Eight Questions To Ask Before You Start A Business Are you thinking of starting a web business? Starting a PPC Management agency? Setting up your own site and selling things, or building a web publishing empire? Before you start, ask yourself the following eight questions. 1 . Define what service the business provides. Try to focus. McDonalds could, no doubt, provide up-market meals, but they focus on selling quick, cheap food. That is what they do. 2. Who are your customers? Create a mental image of your typical customer. 3. What is your unique selling proposition? If your customers can buy the same services for less elsewhere, or more easily, they will. There is a tendency to model yourself on others. This is not to say doing something wildly new or different is any guarantee of success. 4. This point is so important, it really should be number one. Businesses may have great ideas. Then the bank manager calls. The overdraft has hit its limit and you can’t meet payroll this week. There is no fooling cashflow. 5. 6. 7. Set company goals. 8.
Cómo calcular el ROI de una estrategia en social media En el anterior post, os hablaba de los motivos por los que las empresas piensan que las estrategias en social media no funcionan . Uno de ellos era que no calculaban correctamente el ROI . ¿Por qué digo esto? Las empresas comparan los resultados, en términos de conversión, con el resto de canales de su estrategia online. Si comparamos las ventas obtenidas (atribuidas directamente) a social media , con las que nos llegan a través de SEM, estamos comparando peras con manzanas. Para calcular correctamente el ROI de una estrategia en social media, además de las ventas, debemos tener en cuenta los retornos que se consiguen en cada una de las fases del funnel, y tratar de traducirlos a dinero. social media funnel/inbound marketing funnel Para hacer el ejemplo más sencillo, voy a elegir una sola KPI por fase del funnel. En el podéis ver los pasos a seguir: Traducción de los . Selección de las . Cómo calcular el retorno de inversion (ROI) en social media
The 25 most difficult questions If you are one of those executive types unhappy at your present post and embarking on a New Year's resolution to find a new one, here's a helping hand. The job interview is considered to be the most critical aspect of every expedition that brings you face-to- face with the future boss. One must prepare for it with the same tenacity and quickness as one does for a fencing tournament or a chess match. This article has been excerpted from "PARTING COMPANY: How to Survive the Loss of a Job and Find Another Successfully" by William J. Morin is chairman and Cabrera is president of New York-based Drake Beam Morin, nation's major outplacement firm, which has opened offices in Philadelphia. 1. Since this is often the opening question in an interview, be extracareful that you don't run off at the mouth. 2. You should be able to discuss products or services, revenues, reputation, image, goals, problems, management style, people, history and philosophy. Give your answer a positive tone. 3. 4. 5. 6.
The 10 Best Games for Learning About the Stock Market Much like skydiving, playing the stock market is not an activity you want to learn through your mistakes. Fortunes are made and lost all the time by people who think (or thought) they had a handle on stock trading. If you have a few million you can afford to lose, or you're investing with someone else's money (you're a bank, in other words), by all means, jump right in. WeSeed:While some of the games on this list may be more concerned with purveying entertainment than education, WeSeed's No. 1 goal is to teach people about the stock market and take the fear out of investing. How Your Employees Can Be Your Best Salespeople Column by Janine Popick, Inc.com "Girl Power Female CEOs" June 21, 2011 How can you get your non-sales employees to help "sell" your business? If you have salespeople, you know what they're usually motivated by: cold hard cash. And if they're not, they shouldn't be your salespeople. They Need to Like Their Jobs Even the most mundane jobs can be fun, so it's time to inject some fun into the jobs of your employees. Another idea is to really reward people for going the extra mile. At my email marketing software company VerticalResponse, we believe in empowering our employees to think for themselves and make decisions on their own. And finally, recognizing a job well done might even be more important than cold hard cash. They Need to Like Your Company One way to make employees proud of your company is to give them a reason to be. Transparency is also key. Employees also like companies that give back to their communities. They Need to Like Your Customers
3 Simple Reasons Why Social Media is Important Social media has proven to be an important and integral part of modern day business operations, and cannot be ignored. There are a number of reasons as to why social media should be included as a part of any business campaign and for any business to be successful in these modern times, there needs to be room for the inclusion of social media. Here are just some of the reasons as to Reason #1 Print media is largely losing its appeal, and people are now looking to a different direction to promote their business and improve their business prospects. Reason #2 Although email marketing is still used largely as part of marketing by many successful businesses, it is still not as effective as social media sites. Reason #3 Social media allows you to create meaningful and personal relationships with clients and potential clients in ways that other channels don’t.
What Sun Damage Looks Like Dermatologists, beauty editors and moms everywhere can tell you to wear sunscreen until they turn, well, red in the face. It’s up to you to make the real effort. But in much the same way those gruesome anti-smoking campaigns can persuade you to ditch the Marlboros for good, this extreme example of what the sun’s rays are truly capable of might inspire even the most negligent of sun worshippers to don SPF 1000 immediately. SHOP: SPF 30 Proven to Work (From Our Sister Site BeautySage!) Behold, the unfortunate case of a 69-year-old truck driver who spent the better part of 30 years on the big rig. Due to his vocation, the subject experienced what the researchers—whose observations were recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine—noted was a case of unilateral dermatoheliosis. QUIZ: See How Healthy Your Body Skin Is In this case, we can clearly see the contrast in exposure levels, not to mention the dramatically different results. MORE: Your Guide to Your Best Skin
Tutorials Ponzimonium After Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme was revealed, many new (smaller-scale) Ponzi schemers became exposed. Ponzimonium ... Quarterly Earnings Report A quarterly filing made by public companies to report their performance. Included in earnings reports are items such as net ... Dark Pool Liquidity The trading volume created by institutional orders that are unavailable to the public. The bulk of dark pool liquidity is ...
