Friday, 20 July 2012

Pay Per Click – Advertising Statistics and Trends [infographic]


July 20, 2012

Pay Per Click

Businesses and marketers are always keen to observe the trends with pay per click advertising, as pay per click advertising may be proving to be more beneficial than just aligning efforts to rank sites through organic searches.
Pay per click advertising, essentially paying for advertising to rank at the top of search engines, is an effective method to generate more traffic to websites.  In a world of overwhelming information available over the web, it is advantageous for businesses and marketers to have links and information readily available at consumer’s fingertips and in plain sight.  Hence the reasons, search engine sites have sponsored ads lining the top part of the pages and right columns.  These areas of web pages result in the greatest number of user clicks.
Some interesting pay per click (PPC) advertising statistics and trends are highlighted in this infographic from WordStream:
  • Pay per click ad results outweigh organic search results by nearly 2:1 (commercial content)
  • PPC accounts for 64.5% of clicks (high commercial intent)
  • Top 3 Sponsored links at the top of the Google search page account for 41.1% of the clicks
  • Sponsored ads on Google account for over 85% of the page above the fold
  • If companies already rank organically, adding pay per click ads results in 89% new visitor traffic
  • Click through rates for Google ads are 600 times higher than paid ads on Facebook pages
Check out some more information and trends on pay per click advertising, comparison of SEO and pay per click, and options in paid advertising.
pay per click
Source:  WordStream
Businesses and marketing specialists should carefully weigh the options of marketing and advertising activities.  As in all business activities, marketing plans should be developed, identifying marketing activities and budgets.  Pay per click advertising may form part of the advertising campaign, and with all activities, the results of efforts should be tracked, measured and analyzed.  You may want to compare the return on investment in pay per click advertising to other forms of marketing and advertising activities in your business.

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Thursday, 19 July 2012

High Performance – Star Qualities to Get You Noticed


July 19, 2012
high performanceHigh Performance
Whether you are an employee in the private or public sector, or into self-employment, you need to set yourself apart from the pack.  To make a significant impact on your organization or industry, there are things you can do to achieve high performance.  Possessing and demonstrating qualities will ensure you stand out from the competition, internally and externally.



For the most part, personalities get noticed, but other characteristics and qualities gained through experience can make you shine through.  Your qualities can assist in your performance, but can also rub off also in the higher performance of employees, teams and business itself around you.
High Performance Qualities and Tips
Here are some qualities and tips to performing at a high level and getting noticed:
  • Demonstrate excellence in everything you do, strive for excellence and encourage all to achieve excellence
  • Set aggressive, achievable goals and demonstrate dedication by hitting them
  • Seek and implement continuous improvements for yourself, for your team, for your business
  • Be genuine, truthful, honest, respectful and fair; uphold strong values and ethics and treat others as you would want to be treated
  • Create an open and transparent environment around you; staff, stakeholders and customers will want to go to as you have gained levels of trust
  • Keep emotions in check
  • Be consistent in your responses, decisions, and in your daily work
  • Be an example of collaboration, partnership building, encouraging team effort
  • Rely on other’s expertise; be noticed for calling upon others for their value-added advice, opinions and recommendations
  • Value everyone’s input and feedback
  • Lead by example
  • Be energetic, enthusiastic, creative and innovative
  • Be loyal to colleagues, staff, customers
  • Hit and make the deadlines, be on time

