Fitbit is on schedule, as its boss James Park keeps reminding us, to launch its next smartwatch by the end of the year. We don’t know what the smartwatch will be called, though Blaze 2 seems likely, but thanks to leaks we know its design and some of the hardware improvements.

Images obtained by Wareable show a similar large display design to the Blaze – which we have already seen in a Yahoo Finance report – alongside a new heart-rate arrangement that uses two red lights and one blue light.

The company’s previous devices have used a green light to track heart-rate because blood absorbs the light. However, it reflects red light, which allows it to penetrate deeper into the skin, providing a more accurate heart-rate and new biometrics like blood oxygen levels.

This should help close the gap between Fitbit and the Apple Watch when it comes to heart-rate accuracy. Fitbit is also reportedly improving the accuracy of GPS for the new smartwatch.

It won’t be just hardware this year, Fitbit is planning to launch an app gallery that will come with a selection of launch apps, before opening to the wider developer community. The company has reportedly tapped Pandora to be the launch partner for music, after unsuccessfully trying to partner with Spotify.

See Also: Morgan Stanley: Fitbit needs better software to survive

The firm is in a precarious position, once the dominant player in the wearable market, it has lost significant marketshare to Apple and Xiaomi. Other brands, like Garmin and Samsung, are providing customers with alternatives to the standard smartwatch and fitness tracker options.

This new smartwatch has most of the improvements people have asked of Fitbit, but delays and rumors of poor performance could ruin the new device before it even hits the store shelves.

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More enterprises are investing in mobile applications on platforms preferably iOS. The 2016 enterprise mobile apps report brought out by Adobe reinforces the growing need for enterprises to invest in mobile apps.

With Apple constituting a major share of the world smartphone market, iOS tend to be the most preferred platform in enterprise app development.

Fig 1. Apple iPhone global sales from 2007 to 2018, Source – Statista

As illustrated in the above-mentioned graph, Apple’s global iPhone sales continue to skyrocket behind leading mobile communications conglomerates.

The continued popularity and dependability of Apple’s lineup of smartphones have made it the preferred choice for enterprises in ensuring business productivity. iOS as a mobile platform has always been on the forefront in terms of robustness and security.

But the thing is, there are stronger competitors in the current market competing directly with iOS. Google-owned Android have fared remarkably well in the mobile market largely due to its swift integration with Google’s extensive services, flexibility, and support.

So, security in enterprise app design will iOS dominate or does Android edges it out with its open platform?

Security: The Priority in Enterprise Applications

Globally, security has always occupied a key position in enterprises due to the stringent norms related to data and communications. Any flaws in security can compromise the whole set of confidential data handled by a company.

The impact of such security breaches in a company is disastrous. It can lead to huge financial losses, lose or corrupt sensitive data and even damage the company’s reputation.

The data handled by a company not only involves their own information but those of their customers as well. For example, a bank that uses mobile applications must have exceptional security features as they are used to process, store and transfer sensitive data of thousands of their customers such as bank account details.

Enterprise application security is important because:

•         Safeguards sensitive data and ensures information privacy
•         Upholds the company’s reputation by shielding it from cyber attacks

Addressing Security Vulnerabilities in iOS and Android

According to Norton, the global cybersecurity provider, both iOS and Android face an array of security threats and vulnerabilities. The two mobile platforms still suffer from some form of vulnerability in spite of their recent upgrades and improvements.

So far, iOS still has 1457 vulnerabilities as per the report published in the security vulnerability assessment database CVE Details. Android scales higher with about 1834 discovered security vulnerabilities as mentioned in the report.

When evaluating the reports, it becomes clear that iOS has fewer vulnerabilities compared to Android. Moreover, in 2018, the amount of vulnerabilities discovered in iOS has reduced considerably with only 86 compared to 387 vulnerabilities in 2017.

Fig 2. Vulnerabilities in iOS and Android platforms, Source – CVE Details

Apple’s swift implementation of the latest updates and bug fixes across the platform have resolved many of these vulnerabilities largely. Android, however, fails to curb the vulnerabilities with 301 vulnerabilities still affecting the platform in 2018.

Android and iOS from the Standpoint of Security

Applications developed for the enterprise differ from those made for the consumers. An enterprise application whether iOS or Android is built for assisting in various business processes. As an additional feature, enterprise applications are embedded with certain security features that protect the data and prevents it from misuse.

App developers have included several key security considerations while building applications for enterprises. The use of strong encryption, certificate underpinning and shifting to a cloud model are some of the techniques used to improve application security.

Threat Levels

Android being open source is especially vulnerable to such malware as it allows running of third-party applications. Reports state that 97 percent of the malware is on the Android platform. Clearly, the increasing security vulnerabilities in Android mean that it is inapt for use in the enterprise.

Because it supports third-party applications, it is always riskier to use android for business. iOS offers some level of protection against malware and other threats because of its closed source nature. A software development company can work with iOS to build apps having clearly defined security measures for enterprises.

Even though iOS still has numerous security vulnerabilities, it is easier to lessen their risk through upgrades. Moreover, iOS being closed source do not support third-party applications, which ratifies the security it provides for enterprise applications.

Device Fragmentation

Device fragmentation is one key feature that determines the level of security offered in a platform’s application. Higher fragmentation will result in increased risk of a data breach.

In case of Android, the fragmentation is higher as it contains numerous OS versions making it more vulnerable to data breaches. iOS has a lower fragmentation because it has limited OS versions and devices making it more secure.

Software Security

Both iOS and Android take security a crucial priority. As a part of this, both the platforms roll out frequent updates to enhance the protection of the device from new forms of threats. iOS periodically releases updates that are to be installed mandatorily on the device.

Android also releases new updates to improve the functionality and security of its OS. But, this is not mandatory as the users can determine whether to update their devices. Leaving out the updates can make the device and applications vulnerable to various threats.

Enterprise Management Needs: How iOS and Android Compare?

In terms of managing various operations related to enterprise, both iOS and Android have a set of features and functionalities inbuilt. This will help mobile device management to assist enterprises to drive more security and efficiency in their operations.

With iOS, it provides:

1)      BYOD compatible because of better mobile device management tools.

2)      Easy centralized administration to control all connected iOS devices.

3)      Improved customer experience that drives efficiency and growth.

In the case of Android, mobile device management fails to accomplish that level of flexibility as offered by iOS. Since different manufacturers utilize mobile device management variedly, it prevents a centralized administration of devices, which is the prerequisite of enterprise mobility.

iOS Sets the Standard in Enterprise App Design

Clearly, the odds of enterprise mobile application usage is slanting towards the iOS platform. According to the Annual Apple Trends Survey conducted by Jamf, Apple’s iOS platform has witnessed immense growth in the enterprise sector. The report details that 91 percent of the enterprises rely on Apple’s devices for fulfilling their operations.

iOS is built with a focus on security because it is a closed sourced platform. The security features of iOS can serve enterprise needs by offering full protection for data and communications. Moreover, with iOS, it is easier to deploy a centralized administration of the devices utilized by the employees within an organization.

Android too, being open to several vulnerabilities, has the potential to evolve into a dependable enterprise platform. The immense developments in Android are hinting at a shift in the current market dominion of the enterprise sector. But for now, Apple’s iOS leads in security and sets the standard in enterprise app design and development.

Author Bio:

Vinod has conceptualized and delivered niche mobility products that cater to various domains including logistics, media & non-profits. He leads, mentors & coaches a team of Project Coordinators & Analysts at Fingent.

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Big data is often a buzzword. In recent years the big data word has preoccupied business owners and made department managers drool. One crucial prerequisite to big data is to utilize professional data visualization tools. These tools provide a better way to access, explore and communicate your data. Here are the ten best data visualization tools you should know for 2020.

What Is A Data Visualization Software?

Data visualization software provides a visual representation of a company’s data in the form of interactive charts and graphs. The software has extensive analytics and reporting features that enable organizations to explore their data dynamically. Better business decisions will always be made with better input from precise data.

One crucial aspect surrounding data visualization software is the ability to drive action and the most accurate business judgments. You’ll make the best possible decision from the newest — vital — digital environment.

