Promote Your Business Online: 5 Methods

Your presence on social platforms is absolutely necessary if you want your business to be successful. Besides, I don’t see a reason why not to use them – they are a lot cheaper and a lot more efficient than old marketing methods, which you still shouldn’t neglect, just focus your attention and funds onto modern methods, which have proven to be quite effective. Being new to the world of social platforms may be confusing, especially if you haven’t used them for developing your business until now. Each of them is valuable in its own way, and there’s a right way to use them properly. In order to save your time and money, I came up with this list, which will enable you to concentrate on the right things only. Whithout further ado, here are 5 methods on 5 different social platforms to promote your business online.

Tumblr

If the right way to represent your business is by using photography, Tumblr is the right way to go. They have managed to form an excellent database using hashtags, so anyone who’s interested into what you have to offer will be able to approach it naturally, without any forcing or brainwashing. This social platform is shaped in the form of a blog and it’s enhanced with the endless scroll, which makes it so easy to use, in order to look up everything you need. Besides, it requires minimal effort when it comes to maintenance, so you don’t really have to be online 27/7.

Pinterest

If what you want to spread around internet are links, the most efficient social platform would be Pinterest. It’s not boring or monotone like you’d imagine, because links are represented by some form of visual content like gifs, photos or infographics. Creating a board on Pinterest enables you to pin anything you want and create a type of database of carefully chosen links. Thanks to it, you can cozily place the content you’d like to share, pinned along with a suitable group of other links, and once again, allow your target group to approach you naturally.

Facebook

Both of the previous two platforms enable you to allow your target group to find you, but Facebook has a completely opposite approach. Thanks to that personal info every Facebook user enters while making their profile, Facebook became the perfect advertising platform – you can easily find specific target groups and offer them your services. However, in order to create the ultimate ad that’s suitable to your needs, I’d advise to do some additional research about your options, so you don’t waste any time or money on something that won’t work for you.

YouTube

Most people forget about YouTube when thinking about modern ways of advertising, which is a mistake. It’s not necessary to work with music, because there are all kinds of tutorials and informative channels you can make so your business can develop. The fact is that your potential customers don’t really find every website reliable, and by having your own channel, you’re able to show them you’re a real live person, which will make you trustworthy. Before you start, you should definitely look up what makes a channel good, and how to create one that will be popular.

Twitter

The most efficient way to share precise information or short news is definitely by using Twitter. All tweets are limited to one hundred and forty characters, which limits spamming options, but it doesn’t completely exclude them. However, you’re able to regulate your followers quickly, so that won’t be a problem. An important thing to know about Twitter is the fact that you need to interact – you can’t expect people to retweet or favor your tweets if you don’t do the same. Unlike previous social platforms, Twitter requires from you to be constantly active, but if any exaggeration is noticed, you’ll be banned or your account will get deactivated. But, if you do decide to use Twitter properly – slowly and with care – you’ll find it very useful in time.

One last piece of advice – when you’re making these accounts, pay attention to fill in every single info box, so your potential customers can access any type info about you without having to Google you. I hope you do try out at least some of these platforms, and I’d really like you to let me know how it goes!

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The Importance of Social Media to Your Business

The importance of social media to your business has become apparent over the last few years and it can be seen as a viable channel to do some good old fashioned selling. It is not a secret that 5 years ago businesses were not involved heavily in social media or saw the requirement for it in relation to their marketing activities. TV advertising was still rife and print sales were at an all-time high. There was no reason to even consider the alternative of social media.

Then came the establishment of social media giant Facebook in 2004 and the world turned on its head. Internet users were readily accessing information about people and companies. The physical “Directory” was losing and social media, content and advertising were climbing. It was not long until businesses began to question their traditional marketing methods and many considered a dual approach made up of both online and offline.

Today, this could not be more accurate. Businesses are very aware of their impact online and the ease at which they can engage, inform and influence their potential customers through the internet. This is especially true as businesses can choose to simply utilise a social media account as a free way to advertise or alternatively pay to advertise and reach out to people. Followers, “friends” and readers can now get a feel for who a company is and what they stand for as opposed to what they do and what they are selling. People no longer merely buy into the product, they buy into the brand and one of the easiest ways to discover a brand is to research it online and establish where the presence is and what it consists of.

