Erik Qualman's Blog, page 503

Employee tracking at work. Is it really needed?

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According to a survey conducted by ComStore Networks in 2002, about 60% of the online sales took place between 10 am and noon, which is normally the time when many people are at work. It is quite apparent that employees use the web-access provided by their employers for non-work related activities. Shopping being one of them, other personal activities include online bidding, chatting, random web surfing and communicating via emails and texts.

Another research by Court in 2004 states that a company with an average of 500 employees, could suffer from an annual loss of 1 million dollars if each of the employees were to waste half an hour per day on conducting personal business and surfing at work. These statistics support the notion that it is highly impractical for the employers to let their employees completely on loose and suffer from productivity loss in return. Some form of employee monitoring definitely needs to be established to keep the workers focused as well as maintain the reputation of the organization.

It is however very important for the employers to convey their monitoring policies to their employees very clearly and explain it to them that they are only for the sake of maintaining discipline and not because the company mistrusts them. Doing so would dispel any feelings of alienation among the workforce and prevent the company from facing any legal issues in the future.

The practice of employee monitoring is in practice by large and small businesses throughout the world. Despite the ongoing debate whether it is ethical to engage in this practice or not, there are some genuine and legitimate reasons why it has become much of a necessity these days. Let us have a look at some of them:

Boosting Productivity:

Where technological advancements have revolutionized the way work can be done and given a chance to the workers to improve their productivity, they have simultaneously created a lot of distractions at work too. Having unrestricted and unlimited access to the internet detracks the employees by creating diversions. Sitting inside their cubicles, many workers are seen socially interacting on Facebook, video surfing on YouTube and Daily motion, listening to music, playing games or viewing inappropriate material online. This could amount up to a lot of wasted hours at work and reduced productivity as a result.

By installing monitoring software on their Computer Networks and using video and manual surveillance at work, employers can collect evidential proof and gain true insight into the daily activities of their employees. Depending upon their surfing patterns, the employees can be confronted on a one-on-one basis or access to most frequently visited websites could be restricted. Besides, when the employees would know that they are being watched upon, they are unlikely to engage in leisure activities. These measures would ensure increased work efficiency and a rise in productivity.

Preventing leakage of trade secrets:

In addition to a loss of productivity, employers are also concerned about the use of electronic communication channels in thefts of proprietary information. Employees who hold any form of grudge against the company can use the internet to export company’s trade secrets, designs and formulas to the competitors that can result in tremendous revenue losses, , which, according to the “Handbook on White Collar Crime,” can sum up to more than $2 billion per annum.

The transfer of such sensitive data can be prevented by monitoring the employees’ emails for suspected word strings or else by probing through the employees’ hard drive to read their messages. Tracking the employees would ensure that individuals with access to personal files, would be discouraged from spreading the sensitive information over the web and into the wrong hands.

Avoiding legal consequences:

The need for employee surveillance arises not only from a desire to increase efficiency and be protected against corporate espionage, but also to save the company from issues related to legal liability. In the words of Nancy Flynn, executive director of the ePolicy institute,

“Concern over litigation and the role electronic evidence plays in lawsuits and regulatory investigations has spurred more employers to monitor online activity.”

If left unmonitored, human mind has a natural tendency to wander into prohibited zones. A two year marketing research by Court revealed that the word ‘Sex’ was the most popular term searched over the internet. The study also revealed that “Porn” was the fourth most searched term, with “nude,” “XXX,” “Playboy,” and “erotic stories” all being among the top twenty Web search terms. What is the most alarming is that more than half of this traffic occurs Monday to Friday from 8am to 5 pm.

While 60% of the companies have disciplined their employees for inappropriate use of the Internet, nearly 30% of the companies have also terminated their employees owing to different reasons including the viewing and rotation of pornographic material, sexual harassment by shooting off-color emails towards colleagues and sending offensive messages.

This couldn’t have been possible without keeping an eye on the employee’s activities during working hours. Discouraging such acts of sexual harassment and moral transgressions can help the company avoid a potential lawsuit and if in case such a situation arises, reproduce complete electronic proof against the culprit and prevent the name of the company from getting tarnished.

Preventing Workplace hostility:

It is a common occurrence that people who don’t get along well usually try to let each other down in any possible way they can. Feelings of hostility could be manifested by passing sarcastic oral comments, leg pulling on social media forums or sending offensive emails and intimidating texts.

