Erik Qualman's Blog, page 477

Social Media and Your Product-Based Startup: 7 Tips for Engaging Customers

Businesses of all types turn to social media to get the word out about what they’re doing. Whether it’s a local service provider or a corporate chain, if businesses want to market or advertise, sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube are the best resources for connecting with customers.

Product-based businesses face extra challenges, since convincing a customer to buy on a channel that currently doesn’t make shopping easy can be difficult. There are a few things business owners can do to move customers from a social media site to an ecommerce site. Here are a few creative ways you can engage customers with your products on various social media platforms.

Add Buy Links

While Facebook’s buy button is still in testing mode, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest have buttons on their paid ads that allow products to be purchased directly through the platform. Even your organic social media marketing efforts can include purchase options, with a link in the description. Every post should include easy-to-find information on how customers can purchase your products.

Include Customers

Today’s visual-driven consumer market is the perfect fit for product-based businesses, since one photo or video of a product can reach customers in a way text never could. Instead of merely blasting product photos on a regular basis, consider these examples using Instagram or Pinterest that include people. It adds intrigue to a page while also making products look compelling.

Host Contests

The goal of any business with a social media profile is to grow its audience. If the same people see every post, you’ll never increase your sales. If you can encourage your customers to share a post with their friends, you’ll introduce your brand to new people who may decide to buy something. One interesting way to increase shares and build your brand is through a Facebook contest like this example, which encouraged people to share photos of their pets for a chance to win.

Tell a Story

Today’s consumers are looking for a deeper connection with a business than a mere purchase. Through brand storytelling, you can win customers over and encourage them to refer your brand to their friends. This can be done through photos, ongoing updates, or video shorts. Airbnb’s Wall and Chain short won a Webby for its innovative animated depiction of a Berlin Wall reunion. The video conveyed its international brand message while also tugging at the heartstrings of viewers, increasing the chances it would get shares and views.

Host a Launch Party

You can generate excitement on social media by planning and promoting a launch party for your latest product. These are especially popular on Facebook and Twitter, where you can generate buzz among your current social media followers. Encourage attendees to invite friends and offer special discounts to those who attend. During the party, engage attendees by posting a series of quiz questions and issuing gifts to those who get the most questions correct.

Show Manufacturing

Some consumers are fascinated by the process that goes into putting a product on the market. Take photos or videos of your product during manufacturing and share them on the appropriate platforms. Invite customers to ask questions about the process and allow them to sign up to be among the first to receive your new product once it hits the market. If a third-party provider makes your products and such a photo session isn’t possible, instead give customers a look at the work your own employees are doing to prepare to package and ship the new item as new orders roll in.

Offer Early Editions

Often software developers release an early beta version of their products to work out any bugs and build buzz. Product developers can use the same concept, accepting signups and promising early editions to the first group of people who respond. Encourage those customers to post about their experience with the product on their own social media accounts and you’ll likely see a big boost in sales.

Social media has become the top spot for business marketers. Getting the word out about your products can be challenging on these platforms, but with the right approach, you’ll find yourself reaching new customers and building long-term relationship with your most loyal buyers.

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Live Stream in More Places with Facebook Live

Facebook Live Adds Cool Features

Facebook Live shared with live-streaming fanatics alike that they will have more opportunities to share what they are doing at any moment with their friends on the web. In a Facebook group with your yoga studio? In a Facebook event for the festival? Now you can go live in the group and keep them up to date on your whereabouts and what you’re up to. Facebook is also creating a dedicated place in the app for you to discover live videos from around the world. Live streaming is here to stay. (Source Mashable)

What to Say When Your Friend Tries to Read Your Text Messages…

Swerve. Yesterday, WhatsApp completed an end-to-end encryption rollout. But what is end-to-end encryption? A lot of tech words short – WhatsApp will not be able to access your messages and calls. WhatsApp can’t see what you’ve been sending to your friends abroad or hand out information to the Feds. The WhatsApp encryption comes in good timing with the Apple vs FBI privacy battle and keeps people talking about privacy. (Source TechCrunch)



TSA and the “Randomizer”