The collection of data is not going to slow down; the increment of information we process daily in our digital age only confirms how data visualization tools are critical. These tools provide succinct, informative, and actionable insights.

What Are The Benefits Of Professional Data Visualization Tools?

Data visualization comes in many forms, from simple Excel charts to PowerPoint graphs. The best focus is on professional software that can be tested through free trials, and data already obtained.

The data focuses on certain popularity in the data via your business community.

These tools provide countless benefits. Here is a brief list of the most notable ones:

• Interactive data visualization features.

In your business, you’ll want detailed information on:

• Specific products.
• On a specific month.
• For a unique location.
• Visuals for the company’s financial health as a whole.
• Visualize the performance of marketing campaigns.

Professional software enables you to drill-down and perform deeper analysis, just by clicking on a specific part of the visualized chart.

You can zoom-in and apply customized (hierarchical) filters. You’ll have advanced conditional formatting that the software enables you to explore and then choose from diverse options.

• Real-time updates.

One of the main benefits these tools and software offer is the ability to provide real-time visualizations.

In a business scenario, you’ll want to update new reports. You don’t want to access the datasets and find they are obsolete, closed, or can’t be updated automatically.

On the other hand, the software enables automatic updates of visualizations in real-time. There is no place for assumptions nowadays. Real-time software saves you countless hours of copying and searching for information from spreadsheets.

• Designed for technical and non-technical users.

Compiling a report or creating a dashboard by pulling hundreds or thousands of numbers from a database is complex. If you’re part of the IT department or the head of a department, these reports are still tedious.

Modern Data visualization software enables both technical and non-technical users to extract, manipulate, and create their own dashboards and reports. Ultimately, data visualization software increases the productivity of the whole company and saves everyone time.

• Trend analysis and predictive analytics.

Particularly beneficial to the relevant group, department, team, or stakeholder, is predictive analytics. The benefits include enabling users to explore future data without having to focus on visualizing only past data.

Leaving the vague ‘hunches’ behind, professional data visualization tools are usually integrated within Business Intelligence platforms. BI platforms allow you to look into the future, easily drawing conclusions. You’ll spot trends that would, otherwise, stay hidden in endless numbers and datasets.

To help you determine the best possible solutions for your business or department — here’s a list of the top 10 data visualization software and tools to consider for your 2020 business strategy.

What Are The Best Data Visualization Tools On The Market? datapine Enables both technical and non-technical users to take advantage of compelling data.                              Source: datapine

A data visualization software, datapine, enables both technical and non-technical users to take advantage of compelling data. You’ll use features such as predictive analytics. Predictive analytics features enable you to explore your visualizations based on the prediction engine. You select the data points of interest, and the software will calculate the forecast based on your past data.

You can also select the model quality, define the confidence interval (usually 95%), and visually explore future outcomes. You’ll know what to expect because of the comparison with the previous period. Past data will provide you with additional visual details where you’ll directly see how you performed.

Past data compared with current data within the selected data points provides value at any level. Conditional formatting is data via the features that ensure your visualization. The feature automatically changes colors based on specific values. You’ll use fixed and relative limits, and custom criteria with no limitations.

Connecting numerous data sources and using customized ones — you can have all your relevant company data in a single place. Single data access points enable you to perform cross-system analyses quickly.

Do you want to see your flat files, CRM, ERP systems? You’ll connect your source and simply drag and drop your values and see extensive charts and graphs in action. Right in front of you, you’ll have the area, scatter, bubble, maps, line and gauge charts, etc.

You can combine different chart types and interact with your visualizations. Create custom reports, set data alerts, and utilize smart insights — all providing you with multiple types of data analysis. Want more? Create growth outlines, trends, forecasts, correlations, and what-if scenarios, among others.

Whether you want to visualize data with a drag and drop interface or write your own SQL queries, this tool provides you with numerous options. With the help of interactive business dashboards, you can interact with your datasets and predict future business issues, scenarios, and situations.

Key Features of datapine:

• Numerous data sources and chart types.
• Intuitive drag and drop interface.
• Predictive analytics and Forecasting.
• Comparison with the previous period and conditional formatting.
• A wealth of interactive dashboard features.

Shortcomings:

• The tool doesn’t support OLAP.

IBM Cognos Analytics Making it easy to design reports.                                                                                                            Source: IBM Cognos Analytics

Making it easy to design reports, IBM Cognos Analytics is a data visualization tool with a wide range of data sources. They have relational databases, spreadsheets, text files, or Hadoop-based technologies. You can join them into a single data module, and start with your own dashboard creation. IBM Cognos Analytics provides numerous visualizations, including geospatial mapping and advanced analytics, with AI recommendations.

A simple lasso selection can select the parts of the map most interesting for your analysis. Copy the visualization and implement it into a new dashboard without any additional steps.

Their AI assistant communicates in plain English, which is a neat feature that enables you to ask questions directly to the system. The system then automatically recommends the visualization, but you can also choose your own.

Key Features of IBM Cognos Analytics:

• Join different data sources into one data module.
• Geospatial mapping.
• Select specific data points as a filter (‘Lasso’).
• AI-conversational assistant.

Shortcomings:

• Some users report performance issues for big data sets.

FusionCharts A charting library that lets you build web and mobile dashboards based on JavaScript.                      Source: FusionChart

A charting library, FusionCharts, lets you build web and mobile dashboards based on JavaScript. They cover over 90 charts and more than 1000 maps, enabling users to create powerful and custom dashboards.

The FusionCharts tool is a complicated tool aimed towards developers. No doubt, developers are quite happy with the possibility to integrate with popular libraries and languages such as React, Angular, Vue, jQuery, Java, .NET, or PHP.

Another neat feature is their data stories that use a series of linked visualizations to create a data-driven journalism approach. Helping you to create compelling narratives, these stories also come as templates. You only need to request the source code.

Users are satisfied with this plugin since it’s a simple solution to create charts directly for your website. You’ll want to get an experienced developer on your team to explore its possibilities.

Key Features of FusionCharts:

• JavaScript chart builder.
• Over 90 charts and 1000 maps.
• Integration with other libraries and languages.
• Templates for data stories.

Shortcomings:

• Their target group is developers so that you will need proper programming knowledge.

Zoho Analytics Generating visualizations and dashboards enable companies with tabular view components.      Source: Zoho Analytics

Generating visualizations and dashboards, Zoho Analytics enables companies and departments with tabular view components. These components use the help of various widgets and pivot tables.

Focused on data visualization experts and analysts, the solution offers in-depth features such as deep analytics powered by artificial intelligence assistant, Zia.

Similar to other mentioned tools, they also provide a drag and drop interface to create visualizations, and you can easily insert images, widgets, and web components in their layout.

An exciting feature is the geo-visualization, which enables you to interact with map charts based on regions, states, cities, and even latitudes and longitudes.

The spreadsheet-like interface for deep analytics enables users to apply pre-built functions, use their mathematical and statistical library, and create your own visualizations and dashboards.

Key Features of Zoho:

• Smart analytics with artificial intelligence.
• Comprehensive geo visualizations.
• Pre-built analytical functions.
• Mathematical and statistical library.

Shortcomings:

• You need to be data-savvy to utilize all software features fully.

Highcharts Focused on developers who want to set up charts into their websites or web applications.                   Source: Highcharts

Another data via tools, Highcharts is focused on developers who want to set up charts into their websites or web applications. If you happen to need their charts for your NGO or school site, they even offer it for free.

The JavaScript charting engine supports line charts, area, column and bar, pie, scatter and bubble, combinations. Each of the dynamic charts, 3D, gauges, and much more, are both on iOS and Android systems.

Their pre-built templates are customizable, but, similarly to some other tools on our list, you will want the help of a developer to code and implement the desired visualization properly.

Their library works with any back-end database or stack while their API Wrappers for popular languages such as .NET, Python, Java, or R. These are available from Highcharts or their community.

Key Features of Highcharts:

• Multiple integration options for websites or web applications.
• Free for non-commercial use.
• Available also on iOS and Android systems.
• Open-source codes available.

Shortcomings:

• You will need help from an IT specialist to properly work with this chart library.

