2016-04 APRIL
Content Marketing: 5 Powerful Data Visualization Tools You Absolutely Need to Discover
Irresistible content is crucial to keeping your audience engaged with your brand and data can be a powerful tool in achieving this…when it’s understandable and not boring.
If you want to see your social media shares skyrocket, here is a selection of powerful data-visualization tools you need to check out:
- LiveStories lets you create engaging visualizations from your spreadsheets and provides access to its own databases.
- StatTrends
- DataHero lets you integrate data from multiple platforms, including MailChimp, SalesForce, HubSpot, and Shopify.
- Vizzlo allows you to easily create data visualizations for your website or social media channels. Choose what type of chart you want to create, add/import your data, and watch your creation magically appear before your eyes.
- Dataseed is another top tool for brand builders. Its handy interface lets you create data-rich visualizations perfect for sharing on social media and in your content marketing blog posts.
Thanks to terrific tools like these, marketers no longer have to rely just on photographs or videos to provide eye candy for their content.
Your Online Reputation Can Launch or Torpedo Your Business
Bridle the Internet Beast and Make it Work for You
(Our In-Depth Article This Month)
Today, retailers must protect their brands by responding appropriately to negative reviews, promoting positive ones, and posting helpful information for an Internet-connected public.
Hersh Davis-Nitzberg, a Beverly Hills, California-based consultant suggests letting a few key principles guide your actions. The first is to realize that building a great reputation means more than responding appropriately to negative reviews. “You need to do more than just repair damage that is done online,” he says. “You also need to create a positive image for your brand.”
You need to know which social media are preferred by your customers, monitor your mentions, and respond appropriately and thoughtfully. Setting up a Google alert for your business name is one good way to get started.
Avoid the temptation to ignore the negative review. A lack of response makes a terrible impression on the public. People will think, “That retailer does not care about taking care of customer problems.” At the same time, avoid a knee jerk response.
When problems arise, you can take the “spat” offline, exchanging emails or talking on the phone. But if you do, be sure to post the resolution online so others can see the positive outcome.
What Kids Can Teach You About Selling
Recently, I was talking to one of my brothers about his attempt to teach his granddaughter how to ice skate. He had taken her out a few times to the local skating rink; she was making progress, but slowly.
Then one day she saw a young boy pushing off the edges of his skates and building up real speed. This gave her a clear vision of what she needed to do and how to do it.
It reminded me of how we need to learn from others and what I once learned from a drilling fluids salesman. He was frustrated with an engineer prospect who he couldn’t make any headway with. Then he heard about another salesperson’s success and got an idea.
Find out how a lesson in ice skating success helped that salesman land a big account by re-framing a situation from a perceived negative to a clear positive when you read the full article.
Is Your Family Business Prepared for Transition?
When the time comes for a new generation to take control of your family business, will the process go smoothly? One way to find out is to take the quiz below. Give yourself 10 points for every “yes” answer.
- Have you established a structured plan to transition your business to a new generation of ownership?
- Has each family member communicated a personal vision of their role in a business transition?
- Have all family members bought into a shared business vision?
- Are all members of the junior generation involved in some way with the business?
- Has each member of the junior generation begun a program of education to meet the needs of his or her desired role in the transitioned business?
- Has a role been established for the senior generation in the business transition?
- Have you considered the use of non-family interim managers?
- Have you established a system to provide career satisfaction for valued non-family employees who might be shut out of advancement into management positions?
- Have you shared your transition plans with interested third parties such as customers, vendors and bankers?
- Have you a solid understanding of the financial requirements (including any requisite funding for buy-outs and taxation) for a successful transition to new ownership?
Total your scores, then rate your transition readiness on the following scale:
- 90-100: Congratulations! You are well on your way to a smooth ownership transition.
- 70-80: You have addressed your needs for a successful transition and need to do some final paving on the road ahead.
- Less than 70: Time to preserve the future of your enterprise by taking productive steps toward a smooth transition to a new generation.