As we see every day companies spend huge amounts of money trying to be socially responsible. My first consideration is concerned about why companies are “socially” and “ethically” active and what are the main issues involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR).

There are many references to corporate social responsibility, sometimes referred to as corporate citizenship, in our workplaces, in the media, in the government, in our communities. Companies can be socially responsible in different dimensions: Environmentally, economic contribution to community, having progressive stakeholders relations such as commitment to consumer safety or demonstrate respect to human rights.

CSR means a commitment by a company to manage its roles in a society in a responsible and sustainable manner (Akgeyik, 2005).

A number of events in recent years, such as the highly publicized financial scandals of Enron and WorldCom, sweatshop labor by retail clothing and sports shoe manufacturers and the “under-the-table” deals that companies have received. As a consequence now, reputation, brand, integrity and trust are increasingly considered important measures of corporate social responsibility.

The main CSR issues, that companies are taking seriously, are those related to Reputation and Brand Enhancement, Accountability and Transparency, Risk Management (Managing investor confidence is another factor supporting the business case for CSR) and the “Talent War” based on labor shortage in the next 10 to 25 years cause that companies do special efforts attracting, developing, motivating and retaining. In addition, the talent war is evidenced by an influx of “best places to work” awards. Thus, a strong argument for CSR is talent management in both the short and the long term

Correspondingly, CSR influences a company’s competitive advantage today through two key value drivers: 1) company reputation and brand; and 2) human capital (Paul Lee, 2008) HR leaders have begun to assume leadership roles to address both areas.

For instance, Enron and Worldcom incidents would be averted if the recruiting process would be identified and dropped in advanced those managers who breach legal duties and were caught on corruption behaviours?

HR has an important role in companies in order to achieve CSR standards. HR leaders can influence three primary standards of CSR-ethics, employment practices and community involvement-that relate either directly or indirectly to employees, customers and the local community.

Which kind of employment practices can be promoted in companies to become more CSR? Human resource management practices promote personal and professional employee development, diversity at all levels and empowerment. Another HR practices are: consider employees as valued partners, with the right to fair labor practices, competitive wages and benefits and a safe, harassment-free, family-friendly work environment.

What HR leaders can do to track HR scorecard on CSR? Some ideas that will be used as a checklist according to recent studies (Fenwick, 2008 & Lockwood, 2004)

• Create a strong organizational culture around core company values.

• Scan the environment to identify potential threats (e.g., competition for talent within the organization’s industry sector).

• Build personal and professional capability of the workforce (e.g., expand intellectual capital within the organization and in collaboration with other organizations).

• Include ethical concerns in staff performance measures.

• Support participative decision-making.

• Ensure highest standards in workplace health and safety.

• Encourage active engagement in community activities.

References:

– Akgeyik, T. (2005) The human resource management dimensions of corporate social responsibility in Turkey: a survey. Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, Jan, 2005.

– Fenwick, Tara and Bierema, Laura (2008), “Corporate Social Responsibility: Issues for Human Resource Development Professionals”. International Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 12, Issue 1, pp. 24-35, March 2008.

– Lockwood, N. R. (2004). Corporate Social Responsibility: HR’s Leadership Role. SHRM, December. Retrieved from [http://www.shrm.org/Research/quarterly/1204RQuart.asp#summary].

– Paul Lee, M. (2008). A review of the theories of corporate social responsibility: Its evolutionary path and the road ahead. International Journal of Management Reviews, 10(1), 53-73.

– Trudel, R., & Cotte, J. (2008 5). Does Being Ethical Pay? Wall Street Journal Online, Page R1.

If you own a business – chances are that you’re already using Social Media platforms and methods to get the word out about your business. If you haven’t begun using this platforms – you are probably seriously considering it and you should be…

The fact of the matter is that approximately 82 percent of small businesses are using this platforms, such as: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to support the growth of their businesses. If you are still debating whether or not you should resort to this platforms for the growth of your business then you should end the debate and get started as soon as possible.

This platforms are effective in the growth of your business. In fact, many people find out about different businesses, their products and services via Social Media Networks.

Below You Will Find 6 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing Works!

1. Social Media Gets the Word Out About Your Business.Yes! As a matter of fact, different platforms will support you in getting the word out about your business. It really works!

Your business will gain exposure! Needless to say – this is a very good thing! But more importantly, this will allow you the opportunity to develop relationships with your targeted audience. You’ll be able to gain followers, make connections and engage with people who will now know about your company. Furthermore, people who have done business in the past with you will now be more inspired to tell other people about your products and/or services.