SAP Lumira You can apply scripting and integrations to develop rich reports.                                                                  Source: SAP Lumira

SAP Lumira lets you build visualizations through their newly updated and enhanced Lumira Designer, Discovery, and Server editions. You can apply scripting and integrations to develop rich reports.

You can combine data visualizations into a storyboard and generate a professional dashboard. SAP Lumira supports OLAP, so you also have additional technology to work with if you need advanced analysis.

The visualizations offer adaptive layout containers so you can easily choose how they will be presented on bigger or smaller screens. Utilize interactive data visualization apps so you can access your information from mobile, as well.

Offered both as a cloud and on-premise solution, SAP is robust software with numerous features that need some time to explore fully.

Key Features of SAP Lumira:

• SAP Lumira Designer, Discovery, and Server editions.
• Advanced charting abilities.
• Adaptive layout containers.
• Supports OLAP.

Shortcomings:

• Users report the need for proper training to make the most out of this software.

Tableau Data visualization that enables you to visualize analytics, prepare, and share it online.                     Source: Tableau

The Tableau platform combines many tools. You’ll receive data visualization that enables companies to visualize their analytics, prepare it, and share it online. You’ll then store the information on a cloud or on-premise.

Bought by Salesforce in June 2019, the company offers products such as Tableau Desktop, Prep, Online, and Tableau Server. To create a data visualization, you don’t need advanced programming skills. Gladly, they offer developer tools to integrate and customize API for your own organizational needs.

Similar to other tools, they also offer a drag and drop interface, numerous data connectors, and advanced analytics features. Choose trend analyses, regressions, and correlations.

Included in the offering are additional extensions for dashboards, which make the data visualization process much more robust and extensive. The gallery is still in the beta version but will enable you to upscale your via efforts.

Key Features of Tableau:

• Different data viz products for diverse needs.
• Automatic data modeling within the data preparation process.
• Additional gallery extensions.
• Developer tools.

Shortcomings:

• Training and coaching are needed to fully take advantage of all the different features, as the tool is not always intuitive to use.

Microsoft PowerBI A professional tool focused on business users, developers, and analysts.                                      Source: Microsoft PowerBI

Our list of the best data visualization software for 2020 wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Microsoft PowerBI. This is a professional tool that is focused on business users, developers, and analysts.

The tool comes as part of the Microsoft Office 365 package; therefore, it’s easily integrated with other tools such as Microsoft Excel. They also offer several charts such as ribbon, treemaps, waterfall, R script visuals. There is an offer of several types of maps, funnel, gauge, etc.

Listings of visualizations get updated quickly, so new ones are added periodically. Similar to other tools, this tool is offered via cloud and on-premise. Your data efforts will always be available and accessible on-the-go.

An interesting feature is PowerApps is a library that enables you to build and extend apps through the Microsoft ecosystem, including PowerBI.

Key Features of Microsoft PowerBI:

• Easily integrates with other Microsoft tools.
• List of visualizations regularly updated.
• PowerApps library.
• Similar to other tools, also offered as SaaS and on-premise.

Shortcomings:

• Best mastered by savvy Excel users since the user interface is initially challenging to use.

Looker Focused on a “multi-cloud strategy.                                                                                                                              Source: Looker

Focused on a “multi-cloud strategy,” Looker is also a data visualization tool. You can drill their visualizations into row-level detail, select one from their library or build your own.

Customization options include conditional formatting and “elegant details from trend lines.” Their visualization library consists of numerous data analytics blocks that can be customized and implemented into your dashboard.

You can also develop your visualization using JavaScript and save it to Looker, which is a neat feature if you like coding more than pre-built solutions.

Their charts consist of the funnel, maps, donut multiples, timeline, combined charts, and, as mentioned, customized ones. Looker also focuses on business users and data analysts. You’ll be able to perform visual discovery and custom analysis without in-depth technological knowledge.

Key Features of Looker:

• Drilling visualizations into row-level detail.
• Real-time data exploration of big data sets.
• Additional data visualization customization.
• Library of data blocks.

Shortcomings:

• It’s a powerful tool, but also fairly young software, founded in 2011 and bought by Google in June 2019 The tool is a relatively high-price solution (resources state on average between $3000-5000 per month).

InsightSquared Revenue intelligence software for professionals to streamline revenue operations.                    Source: InsightSquared

A revenue intelligence software, InsightSquared is used by professionals looking to streamline revenue operations. InsightSquared also facilitates AI in its process, mostly in the field of sales.

It also includes marketing analytics, pipeline management, forecasting, and SaaS reporting. Various departments can utilize its features, but sales operations are the main focus.

One of the top features they offer is Tiles, a sales report mosaic of visuals which connects to Salesforce and begins with pulling insights.

Key Features of InsightSquared:

• Focused on revenue operations.
• Includes analytics-focused primarily on sales.
• Pipeline management and forecasting.
• Tiles – a sales reporting mosaic.

Shortcomings:

• Since their focus is sales — other departments may lack some features.

Summary

Small, medium-sized business or large enterprise needs the proper data management and forecasting options to be able to survive in our competitive modern age. We have no choice but to enable ourselves to make accurate business decisions.

Professional, easy-to-use data visualization tools empower companies to extract actionable insights from their data. We can establish a data-driven business culture by making data analytics accessible for business users.

We hope this list will inspire you to make your own business decisions smarter and more informed by utilizing one of these tools in the year 2020.

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At first all I wanted was to be able to purchase something wonderful and uplifting for my bedroom wall. Then the goal was — if we could just find a piece that was inspirational above the desk in the den — that would be enough.

Soon, we realized that we spent much more time in the living-room and to be real — so did our friends. Was I trying to be inspired myself — or show what great taste I had — to the friends? Let’s get real — artwork fills all of these “needs.” I decided to tryout Meural.

“Life Imitates Art”– But Do You Want It To?

Thomas Merton said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” Well, I sure didn’t want the peeps at work losing themselves in art. “Lose yourself in the next tech project, please — this is a tech company.” If you’re a writer, “Lose yourself in getting that article written — or the editing done. Hey devs — get those complaints and fixes finished, and the updates logged — don’t look at the art.”

There are many beloved statements about art online and about the huge benefits of including these pieces in our lives. They are wonderful. However, I decided to merely hang up a Meural, and see what happened.

The Baby Bum In The Bathtub.

If you were one of those kids who “became a person” in the age of the rotating family pictures inside a frame on an end table–you will relate to this feeling. Remember the real trick to these abominations was to come in the door from school and toss your bookbag in front of it quickly. “Please,” you halfway prayed, “don’t let the friends see my two-year-old-butt in the bathtub.”

If you were unlucky, you were also terrorized by these frames in the parents room, family room and the pool-table room. It would be very difficult to study and graph the ptsd these little gems may have caused through the years. With the beautiful Meural — you are welcome to help your children become “tough” if you would like — baby-bum and all. But, we found the best place to hang our Meural was in our office setting.

A Way To Connect And Embrace Culture In The Office Setting

At the office we all became obsessed with the Meural — but everyone had a different idea of what they wanted to have come-up on the screen. Finally, we said each person could pick five items to add to the frame.

Being in “charge” of the office atmosphere, the “correct” thing to have was to have inspiring entrepreneurial sayings, quotes, and pictures. Jack Ma, Jeff Bezos, Mary Grove, Mary Barra, Derek Andersen, Elon Musk, Dave Goldberg and Sheryl Sandberg.  My mind went completely wild — I got the most impressive array of fantastically motivational and stimulating quotes. I can tell you there were more than five. But — I was the boss.

The Team

One team in our co-working office space had uplifting quotes. One of the women added a canvas painting from some art museum she’d found online. Someone else had heard that you could add a selfie to the Meural from your phone — why, yes you can.

What About Offensive Pictures, Displays, Items

One person was offended by a painting — it was a Degas — some ballerinas, of course. Do ballerinas belong in a tech world? Come to find out — everything belongs in the tech world. Photos by Ansel Adams, Quotes from Shakespeare, Don Quixote, and Buddha. Pictures of fast cars, wrinkled men’s faces, code, computers, a kids soccer game, gamer trappings — especially if that is the game you are currently winning, wood carvings, modern art, not so modern art, sculptures, and I could go on and on.