Monitoring Internet activity can prevent workplace violence by detecting any hostile behaviors and interceding before the situation escalates into a confrontation. Monitoring therefore can help create a safe and friendly workplace environment, conducive to the growth of the company.

Security:

Keeping a company’s computer networks safe is yet another reason that supports the idea of monitoring at work. It is very common for viruses and spywares to get entry into the systems via unsolicited emails. If not kept in check, opening such emails or reckless web surfing can play havoc on the business’ computer networks. Restricting access to suspicious websites and maintaining logs of all incoming and outgoing emails can if not completely prevent, at least help the employers to detect any suspicious element sooner and take the best possible measures to rectify the situation. As the saying goes: A stitch in time saves nine.

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Ain’t Nobody Gonna Pay For That

Ain’t nobody gonna pay for that

Snapchat is going through a rough patch right now. Earlier this week they received a 25% markdown from Fidelity who has invested over $46 million into the startup. To make matters worse, Snapchat users are salty that the newest “lense” photo filters cost 99 cents. The lense filters were released in September with 30 total lenses and 7 remaining free,  but for permanent access users are going to need to break open their piggy banks. .Since paying is never fun user’s went straight to Twitter to vent, and rather than diffuse the tweets Snapchat embraced them by sharing them. At least they’re keeping it real. Bubble burst. (Source CNN)

What would happen if people could read your thoughts?

Google is giving browsers some serious app loving. Google is incorporating data from popular apps into browser-based search results. The best part is you don’t need to have these specific apps installed on your phone for it to work. Over the past two years Google has been taking steps to make it easier for developers to create apps that allow google to “peer” into the apps data. They’re making it smoother by simultaneously allowing apps to run inside Internet browsers. The end game is to show more relevant ad content to users. For developers this means creating apps that allow for “deep linking” in order for Google to pull their data. Some of the most popular apps involved include, Hotel Tonight, Weather, Chimani, & My Horoscope.  (Source MSN)

A little bit of Inspiration

It can be easy to overlook how fortunate we are, especially in times like these. So, Jimmy Kimmel asked children what they are thankful for.. The video posted on Wednesday evening is getting traction and some memorable responses include sushi, garbanzo beans, & fried chicken. Please don’t’ take my sunshine away. (Source Today)

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Go Social and Learn From Those Who Have Made Successful Careers

The public looks to celebrities for many things -fashion trends, hair styles, what books to read or shows to watch, but what about entrepreneurial advice?

Small business owners and those wanting to be entrepreneurs can take a look at the social media sites of celebrities to learn what it takes to be successful.

It can be tough even for celebs and some of them have done some pretty great things with social media.

If you are looking to get into small business or already have something going, take a look at some celebrities to see what they are doing on social media.

If one celebrity stands out in the world of successful social media, it might be Taylor Swift.

Sure, she’s a successful musician, but with more than 140 million followers between her Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram accounts, she also has a lot to offer in the terms of social media success.

Here are a few standout things she’s done:

• She engages – Her social media feeds are not all about her. She reposts and retweets her fans social media, comments on the Instagram posts of her followers and even chooses random fans to send Christmas gifts to. When her latest album was released she reposted pics of her fans buying it. So smart!

• She knows her audiences – Each social media platform is different, and with that comes different fans. Instagram has a younger fan base than Facebook, and Taylor treats them accordingly.

• She talks about her fans – Taylor constantly uses her social media to report on her interactions with her fans. This shows them they are meaningful to her; her fans are her friends.

• She posts about her cats – People love cats and dogs. When Taylor posts with her cats, it humanizes her. Fans like to see her at home playing with her cat, just like “normal” people do.

Social Media Tips Are Beneficial

Whether you look at Taylor’s social media feeds or other celebrities, you’ll find great tips on creating your own successful social media.

Don’t forget to look to those who have overcome struggles, too, like in the article “5 celebrities who needed major financial help.”

You can learn about what not to do as well as what to do.

To take it from Taylor to you – here are some things you can play around with on your own social media:

• Engage with your followers – If they send a great pic to you, repost it. If they comment, respond.

• Know your audience and the social media platforms – Treat your Twitter followers different than your Facebook friends. Learn who is where and treat accordingly.