If you’re not speaking, how do you expect to be heard?

Social media provides the medium through which brand awareness is fluidly established as long as specific content is apparent and accurate. People have a natural urge to be informed and involved in what is current and in their specific interests. As a business, it is important to communicate what is happening in your sector in real time. Information has never moved so quickly and things have never been so easily forgotten. Would you prefer your business to keep up with the rush to the best of its ability or for it to be setting the pace and maintain it? Keeping your readers informed is important to the role of speaking online. You don’t want your readers having to go elsewhere for information you already possess.

Three things: engage, engage, engage

It is one thing to shout from the roof tops about your company and its products/services, however, it is an entirely different thing altogether to be shouting this information whilst engaging your readership. Engaging automatically humanises a company. You are no longer this seemingly corporate giant on a mountain, you are the gentle goat who has journeyed the wilderness to inform and people are paying attention. People appreciate a brand that is not afraid to talk to its customers for fear it will shatter the illusion of a higher power. There is a lot that can be said for a general morning greeting or sign off and businesses are becoming very aware of this.

Meanwhile, there is still hesitation to communicate on ground level. Businesses feel more comfortable shouting their boasts from afar as opposed to up close and personal. Readerships can be an intimidating notion. With one swift, immediate, striking comment a reader can blow a hole in a company’s statement and, whether it is accurate or not, the company has been exposed to doubt and suspicion. Understanding that this is an occurrence that comes with the package of having an online presence, companies must stride confidently in the belief of their word and their loyal customer base.

80/20 Rule

No, this ratio is not a reference to how you should approach diet and exercise. This rules applies to the level at which you entertain versus the amount you advertise yourselves and what you do. Kevan Lee from Buffer speaks about a range of different ratios in relation to social media, “and one thing they all have in common is an emphasis on sharing others’ content more than your own.” To attract people to your social channels, there has to be a selling point aside from the things you are actually selling. Sell your personality and topics you know your readers will appreciate because it is still highly relevant to your business and because it is also highly entertaining and/or informing in relation to what is current.

If you’re not online you’re off target

Online presence in essence is essential to you and your business in order for it to be truly relevant in the greater spectrum of things. Whilst social media seems like such a simplistic aspect to the extent that it could be ignored, that assumption would be a huge mistake. The benefits of social media cannot be measured at every instance as the metric for informing an audience is difficult to established, however, one cannot underestimate the effects of engaging your readership. Social media is important, simply because ignoring this tool can put your business at a competitive disadvantage whilst missing out on the opportunity to reach out to your customer base and far beyond.

Inform, influence, engage.

Rachel Kenny is Marketing Executive at E-MIT Solutions, an Irish IT solutions company specialising in IT Consultancy, Cloud Computing, IT Security & IT infrastructure solutions.

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QRVO: Print Partners Opportunities

QRVO is an innovative Information Gateway suitable for numerous advertising/branding and promotional applications. Based on the original QR code, developed by Denso Wave, the high capacity code now offers greater flexibility, a consumer friendly voice over and is linked to Analytics. The Alpha Numeric code is provided in a print ready format, with selected customer, text, graphics, and video, content.

Users simply scan the code with a Smart Phone or Mobile device, no URLs, no password, no user details. Content is a near immediate download. Most Smart Phones now have inbuilt scan options

QRVO clients determine the content. The level of scan activity can be monitored by Analytics. The code remains intact and the content can be changed remotely. The client determines the content, evaluates the campaign and can alter the content to match demand.

QRVO Print Partner network in Ireland

We are seeking to establish a QRVO Print Partner network in Ireland. This offers an integrated upsell opportunity to the print sector. The QRVO code is a major additional promotional/marketing/advertising tool for the existing customer base. The once humble business card will continue to display primary contact details, and can offer a video presentation on a new service or product. Some customers may opt to provide a special offer, voucher.

The bespoke QRVO is provided in a print ready format. The customer determines the content and deployment. The code can be deployed on business cards, conventional publication, brochures, Labels, till receipts, headed paper, outgoing mails, signage and packaging. Most importantly the customer can determine the effectiveness through Analytics.

