Video Marketing: How it Helps Small Businesses

June 30, 2014 BG&A Staff
When browsing through your newsfeed on Facebook or Twitter, you may notice that more and more brands are using videos to reach their followers. Video marketing is becoming a popular tool for brands...

Five Free Tools to Monitor Your Online Reputation

June 27, 2014 BG&A Staff
Building a solid reputation for any company takes time, effort and elaborate strategy, but all that hard work can easily be undone in just a few hours. Negativity spreads like water on a grease fire, especially in an online environment that’s open 24/7, and any online content – whether it’s positive or negative – impacts how people view your business. In fact, a recent study from eMarketer.com found that 83% of consumers say online reviews influence their perceptions of companies and 80% reported that negative online comments changed their purchasing decision. Clearly it’s important to monitor your company’s online reputation on a daily basis, so to make the task a little easier, here are five free tools of which every company should be aware. 1.      Watch Industry Websites If This Then That (IFTTT) automates simple online tasks by using one of the most basic principles: If this happens, then do that. IFTTT lets you set up rules (called recipes) for everything from getting the latest weather updates as a text message to automatically sending Instagram photos to Twitter (or any other platform). It has both fun and professional applications. You create a recipe by choosing a trigger channel (the “if this happens” part) and an action channel (the “then do that” part). To monitor what people are saying about your company, set up a recipe that scans RSS feeds of important industry websites, then sends you a daily email alert with the results—IF [website] mentions your company, THEN receive an email alert. 2.      Track Employee Mentions Google’s Me on the Web tool notifies you when personal data appears on the web. It’s handy if you want to monitor mentions about certain company employees or senior staff. Me on the Web is simple to use, but you do need an existing Google account. To set up an alert, click “Stay current with web alerts,” type your search term(s) in the text box and click Add. You can set up as many search terms as you like and you can choose how often to receive alerts for each term. 3.      Filter Instant Social Searches If you want to instantly search blogs, Twitter and Facebook for specific terms, IceRocket is the tool for you. IceRocket doesn’t require an account and is easy to use. Just type your term(s) in the search box and choose the channel you want to search: blogs, Twitter, Facebook or search all. 4.      Find Influencer Opinions Topsy is a powerful Twitter search tool (more powerful than Twitter’s native search). Use Topsy to find key influencers related to your industry and company, as well as sentiment scores over a period of time. It’s important to monitor influencers to see what they’re saying about you specifically or your industry in general. Type a topic (or your keywords) in the search box and click the Influencers tab in the left menu. Use all of Topsy’s options (i.e., social search, social analytics and social trends) to keep up with what’s being said about you, your competitors and any general discussion around your industry. 5.      Search for Sentiment Social Mention returns results based on the sentiment of social media buzz around your company. You can monitor multiple websites in one place and even find out which keywords people use when talking about your company. Social Mention has a number of real-time search tools and a useful statistics sidebar. The statistics include sentiment, top keywords, top users, top hashtags, last mention and more. To make monitoring even easier and less time-consuming, set up an RSS feed search or email alert by clicking the related icon on the right sidebar. Since monitoring your company’s online reputation is a daily task, you want to be sure to promptly address any issues that arise. Never ignore negative messages or opinions and always respond in a professional manner. Remember, the negative comment will never go away, but neither will your smart, positive reply. To read the original story click here:

Facebook Posts Not Gaining Traction? Try Posting on Sunday!

June 24, 2014 BG&A Staff
With roughly 1.28 billion users and 15 million brands flooding your Facebook newsfeed, it should come as no surprise that garnering the attention of users can seem like an uphill battle for smaller businesses. So how can one break through all this noise and attain the exposure every company desires? According to a new survey from TrackMaven – which analyzed 5,800 pages and 1.5 million posts – it’s clear that users’ newsfeeds are most crowded during weekdays yet people pay more attention on the weekends. According to the report, posts receive an average of 2.27 “engagements” (including likes, comments and shares) on weekdays. On Sundays, they receive 2.72 per post. Thursdays are the number one day for posting activity, accounting for 16.8% of posts, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays close behind. Only 9% of posts are published on Sundays. The time of day also matters. Most companies post their updates between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., gaining an engagement level of 2.24 on average. But those who post after hours, between 5pm and 1am, receive an engagement boost– up to 2.49. Content variables make plenty of difference as well. Exclamation marks, question marks and hashtags are all valuable, increase engagement and make the posts more appealing, says TrackMaven. “The trends indicate an overall correlation between effectiveness and greater personalization of Facebook content,” noted the survey’s author. Things like exclamation marks and hashtags “appeal to our curiosity, excitability and innate desire for conversation.” There are common sense explanations for much of these results. People have more time over the weekend and feel much more inclined to write comments, and share or like posts. By contrast, during the work week, there may be limits to their Facebook use, or a generalized disapproval by managers of social media as its use could be a distraction. Try this out the next time you plan to post on Facebook, and see the difference for yourself! To read the full story click here:

How Small Businesses can Use Big Brand Social Media Tactics to Engage Followers

June 18, 2014 BG&A Staff
Are you wondering how big brands like Coca-Cola and Nike spark conversation and encourage engagement with their millions of social media followers? Yes, it might be because they have bigger budgets than most companies, but if you think beyond of the obvious you’ll realize that they consistently post engaging content, such as trending hashtags, contests and customer experiences. When followers know what to expect from you, they are more likely to come back to see what’s next, ultimately leading to fan loyalty and increased discussion. Small businesses can adopt similar tactics that fit their audiences and increase awareness of their efforts. In this post we will look at the different ways nationally known companies keep their followers coming back for more and how small businesses can too. 1: Host a Video Contest For the last seven years, Doritos has run its “Crash the Super Bowl” contest asking customers to create commercials for its crunchy treats. The incentive that really caught attention? The winner gets his or her commercial aired during the Super Bowl. The response is huge. Hundreds of commercials are submitted. The result is a viral campaign driven by finalists sharing their entry with friends and encouraging them to vote, as well as customers and fans who want to see the best videos (which are usually the funniest). In 2013, Doritos brought the video contest to Facebook (they had previously used a microsite) and went beyond the success of all previous years. Use this idea: Create a video contest with a public voting aspect to draw people to your page. You can cull the entries down, and then ask the public to vote for the final winner. While you may not be able to pay to showcase a video during the biggest sporting event of the year, do make the prize as appealing as possible. Creating a video is a lot of work. If you ask customers to put in the time, they’ll need a reason to do so. You don’t have to go overboard, but the bigger the incentive, the more participants you’ll have. 2: Share Customer Stories Dunkin’ Donuts asked its Twitter audience to tell a story about how the company’s popular coffee fit into their everyday lives. The catch, of course, was that the story had to fit into 131 characters (entries had to include #mydunkin and that took up nine characters). After combing through tens of thousands of stories, the company selected several winners and asked the tweeters to star in their own Dunkin’ commercial. The company shot the commercials, uploaded them to YouTube, shared them on Twitter and then asked for more stories. Use this idea: Learn how customers use your product by asking them to share their story on Twitter (using a hashtag so you can easily track the entries). It’s a challenge to tell a story in 140 characters, but the results are fun and usually witty. Since people love entertaining content, you’re likely to reach even more people who want to join in or comment. Incentives always increase engagement, but the prize doesn’t have to be huge in this case. Offer a prize related to your business or something a little quirky to catch attention. 3: Provide Recurring Content Remember when your favorite journalist had a weekly column? Estée Lauder adapted that idea as a social media tactic. Every Tuesday, the company’s creative makeup director, Tom Pecheux, offers a makeup tip on Facebook. The #TomsTuesdayTip campaign offers advice features a picture of a related beauty product and links to a purchase page or blog article about recent trends. Use this idea: Come up with a weekly feature using a consistent hashtag. You can create your own or ride the wave of an existing hashtag to get things started. #TBT (Throwback Thursday) is a popular one. Just post a picture of the early days of your company, product or a related topic. Funny pictures tend to have the most comments and shares. 4: Add an Element of Fun You don’t always have to offer a prize in exchange for comments. Coca-Cola hosts a trivia question of the day to boost interaction. There are no prizes, but the tactic works. General trivia questions work fine, but Coke uses out-of-the-box questions like, “Which of the following is worth the most Scrabble points?” The company takes advantage of their fans’ curiosity by posting two updates: one with the trivia question and one with the answer. Use this idea: Use trivia questions to share a little about your product or service. For instance, ask customers to guess what year your business started or what your top-selling product is. Be sure to give the answer in a separate update to bring them back! Try one option and see how it goes over with followers, but keep in mind that most new features aren’t a success in just one or two weeks, so give it time to take off. To make these changes easier, tools like HootSuite’s scheduling option can be used to post updates automatically. Whichever option you choose, be consistent and offer worthwhile content on a consistent basis. For more ideas or to read the full story click here:

Adder to launch series of products at BroadcastAsia 2014

June 16, 2014 BG&A Staff
  Cambridge, UK, 16 June 2014: Adder Technology, the high performance keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) specialist, will be launching the newest advances to its AdderLink Infinity range of high performance KVM solutions at BroadcastAsia 2014. New products include the AdderLink Infinity 1002 digital KVM extender, CCS4-Pro switch and X-DVI Pro DL extender. The advances to the range deliver added functionality to applications making use of high performance KVM technology, such as pro-AV, broadcasting, post-production, command and control, and industrial automation. The IP-based AdderLink Infinity 1002 features dual port functionality which adds redundant network operation and the opportunity for network teaming. The extender’s single link, single head make it ideal for use in video intensive applications, such as broadcasting and post-production, while the added redundancy is a critical requirement in high-reliability environments such as command and control. “The AdderLink Infinity 1002 is based on the 1000 and as such incorporates all the same features, such as video encoding, as well as enhanced functionality like the a port for fibre connection which ensures that signals can be extended over great distances, often several miles,” says John Halksworth, senior product manager, Adder Technology. The new Adder CCS4-Pro can more easily be integrated into an operator’s desk. It is an ergonomic solution that assists in eliminating desk clutter and provides an intuitive way for users to switch between disparate systems. In addition, the CCS4-Pro features a network port that has inherent benefits for remote access and management of devices. “With the presence of the network port users can easily see which port is in use, in real time, and switch remotely if needed. The presence of the port also means that firmware upgrades can be carried out in a matter of minutes, which is a distinct benefit for environments that feature tens, if not hundreds of these devices,” says Halksworth. The third new product, the AdderLink X-DVI Pro DL, now incorporates full dual link resolution capability up to 2560x1600. It can transmit a dual link video stream along with audio over a single CATx cable, up to 50 metres. The extender also offers USB True Emulation and can be used in a multitude of applications. Adder Technology will also be showcasing its 4K capabilities at the show, with the AdderLink XD522 DisplayPort extender, able to extend 4K signals. In addition, the KVM specialist will demonstrate the latest firmware upgrade to the AdderLink Infinity solution. The stand will demonstrate IP based high performance KVM solutions that add performance, flexibility and reliability to the entire broadcast workflow chain. Visit Adder Technology at stand 4C3-01 at BroadcastAsia 2014 from 17 June.

Inspiring Humanitarian: Carlos Siderman

June 13, 2014 BG&A Staff
On occasion, we’re each fortunate enough to meet with the great minds that are changing the world around us, and recently I had the opportunity to do just that at an amazing event hosted by Southwestern Law School for the Jose Siderman-Fulbright Fellowship’s 5th anniversary celebration, featuring a keynote by the Fellowship founder, Carlos Siderman. This event not only changed my perspective of the world, it made me reevaluate how to think about those with whom I held resentments or fears. In an effort to promote the training of young Argentine lawyers in civil liberties and human rights, Carlos Siderman and the Fulbright Commission in Argentina established the Human Rights Fellowship at Southwestern Law School to bring Argentine law graduates to Los Angeles to complete an LL.M. degree in Civil Liberties and Human Rights or Advocacy at the law school, including an externship with a civil rights organization. The Fellowship is named for José Siderman, a successful Argentine businessman who, because he was Jewish, became a victim of the country’s military dictatorship’s "dirty war" that began in the mid-1970's, and who suffered from egregious abuses including kidnapping, torture and exile as well as the regional governor seizing all his property and assets. In a landmark human rights case heard and decided in federal court in Los Angeles in September 1996, the government of Argentina agreed to settle damage claims by Mr. Siderman and his family after a 14-year legal battle led by the American Civil Liberties Union, making it the first foreign government ever to be put on trial in the United States for abuses committed on its own soil. I quickly discovered the powerful humanitarian impact one man can have to help ensure the future protection of human rights in Argentina or anywhere in the world today. Learn more about the Jose Siderman-Fulbright Fellowship here.   By Chris Huppertz