Follow the arrow. If you have flown recently you may have seen the TSA Randomizer app in all its glory. The app used by the people everyone loves to hate points pre-check flyers into the left or right lane – aka the random search lane or normal lane. The app idea is simple, the TSA member stands with an iPad and touch the screen as passengers arrive. But people aren’t talking about the random searches in this case – they are talking about how much cash was dropped. IBM created the app for $1.4 million. $1.4 million for arrows to point right and left. Technology, man. (Source CNET)

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5 Insanely Actionable Ways to Use LinkedIn Publisher for Businesses

It is a fast-moving digital world and with so many new developments happening every day on social media, you need to constantly be on your toes. Earlier, posting articles, blogs, guest posts, etc. was majorly limited to Facebook and Twitter. However, recently LinkedIn too opened its publishing platform – LinkedIn Publisher – to all its members. Earlier this was available to only a few people selected by LinkedIn itself.

If you are a marketer, then get on to the LinkedIn Publisher bandwagon right away as it is gaining momentum when it comes to promoting your business to a more targeted and professional audience. An article published at TrcuConversion.com states that with LinkedIn Publisher, users can share (and prove) their knowledge and expertise and give advice while gaining an important source of professional connections.

This is a platform that you own and handle (just like your blog) but unlike your blog, this has the ability to reach millions of people. And these are not updates that will disappear with time. In facts your posts will be placed at the top of your profile permanently. So, use this platform to narrate your story to the world and generate more leads and sales.

To help you, we present to you 5 insanely actionable ways you can use LinkedIn Publisher for the growth of your business.

1. Always Include Calls to Action – You would obviously want people to take the next step of visiting your website, webinar, etc. after going through your article. This can be simply done by including some relevant calls to action in your post. This is the easiest of making your email contact list bigger. A call to action interacts directly with your readers, engages them and in some cases converts them to become your clients. Therefore make sure that you include a call to action in all your LinkedIn Publisher posts. For instance, check out this blog by Denise Wakeman. She has put a call to action in such a subtle way in the article.



2. Ensuring Great Visuals is a Must! – Visuals, if they are original, colorful and good quality, can bring more traffic to your LinkedIn Publisher articles. An attractive image in the header will urge them to open the article to read it. Images reflect your brand and identity and after some time users start recognizing with the images you use in your posts or as the cover photo of your post. So, always add relevant images, those that have a clear connection to the site and your brand, in your post. Also remember to use images that appeal to the emotions of your audience. When you’re adding images to your LinkedIn Publisher articles, don’t forget to ensure your branding elements such as your custom logo design or signature to get an edge in Google’s image search results. You can add an image to the top of your post on LinkedIn Publisher by simply clicking the camera icon in header and uploading it.

Look how Human-resources professional Liz Ryan creates original images for every LinkedIn Publisher post that publishes for her company Human Workplace.

3. Create High Quality, Valuable Content – Though creating original content for your LinkedIn Publisher post should be your priority, you can also re-purpose your existing content. While creating an original one, make sure that the word strength is at least 1,000-1,400 words. Even if you’re repurposing your old content, you can increase the word length by adding case studies and examples.

Moreover, to make your content engaging, you can add videos, hyperlinks, images etc. in your LinkedIn post. In the end, we would suggest you to create a post for your audience. Keep in mind theirs needs, tastes and preferences. There is no chance that your post does not gets noticed.

4. Share Posts on Other Social Sites Too – Creating a good post and publishing it on LinkedIn Publisher is not enough to increase traffic. To increase the reach of your blog, share your LinkedIn Publisher post on your other social networks as well. You can post your article on Facebook or tweet about it on Twitter to increase the visibility of the post.

And not just once, share then over and over again so a large audience notices it. You could also add social sharing buttons on your LinkedIn Publisher posts so that it is easier for readers to share your article, thus maximizing the reach of your article.

Let’s take the example of Matt Sweetwood. Check out how brilliantly he uses his Twitter handle to talk about and promote his LinkedIn Publisher post.

5. Quote Thought-Leaders In Your Post – Try and include the names of some thought leaders of your industry in the article for drawing traffic as well as improving engagement of your post. People who are named (and tagged) in the article would share the post within their own networks, thus widening your reach.

