthy of note. These are individuals born on the "cusp" of two generations, and they are known for being good at coordinating, translating, and resolving conflicts. All generations, not just cuspers, are shaped by the cultural, economic, political and global forces that surrounded them in their formative years. For example, a generation raised in one global region is characteristically different than members of the same generation located in a different part of the world. In a similar vein, an individual's generational characteristics might differ depending on the generations they were influenced by. For example, it was assumed Generation Z and millennials would be similar because both generations came of age in a time of intense digital revolution and upgrade. However, research shows these two generations are different, as Generation Z has a strong influence on Generation X parents who value growth and independence, while millennials focus on innovation and collaboration. How generational traits dictate thinkingRask tells the story of two Generation Z interns at BridgeWorks. Both were given money and complete freedom to plan a dinner for the organization, and there was an emphasis on including dessert with the dinner. Their millennial supervisors felt both employees were providing a welcome, fun opportunity for the interns. The interns, however, were overwhelmed by the freedom and lack of direction. They floundered and skipped over the dessert portion of the meal altogether because they were nervous about choosing the "wrong" item. The moral of the story is that where one generation might welcome an experience, another might feel fear at the same opportunity. Those in managerial positions should be mindful that just because you like to be managed a certain way does not mean your employees will appreciate the same style. At times, even small interactions can contribute to multigenerational workplace conflict. Workers might ask "Why is this millennial/Gen Z'er texting me?" "Why is my baby boomer boss so snappy and rude in emails?" Of course, millennials and Generation Z are used to communicating digitally and have honed their communication skills through these mediums. Baby boomers, on the other hand, did not grow up with email or text message and opt to communicate in a style that feels efficient, taking on a "short and snappy" style. Why age diversity mattersAge diversity is crucial in running a successful business, and managing expectations is a priority. As a business owner or manager, look at the strengths and values each generation brings to your workplace. Baby boomers helped set up systems and processes so businesses could be more orderly and prioritize documentation. Generation X employees value independence. Millennials want to highlight diverse voices in collaborative settings. Generation Z, though they are on the cusp of entering the workforce, are likely to strive to find a balance between creativity, order, collaboration and individualization. Put all of these generations together, and you have a well-rounded employee base that can understand and resolve the issues and challenges your business is facing. Achieving harmony, however, among your multigenerational workforce can be tricky. Rask stresses the need to understand the generations. BridgeWork consultants usually start with senior management but also work with human resources teams, talent acquisition, diversity and inclusion departments, and other relevant workforce management teams. How to build your teamWhen it comes to team-building activities, Rask recommends inducing nostalgia. Her company created decks of cards that featured Western-based cultural references spanning several years. The cards depicted movies, music, politics and war. In the game, individuals select cards that remind them of their childhood, then sit with co-workers and share memories and thoughts before diving into the difficult conversation of generational differences. This is an activity that can be incorporated into your company's social and development events throughout the year. Once the initial conversation is started, businesses can move into strategies like mentorship and reverse-mentorship programs. Reverse mentoring is when older workers work with younger worker mentors for the purpose of stimulating digital knowledge and challenging hierarchical norms, all the while nurturing a professional relationship. The more "traditional" mentorship style, an older worker mentoring a younger one, is still an ever-growing, effective practice across professional fields. This relationship building breeds understanding and empathy between the different generations. An "on-paper" knowledge of generational differences can only take a business so far if they do not implement educational and professional growth initiatives into their workforce management. This will prevent disdain and ageism between colleagues. Bottom lineAs Generation Z enters the workforce, remember that all new generations face backlash. Millennials, in particular, have faced criticism in the media in recent years. Why? On the surface, it's easy to dismiss the complaints as jealously over digital fluency, or a lack of understanding about their "overly" inclusive worldview. These attacks seem intensified by the rapid-fire nature of today's news cycle, but Rask recalls stumbling upon a New York Times article from 1951 bemoaning the silent generation (those born between 1925 and 1945) for being too apathetic. At that time, the greater public had yet to recognize the extent to which World War II affected this new generation. Whether it is age (or another identifier), an atmosphere of acceptance in the workforce is necessary for a harmonious and productive working environment. |
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