Google Search Operators that Help Maximize Efficiency

June 11, 2014 BG&A Staff
Making the most of your time is an important component in all of our daily routines, and in the public relations industry this could not be more true. As the age-old expression goes “time is money” and PR pros are always looking for ways to get tasks completed in a more efficient manner. Search engines, like Google, are some of the most used tools when scouring the internet for information – in fact, Google receives six billion searches per day – but far too often you will find there are too many unrelated results for your search. To maximize your efforts and obtain the best results faster, search operators like symbols and words can be added to your search to narrow down your results the first time. Keep in mind that when you search using an operator, you don't want to add any spaces between the operator and your query. A search for site:nytimes.com will work, but site: nytimes.com will not. Although there are many different search operators that could be used to boost the efficiency of your search, here are the ones that we use frequently: 1) Search for an exact word or phrase --> "search" Use quotes to search for an exact word or set of words on a web page. This is helpful when searching for song lyrics or a line from a book. But only use this if you're looking for an exact word or phrase, otherwise you'll exclude many helpful results by mistake. "imagine all the people" 2) Exclude a word --> -search Add a dash (-) before a word or site to exclude all results that include that word. This is especially useful for words with multiple meanings, like Jaguar the car brand and jaguar the animal. jaguar speed -car pandas -site:wikipedia.org 3) Search within a site or domain --> site: Get results only from certain sites or domains. For example, you can find all mentions of "olympics" on the NBC website, or any .gov websites. olympics site:nbc.com  olympics site:.gov 4) Fill in the blank --> * Add an asterisk within a search as a placeholder for any unknown or wildcard terms. Use with quotation marks to find variations of that exact phrase or to remember words in the middle of a phrase. "a * saved is a * earned" 5) Find information about a site --> info: Get information about a URL, including the cached version of the page, similar pages, and pages that link to the site. info:google.com 6) Search for pages that are similar to a URL --> related: Find sites that are similar to a URL you already know. If you search for related sites to the Time.com, you'll find other news publication sites you may be interested in. related:time.com For a full list of search operators click here: 

Reaching Further with Organic Facebook Posts

June 10, 2014 BG&A Staff
If you’ve ever managed a Facebook page, you probably know that getting followers to ‘like’ your company Facebook posts is easier said than done. Sure, having a large Facebook following increases your number of views, but even then you might not get the results you desire. This is likely due to Facebook’s recent algorithm changes aimed at rewarding “higher quality” content while down playing memes and similar types of posts. As a result, the organic reach of content is down and less people who have liked your page are seeing your posts. Now, organic reach has been hobbled in favor of paying to “boost” your content to a wider audience all in hopes of growing your page’s fan base. So how can you combat paying for viewership? Here are a few suggestions: Post more often: Given that the Facebook algorithm is engineered to make relevant connections between people and Pages, you should be constantly experimenting with what works. With that in mind, the more posts you make, the more data you will be able to analyze. If you typically post twice a day, try doubling your output. See what works best, then repeat. Be timely: Figure out when your target audience is online — and on Facebook — and look for opportunities to post about events that are happening in those moments. You don’t have to be Oreo or Arby’s to take advantage of news jacking opportunities. Its better, of course, if the event is directly related to your product or content, but even connections made about news events should make your future posts more likely to be seen by the people you engaged with. Engage more: When your customers interact with the page, make sure to respond, answering questions or thanking them for their comments. Those direct human connections are the signals the algorithm uses to make links between Facebook users — and Pages. Tag other Pages: When you have a post about a topic that has is related to another Facebook Page, tag that Page. Facebook last month announced that such posts might be displayed in the News Feeds of users who like the tagged Page. Do you think Facebook can still be an effective free tool for businesses to reach their target audience? What do you think of these suggestions? To read the original story click here:

Cable Industry Leader Maggie Bellville Joins Hitachi Consulting’s Communications, Media & Entertainment Industry Executive Team