The simplest way of adding the name of a though leader is to add their quote and highlight as people find it interesting to know what leaders of a particular industry have to say on the topic. An expert comment is always welcome. Don’t forget to use their mug-shot and link it back to their site and hyperlink their name on the LinkedIn profile.

Wrapping It Up!

To use LinkedIn Publisher for growing your audience and sales, keep creating valuable content with attractive images. Write it in the same way you write a blog for your site etc with call to action buttons at prominent place, sharing it on all social sites.

Eventually, people start noticing your writing style as well as the type of images or humor you use in the post. The consistency in writing style and design builds the trust in people who are your potential clients.

So, if you have not started using LinkedIn Publisher as yet, start using it NOW for widening your reach and stand out from the rest.

each and stand out from the rest.

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Can Social Media Help You Become President?

How do you get to the highest office in world politics? That’s the question that every young senator, mayor or billionaire wants to know the answer to. Unfortunately for them, only a tiny minority of them will even come close to the oval office, but for those who do, they’ll have to pull out every trick in the book to convince the American public they’re up the job.

In the past, TV debates, posters, leaflets and live speaking events were just some of the opportunities they had to get their message across. While all of these still exist, one method has, over the past ten years, started to blow them all out of the water.

73% of Americans are now on social media and that’s an upward trend that shows no signs of stopping. The last US election was prominent for its innovative and effective use of social media campaigning. With all this year’s prospective candidates spending time and money on digital campaigns, though, voters now expect engaging social content as a given. So, how important a role has social media played in past elections and can it really help propel a candidate towards The White House?

How Can It Be Used?

Social is in its purest form, a platform. A method with the potential to reach millions of people, and in politics, that’s half the battle. Platforms lend themselves well to imagery too which can be hugely more effective than dry, unengaging text. It’s cliché to say a picture says a thousand words, but imagery can really help a campaign in ways that nothing else can. Not only can candidates use images of the campaign trail to give insight on their successes, but they can share snappy campaign imagery, videos, and concise campaign messages in a way that appeals visually to a generation of users who have an average attention span less than that of a goldfish.

When it comes to social media, you also have to take age into account. While a large majority of Americans use social, virtually all of 18-34 years olds use it. 98% of young people admitted, in a recent study, that they had used a social platform at least once in the past month, so if, for example like Bernie Sanders your demographic includes a large chunk of young non-voters, social can help you reach out to them.

2012: Barack Obama: A Pioneer

The current President, Barack Obama, used social media to significant effect in the 2012 presidential election. His spend on the digital side of the campaign actually ended up growing to around $47 million, ten times that of his Republican rival Mitt Romney. As a result, Obama posted a lot more online and not only that, got his returns with huge interaction numbers.

Barack Obama Digital Spend 2012 Election

In a sample taken from June that year, Obama had accrued almost double Romney’s Facebook ‘likes’ (1,124,275 v 633,597). His victorious Facebook post in the afterglow of his presidential election was a simple image of Obama and his wife with the caption ‘Four more years’. This has still had the most interaction of any one post in history, with over 4.4 million likes on Facebook to date. Over the course of the month, he also managed to get almost 20 times the amount of retweets on Twitter, which is surely because he posted 404 times, compared to Romney’s 16.

2016: The Hopefuls

2016 Presidential Candidates Statistics

Image source: Toll Free Forwarding ‘The Social Media Election’

Donald Trump: Courting Controversy

Trump has always been a fan of social media and actively uses it to promote his television show The Apprentice. The medium suits his campaign style perfectly, with his often controversial sound snippets that are easily shareable. Much of Trump’s campaign is built around virality and he shares a lot of videos on Facebook. His inflammatory use of Twitter has always been a trademark of the man and goes a long way to explaining his huge online audience.

Donald Trump uses Twitter to mock Marco Rubio

Trump has more followers than any of the other candidates on either side by a mile. He dwarfs both his Republican rivals on every front. Even if you were to combine Ted Cruz’s and Marco Rubio’s entire social following, they wouldn’t even reach close to the 6.3 million Twitter followers he has.

