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Integrating Social Media in Your Organization’s Communications

Integrating Social Media in Your Organization’s Communications
Integrating Social Media in Your Organization’s Communications This post is contributed by LtCaezar one of Kenya’s top Online Presence and Social Media Strategy Consultancies. The benefits of integrating social media in our organization’s communication as a strategy for better lead generation and conversion has been precisely dealt with. You can reach LtCeazar through Twitter @LtCaezar or Facebook @ LtCaezar Intro Social media in your organization’s communications is a tricky affair sometimes. Integration presents a difficult hurdle that must be dealt with tactfully. This is because communication in an organizational setup is usually regulated by policies and defined structures to follow. Social media on the other hand is a little spontaneous and may not allow time for deliberations before replies can be issued. This post explores various ways that an organization can go about integrating social media in their communications.   Integration Organizations have come to love social media. A good social media team is able to easily handle customer queries and run publicity campaigns. Advanced uses for social media in an organization may include lead generation. At other times, social media may be called upon to do brand image repair. When an organization is seeking to integrate social media in its broad communications plan, there are several methods they can use. In most organizations, social media will already be under the oversight of the marketing department or the PR department. In such a scenario, the easiest way is to develop a social media protocol that will be followed by all those who manage the social media accounts of the organization. Such protocols will provide guidance on handling of queries and how much information can be passed to the public via social media. An escalation process should also be defined. It should tell the social media account managers how, and where to refer issues that they cannot handle. PR reinforcement and early warning Reinforcement and an early warning system can be added by granting an experienced and trusted PR manager access to the social media accounts. The PR manager will immediately be notified as the first step of escalation. He or she will look at the issue and determine if it was handled professionally. The manager can also make decisions on whether to raise the matter with higher-up decision makers. In some cases, the PR manager can easily resolve the matter. Sometimes, an occasional peek by the PR manager into the goings on of the social media department can avert a disaster in its early stages. Some organizations find it better to work with social media agencies for their PR. The in-house social media team only handles matters relating to marketing and customer service. That is a tricky path that must be treaded carefully. Agencies may not have a single person dedicated to your social media account. If they have one, you do not know how many other accounts they are handling and splitting attention with. There is also the risk of replication of strategies and tactics. The Need for Constant Updates One last thing you should know about social media integration in an organization’s communications is the need for adequate information. The problem with social media which makes organizations afraid of venturing that way is that; a question can come in through social media and be directed at any level of management. For this reason, the social media team needs to be constantly updated of the developments and operations of the organization. This is information ranging from the latest campaign, to the reason why the organization scrapped an old product. When social media integration in your organization’s communication department is handled in such a systematic and professional manner, you can be sure to become...
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123 Content Marketing Tools from 40 Industry Professionals

123 Content Marketing Tools from 40 Industry Professionals
Why is Content Marketing Important for Your Business? Content marketing helps to improve conversions because it allows you to connect with and educate your leads and customers. That is why we thought of intoducing you to 123 Content Marketing Tools from 40 Industry Professionals that will guide you through restrategizing your content creation and promotional activities. Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. This discussion has 4 units  A Slideshare presentation from razorsocial.com giving you an unending  list of content marketing tools used by top industry experts.Why Content Marketing is essential?A great infographic on “Must-Have Content Marketing Tools” designed by Page Traffic.A quiz on content marketing. 1. Slideshare Presentation Intrigued to know what content marketing tools are being used by successful social media strategists and industry professionals? Here is a great presentation from RazorSocial.com that cuts right through all kinds of tools ever present online and the ones that are most desired and result-driven. 2. Why Content Marketing is essential? Content driven marketing has been proven to be the most successful type of taking your product or service to your target customer. “With the right words you can build your business empire.“ This is how I view content marketing and these days, people want to learn before they buy, be educated instead of pitched. Content marketing has to done in a very natural way, it should put your brand in customer’s trust list. “Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.“ If you were to buy a product what are the criteria you will judge the product against? Put yourself in customers’ shoe and build your product. “The paradox is the more info you give away, the more people will buy what you have to give.” 3. Must-Have Content Marketing Tools 123 Content Marketing Tools from 40 Industry Professionals 4. Content Marketing Quiz A. Why do you create content for your company? To attract as much attention to our company as possibleI honestly don’t knowTo drive traffic to landing pages where we can capture prospects and start to build a relationship with potential customersWe’re just doing it because everyone else is B. Who is responsible for content creation in your company? The marketing department squeezes it in among other projectsThe whole team works on content and it’s supported by the MDNo one really has responsibility but sometimes the intern posts stuff on Twitter and FacebookWe don’t have time for content C. How would you describe your approach to content? We don’t have a strategyWe do content on a project basis but not to a specific scheduleWe do what we can but it’s a bit ad hocWe have a detailed content strategy and plan aligned to company goals D. Which statement best reflects how you feel about your website? What? I haven’t got a websiteOur website is the hub of our business, regularly updated to a schedule and monitoredOur website is a ‘work in progress’, there’s things we’d like to changeWebsite? Haven’t looked at that in months E. Who is your website and content created for? We wrote it to make sure we’d get sign-off from the MD/CEO/BoardOur customers are at the heart of all our content creationWe try our best to make it user friendly and relevant for our customers but sometimes we struggle with thatWe just want to let the customer know how great we are Courtesy: Socialmedia.ie Answers for the Quiz: A. To drive traffic to landing pages where we can capture prospects and start to build a relationship with potential customers. B. The whole team works...
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How to Start and Run a Profitable Blog – Part One