2. Social Media Marketing is Extremely Cost Effective! The more algorithms added to different platforms and / or networks – the more likely it is that it’ll affect your organic content, as you can get lost in the scuffle. For this reason, we strongly advise you to take advantage of advertising options offered by many networks, which will promote your business, content and special deals and/or offers. Best of all, social media advertising is relatively inexpensive.

3. Social Media Is Super Duper Popular! You don’t have to be a devoted reader of blogs on technology or a pro on digital marketing to be aware that this is extremely popular amidst an array of consumers.

Per the Pew Research Center – approximately 65% of American adults are utilizing this platforms and / or networks. This means that this is more likely to reach almost every customer that walks into your business or visits your website.

For the majority of small businesses – Facebook has over 1.5 billion monthly users, which means that FB is the platform where your business will be able to reach more of your targeted audience. We recommend that you get started on your marketing campaign with Facebook.

4. Social Media Marketing Reaches All Demographics & Ages. This doesn’t have age barriers. In fact, age barriers are defied in social media networks. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center discovered that 65 percent of adults in The United States are active in these platforms.

Between 2005 through 2015 – people between the ages of 30 through 49 had increased their usage of social media networks. It doesn’t make a difference how old your targeted audience may be – it is more than likely that they’re already logged into their preferred platforms and are waiting for you and / or your business to become visible.

5. Social Media Inspires Two Way Engagement. This allows you the means and the control to become more informed about your targeted audience. With this you’ll have the opportunity to learn all about your audience’s interests and you’ll be able to acquire feedback.

Engage with your followers and / or customers and ask them to ask you questions and share their thoughts, opinions and ideas on how you should get to know them on a deeper level, so that you can pander to them better. You’ll be able to offer quick responses without the usage of a phone or without having to worry that your customer may have missed your reply.

6. Social Media Networks Allow You to Share Loads of Info About Your Business. Different networks have become the place where consumers go to gain more information about your business. The reason for this is because these platforms offer and allow businesses to post up to date info about all their services, products and future events.

Moreover, a lot of the profiles and activity on social media networks can be public, which allows a lot more visibility to users. This also, means that your profiles can be indexed by Google and other search engines. This is just one more way that you can be certain that your business and/or company will come up during searches on search result pages.

As you can see, Social Media Marketing is one cost efficient way that will support you in the journey of making your business known to your targeted audience and other users. Best of all, this will most certainly help you grow your business!

What is Social Engineering Fraud? You may not think you know, but you do. In fact, you’ve already been targeted repeatedly and recently, probably even today. Social Engineering Fraud is a leading cause of data breaches and has resulted in billions of dollars being stolen. So, what exactly is it?

According to Interpol, that’s right, Interpol, Social Engineering Fraud is a type of scam that tricks, deceives or manipulates victims to initiate money transfers or reveal confidential and personal information that can then be used for illicit purposes. It relies on human-to-human interaction, not guns or hackers, to perpetrate a crime.

Phishing is the most common form of Social Engineering Fraud. Phishers send unsolicited emails that look like legitimate requests for payment or information. The same technique can be executed by phone (“Vishing”) or text message (“SMishing”). Phishers often impersonate real companies by using actual logos and similar (“spoofed”) email addresses. Their emails typically include a call to action.

Statistics indicate that phishing rates have been in decline over the past few years. Rates of spear phishing, however, are going up. Unlike the wide net cast by phishers, spear phishers target specific individuals within an organization, particularly those with access to finances or sensitive information.

For example, spear phishers posing as the CEO of an Austrian aerospace company used a Business Email Compromise attack to convince an employee to transfer nearly $50 million to an account for a fake acquisition project. (Spear phishing is also known as whaling or CEO fraud.) Spear phishing emails were also used to get the password to a Gmail account used by Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.

Despite its many forms, Social Engineering Fraud generally incorporates the following distinctive elements:

• Identifying Targets. Criminals often use open source intelligence, social media and corporate websites to profile potential targets, develop an accurate picture of the organization and identify key executives and finance team members.
• Grooming Relationships. Contact is made with targeted individuals using emails that incorporate publicly available information and social media profiles so that they are more likely to be read and viewed as authentic. This process may last days, weeks or months.
• Exploiting Vulnerabilities. Once targets are convinced that they are dealing with an authorized individual about a legitimate business transaction, they are asked to perform a routine or otherwise legitimate function. For example, they may be given wiring instructions or formal-looking requests for documents or information.
• Executing the Fraud. Unwittingly wired funds are immediately transferred to another account. Sensitive information that was divulged is immediately used to perpetrate additional crimes, typically identity theft.

