The On-Going Conversation

The Mobile Consumer World

We Live in a Digital World! 57% of Facebook and Twitter users have scanned a mobile bar bode at least one time within the year.

Read the full article via Fast Company

Verizon Wireless Customers: A Tech and Mobile Update

Tech: Verizon Wireless will soon drop its "New Every 2" upgrade plan, which rewards customers who renew a 2-year contract with a discount.

The Nature of Cell Phone Usage

Cell Phone Trends in 16 Countries: Source: Pew Research Center. The median % of people who own a cell phone has increased by 36% since 2002; the current median is 81%.

Re-Evaluate Your Business Mentality

Focus on what you can to set your business apart from the competition.

It is important for each department in a business to understand where they stand in regards to overall business goals. Without having a clear grasp of what their objectives are accomplishing, do their missions and goals truly serve a purpose?

Each department should be able to define their individual goals, which generally fall within the parameters of the overall business goals at each specific company. Obviously varying departments are going to have unique goals that other aspects of the organization don’t have and vice-versa.

However the difficulty can be to define these goals and make sure they are always being strived for. They may not always be achieved with day-to-day projects, but for the most part they should always be understood and transparent to all employees, which represent a collection of business entities throughout the world.

Listed below is an assortment of goals for particular businesses, regardless of their overall concentration. It also focuses on how they can ultimately achieve lasting results and implications with the customers they interact with.

1. Authenticated experience: In a sense, employees should believe that their company is striving to create a “prescription” for specific individuals who access their website, use their services or those that could potentially become customers in the near future. This will help maximize their overall experience and generate an environment that is easy to appreciate. It will also hopefully help align their innate perspective with that of the business and establish an ambiance of comfort. Not to mention, a degree of credibility and honesty that can transform the perception that individuals have.

2. Generate customer-loyalty: Employees are responsible for creating an environment where individuals ideally remain customers and convey their appreciation to their friends and family. This correlates to a quality customer experience that sustains a degree of loyalty and focuses on the nature of customer-centricity.

3. Market the businesses specific resources: You want to present the resources that you and your business have; not only the individuals who already work with your company, but also to those who may prospectively be interested conducting business down the line. Without documenting what your company has to offer, potential customers won’t even be aware of your particular services and may consider other companies from the commencement of your conversation.

4. Business adoption: Companies should allow the capability for people to go paperless and have access to their information with the click of a mouse. This also correlates to the placement of items on a website specifically, which creates an easy to use set of circumstances. This also helps with making items more convenient for prospective customers, especially considering the busy lives that we all seem to have at the moment. Just remember, we live in a digital world that requires instant gratification. A business should try and emulate this high-paced environment, if they want to sustain and continue a level of growth, especially in this technologically driven world.

5. Reach out into the community: Companies of all sizes, mentality and focus should be involved in the local community and promote information that is applicable to their own world. This will increase the likelihood of market awareness and hopefully lead to more individuals recognizing your business through association of ideas. This also involves the interaction with local entities, in an effort to make it easier for people to access your companies’ information. This can be accomplished by utilizing a proactive approach to personal market awareness and can even stimulate a level of intrigue.

All-in-all, companies need to determine what works the best for them. We all need to remember the capitalist system we are a part of. Ultimately the decision comes down to the individuals that live in the market place. Nonetheless, businesses need to do their best to market their products, services or approach, depending on whether or not a company is for profit, not-for-profit or non-profit.

Job Search Tips in a Challenging Economy

It has become increasingly important for prospective employees to set themselves apart from the competition. Regardless of where the candidates are in their work timeline—they could be recent graduates, well-established career professionals or those looking to transition into a new career; it really doesn’t matter. 

We all in a sense need a little guidance to calm the storm of the economic conditions that we are currently facing. To some extent, I would even say the environment has arguably become more turbulent in recent months, especially with the large influx of potential individuals that are fiercely seeking employment.

Moreover, with more and more individuals battling in the job search arena, one must do all they can to showcase their talents, goals, ambitions and overall experience. I understand that it may be extremely tedious and time consuming, but we have all went through it at some point in our lives.

When you are unemployed, everyday seems to be a constant degree of uncertainty. You always seem to possess ambiguity about your future economic stability. It can also be vague and challenging to build a foundation, without having a clear vision of what the future will hold. That is why you have to plant a seed with prospective organizations, based on the infrastructure that you have already worked to establish.

This groundwork could consist of past work experience, education, volunteer opportunities and a network of individuals that you can harness. Never underestimate the power of your social networks; your connections may be more than willing to help and may even recommend you to specific positions within their company. Start the conversation and who knows, someone may be able to help you out along the way.