Bernie Sanders: Youth Influence

Sanders’ social media feeds are evidently mainly run by younger interns, as the ‘BS’ signature is hardly ever left after posts. This seems to have been a smart move by the Senator as his posts have led to great interaction. He’s also seen a boost in Facebook page likes, seeing a 20% increase in the past 30 days, more than both Trump and Clinton.

Bernie Sanders on the cover of Rolling Stone

One of the most liked Instagram photos of this year’s candidates, so far, was an image taken from Bernie Sanders’ Instagram. It features the candidacy hopeful on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. Sander’s use of Instagram is intriguing, as it’s not something he’d used prior to the campaign. However, it’s again testament to the work of his young campaign team, who have an insight into youth culture that stuffy campaign advisors often don’t.

Hilary Clinton: Celebrity Endorsed

Has a very engaged following and also benefited greatly from celebrity endorsements on platforms like Instagram. Most notably got in a selfie with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West and received full backing from the couple. Other stars including Lena Dunham and Amy Poehler have also publicly backed her.

Hillary Clinton and Kim Kardashian take a selfie

If we look at this year’s candidates, Hillary had by far the most engagement on one post on Twitter too. Her post, which shared a link to an interview with One Direction where they discussed climate issues, was retweeted nearly 60,000 times

A shoehorned mention of One Direction may have been obvious and shrewd, but because it was relevant, it worked. Her post managed to capitalize on the band’s substantial social media fame by involving them in political and environmental issues that she is already very vocal about as part of her campaign.

Can it really help change people’s minds on politics?

You never know what might change someone’s mind. Something like an image, as we’ve seen time and time again, can change the world. In general, social media tends to be very insular. Voters will go online to meet other likeminded people and express their views, which are often, but not always too entrenched to be swayed by a single Facebook post.

Although interaction is great, it’s not always a sign of success. The amount of followers you have is certainly not directly attributable to the amount of support you have. Especially on Twitter, users often follow users they may not agree with just to keep up to date with what they’re saying.

However, social can give you a significant platform to share your views and ideas. There are swathes of undecided voters who simply don’t know what to think, especially amongst the young. Although young people are the second biggest voting demographic, they consistently have the lowest turnout on election day. If presidential candidates can take advantage of social media and get their message in front of this lost generation, then it can be an important tool that will help them make their way to The White House.

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Twitter (!?) Wins Thursday Night NFL Broadcast Rights

Video Takeover

That’s exactly what video advertising startup Virool is thinking. Incubated at accelerator Y Combinator, Virool has already raised $12 million in Series A Funding and is working with big time publishers like The Onion, Mashable, and Adweek.

Virool does many things but one of the more popular features is the ability to purchase YouTube views for videos that you don’t host. Hence if you want to make your mom’s day you can buy some views on her gardening videos – wow 51,000 people love my rose pruning episode! Virool’s tagline: Distribute your advertainment to grow your brand, the right way.  (Source Tech Crunch)

What Virgin America will no longer be saying….

Please turn off all portable devices. Airline disruptor Virginia America has been purchased for $2.6 billion by Alaska Air Group. Other airline startup JetBlue was outbid. Many think Alaska Air paid way too much. Which, with all these airline mergers (hint: American Airlines /US Airways, United / Continental), is what we might be paying in the near future…way too much.

Twitter Wins Over the NFL’s Heart

Thursday’s are officially our favorite day of the week. In a championship-like win Twitter made a deal with the NFL for the 2016 rights to livestream Thursday Night Football. The partnership gives Twitter pre and post game Periscope broadcasts with the teams and players as well as in-game highlights. Twitter is popping the champagne since it beat out competition from Facebook, Amazon, and Verizo. The partnership will also be helping the NFL since a majority of Millennials are cutting the (cable) cord. (Source TechCrunch)

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Drive Forward with Better Social Media Usage

Many drivers will go a lifetime without being involved in an accident.

Others, unfortunately, will not be so lucky, some even having that fatal mishap that everyone dreads.

That said the world of social media can play an important role on a number of fronts anytime you and millions of other drivers get behind the wheel.

With that in mind, do you know how to take advantage of social networking and which sites to turn to if you or someone you care about is involved in an accident?

Social Networking is No Accident

In order to stay abreast of all social media has to offer, including that for drivers, it is important that you have some relationship with social networking.

