Author Archives: krcmic.com

Disarmament Week — 24th to 30th October, 2022

Leave a reply

The goal of Disarmament Week is to raise awareness about nuclear weapons and other forms of armament. There will be serious consequences if nuclear weapons end up in the wrong hands. Hiroshima and Nagasaki served as living examples of what nuclear weapons are capable of. This day serves as a kind of invitation to all gun owners to consider how they have stored and used their weapons responsibly, as without doing so, they are no longer a reliable source of protection for people and property. Instead, they can occasionally cause unfortunate events, which are usually the result of an accident.

Why is Disarmament Week named so?

The United Nations established Disarmament Week with the goal of raising awareness of disarmament concerns, their importance across sectors, and how to better comprehend them.

When is Disarmament Week 2022?

This year’s Disarmament Week is celebrated from Monday 24th of October to Sunday the 30th of October. The UN is urging its members to do their part to promote world peace and security during this week by getting rid of all nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.

History of Disarmament Week

Disarmament Week begins on October 24, 1945, the same day the United Nations (U.N.) was established. However, Disarmament Week was not created until 1978. The Special Session of the General Assembly’s Final Document of that year urged the Member States to forgo using force in international relations in favour of disarmament as a means of achieving security. The UN asked the government and NGOs to actively participate in Disarmament Week in 1995. Since then, the aim has been to improve public understanding of issues related to disarmament. In the year 2019 for the first time, four women led the Conference on Disarmament. More women in positions of leadership in this field could pave the way for greater gender equality in disarmament forums, which have traditionally been dominated by men.

The importance of Disarmament Week

The importance of increasing public awareness of the value of disarmament is brought to light this week. Try to persuade nations to only keep the weapons they require for a sufficient police force is a major area of focus this week. Weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, and small arms are the main topics of discussion during Disarmament Week, with the former receiving the majority of the attention. Even though there have been advancements, there are still an estimated 30 000 to 50 000 nuclear warheads in the world, despite the fact that these weapons are extremely destructive. Progress can be made on a global level the more countries that join this effort and agree to uphold their end of the bargain. It is time to focus on the issues that have the potential to influence how the world as a whole develops because national security concerns also have a significant impact on the lives of every citizen of every country. It’s something that matters and is true.

World peace is frequently discussed, and for many people, it appears to be an unattainable goal. There is still hope that something similar to the idea can be realized with the right steps. After all, before we are citizens or members of communities, we are all human beings.

How to celebrate Disarmament Week?

Participating in the week allows you to learn more about the significance of nuclear disarmament. There are numerous resources available, such as documentaries, journal articles, and other forms of media, that can help you become more aware of what is going on in the world around you. This week is an excellent opportunity to delve deeper and go beyond simply reading headlines on Google News to gain a better understanding of the issues at hand. All it takes to join the movement is a little bit of interest and conviction in the idea of building safety and trust among communities.

To raise public awareness of disarmament and the crucial issues surrounding it, more than just governments and major organizations like the U.N. are necessary. Be active on social media. You can raise awareness for the week on social media using the hashtag #DisarmamentWeek, or you can collaborate with your local school or community centre and be as creative as you can.

Today, many schools (or student organizations, and there are many in the Czech Republic) run Model United Nations (MUN) programs that mimic how a debate at the UN General Assembly might be conducted. A similar organization or structure could be created to include people of all ages and demographics.

Arbor Day

Arbor Day — 20th October, 2022

Leave a reply

Trees, and the greenery that surrounds us in general, are often seemingly invisible to us, but extremely important to our lives. Not only do they produce oxygen, the presence of trees provides shade, helps cool cities in summer, and the presence of greenery has also been shown to improve people’s mental state. Arbor Day is a reminder of the importance of trees. Let’s find out more about it.

Why is Arbor Day named so?

The aim of Arbor Day is to encourage people around the world to recognize the importance of trees, nature and the environment in which we live. Trees are a very important part of life on earth. They make us breathe. The principle of photosynthesis has been around since primary school. Besides photosynthesis, it also provides a great environment for many animals in the forest, from the canopy to the roots. Trees and their living greenery have a proven positive psychological effect on mental health and well-being.

When is Arbor Day 2022?

In the United States, Arbor Day is now most commonly celebrated on the last Friday in April, although some states have moved the date to coincide with the best weather for planting trees.  In the Czech Republic, International Arbor day falls on 20 October.

What is the theme of Arbor Day 2022?

The theme for 2022 is “Forests and sustainable production and consumption”. The theme is taken from the United Nations Collaborative Partnership on Forests and has been used for this year’s celebration of International Arbor Day.

History of Arbor Day

Julius Sterling Morton, an enthusiast of trees, is credited with creating Arbor Day. Many Americans who moved from the East to the barren plains saw the opportunity to have a garden of trees and flowers as evidence that an American-style culture had successfully colonized a new environment. The first Arbor Day was held in Nebraska on April 10, 1872. On that day, it is estimated that close to one million trees were planted. Arbor Day was made a recognized holiday in Nebraska in 1885. In recognition of Morton’s birthday, the event was moved up to April 22. Later, the idea spread to other continents. Only the celebration day varies based on the climate and the best time to grow trees.

In the Czech Republic the idea was introduced by the “Association of Ornamental Societies,” when the first significant Arbor Day event took place in early April 1906. Václav Větvička, a former director of the Charles University Botanical Garden, reintroduced the tradition in year 2000 after it had been put on hold during the communist regime. The first Arbor Day event was scheduled on October 20, as autumn is a suitable time to plant trees in our land area.

The importance of Arbor Day

Arbor Day acts as a reminder to respect human health and grow trees. It inspires people to pause in today’s prosperous society and pay attention to the beauty of Mother Nature by, for instance, just planting a tree. Trees are a vital source of life-giving oxygen in the air we breathe. In addition to offering shade, shelter, and acting as windbreaks, trees significantly reduce the need for heating and cooling throughout the hot summer and chilly winter months. In addition to providing fuel and building materials, trees can also protect crops from erosive weather and excessive sun exposure.

Trees have a significant role in carbon sequestration. Trees benefit from CO2, which is a significant cause of global warming, rather than harming the ecosystem. According to a recently published assessment by MAAP, the original Amazon forest ecosystem has lost 13.2% of its original area owing to deforestation and other factors. More than 85 million hectares (211 million acres) or almost one-tenth the size of the United States or China are covered by this.

How to celebrate the Arbor Day?

This holiday is customarily celebrated by many communities by planting trees and honoring the environment in other ways.

Look for strategies to improve your garden’s water efficiency. Think about watering plants with rainwater or choosing drought-tolerant plant species. You may also plan a local community nature clean-up day with your friends and neighbors. Additionally, some take advantage of this day to visit an arboretum or botanical garden. You can improve your health by going for a walk in a park while enjoying the beauty of natural greenery. If you don’t have time for either activity, you can at least donate to organizations that are focusing on reforesting the earth. You can buy a tree that they will then plant in the Amazon, for example. There are many ways how to contribute.

Morton’s words about Arbor Day resonate strongly today, as climate change becomes an increasing threat: “Other holidays lean on the past; Arbor Day suggests the future.”

It’s an opportunity to protect the trees we have and bring trees to places where they don’t exist. After all, where would we be without our trees?

How to increase the open rate of your promotional emails

How to increase the open rate of your promotional emails?

Leave a reply

Most people will tell you that a good open rate is around 20 per cent. Let’s think about that for a moment. A 20 per cent open rate means that 80 per cent of people are completely ignoring you. Is that really what you want?

That’s a really hard problem to solve. Here are just a few of the issues that stand between you and a significantly higher open rate:

  • People get tons of emails
  • People are apathetic about your product/service
  • You send your emails to everyone (i. e. to no one)
  • You don’t know your list properly

    • One of the leading companies that know how to increase the potential of its promotional emails is Swedish furniture retailer IKEA. The key is segmentation, data and testing. Let’s take a look at what makes IKEA such a success and how you can achieve similar success.