But if you don’t like a piece that is up there on the wall as you pass by — guess what? You can swoosh your hand in front of it and the pic will change, immediately. Soon the Meural will know which pics or painting you personally don’t like and it will change the pic as you are entering the room. Perfect.

You Can’t Please Everyone

The saying that says something about we can’t please everyone, is totally true — except in the case of the Meural. Every person in the office has added many more than five items. I’d say more like 25. I put in 50 quotes and and don’t care if that bothers someone. My quotes are exhilarating, heartening, modern — and some are exclusive to me.

It has been shocking and revealing to realize that I didn’t even really know these people I’ve worked with for years. Stories are told that we have never heard before. “Bro, what did you put a pic of a 1950’s toaster up on the Meural for?” “Well, that was sold in my grandfather’s small appliance store in Wyoming,” he said. Then Occ brought one of these beauties (a 1976 toaster with a flag on it, for the bicentennial that year) — into the office for us to use.

Let’s Add To This

The Meural has lots of software that you can get online to find pretty much anything you would ever want to look at or display. But,the magic is to see how employees have added to this collection of interesting thoughts, pics, and items. Our coworking space friends have added to the art pieces — now THAT is inspiring.

Right now, I just looked over there — on a plain bright yellow background — there are the words GET — A POO EMOJI — DONE. Simple, maybe not cute, per se, but hey — that’s coolio. Love it. Russian dancers, fishing in Alaska, and yes, the Degas ballerinas. All of this art is speaking to someone in this room. Frankly, it really does help us get shit done.

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In the technology industry, almost more than anywhere else, image is everything. Image is the bedrock part of the “fake it till you make it” culture that animates most of Silicon Valley today. Innovators use it to sell illusions while they figure out the nuts and bolts of their big ideas. Here are four critical challenges of tech startup PR.

Without it, companies like Magic Leap would be starved of capital while trying to bring their AR technology to market. Even Amazon would never have survived years of losing money to becoming the retail juggernaut it is today.

Technology industry startups have to pay more attention to their image than most other companies do.

To have the correct image in technology means businesses must have a thorough understanding of the field of public relations (PR). They must realize that the breakneck pace of innovation in the industry makes it difficult to differentiate themselves from competitors. Overcoming that obstacle requires some industry-specific tactics and knowledge. Applying it makes it possible to maintain a high profile in an industry flooded with competition.

It seems clear that most entrepreneurs need help to navigate the ultra-dense tech industry PR environment. To help, here are the four most critical challenges of tech PR and how to overcome them to remain relevant.

Successful Tech PR Requires Solid Press Relationships

Investors, stockholders, and consumers all around the world have a voracious appetite for the latest and greatest in technology news. Still, the one thing that’s you’ll notice about technology news coverage is that it has little to do with technology. Instead, much of the coverage centers on the business side of the industry.

The business side chronicles which startups locked down financing rounds, who are providing them, and what the money is earmarked to do. Becoming a part of that news cycle is an essential part of a successful tech industry PR effort. The reality, though, is that it can’t be done with press releases alone.

Instead, PR professionals in the technology world have to establish relationships with journalists and analysts that cover the industry. Then they can give them exclusive access to ensure high-profile placements. Tech journalists love to be first to report any inside information or details they can find.

Most tech journalists will be happy to cover a startup – even if what they’re reporting seems mundane. That means financial milestones, partnerships, and even internal strategy developments are fair game. Smart tech startups learn to take advantage of that tendency right from the beginning.

These tech startups create a go-to network of news outlets that will get an advanced warning whenever there’s something to report. The favored journalists will reward that access with regular feature stories.

Overcoming Industry Jargon

There aren’t very many industries that have a language that’s as involved and specific as the technology industry. For example, tech-sector buzzwords like blockchain, big data, AR, and the like are regular fixtures of today’s industry coverage.

The problem is that these buzzwords are often poorly understood by the general public. More often than not, that leads to tech startups getting attention, but not comprehension – and that’s a losing PR combination.

To overcome that challenge of not being easily understood, technology PR efforts must be as much about education as they are about image crafting. Clarifying the jargon helps to make sure that the intended audience not only receives the right message but understands it as well.

Google-created Sideways Dictionary as a perfect example of the idea of giving examples of what buzzwords mean and they put it into action. It was created in a joint effort with the Washington Post. The dictionary even encourages users to submit their own relatable tech jargon analogies to become part of the collection.

The Sideways Dictionary is a PR masterstroke that encourages participation, learning, and positions Google as a helpful part of the tech landscape. In short, it’s a brilliant piece of PR.

Letting Social Media Do The Legwork  Social Medial does the legwork for you.                                                                                                                           Photo: REDPIXEL / Adobe Stock

In today’s media environment, getting and keeping the attention of even a small part of the population is difficult. That’s because media consumers are faced with an endless barrage of images, concepts, and trends at all times. Worse still, those factors change on a moment to moment basis.

Nothing encapsulates that idea better than the so-called “hashtagification” of just about everything in the modern world. For tech startups, the challenge is to create a PR machine that cuts through all of that noise. The secret to doing that is to let social media platforms do much of the work for you.

Excellent tech PR on social media doesn’t revolve around spreading a brand message over and over until it gets traction. The key is to listen to things people are already saying, and (assuming it’s positive) turn it into a PR opportunity. Content aggregator app developer Timehop is an excellent example of this idea in action.

The Timehop company discovered that its own users already gave them the perfect marketing message on social media. They were linking the app to the viral hashtag #throwbackthursday, which was a natural fit for the brand. Timehop realized what was happening, leaned into that message, and rode it to digital relevance.

Fighting a Poor Industry Reputation

Over the past few decades, the technology industry has risen to become the economic engine that the world depends on. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, though. The industry has faced a rash of user privacy issues, data thefts, and systemic gender bias throughout the years.

The constant problems have given the industry as a whole a black eye in the public consciousness. Needless to say, that has complicated the PR efforts of every company in the space. Today’s tech startups have to make a concerted effort to avoid getting tarred with that industry-wide brush. Some don’t succeed and become another media target for scorn. Sadly, that’s a tendency that’s all too common in tech media today.

To avoid that fate, tech startups have to execute a proactive PR game plan. They must go out of their way to publicize the ways that they’re addressing the industry’s most pressing issues. Most of all, they have to do it in a very public fashion. A good start is to get out in front of things like gender-neutral hiring.

Transparent data collection practices and building an inclusive startup culture also help to burnish a startup’s reputation. Tackling these issues in a visible way leaves an indelible positive impression on the public at large. It’s the kind of PR that money can’t buy, but that any startup would kill to get. In an industry not known for positive stories, it’s an excellent way to stand out.

Spread the Word

Any tech startup that has the right mix of PR skills and knowledge should have a head-start in their efforts. A firm grasp on the technology industry-specific challenges laid out here should help, too. With them, a startup has a great chance to build a lasting positive reputation.

In an industry fueled by big dreams, that’s often enough to carry a startup through its’ early days. It helps when getting others to believe in those dreams is the difference between success and failure. Of course, no tech startup can go on forever without delivering on their initial promises, though.

Seizing control of the public narrative will buy the time it takes to turn the startup’s dreams into a reality. And as some of the industry’s biggest success stories can attest – sometimes a little time is all you need.

https://samplecic.ch/the-4-critical-challenges-of-tech-startup-pr-4.html

“I didn’t even know who Mark Zuckerberg was back in October 2015. Eighteen months later, I’m keynoting at conferences and serving clients in London, Sydney, Singapore, Los Angeles, Lisbon, Vancouver, and 50 other cities,” says Logan Young, the co-founder of BlitzMetrics, a Facebook dashboard and advertising company.

Learn, Do, Teach: Build Your Expertise First

New companies often create a storefront and brand based on promises because they have no testimonials or case studies to begin with. They fake it till they make it — or spiral out of control at 100 miles per hour.

Logan Young and Dennis Yu decided to take the opposite tack with BlitzMetrics, building the business on reliable methods they’d developed themselves with proven results. The philosophy at BlitzMetrics is that you must first learn how to perform a certain task; then, you do that same task over and over before teaching others how to do it.