While you do not have to be on social sites hours a day or even daily for that matter, knowing where to navigate to if you’re in an accident can make all the difference on a number of fronts.

That said remember these items if you or someone you love unfortunately has a notable fender bender or worse:

Try to remain calm – From a small accident to one which is more severe, staying calm may be the last thing on one’s mind. It turns out, however, remaining as calm as possible can help on several fronts. First and foremost, try to be as steady as can be for one’s health sake. It is also important to keep one’s wits about themselves so that they get all the needed information (driver’s license, license plate tag, insurance etc. of the other party or parties involved in the accident). Lastly, remaining calm will prevent an individual from making an error in judgment, especially admitting it was their fault when it may not have been;
Turning for help – While you already have an auto insurer (at least you should if you don’t want to run afoul of the law), you may want to know who the other person or persons are represented by, along with what their reputation may be. For example, if you’re involved in a vehicle mishap with someone driving a truck in Atlanta, you can turn to social media to learn more about Atlanta truck accident lawyers. As a result, you might get a better idea of the opponent you could be up against if your case is disputed by the other person or persons. Many lawyers have social media profiles on sites such as Facebook, Twitter etc. In turn, you can potentially learn about some recent cases they’ve been involved in, their ratio of success to failure etc. Given that trucking companies and their insurance companies are represented, you also want a solid legal team backing you. Remember, even a single accident could end up costing you or someone you know a hefty settlement, so get the best possible legal representation;
Consumer feedback – With the advent of social media over the last decade or so, more and more consumers are using it for myriad of things. One of those is oftentimes discussing (and even sometimes venting) about their experiences with legal representation. Yes, many such comments should always be taken with a grain of salt, but using social sites to hear what others have had to say following their vehicular accidents, the positive or negative results they received from attorneys and lawyers etc. can help you in moving your case forward, ultimately ending in a positive result. If you’re not presently happy with your legal team, you can also use social media to scout around and see if there are better alternatives out there;
Learn from an accident – As earlier mentioned, millions and millions of drivers will hit the roads for decades without one notable accident. For those others that are not so lucky, learning from the first accident can do a lot to prevent a second, a third, and so on. Many sites dedicated to safe driving habits are active on social media on a regular basis. Learning how to be a safer driver and be more aware of the bad ones on the roads can protect you and those you care about physically and financially.

When it comes to safe driving, the more social you and those you know are, the better chances of moving forward safely.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

 

 

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LG G5 Complete with 2 Cameras

What to Say When Your Friend Says They Hate Shopping…

I can Fix that. Stitch Fix is an online personal styling service. They are partnered with Pinterest and to get your own personal style all you have to do is:

Pin styles, shoes and clothes you like on Pinterest

Stitch Fix will send personalized clothes to your door

Choose which articles of clothing you want, then ship back the rest

Pay for the clothes you decided to keep

Competitor Trunk Club also has similar social tie-ins to make your shopping life easier. (Source: DIGIDAY)

Two Cameras Are Better Than One

The LG G5 is all the rave, because of it’s wicked sweet photo capabilities. Anyone can become a pro photographer using it’s Ultra HD, Manual Mode and Auto Shot features. This last feature takes a picture instantly when a face is detected. The enhanced camera capabilities are due to its TWO rear cameras that take a picture at a 135 degree angle. The phone even allows you to take the battery out and insert an ‘LG friend instead’. Some of the LG G5 friends are: LG Rolling Bot to remotely monitor your home with built-in cameras, LG 360 degree CAM in order to shoot spherical photos and videos without having to rotate your phone, or even a LG 360 VR to experience some virtual reality in your spare time. With this transformation capability they should have named the phone Optimus Prime or Sideswipe. (Source: LG)

In Case You Missed It…

There’s a new trend happening with people strapping on dangerous things to drones. Think: guns, fireworks, flamethrowers and now….chainsaws. No, really. Some Finnish filmmakers have decided to hang a chainsaw underneath a drone – calling it Killer Drone – sawing it’s way through icicles and chopping off Frosty’s head. Watch the Killer Drone video here. Despite the comedic take, the Federal Aviation Administration is a bit alarmed since, pilots have reported 43 drone sightings this year.

