Erik Qualman's Blog, page 639

Content Marketing: The right platform to sell product

Content marketing is a powerful tool for the marketers. With the advent of online media, those in the business have found a new medium for marketing. Content marketing enables one to reach the niche audience in an organized way and identify with them, thus increasing the sales.

1.) Creating guidelines for content promotion

Content marketing enables one to increase the customer base. However, to realize the true potential of using content marketing for product sale, you need to follow a set rule of guidelines. This includes using catchy titles, optimal use of keywords and quality text. Ensure that you highlight all the benefits of your product or service and help it reach the audience in a targeted manner. Taking help from professional content writers can do the trick as they can intelligently weave words thus helping you convey the message clearly to the target readers.

2.) Writing qualitative content

Qualitative content can work wonders for you. Online world has grown increasingly competitive and any business segment has number of people competing for gaining a share of the market.

To emerge victorious in this competitive scenario, one needs to work on quality and highlight the benefits of one’s service. Doing quality research before sharing your ideas with potential customers can work in your favor as the readers will identify with you and take you seriously.

3.) Working towards Search Engine Optimization

The buzzword for success in content marketing is search engine optimization. Search engines as Google, Yahoo and Bing have grown smart enough and will ignore your endeavors in case you do not adhere to the standard search engine optimization techniques. Follow the rules and you are all set to emerge victorious in the challenging world of content marketing.

4.) Intelligent use of keywords

Keyword optimization is imperative if you are considering to build your customer base through content marketing. Optimal placement of keyword coupled with judicious mix of keyword density and keyword frequency can help you rank a step ahead of your competitors. Act smart and choose intelligent keywords that highlight the essence of your brand or service. Using keyword finder can be of great use as the same will help you to pick a mix of highly competitive and least competitive keywords, thus helping you showcase your service in a better and organized manner.

Content marketing has brought about a rapid change in the manner business promotion has been handled till late. In order to ensure that you reach the customers in a targeted manner, business promotion through various mediums is imperative too.

1.) Promoting content through social media

Content marketing helps in lead generation, in case you take adequate measures to promote it through various mediums. One of these is social media websites. Facebook, Twitter and You Tube have in recent times emerged as a powerful medium for content promotion. Adhering to quality is the key to success while promoting content through social media. Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and You Tube videos need to be created intelligently,keeping the need of the readers in mind.

2.) High value content

Every business segment is undergoing rapid transformation and new innovations are being made in every service. The trick to convert these to sales lies in innovative thinking. While trying content marketing for generating leads, work on the new innovations in your segment. Identify and prioritize the components you wish to incorporate in your your content. This will not only give an organized look to your ideas but will ensure that all of these get highlighted adequately, thus helping you establish a strong foothold in your niche area.

3.) Connect with your customers

Your content marketing strategy will work to your advantage only in case you connect with your customers. Give them a option for expression of their thoughts and you will find a viable increase in your customer base.

Respond to any queries of your customer immediately and you are sure to get popular with them. Keep a track of your regular customers and offer them incentives. This will work in your favor as these customers will be inclined to sharing your ideas with their friends and family, thus increasing your sales.

4.) Keep a track of all developments

To ensure success of your content marketing strategy, you will need to keep a track of all developments. This can be in form of being in knowledge of number of leads captured, knowledge on average value on sales and knowledge of average return on investment.

Follow the above listed strategies and your content marketing endeavors are sure to increase your sales and help establish you as a leader in your niche segment.

 

About The Author: Kelly is a writer/blogger. She loves writing, traveling and reading books. She contributes in Brian Krupa

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How can Social Media be used in Education?