• Run contests – People love this as it adds involvement. Whether it’s through a follow or repost, or sending in a photo – it promotes interaction and engagement.

• Post with your pet – Though people may not really care about your friends and family (sad but true) the heart warms when someone sees a pet post. Who doesn’t love a cuddly cat or sweet dog face?

Be creative with social media and let your fears go. Interact, engage and be friendly – you may see great things come of it!

After all, Taylor did!

Please share any of your social media success stories.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

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Cyber Security Threats Illustration Through 10 examples

First of all, the concept of cyber security should be comprehended in a detailed manner. As far as the notion or assumption of cyber security is concerned, the phenomenon of cyber security could be described as the scenario in which information system of any organization is secured or kept in a confidential way. This process is done for the purpose of improving the protection of secret and sensitive information through the help of taking preventive measures against unknown hackers or attackers.  There are different sorts of cyber security threats that should be taken into consideration so that precautionary actions could be applied in order to safeguard the information systems. There could be 10 influential and effective examples provided and these are as follows:

1. Targeted cyber-attacks have been enhanced

There is no point of denying this aspect that different kinds of hackers and attackers are focusing on various multinational and government organizations. In this concern, these people have applied a notion of advanced persistent threats (APTs).

2. Using Social media as criminal cams shoot up

As far as the uses and applications of social media are concerned, attackers are actually taking lot of benefits from different social interaction websites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others. These people are using such online mediums or platforms so that they could run their malicious campaigns in order to use the customer information provided on these websites.

3. Customers Identity Threat

There is another threat of social media that should be considered in the form of accessing to the customers information available on these interactive websites. In this way, attackers collect information about each and every customer and then they make wrong uses.

4. Combined cyber-attack scenario

There is need of understanding this attribute in such a manner that attackers use different forms of communication platforms such as Facbook, Twitter and others. As a result they use and extract the information from other sources such as cloud and mobile devices so that they can attack multiple sources at a time.

5. Geospatial Mobile Device attacks increased as well

This type of cyber security threat is associated and related with the social engineering scams so that the hackers could utilize the mobile location based services for the sake of planning geo location. At the same time, hackers also perform the planning of making social engineering attempt.

6. Traffic increase also causing security threats

This is also an important aspect to consider because of the reason that online traffic has been increasing on SSL/TLS in order to attain privacy and security. This traffic has been enhanced because of the two main reasons and these are huge or massive growth and expansion of mobile devices including tablets and the other is switching of various social media websites to http sessions so that the data or information could be transferred in secured manner. As a result internet traffic has been already beefed up and causing serious threats in terms of security.

7. Use of public WiFi connection

The most significant cyber security risk which is often overlooked by most of the people is the usage of internet through the help of public wifi network. In this way, the probability of identity theft or any other personal information increases. As a matter of fact, hackers and attackers also focus on this attribute therefore, users are recommended to take extra measures against this threat.

8. Internet of things (IOT)

As far as the scenario of internet of things (IOT) is concerned, this could be perceived as highly attractive and most vulnerable area for attackers. This could be comprehended in the form of baby monitors and home security systems along with televisions each and every thing which is connected to wifi becomes a way of providing access to attackers in a great way. Therefore, all  the customers should be beware of the fact that they should buy those appliances or products that provide extra care against cyber security issues.

9. Mobile payments mechanism a reason of cyber security issue

There is no point of denying this attribute that mobile payments do create lot of opportunities of hacking and other illegal use of personal information of the customers. This is due to the fact that there have been increased rate of mobile payment data breaches found in recent years. As a result, the hackers are able enough to take benefits of this scenario or situation for their own interest. In this concern customers take preventive measure that should be perceived in the form of two factor identification. As far as the importance of this action is concerned, in this way customers will be able to hide their identity when they enter password along with pin code so that the security of their information will be increased to considerable extent.

10. Internet Services Providers are also becoming cyber security threat

This is an important aspect to consider because customers do not know the inside story of their internet services providers companies. This situation should be perceived in such a manner that organization do not give or value the personal information of their customers at times. Therefore, there is strong likelihood that hackers might attack the information systems of these companies. As a result the security of information systems of these organizations could vulnerable or problematic issue for the customers. it is strongly recommended that customers should take care of their own personal or sensitive information. At the same time they also make sure that their internet service providers companies should enhance the privacy and protection of their information systems to a great extent.