In a marketplace where customer engagement is critical QRVO is simple, customer friendly, innovative and that vital engagement can be evaluated.

If you feel this outline is of interest and merits further discussion, please email info@info@qrvo.ie to contact our sales team

Based on the original code developed by Denso wave, QRVO is re-engineered in Castlebar County Mayo www.qrvo.ie

“This document contains information that is confidential to QRVO and all Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights in this document and all information contained in it shall vest in QRVO”

Witten by John Moran | QRVO Business Development info@qrvo.ie 087 25 27 407. As part of ‘Use SBC as a channel initiative, QRVO has a special 10% discount on Standard QRVO orders to SBC members and readers.

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On Page Optimization: Guidelines for 2015

For some of you this will be a nice reminder, and for others this quick guide will let you know the most common best practices that are still effective for on page optimization in 2015.

Search engine optimization is a form of business that constantly evolves. New technologies, tweaks to how search engines interpret data and the modification of how certain established factors are weighted make it so.

To start 2015 correctly with your own website, it’s imperative that your on-page SEO marketing optimization is both complete and up-to-date with regards to the factors the search engines consider essential.

This guide aims to look at the essential on-page factors that website owners tend to miss in a way that even beginners can understand and employ.

1. Your Website URLs

The URLs of your website’s pages reflect how easily people and computers can interpret what your pages are about.

If you’re going to purchase a new domain or create a subdomain of your website, then consider making it as keyword-centric as possible. This can including your brand or a main keyword for your subdomain (such as “guides.yourwebsite.com”).

As far as your individual pages’ URLs go, it’s important to ensure that they describe the content contained on your page. This means you want a descriptive URL such as “http://www.yourwebsite.com/category/keyword.html”.

It’s also important to remove extraneous data that may not be helpful to your visitors. Consider removing the date of posts, for example, if you use something like WordPress to manage your website. Dates are primarily helpful for blog content, but not static web material.

If you have a string of dynamic code for a ecommerce site, make static landing pages optimized for your KW’s and let the dynamic URL’s work for user generated search queries.

2. Your Title Tags

Title tags are relatively simple. They should include your page’s main keyword first with your website’s  main keyword, such as your brand or an encompassing keyword like ‘plumbing’, second.

It’s important to remember to keep your page titles to 69 characters or less. This is a situation where search engines truncate longer titles or simply replace them with more “appropriate” titles in search results, which may negatively impact your website’s presence in search engine results.

A bad example is this cool infographic about Ray-Bans (which is a great example of content marketing) but you will notice if you use a tool like Moz’s chrome add-on that the title tag, along with all other posts on the blog are simply the blog’s title.

No custom title tags for any posts?

This is such an easy fix, and I am always surprised to see even big companies neglect optimizing their title tags. This has been “best practice” for years.

3. Your Meta Description and Meta Tags

the meta content of your pages is also important. Ensuring that each field is complete will help your website perform better.

Of all the meta content on any given page, the meta description falls just after your page title in importance to your SEO. Ensure that your meta description is 156 characters or less and that it relates highly to the rest of your content on your page, as this will allow it to perform better in search engines like Google.

As far as other meta content goes, you should add things like keywords and content type to your pages. You just need to be aware that very few search engines heavily weigh these things, and some search engines, which includes Google, tend to ignore them outright.

Now some of you may be saying “Didn’t Google announce forever ago that Meta tags don’t factor into SEO rankings?” Yes they did. It is true that Google doesn’t factor in meta tags directly, however, when you are listed in a google search the meta tag is what people read before they decide which search result to click. If your meta tag is bad, and people don’t click through to your site when your listed, Google will take that as a sign that your page is not relevant to the specific query that triggered your listing in the first place.

In other words, the meta tag gets people to click your site, if nobody clicks your site, you lose rankings. So meta descriptions are still very important to SEO.

4. Keyword Density

Keyword density is a tricky subject, as there is no set limit for how many times a keyword should appear within your text to be considered relevant. The only thing that is for certain is that mentioning a keyword too many times may make your page perform poorly in search engines.

To both guard against this and improve your keyword-related performance, instead opt to use synonyms and other closely related keywords when possible. This will make your pages’ contents perform better both in the eyes of search engines and your visitors.