How to Start and Run a Profitable Blog – Part One
A Beginner’s Guide to Start and Run a Profitable Blog I need to tell you that this is an out-an-out curated post but with all the juicy points for the benefit of bloggers. Too much information is always overwhelming, so let me get ya the creme de toppe’. What Does it Take to be a Great Blogger and Money Maker as Well? Well, there are many strategic viewpoints and suggestions from pioneer blogging experts which makes your work simple. You have to be sure about your plans for the blog – niche, target audience, business model, social media promotions, social media scheduling, content marketing and many more… YouTube Automation – Earn Passive Income on YouTube Without Showing Your FaceUdemy Affiliate Partner Don’t you worry… There is a set template for every kind of blog and all kinds of blogging activities. You have to just follow through but ofcourse infuse it with your own creativity. So, Shall we….. The number one factor is to set your specific goals. Create Strategic and Well-defined Blog Goals If you started your blog with a loosely defined plan, then what you have is an erratic content strategy at best. Without clarity in direction, mission and strategic goals, you’ll limp along. Want to create your blogging goals? Start with this goal setting worksheet. Essential Blog Questions to Answer 1. What is the very purpose you want to blog? The best tools, resources, and tips from a full-time blogger to help start a blog and make blogging a career. – Blesser House 2. What will a blog do for your business or what has it done so far? Look down the road – 3, 6, 9 months. Like any startup, new bloggers need to create a website, build a brand, find their tone, and attract followers, all on a shoestring budget. Trust us, that’s even harder than it sounds. –Stylecaster 3. Who will read your blog? Be specific about your reader and potential customer. SURE, blog traffic definitely helps to get more eyes and potential sales/clients BUT if you get these eyes onto your blog and aren’t using proper strategies to turn them into loyal readers who want to purchase what you are selling, then it defeats the purpose! – Boss Girl Bloggers 4. How will you stay consistent? Who will help you achieve your blogging goals? It’s not good practice to change permalinks after the post or page has already been published. Once your page or post is live, people might share it, link to it, email it or even write it down. – Mashable 5. How does a blog support your current marketing efforts? You can have the best website, content or product in the world, but if no one knows it exists, you won’t get very far. To be successful, you have to connect with people — your target audience a.k.a. ideal customer – Websitehowto 6. What’s your writing style? Are you serious, straightforward, funny, data driven, silly, witty? While there’s no right or wrong way to blog, great content is the key to blogging success. But share-worthy content isn’t always easy to come up with or create, is it? Today I’m coming to the rescue with 50 blog post ideas that you can use to provide your readers with quality content and keep them coming back for more. – Elleandcompanydesign 7. What will your marketing funnel look like? e.g. How will your blog create business opportunities and drive sales? In this post I’ll be sharing the five strategies that we’ve used to turn my once hobby blog into a six-figure income-producing business. – Justgirlandherblog So, these are the baby steps you have to take and be cautious about. Take one...
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How to Make Stress Your Friend [Video]