Quick Words

In this era of digital communication, different sorts of online and interactive mediums have become vulnerable when it comes to analyzing the security or cyber privacy issues. Therefore, all customers who use internet and provide their personal information on various social media websites are needed to adopt and follow certain precautionary measures. This action of protecting their information on internet will be helpful in decreasing the chances of personal identity and other sensitive theft and in this way customers could safeguard themselves from bigger loss in the future.

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What To Say When Your Friend Says Social Media is Evil…

What To Say When Your Friend Says Social Media is Evil…

You’re wrong. Facebook’s “Safety Check” feature is proving yet another benefit of social media. Safety Check allows users to let their family and friends know they are safe. The feature was originally intended for natural disasters but Facebook has decided they will begin using it more frequently for different events. The feature was most recently available in Nigeria and Paris after tragic attacks. Mark Zuckerberg said, “We care about all people equally, and we will work hard to help people suffering in as many of these situations as we can.” Points for Facebook. Great idea. (Source TIME)

Quote of the Day: “They’ve changed themselves from worst in class to the best in class.”

Microsoft isn’t messing around when it comes to security. CEO Satya Nadella is spending $1 billion a year to try and make Microsoft products more secure against hackers. That’s a lotta cash. It’s awkward because just a few years ago working for Microsoft security was considered to be one of the worst jobs in tech since the products were prone to issues. But with their new changes the past couple of years this is no longer the case. Cybersecurity is important – especially considering the amount of hacks that have happened over the past year – so snaps for Microsoft stepping up their game. (Source Business Insider)

In Case You Missed It…

If you have yet to see “An Irishman in Vegas” check it out below. Joseph Griffin pulled a classic dad move when he recorded his whole Vegas vacation with his son’s GoPro. But the GoPro was pointed at him, rather than filming a memorable Vegas vaycay. His son took it as his responsibility to post the vlog to YouTube where it has reached over 6 million views.  We guess he knows now that What Happens in Vegas Stays on YouTube…literally. (Source Yahoo)

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5 Reasons to Get Off the Couch and Trademark Your Slogan Now

Trademarking your slogan might not seem like something that a company has to do immediately, but it does have its advantages. Without trademarking, the business and advertising world would be much different; it could be filled with many similar slogans and it would be difficult for customers to differentiate your company from the competition. Here are five of the best reasons to get a trademark on your slogan.

 

Image via pixabay.com

1. Trademarking Prevents Others From Trademarking Your Slogan

Getting a trademark for your slogan not only keeps others from using it, but it can also prevent another company from trademarking it for themselves. It is not as uncommon of an occurrence as one might think;when this happens, a company is contacted by a lawyer representing another company telling them to stop using their trademark. Fighting this can be worth it but it can also be expensive so it is important to weigh the options. Many hours of marketing and marketing materials can be wasted if you lose a trademark case, so getting a trademark early can help avoid wasted money later. The main purpose for a trademark is to be able to differentiate companies in a certain space or marketplace.

McDonald’s is a great example of a company who is not worried about taking companies to court over trademark infringement. This is for a variety of reasons but the main reason is that they are a global brand with enough money to pay lawyers for long drawn out cases. McDonald’s does not win all of their cases but they won a case against Quality Inn who wanted to open a chain of hotels called McSleep Inn. McDonald’s eventually won the case and continues to fight trademark infringement around the world.

2. It Can Drive Social Media Tags

A great example of a slogan that has an enormous following and is commonly tagged on social media is that of Nike’s “Just Do It”. The hashtag version, #justdoit, is used in over 6 million posts on Instagram alone. The posts range anywhere from people buying Nike products to those using Nike products while working out.

Nike has obviously built their brand on this slogan, and having a trademark is important as similar slogans cannot be used by competitors. There would be an outrage is Adidas all of a sudden turned their slogan to “Just Do That” because it could create ambiguity between Nike and Adidas.

3. You’ll Stay in Business Longer

There was a study at the University of Melbourne that found that businesses that trademark slogans or logos are more successful. In fact, for each trademark the business took out, an average of about two years was added on to the business’s life. This could be because it makes the company look more professional, which keeps customers coming back. Slogans and trademarks can also earn extra money for the company, which can be attributed to adding longevity to businesses. An average trademark infringement lawsuit can cost up to $100,000 with no guarantee of winning. This could account for some businesses in the study closing their doors earlier than those who have trademarked their slogan. While some trademark lawsuits can bring in millions of dollars for a company, the company has to make the decision and rely on their legal counsel as to whether they will proceed with the lawsuit.