Social Engineering Fraud poses a serious risk to every business, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, which are targeted the most. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, spear phishing scams continue to grow, evolve and target businesses of all sizes. Since January 2015, there has been a 1,300 percent increase in identified losses, totaling over $3 billion.

Many businesses mistakenly believe that losses attributed to Social Engineering Fraud will be covered under their standard business insurance policies. Unfortunately, this error is oftentimes not revealed until it’s too late. Standard business insurance policies have a number of coverage gaps when it comes to losses of this kind.

Standard commercial general liability and property insurance policies aren’t designed to protect against Social Engineering Fraud, so the lack of coverage should be somewhat expected. What’s typically not expected, however, are coverage gaps in policies that appear otherwise well-suited to protect against these losses.

For example, even though Social Engineering Fraud typically takes place online, it doesn’t necessarily involve hacking or compromising computer systems. So, depending on the circumstances, coverage may be denied under a standard cyber liability insurance policy. And, since victims ultimately send money knowingly and voluntarily, coverage may also be denied under a standard crime or fidelity policy.

Social Engineering Fraud Endorsements are available to fill these coverage gaps. They are specifically designed to cover the unique risks presented by Social Engineering Fraud, including:

• vendor or supplier impersonation;
• executive impersonation; and
• client impersonation.

Social Engineering Fraud losses can be devastating. Every business needs to review its insurance policies to identify and address any actual or potential coverage gaps. Unfortunately, when it comes to Social Engineering Fraud, implementing safeguards, maintaining awareness and educating employees isn’t always enough.

The combination of words “social network” was born in 1954 and it didn’t have anything common with the Internet.

The person who invented the term was James Barnes: “social network” is a social structure, which includes individuals or groups tied with the same type of activity, common interests, friendship or relationships. So it’s kind of a structure of familiar people, divided by different groups, where every person makes a group of classmates, colleagues or friends around him.

Year after year this scientific concept progressed and got a lot of popularity. The first growth was observed in North America and Eastern Europe. During the society development process we came to age of information and communication, where social network got a lot of popularity.

The first computer social network appeared in 1971 and it was used by military in ARPA Net network.

1988 was a year of IRC (Internet Relay Chat), which gave an opportunity to talk online.

The main event was an Internet appearance, which Tim Berners-Lee made public in 1991.

There was a network named slassmates.com launched in 1995. It was very popular and it became a year of a start of social network development process in the Internet. But still classmates.com is

one of the most popular social networks with almost 50 million users.

In 2004 facebook.com appeared and became very popular around the world right away. The concept of this network was a little different but it made a revolution in the social networks world. It has over 700 million users now.

In 2008 discount service named Groupon appeared which is not a real social network but it uses principles similar to social networks and it invites people to become a part of Groupon community.

Classification

There are a lot of different kinds of social networks now, so let’s have a look at some of them.

By type:

• Clasmates.com (personal communication)
• Linkedln ( business communication)
• YouTube (video)
• Last.fm (audio)
• Flickr( pictures)
• Groupon (shopping)
• Reddit (news)
• Forsquare (geolocation)
• Tumblr (blogging)
• Answers.com (answers and questions)
• Delicious (bookmarks)
• Second Life (virtual worlds)
• Slashdot (thematic)

By availability:

• Facebook (open)
• PlayboyU (private)
• VK (mixed)

By region:

• Hi5 (worldwide)
• Qzone (country)
• InterNations (worldwide)

The very first classification is the most interesting and it has a lot of different contents for different people groups and different aims. So every person has an opportunity to find a niche and to find almost all of the existing subjects. The most popular networks continue growing.

The second classification type shows availability. There are three different types of current classification: open, private and mixed. Every network was created for a purpose and some of the networks were not made public. And just because of their business model these networks are closed. But biggest part of networks is still public and can be used by any person from any social group. That is not liked by a lot of people because of its information publicity. Mixed type social networks usually are not so popular like public networks, because users just don’t like to cross any barriers and they prefer to refrain from such networks.

And the last type shows us the world’s biggest networks which made kind of union between people from different countries regardless of their culture and skin color. Their clones appeared later in different countries and regions. And now we can see a lot of different kind of networks which are tied to a city, region or even corporation and political organization. That means that regardless of who you are and where you are you can always become a part of any type virtual community.

A couple of years ago, you could live with a simple social media marketing strategy in your company’s marketing plan. But, not anymore!