That’s how the method of “Learn, Do, Teach” creates a system of accountability within BlitzMetrics, and it’s been the foundation of Yu and Young’s company.

Gaining Real-World Experience by Logan Young

Starting off, Young wasn’t able to get into an ad agency because of the catch-22 of experience. So he, like most young adults, worked low-wage retail jobs to pay the bills. Young applied for internships and interviews, hoping to land something before graduation, hopefully at one of the big New York ad agencies.

That’s when he reached out on Twitter to make connections, and AJ Wilcox connected him to Dennis Yu, the chief technology officer at BlitzMetrics, which is now one of the top Facebook agencies worldwide.

When Young first met Yu, Young didn’t even know who Mark Zuckerberg was. The irony wasn’t lost on Wilcox; he’d introduced the two, thinking it would provide a way for Young to gain real-world experience while in school.

Gain it he did: “Because we believe in teaching from example, I was running ad campaigns and analytics for the Golden State Warriors, MGM, Ashley Furniture, Social Media Examiner, and other big companies — then documenting the process step by step,” Young explains. “I remember one three-week stretch where we did five continents and 15 cities. It was a nonstop blur of flights and time zones — getting straight off flights to speaking on stage, then to client meetings, then to the hotel room to work.”

Currently, Yu and Young are working to improve the training materials for BlitzMetrics, whose aim is to provide jobs for young adults. “If you believe in teaching — practicing what you preach — the natural result is that you must train up the next generation, and that’s our company’s mission,” Yu says.

Reinventing the Wheel 

Young and Yu realized quickly that a high churn rate plagues the digital marketing space. “A lot of clients see marketing as a one-time engagement, and they leave when their projects are over,” Young explains.

To reduce that high turnover among the young people BlitzMetrics employs, the brand has created a tight qualifying process, only hiring resourceful and diligent people and maintaining a set of realistic standards for success.

“People will change jobs seven times in their lifetime,” Young says. “That number’s probably increasing due to technology, so we recognize that a lot of these students won’t be with us in 20 years, but we want them to build skills and have a foundation to grow and build a career.”

The company has also made it a goal to combat the short-term perspective by developing some long-term engagements of its own. “Average agencies will only keep clients for six months,” Young says. “We’ve been with the Golden State Warriors for almost five years now, so it’s been great to build up trust with a client over time. We’re proudest of what we’ve accomplished with them because we’ve experimented and tested and found the right solution at every turn.”

“Part of practicing what we preach is openly sharing our techniques, documented step by step, like what we do together with Facebook and the Warriors,” explains Yu.

Building a Sustainable Brand 

Despite BlitzMetrics’ success, the company, like all others, still has its struggles. Yu and Young try to use each obstacle as a learning moment for their employees to create a brand that can endure industry changes. Here are three recommendations they make for building a strong company.

• Revamp as needed to keep the people you truly want on your team.

“Some of our best people were the ones moving on, but we wanted to give people more incentive to stay on,” Young says. “We moved on from just agency work to more internal work, agency work, and trainings.”

BlitzMetrics takes care of its most loyal employees, investing in their long-term success and always remembering each employee’s personal goals. In BlitzMetrics’ meritocratic environment, the best employees get unique exposure and the opportunity to help with partner trainings, work on high-level clients, and refine BlitzMetrics’ internal operations.

“We put more effort on the mission so it’s not just task-oriented or providing income via the clients; it’s not so tactical,” Young says. “Like with any company, you can be top-heavy or bottom-heavy. We were a bottom-heavy team, relying on profits, not top-level talent. We shifted this to make our company more sustainable.” 

• Define success on your terms, but remember to show perceived value, too.

“When you’re running ads, there’s always some element of the unknown,” Young laughs. “You expect or hope things will work some way, but you never know, especially when you introduce a creative element — A may outperform B.”

BlitzMetrics runs lots of tests, and it’s come up with benchmarks for good engagement, reach on guest posts, and other metrics. These benchmarks, known at BlitzMetrics as “standards of excellence,” allowed the brand to show actual value to clients through hard numbers.

“We have to show actual versus perceived value,” Young says. “We go into the account and make changes, which can take 10 minutes or 10 hours. If a client doesn’t understand actual value, that’s why they’re outsourcing. We need to gain trust by testing ads and creating more perceived value through reporting and short, frequent updates.” In other words, the company has to let clients know it’s watching their accounts and thinking about how others view their brands — and caring as much as they are about those outcomes.

• As your assumptions are contradicted, allow your vision to change.

BlitzMetrics trains young people through online training systems and university partnerships. Yu and Young have hosted webinars with schools from Syracuse University to the University of Louisville, spoken in front of high school assemblies, and spoken at many universities. The goal is to discuss how students can benefit from using social media to boost their personal brands, even if they’re not ultimately going to do ads.

These school partnerships are part of BlitzMetrics’ long-term branding: They allow the company to send students through Facebook training so they can work with the brand after graduation or build a personal brand for their careers in cooking, design, sports, or whatever field they choose.

“People benefit from this training as a nontraditional approach, whether they’re in school or not,” Young says. “The reality of life is that young adults need to work, make an income, and support themselves. We want to teach principles that can help them land a job they want.”

The brand is also shifting to challenge its ways of doing things. “We’re known for working with big enterprise clients like Nike, Red Bull, and TiVo, and we run clients through the same six-page process,” Young says. “We’re working hard to streamline the process so it’s accessible and financially feasible for small businesses.

These micro processes and EXPRESS packages represent BlitzMetrics’ biggest goal for 2018. The EXPRESS packages will be offered for less than $1,000 via mini-agency execution, and the brand hopes to scale the packages’ efficiency with automation to bring the cost down to $50 by 2021.

“The reality is that SMBs need to have some sort of digital process driving paid traffic, even if it’s small. We want to help freelancers, small businesses, and students access this through a dashboard that will offer a snapshot of performance at any point in time. It would then provide recommendations on how to fix something if isn’t working,” Young notes. Automating the process and making it affordable for those who are serious about their brands but don’t have big budgets is expanding the company’s earliest audience base.

“Such techniques work across all verticals, for companies large and small, because these checklists, which we’ve built with Facebook, are using the system the way it was intended,” Yu says. “Thus, the system drives long-term results from practicing the fundamentals, not instant success.”

Building a business by practicing what you preach isn’t easy, but it’s helped BlitzMetrics not only establish itself, but also expand its vision. By doing the unexpected, the brand has invested in sustainable practices — and that’s a long-term investment that will pay off.

https://samplecic.ch/how-technology-and-training-fueled-one-ad-based-companys-growth-2.html

We all want to be more productive and improve our time management skills. Unfortunately, while time management is simple in theory, it’s not always an easy concept to put into practice. It takes knowledge, effort, and discipline. Here are seven critical time management skills to boost your productivity.

We can’t make you work harder or become more disciplined, but we can provide you the knowledge you need to be more productive. In this post, you’ll learn seven critical time management skills you can use to boost your productivity levels today.

The Truth About Time Management

We can’t control time, only what we do with the time we have.

‍First, it’s important to realize that time can’t really be managed — at least not in the traditional sense. We can’t slow down or speed up it’s passing; we can only control what we do with the hours we have. This may seem obvious, but it’s worth noting.

Effective time management isn’t proper management of time, but proper management of self. The way we spend our time will ultimately dictate how productive (or not) we are.

‍You also need to understand that productivity isn’t achieved through one specific skill set. It takes a combination of multiple best practices to succeed. The rest of this post will explain seven essential time management skills and how you can harness them to become more productive.‍

7 Critical Time Management Skills

‍Use these seven critical time management skills to boost your productivity today.

‍Even small improvements to the following time management skills will boost your productivity levels. We encourage you to study these techniques and begin applying them to your daily routine.

‍1. Know Your Goals

Successful time management starts with goal setting.  We can’t control how quickly time passes, but we can decide how we’ll spend the 24 hours in each day. The most productive people are simply those who know how to make every second count towards their objectives.