Do you remember when you first created your Facebook account?  I remember asking my sister, “But what do I even say? Who cares what I’m doing?”.  Little did I know, everyone cares.  Still, I remained skeptical of this whole social media thing.  I felt as if it was a fad that would come and go, I guess that is why I was so hesitant – after being stung emotionally by the death of the Pokemon card fad that I invested so heavily in as a child.  But that’s a story for another day.  I ask you to recall this early memory as I want you to consider how you would have reacted if someone had said to you that in 2013 (permitting the world not ending in 2012), social media for business would be a borderline necessity if they were to survive.  I think I would have laughed.  How could this be used for a business?  But, we are here, the world didn’t end, and businesses all around the globe are realising the infinite potential of social media.

I’m making a prediction that in 5 years time 80% or more of schools, colleges and universities will be using social media as not just a marketing tool, but as an actual cog in the learning process of students.  Young people now grow up in a world of media and immediacy, if schools shy away from this fact – then they are just further distancing themselves from the students of today.  Having social media involved in the classroom would be a great way of grabbing their interest and getting them engaged.  This post will be exploring some of the ways in which I believe this to be possible.

 

For Marketing Purpose

Okay, let’s get the obvious one out of the way first.  Many educational institutes are already implementing social media marketing successfully as a tool for recruiting new students.  If they’re getting it right, then they’ll be using it as a platform to talk about the success of current students and perhaps how the school is improving all of the time.  They could really build up a positive image for the school and allow parents to get a feel for how unbelievably awesome they are.  If you run a educational institute and you’re not doing this…why not?  Go do it, right now.s

Classroom Blogs

I can’t take credit for this as my sister (who is a teacher) was telling me about her ideas about this – and I love it.  The idea is that each class have their own blog, which is managed by the teacher but authored by the students.  So the pupil who generates the most interesting essay or paper on the topic of that week will have their work published online to the classroom blog.  This will give them a huge sense of achievement and inspire the other students in the class to work harder to achieve online publication.  To take this a step further, you could also add a friendly level of competition by having classes compete.

Video Learning

I remember actually falling asleep in an IT lesson once in school.  I put this down to the fact that just listening to a teacher talking for an hour is eye shuttingly boring.  People love video, young people love video – this can’t be argued as YouTube is the world’s third most visited site.  Video should be being used more in school and if these videos were posted to a class YouTube account, then the students could re-watch the videos at home whilst doing their homework!

Teacher Twitter Accounts

There is an invisible barrier between a teacher and their students, the great teachers smash through that.  All of the teachers in my life who had the biggest impact on my education and life were the ones that I felt didn’t look down on me and were both approachable and understanding.  Having each teacher have their own teacher Twitter account would take a big leap into removing some of the bricks in that barrier.  They could post lesson recaps, answer homework questions, or best yet, have students tweet what they’ve learned in 140 characters to the teacher account!  This will allow the students to feel much more connected to their teacher and remind them that their teacher is actually a person who watches TV, sleeps and buys Nutella, just like you do!  There is something about seeing a teacher outside of school when you’re a kid that just blows your mind – isn’t there?!

Have Students Run Fake Accounts

Again, credit here is due to my sister - teacher extraordinaire.  Classes that are covering historical figures can use social media to really get into the life of that person.  She will have all her students create a Facebook account on a piece of paper for that person.  Putting all of their likes, interests, some status updates etc.  This is great fun and just a much better spin on learning about the famous people of the past.

So with all of these great ideas for using social media in education, why isn’t it more widely implemented?  Well, much like a few years ago in the business world – people seem to feel like they don’t need social media in schools and that it will just be a distraction for students.  This is so much the case, that most social networks are usually blocked and out of bounds to students and teachers alike.  However, I’m sure it’ll just take a handful of schools to start using it and achieving the inevitable success and coverage, before we will see it used across the board.  At least I hope so, otherwise I’ll look stupid for making my earlier prediction.  No pressure, schools.

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World Backup Day is Back On for March 31

World Backup Day is March 31, which is good news for any potential April Fools out there.

A recent Wired.com survey discovered that 40 percent of participants have never backed up any of their personal data, while 25 percent perform a monthly backup. A whopping 80 percent reported that they have no backup of their most critical work files, digital wedding images and other important data.