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5 Tech Gadgets That Are Making Business Travel Easier

For busy professionals who spend much of their time jetting from airport to airport and city to city, there are a number of distinct pain points related to comfort, cost, and productivity. Technology companies understand this and are investing heavily in gadgets that make business travel easier.

1. Bluetooth Tags

How many times do you pat your front pockets or take inventory of your different bags and devices when traveling through a busy airport? Losing personal items is always a possibility when you’re traveling and it’s not uncommon to leave something in a hotel room, on a plane, or on a bathroom counter.

In order to help counteract losing things like luggage, laptops, bags, and other travel accessories, Nokia has created the Treasure Tag. At a convenient $19 price point, this Bluetooth-enabled tag is well worth the investment. Simply attach it to any personal item and your smartphone will beep if you leave the item behind. Furthermore, if the item gets misplaced, you can use Bluetooth to search for it. It’s a handy device that pays for itself rather quickly. Also, Tile is another competitor with a similar, yet unique solution.

2. WiFi Enabled Cufflinks

As any business traveler knows, the key to successful travel is looking good while remaining practical. These WiFi enabled cufflinks from Executive Gift Shoppe allow business travelers to do both. The stylish cuff links are made from silver plated stainless steel and double as a 2GB USB drive. Furthermore, when software is downloaded, they can act as a WiFi hot spot – meaning you can enjoy your own internet connection from wherever you are.

3. Wireless Translators

If you do a lot of business travel outside of the United States, you may find that language barriers are your biggest point of friction. And while nothing substitutes for learning the native language of countries you visit, the Sigmo translator can help you navigate certain situations.

The Sigmo Voice Translation Device, which costs around $50, connects to your smartphone using Bluetooth and existing services and translates your voice into one of 25 different languages. Simply speak into the microphone and it plays back the translation over the speaker. It’s small and light, which makes it easy to carry around.

4. Remote Pet Sitter

Okay this technology falls into the strange, yet surprisingly useful category. The Petcube is a compact device that lets you connect to your home’s WiFi from anywhere in order to keep an eye on your pets while out of town or at work. It provides a video stream of your pets and even lets you to speak into the device or activate a laser pointer to keep pets occupied.

5. Portable Phone Charger

By now, everyone’s used a portable phone charger at least once. However, one thing is wrong with the current setup. These products are typically bulky and inconvenient. Well, until now, that is. Meet the Wallet Titan Power Card.

This rechargeable power card is the size of a credit card and can easily fit in your pocket without being cumbersome and annoying. It can provide a standard smartphone with up to 60 percent of a charge without ever needing to be plugged in. Pretty impressive and valuable for those situations where you absolutely can’t do without your phone.

The Tech of Business Travel

Most people don’t particularly enjoy business travel because it’s stressful, expensive, and time-consuming. And while business travel is sometimes unavoidable, you can make the most out of your experience by bringing the right technologies and accessories along for the ride.

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How to Find & Hire Good Content Writers

When starting a new website, the tenet you will hear most often repeated is that content is king. When users visit your website or your social media presences, they expect to find content that is interesting, meaningful to them, and updated daily. Fresh content, whether the product of blogging, article writing, press releases or simply having a social media presence, is one of the most important factors for your online marketing approach. Should your content slow down or cease to exist, it could have a detrimental effect on your business’s online presence. However, fresh content is not easy to keep up with. As a business owner, writing is a time-consuming task especially considering the myriad of other tasks that keep you occupied. Whether it’s hustling to and from meetings or recruiting team members, your days are busy enough as it is. So how do you keep your online presences continually stocked with fresh content and still stay faithful to your other responsibilities as a business owner? It begins with knowing how to find and hire good content writers. Here are 8 ways you can do this.

Search your own ranks – Chances are that you may have already employed the person who not only has the ability to write quality articles, but already has an intimate knowledge of your business and its operations. This employee could be best suited for writing articles and press releases that help others in getting to know your business. So take the time to ask around to find out if anyone is interested in being the voice of your company. The potential writer must also have the time to take on these additional duties. You may be surprised to discover that the writer you need is closer than expected.