In 2018, every business must have an online presence and you got to mold your marketing strategies to beat the competition. It is more like that you thought something had worked for you last year, but it might not be relevant this year (in the social media space or elsewhere). Social media audiences are spreading like a wildfire or maybe has reached every nook and cranny of the world where people can access the internet( more than half of the world is actively surfing through the social media). People are glued to the plethora of information at just a simple click on the pocket gadgets. If you aren’t having a social media presence, your business is going to have a #FOMO (fear of missing out) feeling and consequences. But just having an online Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, or XYZ account is enough for your business success in today’s gadget city. You need to have a full-fledged social media marketing strategy which is constantly updating with the changing norms.

Needless to say, these advancements have brought us to the world where the attention span of the audience is shrinking rapidly because more and more businesses are connecting with their target audience on the social media handles. It is now becoming a challenge for businesses to reach their users with the most amazing and relevant content today. Therefore, it is more important for the brands to build ideas that work for the need of feed with the required speed. Woah, did that rhyme? Anyway.

We are here to enlighten you about the successful approaches for the social media marketing strategies in 2018 which would help you in achieving your business goals.

Ephemeral Content

All of this started with the Snapchat, Snapchat popularity has increased when it appealed interestingly to the millennials and Gen Z with the ephemeral content strategy.

Ephemeral content is the short-lived creative writing which can last at the most for 24 hours on social media or anywhere rather. Post that, it going to ‘poof’ forever.

This is quite heartbreaking for the marketers as they work really hard to come up with the strategic copy and it can only be appreciated for a limited period (only if someone sees it). However, the social media marketers have no choice as this is the most successful trend on almost all the platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and even WhatsApp (out of subject example). That’s why brands are assigning a dedicated separate strategy for the social media content and the ephemeral content.

Ephemeral content makes it a mandatory need to be original yet creative with the content ideas. Many brands are mostly using the Instagram platform for constant stories with the most engaging high-quality content to reach their audience. This content evaporates within some hours which is positively pushing your target audience to take a quick action on the stories and makes your marketing team smile.

Why is the Ephemeral Content Working?

Short-life makes content more authentic in comparison to sponsored ads.

Stories vanish within some hours which makes audiences anxious about missing the information (basically, #fomo) and leads to quicker responses.

Captures more attention than the “usual” social media posts.

In short, you need to have a strategic plan to make this work. You can’t expect it to work with the random posts always. You need to keep the content (could be images, videos, GIFs, and boomerang videos)) authentic, interesting and engaging to the audiences to get a turnaround within 24 hours.

Chatbots

Chatbots can also be a very useful social media marketing strategy. People are always reluctant to change or alien technologies at the beginning stage and chatbots weren’t treated any different. But not anymore, they aren’t ignored as a robotic machine now. Bots are being used to enhance the marketing strategies and are being successful in providing the instant responses to the customers or doing things like ordering your food. What we see in those sci-fi movies is soon going to be real, but let’s not get carried away and talk about the role of chatbots as a social media marketing strategy. In fact, we have seen many companies using bot technology already this year successfully.

As per Garter, the business content creation using chatbots will be 20% by 2018. If the machines will be able to generate brand specific, creative, innovative and continuous content for social media handles, it can excitingly be another milestone in the tech world where marketing and advertising companies would love to invest.

Chatbots provide the instant response to the audience and increase interactions with the personal touch to the conversations. With the passing time, chatbots are becoming sharper and more human which would allow you to create your brand tone and give a personal touch to facilitate comfort for your users.

Facebook has already been using thousands of active bots on the Facebook messenger where various businesses are engaging with their brand audience.

This is the year for testing chatbots for your business keeping all generations in mind. Before launching a chatbot, we recommend you test it on the potential audience to foresee the response and deliver accordingly.

Influencer Marketing

In 2017, the brands spent around 1.07 billion U.S. dollars in the Instagram influencer marketing and this value is expected to increase around 1.60 and 2.38 billion U.S. dollars in the year of 2018 and 2019 respectively.

We won’t really say that it is a new social media marketing strategy as more and more businesses have been trying to explore this option for a while. This has made it really hard for the marketers to find authentic ways to keep the audience interested.

Influencer marketing has become popular among the brands and they are consciously taking the decision of choosing the relevant social influencers with their brand in 2018. Influencers and brands have to maintain a relationship with the originality to impact the influencer’s followers. Nowadays, influencers are simply faking the information which mostly makes it look mundane and dishonest. Hence, this year influencer marketing would be done with the right associations and collaborations.