Do you fit into one of these categories? Or do you think you’re safe because your important documents and images are saved to your computer’s hard drive? Note this: Experts point to the hard drive as the computer component most likely to break unexpectedly. According to WorldBackupDay.com, mechanical hard drives fail at an annual rate of 3 percent, and this rate gets higher as the drive gets older – with a 3-year-old drive, the annual failure rate is 6 percent.

Sure, you may be able to recover some of your data in some cases, but wouldn’t it be simpler to just back it up in the first place? A couple of concerned reddit users thought so, and they created World Backup Day to promote awareness and use of cloud storage solutions.

If you don’t have your most important data backed up, or if you don’t do it regularly, World Backup Day is for you. Take heed and you’ll never have to worry about the safety of your data again. Here’s a great bargain to get you started: Cloudstoragefinder.com is partnering with MyPCBackup.com to offer new customers $1 per 100 GB of storage when purchased on March 31.

Backup, 24/7

Cloud storage enables you to store your data securely at off-site server locations, so in the event of a system failure, your data is safe and easily accessible from another computer or mobile device (not to mention, it enables users to access files and data anywhere at any time). Many individuals and businesses have realized the importance of cloud backup and made the switch, and now they’re reaping the benefits: According to a recent McKinsey survey of business leaders, 63 percent agreed that cloud storage and backup makes their entire organization more business-agile and responsive.

Even though businesses are increasingly going to the cloud to meet their storage needs, a recent PCWorld survey on data security found 38 percent of the information technology professionals surveyed were worried about their data not being saved securely, or whether data had been backed up at all.

Because of this, the companies involved in spearheading World Backup Day are enthusiastic about what IT pros can do to make the most of backup storage service. “With the increase in hackers, and the undeniable truth that hard drives eventually fail, it’s always a good idea to backup your data,” says Dan Short, operations manager at MyPCBackup.com.

5 Tips to Make the Most of Cloud Storage

Any new technology will present both challenges and opportunities. For most individuals and institutions, the real challenge lies in understanding the value cloud storage provides in comparison to their current storage solutions. Here are five tips to help you evaluate your need for cloud storage and how it makes your life easier and data more secure:

Choose the appropriate cloud: While cloud backup, cloud hosting, and cloud storage are all forms of online storage, there is a difference. Cloud storage is perfect for music and video storage and sharing, while cloud backup is a redundant storage for “important files” and is useful for people or businesses that can’t afford to lose their data. Finally, cloud hosting is more for the website owner or webmaster who has bandwidth needs and is more concerned with cloud uptime.

Know the costs: Cloud storage for a hard drive runs $50 to $100 a year for 1 TB (terabyte) of storage. This is generally considered far more than the average user needs. Make sure to talk with your service provider so you understand the pricing arrangements. Also, check for any hidden costs. Watch for cloud service providers who hide fees for data access, data migration or portable device handling. The industry is large enough for you to find someone to give you a complete cost picture. Be assertive when investigating any hidden costs.

Know your security measures: While available security measures depend on your particular service provider, it is standard practice to store data completely encrypted. Physical access to each server is controlled with electronic key cards and PIN codes, and guards patrol the premises of most data centers 24/7. Cloud data centers keep your data on servers that have much lower failure rates than PC hard drives. In addition, the data centers run uninterrupted power supplies (UPSs), so you never have to worry about power outages affecting your data. Make sure to thoroughly question a potential provider about its security measures before you sign on with service.

Have a disaster recovery plan: If you run into an emergency business situation where your physical premises are destroyed, having the cloud will save you. But you’ll be better prepared if you include the cloud backup in your disaster recovery plan. If you haven’t already, make sure you create yours.

Check on your service provider: You should be able to trust your cloud storage service, but no one service is perfect. Check yours regularly for missing or corrupted files and errors. If something’s not quite right, get in touch quickly. The real test of customer service is when something goes wrong, and you’ll learn a lot about your service provider when you see how they handle challenging situations.

