In today’s fast-paced world, a well-organized workspace is essential for productivity and long-term success. The right tools and resources not only enhance efficiency but also contribute to a more comfortable and enjoyable work environment. This comprehensive guide explores key essentials that can help you craft a workspace that stands the test of time.
The Foundation of Ergonomics: Comfortable Furniture
Investing in ergonomic furniture is paramount for creating a workspace that not only bolsters your productivity but also nurtures your physical well-being. A well-crafted ergonomic setup can significantly enhance your work experience, especially during extended hours.
Consider acquiring a high-quality adjustable chair that provides optimal lumbar support, encouraging a healthy posture that minimizes back strain. Pair it with an ergonomic desk designed to accommodate both standing and sitting positions. Such a desk promotes movement and prevents the stiffness that can arise from prolonged sitting. Complement these essentials with a monitor stand that aligns your screen at eye level, reducing the strain on your neck and preventing eyestrain.
When selecting ergonomic furniture, prioritize items that can be tailored to your specific needs. Customizability ensures that the furniture adapts to your body, reducing discomfort and fatigue. By nurturing your physical well-being, you’re paving the way for heightened concentration and efficiency. Remember, your workspace should be a haven that nurtures your body, mind, and work performance.
High-Quality Technology and Accessories
Equipping your workspace with reliable technology is a non-negotiable aspect of modern work life. A powerful laptop or desktop computer, a high-resolution monitor, and a responsive keyboard and mouse setup are essential. Additionally, investing in cable management solutions can help keep your workspace organized and clutter-free. When it comes to printing needs, Cartridge People can help you find the right printer cartridges, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted work processes.
Effective Storage Solutions
An organized workspace is a sanctuary of focus. It minimizes distractions and maximizes efficiency, ensuring you can dive into your tasks with a clear mind. To achieve this, incorporate ingenious storage solutions that seamlessly blend functionality and aesthetics. Opt for shelves to display frequently used reference books or decorative items that resonate with you, infusing a personal touch amid the practicality. Drawers and filing cabinets are indispensable for neatly housing documents, invoices, and notes, while desk organizers keep pens, sticky notes, and gadgets tidily arranged.
Personalization for Inspiration
Your workspace is an extension of your personality, and personal touches can greatly contribute to your motivation and creativity. Decorate your workspace with artwork, plants, or meaningful objects that resonate with you. Natural light can also significantly impact your mood and productivity, so if possible, position your workspace near a window. Creating a workspace that feels uniquely yours enhances your overall well-being and enthusiasm for work.
Crafting a workspace designed for longevity and efficiency involves careful consideration of furniture, technology, storage, and personal touches. Investing in ergonomic furniture and high-quality technology creates a foundation for productivity, while effective storage solutions keep clutter at bay. By infusing your workspace with elements that inspire you, you’ll create an environment that supports not only your work tasks but also your overall well-being. Remember, a well-designed workspace is an investment in your present and future success.
In today’s fast-paced world, a well-organized workspace is essential for productivity and long-term success. The right tools and resources not only enhance efficiency but also contribute to a more comfortable and enjoyable work environment. This comprehensive guide explores key essentials that can help you craft a workspace that stands the test of time.
The Foundation of Ergonomics: Comfortable Furniture
Investing in ergonomic furniture is paramount for creating a workspace that not only bolsters your productivity but also nurtures your physical well-being. A well-crafted ergonomic setup can significantly enhance your work experience, especially during extended hours.
Consider acquiring a high-quality adjustable chair that provides optimal lumbar support, encouraging a healthy posture that minimizes back strain. Pair it with an ergonomic desk designed to accommodate both standing and sitting positions. Such a desk promotes movement and prevents the stiffness that can arise from prolonged sitting. Complement these essentials with a monitor stand that aligns your screen at eye level, reducing the strain on your neck and preventing eyestrain.
When selecting ergonomic furniture, prioritize items that can be tailored to your specific needs. Customizability ensures that the furniture adapts to your body, reducing discomfort and fatigue. By nurturing your physical well-being, you’re paving the way for heightened concentration and efficiency. Remember, your workspace should be a haven that nurtures your body, mind, and work performance.
High-Quality Technology and Accessories
Equipping your workspace with reliable technology is a non-negotiable aspect of modern work life. A powerful laptop or desktop computer, a high-resolution monitor, and a responsive keyboard and mouse setup are essential. Additionally, investing in cable management solutions can help keep your workspace organized and clutter-free. When it comes to printing needs, Cartridge People can help you find the right printer cartridges, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted work processes.