    Why is IKEA so successful?

    IKEA ranks among the top when it comes to the success of their promotional emails. Let’s take a look at some of the tips that have made them so successful.

    Early segmentation

    IKEA is segmented from the word “go”. Its homepage first allows you to choose your country and language. The gateway to their 2.8million page website is an effort to get the right content to the right people. Clearly, segmentation is a top priority for IKEA.

    Smart questions

    Once customers have selected their location (and this is not optional), they can sign up for the newsletter. IKEA already knows where they are and what language they speak.
    With stores in 41 countries, the importance of location and language cannot be underestimated. How unfortunate would it be if someone signed up for the newsletter but couldn’t read the language?

    During the sign-up process, IKEA asks a series of optional (and very clever) questions.
    Here’s a look at some of the questions and how the answers can affect the emails new subscribers receive:

  • Are you engaged? Sending information about wedding registries
  • Do you have children? Send information about the children’s collection
  • Are you planning to move or have you recently moved? Send inspiration on furnishing your new home.
  • Are you planning a kitchen remodel? Send information about IKEA installation services.
  • Are you a homeowner or renter? Sending information about furnishing your home
  • It’s easy to see how emails can vary based on this information.

    • For example, if the new subscriber has children, it is very important to tailor the emails to the children’s furniture. Children are likely to replace beds and dressers much faster than adults, which means IKEA has several opportunities to sell products. And if they don’t have children, it would be an incredible waste of time to send emails with children’s products. Frequent irrelevant emails could ruin the relationship between IKEA and a new customer.

    Integrate everything with content

    While not directly related to sending super-targeted emails, it’s important to note that… IKEA integrates content into everything it does.

    Take the living room section of their website, for example. As you browse, the products and the content blend together. It looks and feels seamless. The content bridges the path from inspiration to purchase well.

    Another interesting piece of info about IKEA marketing

    “We really look at how people live at home,” says Christine Scoma Whitehawk, IKEA’s communications manager in the US, “so we really start with the customer and try to find out what’s important to them… And how IKEA can help them so that we can be real partners in improving their lives at home every day.”

    They do not only get this information about consumers from surveys and reports. IKEA actually sends design experts into people’s homes to listen to their concerns and give them feedback. This allows IKEA evangelists to make marketing decisions based on people’s actual experiences, not just surveys or data. And what is the most effective way to share this information? Through the power of storytelling.

    “Over the last few years, content marketing has become increasingly important for us in that mix,” Whitehawk said, “because it gives us an opportunity to start telling some of our IKEA stories to really share with people how IKEA can improve their lives.”

    How do I get more emails delivered?

    More than 20% of marketing emails never reach subscribers’ inboxes. That’s more than one in five emails!

    Of course, just like open rates, average deliverability rates vary by region… In Asia, for example, only 66% of emails reach the reader’s inbox, compared to 86% in Europe.

    That’s a huge difference in email open rates!

    So how can you ensure that your emails reach your readers? Here are some tips on how you can increase your delivery rates.

  • Use double opt-in. Double opt-in means that the subscriber verifies that they want to receive emails from your company (even if it’s not a requirement under GDPR). You don’t want to send emails to people who don’t particularly want them; otherwise, they won’t read them and you’ll reduce your open rates.
  • Ask readers to add you to their trusted mailing list. By simply asking readers to add your “from” email address to their contact lists, you can increase your email inbox.
  • Clean up your email list. If a subscriber doesn’t open an email from you three times in a row, chances are they are no longer interested in your company. Gmail and Yahoo Mail are smart enough to understand this, so if you continue to send emails to subscribers who don’t open them, they may be redirected to your spam folder, so consider cleaning up your list (like JD Whetherspoon did before GDPR). The more emails your audience receives, the more likely people are to open them.

    • How do I increase email open rates?

    The name of the sender and the subject of the emails are the most important factors for opening and reading them.

    For example, our own research found that 45% of subscribers say they’re likely to read your email because of who it’s from, and 33% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line.

    What sender name do you use? Are you sending emails from ABCXYZ company or are you using a specific person’s name? Believe it or not, this can make a huge difference! Research by Pinpointe Marketing found that using a specific personal name instead of a generic email address or company name can increase open rates by up to 35%! That’s why it’s surprising that, according to our own B2B email marketing research, 89% of email marketing campaigns are sent from a company name.

    When it comes to email subject lines, have you heard the phrase “you should spend as much time writing the headline as you spend writing the content”? Well, the exact same phrase applies to your subject line. A well-crafted subject line shouldn’t be the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, it should be what takes up your time. And you should be guided by research and data to help you. A report by Retention Science found that subject lines with 6 to 10 words provide the highest open rates, so 8 words are the ideal number for a subject line.

    What does email open rate mean?

    The open rate indicates the number of subscribers who have opened a particular email you sent, compared to the total number of subscribers you have in your mailing list. Suppose you have 100 subscribers on your mailing list. If 70 subscribers open your emails, your open rate will be 70% on average. So to calculate your email open rate, simply divide the number of subscribers who opened your email by the total number of subscribers. Then multiply the answer by 100%. As in the example above: (70 subscribers ÷ 100 subscribers) × 100%.

    The email open rate will give you an idea of how well your email marketing strategy is working. It’s also a good way to see if your emails are getting subscribers’ attention. It’s one of the most important metrics you can use to check if you need to adjust your email campaign strategy. For example, a low open rate means your consumer is not moving through the sales funnel as expected. Don’t take this fact lightly. So let’s take a look at what factors are affecting your email open rates.

    Factors affecting email open rates

    A combination of factors determines whether a particular email letter will be of interest to the recipient. These factors include the relevance of the emails to your subscribers, urgency, word count and the time of day you send them. These factors also determine whether recipients will have a reason to open your emails.

    The five most important factors that influence email open rates:

  • Relevance to Your Target Audience. Individual customers have certain wants and needs. They belong to different categories and are guided by interests that can vary considerably. One of the limiting factors in terms of email open rates is the quality of the information contained in the emails.
    Sending an email that contains poor-quality information or no information at all that would be of interest to the individuals on your list will most certainly cause your other emails to not be opened.
    People like information, but they like it even better when they can use it in real situations. Sending out emails that are of no use to the people on your list is one of the reasons your email ends up in the trash or is reported as spam.
    So it’s important to target a group of people who are interested in what you have to offer. That way they will see the email, like it and open it.
  • Email Content. Another important factor is the content of the email. Is it something your subscribers look forward to? Or is it something they’d rather do without? This skill is taught in storytelling or writing courses. Experts providing “do my essay for cheap” service and helping students with writing assignments claim that less than half of the texts written even by professionals are actually on the topic.
    You should tailor the content of your emails to not only provide your subscribers with useful information but also to entertain them.
  • Email List Quality. If you can convince visitors to sign up for your email list, you can be sure that they are at least mildly interested in what you have to offer.
    On the other hand, if you trick them into subscribing to your emails, it’s easy for your emails to be ignored, sent to the trash or reported as spam.
  • Time of The Day. When is the ideal time to send out emails? The truth is, there is no ideal time. Some people prefer to read emails in the morning, afternoon or evening depending on their lifestyle. Because there is no one-size-fits-all approach, choosing a time to send emails can be difficult. So try sending emails at different times of the day, see which time works best for you, and stick to that.
  • Subject Lines. More than a third of your subscribers will choose to open an email based solely on how the subject line appeals to them. The subject line is your first, and sometimes only, a chance to grab your subscribers’ attention and pique their curiosity to learn more.
    So craft your subject line carefully and remember that it’s responsible for a significant portion of your email open rates. The subject line should be brief but should carry as much information as possible about the content of the email. It should also be able to grab the attention of your subscribers once they read it. Overall, Chillifruit would say that personalization should be the most essential characteristic of any email outreach campaign. I’ve seen a significant increase in both the number of responses and the quality of those responses. It has also helped me build better relationships with people.
    • Things to consider while securing clients of any e-commerce website

    Things to consider while securing clients of any e-commerce website

    Leave a reply

    By 2015, over 2/3 of consumers admitted that they were concerned about identity fraud when purchasing online. That percentage has undoubtedly risen in light of the significant data breaches at Equifax and Yahoo, particularly as customers head into the 2017 season for holiday shopping.