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7 Ways to Network On Twitter

 

Twitter has grown by leaps and bounds. It’s no longer just a place for teens to Tweet about their shoes, it can also be a great place to network with others. Whether you want to grow your business or connect with people to land a job, Twitter is a great social networking site that every professional should be using. However, it should never be a site that is used solely for the purpose of gain. Taking the time to enhance the Twitter experience of other users can actually make you a more popular Twitter user. Not to mention that you’ll get more out of the experience.

The following are seven ways to network on Twitter.

Account for Your Actions

One mistake people make when using social networking sites is to share opinions that should be kept to themselves. Use Twitter to connect with others without Tweeting about difficult topics, such as politics. What you say on Twitter should be something you’re not afraid to say anywhere else. Of course, Twitter can also be a place to explain your actions. For example, if your business got into the news for something unfavorable, use a Tweet to apologize or explain what went wrong.

Make it Clear What You Want to Talk About

A Tweet shouldn’t be a short grouping of words and hashtags. Your post should be meaningful and capture the attention of readers. A Tweet should never make readers question what the post is about. Think before you Tweet. If you reread your post, does it make sense without further explanation? Consider what users who know nothing about your business would get from the Tweet. If it wouldn’t make sense, you need to tweak your Tweet.

Retweet With a Purpose

People make the mistake of simply retweeting others posts simply because the person shared one their tweets. Instead, you only want to retweet posts that will be of interest to your followers. For example, if you own a business that deals in books, retweet posts about books, reading devices, and other book-related material. Retweeting is a great way to gain more followers and easily share information that is related to your field.

Go the Extra Mile- Show People You Care

It’s important that you show how grateful you are to those that connect with you and retweet your posts. Take the time to send a direct message that isn’t automatic. Automatic direct messages seem impersonal and are a bit annoying. Another great tip is to give a shout-out to new followers by tagging them in a post.

Engage Conversation

Comment on Tweets that interest you and ask questions through your Twitter account. This will cause more people to pay attention to your Tweets and be interested in what you’re going to Tweet next. Twitter should never be a one-sided conversation in which you simply share your links. A great tip is to start conversations about news articles that are related to your business. Ask followers what they think about the story and reply to their comments.

Introduce People- Be a Connector

If you know others that are in the same career field, introduce them to your followers. Tag these people in Tweets and say something about them. For example, let’s say you have a Kindle website and have connected with a number of indie authors. Let your followers know about their work by connecting them. For example a post might read, “@indieauthorsname is a #paranormal #romance #author with 6 #books currently available on #Amazon.”

Be Friendly and Approachable

Don’t be too stiff when using Twitter. Let your personality shine through so that you appear friendly and approachable. This will encourage more people to follow you. For example, share a clean joke every now and then, share a link to your favorite music video, or talk about the book you just read. You want to seem like a real person, rather than just a drone that is sharing links. People want to know that the people they do business with are more than just business-oriented. People want to deal with the average Joe.

Twitter is an excellent social networking platform that professionals can’t afford to pass up. If you want to network with professionals in your field and those that would find your services useful, you need to use Twitter and do so professionally. Consider how you can get the most out of Twitter, while also improving the Twitter experience for others. If you want to give your account a boost in credibility, you might want to do what many have done before and cheat Twitter followers to get your initial numbers up. Be aware that this quick cheat is often over-rated as all it does is increase your numbers and not your engagement, but is still quite popular.

What can you share that they will find interesting? Who should you connect so that other users have more followers? Twitter is a social networking platform that should be a meaningful experience. If you’re using Twitter for the sole purpose of sharing links for your own benefit, you’re not using Twitter properly. Take the time to enhance your Twitter experience and the experience of others.

–

Mark Johnson is a freelance writer specializing in social media and online marketing. He has written countless articles for blogs, websites and newspapers in the USA, UK and France.

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Why Is Our Social Media Broken?

