Category: Trends

  • The importance of being able to work from home.

    Until the COVID-19 pandemic hit full-swing, many of us probably never considered working from home. Now, it has become a reality for many, with several small-medium enterprises scrambling to accommodate a wide range of needs and systems. While some businesses simply cannot operate remotely, many can. For those that cannot operate in a completely virtual manner, there might be a few lessons to help you through this crisis.

    In the short-term, it is reasonable to expect some drops in productivity, delays, and maybe even a bit of confusion from team members who have never worked from home, but don’t worry! With a bit of tweaking, your organizational resources can be made to be flexible for both traditional and telecommute scenarios. Here are a few points to consider:

    Work is an Important Part of Our Identity

    Before we get into the technical stuff, remember that work is an important part of our lives and identities; we tend to crave the routines and socialization that work provides, so don’t lose focus of this as you build, design or tweak your existing systems. You can use videoconferencing or regular phone calls to maintain some cohesion and still have a bit of fun.

    Expect Some Downtime

    Unless if you designed your systems for remote work or cloud access from day 1, then expect downtime for training, account setup, and refresher courses. Training will likely become an ongoing task, but after some initial downtime, the results will materialize.

    Less is More

    I’ve seen so many scenarios where people have complex setups with on-site Windows servers, several different apps (many out of date or poorly supported), and workflows that get in the way of working offsite. Modern operating systems do great for supporting many functions out of the box, and unless if you are running a massive operation with several unique roles, you probably don’t need to worry about restricting user access too severely.

    Effective Use of Social Media is Never a Time Waster

    Many companies seek to limit the time that employees spend on social media, which aways confuses me. Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools that we have available, and can also be a great way to communicate with stakeholders during this pandemic. It can also be another way to keep your team together – think of private facebook groups as just one way to use this for productivity and good.

    Trust Your Team

    Remember why you hired someone in the first place: you liked them, and came to trust them. So now isn’t the time to limit what they can do with their systems: users working from home can often find creative solutions that you may not have considered. Unfortunately, this creativity is limited when they can’t install printers, access USB drives, install practical apps, or access certain web resources.

    Encourage BYOD

    Don’t fall into the traditional mindset that a corporate, locked-down machine is most effective. If someone wants to use bring their own device (BYOD), let them, with one caveat: their setup must pass some basic security checks. This means an up to date instance of Windows 10 (Windows 7 hit end of life and is insecure), macOS, ChromeOS or Linux. Additional security software is always a plus, and if anyone will be working from somewhere like a coffee shop, then a VPN is always a good idea. This biggest challenge here is that many people still prefer Windows 7 over 10. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t cut it from a security perspective.

    E-Mail is NOT a Conversation Tool

    This is where I see most work-from home scenarios fall apart. E-Mail is not an effective way to have ongoing conversations. If you need to discuss something complex with your team, especially if you need quick feedback, then chat based tools are a good bet. Think of solutions like Skype, Google Hangouts, Slack, and Microsoft Teams. If all else fails, there is nothing wrong with a good old fashioned phone call.

    Your In-House Setup is NOT Superior to the Cloud

    Sorry people, but your elaborate windows server is likely not superior to the cloud, unless if you are Amazon, Google, Oracle or Microsoft. Even world class companies like Nintendo rely on Google to keep their infrastructure running. While you may have sunk countless dollars into server maintenance, training and updates over the years, it is time to recognize it as a sunk cost and move on.

    This doesn’t mean ditch your infrastructure: this simply means moving it to the cloud where it can scale, perform and be managed in a secure manner.

    You might think that your office is secure, but try breaking into Amazon’s data center.

    Finally, during times of pandemic, you could lose access to your office space. A local non-profit recently lost access to its offices which were located within a municipally owned building. City Hall decided (rightfully so) to close this building to help fight the spread of COVID-19. This organization was left without physical access, but had virtual access to all of its data, records, and even its phone systems! Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to make sure that your servers are up and running from home, rather than trying to find someone to let you in to a locked down building?

    The Cloud Can Be Cheap!

    G Suite by Google provides your users with email, cloud storage and web-based document apps for less than $10 per user, per month. This has the added benefit of allowing your team to access all of their email, documents and other resources from virtually anywhere, and on any device.

    Are you a Microsoft based organization? No problem – give Office 365 a try.

    Less Really is More

    This is something I can’t stress enough, especially when in the majority of organizations, most work can be done in a web browser. Chromebooks and Linux workstations can give you a modern, secure and high performing option. You might say “But I can’t get app X!”, but ask yourself, what are your typical users actually using on a daily basis? In my most recent digital transformation project, 80% of users were able to accomplish 100% of their tasks (yes literally everything they did on a daily basis) within Google Chrome.

    Learn to Let Go

    In challenging times like this COVID-19 pandemic, you can get by without your office. Sure, it may not be ideal, and even a little scary, but if you are willing to let go and put up with a few short-term headaches, you can transform your organization into one that can work from anywhere.

  • Why you can’t afford to ignore Google+ for your business

    ***Please note: this information is for historical purposes – for current information you should be reading this updated article instead.***

    Everyone loves facebook, twitter, and other cool social media like Tumblr, Instagram or Pinterest. And of course, most of us have LinkedIn to advance our careers and to make professional contacts. Now, if you aren’t promoting your business on any of these, then that is your first mistake. But the second mistake that most business make is ignoring the world’s second largest social network: Google+.

