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June 2017



Social media continues to play a critical role in the consumer decision making process.  According to a 2016 retail study conducted by Price Waterhouse Cooper, 
45% of global respondents said that reading reviews, comments and feedback influences their shopping behavior , followed closely by receiving promotional offerings with 44%, turning these two into the main influencing factors at the moment of making their purchasing decision (Markedbrand.com).   With nearly half of the respondents affirming the value of social media, if you aren't currently utilizing it in your business, you may want to start sooner than later.  Already using it, but would love some tips?  Check out the great article by George Wacker, advanced computer training adjunct, to learn five ways to improve your social media presence today!
Five Ways You Can Improve Your Business' Social Media Today
George Wacker, Advanced Computer Training Adjunct
technical@northampton.edu

social_media_icon_tablet.jpg It's no secret that social media is an effective and financially comfortable way for you to get the word out what your business offers. However, just exactly how to get that word out may be a secret to some.
 
Before we get to a secret or two, here are a few numbers than can help you put social media's importance into perspective:
  • Facebook has 1.9 billion unique monthly users, is the best way to reach people ages 18 - 49, and sees 75 percent of its users spending 20 minutes or more on the platform per day.
  • Instagram has 600 million unique monthly users, with 53 percent of its users following brands (companies), and 90 percent of the users are under the age of 35.
  • Twitter has 317 million unique monthly users, is predominantly male (22 percent of men online have a profile compared to 15 percent of women), and is populated by mostly 18 - 29 year olds.
 
Now, not every businesses needs to be on all of these social media platforms (we didn't even talk about Pinterest, LinkedIn, or Snapchat!), but your business can definitely benefit by being on at least one or two.
 
So, about those secrets? Here are a few ways you can help your business improve its social media presence right now...
 
  1. Check Your Information: Head into the settings on your social media accounts to make sure that the information is up-to-date or filled out completely. The more information you can include in your social media profiles, the better.
  2. Is Your Instagram a Business Account Yet?: If you're running an Instagram account for your business, make sure that it's a business account. Making it a business account allows you more options, including posting directly to your Facebook business page, include a click-through phone number, and more.
  3. Get Into a Conversation on Twitter: Twitter is super easy to push things to. Sharing links from your blogs and instagrams is easy peasy. However, it can do wonders to talk to other people about what your business is all about. Head to the search field in Twitter and search for things that matter to your business and see who is talking about it. Whether it's Lehigh Valley restaurants or someone looking for gutters, inject yourself into the conversation and say, "hello."
  4. Check Out Your Competition: What is your rival up to? Take a look. Sometimes, we want to keep those we compete with out of sight and out of mind. However, it can be a good idea to see what they are doing as a way, not necessarily to copy them, but to keep tabs on how other similar companies are operating online.
  5. Develop a Weekly Feature: Whether it's your "Shoe Deal of the Week" or "Margarita of the Week" or "Our Favorite Place to Have a Picnic of the Week," people love when brands or businesses can consistently give them good content. A great way to do that is to come up with a weekly feature. It keeps you on point and it keeps your fans coming back for more.
 
Now, get out there and start posting!  Want to learn more about how social media can benefit your organization?  Consider enrolling in Social Media for your Business being held August 8.

Mr. Wacker is also President of Lehigh Valley with Love Media, LLC. 
safety_helmet_architect.jpg The Value in Safety Training
Christy Bliss, Corporate Safety Instructor
safety@northampton.edu 
  
How many vendors walk through your door each day/week/year trying to sell you something? How do you decide where to spend the budget money and what makes the most sense for the company? Making daily decisions about what is needed for your company can be overwhelming. So how do you choose where to begin and what's important?
 
Most companies make their decisions based on the bottom line. While money is a key factor, it can't be the sole factor. However, if companies make smart decisions about where to spend their money, it would inevitably impact the bottom line for the positive. So now the next question becomes, what is the
smart decision?

Let's think about this scenario: A sales rep walks into your place of business and gives you a 30 second pitch on their product. The sales rep says to you that they have a way to help increase productivity, decrease injuries, decrease turnover rate, increase morale and as a result increase your bottom line. Would you be interested? You would probably say yes, but have your doubts.

So what is this magic product that can do all this for your business? Believe it or not, its training. Not just any training, but 10-hour or 30-hour OSHA safety training. Empowering your employees with the tools to be safe and understand how to incorporate safety within their daily routine at your place of business will be the best investment your company can make. That is the smart decision for your company.

Training is one of those things companies know they must do, but see it more as a nuisance rather than a benefit. It's hard to convince employees to take time out of their day to listen to a boring slide showing trainer when they know they have work to do. Well if the training is done right and the company is on board with the benefits the training can provide, then the outcome will be exactly as the scenario stated.
 
So this is your opportunity to say yes to the right sales pitch and see the benefits it can have on your company. Choose the smart and safe decision to have your employees take a 10-Hour or 30-Hour OSHA safety training course and you will be able to see a return on your investment immediately. Programs can also be delivered on-site.  To learn more about on-site delivery or to schedule a free safety assessment at your organization, please email safety@northampton.edu
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