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5 Steps to Getting More Engagement with Your Visual Content

Marketing content strategy is changing everyday and in today’s marketing the visual content is the biggest component. Here are three facts supporting the importance of graphics and images that every digital marketer should to know.

-Over 90% of communication is non-verbal.
-Infographics are shared and liked x3 times more than other content formats
-More than half of website visitors spend less than 15 seconds actively reading text on the page.

According to the infographic below from HubSpot, the average number of Facebook shares of posts without images is 28. With images, the average number of shares jumps to 65. Without images, the average Twitter shares is 10. With images, it jumps to 20.

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Juice Recipe That will Make You Feel Like a $1,000,000 Everyday

The following amazing juicing recipe came from my friends Shaun Ketterman and Crystalina, who currently live with their beautiful two children in San Diego, CA. Shaun and Crystalina live a healthy life style and inspired me to look deeper into juicing.

“Mean Green”

This is pretty much just a massive combination of greens. The taste is a little weird… I didn’t like it at first, but eventually it became my breakfast every single day. Amazingly good for you!

1 cucumber (bigger the better!)
2 green apple (medium)
3-4 stalks of celery
½ lime (peeled)
1 handful fresh parsley
2 handfulls fresh baby spinach
1 small piece of fresh ginger root

Juice all of it and drink. Also, a few ways to modify this is you can add 3 or 4 carrots, or 2 small beets. I usually did everything. (by Shaun Ketterman)

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“Sherbet Lemonade”

Not really lemonade, but it tastes AMAZING.

2 Green apples (medium)
½ lemon (DON’T PEEL IT!)

Juice all of it together and drink it. Trust me, this one is amazing. (by Crystalina) 

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“Lemon Ginger Zinger”

2 carrots
2 apples
1 inch slice of lemon (DON’T PEEL IT!)
¼ inch fresh ginger

Juice it all and drink it. This sh*t will clear you up. The more ginger you add, the ‘spicier’ it is. (by Shaun Ketterman)

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Uber. Your First Ride is Free. and It’s on Me!

What’s Uber? Uber, in simple terms, is your private driver and it evolved the way the world moves by seamlessly connecting riders to their smart phone at affordable rate. Unlike traditional taxi, you do not need to use cash to pay for your ride. All you need is your credit card (or PayPal) and a smart phone. By allowing the transactions strictly between the rider and their smart phone Uber simplified the idea of taxi.

At first, I’m going to admit, I was not moved by the idea of Uber and did not really pay attention to the mass hype about Uber; but after taking my first ride to Tech Week Chicago I absolutely “got the concept” and now use it whenever possible. I own a car but after doing the math for “owning a car” vs “using Uber” – I figured out that Uber is more economical. If you live in big cities such as Chicago or New York, it is better not to have a car. The cost of ownership, maintenance, gas, parking fees add up and it really becomes a hassle.

If you haven’t tried Uber, your first ride is free, and it is on me. I am giving you a $30 and to redeem it visit this page.

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LinkedIn Names the Best Company Pages of 2013

Today, LinkedIn announces the companies with the best presence on LinkedIn company pages. The ones I recommend following are HubSpot, Mashable, and NPR.

1. Adobe
2. AppleOne
3. CommonWealth Bank
4. Dell
5. HubSpot
6. Four Seasons Hotel & Resorts
7. Kelogg Company
8. Marketplace Home Mortgage
9. Mashable
10. NPR

 

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Is WordPress Right For Your Brand?

Personally, I am a big fan of WordPress. The CSS/ PHP/ HTML combination allows for flexibility in design and responsiveness, while the user-friendly back-end of WordPress makes it easy to edit content. However, despite its easy-use from a business owner perspective, it is not always the best content management system or CMS for a website.

There are two major instances where I would explicitly NOT recommend WordPress for your brand:

 1. Is your site E-Commerce?

In the case of an E-Commerce site, WordPress would not be your best choice. There are WordPress themes and plugins to drive E-Commerce capability, but if the major function of your site is E-Commerce and your sales, WordPress would not be my first choice. Joomla and especially, Magento, are much better platforms in this case. Magento (formerly OSCommerce) is designed specifically for E-Commerce and the major admin panel functionalities are controlling your sales, inventory, and promotions. You can even manage your customer base from this portal.