It’s also not a bad idea to see what the density for your top 5 competitors ranking is and try to use that as a standard. It’s pretty easy, just pop in the top 5 search results for your keyword into a tool like text analyser and if you find the top 5 results are all around 40%, it’s safe to say you can optimize to 40% and not worry about being penalized.

5. Content Length

Just like with keyword density, there is no set content length that will perform better in the eyes of search engines. The only thing that is for certain is that longer content that has a clear purpose behind it tends to perform far better than short-winded content.

As a general rule of thumb, aim for your pages to have a minimum of 300 to 350 words. You should include other pieces of media and interactive content to keep your visitors on your pages for as long as possible.

It’s worth noting that longer content can be interwoven with shorter pieces. This supports a healthy interlinked URL scheme, which appeals both search engines and your most curious of visitors.

6. Image Alt Tags

Although image recognition is improving, there’s only so much that search engines like Google can accurately interpret. Alt tags allow search engines to quickly understand what your images on your pages are about, which is why it’s important to use them whenever possible.

When doing so, be sure to add in the keywords that describe your content. This will help both your page in SERPs and your images in image search engines.

7. Ad-Less Content

While ad revenue is always nice, it can significantly detract from your most valuable pages. Try to keep above-the-fold content that you want your visitors to read clear of ads and other potentially annoying or distracting content.

If you must put ads on your place, the best place to do so is either through contextual links or near the end of your content. This will reduce negative SEO factors like bounce rate while keeping your pages lovable in the eyes of your visitors.

Other Factors to Consider

What has been covered so far is just a start. There’s still countless other tweaks to your SEO that you can perform, but following the above steps will ensure that your website has a strong start in 2015 with search engines.

If you are wondering where “on page” optimization sits into whats known as ‘SEO Priorities” It sits as the #2 priority according to this article. Either way, on-page is relatively simple, and has been around for a long time yet many webmasters still neglect to optimize and miss out on easy wins that do add up over time. Stop worrying about links, and get your site in order first.

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9 Advantages of Being a Female Entrepreneur

Before I am labeled a “feminist” by anyone else, let me proudly state that I am absolutely that! Being a feminist today means that I have a strong sense of self, am comfortable in my own skin, and realize that I can do anything I set my mind to doing. In fact, I have made it a personal mission to understand exactly what feminism brings to entrepreneurship, and why women can be so successful. They really do have qualities that differentiate them from their male counterparts, and these qualities are especially helpful today. I have narrowed my list down to 9 advantages of being a female entrepreneur, though I could probably come up with more!

Listening

I think women are just better listeners. Male entrepreneurs tend to be fixated on how they have all of a customer’s answers when they may not in fact know what the customer’s needs are. Women seem more willing to ask questions, listen to responses, and then advise a customer, based upon those responses.

Tolerance for Pain and Rejection

It’s interesting to watch the responses of men and women when a customer rejects what they are selling. Women tend to reflect on the rejection and ask, “Why?” This may bring new insight into how it should be done differently. Men tend to blame the customer rather than engage in self-reflection.

Collaboration

While men tend to “go it alone” (perhaps this is a throwback to some visceral need to be completely self-sufficient), women are willing to collaborate with others, sometimes even their competitors, so that all can achieve success.

Social Networking/Personalization

I realized this from my own personal Facebook account. As I looked at my own home page, reading posts and comments, and then as I accessed others’ timelines, I began to notice that far more women than men post comments and responses to comments. I think this speaks volumes about where our “heads” are. Women seem to want more social interaction, and that desire bodes well for business culture today. Remember, building a business is as much about building relationships as it is other things.

Company Culture

We are really “over” the traditional office structure and procedures. Running a business today requires leadership, to be sure, and men tend to have great leadership skills. However, the cultural aspects of contemporary business operations have changed markedly, and women seem to have adapted to these far easier. Businesses run by women more often offer flex-time, job-sharing, working from home and both maternity and paternity leave, as just a few examples.

Tenacity

Whether it is because she has felt “left out” of the “good old boys’ club,” or whether she has simply learned not to ever give up, women in business do not take “no” for an answer and will attack an issue from several angles until it is resolved. Men tend to be more linear in their thinking and more willing to scrap an idea that “bombs” the first time out.