Whether you run the smallest of companies or the largest of businesses, you undoubtedly do some kind of promoting.

If you are leaving social media out of your promotional efforts, perhaps using it but not correctly, you stand to lose out on a significant portion of potential business.

With that in mind, check three key facets of your company’s social media efforts, looking to determine why you’re not presently clicking with consumers:

1. Infrequent updates – Are you or your team in place for social media constantly updating your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn pages? If you only have one site, perhaps more than those listed above, how often do you update them? Unfortunately, many companies find themselves in the position of only updating them when they get around to it, leaving them looking out of touch and lost when it comes to SM. Make it a priority to update all your social media pages regularly, showing consumers and even other businesses that you take SM seriously;

2. The wrong message – No matter which social media site you use to promote your brand, don’t use it as simply a forum to try and shove a sale down someone’s throat. In the event you try that, it is sure to backfire nine times out of 10. While a sale is undoubtedly your goal at the end of the day, you should be using social media to assist consumers, engage with them to help answer their questions and solve their issues tied to your industry, and educate them more on your products and/or services. Too many companies turn to SM to simply use it as a sales vehicle, either forgetting or denying that such a tactic will turn off more consumers than it will bring in. Whether you sell insurance, real estate, invoice software, furniture or vehicles, always keep in mind that the sale doesn’t automatically come first. Helping the consumer today can go a long way in making them want to buy from you tomorrow;

3. Spread too thin – Finally, is your social media game plan spread too thin? While you undoubtedly want to put your company out there on as many sites as possible, placing your business on too many fronts is oftentimes a no-win scenario. Unless you have a dedicated full-time person or outsource such endeavors, you will never be able to many things to many different people on social media. If you’re finding that you get little return on your social media investment (mostly time and effort), review how many sites you are actually on. Measure the metrics to see how many followers you have, what types of conversations they seem most interested in, and when it is best to interact with them.

At the end of the day, always remember that you can’t be everything to everyone.

Your social media efforts should be concentrated, up to date, and have a goal in mind.

If you are doing social media for your business, what have you found to be most successful?

Photo credit: learnospirit.com

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4 Social Basics for Business

Here are four basics in social media that businesses both large and small should always revisit.

Twitter conversations ‘behind your back’

The ‘backchannel’ generates stupendous interest from Twitterati. Even as CEOs and marketing VPs delivered presentations in lofty air-conditioned halls, and on-road advertising campaigns ran in full swing, simultaneous Twitter conversations on these events/presentations/launches (‘backchannels’) took this social media platform by storm. In essence, the backchannel conversations were aiding publicity and marketing. And of course, marketing teams jumped on the bandwagon, using Hashtags and forming dedicated Twitter teams to initiate and encourage discussions. Lesson to learn? Leverage the Twitter backchannel to create excitement and awareness about your brand.

Viral ads and the trend towards greater visualization

Instagram and Pinterest made a huge impact in 2012, pointing to the growing trend of greater visualization in social media platforms. Content, of course, continued playing an important role in social media campaigns and the demand for writing services did not abate. But the emphasis was also on a ‘lot of watching’. Attention-grabbing and even bordering on controversial, quite a few ads posted by businesses on YouTube went viral. Oreo’s ad was just one of the handful, and was extensively shared on Facebook and other sites.

Memes added creativity and fun

Memes add to the entertainment factor of social media marketing. They make businesses appear less stiff and more personable. Once again, in line with the trend towards greater visualization, memes manifested themselves into pictures and videos. Virgin Media’s ‘Success Kid’ and Hyundai’s ‘Pomplamoose’ were just two of the many much-talked about memes that the young, Twitter-friendly crowd whole-heartedly enjoyed and embraced.

Marketers leverage the added customization options offered by social media sites

LinkedIn’s gift to member businesses in 2012 was more flexibility to add images and greater control over the how corporate images could be presented. If you don’t already have a LinkedIn page or you overlooked this new custom option, think about how best you can reach out to customers or businesses in your niche with more compelling images. Facebook also added newsfeed updates that enabled marketers to leverage ‘targeted updates’ to engage users based on location and the industries they follow.