What are you trying to achieve? A clear understanding of your goals will greatly increase your chances of reaching them. So don’t rush this process. Really think about what you want, when you want it, and how you’ll make it happen. Then craft your goals according to the S.M.A.R.T. framework:

‍The core pillars of the S.M.A.R.T. time management framework

• Specific: The more specific your goals are, the more likely it is that you’ll be able to achieve them. For example, instead of saying, “I’d like to climb the corporate ladder at my company,” say, “In five years I’d like to become the CMO of my company, have a corner office, and manage a team of 10 people.”
• Measurable: Measurable goals allow you to gauge your progress and determine when you’ve accomplished what you set out to do. You can make your goals measurable by setting milestones at various stages in your journey.
• Achievable: Your goals need to be achievable. Meaning they need to be both humanly possible and important enough to you to put in the work required to achieve them. To get what you want, you may need to develop new skills, or put in more hours. Are you willing to do that?
• Relevant: Each of your goals needs to make sense in the broader context of your life and career. Becoming the CMO at your company is a great goal, unless your big life mission is to start your own business.
• Timed: Finally, your goals need to be time-bound. Do your best to set realistic timeframes for each of the things you hope to accomplish. Do you want to run a department at your company, become employed by a global brand, start a business? Great, by when? Timeframes will help keep you on track.

2. Know Yourself

Knowing when you work best is one of the most valuable time management skills you can have. For some, it’s the first thing in the morning. Others are more productive at night. There’s nothing wrong with either approach as long as you’re able to optimize your schedule to accommodate your natural tendencies.

Your work environment should also be taken into account. Do you need complete silence and a tidy desk to perform your best? Perhaps more chaotic surroundings (like a coffee shop) are better suited to you. Again, there is no right or wrong way to work. It’s about discovering what your personal preferences are and putting yourself in the best position to succeed.

Obviously there will be limits to what you can change about your work schedule and environment. Your boss may not support you working outside the office. Your family life may keep you from working late at night. Just do your best to coordinate your personal tendencies with your work and your time management skills will flourish.

3. Prioritize Your Todo List

At this point, you know the goals you hope to accomplish and how you personally work best. Now you need to prioritize the tasks on your todo list.

Many people make the mistake of simply organizing their tasks by necessity. But an effective time manager first analyzes each job and eliminates the ones that won’t help him achieve success. Don’t waste a single second on worthless assignments.

To do this, we recommend using the Eisenhower Box, which classifies every task into one of four categories:

Writing down your tasks can help with time management

‍The Eisenhower Box: How to be More Productive‍

– Important and Urgent

These are tasks that are both critical to achieving your goals and demand immediate attention. For example, responding to customer service emails will help grow your business, which makes the task important. If your customers don’t receive a response in a timely manner, they may become impatient and take their business to one of your competitors, making your need to respond urgently as well.

‍- Important but Not Urgent

These assignments are those that will greatly help you achieve your goals but don’t demand your immediate attention. For instance, implementing a new email marketing strategy could help you grow your business, which makes it important. But, unless your current efforts are driving away customers, this task wouldn’t be considered urgent.

‍- Urgent but Not Important

Tasks that fall into this category are often given priority. They must be done now so our natural inclination is to complete them first, no matter their level of importance. For example, answering a phone call from an unlisted number is an urgent but not important task. It’s urgent because, if you don’t pick up, you won’t be able to talk to the caller. But, in most cases, it wouldn’t be considered important.

‍- Neither Urgent or Important

Tasks that are neither urgent or important may include constantly checking email, designing a new support form, or setting up social media support. There’s nothing wrong with these activities, but they should only be completed when everything else on your todo list is already done.

This matrix from Skills You Need illustrates the order in which you should complete these four tasks. Have a look at your todo list and separate each item into one of the four boxes below. Then accomplish assignments in the appropriate order.

Every task can be divided based on its importance and urgency.

‍4. Eliminate Multitasking

You’ve seen the studies and heard the results: multitasking actually decreases productivity. The reason has to do with the human brain’s ability to concentrate. Researchers say that it takes an average of 23 minutes for our minds to refocus once they’ve been distracted.

If you’re constantly switching back and forth between tasks, you never give your brain the time it needs to concentrate on the project at hand. This can lead to subpar work, lower job satisfaction, and even burnout.

To sharpen your time management skills, try monotasking instead. Monotasking is the act of focusing intently on just one thing at a time.

Multi-tasking can actually be a hindrance to time management. ‍5. Eliminate Distractions

Taking the last tip a step further, when expending serious brainpower, eliminate distractions from your environment. Log out of your email (or pause your inbox using a tool like Boomerang), turn off your phone, close your office door — whatever you have to do to keep your brain from losing focus.

Whether you realize it or not, constant email updates or social media notifications keep you from doing your best work. Your brain is pulled in so many directions it can’t possibly produce at peak level. So do your time management skills a favor and remove distractions while working.

One exception to this rule may be listening to music while working. According to science, certain genres such as classical, ambient, or other wordless tunes can increase productivity. Try experimenting with different musical styles to see if one of them helps you stay in the “zone” while working.

‍6. Use the Resources at Your Disposal

‍Another way to improve your time management skills is to use all of the technology software resources at your disposal. Living in the 21st century means you have access to amazing, productivity-boosting apps. Here are a few worth trying:

• To better track and analyze your time, use Toggl. This app makes it incredibly easy to log the hours you spend on certain tasks. You can then analyze the results and discover areas for improvement.
• To manage projects more efficiently, use software like Trello, an intuitive project management solution that represents todo lists in a very visual way. This approach makes the task prioritization quite simple.
• CloudApp allows you to communicate more efficiently via HD video screen recording, personalized webcam videos, annotated screenshots, GIF creation, and screen capture. The human brain processes visual information 60,000x faster than plain text. With CloudApp you can use this to your advantage and save up to 56 hours every week!

These are just a few of the productivity-boosting apps on the market. Take some time and discover which pieces of software will best fit your workflow.

‍7. Optimize for Time Management

Finally, it’s important to realize that optimizing your time management skills isn’t a one-time event. You need to constantly analyze yourself and seek new ways to increase your productivity levels. How can you get better?

Maybe you need to rearrange your work schedule to better suit your working habits. Perhaps you should invest in a specific piece of technology. Maybe you just need to sit down and determine what you’re really trying to achieve.

Do what it takes to become a better time manager. Eventually, all your hard work will pay off and you’ll become much more productive!‍

Improve Your Time Management Skills

Your time management skills can be improved with practice and dedication.‍

By mastering the seven techniques outlined in this blog post, you can improve your time management skills. It will take effort, but the results will be more than worth it.

• Start by identifying your goals and understanding the way you personally operate best. These are key first steps in becoming a better time manager.
• Then use the included matrix to properly prioritize the items on your todo list, focusing on just one of them at a time. The more distractions you can remove from your work environment, the better.
• Next, look for technology tools to help you on your quest for greater productivity. There are plenty of them out there, but CloudApp is definitely one you should consider.
• Finally, optimize your daily habits and routines for productivity. By analyzing yourself, you can improve your time management skills faster.

 

https://samplecic.ch/7-critical-time-management-skills-to-boost-your-productivity-2.html

Thomas Edison wasn’t just known for his startup, the Edison Company. He was known as an inventor — and a prolific one at that. He contributed to innovations, including the phonograph, the light bulb, the motion picture camera, and others. In generating ideas and inventions that had a profound and lasting impact on the world, Edison became synonymous with invention. How do we free up the world’s best entrepreneurs to keep inventing today?

Silicon Valley isn’t producing new “Edisons” to keep inventing.

These days, Silicon Valley has become synonymous with the concept of the invention, even to the point of satire. But Silicon Valley isn’t producing new Edisons. The fundamental model that powers Silicon Valley’s innovation runs entirely contrary to what is required to foster and empower the greatest inventive minds among us.

Under the traditional VC model, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs can rarely tuck more than one invention under their belts, as each venture represents a 7- to 10-year journey from inception to exit. Given the low odds of success, plus the high stress involved, entrepreneurs often hang up their hats after one or two exits.

Most enter into the venture capital world itself — a form of high-class retirement that lets you be a part of the invention action but without the stress of operating companies. It’s an accepted model—but it’s also a waste of unique, creative potential.