Multi-Tasking

Perhaps it is because many women run a household and have the bulk of the responsibility for the children, while they still pursue their careers, they just seem to be better at “juggling” many tasks at the same time. In today’s lean business models, this is an absolute must!

Patience

Again, this may be a factor of running a household and raising children, but females do tend to have more patience. With that patience comes less impulsivity and perhaps more considered business decisions.

Intuition

This is such a trite term, I hesitate to use it. But it really is a factor in how women conduct business. They tend to get first impressions quite quickly and “go with their gut.” A good friend of mine own a lodge and restaurant. She states that she knows within a few minutes whether a job applicant is a “fit,” just by the way they walk into her office and sit down! And she maintains a great and loyal staff.

Today’s business culture requires a paradigm shift from old business models, and women seem particularly well-suited to thrive in this new environment.

About the author: having a Master’s degree in Journalism and love for traveling, Julie Ellis is financed by her freelance writing to investigate and explore exotic places of the world. Being a Chief Editor at Premier Essay she, as well, features articles for journals and magazines around the world.

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Email Marketing Tips: Boost Your Efforts

Most businesses take a laid back approach to marketing, and they’re surprised when they get lukewarm results. That’s stupid. If you want a good response rate from email, you have to crush it with your message. Read on for some meann email marketing tips.

Stop Using Popups

Why, oh why, do businesses still use popups on their website? It’s truly baffling. According to the usability experts at Norman Nielsen Group, people hate popups. They hate them. Hate them! 95 percent of people strongly associate popups with a negative view of the company or an overzealous marketing department (that makes it an almost universal truth), and 69 percent of users install or use pop-up blockers to avoid them.

Among the chief complaints are that popups obscure what they’re looking it, forces the page to load slowly, tries to trick you into clicking on it, and some of them don’t have a “close” button.

Still marketers rationalize them because they “get great conversions.” But, when you look at engagement and conversion to sales, or activity on the list, you see a huge drop off. Yeah, more people might sign up to your email list. But, many of those people won’t buy your stuff. Stop using popups.

Use Social Data To Segment Lists

Segment your list. When you do this, you create more meaningful connections on your mailing list because you’re better able to target the message to a particular group of people. For example, if some prospects are interested in “product A” on your site, and some are interested in “product B,” having your list segmented into “A” and “B” lets you send targeted messages to both groups, thereby pleasing everyone.

Send Real Content

If you’re using this mortgage software, there’s no reason why you should need to send people a pitchfest via email. Let the lead management software handle the sales aspects of the campaign. When sending emails, send out real content – editorial stuff – not sales pitches.

Ask Questions

Ask users questions via email, and ask them to respond. It’s natural for people to respond when you ask them to. If you don’t ask, people won’t. All you need is a simple like like, “What are your biggest challenges concerning ________? Hit reply right now and tell me what you think.”

You will get a flood of responses.

Be More Personal

Being more personal doesn’t always mean using the personalization features found in every autoresponder program. But, more and more, businesses are turning away from generic sales  emails. According to Hubspot, the CTR of an email is higher when the recipient’s name is in the subject line.

But, don’t overdo it. Experian found that “you/your” are better perceived than “I” and “we.” Finally, try to write your emails as though you were speaking with a friend.

Use Social Sharing Right In The Email

When you put social sharing buttons right in the body of your email, your message will get shared more than if you don’t. Social sharing buttons have a 158 percent higher click-through rate than emails without.

Send At The Right Time

According to HubSpot, weekends are the best time to send emails. Specifically, Saturday at 6AM. Use it.

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Blogging Tips: 4 Common Myths You Shouldn’t Believe

The idea of starting a company blog nowadays is quite a popular one. Look online and you’ll find that leading brands such as Innocent, Argos, Whole Foods and even Tesco are managing to create a social hub around what they do, maintaining customer trust by keeping them informed and offering useful, engaging content.

But many smaller businesses with much less market share are hesitant to start a company blog, for various reasons. In the same way that social media was once dismissed by leaders as an unnecessary extra to their marketing efforts, brand blogging currently remains a pool of the unknown into which businesses are afraid to dip their toes.