You need to strategically set the goals for your brand and understand whether influence marketing would suit your services or products. You need to think beforehand that your influential content of that influencer and build a good business relationship to target the ROI.

We have discussed the three popular social media marketing strategies in 2018, but we expect a lot more than this. The coming years going to play integral leap in the marketing game and expand the demand of social media marketers. A mobile-first strategy should be topping the list of the marketing plans.

If you are looking for social media marketing company in New York City with the team full of millennials and Generation Z. Reach us today.

Maximum Value. Achieved.

Social media is everywhere these days, it’s impossible to run a business without some sort of social media presence. There is such a huge variety of social media available that finding a solid marketing strategy can be very time-consuming. I’ve compiled a great deal of information into this short report that should help you get started and get your business off the ground. Hopefully, by the time you have finished reading this, you will have a better idea of what a good social media marketing strategy is and how you can build one for your company.

The first thing that a social media marketing strategy should do is tell your audience what your purpose is. You need to be able to identify your target audience, you also want to tell them why you want their attention. This can be done through your website or through blogs and articles you write consistently. It also can be done by including links in your social platforms allows you to engage with your audience on a more personal level. Most of this platforms allow you to create a profile page that has links pointing back to your other pages and posts, you can use this to promote your current blog post or just send a quick message out to let your audience know what you are up to.

Next, your strategy should include several different options to reach your audience. This websites are becoming a popular method of reaching potential customers, so you may want to consider adding an RSS feed to your website or blog to increase your audience. Social analytics will help you learn which sites are getting the most views and which ones you can potentially exploit to your advantage. There are quite a few applications available to help you learn which social media platforms are the most effective in your particular niche. Some of these applications include Google Analytics and Mixpanel.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that you should only post links on social that have a high chance of being clicked. If you are not sure as to whether or not your link will be effective, you can always take a look at Alexa rankings for each of the platforms you are considering. This will give you an idea as to which platform is the most popular among your target audience. This is a great way to find out if your chosen platform will truly appeal to your target audience.

Another strategy for you to consider when it comes to using social media marketing to market your business is connecting with influencers. Influencers are professional individuals who have created a large following in their specific niche and are known for their expertise in a particular subject. Being able to connect with influencers is an effective way to gain the attention of your target audience because they already care about the topic you are covering. You may want to look for influencers in your specific industry that are not only influential in their industry but also accessible.

The use of social media marketing as a marketing tool is a great way to drive traffic to your website. However, you should also use it as a means of building relationships so that you can develop a sense of trust with your audience. It is important to remember that customers enjoy being offered helpful tips from someone they can talk to, especially if it is someone who is perceived as an expert in their industry.

Finally, social media is also becoming an employee advocate. This is because many employees feel like they are not receiving the support they need from their employers. In addition to this, employees who feel empowered by their employer are happier overall. It is important to make sure that you do not use social media as a tool of recruitment until you have an employee advocate group. The use of social media as a recruiting tool should be reserved until a strong advocate for your industry has formed. This ensures that you are not only following your employee’s needs but your own as well.

Social media is quickly becoming one of the most effective tools available for internet marketing. If you are a business owner or an internet marketer, it is important to learn how to use these resources effectively. Social media allows you to connect with your audience on a personal level. It allows you to interact with customers on a more human level and to build a bond that cannot be achieved through email, phone calls, or face-to-face interactions. Because of this, social media can be more than just a marketing strategy, it can be a strategy that can change the way your business operates altogether.

Social isolation and disengagement are becoming epidemic in our society and there seems to be little hope of this trend abating in the near future. The reasons for this are mixed and somewhat complex, however, the outcome is clearer: people who are isolated are not fully enjoying the fruits of living in this “land of plenty” and are denied one of the most fundamental needs for survival – the opportunity to have fellowship and belonging with others. Some writers differentiate between being isolated and choosing disengagement, the former being a result of forces beyond one’s control and the latter a choice.

Whatever the distinctions between the sources of isolation, it is just as potent, and as potentially catastrophic, to those in both groups. As a domain of personal power, social isolation and disengagement have serious implications. The realm of collective or social identity is a cornerstone of empowerment and isolation from the social or collective aspect can unravel the whole network of supports required to achieve or maintain personal power. You have likely experienced isolation at various times in your own life. The experience is routinely reported as being unpleasant and alienating. Those forcibly separated or stranded from human contact are often on a fast track to mental and emotional collapse. Those who live among us, and are still socially isolated, fare little better and likely feel even lonelier than those forced into separation from the mainstream.