How to Make Stress Your Friend [Video]
How To Make Stress Your Friend – A Ted Talk by Kelly McGonigal About this TED Speaker Name: Kelly McGonigal Profession: Health Psychologist Scientific research: Relates to achieving personal goals despite inner conflict. My take: She has beautifully brought out the fact that stress could actually be beneficial if perceived in the right way, as it creates resilience. Instead of viewing stress as a thing that affects life expectancy, if you view your stress response as a good entity, it creates courage in you. Another good thing about stress is that it makes you reach out to fellow human beings – either when you seek support or when you offer support. Yoga for Pain Relief: Simple Practices to Calm Your Mind and Heal Your Chronic Pain (The New Harbinger Whole-Body Healing Series) Visit her website @ kellymcgonigal.com/ Twitter Handle: @kellymcgonigal The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It Handling stress has become inevitable in work and personal life. Watching this video will definitely put you in a different yet positive perspective about stress. The Upside of Stress: Why stress is good for you (and how to get good at it) You might also want to know about these  5 Mobile Apps That Help Relieve Stress And Anxiety. Relax Melodies –  A sleep aid app that helps you to unwind and relax through musical sounds and melodies. Suits people who find sleep a luxury. Headspace – Headspace is made for people who find it hard to make time for relaxation. In about 10-minutes, Headspace teaches the basics of meditation. The app also tracks your progress and lets you keep tabs on your friends’ practice. Breathe2Relax: There are times when so much stress and anxiety builds up that we forget to simply breathe. Need to unwind? There’s an app for that. Breathe2Relax allows users to take a deep breathe to calm them down. The app guides you through breathing exercises to learn diaphragmatic breathing, and provides information on the effects stress has on the body. RestEasy: Sleep is one of the best ways to combat stress and anxiety. A good night’s sleep can make you feel more relaxed and allows you to start the day off on a fresh note. But whether its money, work, family life or just plain ole’ distraction keeping you up at night, sleeping seems easier said than done. Rest easy, because there are plenty of apps to help you track and better manage your realm cycle. Happify: The app uses a series of positive-thinking activities  such as posting about something you’re grateful for or imagining what it would be like in someone else’s shoes — based on what they call the “Science of...
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Stats You Should Know About Employee Recognition

Stats You Should Know About Employee Recognition
Employee recognition is an increasingly important management requirement in the workplace, with a number of research studies showing the importance of staff engagement and appreciating employees for their daily positive contributions to the team. “To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” – Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s Soup Appreciation and Recognition are the two major factors that bring about employee job satisfaction and happiness. According to the equity theory, based on the work of J. Stacy Adams, workers compare the reward potential to the effort they must expend. Equity exists when workers perceive that rewards equal efforts. “When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.” – Simon Sinek  But employees just don’t look at their potential rewards, they look at the rewards of others as well. Inequities occur when people feel that their rewards are inferior to the rewards offered to other persons sharing the same workloads. “Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.” –Anne M. Mulcahy Fine! Let’s see some amazing statistics that clearly shows “What are and what aren’t making employees happy?” Unhappy Employees’ Stats 88% of employees don’t have passion for their work. 75% of workers don’t quit their job, but quit their boss. 78% of people would work harder in their jobs if they were recognised. 60% of those who don’t feel they are appreciated are looking for a job. 65% of working Americans say they receive no praise or recognition on the job. Employee turnover was up by 46% in companies with ineffective employee recognition programs. Did you know the 1 reason most American employees quit their jobs is they don’t feel appreciated? What makes employees motivated Happy Employees’ Stats Organizations where recognition occurs have 14% better employee engagement, productivity and customer service than those without. 90% find a “fun” work environment extremely motivating. 76% said opportunities for growth were the top reason they stayed in an organization. 70% of workers are motivated by non-monetary rewards at work. 80% of those who feel they are being appreciated stay put. The equity theory makes a good point: What a manager thinks is irrelevant to an employee because the real issue is the way an employee perceives his or her situation. Rewards perceived as equitable should have positive results on job satisfaction and performance; those rewards perceived as inequitable may create job dissatisfaction and cause performance problems. Every manager needs to make sure that any undesirable consequences from equity comparisons are avoided, or at least minimized, when rewards are allocated.  To motivate workers, managers must strengthen workers’ perceptions of their efforts as both possible and worthwhile, clarify expectations of performances, tie rewards to performances, and make sure that rewards are desirable. Employee Recognition and Appreciation So Some Hard Hitting Facts Strategic recognition drives engagement Lack of recognition drives turnover High employee engagement leads to better business results or ROI Awards, recognition and praise might be the single most cost effective way to maintain a happy productive force. Respect employees, ask for their opinion and show genuine...
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