However, many reasons for not blogging are simply down to either a lack of understanding about the platform, or a result of negative conjecture from the ones who executed it badly.

Here are some common myths about brand blogging you shouldn’t believe.

1. ‘There’s not enough to write about.’

Not knowing what to write about is perhaps the first and most common stumbling block for brands wanting to start a blog. The important thing to remember is that your blog doesn’t have to be limited, as long as you’re aware of your target audience (the people you’d like to be able to sell to) and will be posting things likely to be of interest to them.

Product guides, monthly round-ups, top-ten lists and tips are all easy, recyclable templates for producing content your audience is bound to be drawn to. Keep it relevant to your industry or field, and perhaps pay special attention to the kinds of problems or challenges your customers are likely to face on a day-to-day basis.

If you’re trying to bring a more transparent, human element to your brand, maybe you can give weekly insights into the goings-on of your office or workplace, and even hone in on individual employees who can share their own tips and advice. Be sure to stay in the know about ongoing developments in your field, so you can be the first to inform your customers when something changes. This will help them to see your brand as a reliable authority figure, and builds trust.

For some examples of brands that are doing a great job of content, click here.

2. ‘It’s just another advertising platform we don’t need.’

You might think that with SEO, PPC, and possibly video ad campaigns, your company is all set for the marketing side of things. But a corporate blog shouldn’t just be seen as ‘another marketing tool’. It’s so much more than that – it’s a way for you to open up to your readers; establish your brand identity and build up a long-term relationship with customers both new and old.

It’s here too that many business leaders make the other mistake of only using their blog to talk about their own products and processes. Not only will this bore customers to death and probably make them lose interest over time; it also yields little benefit in the long term. Customers will buy from brands usually by the way they make them feel – whether this is through TV adverts; shop window displays; social media banter or the type of content they push out through their blog. It doesn’t matter how much you tell your customers how great your new product is – they need more from you before they can believe it.

3. ‘It brings no direct reader-to-customer conversions.’

This one isn’t technically a myth. It’s true that blogging is a difficult tool to measure when it comes to customer conversions. However, the fault lies with businesses seeing conversions as the main goal in the first place.

When somebody reads your blog for the first time, the chances are they won’t immediately buy a product there and then. But if the same reader has been finding themselves drawn to your blog time and time again (for information, advice, or maybe just entertainment), who will they think of first next time they need a product or service in your niche? It’s true that blogging doesn’t bring fast results when it comes to increasing sales, but it will steadily bring results in many other ways you may not have considered. These include:

  • Building the authority of your website, leading to higher rankings on Google and therefore more organic web traffic
  • More exposure of your brand through higher rankings
  • Bigger and stronger brand identity, helping customers to really relate with you
  • More shares on social media, if you post content your readers really like
  • Insight into your most popular products and topics, which lets you know what customers want more of
  • Encouraging customers not to just choose your brand, but to stick around and give you their repeat business.

4. ‘It requires too much time/resources/manpower.’

Another frequent reason for leaders writing off the blog idea is that they don’t believe they’d have the time or manpower to make it a success. But the truth is, managing a company blog really doesn’t take much upkeep, if you know how to do it efficiently.

There are a few ways to go about producing and scheduling blog content on a regular basis. One way is to delegate a post per week or per month to every member of your team, so everybody can choose a topic they feel is relevant and contribute individually. This could be sharing updates about current business projects, or putting together some tips or advice on a recurring challenge your customers are facing. If you choose to do it this way, make sure your team members are all competent writers; otherwise have posts checked by a resident copywriter to keep grammar, spelling and discourse in check.

Secondly, you could outsource a copywriter with experience writing content in your field, to deliver a company post every week or month. Not only does this help take the strain off for a minimal cost; it also won’t be eating into anybody else’s time. However, it’s advised that all ideas and topics are still discussed within your team and that the content writer is fully briefed before posting. If your blog is to properly convey your true brand image, you’ll want to have as much control as possible over what’s being pushed out there.

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8 Leadership Mistakes to Avoid

“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

– John Wooden

We all make mistakes. However, it is important to realize that every mistake has a take-away from it. Get that right and the mistake can turn out to be a great learning opportunity. But nothing is better than not making mistakes and doing things right from the very start.