If you suffer from isolation, whatever the cause, it is important to become fully aware of what it is doing to you and take steps to remedy this condition. According to a recent review of a study by Brummet, Dr James House of University of Michigan affirms that social isolation is hazardous to health and often deadly. The article provides another confirmation, recognized in research over the previous 20 25 years, of the deleterious effects on health of social isolation. Social isolation has been shown to contribute to higher mortality, especially among medically vulnerable groups of individuals. As some attribute one of the chief sources of anxiety to isolation, it is notable that anxiety is linked to physical health problems such as asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, inflammatory bowel disease, and coronary heart disease.

As anxiety levels increase, the quality of life potentially decreases, particularly for untreated anxiety. Some compare the risk associated with social isolation to those of cigarette smoking and other major biomedical and psychosocial risk factors. Isolated individuals report fewer interactions with others, fewer sources of psychological/emotional and instrumental support, and lower levels of religious activity; however, once the deficiency was removed, adding additional relationships to a social network did not produce substantial or significant increases in health and well-being. This suggests that those most profoundly affected by isolation gain the most with the least intervention. Whether a person has regular interaction with family members, friends or other groups seems less important than that the person has one or more of these social ties.

In other studies, social disconnectedness has been found to be a contributing cause for the increase of anxiety levels among the general population. With increased divorce rates and more people living alone; some suggest that interpersonal trust has become a large problem in this country. Some writers, across disciplines, suggest that the idea of individualism in American culture may be contributing to these changes: “Our greater autonomy may lead to increased challenges and excitement, but it also leads to greater isolation from others, more threats to our bodies and minds, and thus higher levels of free-floating anxiety” according to Twenge. The fact that traditional social institutions and networks don’t supply the same levels of social support as in earlier generations is certainly a consideration.

Fewer people turn to church or other networks to meet their social or material needs. Some studies suggest that for many families, the only social institution retaining any importance is the workplace, with employees turning to this network to meet most or all of their social and material needs. While family and community are not exactly disintegrating as some suggest, they are changing in radical new ways. There is a strong relationship between the experience of emotional neglect in childhood and feelings of social isolation or loneliness in adulthood. This may change as individuals adapt to unconventional lifestyles and childhood “neglect” becomes the norm, but not anytime soon.

Many commentators believe that a feeling of belongingness and closeness in communities would likely impact the incidence of isolation; however, the community is not a reliable agent to reach out to the disconnected and disenfranchised. As community empowerment is still just a catch-phrase in most areas, self-empowerment strategies are the only reliable means for each individual to attain some level of connectedness and combat their own isolation.

Self-Empowerment Strategies

Self empowerment means taking your power, so you will have to act powerfully, that is, you will have to start by pushing against your own self-imposed limitations, however, this gets easier the further you progress. Getting started is always the hardest part! Start slow, and you will be amazed at your own accomplishments in no time – just be sure to start. Here is a list of suggestions, somewhat in their order of increasing intensity and exposure to social stressors.

1) You can start on the computer – what a great instrument for connecting people. If you’re reading this, you are already starting, you obviously have the skills. Google an online group or community that would have some compelling interest for you. If you’re into movies, look for a chat room or forum concerning movies and start getting involved. You can start by saying you haven’t been able to get out for a while and you’d appreciate any tips on what’s hot at the cinema and let it go from there. You get the idea. One or several of these contacts could turn into a real-life encounter. Maybe the local chapter goes to a movie together once a month, or has a party – here’s your chance to venture out a little.

2) Take the idea of common interest a step further. Most communities are full of opportunities to get together, face-to-face, with like-minded souls. It’s much easier if you have things in common. Whatever your passion is, make finding an appropriate group that shares it your priority. A casual meeting is probably the best place to start. That will likely develop into other opportunities and friendships, but start not too far out of your comfort zone. Whether it’s rock climbing, amateur dramatics, ceramics or speaking Spanish, you’ll find courses and clubs in your area (see your local paper or adult education centre for more details). What’s more, you’ll automatically have a common interest with the people you meet. This is new territory, take it somewhat slow – but take it! volunteering is a good option for a lot of folks as it not only gives structure to your people encounters, it takes the focus off of you and puts it on whoever the recipients of your volunteer efforts may be.

