https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/rss en-us Travel, for both business and leisure, is more convenient and seamless than ever before, aided by a slew of digital tools accessible right from the palm of your hand. Smartphones make tackling travel issues that were common even as recently as a few years ago - such as... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2858 Wed, 28 Oct 2015 11:55:52 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2858-5-ways-travel-has-changed-for-the-better-through-mobile-technology The United States, and its multicultural composition, is ever-changing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 54 million Hispanics living in the U.S. Representing approximately 17% of the total U.S. population, those of Latino origin are... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2605 Tue, 01 Sep 2015 09:55:50 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2605-4-new-rules-for-multicultural-marketing As an avid basketball fan, I can easily envision the final seconds of the game and the need for a player to have the fortitude to take the final shot. There are parallels between taking the last shot and... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2551 Wed, 19 Aug 2015 07:43:50 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2551-5-ways-to-impress-your-boss-and-everyone-else-in-an-important-meeting What is the best way to create and foster a work environment that has minimal office politics - particularly for a startup? Well, the first question to ask is: Where do office politics come from? They come from systems that provide incentives for people to play political games. Such incentives might be:... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2002 Thu, 05 Feb 2015 06:40:18 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2002-9-tips-to-avoid-a-toxic-company-culture-of-office-politics OfficeCubicles There are a few glaring marketing faux pas that crop up everywhere, from newsletters to email campaigns, over and over again. But what could seem like a small social media offense to you could actually be costing your business thousands of dollars - a price most early-stage startups can't afford to pay. To find out which marketing mistakes are truly embarrassing, I asked a panel of entrepreneurs from Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) for major marketing don'ts. Their answers are below:... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1981 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 08:03:54 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1981-9-marketing-mistakes-that-make-you-look-like-a-rookie Building authority continues to be critical in search engine results, regardless of the fall of Google's semantic authorship markup. Optimizing your meta data, headlines and being on top of trending keywords helps your news content rank. No question about that. But quality content conveying expertise, authority and trust plays a key role in gaining positive organic search results. "Authoritative authors tend to do better in search because their content generates the kind of responses that lead to actual, present-day search signals," says Mark Traphagen, senior director at Stone Temple Consulting and a Google expert. Whether or not search engines continue to... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1922 Wed, 10 Dec 2014 11:59:31 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1922-for-successful-content-marketing-focus-on-authority-over-seo If you want to learn more about business, you could always go back to school and get your MBA or thumb through a copy of Entrepreneur and see what the Mark Zuckerberg's of the world have to say. If neither of those options sound appealing, then look no further than your own personal Netflix account. Many of us know and love the Belcher family of Bob's Burgers for their witty antics and goofy hijinks, but who knew they had so much to teach us about the real world? From running a family to running a business, Bob and Linda do just about all with the help of their three rascals. From the stars of Bob's Burgers, here a few things to help you get the hang of business... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1919 Wed, 10 Dec 2014 08:15:32 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1919-12-things-bob-s-burgers-taught-us-about-business Bob's Burgers Thumbnail As more millennials continue to enter the workforce, employers are increasingly turning their attention to recruiting them. But if employers think Generation Y workers will respond to the same old tactics they used in years past, they may want to think again: Millennials aren't always the easiest to recruit. "[According to a Kauffman study],... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1887 Tue, 02 Dec 2014 09:24:07 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1887-4-mistakes-to-avoid-when-hiring-millennials Mistakes When recruiters look through a stack of resumes for candidate screening, what is the vital information they focus upon? Answer by Ambra Benjamin, engineering recruiter at Facebook, previously LivingSocial, Google and Expedia. I think this varies from recruiter to recruiter and also depends on the role for which you're applying. For one, I don't look through stacks of resumes anymore. I hate paper. I do everything online. But I'll highlight briefly how I personally absorb a resume... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1886 Tue, 02 Dec 2014 09:15:01 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1886-8-things-recruiters-notice-about-your-resume-at-first-glance-and-4-things-that-don-t-matter A few years ago, I worked with a woman named Angela who managed a program that was interdependent with the one I was involved with. Though we didn't have a reporting relationship, our mutual success was clearly dependent on our ability to collaborate. It was one of the most difficult working relationships I've ever experienced - and an extremely stressful one. As I reflect back on that time, I realize there was one major ingredient missing from our collaboration. The problem was we never whispered those three little words that everyone wants to hear from their closest co-workers:... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1877 Mon, 01 Dec 2014 09:11:59 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1877-how-to-cultivate-trust-in-your-work-relationships Handshake-of-Trust In a perfect world, supervisors would be cool under pressure and the perfect source of inspiration - and always say the right thing at exactly the right time. But if you're in that type of role, you know that in reality, that usually doesn't happen. Management is chaotic. People - employees, managers, customers, and everyone in between - are unpredictable, situations escalate, and in the heat of the moment, it's easy to let something not so appropriate slip out, without even realizing it. As a supervisor myself, I had plenty of those moments. And it usually wasn't until the end of the day that I'd realize, "I probably shouldn't have said that." It's not just as simple as vowing not to say, "Hey, you suck." to any of your employees. These are things that may seem like normal office chatter - but over time, can undermine your authority and effectiveness as a leader. Here are a few to watch out for... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1876 Mon, 01 Dec 2014 09:03:24 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1876-5-things-managers-should-never-say-aloud What advice do you have for email marketers that may be panicking because of Inbox or ready to seize the new opportunities presented? Ryan Phelan: Sit down, take a deep breath and relax. This happened the last time with tabs, remember? And since then the world has not devolved into apocalyptic chaos. Many freaked out then, and we are starting to see the same thing now. My phone's been ringing off the hook with marketers saying, "What do we do?" My response?... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1865 Tue, 25 Nov 2014 07:37:56 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1865-lesson-from-inbox-email-marketing-needs-to-be-expected-and-relevant Having spent the last decade recruiting, I've had many a conversation with hiring managers after a candidate exits the interview. And, while I always hope for exceptional feedback, sometimes the news is not so glowing. Sometimes, the candidate has done something so annoying to the interviewer that, at best, she is now questioning her interest in keeping this person in the running. What are the things that drive interviewers the most crazy? Listen and learn... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1859 Mon, 24 Nov 2014 09:21:48 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1859-5-habits-that-can-turn-interviewers-against-you Interviewers In today's frenzied, hyper-connected environment, a disconnect between science (think data) and art (think communication) can diminish even the most well-intentioned marketing and PR efforts. By thinking about these things in tandem, and by looking at the intersection between them, we can unlock a treasure trove of useful insights into how we should "manage" customers today. It's not enough to cull data and develop targeted campaigns, only to beat customers to death with factual product information, special promotions and sales pitches. We ultimately need to reach and converse with customers in a way that feels (yes, feels) authentic and meaningful. As of late,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1846 Wed, 19 Nov 2014 10:20:27 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1846-how-marketing-and-pr-should-work-together-to-reach-customers This question originally appeared on Quora. What are the best life hacks to tackle procrastination? Answer by Brandon Lee, entrepreneur and investor. 1. Use Parkinson's Law to your advantage. Parkinson's Law states: Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. There's a reason why you wait until the last five hours before you write that paper or begin researching for that project: It's because you're given that much time. It's amazing how productive we get when we face an impending deadline. An artificial way to beat procrastination is to give yourself a hard deadline. 2... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1837 Tue, 18 Nov 2014 09:15:16 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1837-what-are-the-best-life-hacks-to-tackle-procrastination What reply does the interviewer expect when he asks, "Do you have any questions for us?" I am a penultimate-year student and will be appearing for my interviews very soon. How should one tackle such questions? Answer by Ambra Benjamin, engineering recruiter at Facebook, previously LivingSocial, Google and Expedia. I think it's important to note both now and throughout your entire career that when you interview for a job, you are interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. Having well thought-out questions to ask during your interview is part of the research process, and helps... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1823 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 08:22:47 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1823-the-questions-potential-employers-want-you-to-ask-in-an-interview In the midst of the job search, it feels like you've been waiting forever to get a call back from your recruiter. After you finally get the nerve to call, you hear, "We'll keep your resume on file." Does that mean the recruiter will call you as soon as a position opens up? Or is he just being nice? There's a communication problem between job seekers and recruiters that often leaves both parties confused and frustrated. Optimistic job seekers are up for trying anything, but recruiters don't want to be rude to unqualified applicants. MedReps.com compiled an infographic providing solutions for common miscommunications between job seekers and employers. Some interesting points to note include:... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1822 Fri, 14 Nov 2014 08:03:44 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1822-inforgraphic-recruiters-are-from-mars-job-seekers-are-from-venus Job Fair "Don't check your email all the time!" You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again as a way to improve your productivity and stop being a slave to your inbox. Obviously, though, that's way easier said than done. Many of us receive hundreds of emails per day (even hour!), making it more and more difficult to relegate responding to a specific hour of the day. However,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1809 Tue, 11 Nov 2014 09:21:14 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1809-how-to-really-stop-checking-your-email-constantly Marketing veteran Rob Schuham spends a lot of time encouraging big brands to act like small companies. Be nimble, he advises, be creative, be agile. Take a risk, he tells them, and act like a startup. And when major clients on his roster at Boulder-based Match Action Marketing have listened to his counsel, they've backed some groundbreaking campaigns that are instructive not only for their Fortune 100 brethren, but to the little guys, as well. "If you get a marketing program right, you can set a category on its head," said Schuham, CEO of Match Action. "The big guys have scale, so they can be kind of a beta test for innovative marketing. Small companies can find useful data points and adapt some of those tactics for their own purposes." The Match Action team created... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1776 Fri, 31 Oct 2014 09:37:07 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1776-6-marketing-ideas-small-businesses-can-learn-from-big-brands Idea They say that hindsight is always 20/20. That when we look back at where we came from we can see things we wish we would have known or done better. This couldn't be more accurate when I look back over the years at my content marketing efforts. But you're in luck! I've outlined seven of the most important ideas I wish I would have known when I was first starting out in content marketing years ago. I hope they help you get ahead of the game... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1775 Fri, 31 Oct 2014 09:23:37 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1775-7-tips-for-starting-a-content-marketing-strategy It's one thing to jam the copier your second day on the job. But falling asleep at your desk? That's just unforgivable. At work, when every potential mistake could mean an unwanted 9:00 a.m. meeting with human resources, it can be tough to laugh off your slip-ups. Secret-sharing app Whisper tapped into its userbase to share the kind of embarrassing work mistakes that would keep us red in the face for months after the fact... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1762 Thu, 30 Oct 2014 08:11:07 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1762-13-painfully-embarrassing-mistakes-made-at-work You might have heard some rumors about millennial workers: They're entitled, lazy and always looking for a pat on the head. Take these assumptions with a grain of salt: Millennials are the future, and it's impossible to paint an entire generation with one single swipe of the paintbrush. As more Boomers retire and millennials flood the workforce, you also can't ignore the secrets to keeping these tech-savvy workers happy. Below, we've outlined a few... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1748 Fri, 24 Oct 2014 07:33:05 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1748-6-secrets-to-millennials-workplace-happiness A company website is a must-have in today's Internet-driven economy. But while most companies have a website, few use them to their full potential to drive sales and revenue. That's a shame, because websites are often a major investment in terms of time and money, and they can be a lot of work to keep updated. So if you aren't maximizing the return on investment of your site, you're missing out on a huge opportunity. Luckily,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1731 Fri, 17 Oct 2014 09:54:41 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1731-5-tweaks-to-your-website-that-could-increase-sales-300 Remember when social media was a new, unchartered territory for brands? Consumers flocked to platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn overnight and marketers knew that, in order to stay relevant, they had to follow suit. Fast forward to today: 97% of marketers use social media to connect with buyers. The problem is, most still haven't figured out how to leverage social to create a personalized, relevant and enjoyable experience for their audience. Socially awkward brands aren't just pushed to the sidelines, they miss out on building valuable relationships, or in some cases,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1730 Fri, 17 Oct 2014 08:16:42 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1730-7-sins-of-social-media-marketing Most employers think they follow laws to a tee. However, many business owners and their employees are unknowingly breaking federal employment laws, which can lead to time-consuming and costly legal lawsuits. Below, we address the most common forms of employee lawsuits and spell out tips to help you maintain a safe working environment and avoid becoming embroiled in the court system... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1715 Tue, 14 Oct 2014 10:42:16 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1715-the-most-common-employee-lawsuits-and-how-to-avoid-them Law Content marketing is one of the biggest challenges and opportunities for both business and consumer brands today. As brands look to expand their reach online and engage audiences beyond 'interruptive' advertising, they're increasingly looking to cultivate shareable content that is informative, entertaining and interesting. Marketers regularly cite challenges around producing enough engaging content. A lot of the content out there today simply doesn't move a brand forward. Content should always map back to a broader brand story that is aligned to a brand's fundamental story. Social engagement apps are shareable digital experiences that invite consumers (and their friends) into a social relationship with a brand. Done right,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1705 Tue, 07 Oct 2014 07:48:55 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1705-5-ways-to-invite-your-followers-into-your-content-marketing It used to be that "multi-channel marketing" meant ensuring that your print, TV and radio ads looked and sounded the same. Now, consumers have more channels than ever to interact with your brand, so creating an integrated marketing experience means getting everything right, from social to search, automation to analytics, and lead nurturing to LinkedIn. Simply put, you can no longer afford to focus on one element of your marketing and put the rest out to pasture. Your prospects, customers and leads expect a fully integrated experience with your brand, and if your company doesn't provide one, your competitors will. Below are six mistakes most marketers make daily, and some suggestions on how to address them... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1704 Tue, 07 Oct 2014 07:42:10 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1704-6-mistakes-many-marketers-make-daily By now, everyone knows that Apple recently unveiled the iPhone 6 Plus with a larger 5.5.-inch display - an announcement that has left rival Samsung majorly peeved. So peeved, in fact, that the company released an ad that throws serious shade at Apple and the tech experts who disparaged the Samsung Galaxy Note's large size, Mashable included... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1695 Tue, 30 Sep 2014 10:51:25 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1695-video-samsung-trolls-iphone-6-plus-in-sarcastic-new-ad Smartphones, Wi-Fi and wearables can only go so far. Sometimes the problems of day-to-day life don't have a tech solution. Well, until now. Many entrepreneurs are quietly challenging everything from falling asleep while driving to staying warm outside during bitter winters. Most of these projects are still in development, but they can have a major impact on your daily routine if they hit the market and deliver on their promises. Here are seven we're watching... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1694 Tue, 30 Sep 2014 10:38:10 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1694-7-tech-projects-that-could-revolutionize-your-daily-life Drinkmate1-2 Whether you're reading this at your desk, on your phone lounging on the couch, odds are you're doing it wrong. The way many of us use our tech could, and increasingly has, lead to short- and long-term injury. Doctors and therapists have reported a growing number of injuries and strains related to both the improper use of technology and damaging posture. Many of these injuries we learn by unfortunate repetition, so... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1671 Thu, 25 Sep 2014 11:17:31 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1671-your-button-mashing-could-be-causing-permanent-hand-injury Using Tech Wrong