    • Massive security breaches were prevalent throughout the year 2017. Cyber-attacks were estimated to have destroyed at least 500 million personal documents.
    • Hacking, whaling, and ransomware are far more dangerous than anyone can imagine. They have affected how people conduct business, handle money, and even interact with one another.
    • While starting a business online is quite simple, protecting it from hackers, phishing, and other cyberattacks is more complicated. For the majority of online entrepreneurs, it is a nightmare.
    • The risk is considerably greater for proprietors of small businesses since they frequently lack the resources to choose from among the security options.
    • It is feasible for any company to deviate from the norm and show their clients how to secure online buying can be.

    Use the below suggestions to reassure potential clients for any business.

    1. Consistently use a payment processor

    Never have credit cards on hand. Always choose a payment processor, such as Stripe, that will assume the risk. Even though individuals do not appreciate losing their email addresses, they can survive with it. However, if a company lose someone’s credit card details, they will not be able to forgive that particular company. Some payment system companies will keep this data and handle everything for their customers, even if a company only offers periodic subscriptions rather than physical goods. As a young firm without the funding to hire internal IT security staff or acquire appropriate security tools, taking this step is very crucial.

    1. Get PCI compliant first

    To help firms prevent fraud, they have devised a set of rules described as the PCI-DSS (Payment Card Council Data Security Standards). Major credit card firms from around the world, including American Express, MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and JCB (Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council), formed the PCI SSC. It measures the security policies implemented by an organization using primary requirements and several supporting needs. There are several good reasons why these rules are carefully followed. Credit card security complies with these PCI-DSS recommendations to protect the online business store.

    1. Apply HTTPS

    One of the simplest ways to assist secure any e-commerce website from theft is to use Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS), the TCP / IP protocol for private communications over the internet. Since they have been approved, HTTPS websites are identified by a closed green logo in the URL bar as genuine and secure. This indicates that the website is actually, what it purports to be and is not a fake website set up online to trick people so that criminals can steal access privileges, credit card information, and other information.

    • SMBs must obtain a Secure Socket Layer like single domain, Wildcard SSL certificate or multi domain to activate HTTPS.
    • The first procedure is obtaining an SSL certificate; the next is correctly integrating it into a business e-commerce solution.
    • Although most servers for e-commerce websites will offer SSL certificates for purchase, it pays to compare prices with other vendors because some provide superior security features and lower costs.
    • Alongside reliability and safety, HTTPS has several benefits. Google ranks HTTPS security websites higher in search results, increasing traffic. Conversely, Google classifies unencrypted websites as “not secure,” giving them a deceptive and dangerous appearance. There are not many easy ways to convince a potential buyer to leave the website today.

    Setting up an wildcard certificate

    • A document with encrypted data known as an SSL Certificate is installed on the website to protect and encrypt confidential communications between the website and its users.
    • The Validation staff verifies and approves the certificate request after an organization creates a CSR (certificate signing request) and buys a certificate.
    • An organization must install an intermediate certificate when installing an SSL on a host or SSL-capable application.
    • After verifying it, they release the SSL Certificate and email it to the business. In the DigiCert account, users may also download the Wildcard SSL certificate.
    • By linking the SSL cert to the Certificate Authority’s root certificate (the SSL certificate from DigiCert, the intermediate certificate, and the DigiCert root certificate), this intermediary certificate ensures the trust of the SSL certificate.

    A Browser needs the intermediate certificate to be available to finish the certificate trust chain.

    1. Secure credit card verification

    The 3- or 4-digit Card Verification Value (CVV) number can be found on the reverse of credit cards. By requesting the CVV value, one may be confident that the buyer owns the card used to make the purchase. Thus, no purchases can be made even if thieves steal credit card information.

    1. Demanding secure passwords from clients

    Customers prefers e-commerce safety. They are the principal stewards of their private data. Strong passwords that are impossible to crack are the first line of defense for their security. A customer-focused online store will require its clients to create secure passwords with various letters, numbers, and symbols.

    1. Select a secure online store platform

    E-commerce platforms are typically chosen for their ease of creating storefronts, various design options, and usability, but security features must also be considered. Look for tried-and-true e-commerce platforms that offer secure online payments, SSL certificates, and reliable buyer- and seller identification procedures. The good news is that smaller and midsize organizations may now more easily access security thanks to cloud-based security technologies. Examine cloud-based safety options, especially those with integrated intelligence. It is essential to consider an e-commerce platform’s long-term profitability. In addition, how frequently updates and security patches are made to protect the company’s long-term safety. Scalable e-commerce systems that can expand and meet a company’s future needs should be taken into account by SMBs.

    1. Avoid keeping sensitive customer data

    Consumer privacy and private details are of utmost significance, and people are seeing significant technological businesses like Apple and Google unite behind their commitment to protecting and safeguarding users’ information.

    • In e-commerce, personal privacy is much more important. Businesses require consumer data to enhance customer communications, expand their product line, and make returns simple.
    • The risk is that these user details focus on website theft, scamming, and other cyber-attacks.
    • The first guideline is to gather the necessary information to complete the transaction. Avoid the temptation for businesses to collect more client information than is required. By doing this, the company can prevent annoying the clients and losing that data in case of a security breach or hack.
    • The rule mentioned above expressly applies to client credit card details. There is no requirement to keep them on servers that are accessible online, as doing so could be against the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which is intended to enforce customer data privacy in the payment card industry.
    • The guardian of the client’s payment information is a payment gateway. A payment gateway sends information from the business, the online merchant, to the acceptor and the financial institution utilizing data encryption to safeguard the confidential card data from outside threats. Continue and examine the operation of a payment gateway.
    • The customer selects the good or service they wish to buy before going to the payment page.
    • Users have a selection of choices for their payment page with most payment providers. The merchant pays payment gateway provides customers with the following options for the payment page explicitly created for the company’s needs:
      • Hosted credit card page
      • Integration between servers
      • Client-side encryption
      • Payment gateway working
      1. The client provides their debit or credit card information on the payment gateway. The name of the holder, card expiry date, and CVV number is among this information (Card Verification Value). This data is safely transferred to the company-associated payment gateway based on the integration.
      2. The payment processor executes fraud tests and tokens or encrypts the card information before sending it to the acquiring bank.
      3. The acquiring bank delivers the data to secure card schemes (Visa, MasterCard).
      4. The card schemes perform an additional fraud screening before sending the payment information to the issuing bank.
      5. The issuing bank approves the transaction after conducting a fraud check. The acquirer receives the notification of the accepted or denied payment once it has been returned from the card schemes.
      6. The payment gateway then relays the approval or denial notification to the merchant after receiving it from the acquiring bank. If the transaction is accepted, the acquirer will retain the funds in their merchant account while collecting the total payment from the issuing bank.
      7. Settles the transaction by depositing the money into the merchant’s account; the timing of the settlement relies on the terms of the merchant’s contract with the payment platform.
      8. Depending on the statement, the merchant may either provide a transaction confirmation page or request a different form of payment from the customer.

    A payment gateway has advantages for both clients and merchants, even though most of its operations occur in the transaction’s background. The actions mentioned above can take less than three seconds or almost immediately.

    1. Make multi-factor authentication available

    Enabling multi-factor authentication for repeat visitors is one of the most acceptable methods to keep business consumers secure online.