4. You Can Make Money Off of It

If your business has a catchy slogan that has been trademarked, then it can be profited off of. For example, if a community group wanted to use your slogan or logo on their t-shirts, they could pay for the use of the slogan. Companies can license out their slogan or logo to others for as much or as little money as they want.

If your slogan is used without your permission then you can go to court and be rewarded monetarily. Companies sometimes can profit immensely off of this, especially if the offending company did not publicly apologize or settle out of court.

5. Secures Your Trademark in the U.S.

Although a trademark from the United States does not protect a slogan overseas, it can prevent imported products from using your trademarks. This is the reason that some brands change the name of their product when they begin selling in the United States. Many knockoff products and slogans can be made overseas as the regulations are not as strict as they are in the United States.

As you can see, there are reasons you shouldn’t wait to trademark your business’s slogan. It can be a lot of work to rebrand if someone else takes your slogan, as your marketing department will have to start from the beginning again. Having a great slogan that speaks to what your brand is about is important and not overthinking the slogan is equally important. Good luck trademarking your brand, it could be the beginning to a great company that might eventually turn into a powerhouse.

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Is Your Franchise Getting Its Social Message Out?

For many people, owning a franchise is a viable career move.

It provides leadership opportunities, a chance to be the boss while having support from the main company, working with an established brand, and being part of something that you feel strongly about.

The key, though, is to help the franchise maintain a formidable presence and maintain success.

One way many franchise owners are working on this success is through social media.

Just like with any other business, social media has become a key component in the marketing of social media.

Whether your franchise is a hair salon, a frozen yogurt shop or a tutoring center, social media should be part of your marketing plan. With social media, you can promote your store, engage with customers and build relationships.

Let’s take a look at some smart strategies:

How to use social media to build a formidable local franchise

• Promotion - Some franchises will have set formats and regulations for social media. This is great – it’s easy and probably already successful Link into this to promote specials, deals and offers for your franchise. You can also look into adding in your own social media touch; check with corporate to make sure this is an option according to policy. By using various platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, and twitter, you can send out deals and specials. You should also be cross-promoting from one site to another;

• Customer Engagement - This is where you get to chime in. When your follower posts that you have served the best ice cream they’ve ever had and every employee was smiling – thank them! Repost and share. People love to see their posts be shared, and when you get a nice compliment – let the world see and respond to it. If you have a negative comment, respond. This is a great way to let your followers/customers see how you take on conflict and resolve it;

• Build Relationships - Social media is an excellent place to build relationships, not only with customers but also with other franchises (both those of your same brand and others in your community). By following others, you’ll see what is working for them as well as what isn’t, and you can share ideas and concerns with others in your same situations.

Use a variety of social media methods to market your franchise

Because different demographics tend to hang out on different social media platforms, use as many as you can. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are all big ones, but don’t forget about YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+. You never know who you may connect with on these platforms, too.

Franchises take a lot of work, but the sooner you can incorporate social media, the better.

There’s a whole world out there on social media; be a part of it!

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

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Is Your Social Media Team Working with Your Web Designer?

When social media was just getting its footing, web designers and those who claimed to have a social media-friendly website simply added their media icon with a link to their footnote. As social media trends have undergone substantial growth and now impact the world both on and offline, it is essential that your social media team work closely with your web designer to maximize user engagement and experience.

Here are the key considerations when integrating social media into your web designs.

Make social media prominent on the mobile version of your site.

Google’s latest search algorithms penalize sites that are not mobile-friendly. Not coincidentally, most users access social media on mobile. As such, businesses have integrated social media applications and platforms more deeply with their mobile designs, aiming to not only be search-friendly, but also to engage social users on the the most popular social medium.

The social media page design must be consistent with your branding.

When working with your web designer and your social media team, there must be an understanding that the design has to be up to the standards of the web, and to the expectations of common UX and user interaction trends.

There are regulations and limitations on what can be done in each of the social media platforms. For example, you cannot simply make a banner with a nice logo, slap it on Facebook, and hope for the best. There needs to be a little more strategic planning in the development of your social media page.