All-in-all, it has become increasingly necessary to establish division and separation from your competition, especially in the obfuscating job market. Without taking the initiative and responsibility on yourself, the period of dormancy may be extended and the perils of being unemployed may continue to linger on.

Personally, I think it is arguably the worst feeling the in the world—exerting all your energy and transparency for a job opportunity, and then finding out after all your hard work that they decided to pursue another candidate.

This is why you need to do what you can to set yourself apart from the opposing vultures trying to isolate the opportunity from you. With this in mind, you must showcase your skills that are applicable and pertinent to the opportunities you are striving for. Without having a clear vision of why you think you are qualified—you may potentially convey that in the interview. This could all be due to a lack of confidence and clarity about your experience and overall credentials.

As a result, job seekers need to remain confident. They also need to understand that they will eventually find an opportunity they love. It may be challenging to continue pursuing a job prospect, but don’t give up; there are good days ahead.

Image Credits: Career Realism — June 22, 2009

Tips for Remaining Professional with Social Media

At some point, I believe we will all be expected to be fluent in social media. From my perspective, this means that we will basically be unable to stay truly connected without it. This naturally leads one to question—if social media is beneficial to those involved with it, or if it will create more of a divide amongst individuals who don’t have access to the Internet on a daily basis.

What do you think? Is social media overall beneficial or detrimental to society as a whole? I guess it may be challenging to draw a conclusion right now, but throughout the course of time, I would have to assume this question will come to the forefront. Take a minute and think about it for yourself, what would you be doing with all your extra time, if social media wasn’t occupying some of it?

This doesn’t necessarily mean that individuals should stop using social media. I just think it is merely important to consider the logistical reasons for a certain behavior, regardless of what it is; especially when the behavior is substantially time-consuming and may inhibit your personal relationships.

I think it will be especially prevalent, considering the vast amount of people who are just commencing social media as we speak. These individuals haven’t even thought of the implications of their networking behavior. Not only could the negativity of social media correlate to privacy issues, but I think it could also be damaging to an individuals’ innate mentality and connection to the physical world.

Hopefully it doesn’t go this far, but the new technological obsession has already transformed the definition of staying connected. At the moment, there is no mechanism or equation for predicting the future of social media and as a result, time will be the only indication about where social media networking goes next.

Not only do I think it will be important for personal use, but I also think it will become an obligation for businesses. I believe it will even become a necessity, regardless of the type of business that an individual is currently operating or working for.

Moreover, I think this will soon become a reality, because organizations need to reach prospective customers where they interact with each other, and for the most part, I would say this interaction is continually growing on social media platforms. I also don’t see the trend changing in the near future, so prepare for the social media landscape to be somewhat constantly present.

This is why I believe it is essential to join the social conversation, because without it, it may become increasingly difficult to stay truly connected. Not only to your close friends, family and loved ones, but also to the businesses that offer special deals online. It may also become more strenuous to find career opportunities and prospective employment, without showcasing your talents, education, skills and goals online.

This day in age, more businesses are utilizing social networks to recruit employees. However, some individuals are eliminated merely based on the information that potential employers discover. Don’t fall into this trap. Make sure if you are going to use social environments, that all of your information is reasonable and work appropriate, pictures included. Employers don’t want to see images of you behaving in ways, which they would classify as immature. Use your best judgment and strive to maintain a degree of professionalism.

With this in mind, a majority of businesses have already made a push to incorporate a social marketing strategy. Depending on the particular organization, it could be a social strategy that yields success or failure. However, one will never know the implications unless they try. It could ultimately enhance business operations and in a sense, be a compliment to the overall business manta and economic condition.

For those who haven’t established an online presence, now may be a convenient time to consider one. Who knows, you may prospectively harness individuals that may be beneficial to you in the long run. As cliché as it sounds, you never know until you try. 

Especially since social media and blogging are instantly available and free; this presents an ideal option for companies to facilitate people, who could become future customers in a mere effortless fashion.

Nonetheless, social media shouldn’t be driven by making more money. It should be viewed as merely a benefit to the business strategies that have already been working. It isn’t that time consuming either and it is easier than ever to cross-post on multiple social networks. So why not give it a try and start reaping the benefits of digital interaction?

Image from socialnomics.files.wordpress.com

Will Advancing Technology Destroy Interpersonal Communication?

I remember a more simple and un-embellished time, even unpretentious as far as I am concerned. A time when people weren’t constantly updating their Twitter accounts, communicating with their friends via Facebook, staring at a small screen with intrigue and arguably isolating themselves from the tangible world.