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Internet Marketing: The best way to make maximum money at home

It used to be a complicated task to make money online. It required the user to have his/her own site, some marketing campaigns, and specific products to sell. However, scenarios have changed a lot in the last 3-4 years. The introduction of some specific sites have changed the concept of earning through online media. Internet marketing has become an easy concept that allows even the basic users of internet to earn some handsome money online. However, there are many hyped and false sites available. Don’t fall prey to such sites.

Look for the real deal. There are several ways to earn online. Post ads, write reviews, maintain blogs, carryout some sort of form filling, or even checking the email can lead to earning some bucks. There are survey sites available. Take part in these surveys, complete them properly, and there are chance of earning more than a handful of cash. All these forms a part of internet marketing. Say, a person says, “I am working as a content writer for a Digital Firm”. The question is: “What does the actual work strategy behind such content writing?” Well, it is also one form of internet marketing. Content writing is nothing but a type of SEO technique that helps in improving the visibility and ranking of a particular website. It’s all linked up with one another.

According to a recent survey, nearly 5 billion people from different corners of the world are ardent users of internet. The number keeps on growing. Many among these have made internet as an integral part of their everyday life. Be it interacting with friends, collecting information, watching movies, or earning money through online promotional campaigns, the internet has paved a whole lot of prospective for people. Internet is a virtual world with unlimited possibilities and options to look forward to. It is a fine source to make money through. Internet marketing is surely a very effective way in earning a handsome amount while sitting at home.

To carryout internet marketing in a proper way, let’s follow the below provided steps:

The user need to have a clear understanding about his/her knowledge and skills

This is the most important step. Before approaching any further, the user needs to have a clear understanding about his/her ability and knowledge on the field of work. Most importantly, does the user have self belief regarding online money making procedures. Is it really possible to make money online? These questions are very natural to come. Let’s c what the possible answers contain:

Yes, it is possible to earn money online, and that too, without investing any big sum. There are a whole lot of people who have started from the scratch. And still, they have managed to earn some money through online ad posting, content writing, and other e-marketing techniques. With every passing day, they gather some experience and more work fluency. If shown a little bit of patience, then the earning capability will also improve. If knowledge about some specific products is there, then carrying out e-marketing on those selected products becomes easier.

There is another benefit of internet marketing work procedure. The entire work scenario is not like the regular corporate culture. There are no work pressure or deadlines to face. Only strong dedication and love for the work is required. When there is strong love for the work, then it becomes easier to carry out online marketing with greater enthusiasm.

A well-designed web site can help in better marketing campaigns

These days, any website depend heavily on SEO techniques to improve on their performance and ranking in the virtual world. SEO is nothing but a series of online marketing strategies being carried out by professionals. Without these strategies, internet marketing will not happen in a positive way. Henceforth, a well designed website with organized and genuine content is necessary to allow internet marketing end up on a positive note.

Social media can be highly beneficial for online marketing

Social networking is gaining highest level of popularity in the online world. So, why not use this concept to a better effect? It can be used to market products and brands. There are numerous social media sites like Orkut, LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, YoutTube, etc through which online marketing of brands and products can be done without spending a penny. Profiles can be created for free. Once profile is created, posting ads becomes as easy as chalk and cheese. in fact, social media sites have the potential to create potential customers for the posted ads.

Finally, always try to reply to visitor queries and posts. It helps in creating a positive impression. It also helps in creating potential customers. After all, internet marketing is all about creating potential customers through catchy ad and content posting. Quite interesting an approach, isn’t it?

About The Author: Kelly is a writer/blogger. She loves writing, travelling and reading books. She contributes in Canadian Center of Science and Education. Check here for more on Canadian Center of Science and Education

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Come Home to Social Media for Rental Properties

If you own, rent out, and/or oversee rental properties, there are a number of ways to go about advertising what there is to offer.