2. Is your site more of a web application than a website?

Dynamic, user interactive sites are the new trend. There is a certain element of this that can be covered in WordPress, again through plugins, but this interactivity and networking capability is better handled through more development intense platforms such as Joomla, Drupal, and Ruby on Rails.

A web application would be more suited to the youngest of the three, Ruby, or Drupal. These two are the most dynamic and developer based. Ruby has a very friendly coding language that can be picked up fairly easily. Drupal is the elder and deeply-rooted CMS, sworn by for many old-school developers.

Something like an intranet of a site based in networking would often be more suited to Joomla. It is very flexible and easy to use. It serves mainly as a middle ground between the ease-of-use found in WordPress and the development-intensive flexibility of Drupal.

Aside from these two cases, the second of which could be quite broad, I would point you towards WordPress as the way to go. From the increasingly important Search Engine Optimization perspective, it simply cannot be beat. As content becomes increasingly important to search engines, a system originally built for easily managing the content of a blog can’t be beat.

Particularly for small and medium sized businesses looking to gain traction in the ultra-competitive internet marketplace, the ability to quickly add and edit content that WordPress provides is invaluable. Once a site has been built, it is easy to give the business owner, however inexperienced, the reigns to the site without too much worry of catastrophe.

As a web developer, I find what is considered to be the least development-friendly CMS to be perfectly flexible. Functionality is easily added and controlled through plugins, custom or sourced. Design is very subjective, and with the wealth of themes available on sites like ThemeForest, you are sure to find one you like.

In summary, with the increasing importance of web presence, regardless of the business, an affordable, modern, good-looking, and flexible website is of necessity. WordPress meets, and exceeds all of these requirements, producing a site that you can easily manage and in turn leverage to enhance your business.

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Yes or No? Amazon Prime Air

This week Amazon.com unveiled its vision for 2015: the air drone that delivers packages up to 5 lbs within 30 minutes from the order. Jeff Bezos claims that the air drone can deliver within 10 mile radius from the Amazon fulfillment center(s); however, there are some prerequisite action items, such as approval from FAA, quality assurance, quality control, etc. before the air drone can be utilized. These new flying robots can be seen as early as 2015, and as a big fan of Amazon and Amazon Prime Member, I cannot wait to see them. Yes, for the drones. It’s innovative, and makes logistics more fun. You have my approval.

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8 Min Abs Workout

For all you extreme couchers and gym rats, this is a great 8 minute abs workout video. Try it.

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The Best Ways To Handle the Directors, Socializers, Thinkers, & Relaters

In my previous article, I mentioned that there are four types of people: the Directors, Socializers, Thinkers, and Relaters.

Working Together with Directors

Directors are very time-sensitive, so never waste their time. Be organized and get to the point. Give them bottom-line information and options, with probabilities of success, if relevant. Give them written details to read at their leisure.

Directors are goal-oriented, so appeal to their sense of accomplishment. Stroke their egos by supporting their ideas, and acknowledge their power and prestige. Let Directors call the shots. If you disagree, argue with facts, not feelings. In groups, allow them to have their say because they are not the type who will take a back-seat to others.

With Directors, in general, be efficient and competent.

Adapting To Socializers

Socializers thrive on personal recognition, so pour it on sincerely. Support their ideas, goals, opinions, and dreams. Try not to argue with their pie-in-the-sky visions; get excited about them.

Socializers are social-butterflies, so be ready to flutter around with them. A strong presence, stimulating and entertaining conversation, jokes, and liveliness will win them over. They are people-oriented, so give them time to socialize. Avoid rushing into tasks.

With Socializers, in general, be interested in them.

Dealing With Thinkers

Thinkers are time-disciplined, so be sensitive to their time. They need details, so give them data. Support Thinkers in their organized, thoughtful approach to problem-solving. Be systematic, logical, well-prepared, and exact with them. Give them time to make decisions and work independently. Allow them to talk in detail.

In work groups, do not expect Thinkers to be leaders or outspoken contributors, but do rely on them to conduct research, crunch numbers, and perform detailed foot-work for the group. If appropriate, set guidelines and exact deadlines. Thinkers like to be complimented on their brain-power, so recognize their contributions accordingly.

With Thinkers, in general, be thorough, well-prepared, detail-oriented, business-like, and patient.