3) Consider a support group or self-help group. If the previous steps are too overwhelming, then you certainly qualify. There are a number of self-help groups that would be appropriate for the symptoms and issues associated with social isolation. Emotions Anonymous, or any other appropriate 12 step program can be a powerful resource to help you transition from isolation to active social involvement. If even this seems to daunting, a paid group therapeutic experience may be the answer. This is a totally safe and protected group activity that would help you gain enough strength to then transition to a self-help group model and from there – the sky’s the limit.

4) Establish your “social identity”. This is about deriving strength and power from the meaningful groups of which you’re a part. Involvement in groups, relationships, partnerships that give depth and meaning to your life are critical. You will have to do some in-depth self examination here to find out where you fit. Throw your fears to the wind and imagine, if you could be involved with any group, organizations or set of individuals in the entire world – who would they be? Then go about making it a reality. Maybe you really want to be part of an academic community – OK – it’s yours for the taking. Break the process up into small, manageable pieces. We call that partialization in the mental health business.

5) If you already have a social life of sorts, but simply don’t choose to be active with it for whatever reason, you can try altering your usual routines such as meeting friends straight from work/college rather than going home first; try some different activities like museums and galleries, or coffee shops. You can schedule attending events or courses in advance, activities you can’t back out of at the last minute. If you really can’t make it out, invite friends over or have a conference call with them. You can have an impromptu gathering by asking guests to bring something to contribute like music, food, drink and films.

6) You may be one of the unfortunates who suffer from a true social anxiety disorder or social phobia. If you suspect this is the case, get evaluated and if necessary, get medical intervention. Medication may be appropriate for some who just can’t make the changes otherwise. Even a short-term regimen could be beneficial. Some studies suggest reduced dopamine levels contribute to social isolation and the some of the newer antidepressants can address this rather effectively.

7) Feed your spirit – whatever that means to you. For many of us, developing that inner strength, or connecting to a bigger energy source, gives us the motivation and desire to move forward. Some simple spiritual ideas: “I’m not in this alone”; “only unrealistic fears hold me back” and “the universe wants me to be fulfilled”. These are simple affirmations that can hold great power and help us get into action. Write your own if these don’t work. The point is that it is our old negative ideas that are the real obstacle in most cases. Seed your conscious with new positive ideas and watch yourself take off. These will also speak to your lack of confidence and esteem which play havoc with a social identity and social life. Start to emphasize your positive qualities and learn to appreciate what others admire in you; work those into your affirmations.

8) If you have the stomach for it, you can also utilize your online skills to find a date or companion. It is a rather anonymous way to break the ice and begin to build some rapport, resulting in, hopefully, a face-to-face. Traditional dating agencies are also still on the scene and can make the experience a little safer as well. The way to think of these experiences is a practice run for what will eventually be “the real thing”. We often over exaggerate the significance of a date or encounter with another as something that we have to make work. Try to just have the experience, however it goes, and learn from it. There is no timetable to find your mate and settle in. However, you do need to spend time with others and this is a perfectly acceptable way to do that.

Good luck, add to this list as you move forward. In time, the activities involved in breaking your social isolation won’t be something you’re working on but something you’re looking forward to.

When social media first emerged on the scene, it was underestimated by many brands. It’s not ’til now we’re seeing more and more business owners creating a presence on these platforms. The ones who jumped aboard early on are reaping the benefits now, especially if they had the assistance from social media marketing companies.

If you’re a new business or one that has yet to try out social media marketing, then you should consider hiring professional services. You can also use the following tips to guide you along your path to building a strong brand on social platforms that are right for you.

Try One Platform at a Time

There are various social media sites you can add to your online marketing tool kit, but you don’t want to do it all at once. You need to focus on one or two platforms at a time, particularly those that have a large amount of your followers. The idea is to hone your skills on the first set of platforms before venturing off to others.

Focus Just as Much On Social Engagement

Too much focus is given on creating posts and content, and not enough on engaging with followers. There should be a nice balance between sharing content and socializing. Don’t treat this new found outlet as a platform for advertising. It’s a social environment, so use this to show you’re human. People love that stuff.

Create a Schedule for Your Content

Consistency is key if you want to keep your followers engaged with your brand. Creating a schedule can help organize your topics and publishing time, so you don’t dry out. Social media marketing companies can help develop a content calendar for your accounts. These services can also be used to carry out the plan, so you can focus on operating your business.

Track Everything

It’s highly important to keep track of every aspect of your social media marketing. This will determine when something is wrong, what’s wrong and what needs to be improved. These can be very telling of your marketing strategy and whether it needs tweaking. Social media agencies have tracking and analytics tools they can use to keep watch of your campaigns.