Effective Storage Solutions
An organized workspace is a sanctuary of focus. It minimizes distractions and maximizes efficiency, ensuring you can dive into your tasks with a clear mind. To achieve this, incorporate ingenious storage solutions that seamlessly blend functionality and aesthetics. Opt for shelves to display frequently used reference books or decorative items that resonate with you, infusing a personal touch amid the practicality. Drawers and filing cabinets are indispensable for neatly housing documents, invoices, and notes, while desk organizers keep pens, sticky notes, and gadgets tidily arranged.
Personalization for Inspiration
Your workspace is an extension of your personality, and personal touches can greatly contribute to your motivation and creativity. Decorate your workspace with artwork, plants, or meaningful objects that resonate with you. Natural light can also significantly impact your mood and productivity, so if possible, position your workspace near a window. Creating a workspace that feels uniquely yours enhances your overall well-being and enthusiasm for work.
Crafting a workspace designed for longevity and efficiency involves careful consideration of furniture, technology, storage, and personal touches. Investing in ergonomic furniture and high-quality technology creates a foundation for productivity, while effective storage solutions keep clutter at bay. By infusing your workspace with elements that inspire you, you’ll create an environment that supports not only your work tasks but also your overall well-being. Remember, a well-designed workspace is an investment in your present and future success.
The rapid transformation of the work-from-home model has not only reshaped how business owners function but has also dramatically changed our daily interactions with the unlikely — our pets! While the added time with our beloved furry companions has undoubtedly been a perk, an unexpected repercussion is the rise in separation anxiety in dogs — now dubbed COVID Dogs. A deeper bond, while certainly heartwarming, can make moments of separation more challenging, whether you’re going back to the office or simply running errands.
What Does Separation Anxiety in Dogs Look Like?
Separation anxiety in dogs can appear through a few different behavioral symptoms and with a wide range of intensity. The intensity and combination of these symptoms can vary, often hinging on the dog’s individual temperament, past experiences, level of training, and even genetics. Common signs to watch out for include excessive panting, drooling, persistent whining, and uncontrolled barking. More concerning are instances where dogs, even those impeccably housebroken, start having accidents indoors when the owner is away. Some dogs may resort to destructive behaviors when left alone, indicating heightened stress levels.
5 Tips to Combat Your Dog’s Separation Anxiety
If you notice your dog exhibiting any of these symptoms, don’t fret! Here are some effective strategies to help your four-legged friend cope better with separation.
1. Tire them out
Physical activity is a big deal in ensuring a dog’s well-being. An active dog is not just physically healthy but also mentally satisfied. Engaging in activities that challenge and tire them out can significantly mitigate feelings of anxiety. Consider long walks that tap into their curiosity or a jogging session that demands their endurance. If you’re outdoorsy, hiking and playing at the beach are fun and enriching forms of exercise — for both parties! Games of fetch, dog playdates, and interactive training sessions are also fantastic. These activities not only serve to exhaust their physical energy but also provide ample mental stimulation, making the subsequent separation easier on both you and your dog.
2. Utilize the crate
For many dogs, a crate isn’t just a containment tool; it’s a personal space. When introduced and used correctly, crate training can provide dogs with a sanctuary where they feel secure and protected. Choose a quiet and calming location, a room with soft lighting and away from the household bustle. This promotes relaxation, encouraging your dog to nap and rejuvenate while you’re occupied.
3. Give them enrichment toys
Dogs are intelligent creatures, craving both mental and physical challenges. Enrichment toys are designed to cater to this need, offering them intricate puzzles and tasks that keep their minds active. Popular options include treat dispensers that release rewards with effort, stuffable toys like Kong with their favorite treats, interactive puzzle games that demand problem-solving, and snuffle mats that tap into their foraging instincts. These toys keep them entertained while offering a sense of accomplishment.
4. Play some music or turn the TV on
A silent home can amplify feelings of loneliness for a dog. Introducing ambient sounds can bridge this void, offering a semblance of company. Soft, calming music or TV channels curated explicitly for dogs can provide auditory comfort. Some dogs find the muffled conversations from a TV show or the gentle strumming of an acoustic playlist reassuring, making the time apart less stressful.
5. Don’t acknowledge them when you leave and come home
Humanizing our pets is a natural tendency, especially when we share such deep bonds. However, long, emotional farewells or enthusiastic greetings can inadvertently heighten their anxiety. By making your comings and goings uneventful, you’re subtly communicating that these separations are routine and nothing to stress over. While it might feel unusual initially, with persistence, you’ll observe a marked difference in your dog’s reactions.
Conclusion
Transitioning to a work-from-home model comes with its set of unique challenges. As business owners, while we grapple with changing dynamics, we must meet our pets’ emotional needs. Separation anxiety, while concerning, is manageable with the right approach. By integrating these strategies, we nurture a healthier environment for our pets and cultivate a space where we, as owners, can function productively, knowing our furry friends are content. After all, our pets play an irreplaceable tune in the harmonious symphony of life.