    • Before purchasing from the website, companies always require new clients to log in with their email addresses or telephone number to verify their identity. This advice enables the company to determine who and where are accessing the website.
    • On a mathematical basis, the amount of security lapses and threats has risen with each passing year.
    • It has become essential to include many security features like SSL Certificate authorities, access control, two-factor verification, etc. Deploying e-commerce, authorization and security procedures seamlessly while maintaining consumer experience is the actual problem for all organizations.

    Lastly, the easiest approach to staying worry-free is to follow all the security precautions and keep the software up-to-date. Even though going online might greatly benefit the organization, if any particular website is not careful, then it can also get them into problems. It only requires a proper implementation of e-commerce security measures to conduct business worry-free.

    15 tips to getting money for your business

    15 tips to getting money for your business

    Leave a reply

    One of the biggest difficulties for entrepreneurs is finding funding to start a business. So where can you get money to start a business? Here are 15 tips on how to raise money to start a new business.

    When you calculate the cost of starting a business and add to that the amount you need to cover personal expenses in the beginning, raising money for a business can seem like an impossible task. Figuring out how to raise money to start a business is one of the first challenges most aspiring entrepreneurs face.

    Yet hundreds of thousands of individuals each year find the money to start a business. How do they do it? And more importantly, how can you raise funds for your new business? Consider these funding solutions for budding entrepreneurs. Some of them are almost risk-free. Others carry significant financial risk and should be used with caution.

    15 tips to get money to start a business

    If you have a good idea, but don’t have the funding to implement it, you need to get it somehow. So I’ve put together 15 tips on how to raise money for your project. I believe that you will definitely choose some of them and that your project will succeed!

    Personal savings

    When you need money to start a business, reach for your own savings first. Depending on how much money you need to start your business, you can use your own savings, an inheritance or part of your disposable income. However, make sure that any money you invest in the new business is actually “disposable”. There is always a risk that your business will not be successful, so it would not be advisable to invest all your savings for retirement or other money that you expect to need in the future. You should also be sure that you have enough money set aside to handle unexpected expenses such as repairs to household appliances, cars and the like. You should also devote your time to learning how to start a business the right way.

    Do not live wastefully

    By partially limiting your personal expenses, you can get some of the funds you need to start your business. Of course, you don’t have to live like a pauper or waste hours looking for minimum discount coupons to live frugally. A few simple changes can save you hundreds of dollars a month. Do you go out to lunch at a restaurant every day? Add up how much you spend that way in a month. Do you frequent coffee shops? No matter how much coffee you drink, making it at home or at the office instead of buying it at Starbucks can save you up to $20 a week. Bringing your lunch to work instead of ordering in can save you another $30 or more per week. Eating a home-cooked meal instead of ordering in, eating out, or carrying fast food home can save you an additional $30 or $40 a week, plus the tips you would have given to waiters or delivery people. By limiting impulse purchases and buying unnecessary items, you can save even more.

    Credit card

    If you have good credit, this is the easiest way to get money to start a business. You can use a credit card to buy equipment, supplies, advertising or even pay for postage. And if your credit card gives you a line of credit, you can take out an instant loan (up to your credit limit). Using a credit card to start a business, however, carries some significant risks. Interest rates on credit cards range from around 13% to 20% or more, so if you don’t pay off the balance each month, you can quickly run up a huge credit card bill. You will be responsible for paying off the debt whether your business is successful or not… So think carefully.

    Part-time business

    If you need a steady source of income to meet your financial obligations and provide for your family, set up a part-time business. Don’t quit your day job until the part-time business has a steady stream of customers and profits. This way you will find out if you really enjoy the business and are good at it, if not, you have nothing to lose.

    Part-time job

    If the business you want to start can’t be run part-time, or if it still requires more money than you have, take on a part-time job alongside your full-time job. Set aside your part-time income until you have saved enough money to start your own business.

    Business from home

    If you work from home and don’t have to foot the bill for renting office space, you can start a business with no money. According to the September 2019 U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy FAQs, 60.1% of all businesses without paid employees are based on working from home, as are 23.3% of small employer businesses. Running a business from home (if you can) can save you a lot of money that you can put to different and better use.

    Don’t stock up

    Money invested in stocks is cash you don’t have available for other needs. To minimize the need for initial financing, buy as few shares as possible until you know how quickly the stock actually sells. Depending on what you plan to sell, you can use a mail-order service that will custom-make your products and ship them directly to customers. For example, there are a number of drop shipping companies that will print your custom designs on t-shirts, coffee mugs, smartphone covers and other items and then send them to the customer under your business name. Using one of these can give you an inexpensive way to test and sell your products. If you have a different type of product in mind, check with the manufacturers to see if they will drop ship for you. Once you know what sells best, you can see if it would be more cost-effective to keep the inventory and ship it yourself.

    Get advance commitments for work

    If you want to raise money to start a business, secure one or two business resources before you start. Former employers, if they have left on good terms, are often a source of work for budding entrepreneurs or sometimes of funds. Large companies can also provide an initial supply of work and income by sending you their excess work or small jobs they don’t want to do.

    Rent instead of buying

    If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on tools and equipment – or you’re not sure how much you’ll need a particular item – look into renting what you need as needed. There are places where you can rent everything from power tools to excavators. Then, when cash comes into the business, only buy items that the business uses regularly. You can save a lot of money in the beginning, and you won’t have to stress about big investments.

    Used instead of new

    Sure, it’s nice to start a business with shiny new equipment, desks and filing cabinets. But buying used items can save you a considerable amount of money. Keep an eye out for advertisements on various websites and in local newspapers for closeout notices. Local garage- and “moving” sales can also be a source of inexpensive items to use.

    Business loan

    To obtain a business loan, you must provide the bank with information that includes: the purpose of the loan, projected balance sheet at the start-up date (new businesses), details of the lease agreement, the amount of the owner(s)’ investment in the business, projected income, expenses and cash flow, signed personal financial statements and your resume. You may also need a formal business plan. If you are applying for financing to expand an existing business, you will also need the business’s financial statements for the past three years and information on debts, liabilities and outstanding receivables. However, don’t be surprised if the bank turns you down. Banks are often reluctant to lend money to start-up businesses.

    Borrow from family and friends

    F&F are a common source of funding for small business start-ups. Remember, though, that you have to live with your family for a long time – and you probably want to stay friends with your friends. So don’t borrow unless you have a business plan and have done enough research to know that there is a market for what you want to sell. Present them with your business plan and convince them that it is a sound investment that may even earn them a little money.

    Angel investor groups

    If your business has real potential for significant growth, look for these groups in your area. Your local SBDC or SCORE office can advise you on how to contact a group in your area. You will need a business plan and you will need to be able to demonstrate that you have experience in running a business and that the business will make enough money to give investors a nice return on their investment.

    Microloan

    Microloans are small loans available from a variety of sources, including community sources, online lenders and peer-to-peer lending groups. Loan amounts, eligibility, interest rates and terms vary from source to source. For more information about micro-loans and lenders, visit our microloans page.

    Crowdfunding

    Crowdfunding sites allow you to raise small amounts of money from many people if you can get them interested in your project or business. One caveat: Remember that crowdfunding publishes an idea for a product or service for your business. If you need to keep your super-innovative idea a secret, don’t use crowdfunding. Consult an intellectual property lawyer before you publish anything that is unique and potentially patentable.