At the end of the day, you need to know when it’s time to delegate this task to someone else. If you can’t handle or lack the knowledge of executing a successful social media marketing campaign, then you need to find a replacement. Your best bet is to go with a professional services provider.

Growing your social media presence is important to getting your business in front of more consumers and generate more sales.

Here are 6 some simple tips you can use to turn your lonely social media accounts into popular communities bustling with activity.

Use the Correct Tools

If you want to improve your social media presence, you need to post often and at the most favorable times.

But if you’re a company owner, you probably don’t have enough time in your day to constantly be logging in to all your accounts. That’s why you need to use the correct tools.

Using proper tools will help you schedule your postings as well as ensure you’re posting often enough to improve your social media presence.

Focus on Customer Satisfaction

Like it or not, social media has become the premier platform for customer service.

Rather than giving a business a phone call or waiting hours (sometimes days) for a company to respond to an email, many customers who are having issues immediately turn to social networks to get help from brands.

Using your social platforms as a customer service podium will send more users to your social pages, and make it easier for them to solve their problems.

The good news is, you can even create a Facebook chatbot that will answer a customer’s questions when you’re not around. By doing this, your customers will also be more willing to buy from you.

Promote Your Accounts

Don’t expect your customers to know about all your social platforms and go searching for them themselves.

Start promoting your accounts to your customers and ask them to follow, like, comment and share your posts. The more people are aware of your presence on social media, the bigger your following and fan base will be.

Stay on Top of What’s Trending

One of the best ways to create a bigger presence for your business is to piggyback on popular trends. Doing this will get your profile in front of numerous users who never knew about your business before, and who also can help your posts go viral.

You can stay on top of trends just by taking a look at what’s going on.

Focus on Eye-Catching Visuals

One of the very best ways to stand out on social media while increasing your presence – is to focus on using eye-catching visuals.

For maximum benefit focus on posting images that show images of people using your products and enjoying your services.

Pursue Ongoing Engagement with Your Audience

Users won’t want to follow you on social media or interact with you if they get nothing in return.

That’s why it’s so important to actively engage with your audience. This means being committed to replying to comments that are posted on your page on a daily basis.

Engaging with your followers will not only increase your social media presence, but also help you develop real relationships with customers.

Social media marketing is the newest buzzword in town. It is said that this media platform has more potential to attract people than any other. However, there is no magic recipe for social media marketing. You have to take some hard knocks, work well, and then rinse and repeat. Social media marketing is not something that can be mastered in one day. Instead, it takes constant effort and focuses on maximum benefits.

A social media marketing strategy is essentially a short description of what you plan to do and expect to achieve on social media in a stipulated time. It informs your actions and also lets you know if you’re succeeding or not. The more specific your strategy is, the better it tends to be. Keep it very concise, too.

Perhaps the best way to start social media marketing is to set up an everyday schedule. Schedule posts to be posted on various sites like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Google+. Set aside sometime every day, even just fifteen minutes, to do this. If you cannot stay focused on this schedule, chances are, you’ll get distracted, and you might even quit. Therefore, stick to it, whatever the distractions maybe!

After scheduling the times, create a content calendar for each day. On the content calendar, mark off the best times for posting to all the social networks. The best times for each audience might differ, depending on who your target audience is. For example, if your target audience is students, the best times for posting are usually on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

A great strategy for getting the most from your social media campaign is to join as many of the top social networks as you can. This will allow you to promote your products in different ways and to build your brand name wherever you go. However, joining too many social networks won’t necessarily benefit your business. Doing so could hurt your business. For this reason, you have to choose the social networks that will best benefit you.

Another little point you need to keep in mind when using social media marketing to attract followers is to make sure you don’t use every available opportunity to contact your followers. You need to know how to use your fans to your advantage. Don’t try and sell them anything, for instance. You have to give them useful information or something they want or need. This will earn you their trust, which is crucial to any sales strategy.

You also need to use other social media marketing strategies to get more followers. The most successful business people on the networks use Twitter. Their main aim is to interact with their followers, solve their questions, and encourage them to buy products. So, you should do the same, using Facebook and other networking sites to gain more followers and to get more feedback about your product.

Last but not least, one thing you should never forget is to make use of the tools that allow you to identify the best influencers in your target market. These people can be your highest quality customers because they provide great content that your target audience enjoys reading. If you can’t find them, you’re losing a huge opportunity to attract a high-quality following. The best way to do this is to join the Twitter lists that allow you to look at the network of users that follow specific topics. By knowing who your best fans are, you can easily make sure that you reach them whenever you launch new products and events.