Being a good leader isn’t easy. It never has been and probably never will be. With so many responsibilities on your shoulders, there are bound to be times when you feel overwhelmed resulting in panic and mistakes, despite your best efforts and intentions.

Irrespective of how much you hate to admit it, not all your decisions are going to be good ones. Of course, as a leader you’ll have to take risks, with or without the complete knowledge of all the factors involved. Some mistakes may result in temporary setbacks, others may put a full stop to your career. But what largely matters is how you deal with the mistake and its consequences.

The best leaders are those who accept their leadership mistakes and use them as stepping stones to success. They believe in learning and growing not only from their own errors, but also of others.

Mentioned ahead are a few common mistakes that leaders make, but can be easily avoided.

1. Trying To Do Everything Yourself

Good leaders know their teams well and understand the importance of working with them rather than doing everything by themselves. They make the effort of figuring out the strengths and weaknesses of their team members and delegate tasks accordingly. Not only does this help in the timely and successful completion of the task, it creates better team dynamics.

Leaders who think they know everything, or that they need to do the task themselves in order to get it right only end up antagonizing their team in the long-term. Irrespective of how smart you may think you are, know that nobody likes to be led by someone who thinks he’s omniscient and show little faith in his team.

Good leaders know how to get the most from their team, that there is always more to learn and actively look to gain new knowledge every day.

2. Poor Communication

Poor communication or the lack of it can lead to major miscommunications and/or communication gaps. There are, however, solutions like time tracking, collaboration tools, and scheduling applications, which if utilized optimally, can help alleviate the road bumps that can possibly occur.

While it can be difficult for leaders (who are perpetually swamped with work) to send out and receive messages all the time, it is important that they set aside some time to do so.

Good leaders make it a point to convey to their teams all the information they need to do their job quickly and efficiently.

Further, good leadership comes from good communication skills. Simply getting your message across without verifying the content may lead to its misinterpretation, which can be detrimental to your growth. Remember, it’s not just your words that can be taken out of context; your actions invite just as much scrutiny.

3. Not Setting Goals

Your team looks up to you for providing them with direction and purpose. This can come only when you set realistic goals which are in alignment with the organization’s objectives. This is a key job of any leader. Without a proper goal, your team is bound to go off-track.

4. Avoiding Change

Change is the only permanent thing, so any attempt to resist it will prove to be futile. If you think you can keep the business environment from changing, you couldn’t be more wrong.

Technology changes, people and processes change and so do organizational goals and objectives. It, therefore, makes sense to prepare and adapt (or even become harbingers) of change, and make the necessary arrangements to address it before or as soon as it comes into effect.

5. Not Providing Feedback

The only way to ensure that your team stays on the right track is by constantly monitoring them and providing them with timely feedback. Feedback can be positive or negative, depending on their performance.

Positive feedback may be followed by rewards and recognition, whereas negative feedback should be followed by corrective measures. Doing so regularly will result in improved employee morale, performance and loyalty.

6. Looking for Shortcut Solutions to Every Problem

Most problems come with solutions which may be quick, but these solutions are not always the best. As a leader, it is your duty to provide ideal solutions to problems.

However, in your zeal to solve problems quickly, do not make a hasty decision or do anything that you will regret later. Some problems take time to resolve.

7. Not Being There for Your Team

There’s no denying that leadership is a people job. You need to stand with your team when they need you in order to gain their trust and confidence.

You may be their leader but when it comes to work, it’s not about you, but about the team. If the overall performance is as a team consistently meets or exceeds expectations, then you’re doing a good job as a leader.

8. Not Making Work Engaging

One of the greatest responsibilities of a leader is to make work fun for his team. Doing so is important to keep them engaged and look forward to coming to the workplace.

Keep in mind that your people spend the better part of their day at work. It is, therefore, important to make the office a pleasant place for them.

Conclusion

Being a leader is challenging, but being a great leader is even more so. The good news, however, is that everyone can learn from their mistakes, improvise on them and avoid making errors in the future. Leading a team can be an extremely gratifying experience, but it takes time for everyone to settle into their role. Remember, leaders before you have made their share of mistakes too. It is true that mistakes can provide learning opportunities, but taking the time to recognize and avoid common mistakes can help you become more productive, successful, and highly respected by your team.

