EUROPEAN ENTERPRISE UNDER THE SOCIAL MEDIA MICROSCOPE
I have to admit that when I first viewed the SlideShare Presentation I am about to share with you I found it very hard to believe that so many large brands across Europe were failing according to Brand Science Institute, in a report published on 17th August 2010.
Remember this is NOT global research, it is carried out in Europe, and it is NOT exhaustive research either as it looks at 52 brands in 12 European counties. It is not clear whether the enterprises are uniquely European or whether it was conducted on the European arm of the global business. I suspect it is the former not the latter as I feel strongly that with USA statistics in the mix some of the figures would be quite different, like this one:
Only 27% have a clear understanding of their customers
From my experience of social media over the last 12 months, my instincts and intelligence tell me that American brands have a crystal clear understanding of their customers.
So, judge for yourselves, I’ll agree to disagree with you if you think differently, and may be you’d like to tell me your views:
I hit YouTube this morning to search for a tutorial for ‘unchecking’ ticked boxes on my iTunes library: it appears I wasn’t alone. Along with lots of other folk I failed to find the help I needed in the iTunes Help Directory.
It’s interesting that YouTube has become such a strong search facility in it’s own right. Yes, it’s from the Google stable but I don’t hit Google search any more when I want to learn how to do something, I go directly to YouTube and the statistics quoted below support my assertion:
People are watching 2 billion videos a day on YouTube and uploading hundreds of thousands of videos daily. In fact, every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube.
~ From the YouTube FactSheet.
However not all of the uploaded help tutorials are actually that useful: it’s to do with the pedagogical skills. The strategies of instruction or the style of instruction are woefully inadequate. It seems anyone anywhere, thinks that they can teach!
I’m not going to point any fingers to bad examples here: suffice to say, I’d have hundreds to select from. But, I am going to show you one which ticks ALL the boxes for me.
Content is captivating
Methodology is A+
Technical tools used with professionalism
Great enunciation
Thanks to ShowHow2.com for this excellent tutorial:
There are many other great tutorials on YouTube, when we come across the gems amongst the rocks we should share them. Please feel free to leave comments about those that you have discovered and point us to the links where we might all view them.
The same lessons apply whatever the size of your business.
Gartner Predicts 2010: a talk by Daryl Plummer Chief of Research, aimed at businesses intent on transforming into the business they actually want to be. Those that can readily adapt to changes will be the ones that lead the way.
Gartner recommends that companies do better with the IT that they already have. And, it’s no surprise that they guide enterprises along the path of improving the way in which they talk to their people………………..continued.
I have made mention previously about bidding for work in on-line job repositories like oDesk and WeCanDoBiz but what I’m about to mention can bring lots of opportunities for extra revenue. Those opportunities are available NOW.
Next Year 2011 sees the arrival of the National Census. Census records for England and Wales are available from 1841 to 1911 and are on-line now for personal and academic research.
The 1921 census and all later censuses remain in the custody of the Office for National Statistics and not the National Archive as some people believe. No information will be available from these censuses for 100 years after the date they were conducted.
Here’s your chance to be involved in something which has significant impact in the history of the United Kingdom…………………. continued.
Here’s a tip that could help both the Virtual Assistant and the Virtual Office set-up. Whether you are a VA working from your home-based office or a small office set-up with 5-10 members on your staff payroll, you could benefit from bidding for the odd job now and again to fill a trough in activity.
It can be a worrying time when your contracts are coming to an end and there isn’t a new prospect close on the horizon. Needless-to-say it can have a devastating effect on the cash-flow when regular bills need to be paid and staff wages have to be covered, and there isn’t enough income coming into the business.
Try this, it could help to get those revenue figures heading in the right direction once again …. Continued.
Eleanor Deem of Face2FaceHR talks about the sticky subject of staff who are tardy in their attitude towards work.
Top tips on dealing with staff absence
Eleanor says, “I frequently get asked about the best way to deal with sickness absence. Most of my clients are small businesses who prefer not to have very bureaucratic procedures to follow and have quite personal relationships with their staff, making formal or confrontational action difficult. With that in mind I’ve put together some easy-to-implement tips for handling problem absence, giving small employers the chance to make a real difference to their absence levels without having to get over-formal”.
The very easy to comprehend Top Tips can he found here.
Businesses rely heavily on bottom lines and profitability. It doesn’t matter what size the company is, a key metric of any bottom line is always “overhead” costs. By hiring a VA who has her own home office, a company can see a large saving in many aspects of their overhead costs.
There are Office Services Agencies that you could use to outsource work; however those agencies have much greater overhead cost than a VA running a business from a home office.
It’s a simple fact of economics – to set up a commercial office with a number of employed staff costs much more than working from a home office. For example, ponder the cost of utilities, which are a big chunk of the daily cost to run a business, then think about the insurance costs of running a commercial office as opposed to the insurance costs of a tele-worker. The facts speak volumes.
There are basic security essentials that Peninsular Business Services can help you to understand and implement.
Every organisation no matter how small, should make sure it’s data is protected – data at rest, data in motion and data at end point.
There are obligations to fulfil … not least a duty of care to your clients and customers. In a worst case scenario, you could be fined by the Information Commissioners Office for neglecting to protect data that you hold. You may need help to stay out of trouble …. continued.
Grown men quaking in their shoes; students screwing up their faces in indignation; pretty young secretaries deflated on seeing their ‘so-called’ perfect shorthand script crawling with red ink, I’ve seen it all!
No-one loves the Proofreader! If only I had a fiver for every script I’ve marked for examination bodies, letters I’ve corrected for bosses and homework I’ve sent back to be re-done … I’d be a millionaire.
Proofreading isn’t a horrible job, it’s a routine job performed to a professional standard. Here’s a perspective you will I hope, find interesting and entertaining ….. continued
It really doesn’t matter whether you sell computer hardware, fine handmade soaps, luxury fashion items, cars, bathrooms, garden gates, or dog collars, social media is going to help your business brand get traction in the market.
Why is it that some enterprises still don’t ‘GET IT’?
I liked this video - Chris Pirillo talks about a small business in Seattle called Pooper Trooper. The company has a very clear understanding of social media. They use the power of social media to pull consumers to their product … a product they know is of enormous value to their potential customers.
If you would actually like to view the Pooper Trooper’s YouTube Video, then click here.