Hire a Freelancer – While hiring a freelancer seems like it would be a time-consuming and frustrating process, the internet makes finding a quality freelancer an unbelievably simple task. There are a number of sites that simplify the process making it easy for you to hire writers online. Sites such as writers per hour, Freelancer, Constant Content and Upwork have thousands of freelancers at your disposal. Chances are that there are many freelancers whose capabilities line up with your particular needs.

Invest in adaptability – While it’s important to find a writer who can fulfill your current needs, you must also keep in mind that needs tend to change. Content marketing is an ever-changing field. Hiring a writer who excels at one thing is great for the present. But is your content creator willing to learn and venture outside of his or her comfort zone? If your content creator cannot adapt, chances are that you and your company could find yourself outgrowing him or her and soon you will find yourself once more at square one. Find a good content creator, but spend a little extra time searching for one who isn’t afraid to grow.

Petition the public – If searching for freelancers isn’t your thing, you can also try to put the word out that your business is looking to hire some writers. Announcing it on your blog or through social media is a good way of getting your announcement before as many eyes as possible. Your employees can help in this venture as well. Be sure to mention in the announcement exactly the type of content writer you are searching for and how prospective persons can contact you.

Make sure and vet your writers – All these methods should yield a sizeable pool of writers from which to choose. The next task is to find out which writers can best perform the task that you ask of them. You can use a search engine to find their social media profiles as well as a sampling of the work they have already done. You can also ask directly for samples of their work to see if their writing ability is on par with your expectations. You can also ask the prospective writers for their resumes and a list of their previously published writing.

Scour your LinkedIn Network – There are lots of good writers on LinkedIn waiting to be discovered. Many of them are already in your own network. Start with the people you know and trust in order to avoid writers who stuff unwanted links into your articles. You can search LinkedIn for terms such as “writer”, “copywriter” and “content marketer” to find writers who already produce the kind of content you need. You can also join groups on LinkedIn that are frequented by writers and employers alike. While there, be sure to ask for advice from other employers who have conquered the same issues that you are wrestling with.

Test prospective writers – During your search you will probably get bombarded by samples. While it’s good to peruse them to get an idea of your prospective writer’s talents and weaknesses, your best assessment of their abilities may only come when you test them yourself. Good-looking samples cannot possibly tell the story. Additionally, you don’t know what it took for their samples to look as good as they do. Before hiring your writer, test them with a sample article to get a better view of their aptitude.

Search for a unique voice – Make sure that the person you are going to hire has a unique voice and writes with a fresh perspective. Keep in mind that the motive behind finding a writer for your brand is to stand out among so many other brands vying for attention. Your business requires a voice and perspective that will rise above the din and cast a light on your operations. Don’t settle for the ordinary.

For a business, having a good web presence is no longer an option. Yet, finding the best writer isn’t the easiest of tasks. However, the search need not burden you with headaches and unnecessary delays. There are many methods by which you can find the best writer for your business. Finding a capable writer is a rewarding experience that will allow your business to grow and blossom.

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Tesla Unveils New Model 3

Tesla wants to break through the car buying masses with the new Model 3. Released on Thursday night:5 seater, 215 miles per charge, 0 to 60 mph and high safety ranking caused a loud round of applause from Tesla fans. The Model 3 is believed to be critical to Tesla’s success. At $35,000, the car is more affordable compared other Tesla models. The company took advance orders for a small $1,000 fee which raked in more than $115 million in 24 hours. #ReadyToRoll (Source: New York Times)

Apple Turns 40

Break out the party hats, today Apple turns 40. From the Mac Classic to iPod to iPhone, the tech company has come a long way over the years. People are getting sentimental about . Feeling nostalgic – check out Apple over the years here or here. Lordy, lordy look who’s forty.

Never Miss A Coffee Meeting Again

A Starbucks + Microsoft Office partnership…is it an April Fool’s Day joke? It is not. At Microsoft’s Build Conference, Starbucks CTO announced a Starbucks add-in for Microsoft Office. The add-on lets you schedule coffee meetings or send gift cards at ease. Quick reminder: both companies are based in Seattle – so they probably grab coffee often. (Source: The Verge)

April Fool’s!

It’s April Fool’s Day. Don’t fall for any Internet pranks. Check out this year’s pranks here.

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