    What, second largest social network? What about twitter, instagram and LinkedIn? Sure they are big, but virtually anyone that has a Google account (think GMail and or YouTube) also has a Google+ account. That right there is enough to beat out popular sites like twitter. Now, you may hear that while many people do not really use Google+, you should consider the fact that engagement is quite high. Let me give you an example:

    My twitter requires a significant amount of attention to keep up – there I just way too much going on. Many people are vying for my attention, and honestly, some just tweet too much. Keeping on top of it all is quite challenging. On Google+, I see fewer posts, and while my followers and people that I follow may be less, I find more (and usually better comments), and feel that it is easier to grab someone’s attention. While twitter can be awesome for making something cool go viral, twitter feels like it has a very short memory. The competition can be staggeringly high. You certainly need twitter to be part of your strategy, but if and facebook cannot be your only focus.

    Perhaps the best reason for using Google+ is that it is Google. They are the largest and most dominant search engine in the world, so being on their social network is certainly a good way to be in favour with them. If you blog, be sure to setup Google+ authorship – this will add your Google+ profile pic to Google search results from your blog, which increases the likelihood of a user clicking on your page. All of this just from adding a little bit to your social media routine!

    OK, so now you are ready to get started with Google+ – now what? First, make your personal Google+ profile (which is easy if you have GMail or Google Apps for your domain). Then, create a Google+ page for your brand or business. Once you have these easy steps out of the way, then make sure to personalize your profile. Find a new profile pic and header image. From there, start with engaging content. Google+ recognizes hashtags, so you use your facebook and twitter postings on it to start reaching your audience. Remember, the important thing is to build a habit of posting consistently – soon the rest will follow!

  • Do I need a Social Media plan?

    “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
    ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

    Social Media has created a marketing revolution. As little as 10 years ago, digital marketing depended on early viral content, E-Mail marketing and advertising that bridged print and the web. It was a completely different world, and fortunately, we now have great tools like twitter, facebook, Google+, instagram, and more. These tools allow even the smallest of businesses, and NGO/non-profit organizations with limited resources to reach a global audience. So, just open your accounts, tweet when you have time, and the dollars will roll in, right?

    Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Like any marketing or business activity, Social Media requires a well thought out, strategic, and consistent approach. If you’ve asked yourself do I need a Social Media plan? then at least you are on the right path. Here are 3 things to keep in mind when formulating your plan:

    1. Not all social media are created equal.

    What do you really want to achieve with your social media campaign? Of course we all want to sell something – it could be Comic books, the feel-good that donating to a good cause provides, or the latest gadget. But remember, each social media does something a little bit different, so try and think of your goals (which should lead to increased sales when done properly) as the following:

    i) Engage and create more local followers: try facebook. facebook is an excellent way to engage local customers through targeted content and ads. You won’t be restricted to 140 characters, so you can tell your story in greater detail. Just remember to view your post on a smartphone. If it doesn’t fit on one screen, it’s probably too long.

    ii) Reach a wider audience within a narrow window: try twitter. twitter is very much in the now. One day you get retweeted by Hulk Hogan, and the next you are in obscurity. Make everyone of your 140 characters count, always add a picture, and don’t overdo hashtags.

    iii) Keep the sleeping giant happy: have a presence on Google+. Google is the undisputed global search leader and is always creating exciting new things. Google fundamentally understands the Internet, and will not allow itself to fall behind in the social media game. Google+ helps with your SEO, and in many ways blends the best of facebook and twitter together. Sure, everyone’s top of mind social media is facebook, but consider the potentially higher engagement of Google+. If I have 700 facebook friends and 100 Google+ friends, there is a far better chance that I will read your Google+ content.

    iv) Tell your story in pictures: instagram or Pinterest. instagram and Pinterest are amazing visual mediums for storytelling. Some of us simply think in pictures instead of words, and when teaching or presenting information, it is are more likely that your audience will retain images over words. While I think that I may be a bit shallow, my designer friends remind me that we simply appreciate good, attractive imagery.

    v) Reach another business or groups of professionals: LinkedIn. Hands down, LinkedIn is your B2B social media of choice, and is a great way to engage other professionals given that 81% of LinkedIn user belong to 1 or more groups. If your target audience is another business, or a group of professionals (say, accountants), then you must take time to post to LinkedIn. As a rule of thumb, if you want to reach 60% of your LinkedIn network, you need at least 20 quality posts per month.

    2. Set aside time each day for social media, including blogging – and know what you will write about.

    Social Media needs to become a habit. You wouldn’t stop selling, just because you are too busy, so don’t stop marketing! Social Media has become a must for any company; if you don’t have some kind of facebook presence, people will ask questions. You need to have a consistent presence to see any kind of payoff. Even if you can start with 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week, you will start to see results. This is one of the key components of your plan, the other is knowing what you will write about. Are you running a special? Looking for newsletter signups? Have a free trial going on? Whatever it is, you need to have some kind of focus for your social media plan. Use monthly or quarterly themes to stay on track, and try and write at least 2, 300 word plus blog posts a month. Remember, your content should always be unique (no copy and pasting!) and be sincere.

    3. Set aside the proper resources.

    It takes time and/or money to make money. At some point, you will need to buy Google AdWords or social media ads to really expand. Google AdWords can get pricey – for example ios app development – could clear $20 per click. This means that even if you don’t get a sale, someone clicking your add could be very costly. facebook can be a bit cheaper, and LinkedIn can represent a tremendous value. Just be sure to set a reasonable budget and measure your results! You need to know your ROI, and if it is worth investing more or looking at other opportunities.

    Does this sound daunting? Don’t think you can make the time to grow your social media presence? Then hire someone. If you are not setting aside the proper time then you are really losing out. If you can’t find someone in your office to help out (or if you are an overburdened solopreneuer) then let us help.