Business Ideas for the Self Employed Several years ago, I had a lovely long-term consulting assignment which kept me both busy and solvent. One morning I woke up and realized that it was coming to an end and I had nothing lined up. After a few moments of panic, I decided to get serious about creating my next income source. Over time, I’ve learned that there are other benefits to this simple technique. There’s an old saying, popularized by Robert Schuller, that goes, “By the inch, it’s a cinch. You can begin implementing the $100 Hour even if you now have a job or other commitments that clamor for your time. A word of warning is in order here. To show you how easy this is and to get you thinking along these lines, I’ll give you some of the $100 ideas that have appeared on my lists and those of others who are joyfully jobless. Every single one of these ideas can be started easily and inexpensively, so there’s no excuse for not getting your own $100 Ideas List started. . . Many people think of concierges as miracle workers.
El Líder nace o se hace El Líder nace o se hace : Es una pregunta que durante muchos años ha estado en polémica y es la pregunta del millón. Es además una interrogante en la cual deben ser incluidos algunos otros aspectos, tal es el caso de las cualidades propias de cada individuo y el ambiente en el cual se desarrollan estos individuos. La relación entre las personas es de influencia mutua, lo que una persona diga o haga en una relación cara a cara, va a influir de forma positiva o negativa en el o en otros. En realidad todos podemos ser líderes en cada una de las actividades que realizamos. Cuando los niños están en su edad inicial es responsabilidad de los padres el infundir confianza en ellos, inculcar el respeto hacia ellos mismos y hacia los demás, hacer crecer su autoestima, fortalecer sus valores para que siempre actúen basados en su percepción de las personas y las situaciones que se les presenten. ¿La personalidad es innata o adquirida? ¿El líder se forma durante la infancia? Basado en el libro de:
Top 6 Sites that Inspire and Educate & Life Scoop If you’re a professional who likes to be intellectually stimulated and you enjoy keeping up with the latest news and breaking trends, the internet provides you with an endless choice of carefully curated sites to visit. Today, we bring you six of them that we believe are leaps and bounds above the rest. These sites will not only educate you on topics ranging from business and technology to art and design, they’ll motivate you to find your own, original ideas and see them through. They’re culturally relevant, they’re idea driven and most of all, they’re deeply inspirational. TED is short for three incredibly important subjects in our modern world; technology, entertainment and design. Tip: Download TED’s free iPad app to browse through 800 videos by date, popularity or keyword. 2. Brain Pickings started from very humble beginnings. Tip: With over 63K Twitter followers, Brainpicker has a strong audience…and for good reason. 4. 5.
7 Effective Strategies To Get Your Music Noticed | Echoes – Insight for Independent Artists In some music business schools, they still give students assignments that go like this: “Assume that you have one million dollars. Make up a marketing plan on how to promote a band.” Here’s a realistic assignment: “Go to MySpace. Although most bands would like to have the kind of budget to promote their latest album on TV, radio, and billboards, they are more likely to have just enough to print up posters for the next gig. Here are seven effective strategies to get you and your music noticed. You have one thing to do before you get started, though. Once you know your audience, dig in. SEVEN EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES 1. 1. Don’t start there. The competition for attention in music publications and sites is overwhelming. Instead of focusing on music publications and media, think in terms of audiences. The sailing magazine, which wasn’t used to receiving music, much less an entire album dedicated to exactly what the magazine was about, ended up getting reviewed in the magazine. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Ryan Holmes in Fast Company – 4 Pillars to Building a Brand Ryan Holmes was recently featured on Fast Company weighing in on successful brand building. From tech startup to an international success story, Ryan shares his personal expertise on what’s worked for HootSuite. We’ve summarized his thoughts on product offerings, nurturing the community, establishing a team and providing thought leadership. One of the best ways for entrepreneurs to stand apart from the crowd is through successful brand building. 1. To cultivate a strong brand, it’s important to start with creating a solid product offering. 2. On top of building a strong product, it’s important for an entrepreneur to embrace their community. 3. Another strong element to a successful brand is by building a strong team. 4. Finally, entrepreneurs can establish a strong brand by becoming a thought leader in the industry they’re a part of. For the full story, check out Holmes’ full article on Fast Company.
izing Our Water World: 20 Infographics About the Oceans We live in a water world: 70% of our planet’s surface is covered in water and the majority of it is oceans. Oceans are fantastic places full of unexplored depths with undiscovered life. Giant monsters of the deep are fabled to live below, fair mermaids draw sailors in, and forgotten undersea cities delight the imaginations of children. We may only know a fraction of what there is to know about the oceans, but that is mostly because there is just so much to know! The depths of the ocean are an especially intriguing topic. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. The currents of the oceans are powerful driving forces that carry heat around the planet. 8. 9. 10. 11. Unfortunately, we seem to pollute everywhere we go, and the high seas are no exception. 13. 14. 15. 16. The pollution we cause is a terrible thing. 17. 18. 19. 20. Drew Skau is Visualization Architect at Visual.ly, and a swimming PhD Computer Science Visualization student at UNCC, with an undergraduate degree in Architecture.