As remote work becomes more prevalent, creating a productive and comfortable home office environment is essential. One thing that often gets overlooked is the lighting setup. This is even more important if your workspace doesn’t have much natural lighting.
And if you have been feeling discomfort in your eyes, difficulty focusing, experiencing headaches, or feeling drained then it must be the poor lighting in your home office.
By making some adjustments to the lighting in your work area, you can invigorate your workspace and enhance its comfort.
Here are six simple ways to improve the lighting in your home workspace for a productive workday.
Reduce Screen Glare and Eye Strain
Spending long hours in front of a computer screen is tough on your eyes. You may expect to experience the following as well:
dry and itchy eyes
blurry vision
headache
neck and shoulder pain
But there are ways to make your work experience at your home office more comfortable and healthier. This is why you should have balanced lighting in your workspace. To do that, check the direction where your light is coming from.
If you have a light source placed behind you while working on your computer, it will likely cause an irritating glare on your monitor. One of the best practices to minimize glare is to position your computer screen away from direct light sources and adjust the angle of your screen.
Also, check for unintended shadows formed by lamps. It is better to have multiple light sources that adequately light up the area without creating strong shadows. Having well-spread-out, soft lighting will prevent any areas from being too bright or too dark.
There’s no difference working at your home office desk from your workspace in the office, you probably use it for different tasks from laptop or computer work to paperwork. You might also have a layout or photo reviewing station right in your home office and all of these can have a dedicated task lighting set up to improve your ability to see without stressing your eyes.
Adding a desk lamp is ideal for creating task lighting. There is an adjustable type of desk lamp that is flexible for you to place the light where you need it.
Set up your work area near windows where you have natural lighting. It’s time that you recognize the benefits of having natural sunlight in your room. Not only does it creates a healthier and more enjoyable working environment, but various research studies have also highlighted its positive impact on both productivity levels and overall mood.
In addition, you may want to consider window coverings like blinds do a great job of diffusing direct sunlight entering the room. This way, glare or harsh shadows on computer screens can be minimized or completely eliminate any discomfort caused by excessive brightness while you work.
In the majority of home offices, it is quite common to have ambient lighting that is spread evenly throughout the entire space. This creates a soothing and comfortable atmosphere for working or studying at home.
It is important to have a balanced ambient lighting in your home office. And to achieve this, consider using fixtures like recessed lights or ceiling-mounted lamps that provide gentle overhead illumination. Another option could be placing floor or table lamps strategically around the room to ensure there are no areas with inadequate light levels.
If you’re looking for a trendy and contemporary look to boost your work-from-home set up, pendant lights or wall sconces are your perfect choices. These lighting options provide ample illumination without creating too many shadows, as the light source is positioned lower than recessed can lights. You can easily find these stylish lighting fixtures at Zest Lighting as they have extensive collection of designer lights at an affordable price from modern to classic designs.
Ambient lighting can also be provided by natural light if you have glass walls that allow sunlight to filter through.
Having ample general lighting is important for creating a well-lit and functional workspace. That is why having diffused ambient lighting in your home office design will not only create a pleasant environment but also enhance productivity and overall well-being.
To enhance the visual appeal of your home office, consider adding decorative and accent lighting. This type of lighting adds an extra layer of charm and depth to your space by highlighting certain areas or objects within the room, like artworks or architectural features.
Just picture how much more productive you could be during work hours if you had these amazing features in your office space.
There are various options for accent lighting that you can choose from, such as floor lamps, wall-mounted lights, or even picture lights. Make sure to select a style that complements both your functional requirements and existing decor to achieve a cohesive look.
Choosing the Right Bulb
Selecting the right bulb for your home office lighting is important in creating a productive and comfortable workspace. One thing that you should consider is the colour temperature of the bulb. Remember, this will affect your home office’s appearance and the feel inside the room. Will it be comfortable enough to keep you productive and also reduce eye strain?
Know the following colour temperature and make it your guide next time you’re buying for a new bulb:
High Colour Temperature (Cool White / Blue Light): illuminating a workspace with high colour temperatures, can result in a harsh and clinical atmosphere.
Low Colour Temperature (Warm White / Yellow Light): lightings such as warm white or yellow light will soften the clarity of the space while creating a cozy and relaxing ambience.
To choose the right color temperature for your home office, consider the tasks you’ll be doing and the ambiance you’d like to create. For instances:
Cool White is ideal for computer work
White Light is best for reading and writing by hand
Warm White is perfect for relaxing or reading
Bottom Line When It Comes to Home Office Lighting
Lighting is not just a luxury, it’s a necessity when you’re working from home. It’s important to figure out how you’ll use your workspace before choosing lighting. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to find a balance between functionality and ambiance, and selecting the right bulb can be a huge help in accomplishing that goal.