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Monday, 16 July 2012

Retail Stores – The Top 100, Strategies, Trends and Statistics


July 16, 2012

Retail Stores – The Top 100  

Realistically speaking and understating, it has been a rough go for the past while in the retail sector, similar to many others industries when the economy hit its bumps.   While the usual big box stores are on top in their expected rankings, other retailers have emerged, with differing strategies to engage and capture consumer attention.   The National Retail Federation (NRF) has just released the top retail stores report and some insight into those successful retail companies.
According to the NRF report, the business strategies of the top retailers are as varied as the list.  Some retailers are keen to develop expansion plans around urban development, while others find their niche in rural areas.  Depending on retail strategies, some retailers are integrating into the shopping mall model, while others are thinking outside the “mall” box.  It is apparent there is not one standard business and marketing strategy that works for all.
Some interesting strategic patterns have emerged across the top retail stores:
  • Long-term, consistent nature of the strategies
  • Successful strategies that center on the customer first, as strategies should
  • Differentiation that set those top performers apart from the competition
  • Retail strategies and stores focused on essential goods (food, drug, medical) remain strong through economic turbulence 
  • Online retail strategies continue to build
Top Retailers
See the rest of the Top 100 Retailers of 2012 at NRF Stores site
It is clear that in companies like Walmart and Amazon that to stay on top, that their low-cost provider strategy is still priority #1.  In some cases, in order to build long-term customer loyalty, retailers such as Amazon break-even or lose money on some items.  It has been predicted that these two low-cost providers are going to continue to grow over next 5 years.
Online retailers like Amazon illustrate success with their model of e-commerce, without the need for physical locations.  The trend will continue in this direction, as retailers may need to stay competitive by moving part of their operations into online retail expansions instead of expensive physical locations.
More Reading on Retail and the Customer

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Saturday, 14 July 2012

Social Media Jobs – What Social Media Companies Are Looking For


July 14, 2012

Social Media Jobs

Interested in a career in social media?  Do you want an idea of positions, roles and employment criteria?  You may have passion and desire to be an entrepreneur in social media or work within a leading social media company, but it is a fiercely competitive media – tech field.  How would you position yourself to stand out from other candidates and be that social media star companies are looking for?
MindFlash has produced an infographic on social media industry employment, highlighting the social media positions typically available and favorable employment qualifications.  The value added side of the infographic also provides some tips to landing your much desired social media job.  These tips are valuable across the board for many professions in various industries, and applicable to potential entrepreneurs in gaining capacities in operation and management experience related to social media related ventures. Here are some of the stand-out qualifications that will put you out front:

Social Media Exposure and Presence

Get noticed by being everywhere on social media, highlighting your capabilities.  It is important to brand yourself out there, just as important as companies branding themselves.  Several social media personalities are well-known throughout the platforms.

Social Media Proficiency

As you brand yourself as the specialist in social media, it is best that you know social media platforms inside and out.  Knowing all the features, apps, mechanics of all the major sites is a must.

High Creativity in Social Media

Employers and partners want to acquire creativity as an asset to the organization.  If you have that creative, innovative edge, you may have the competitive advantage over others.

Keeping it Professional

Employers strongly live by their codes of conduct and values and ethics guides.  Social media is all about external visibility.  You will need to make sure you uphold strong values and ethics and that your conduct in and outside the company is appropriate.

Social Media Industry Knowledge

Employers want to acquire professionals who know what is going on in the industry.  To win in a job competition, and in entrepreneurial ventures, you will need to have a pulse on industry players, trends, and resources.  Knowing companies inside and out will score you well in the essential criteria of the position.

Partnership Building Across the Social Media and Tech Industry

It is an asset if you are well-known in the industry for collaboration on projects across companies and having the ability to structure beneficial partnerships and joint ventures.  Companies can be specialists in one area, but may require the assets, knowledge, or proprietary processes, products and services of a synergistic partner.  Once again, bonus points will be scored if you rank well here.

Volunteering and Try Outs

You have nothing to lose by offering yourself to companies to demonstrate your capable, value-added skill set.  It may set you apart from the competition if you can offer to work on a trial basis (sometimes for free or cut rate).  Generate some of your own conditions if you do come across the opportunities, as both parties must mutually agree to duration, scope of work, and end objectives.
social media - job tips
Source:  Mindflash
There are other qualities that didn’t get captured here, including dedication, judgement, strong project management skills, ability to work as a team player, and leadership competencies that would surely benefit you in obtaining the “best fit” for the any social media position.

Here are some additional Social Media articles, blogs and infographics:

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Thursday, 12 July 2012

Marketing Tips for Better Customer Engagement and Results [infographic]