Personally, I cannot judge because I constantly fall into this trap and even find myself updating various social platforms simultaneously. Even though I continually use social media, I can still see the potential for digitalization to destroy the nature of interpersonal communication.

With individuals constantly expressing themselves through digital channels, will they even be able to connect with people on a personal level, aside from the barriers of digital concealment?

Furthermore, with more and more people utilizing innovative technology, we will eventually see the destruction of personal communication skills? What do you think? Have you ever considered this possibility?

I am not sure if this question has ever come into your own mind, but I thought it was a valid one to consider.

Anyways, this day and age it is hard to go anywhere without seeing evidence of digitalization. We cannot seem to escape the social and technological revolution, even if we try. Whether it’s an I-Pod, I-Phone, I-Pad, Blackberry or opposing personal hand-held device — people just cannot seem to function without a constant connection to the multi-media world.

Moreover, individuals have the ability to stay in contact with people like never before. At the same time, we continue to ride the wave towards increased technology and maximized innovation. Time will only tell what will happen and where the road of technology will ultimately head.

I am by no means questioning the advancement of technology; I am merely pondering the end result of this new obsession. Will there be a down side or will it remain optimistic?

Can we continue down the road and maintain the yielding of benefits for society? Or will the reality of communication amongst individuals be eventually tarnished?

Please join the on-going conversation and let me know what you think.

The Importance of a Social Media Strategy

Social media continues to become increasingly connected to business and the way in which it is conducted. Despite the juxtaposition of social media and social businesses, the phenomenon remains relatively new and wasn’t even part of the picture ten years ago. As a result, it can be challenging to decipher what is to come and where the world of social media is headed.   

Regardless of the implications, I am intrigued by the possibility of what’s to come and where the trends will ultimately lead. However, even with excitement there comes a degree of obfuscation. One can never truly predict the course of time and we will have to wait to see where the developments in digital technology occur.

Nonetheless, social media has already brought about innovation and has even changed over time to become more user-friendly. Individuals now have the convenience of updating one aggregate site, which will post a message on a collection of different social environments.

Who would have thought this could become a reality in the digital world, especially considering the social media advent is to some extent, still in its youth? Even though it may seem unexpected, the ability to cross-post is evident and I don’t believe it’s going anywhere in the near future; at least as far as I am concerned.

For example, I facilitate posts with HootSuite and Ping.Fm, which allows me to maximize efficiency, by taking less than five seconds to express my ideas on approximately fifteen social websites, simultaneously. In my case, the updates generally include Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo, Orkut, Digg, GoogleBuzz, Delicious, Friendster and LinkedIn, just to name a few.

 Social media has also continued to become more interconnected. This means that most platforms have the option of syncing with other sites. I even have the option of connecting my blogs to HootSuite as well, which can create a haven for news aggregation, information and continual communication.  

Moreover, social media junkies can continue to update their status and post a message on as many networks as they would like. This can even be more beneficial for businesses; they can have one individual responsible for social marketing and allow that individual to do it with utmost convenience and efficiency.

HootSuite even allows you to schedule messages periodically. This means that businesses can determine a network strategy and post messages automatically, regardless of the time of the day. With this in mind, organizations can specifically target messages to individuals that are time-sensitive and relevant to the business itself.

The reason this is so important, is because social media doesn’t necessarily influence sales or participation; it is more of a vehicle to increase recognition, awareness, web-influence and potentially SEO (search engine optimization).

Business can also establish credibility, integrity and a degree of trustworthiness, merely by interacting with a niche portion of the population on-line. Obviously, it needs to be in a positive and helpful manner, to yield the results that companies are striving for. Nonetheless, a companies’ approach is generally dependant on their particular organizational mantra and overall goal structure.

All-in-all, businesses should consider commencing a social media strategy, if of course they haven’t already. The strategy doesn’t necessarily need to be perfected from the onslaught either. Through time and social participation, businesses can literally generate a social prescription for the company, which speaks from experience and contains a frame of reference for comparison.

Basically, this prescription will become a remedy for the company and involve a transformation, once businesses have an understanding of the landscape they are working with. Just remember, there isn’t necessarily an incorrect way to conduct social marketing – just give it a try and see what happens. There are no rules to abide by and the conditions are still relatively new.

 

Twitter : @RJSchoenefeld

Contributing Blogger on Social Email Marketing

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Social Media ' s New Mantra: Location, Location, Location.

Social Media's New Mantra: Location, Location, Location. http://ping.fm/943si. Source: Diane Brady

Google Buzz Won ' t Weaken Facebook.

Google Buzz Won't Weaken Facebook. http://bit.ly/9DaDbS. Source: Douglas MacMillan -- Bloomberg Businessweek