Thankfully, a new path is emerging helping entrepreneurs invent and scale businesses faster.

The best entrepreneurs can scale businesses faster and scale themselves across multiple ventures. These are known as venture or startup studios, and they are finding great success in today’s market.

Silicon Valley isn’t producing new Edisons to keep inventing. The Startups That Create Startups

Over the past year, venture studios have seen an impressive influx of funding, marking the beginning of a sea change in how new companies are conceived and grown. Late last year, for example, startup studio Atomic closed on the second fund of $150 million. Then, just this spring, Madrona Venture Labs announced its own new funding of more than $11 million.

The venture studio model is designed to attract and nurture first-time and experienced entrepreneurs alike.

The venture studio provides more than capital, advice, and introductions to entrepreneurs; it provides hands-on help. That’s why we’re going to see this model become more popular over time. Where traditional VC funds provide capital to and scale their bets across several startup ventures that fall within a set of pre-established parameters.

Venture studios generate startup ideas internally and work with an established team of entrepreneurs to build the concepts up within their own walls. Under this model, experienced entrepreneurs can become more prolific inventors because the venture studio teams them with first-time entrepreneurs and talented operators to build the businesses themselves.

The venture studio alleviates the typical downside of tethering an entrepreneur to a single company for a decade or more.

Overall, the venture studio model is proving advantageous for many. The existing venture capital model is inherently risky and tasks first-time entrepreneurs with the need to become first-time CEOs and first-time operators. In this required transition from inventor to operator, many VC-backed startups either fail or don’t live up to their full potential.

In contrast, the venture studio model addresses the problem of inexperience by putting more hands on deck (and experienced hands, at that) around a good idea. In this way, they not only reduce risk, but they relieve the pressure on the best entrepreneurs and allow those individuals to scale themselves across multiple inventions.

Placing better bets to free up the best entrepreneurs to keep inventing.

The durability of the venture studio model will be proven out by its alignment with the nature of entrepreneurship itself. Across the board, venture studios move innovation in the right direction, freeing up the best inventors to do what they do best: invent. This is important because these days, there’s more money than great entrepreneurs to invest in. Capital following ventures will likely scale faster than the number of quality founders.

The venture studio is likely to prove more sustainable than the current VC model as talent becomes scarcer than capital.

The venture studio model — which doesn’t accept 10 lost investments just to achieve one outsized winner. The venture studio is likely to prove more sustainable than the current VC model as talent becomes scarcer than capital. Betting on and supporting many ideas from the best entrepreneurs is a more efficient way to deploy capital. Ultimately, it leads to better returns, better companies, and more invention.

Less satire—more Edisons.

https://samplecic.ch/free-up-the-worlds-best-entrepreneurs-to-keep-inventing-2.html

Marketing tactics change constantly. Each year new tactics become more impactful, and old ones fade into obscurity. Sticking to the same tactics is stale for your current customers and potential customers, too. Instead of just running the same growth tactics for years on end, it’s time to make a switch in 2020. Here are four unique growth tactics you can implement in 2020 to help you make the switch to growth.

1. Optimize Your Sales Pipeline For Engagement

Having a sales pipeline is nothing new. And you probably have a great one in place already. But there is always room for improvement. A significant issue I see in many sales pipelines is a failure to communicate effectively with prospects.

If you have great leads, you need to engage with them to build a relationship consistently.

As Gaetano Dinardi from Nextiva says:

“Engagement is the number one spot that most fall short in closing sales. Whether it’s poor timing on the engagement or simply not enough, engagement literally will make or break your sales. Within your CRM, ensure you are setting up reminders and checking outreach logs to engage often and with better accuracy.” 

Gaetano hits the nail on the head here. Engaging at the right time is just as critical as the amount you engage.

Many fail to engage in fear of “annoying” their prospects or being too intrusive. But engaging doesn’t have to be a sales pitch every single time. It can be as much as asking how you can help, noticing new solutions to their problems, or checking in.

A great way to increase engagement is to vary your engagement style. If customers aren’t receptive to email messages, try engaging them on a new platform, like social media, or SMS.

SMS has become one of my favorite ways to engage prospects throughout the sales funnel. It taps into the idea of conversational marketing, which has proven to be high-converting.

Here are some amazing example texts you can use to engage prospects in your funnel:

• Hey __, I think this article on social amplification would be a great fit for your (insert pain point).
• Hey __, I hope the holidays are going well. Did you find a fix for (insert problem they were facing)? If not, I think I have a few solutions.

Once you have scheduled SMS texts in your pipeline, you can start developing other ways to engage prospects for unrivaled growth.

Speaking of more engagement tactics, let’s jump into personalized landing page campaigns.

2. Run Personalized Landing Page Campaigns

Personalization is and will always be a stellar growth tactic. The more you can personalize (to an extent), the better. Your personalized campaigns, web pages, ad copy, are all fantastic ways to speak directly to your target market.

Rather than spinning up generic campaigns, personalized ones convert at higher rates. Why? The answer is because personalized campaigns help you speak directly to pain points, rather than using generalizations.

For example, which one of these value propositions sounds more impactful when speaking to students?

• Using our calendar scheduling tool, you will never miss an appointment
• Using our calendar scheduling tool, you can ensure that you find the time to meet with your professors that fits both of your busy schedules.

The answer is number two. Personalization is currently critical and will continue to be in 2020. But, how can you take it to the next level and create unique experiences for your potential clients to help you grow? By building personalized landing page campaigns.

What’s is a personal landing page?

Essentially, personalized landing page campaigns are used to sell to more premium and high-value target accounts in addition to specific niche segments. For example, if you wanted to land Microsoft as a client, you’d spin up a dedicated, personalized page for them on your site. Conversely, for less distinct target segments, you can still personalize landing pages.

Let me show you what a personal landing page looks like in action.

Take a look at this landing page from MailChimp: 

What do you notice? 

It’s not their standard homepage. Instead, it’s a near replica of its website homepage, just targeted via copywriting and images to focus on startups. Instead of generic copywriting and headlines, they focus the value proposition to startups. A value proposition is how you can convert at higher rates.

Compare the landing page to their homepage: 

Not much changed besides the copywriting and images. 

So, how is Mailchimp doing this at scale?

One of the best options (and my personal favorite) is to use website builders.

Why? Simply put — they are cheap, easy to use, and help you scale this for multiple targets or segments.

The folks over at Website Setup published a study where they mentioned some average costs:

“Building a good custom website could easily cost $2000 (on the low end). Making changes to the website can still require a freelance designer and a webmaster to help you continually update your site (read: you need to spend additional $$$).” 

Case and point: website builders are faster, much cheaper, and perfectly suited for this type of growth tactic.

The only problem is: which website builder do you choose?

There are currently dozens and dozens of website building platforms with different costs, tools, usability, skill level, and ratings. There’s a great breakdown of the best ones on Website Setup:

Pick one website builder that matches your price range and usability. Remember: you want to scale these pages fast and with templates / drag-and-drop. Look through the top building tools and pick one that allows you to do what you want to within your price range and usability.

You don’t need custom development to get the job done. When trying to close deals with major client accounts, you need to be able to run personalized pages fast. Going back and forth with a developer is usually far from fast.

Instead, implement a website builder and get the job done fast.

3. Build Authority Faster By Being a Journalist Source

Building brand authority is a growth tactic in and of itself. Without a brand name and social proof, growth can be extremely slow. When you think of inbound marketing, what comes to mind? HubSpot? That’s branding.

Branding helps you attract new customers by setting yourself apart from the competition, showcasing that your brand is the right choice.

One of the fastest ways to do your branding is by becoming a source for journalists. What does that mean? Essentially, you provide tidbits of information to help improve articles for journalists.

It often comes in the form of quotes and advice. For instance, take a look at this post from Incredo on SaaS Christmas marketing:

Many experts contribute their opinions and information to the article, helping both the journalist and their own brands. 

Thankfully, doing this is extremely easy, and it’s one of my favorite PR hacks.