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Start-up Story: SqueezeIT – My Fight Back

Read part 1 and part 2.

I then checked out Thebeesknees in California to make sure they were legit, they even phoned me and answered any questions I had for them so that put my mind at ease and I could buy the software in a white label (see Wikipedia) version which meant I would own it outright.

Researching Irish market

So next I decided to research the Irish market again in more detail and be the master of my own destiny – and hopefully business – to see if anyone was specialising in this type of service and found that although there was plenty of web design companies offering mobile site services none were specialising in adapting websites for mobiles so I decided to keep going. I was actually beginning to enjoy my little adventure!!

I even contacted some of them to see if they would be interested in working with me and needless to say I was underwhelmed by the avalanche of responses I received.

I joined meetup and went to various meetings and got mostly positive feedback on what I wanted to do during 2014 as further research and also to network but everyone was “too busy” or wanted to be paid from day 1 which was not possible. Discouraged? Moi? No way Jose!!

Name and resources

I decided on the name SqueezeIT for the company and registered the name with the Companies Registration Office (CRO).

Actually one company I contacted said that they could offer the same service as me but after four weeks I still haven’t heard from them, so go figure. I also researched pricing in the market and drafted a business plan.

One thing I was adamant about was to use my own resources to get everything started and not rely on others until I had something to “show” for my efforts as I also wanted to find a business partner to work with from a similar technical area as mine to achieve some credibility.

I then researched and decided on my target market – both offline and online – but that I will keep under wraps for now as it has been decided on at this stage but it did take some time. The devil is in the detail as they say.

To be continued…

Written by Aidan Murray. As part of ‘Use SBC as a channel’ initiative, SqueezeIT has an exclusive offer for SBC members: “We will waive the 100 euro deposit for the first five companies that sign up for our service with us and will give a 50% discount for the next five businesses.”

For more information on this business visit Partner Site: emergo-online.com | Email: squeezeit@yandex.com |Phone: 087 261 7576.

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DCU ICT HUB

Change your business forever

Innovation has always been our passion. Everyone underestimates how much universities can add innovation to SMEs and make them more competitive and future proof.

As a result we have been asked  by the Dublin Universities (DCU, Trinity and the Innovation Academy in UCD). to look at how they engage with businesses and particularly the ones that normally would not look at universities for ideas and support.  

One day

In one day you will:

  • Discover Ireland’s best kept secret for growth for SMEs  
  • Unleash the power of innovation for your company
  • Get inspired by the innovation and opportunities that universities have to offer
  • Power your company with the greatest minds and resources on your doorstep

The idea is that this one day will give businesses a flavour of the innovation, research and opportunities that universities have to offer and deliver an informative and attention-grabbing day. The day will include a practical information pack,  (non academic) speakers, campus tours, breakfast, lunch and networking drinks reception. As an outcome we expect that some of the businesses will start engaging with the universities. Part of the follow on of the day, will be us supporting and tracking that engagement.

Here is a link to eventbrite to book your ticket

DCU ICT hub

Here is Noel O’Connor, the head of the ICT hub talking about the research:

 

The Information Technology and Digital Society Research & Enterprise Hub targets the translation of DCU’s ICT-based research outputs into the digital economy leveraging a diverse expertise base that covers data analytics, cloud computing, intelligent content among many other areas.

With increasing global competition the ICT sector is becoming acutely aware of the need to climb the “value chain” in terms of its technical activity, which for the sector means engaging in research and development. Ireland has one of the highest concentrations of ICT activity and employment in the OECD and is currently home to over 200 multinational ICT companies providing many opportunities for innovation.  There are many centres of excellence based at DCU operating in this space. Through the Information Technology and Digital Society Research and Enterprise Hub the university brings together multi-disciplinary teams of researchers, in close partnership with other universities and institutes to address ICT research and development. It also engages with Irish and international industry to understand how best to facilitate this. DCU is committed to assuming a leading role in helping to transform the ICT sector towards the next stage in its evolution.

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