June 9, 2014 BG&A Staff
Hitachi Consulting, a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd and a leading provider of IT consulting and management consulting solutions and services, today announced that Margaret A. “Maggie” Bellville has joined Hitachi Consulting as its newest vice president and member of the U.S. Communications, Media & Entertainment Industry executive team. In this role, Bellville will support cable operators’ new product launches, assess their M&A activities, advise on new business investments and coordinate with Hitachi for cable industry applications for its targeted, market-tested technology solutions and professional services. Bellville is a highly honored cable and telecommunications leader. As a former Fortune 500 COO she was recognized, among other achievements, for hiring and nurturing of some of the industry’s top executives. “Hitachi is deeply committed to supporting the North American cable industry by providing an unmatched level of professional services and information software and hardware technologies that will ensure that cable operators deliver operational excellence and cost optimization,” said Michael McNabb, senior vice president of Hitachi Consulting. “Maggie brings a level of clarity, experience and resolve to always improve our industry. She will be addressing a range of powerful cable issues from market consolidation, business intelligence to energy savings. We couldn’t be more excited to have her on our team.” Prior to joining Hitachi, Bellville served as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Charter Communications, one of the nation’s top cable systems, where she was responsible for all company field operations, as well as marketing, programming, customer care and advertising sales. “Hitachi Consulting has brought together a remarkable team of insightful and resourceful leaders delivering outstanding solutions that help cable operators improve their organizations,” Bellville said. “Today, our company touches the country’s top MSOs by providing exceptional management and IT consulting services, offshore product development and managed services capabilities, and offering Hitachi’s most advanced technologies so that operators can reduce their electricity consumption, and drive greater efficiencies through better business intelligence to solve many of the toughest problems facing the industry.” In 1995 Bellville was appointed vice president of operations at Cox Communications, where she advanced to executive vice president of operations with responsibility for its three operating divisions, marketing, advertising sales, customer care, research and analysis, business services and business operations. Bellville, an early advocate for online video streaming, also served as president and CEO of Incanta, a start-up technology-based streaming content company based in Atlanta. She began her career in cable television in 1993 with Century Communications serving as senior vice president of that company's largest operating division in Los Angeles. From 1986 to 1993, she held a variety of management positions with the former GTE Wireless/Contel Cellular Inc. A graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton with a B.A. in social science, Bellville also is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, Advanced Management Program. Bellville has received numerous professional honors and distinctions, including being named one of the “Top 10 Women in Business” in Atlanta; "Woman of the Year" by the California chapter of Women in Cable; "Woman to Watch" by the Atlanta chapter of Women in Cable; and "Woman of the Year," a national award by Women in Cable. She served on the executive committee and boards of directors of the California Cable Television Association; Cable Positive, Women in Cable and Telecommunications Foundation and the Television Academy Foundation. Bellville also served as an advisor to the National Cable and Telecommunications Association task force on diversity.  

Method Studios Names Visual Effects Veteran Bill Tlusty as Vice President in Vancouver

June 9, 2014 BG&A Staff
Appointment Comes as Method Continues Work on Top-Flight Projects Including “Jupiter Ascending” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” VANCOUVER—June 9, 2014—Method Studios, Deluxe’s global visual effects company, has named industry veteran Bill Tlusty as vice president in Vancouver. Method’s Vancouver studio continues to thrive in Canada’s visual effects industry, recently attracting major film studio commissions from 20th Century Fox (“The Maze Runner”), Paramount Pictures (“Transformers: Age of Extinction”) and The Weinstein Co. (“The Giver”). Tlusty will be responsible for supervising operations and encouraging further growth of the facility, which currently employs more than 200 artists. Tlusty has worked in the visual effects industry for 16 years and is highly regarded among his peers. Most recently, he served as executive producer for Rhythm & Hues in California, where he was lead executive on movies including VFX Academy Award winner “Life of Pi” and the nominated “Snow White and the Huntsman.” Prior to joining R&H in 2005, Tlusty worked for Industrial Light & Magic, serving on all three “Star Wars” prequels and other blockbusters. Tlusty’s proven track record of working on some of the most iconic VFX films of all time, led him to Method’s door. Said Tlusty: “Method Studios are working on some fantastic productions at the moment, such as ‘Jupiter Ascending’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ and it’s clear to me that I've landed a fantastic opportunity. We have a very strong talent pool here in Vancouver and across all Method’s studios. I aim to take advantage of the artistry and technology that the company has nurtured and build upon that.” About Method Studios Method Studios (www.methodstudios.com) is an award-winning international visual effects group with facilities in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, London, Sydney and Melbourne. As an artist-driven company known for its creativity, Method services high-end feature film, commercial and motion graphics clients in the global marketplace. Post production offerings include conceptual design, look development, 3D animation/CGI, motion graphics, matte painting, compositing and finishing. Credits include the films “Divergent,”  “RoboCop,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “White House Down,” “Iron Man 3,” “Cloud Atlas” and “Argo” and commercials DirecTV “Troll” (AICP Award for Animation), Super Bowl hit Kia “Space Babies” and Chevy “2012 Silverado” (VES Award and HPA Award winner). About Deluxe Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc. is a global leader in media and entertainment services for film, video and online content, from capture to consumption. Since 1915, Deluxe has been the trusted partner for the world’s most successful Hollywood studios, independent film companies, TV networks, exhibitors, advertisers and others, offering best-in-class solutions in production, post production, distribution, asset and workflow management and new digital solution-based technologies. With operations in Los Angeles, New York and around the globe, the company employs nearly 6,000 of the most talented, highly honored and recognized artists and industry veterans worldwide. Deluxe is a wholly owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. For more information visit www.bydeluxe.com. # # #
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