Create a free account with HARO (Help a Reporter Out). HARO is a service that journalists use to list their article topics and what they need from experts, whether that be quotes, advice, or more. Once you sign up with HARO and create your account, you can decide which niches to get notified about.

If you want to contribute to general business, marketing, finance, health, etc. You can select specific segments. 

Each day you will receive emails listing out journalists who are looking for quotes:

Many of the journalists using HARO are writing for significant publications, too. For example, take a look at this query from a journalist at FastCompany:

Typically, cold emails to journalists at huge publications like FastCompany would result in deleted or ignored emails. But utilizing HARO, you can share your expertise and showcase your brand to potentially millions of monthly readers. With most contributions, you will also earn a link back to your website, driving direct referral traffic that converts.

In 2020, start focusing heavily on building more brand awareness. It’s one of the driving forces of purchase decisions.

4. Diversify Your Content Marketing Formats

Content is king. We all know this and experience it daily when searching for solutions on Google. Content is both useful and enjoyable to consume for business and pleasure. Everyone seems to be blogging and writing new content to drive organic traffic that converts. The problem is: blog content is often not unique for the majority of people producing it.

Millions of blog posts are published every single day, making them a common growth tactic. But in 2020, content is shifting from just written content to two more unique formats: Podcasts and videos.

While blog posts garner just 15 seconds of attention on average, people are watching hours of video content and listening to hours more of podcast content daily. Now is the time to branch out into more than just keyword-driven blog content. Platforms like Spotify and Apple Music are goldmines for organic traffic and brand awareness.

Currently, there are nearly 100 categories on Apple for podcasts, let alone Spotify, SoundCloud, and other services.

(Image Source)

Any and every business can develop interesting podcast content that is easily digestible, driving more organic visits, brand awareness, and more. Don’t know what to talk about on a podcast? Or how to market your podcast?
Start by looking at your blog and analyzing the latest posts you have written:

For example, looking at the ReadWrite blog, I already notice multiple blog topics that can be repurposed into topics for a podcast.

• Why Productivity and Customer Experience go Hand in Hand
• Digital marketing in the government sector

If there is a category for your niche on Apple podcasts, there are eager listeners waiting for you to deliver stellar content.

Conclusion

If you want to grow your business in 2020, repeating the same overused tactics isn’t your best bet. While you can still hammer home the fundamentals — there are plenty of unique growth tactics at your disposal.

Implement these four unique growth tactics in the coming year for improved growth and success.

What are some of your favorite unique growth tactics? Which have had the biggest impacts?

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In the technology industry, almost more than anywhere else, image is everything. Image is the bedrock part of the “fake it till you make it” culture that animates most of Silicon Valley today. Innovators use it to sell illusions while they figure out the nuts and bolts of their big ideas. Here are four critical challenges of tech startup PR.

Without it, companies like Magic Leap would be starved of capital while trying to bring their AR technology to market. Even Amazon would never have survived years of losing money to becoming the retail juggernaut it is today.

Technology industry startups have to pay more attention to their image than most other companies do.

To have the correct image in technology means businesses must have a thorough understanding of the field of public relations (PR). They must realize that the breakneck pace of innovation in the industry makes it difficult to differentiate themselves from competitors. Overcoming that obstacle requires some industry-specific tactics and knowledge. Applying it makes it possible to maintain a high profile in an industry flooded with competition.

It seems clear that most entrepreneurs need help to navigate the ultra-dense tech industry PR environment. To help, here are the four most critical challenges of tech PR and how to overcome them to remain relevant.

Successful Tech PR Requires Solid Press Relationships

Investors, stockholders, and consumers all around the world have a voracious appetite for the latest and greatest in technology news. Still, the one thing that’s you’ll notice about technology news coverage is that it has little to do with technology. Instead, much of the coverage centers on the business side of the industry.

The business side chronicles which startups locked down financing rounds, who are providing them, and what the money is earmarked to do. Becoming a part of that news cycle is an essential part of a successful tech industry PR effort. The reality, though, is that it can’t be done with press releases alone.

Instead, PR professionals in the technology world have to establish relationships with journalists and analysts that cover the industry. Then they can give them exclusive access to ensure high-profile placements. Tech journalists love to be first to report any inside information or details they can find.

Most tech journalists will be happy to cover a startup – even if what they’re reporting seems mundane. That means financial milestones, partnerships, and even internal strategy developments are fair game. Smart tech startups learn to take advantage of that tendency right from the beginning.

These tech startups create a go-to network of news outlets that will get an advanced warning whenever there’s something to report. The favored journalists will reward that access with regular feature stories.

Overcoming Industry Jargon

There aren’t very many industries that have a language that’s as involved and specific as the technology industry. For example, tech-sector buzzwords like blockchain, big data, AR, and the like are regular fixtures of today’s industry coverage.

The problem is that these buzzwords are often poorly understood by the general public. More often than not, that leads to tech startups getting attention, but not comprehension – and that’s a losing PR combination.

To overcome that challenge of not being easily understood, technology PR efforts must be as much about education as they are about image crafting. Clarifying the jargon helps to make sure that the intended audience not only receives the right message but understands it as well.

Google-created Sideways Dictionary as a perfect example of the idea of giving examples of what buzzwords mean and they put it into action. It was created in a joint effort with the Washington Post. The dictionary even encourages users to submit their own relatable tech jargon analogies to become part of the collection.

The Sideways Dictionary is a PR masterstroke that encourages participation, learning, and positions Google as a helpful part of the tech landscape. In short, it’s a brilliant piece of PR.

Letting Social Media Do The Legwork  Social Medial does the legwork for you.                                                                                                                           Photo: REDPIXEL / Adobe Stock

In today’s media environment, getting and keeping the attention of even a small part of the population is difficult. That’s because media consumers are faced with an endless barrage of images, concepts, and trends at all times. Worse still, those factors change on a moment to moment basis.

Nothing encapsulates that idea better than the so-called “hashtagification” of just about everything in the modern world. For tech startups, the challenge is to create a PR machine that cuts through all of that noise. The secret to doing that is to let social media platforms do much of the work for you.

Excellent tech PR on social media doesn’t revolve around spreading a brand message over and over until it gets traction. The key is to listen to things people are already saying, and (assuming it’s positive) turn it into a PR opportunity. Content aggregator app developer Timehop is an excellent example of this idea in action.

The Timehop company discovered that its own users already gave them the perfect marketing message on social media. They were linking the app to the viral hashtag #throwbackthursday, which was a natural fit for the brand. Timehop realized what was happening, leaned into that message, and rode it to digital relevance.

Fighting a Poor Industry Reputation

Over the past few decades, the technology industry has risen to become the economic engine that the world depends on. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, though. The industry has faced a rash of user privacy issues, data thefts, and systemic gender bias throughout the years.

The constant problems have given the industry as a whole a black eye in the public consciousness. Needless to say, that has complicated the PR efforts of every company in the space. Today’s tech startups have to make a concerted effort to avoid getting tarred with that industry-wide brush. Some don’t succeed and become another media target for scorn. Sadly, that’s a tendency that’s all too common in tech media today.

To avoid that fate, tech startups have to execute a proactive PR game plan. They must go out of their way to publicize the ways that they’re addressing the industry’s most pressing issues. Most of all, they have to do it in a very public fashion. A good start is to get out in front of things like gender-neutral hiring.

Transparent data collection practices and building an inclusive startup culture also help to burnish a startup’s reputation. Tackling these issues in a visible way leaves an indelible positive impression on the public at large. It’s the kind of PR that money can’t buy, but that any startup would kill to get. In an industry not known for positive stories, it’s an excellent way to stand out.

Spread the Word

Any tech startup that has the right mix of PR skills and knowledge should have a head-start in their efforts. A firm grasp on the technology industry-specific challenges laid out here should help, too. With them, a startup has a great chance to build a lasting positive reputation.

In an industry fueled by big dreams, that’s often enough to carry a startup through its’ early days. It helps when getting others to believe in those dreams is the difference between success and failure. Of course, no tech startup can go on forever without delivering on their initial promises, though.

Seizing control of the public narrative will buy the time it takes to turn the startup’s dreams into a reality. And as some of the industry’s biggest success stories can attest – sometimes a little time is all you need.

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