    Tips I can give for launching a start-up

  • Know your purpose. What need does your startup address? Why do people care? If you can answer these two key questions, you’re already well on your way to success.
  • Do something you’re passionate about. If you don’t put your heart into it, the temptation to bail when times get tough will be great. If you manage to do something you enjoy, you will be much more motivated to persevere. Startups require more than a 40-hour work week – make sure it’s something you’re willing to do around the clock!
  • Trust yourself. Self-doubt can be crippling, so it’s important to believe in yourself. If you know that you are giving 100% to your business to be successful, you will find that confidence often follows.
  • Surround yourself with people who support you. While you don’t want to surround yourself with people who say “yes,” it’s also important that you don’t constantly have to deal with people who put you and your business down. Don’t waste time or energy on advocacy.
  • Learn from criticism. Relentless negativity doesn’t do you any good, but thoughtful criticism can be very valuable. Any opportunity to improve any aspect of your business should be warmly welcomed.
  • Challenge entrenched beliefs. Learn to recognize when helpful advice is merely a suggestion to conform to the popular paradigm of the times.
  • Keep learning. Think you know everything? Think again. There is always more to learn, so be careful not to become complacent. Everything you learn is an opportunity to improve your business. This goes for mistakes too – all start-ups face mistakes, but entrepreneurs who learn from them are likely to be among the successful 25%.
  • Choose a good name. “Good” can be a subjective qualification, so you should try to make decisions based on what would appeal to your target audience.
  • Serve your customer, not yourself. Although you should rightfully feel ownership of your startup, remember that it ultimately needs to serve your customer, not you – vanity projects don’t last long. Think of your customer in every decision you make and create a product or service that excites them.
  • Find out what your customers want. Blindly assuming you know what your customers want could prove costly. Fortunately, finding out first doesn’t have to be expensive – you can search forums, ask questions on social media, or spend some money on polling (and save yourself an expensive mistake!).
  • Get the right amount of capital. Although you need enough money to give your startup every chance of success, keep in mind that too much money can make you lazy and all too willing to part with cash. Of course, you may want to have access to emergency funds – you just need to make sure you can stick to a strict budget and define exactly what an emergency is.
  • Plan carefully. A business plan is much more than a necessary evil to help you raise funds – it can act as a guide and keep you focused on the task at hand. It’s easy to get bogged down in the small details and lose sight of the big picture.
  • Don’t plan endlessly. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that if you plan, you are productive. Planning must make room for action – preferably sooner rather than later, so use your time wisely.
  • Keep planning. Once you get some work done, get back to planning. Constantly re-evaluating your business and the direction it is headed can help you find opportunities for growth.
  • Anticipate the future. No one can know for sure what tomorrow will bring, but if you keep yourself informed and learn to recognize upcoming trends, you’ll have a much better chance of successfully predicting the future.
  • Adapt. But no one can predict everything – you’re human, after all – so make sure you and your business are flexible enough to react quickly to surprises. Don’t follow the example of Blockbuster movie rental, which is the latest business to fail in recent years due to an inability to adapt to change.
  • Network online. Leverage the power of social media to help you connect with potential employees, partners, clients, vendors or people who can promote your product or service.
    But don’t forget about offline opportunities either. Step away from the computer put down the smartphone and seek out people in real life at conferences and networking events. The connection you can make with a person face-to-face is inherently stronger than the connection mediated between screens. And of course, don’t forget a professional business card to turn the meeting into a relationship.
  • Surround yourself with the right people. Networking is a means to an end – you need to figure out who is worth your time and who is not. Don’t underestimate the value of someone who is helpful, and likewise don’t underestimate the destructive potential of someone who is not helpful.
  • Dedicate yourself to the work. Running a startup isn’t like having a regular nine-to-five job – if you want to avoid failure, you have to be prepared to fit your life around work. It may seem like working on yourself will mean better hours, but to be successful, you’ll most likely be working well beyond the standard 40-hour work week. On the positive side, everything that results from your hard work is yours alone.
  • However, find time to relax. While every entrepreneur has to account for an increased workload, you still need to find time to relax. Without the opportunity to rest occasionally, you will inevitably suffer from burnout syndrome, causing further damage to your business.
    Negotiate everything. Whenever someone offers you a price, remember that a healthy portion of it is the profit margin. Can you reduce that margin to your advantage? You won’t always be able to negotiate a discount, but it pays to remember one of life’s most important rules: if you don’t ask, you don’t get.
  • Work out the lift. Of course, if you want to convince vital people that you’re worth their time, you have to engage them within 30 seconds. If you can create an elevator pitch during that time that engages people and shows that your idea has potential, they will inevitably give you more time to discuss it later.
  • Start with marketing. If people don’t know you exist, you can’t expect positive results. Whatever your budget, there are a few things you can do to start getting the word out about your start-up now – tweet, contact blogs, and tell everyone who is willing to listen about your new venture.
  • Don’t give up. In many cases, start-ups fail – the people behind them give up. The most effective thing you can do for your startup’s success? Refuse to throw in the towel.
    • World Mental Health Day

    World Mental Health Day — 10th October, 2022

    Leave a reply

    Mental disorders are not something to be taken lightly. It is possible that you or your loved ones are suffering from it. World Mental Health Day was created to raise awareness of mental disorders, which claim around one million lives a year.

    Why is World Mental Health Day named so?

    World Mental Health Day got its name in an effort to promote the necessity of mental health. This day serves to educate about mental health problems, their consequences, and ways to prevent them.

    When is World Mental Health Day 2022?

    World Mental Health Day is celebrated annually on the 10th of October. This day is a reminder to take care of our mental health and the mental health of our loved ones. Mental health is not something to be taken lightly. It affects our daily lives, and it is in everyone’s best interest to be mentally well.

    What is the theme of World Mental Health Day 2022?

    This year’s theme for World Mental Health Day 2022 is ensuring mental health and well-being for all become a global priority. However, this daunting task begins within us. First of all, we have to think about ourselves, because only if we feel good, only then we will be able to help our surroundings. We should use this day to reflect on ourselves, whether we feel mentally well and whether we need help. Asking for help is not a bad thing at all. We don’t have to hide behind the mask of being a healthy person, and it’s okay to admit that we don’t feel the way we want to feel. It’s okay not to be okay, and realizing that is a necessary first step to feeling better.

    History of World Mental Health Day

    October 10 is known around the world as World Mental Health Day – the result of a global advocacy and awareness programme launched in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health. The World Federation for Mental Health, founded in 1948 in London, is dedicated to promotion and education to change the perception of mental illness. Each year, the World Federation for Mental Health selects a theme for World Mental Health Day and publishes awareness-raising materials.

    Every year on October 10, thousands of individuals and groups come together to celebrate and support the only global day for mental health awareness. This annual program was created as a way to bring greater attention to mental illness and its impact on individual life, work, family, and the overall stability of communities and countries.

    The importance of World Mental Health Day

    The importance of World Mental Health Day lies in promoting awareness of mental health risks. Statistics indicate that over 10% of the world’s population suffers from some form of mental illness. Depression is the most common (around 3.5%), followed by anxiety disorder (around 4%), while bipolar disorder or eating disorders are less common but equally important.

    Mental disorders have been part of our society since time immemorial. Unfortunately, in the past they have been seen as a defect of the individual and rather than being addressed, these people have been stigmatised. Fortunately, these days it is different, and a large part of the population now knows that a mental disorder does not mean that a person is dysfunctional and unfit for inclusion in society. Such people can be helped, and we should all try to help them.

    That is why we mark World Mental Health Day every year – to raise awareness of the existence of mental disorders, and to keep learning how to prevent them and how to help people who suffer from them.

    How to celebrate World Mental Health Day?

    If you want to get involved in the World Mental Health Day discussion, you can do so on Twitter using the hashtag #WorldMentalHealthDay. During World Mental Health Day there are also many lectures and workshops giving advice on how to feel better, what to do for yourself, and how to help those around you who have a mental health problems. Use this day to educate yourself about mental health issues that are becoming more and more relevant in our society.

    If you want to show your support for World Mental Health Day, you can buy a green ribbon to symbolise the fight against mental illness.

    What can I do to feel better?

    Admitting that you have mental health problems is not at all shameful. On the contrary, it is a sign of strength and determination to change the situation. If you are struggling with mental health issues, there are a few things you can do for yourself.

    The first thing is to seek professional help. Seek the help of a psychologist, and choose one that you feel comfortable with and can tell everything that is bothering you. Only by opening up can you begin to address deep-seated issues that you may not even be aware of. If the Covid-19 pandemic has produced anything useful, it is that even psychologists have learned to work at a distance, and that’s if face-to-face meetings don’t suit you.