In the days pre-Internet, many rental property owners and those charged with running them turned to standard advertising vehicles, the newspaper or local magazine, to tout their offerings. For those that could or can afford it, television ads have also been an option for years.

Enter the days of the Internet, and now rental property owners and those in charge of them have an entirely new and valuable tool with which to promote their available sites, social media.

So, what are some options for rental property owners to become more social with consumers looking to rent properties?

Among the options:

1. Facebook and Twitter pages – The two top social media sites can prove very beneficial in spreading the word about rental property options. Use a Facebook fan page to give some information about who and what you are, what properties are available and what each offers (see more in tip #3), pricing, amenities, and of course contact information. Twitter can also be used in similar fashion, allowing you to again have direct contact with current and potential renters. Both sites should be updated frequently, allowing you to take advantage of real-time interaction;

2. Repair updates – As most if not all rental property owners know, inevitable repairs come with the territory.Using social media to keep tenants up to speed on such repairs is much easier than having to personally contact each and every one of them. Use your property’s Facebook fan page to update tenants on repairs, along with who will be doing them. Given that many tenants want to know who is working on their residences at any given time, you can alert them via social media if you have contracted with any plumbers, electricians, roofing companies, landscape providers and more. This will alleviate any concerns they have of seeing strangers on the property;

3. Get to know us – Facebook fan pages and Pinterest are two great sites for you to post photos and details about you and the rental property staff. When tenants can put an image with a name, they typically feel more relaxed in dealing with someone. This also makes it easier for your staff to move around the property, given that tenants will recognize them as part of the community. Although tenants want specific details about each property, using the above-mentioned site and even YouTube videos are great ways to showcase the property. You can use social media to highlight the various amenities, including pools, jacuzzis, fitness centers, playgrounds for the kids, and more;

4. Keep your ears to the ground – By being active on social media sites, you can hear at times what current and prospective tenants are saying about how you run things. Issues they may not want to bring up directly can be found on social media sites and on online forums, allowing you to address matters before they potentially escalate.

No matter what you turn to social media for, using it when you own or oversee rental properties can make coming home a little bit more enjoyable.

Photo credit: insuranceproviders.com

 

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How to Snoop on Your Kid While He’s Online

As kids approach adolescence, their need for privacy and insistence upon keeping parts of their life away from the prying eyes of a parent can make it difficult to monitor their activity. With the advent of smartphones that allow your child to carry the Internet around with him in his pocket, the need to make sure that he’s not getting into online trouble can feel even greater. While it’s usually more effective to attempt an open dialogue about what is and is not considered appropriate online behavior before resorting to spy-level surveillance, there may be times when snooping feels like the only choice.

Monitoring Software

Even less than tech-savvy parents can learn to navigate parental monitoring software, which is designed to run in the background and be undetectable by users. There are several varieties of monitoring programs, all with different features and levels of functionality. One thing that they all have in common is an ability to reveal all the things your child is doing online when you’re not there to look over his shoulder.

Limit Computer Use to Common Areas

If you’ve opted not to give your child a web-capable smartphone or a laptop, then you may find it easier to snoop while he’s online if the main computer is located in a high-traffic area of your home. When your child knows that a simple glance his way could reveal questionable web content he’s viewing, he’s more likely to think twice about what he looks up. Not only will you be able to keep an eye on what your child is looking at, but you’ll also be able to influence him into making better choices based solely on your nearby presence.

Check Your Browser History

Older kids with more advanced computer knowledge may be savvy enough to delete their browser history, but younger kids and tweens may not yet have the required know-how. After your child uses the computer, take a moment to scroll through the browser history. You’ll be able to access all of the pages your child has recently viewed, allowing you to get a good idea of what areas need to be addressed most.

