by admin | Oct 16, 2014 | Communication strategy
We’ve all seen stale sales videos. What’s rare are creative and compelling ones. But how do you make that happen while relaying important information? To findout, we asked 10 members from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) the following question: “What is one way to make a sales video standout?” Here’s what YEC community members had to say: 1. Stop Selling “Teach the customer everything you know. Give away the farm. Honestly, they will be too lazy to do the work. They are coming to you for a reason and if you teach them everything, they will recognize you as the ultimate source of information.” ~John Rampton, Adogy Read more about it...
by admin | Oct 9, 2014 | Communication strategy
It has been shown through data, most recently by Forrester Research, that Instagram represents by far, the best platform for marketers to interact with consumers. Brands are beginning to understand that having a presence on the platform is a necessity, but many don’t understand all of the features it has to offer. One part of the service to note is the 15-second video feature. According to a report from BI Intelligence, in the U.S. 50 million people watch video via their mobile devices. Globally, 15 percent of all time spent watching online videos is done using a smartphone, tablet or other mobile devices. While a common misconception amongst brands is that video marketing is too costly of an endeavor, by utilizing Instagram’s free 15-second video editing feature, businesses now have an invaluable tool to engage their audience with. Read more...
by admin | Oct 9, 2014 | Communication strategy
It’s been more than year since Instagram added video to its bag of tricks, giving its users 15 seconds to tell their stories. That was a generous 9 seconds more than Twitter’s Vine, whose 6-second clips presented a challenge to even the most creative marketers by making them find a way to produce a brand pop in a literal blink of an eye. Instagram Video’s 15 seconds may not be much, but it’s as long as many TV spots, and the platform offers marketers compelling reasons to attempt this kind of ultra-short form messaging: audiences numbering the hundreds of millions; a virtually non-existent barrier to entry; high levels of engagement, awareness building, and sharing; and no concerns about taxing a viewer’s attention. Read more...
by admin | Oct 1, 2014 | Communication strategy
Several weeks ago, Microsoft created quite the media uproar. If the news that 12,500 Microsoft employees worldwide would be losing their jobs wasn’t shocking enough, the way it was handled didn’t help matters. Microsoft’s executive vice president Stephen Elop’s announcement came in the form of a 1,100-word email chock-full of “management speak” that only mentioned the layoffs in two sentences buried deep within the text. There’s no doubt that laying off thousands of employees is a harrowing task for even the staunchest of managers, but the way these types of changes are communicated says a lot about an organization’s culture. That being said, there are a few things that other companies can learn from the way Microsoft handled this situation in terms of how to communicate sensitive changes. Read more about it...
by admin | Sep 30, 2014 | Communication strategy
For the entrepreneur, the art of communication is a key to inform, inspire and engage investors, employees and customers. Communication is where change begins. Culture is where movements are born. When you focus solely on the how-to of communication (“7 Social Media Essentials!”) and neglect the foundation, you miss an opportunity to create a culture of communication. 1. Be strategic to communicate purpose. Stephen Covey declared: “Begin with the end in mind.” You’ve got the long view and the big picture. Be certain everyone else knows how you plan on getting there. Vision aligns your purpose and mission. Culture aligns your vision and values. Remember, the clarity of your purpose is realized by the directness of your strategy. Strategy and focus tell your team and customers that you know where you’re headed and how you will get there. People want to belong to a cause, join a movement and work toward a vision that has clearly defined purpose and actionable strategy. Read more about these 4 dimensions of communication...
by admin | Sep 30, 2014 | Communication strategy
Earlier this year, the American Psychological Association released its much-anticipated 2014 Work and Well-Being Survey – a study that revealed a startling absence of trust in today’s employer-employee relationships. “This lack of trust should serve as a wake-up call for employers,” warned David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA, head of APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence. “Trust plays an important role in the workplace and affects employees’ well-being and job performance.” The APA’s survey cites a number of culprits for the lack of trust in today’s professional relationships, one of the most significant being that only half of U.S. workers believe their bosses are “open and upfront” with them. In fact, the study cites “effective communication” as one of the top three skills leaders should develop to build trust with their employees. In his book “Overcoming Fake Talk: How to Hold REAL Conversations that Create Respect, Build Relationships, and Get Results,” nationally recognized business communication expert John Stoker offers a solution to the APA’s “call to arms” for greater trust in today’s workplaces. “We’re suffering from an epidemic of what I call ‘counterfeit conversation,’ or ‘fake talk,'” says Stoker. “This is an approach to communication that undermines our ability to have trusting relationships at work because we fail to talk openly and effectively about what matters most.” Read more...