    But you can also improve your mental health through lifestyle changes. Here are some tips from the experts:

    • Try to spend more time with people and make new friends. Making interpersonal connections can be very difficult for many people, but trust me, if you’re afraid to make a new friendship with someone new, you’re not alone. There are certainly many people in your neighbourhood and in the world in general who feel the same way. Plus, the rise of social media has made meeting new people all the easier.
    • Be more physically active. Deciding to do something for your body can be somewhat challenging, but both your body and your mind will thank you for it. All you have to do is go for a walk, bike ride, run, or play a sport, and you’ll feel much better. It may only take a little while, but it can kick-start a new hobby that will give you joy in your life. You don’t get anything for trying.
    • Be more mindful. It’s not easy, but if you try to think more about yourself, you can find out for yourself what’s bothering you and what you’re missing. That’s the first step to solving your problems. As long as you feel like a “stranger” in your head, you will never be “at home” and you will not feel as good as you could.
    • Learn something new. Try new hobbies, and expand your horizons with new knowledge. There’s plenty of that. Think back to your youth and try to remember what you enjoyed as a child. You may not have had the means then, but what about today? It may sound a bit far-fetched, but personally, I loved the Middle Ages when I was younger, so how about trying blacksmithing? I’m sure if you think about it, you’ll find something that might interest you.
      Help others. It’s sometimes said that those who don’t feel good about themselves can’t help others. That is, in my opinion, nonsense. On the contrary, helping other people has a beneficial effect on us. Be helpful and kind-hearted, the world will reciprocate and maybe you will feel better.
    • Don’t be mad at yourself for doing what you enjoy. Many times I’ve encountered my friends being mad at themselves for doing something that was “unproductive”. It’s perfectly fine to lie down from time to time during the day, watch a TV show, or play a game. Our minds can only hold a certain number of sensations, and it’s okay if we regenerate with some undemanding activity. Take it easy.

    These are just a few tips recommended by experts. If you can think of anything yourself that helps you feel better, be sure to let me know in the comments. But most importantly – mental health is nothing to be taken lightly. Sometimes what happens is that no matter what you do, nothing helps you feel better. In that case, please reach out to your loved ones, confide in them, and confide in professionals.

    Find out if your customers are on social networks

    Find out if your customers are on social networks

    Leave a reply

    When deciding on possible activities on social networks, there are several ways to verify that your target customers are using social networking.

    Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about social media marketing – Involve social media in your B2B communication – Part 2. It is a must-read!

    The presence of target groups is key when considering possible activities on social networks. During my activities in social networks, I came across several cases where this step had been underestimated or entirely omitted. As a result, communicating on social networks was not working and money was wasted on ineffective advertising and other related activities.

    A communication strategy for social networks must always be supported by qualified information about the presence of the target group. If the service is not used by your customers (or anyone else you want to reach) not even the best strategy will work.

    In my previous article, I mentioned several possible ways of gathering information about the presence of the target group. This article will present some of them in detail and will extend the list with additionalmethods.

    Ask your customers

    The most direct action is to ask your own customers. This way you come to a very specific conclusion and also get additional valuable information – for example, what content they want to watch. Collecting information this way may be challenging and, especially with large distribution networks, poses a problem. When using this method, it is also necessary to take into account that it is limited to a group of existing customers and does not cover anypotential customers. Usually this is not a problem within well established companies as potential customers tend to behave similarly to existing ones.

    Another possible tool is the analysis of the competition, which is usually used in the preparation of the communication strategy. A competitive analysis involves searching for and viewing your competition’s profiles on individual services and specifically monitoring how they are being active from engaging their users to promoting their brand. It is also possible to take into account the number of subscribers and followers, but this figure is not very meaningful or reliable because fans can easily be bought (at a cost of low or negligible relevance).

    Reach for your own data

    An interesting source of data – by far not only for purposes of this decision – is remarketing, which is currently only available on Facebook. Remarketing represents a targeting tool which you can use in advertising to engage with users who have visited your website and completed a specific action (such as visited a specific page, purchased certain goods, left unfinished orders in the shopping cart, etc.). In technical terms, it just involves adding a bit of external code in the header of all your pages. This code then provides a data exchange with specific advertising systems. In addition to Facebook, remarketing is also available with Google AdWords, Sklik and some other providers.

    The essence of remarketing is creating a database of very relevant users. A high relevance is determined by the fact that visitors must have found your site in some way (targeted queries in search engines, they saw the ad and responded to it, etc.). They do not get to your site randomly and they pursued a specific goal with their visit. This principle can be used to evaluate the presence of target groups without investing a penny in advertising. After Facebook’s remarketing code has been placed on your website, you can watch the growing number of users who visited your website while they were signed into their Facebook accounts.

    All data are available in the advertising manager, it is always accessible, even if you are not currently advertising. If you divide this figure by the number of unique visitors to the website over a given period, you will get the information about the Facebook penetration in the group of your visitors. If you use your remarketing database for targeted advertising (and this service is not free of charge any more), you will also find the percentage of actually active users in your database.

    Personally, I believe a penetration greater than 20% can be considered an excellent result in the B2B segment. In the B2C segment, the results vary widely depending on the age range of the target group, but situations where 70 or 80 percent of the site’s visitors are logged in to Facebook at the same time are not rare.

    You can also upload a list of e-mail addresses or phone numbers into the advertising manager of Facebook and the service will try to pair them with the associated user accounts. This works very well in the B2C segment, where e-mail address or phone numbers that you have in the database are often used to log into Web services by their owners. In the B2B segment, email addresses are generally useless. However, you can at least succeed with the phone numbers. After uploading the data you can again see the percentage of successful pairings and consequently the data can be used for ad targeting.

    Information about the reach of the advertising managers

    If the target user can be defined at the level of ad targeting options, information about the potential reach from the advertising manager can be taken into account when making decisions. To define the target user on Facebook, you can use broad demographic classifications such as gender, age, location, but also quite detailed behavioral attributes, such as interests and relationships between users. In Facebook, you get rough, rather tentative figures than the exact results recommended to follow. As an example, we can use dentists that you would like to target on social networks. First, you enter Dentistry as your interest in the advertising manager. However, in the estimated range, you will see a number several times higher than the actual size of the market (even if you had included students and related professions into it). This is caused by the fact that it includes all users who, for example, started following the page of their or any other dentist who fits in this category, and by following it, they expressed a specific interest in Dentistry.

    Advertising on Twitter is unusable for the purposes of this decision. However, LinkedIn offers highly accurate targeting users according to the field in which they work, their position or their specific skills (representing their interests). This accuracy is, however, compensated by a significant disruption as the LinkedIn users are not very active on the network, and advertising is more expensive compared to Facebook.

    Survey on Twitter

    On Twitter, only a survey may be used for the aformentioned procedures. You will find most information about people using Twitter if you join the environment of this social network for a while. The most active Twitter users are from marketing departments, IT specialists, independent entrepreneurs, journalists, and politicians. Quite a few users use Twitter just to passively watch selected users. They do not contribute to anything and usually do not respond to any other users.

    Effort that pays off

    Deciding on the benefits of social networking described this way may give the impression that it is a complicated process. In fact, it is especially important to select a combination of suitable methods and their correct application with the knowledge of their disadvantages and limitations. Spending a lot of time on a thorough consideration of the importance of social networks for your business or brand, you can work with realistic goals and expectations.

    Involve social media in your B2B communication (next part)

    Involve social media in your B2B communication (next part)

    Leave a reply

    The second part of the article on the advantages of social networks in B2B communication focuses on the integration of this communication channel into the processes of an organization and puts social networks in the context of business goals. It also deals with success evaluation and the role of a web integrator in the integration of social networks into the communication mix.

    Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about social media network marketing – Involve social media in your B2B communication – Part 1. It is a must-read!