July 12, 2012

Marketing Tips

In business it is critical to interact and communicate with customers to get the sense of what customers want and if your business is meeting their needs.  The more frequent, valuable, and genuine your interactions and communications are, the more trust you will build with your potential and existing client base.
Some simple marketing, business tips produced in an infographic by Mindspress, highlight the small things you can do to build better rapport with clients.  By making small adjustments and improvements in activities, you can achieve greater exposure in the environment and communities, and better results with customers.
  • Communications – gather customer contact information such as email to give you an avenue to engage and offer to the customer frequently.
  • Asking for feedback – the ability for customers to provide a feedback and reviews will create buzz around your products and services.  It also helps in creating traffic and in spreading the word through multiple sources and Google searches.
  • Community involvement – according to this article, giving back to the community, such as volunteering, sponsoring, and donating creates greater exposure for your business.  It helps improve morale for those who feel good with their involvement in communities.  Customers will take note!
  • Revised Marketing & Business Planning – it is extremely important to review your marketing and operational activities, to measure and to analyze the results of anything you are doing.  The global, domestic and local markets and business conditions change frequently … so should your marketing activities, marketing plan and business plan.  Stay on top!
  • Continuous Learning Environment – you need to keep a pulse of customer feedback and to incorporate the constructive messaging back from the customer.  When the customer is telling your something after their purchase, they are informing you (as an added benefit to you) that they invested in you, and in order to keep them you need to improve the experience, product or service.  Listen well and incorporate changes based on feedback.
marketing tips
Source: Mindspress.com

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Saturday, 7 July 2012

Business Plan – The Next Steps


July 7, 2012

business plan - commercial loan criteriaBusiness Plan

You have taken the time and effort to develop a draft business plan, and now you are looking to move to the next steps.
Depending on how you developed your plan, whether you completed the draft independently or not, you may want to strengthen your plan before approaching necessary funding agencies, investors, or partners.  You may just want to take steps to ensure you are implementing a stronger, more objective business plan that will have the higher probability of working for you.  Here are some tips you may find valuable.

Business Plan Review

As much as you would like to state, that you have put in the greatest efforts to create the best plan, you need to be open to constructive feedback.  Be willing to adapt and be flexible to adjust the business plan accordingly.  When your draft is ready, provide it to friends, family, mentors, consultants and or specialists in your business field.  Give the party the task of critically analyzing the business plan, but also to provide you with constructive feedback to make it stronger.  With external feedback and recommendations, you will be developing a better business plan in a more objective manner.  Ensure that you try to acquire the services of professionals (paid or unpaid) to assist in the process, as there are aspects of the business plan these professionals will target and provide recommendations on.
Don’t forget that if financials are your weak point, have an accountant or bookkeeper review those necessary financial projection documents, such as the projected income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.  Some financial analysis should be completed and included within your business plan on those projections.  Stronger financial statements and interpretation of those numbers will signal investors and lenders that you are serious and have done your homework.
business plan - commercial loan - presentationAs you may approach lending agencies or business grant and contribution programs, it is always a good idea to try to arrange a preliminary meeting to understand the requirements and criteria of these agencies and programs.  To acquire a commercial loan for your business, you will need to know the specific commercial loan criteria.  With a better understanding of what you need to meet, you can adjust that business plan and financial documents accordingly.

Revising to Make the Business Plan Stronger

Following feedback, be keen to adjust the business plan.  With that open mindset, take in that constructive feedback and turn the draft into a more polished document.  Here are some common tips and feedback for business plan revision:
  • Write a spectacular Executive Summary to catch the reader’s immediate attention
  • Remove non-essential descriptions and sections
  • Write clearly, with concise and “to the point” sections of the business plan
  • Ensure that the narrative part of the document is error free
  • Financial statements should be clearly laid out and error free
  • Cite sources to support points and data references in the business plan
  • Add appendices for accompanying documents
  • Make versions of the business plan specific to agency or external party requirements
  • Ensure you demonstrate meeting lending or program criteria
As a valuable additional step, have what you consider to be your final revised business plan reviewed again externally.  This will help in catching any of those little errors and help you finalize the document.

Final Business Plan Ready for Submission and Presentation

With a complete business plan now on hand, you should understand your business front to back thoroughly.  Be ready to make brilliant summary presentations on this business plan, as now you will be approaching lenders, partners and programs to seek financial or business support.  You will want to make an impressive impact.  Depending how you and the other party want to proceed on a presentation, be prepared to highlight the business case, through a visual PowerPoint presentation, or just through a powerful personal presentation with appropriate handouts.  Whatever the case, always be prepared.
With a few added steps, you will achieve your goal of developing a stronger, more objective business plan to present to appropriate parties.  Always remember that your business plan is your blueprint to implement your own successful project or business.  The plan is a living, breathing document, and needs to be revisited, reviewed and revised frequently as markets and business environments consistently change.

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