Adapting To Relaters

Relaters are relationship-oriented, want warm and fuzzy relationships, so take things slow, earn their trust, support their feelings, and show sincere interest. Talk in terms of feelings, not facts, which is the opposite of the strategy for Thinkers. Relaters don’t want to ruffle feathers. They want to be assured that everyone will approve of them and their decisions. Give them time to solicit co-workers’ opinions. Never back a Relater into a corner. It is far more effective to apply warmth to get this chicken out of its egg than to crack the shell with a hammer.

With Relaters, in general, be non threatening and sincere.

In summary, the Platinum Rule provides powerful life-skills that will serve you well in all your relationships: business, friends, family, spouse, and children. Improved relationships create infinite possibilities and think of the right things to say when you interact with people.

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4 Types of Personality and The Platinum Rule

You’ve probably heard of the Golden Rule, which states “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Golden Rule implies the basic assumption that other people would like to be treated the way that you would like to be treated.

The alternative to the Golden Rule is the Platinum Rule: “Treat others the way they want to be treated.” Say what?! So there is a difference. The Platinum Rule accommodates the feelings of others. The goal of The Platinum Rule is personal chemistry and productive relationships. The Platinum Rule divides behavioral preferences into four basic styles: Director, Socializer, Relater, and Thinker

Everyone possesses the qualities of each style to various degrees and everyone has a dominant style.

Directors

Directors are driven by two governing needs: to control and achieve. Directors are goal-oriented go-getters who are most comfortable when they are in charge of people and situations. They want to accomplish many things-now-so they focus on no-nonsense approaches to bottom-line results.

Directors seek expedience and are not afraid to bend the rules. They figure it is easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. Directors accept challenges, take authority, and plunge head first into solving problems. They are fast-paced, task-oriented, and work quickly and impressively by themselves, which means they become annoyed with delays.

Directors are driven and dominating, which can make them stubborn, impatient, and insensitive to others. Directors are so focused that they forget to take the time to smell the roses.

Socializers

Socializers are friendly, enthusiastic “party-animals” who like to be where the action is. They thrive on the admiration, acknowledgment, and compliments that come with being in the lime-light.

The Socializer’s primary strengths are enthusiasm, charm, persuasiveness, and warmth. They are idea-people and dreamers who excel at getting others excited about their vision. They are eternal optimists with an abundance of charisma. These qualities help them influence people and build alliances to accomplish their goals.

Socializers do have their weaknesses: impatience, an aversion to being alone, and a short attention span. Socializers are risk-takers who base many of their decisions on intuition, which is not inherently bad. Socializers are not inclined to verify information; they are more likely to assume someone else will do it.

Thinkers

Thinkers are analytical, persistent, systematic people who enjoy problem-solving. Thinkers are detail-oriented, which makes them more concerned with content than style. Thinkers are task-oriented people who enjoy perfecting processes and working toward tangible results. They’re always in control of their emotions and may become uncomfortable around people who very out-going, e.g., Socializers.

Thinkers have high expectations of themselves and others, which can make them over-critical. Their tendency toward perfectionism-taken to an extreme-can cause “paralysis by over-analysis.” Thinkers are slow and deliberate decision-makers. They do research, make comparisons, determine risks, calculate margins of error, and then take action. Thinkers become irritated by surprises and glitches, hence their cautious decision-making. Thinkers are also skeptical, so they like to see promises in writing.

Relaters

Relaters are warm and nurturing individuals. They are the most people-oriented of the four styles. Relaters are excellent listeners, devoted friends, and loyal employees. Their relaxed disposition makes them approachable and warm. They develop strong networks of people who are willing to be mutually supportive and reliable. Relaters are excellent team players.

Relaters are risk-aversive. In fact, Relaters may tolerate unpleasant environments rather than risk change. They like the status quo and become distressed when disruptions are severe. When faced with change, they think it through, plan, and accept it into their world. Relaters-more than the other types-strive to maintain personal composure, stability, and balance.
In the office, Relaters are courteous, friendly, and willing to share responsibilities. They are good planners, persistent workers, and good with follow-through.

Relaters go along with others even when they do not agree because they do not want to rock the boat.

Relaters are slow decision-makers for several reasons: 1) their need for security; 2) their need to avoid risk; 3) their desire to include others in the decision-making process.

In summary, analyze yourself and figure out which one you are. I guarantee you will have at least two characteristics. If you cannot seem to figure out – ask your three friends and have them describe you. If you’re a Mongolian – you’re highly likely to be the thinker and be really good at math.

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