    Answers to questions:

    How to Integrate Social Networking into your Organization’s Processes

    The level of social networks integration into the processes of the organization differs depending on the company’s model – that is, whether the administration of the social channels is outsourced to a communications agency, or is managed by internal resources. In any case, a general communication framework and strategy should be established to determine what topics you communicate and how your company handles crisis management.

    The communication strategies should be specified in guidelines for using social networks, laying out what outcomes they should meet, what context a logo or other company asset can be used or how to react to the users´ stimuli. Guidelines may also contain a section which regulates the use of social networks by employees. For example, their complaints and comments should be communicated entirely through internal communication channels and not through social networks, where the public can see them and where they can create a negative image of the company. For those who publicly represent the organization, guidelines may also require a statement that the opinions of these people do not necessarily represent the opinions of the company.

    In cases where management of social networks has been outsourced, there should be a primary contact person designated in your organization who will be responsible for co-ordinating with the outsourced communications agency, approving content, and handling crisis management if the need arises. Individual competence may be delegated to more members; this applies especially to crisis management and answering questions. In some cases it is necessary to respond outside standard business hours. The Agency should guarantee a maximum response time which reflects the specifics of the sector and the anticipated severity of communication from the users.

    If social networks are managed internally, the rules will be very similar. Management must be backed by one person responsible for the use of any social networking in the organization. This person will help shape the strategy and guidelines, approve content (if not directly creating it) and managing communications. When creating content, this person should use internal resources such as the  DTP department, and so on.

    To approve the created content, “traditional” methods can be used, such as text documents or spreadsheets, into which the relevant person adds specific comments and observations. Specialized solutions which allow the setting of specific workflows, allocating specific roles to the members of the approval process, and may also allow automated content publishing, are also available.

    Regarding access to the profiles on social networks, it pays to be doubly cautious. In practice, this means not assigning higher level permissions to individuals than their jobs require. In cases where the social networks do not allow the delegation of access rights for the associated accounts, we recommend that you avoid sharing passwords between multiple people. This can be done by authorizing the client (application) for the social network for the appropriate people directly on their devices.

    What Objectives Need to be Determined?

    Setting out the communication strategy must take place prior to setting the goals. Goals can be of two types – defining the metrics to be used in evaluating social networks (number of watchers, engagement rate, outreach, etc.) or defining the business goals. While the objectives defined by these metrics are useful for evaluating the partial success and budget, business goals should fit the overall company strategy.

    The common objective should be to create a long-term community of active, relevant users, who can be reached at any time and used for Lead Generation purposes. Lead Generation represents one of the measurable objectives, based on which you can calculate the long-term Return on Investment (ROI).

    Further objectives are already definable on the PR level. As noted above, social networks can be used to build brand awareness or to communicate the moral values and social obligations which the organization has established and support. As in any kind of communication, the final image is always a sum of many parts.

    How to Evaluate Social Media Networks

    Each social network offers its own analytical tool, allowing you to monitor development trends and obtain information such as demographics and user behavior. If your profiles are managed by an agency, you should require regular reports and agree on goals determined by the KPIs to be delivered.

    Third-party tools that allow you to measure the performance across various channels are also available for analytics. In the future, it may even be possible to compare industry benchmarks (for now it is a domain of the B2C segment only). With data from social networks, you can also work in CRM systems, some of them already offer connections to social networks.

    The Role of a Web Integrator in the Process of Integrating Social Networking into Communications

    Having a web integrator as a co-ordinator of a web integration project ensures the implementation of social networks in synergy with the marketing department of any clients or external agencies.

    When a project is designed, a web integrator considers the benefits of participating in social network communications, recommends the appropriate channels, and evaluates the potential risks and their severity, all in collaboration with the client. Along with the marketing department, a web integrator proposes the optimal communication strategy for individual channels and specific support activities such as advertising. A web integrator works with either the internal marketing department of the client or the communication agency, and deals with the actual content management and the communication management of the company’s social media profiles.

    If a client or a self-service zone is a part of the web integration project, a web integrator can recommend using social networks as a secondary channel for customer care and takes this into consideration in both the design and the interface of these systems.

    If development of any specific applications for social networks (such as competitions, microsites, etc.) after the completion of the project is needed, a web integrator coordinates the development with a creative agency, DTP department and/or an internal or external development team.

    How to Use Social Networks for Internal Company Needs

    Social networks can also be used for internal company communication. In smaller companies, this is often accomplished by closed or secret Facebook groups. In larger organizations, it seems to be better to use specialized solutions such as Yammer. Be careful as to not discriminate against employees who do not have a Facebook account. On the other hand, do not give your employees a reason to go to Facebook during work hours.

    Another possible use may be recruitment posts about current job positions which may be regularly displayed together with other content on the company profile. Open positions can also be promoted by advertising, which in comparison with the employers catalogs is usually much cheaper. From my experience, recruiting technical professionals works well on social media.

    After all, social networking sites have become powerful tools for recruiters when reviewing their candidates, especially when reviewing their loyalty to their employer and in uncovering any further risk factors.

    Do Not Hesitate, Start Now

    If there is a potential for using social networks in your communication, do not hesitate to make the decision. Start using social networks through internal resources or seek an external partner. We will definitely come back to these subjects here at Web Integration.

    You can now follow to the next part – article called: Find out if your customers are on social networks.

    Involve social media in your B2B communication - part 2

    Involve social media in your B2B communication

    Leave a reply

    Social media is a standard communication channel for most of the companies from the B2C market. However, B2B companies have held some reservations in regard to involving social media in their communication – but the „B“ on both sides of this abbreviation also means people. When is the right moment for involving social media into B2B communication and how can organizations benefit from using it?

    Also, you should not miss the previous part of the article series about social media marketing – Reach your visitors through remarketing. It is a must-read!

    FAQ:

    Unlike the B2C market, social media cannot be recommended to use for all B2B companies as a part of their communication mix. Involvement of social media might be inappropriate or ungraspable in some cases, sometimes it can be even counterproductive (chemical, weapon industry, etc.). Social media also should not be involved into communication just because the organization considers it as a necessity.

    Involvement of social media has to be considered in deep communication strategy which puts individual outputs to into context. This matter also needs to be thought over in the chosen level of particular social networks and your typical customers.

    Our experience from the projects of our clients has convinced us that the room for involving social media in B2B communication is surprisingly large.

    Why start using social media

    Your motivation for the involvement of social media into your B2B communication should not be only you considering it as a necessity or just because your competitors are doing so. Social media entered B2C communication in this way few years ago. A lot of brands joined social media but a clear and defined objective was missing in their communication. Their social media communication wasn’t matching other channels they used.

    Traditional advertising agencies, which have transformed to digital agencies, now added „social“ in their portfolios. They tried to apply to social media the same principles which worked somewhere else, but it hasn’t worked. The situation has changed with the mistakes of these agencies which has made a room for startups with this focus; with a clearer vision of social media, a large amount of articles and blogposts about it as well as with conferences.

    Companies started giving higher priority to social media in their communication mix and creating special positions focused right on social media. The great example can be telecommunication companies which have dedicated entire teams for social media and manage a significant part of their customer care with it.

    The meaning of this turnoff to B2C market is in the edification that it is not necessary to repeat the same mistakes or to discover what’s already been discovered. It is enough to understand the principles working for B2C communication on social media and put them into the context of your business, existing communication and your typical customers. If you will find an intersection among things mentioned above, then the thoughts regarding social media integration into your organization are appropriate.

    The previous text describes the process of integration as very simplified. Social media integration is a complex decision which requires deep knowledge of the social media environment, risks (managing crisis communication) and much further consequences. If you are unable to manage this process within your organization resources, then you need to get in touch with a communication agency.

    The agency has to have experience with B2B communication and ideally, directly from your market. It is possible to work together with agencies you already have a contract with – the basic assumption is that the agency has enough experience with social media. Working with an already contracted agency is the best away after using your internal staff. The agency could then coordinate communication among all of the channels you use.