Fake Social Networking Profiles

If your children haven’t deleted you from their Facebook friends list yet, there’s a strong possibility that they’ve learned to manipulate the safety and security settings so that they can block what you’re able to see. One way to make sure that you’re seeing everything posted on your child’s timeline and every interaction he has is to sign up for your own fake profile and use it to add your child. Unless he’s naturally suspicious of strangers, he probably won’t block the visibility of his posts to a new friend.

Keystroke Recording Software

Every email, every message and every web search can be recalled with a keystroke recorder, along with your child’s passwords. If you have a serious reason to believe that something is wrong and you’ll need to be able to confront your child with concrete evidence to make a difference, keystroke software may be the way to go. Be warned, however, that a child who’s not actually involved in questionable activities will almost certainly feel that she has no privacy or grounds for trusting her parents. In the event of an emergency, these programs can be quite valuable tools for parents.

 

Webcam Monitoring

There are ways to remotely view everything the webcam in your child’s computer sees, but it’s wise to think long and hard before resorting to such things. No invasion of privacy is as personal or as upsetting as being actively watched when you’re not aware of it. Furthermore, there are some sights a parent just doesn’t need to see.

Smartphone Apps

Do you want to track your child’s movements with an online GPS service connected to his phone or block content he’s able to view with the device? There are a slew of kid-monitoring apps available for smartphones that can help you keep tabs on your child when he’s away from home.

These methods will help you track and monitor what your kids are doing online, but there is no app or program to replace the trust that is almost certain to be lost when your child discovers the depth of your investigation. Before resorting to underhanded means of finding out what your youngster is up to, you may want to attempt having an open, judgment-free conversation about boundaries, appropriate behavior and the implications of being careless on the Internet.

 

 

Source: http://nannybackgroundcheck.com/

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Become More Social on Title Insurance

These days you can hear about any product, company, person, or fictional character on social media.

So why do you think that title insurance and a title agency should be any different? Social media is a wonderful way to connect, educate, and expand your client base.

Social Media Networks for Title Agencies

Social media is vastly widespread, from Google+ to Facebook to Twitter and onward. For starters, let’s focus in on Twitter and Facebook for your business, highlighting the strengths of each.

Twitter – Twitter is fast and simple, tweeting short and to-the-point messages without a moment’s wait. If it happens, chances are it is on Twitter mere moments afterwards. Research is quicker on Twitter because of searching using its Twitter Search feature. You can get information on your business, or someone else’s business, in no time flat. Lastly, if you are wanting a business post to go viral, you want it on Twitter instead of Facebook. More hashtag posts are made viral than Facebook status updates.

Facebook – Facebook is more down to earth and personable than Twitter. You’ve got the ability to share more and become more of a community than getting micro-bursts of information 140 characters at a time. There is more versatility given for your profile, from business pages to fan site to professional cover. Facebook also gives your business the ability to have ads and sponsorships, so you can target a niche database with your businesses function and service.

How to Use Facebook and Twitter for Title Insurance Education

Using social media applications such as Twitter and Facebook are a good way to both educate those who are unaware what title insurance is, and to solicit business for your title agency.

By putting out helpful tweets and status updates full of rich information on what title insurance is, what can happen if you don’t have title insurance, and the different forms of title insurance, you are also showing your business to be experts in the field.

By doing so, and assuring your client base that you are knowledgeable on the topic, you are potentially earning their trust and business.

Benefit of Title Insurance Social Media

When you go to post a status update or tweet, make sure that only one or two are promotions for your title agency for every six to eight educational ones.

No one likes the hard sell, and people will quickly ignore your posts if they think all you are trying to do is get their business. However, putting out good solid information will get your posts “liked” on Facebook and retweeted on Twitter, expanding your coverage outside of your circle of friends.

Get online and start up a few social media profiles and see how well your title agency connects with others. Soon you’ll have a wider reach to your community as well as create a more educated public.

Title insurance is a vastly misunderstood, but much needed, item. Expanding into social media can get you noticed.

About the Author: Tina Samuels writes on a variety of small business topics, including title agency information.

 

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