Your site needs to strategically use their posts and their ad campaigns within social media to draw people not only to their business site, but to the social media page. The social media page needs to relate the same overall design concept as the main page to minimize brand confusion and build the image of the company being presented.

Interaction and engagement using social media.

The structures of web pages are changing. Social media integration is a standard and a norm, and engagement through such media is becoming more and more common. The social media team and web designer need to work hand in hand to ensure that the interactions between the customers and the business remain grounded on the business pages (whether those pages are mobile or web-based pages).

When using direct communications with clients, such as in conferencing and live webinars, social media needs to be embedded into the website design. This minimizes the risk that customers will associate your branding with another company or that there will be navigational conflicts which frustrate potential visitors from interacting and engaging.

Click to pay buttons are OUT.

Most web designers could see that the trend to get rid of payment navigation buttons would pick up rapidly. Whereas integrations like PayPal and Square have secured a place for themselves on certain types of web pages, many of the newer social media-friendly sites are abandoning the use of such buttons.

The psychology behind this is quite simple. People do not want to go all over the internet when they are purchasing a product from a business.

Think about calling a company on the telephone and being directed to press 1 for English and 2 for Spanish. Then you have to press a button, 1-9, for a department. Then you have to press a button, 1-5, for the type of product, and finally you have to press a button, 1-9, for what you want to have answered about that product. The same is the mentality of the payment navigational button. Buyers simply do not want to run around on their purchasing.

Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter are among the top social media sites that have started to phase out the payment button in exchange for keeping credit card data on file for quick purchases without leaving the network. Businesses that are integrating social media trends into their site should consider either partnering with the social media platforms to offer shopping cart options or hiring a developer to create their own system that allows for the customer to make purchases without the need to navigate from the page.

Reduce text and increase videos and pictures.

In the past, the load times of videos and pictures kept web designers from using too many in the design. Granted, designs should still consider load time, but in many cases, videos can be streamed directly from another network (such as YouTube, Vimeo or Wistia) without unduly affecting the user experience.

This makes for a more visual and a more social media-friendly design. Again, as most of the people who are engaging websites are doing so from smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, the amount of text that is presented to the public to read needs to be kept at a minimum.

However, since you still want to retain the attention of the person viewing the site, images need to be strategically used. Not only do the images relate the information of the site, but with social media sharing on such platforms as Pinterest and Instagram, your brand identity can be maximized if the proper images are selected.

When integrating social media, keep privacy as a priority.

Even though the name “social” relates a sense of community, most people that use these platforms want to have a level of privacy. Every web designer’s job should entail user privacy control as one of their primary goals. They should attempt to minimize the amount of public access to personal information as much as possible.

Security measures must be in place to comfort the user in knowing that their emails and other such information are secured. If a web designer and your social media team are planning on using live conferencing, consider integrating Facebook Rooms into the site or using a service that allows a level of anonymity for those participating.

Get feedback through social media.

The funnel model of marketing has shifted from trying to get a customer in and having that customer relate information to gaining customer loyalty and providing customer empowerment. By having a say on social media regarding functionalities of the business (whether that be a new product, a promotion, a discussion of a product, etc.), customers are more apt to be engaged and share your brand with someone else on a social media platform.

Social media is dominating our culture and the way in which our businesses are governed. It is critical that anyone who is developing their branding have a social media team to work with them. Both the web designer and the social media team need to understand that BOTH are a critical part of web development.

The social media team is responsible for ensuring that the SERPs and social media responsibilities of a business are handled properly and that the website has the information that is expected in today’s market. The web designer is responsible for taking that information and creating an interactive and appealing web site. It is absolutely critical that both parties work together seamlessly.

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Charlie Sheen’s Tiger Blood tests positive for HIV

Charlie Sheen’s Tiger Blood tests positive for HIV

In an interview with Matt Lauer,  Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen announced that he is HIV positive. Just like a few years ago when Charlie Sheen proclaimed he had Tiger Blood, Twitter blew up with this serious announcement. Fans were praising the star for going public with his news. GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) used the announcement for a teachable moment, sharing “To eradicate #HIV once and for all, we must first eradicate the stigma related to it.” Sheen announced he will use his status to help people as much as he can. (Source CNN)