    Which platform to choose

    The basic question you need to ask yourself is – are my customers (or partners, employees or people who are interested in any way and you want to influence them) there? The answer can be found by multiple ways. The most straight way is a questionnaire for your current customers, but then the results won’t include the group of potential customer.

    Another way is utilizing data from advertising manager tools where you define your target user and get an estimated size of the group. It works only when you are able to define your current customers in the terms of demographical and behavioral data.

    From the B2B point of view, the information can be the most easily found on LinkedIn where you can choose from particular industries and specific fields as well as from organizations or positions. Industries could be also chosen on Facebook, but with significantly less accuracy. The less accuracy needs to be compensated by using mentioned demographical and behavioral patterns.

    The next option is estimation, intuition and knowledge of the business environment which can beneficial, but also distorted by personal attitude and opinion of social media. The best foundation for the final decision is the combination of all mentioned above. By the way, the questionnaire says a lot of about content which you should post; estimated sizes from social media show the potential size of audience and your experience puts everything together and gets it into real context.

    Another aspect which needs to be considered are the types of content you are able to create. Some social networks have its specifics regarding the content form – especially Instagram and Pinterest where you have to be able to create enough visually attractive materials.

    Facebook, Twitter (not considering limitation of the text length) and LinkedIn haven’t got specific requirements in the meaning of the content. Some types of the content are more successful, some are less. This is a topic of analytics which has been mentioned in many articles on the web.

    How to find the audience

    Building the audience is a close topic to content (see the next section). Presence on social media should be mentioned on your website and in printed materials. This information can be also included in promo materials at conferences and on business cards. A link to your LinkedIn profile can be added to signature of emails as well.

    The organic growth of followers has a huge value in the meaning of relevancy of the users, but it is very slow at the beginning (and in B2B market in general). It might incorrectly lead to a negative evaluation and termination of the project. Especially at the beginning when the expectations are high and management is watching the performance. Therefore advertising and other activities need to be involved in the project from its start.

    Adverts will be targeted to defined groups of users and will inform them about your presence on social media. Multiple ways of promotion are available. Well-known brands can communicate through their brand „aura“, ads can show reasons and advantages of following you and your content could be shown to users who don’t follow you yet (promoted posts). The campaign should be running for a long-term period, but its intensity could be changed over time.

    A very effective tool for building an audience is remarketing (available only on Facebook at the moment). A special piece of code is placed into your website and this code verifies if a person who came on your website is logged into a Facebook account. If so, the script adds its ID to a special list to which you can target your ads. This tool creates a database of highly relevant people which can be used anytime for targeting your ads.

    You can upload a list of e-mail addresses (from a newsletter, etc.) to an advertising manager where these addresses can be paired with accounts on Facebook, then you can display ads to these users. However, utilizing this tool for B2B needs has two potential problems. The first one is that this type of usage is probably against your organization’s data policy. The second problem is that you have business addresses of users, but they use their personal addresses for logging in.

    What to communicate

    There is no universal advice for what you should post about, definitely not for the B2B market. However, few common attributes can be named. Your content should meet them on the premise of attractive content. Content should be actual, unique, short, cogent, visually attractive, informal. Your communication strategy has to define in which topics will these attributes be reflected. Based on my experience with B2B communication and companies I follow on social media, there are few content types which work well, regardless the industry.

    It is actual information from the industry, case studies, innovations, concepts of the future, and industry-related humor. It is always true that posting primarily about your products and solutions leads to a significant amount of unfollowing your profile. Hardly any B2C profile could work primarily commercially, so this is definitely not possible on a B2B profile. The objective of B2B presence on social media should be building the community of relevant users which can be converted to leads.

    Leads generation is not only the one possible objective for B2B presence on social media. I mentioned ir firstly just because I receive this type of question often right from clients from B2B market.

    Social media can work for B2B companies as a tool for increasing brand awareness, brand knowledge or for communication of social values (sustainable development, ecology…).

    The great example is Maersk’s Instagram profile. Maersk is a Danish logistic company which ensures container shipping around the world, so it is a clear example of a B2B company. Maersk posts photos of ships, colorful containers, and of course everything with hashtags. Maersk is followed by 30 thousand users; its page on Facebook follows even more than million users. The company’s objective for social media presence is to „get closer to their customers“. This goal is not measurable, but the company obviously achieves it. I found a nice definition of social media at their website:

    Social media is about communication, not marketing. It’s about engaging, not pushing. And social media is definitely not just about the media side.

    Before you decide for integration of social media into your communication, you have to realize that communication in social media works bi-directionally. Advice on how the communication can be managed and through which tools are offered in many articles on the web.

    More important is handling crisis communication. Occurrence of crisis communication is higher as the social media supports a bidirectional way of communication. This fact needs to be considered as a project risk and processes within the organization have to be set according to it. Sometimes the presence of the organization itself is enough of an impulse for the start of crisis communication. This applies for example for industries that were named at the beginning of this article. Otherwise it is better to be on social media than not in general.

    The second part of this article will get you an answer for remaining questions:

    • How to integrate social media into an organization’s processes
    • Which goals to define
    • How to measure social media
    • What is the role of a web integrator in the process of social media integration
    • How to use social media for internal communication

    You can now follow to the next part – article called: Involve social media in your B2B communication – Part 2.

    World Post Day - 9 October

    World Post Day — 9th October, 2022

    Leave a reply

    While post offices can be infuriating at times, without them our society would not exist and our lives would be much more complicated. World Post Day, celebrated annually on 9 October, is a reminder of this.

    Why is World Post Day named so?

    World Post Day was established to commemorate the founding of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874. Every year on this day we commemorate the importance of post offices in our lives and in the running of our society.

    When is World Post Day 2022?

    World Post Day is celebrated annually on the 9th of October, the anniversary of the founding of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in the Swiss capital Bern. World Post Day was proclaimed at the UPU Congress in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969. Since then, countries around the world have participated in the celebrations every year. Post offices in many countries use the event to introduce or promote new postal products and services.

    What is the theme of World Post Day 2022?

    This year’s theme for World Post Day 2022 is Post for Planet.

    As the oldest logistics institution in the world, it is on post offices’ shoulders to raise awareness of environmental protection. So, this year’s theme brings out the question: in what ways can post offices contribute to a greener economy?

    History of World Post Day

    World Post Day commemorates the founding of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in Bern, Switzerland. World Post Day itself was proclaimed at the Universal Postal Union Congress in Tokyo, Japan, in 1969. The Universal Postal Union, or UPU for short, has played a significant role in our lives, and we may not even realise it. Thanks to the work of the UPU, the operations of the various regional post offices have been unified, ensuring greater speed and efficiency. Universal Postal Union’s work includes, for example, the creation of postal codes.

    The importance of World Post Day

    The purpose of World Post Day is to raise awareness of the role of the postal sector in the daily lives of people and businesses and its contribution to the social and economic development of countries. The celebration encourages Member Countries of the United Nations to undertake programme activities aimed at creating wider public and media awareness of the role and activities of their post offices on a national scale.

    Each year, more than 150 countries celebrate World Post Day in different ways. In some countries, World Post Day is celebrated as a working day. Many post offices use the event to introduce or promote new postal products and services. Some post offices also use World Post Day to reward their employees for good work.

    Philatelic exhibitions are held in many countries and new stamps and postmarks are issued. Other activities include the display of World Post Day posters at post offices and other public places, open days at post offices, postal centres and postal museums, conferences, seminars and workshops, as well as cultural, sporting and other leisure activities. Many postal administrations issue special souvenirs such as T-shirts and badges.

    How to celebrate World Post Day?

    If you want to get involved in the World Post Day discussion, you can do so on Twitter using the hashtag #WorldPostDay. This year’s theme is the importance of mail in sustainable development. But there are other ways to celebrate World Post Day – try writing a letter to someone you haven’t seen in a while! And don’t forget to thank your postperson for a job well done.