#LoveInParis

In reaction to the tragic Paris attacks Facebook is giving people the option to show support by enabling a French flag filter on their profile pictures. Snapchat has done the same by creating a supportive filter with the nation’s flag, and the message Pray for Paris. If you would like to show your support by using these filters here are the helpful links on how:

Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook . (Source Mashable)

What to say when you hate a friend’s tweet …

Sad face emoji. Twitter recently replaced our favorite stars with hearts, and now they’re launching “reaction emojis.” The possible update was spotted on an early developer build of the site so it’s not clear when or definitely IF the changes will happen. The reactions would be a way for people to diversify their emotions when responding to posts. This is similar to what Facebook is doing with their their “dislike button.” Now we can all keep it 100. (Source MSN)

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10 Unconventional Ways to Leverage Your LinkedIn Profile & Boost Business

For professionals and businesses alike, LinkedIn is no longer optional. These days, everything from sales and business development to content marketing and online learning is done through LinkedIn. When it comes to your boosting your business, here are 10 tips for getting LinkedIn on your side.

Humanize Your Brand

In the current culture, brand voice is everything. In order to connect with your potential clients and partners, your company’s voice has to resonate. If your company’s page — or your own — is riddled with dry facts and stock images, it’s not exactly inspiring.

Even if your target audience is another business, it’s comprised of people, too. Make sure your page displays your company’s personality by:

●      Showing off you and your company’s accomplishments.

●      Talking about internal, as well as external, events.

●      Relating your company to industry trends.

Connect Strategically

Your connections should be about quality, not quantity. Having a few high-quality relationships is often more valuable than blanketing the space with invitations to connect. If your goal is to connect with potential clients or partners, make sure you do your research first and target narrow and deep to find significant relationships.

Publish Content

Take advantage of LinkedIn’s “Publish a Post’” feature. Use long-form content to explore topics that are important or related to your business. Blogging on LinkedIn gets your content out to the full LinkedIn community via LinkedIn “Pulse” and provides a way for you to easily monitor engagement via comments, likes and shares.

By positioning yourself as a thought leader or influencer, you’re bringing validity to yourself and your brand within your field and establishing trust.

Share Regularly

Curate content from your network and put it out there for your potential clients and partners. Your audience wants to see that you’ve got eyes on the industry and its key players, and sharing others’ posts is a great way to demonstrate that.

Promote Employees’ Profiles

Actively encourage employees to get out there and interact with your audience. And as the business, share what your employees are doing. Showcase their experience and projects on your company page, and let your audience see that you value your people and their skills. This puts you in a good place not only with future clients, but with future employees as well. It’s a great way to highlight your company culture.

Participate in Groups

Being a member of industry or interest LinkedIn groups can go a long way with potential customers. You and your employees can use group discussion forums to your advantage by:

●      Offering advice on topics you’re familiar with.

●      Promoting products and services to drive new leads.

●      Posting job openings to find new talent.

Endorse and Be Endorsed

Let people know you have what it takes to do the job with endorsements. Endorse people you’ve worked with for the skills they used with you, and they’ll likely return the favor.

Additionally, ask current clients and former colleagues to write you a recommendation for your skills or services. Reading about the experience someone else had with you will let prospective customers see that you have success stories and are good to work with.

Reach Out

Instead of cold emails, use the more personal LinkedIn messaging service to get in touch with new prospects. If they have already accepted your invitation to connect, the hardest part is done.

Most people check their LinkedIn pages often, so you can be pretty sure that someone is seeing your message. Emails tend to get caught by spam filters or lost in the deluge of new business emails that people get on a daily basis.

Keep Your Competition Closer

Follow the companies and connect with the people you consider to be competition. Every company has its own page where they display basic information as well as stories about their products, people and events. Keeping these companies and people on your feed allows you to stay on top of what they’re doing in the industry and keep an eye out for people on the move. When you know what your competition is up to, you can better develop your own strategy.

Raise Funds

If you have a startup, you probably know that LinkedIn can be a huge resource for mentorship and advice. But did you think about using it for fundraising?

Connect with the people whose advice you want, and don’t be shy about asking to pick their brains. By connecting with venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and other mentors, you’ll not only learn a lot about starting, growing and (maybe) selling a business, but you could also pick up some investors along the way. 

Everybody has a LinkedIn profile, and everyone is using it. By leveraging LinkedIn’s capabilities, you can easily make your company and your profile stand out.

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