You can take these suggestions into account and adapt them to fit your current workspace, allowing you to create a lighting arrangement in your home office that is both practical and helpful to your work productivity.
Day trading has gained immense popularity in recent years, with individuals seeking to capitalize on short-term price fluctuations in the financial markets. However, along with the potential for substantial profits, there’s also a darker side to day trading — day trading scams. These scams can lead to significant financial losses and shattered dreams. In this article, we’ll delve into the world of day trading scams, shedding light on what traders should be aware of to protect themselves and their hard-earned money.
Understanding Day Trading Scams
Day trading scams are schemes designed to deceive traders into making uninformed decisions or investing in fraudulent schemes. These scams often prey on the allure of quick profits and the desire for financial independence. They can manifest in various forms, from fake trading platforms to manipulative strategies that exploit traders’ emotions.
Common Types of Day Trading Scams
Phony Trading Platforms: One prevalent form of day trading scam involves fraudulent online trading platforms that promise high returns but are designed to siphon off traders’ funds. These platforms may lack the necessary regulatory approvals and safeguards, making it challenging for traders to recover their investments once they realize they’ve fallen victim to a scam.
Pump and Dump Schemes: In a pump and dump scheme, scammers artificially inflate the price of a stock by spreading false or misleading information. This entices unsuspecting traders to buy the stock, driving up its price. Once the price reaches a peak, the scammers sell their shares, causing the price to plummet and leaving other traders with losses.
Unrealistic Promises: Some scams lure traders with promises of guaranteed profits, often using high-pressure sales tactics. These promises are usually too good to be true and are intended to manipulate traders into depositing funds into the scammer’s account.
Signal Selling Services: Scammers offer to provide trading signals or insider information for a fee. However, these signals are often unreliable or simply generated randomly. Traders who rely on such services can quickly find themselves in a cycle of losses.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
When engaging in day trading, it’s crucial to stay vigilant and be aware of potential red flags that could indicate fraudulent or risky activities. Protecting your investments and financial well-being requires recognizing these warning signs. Here are some red flags to watch out for:
Guaranteed Profits
Unregulated Platforms
Pressure to Act Quickly
Lack of Transparency
Protecting Yourself from Day Trading Scams
Day trading can offer exciting opportunities, but it also attracts its share of scams. To protect yourself from day trading scams, follow these guidelines:
Educate Yourself
Research Platforms and Individuals
Use Regulated Platforms
Avoid Unrealistic Promises
Stay Calm and Analytical
Important Note
Don’t forget that any scam can and must be reported. No one is an exception: each trader should be aware that they can report day trading scam. Just find out the right algorithm.
Conclusion
Day trading can be a profitable venture, but it’s crucial to be aware of the lurking threat of day trading scams. Traders must exercise caution, conduct thorough research, and trust their instincts. By staying informed and being vigilant, traders can minimize the risk of falling victim to day trading scams and protect their financial well-being.
Remember, the key to successful day trading lies in careful planning, disciplined execution, and a commitment to ongoing learning. Stay informed, stay safe, and approach day trading with a healthy dose of skepticism to navigate the complex world of financial markets effectively.
Grocery delivery service and advertising platform Instacart filed for its IPO on Friday.
Why we care. Instacart Ads is an emerging platform where CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands can advertise products (via sponsored product ads, display ads, coupons) to 7.7 million “monthly active orderers” as they shop.
1. Instacart’s 2023 ad revenue. Instacart reported $406 million in ad revenue for the six months of 2023, a year-on-year increase of 24%.
This increase was driven by an increase in advertising volume and increased adoption of new advertising features and products – despite decreases in ad spend by brand partners due to “macroeconomic uncertainty” and changes in “brand partners’ businesses and performance.”
Ad revenue was $327 million for the same period in 2022.
2. Instacart’s 2022 ad revenue. Instacart’s full-year advertising revenue hit $740 million in 2022, a 29% YoY increase. Advertising was 29% of Instacart’s total revenue.
Ad revenue was $572 million in 2021, which was 31% of total revenue, and $295 million in 2020.
3. How many brands use Instacart Ads. Intacart had more than 5,500 “active brand partners” using Instacart Ads as of June 30. This number has grown of “over five times” since December 2019.
4. New Instacart Ads offerings coming. Instacart has plans to add new display advertising offerings, specifically mentioning “shoppable products brand pages to serve as destinations for on- and offsite media,” according to the S-1.
5. Instacart plans to expand its ad tech to more retailers. The company plans to invest in and grow the Instacart Enterprise Platform, according to the S-1 filing:
“In 2021, we launched Carrot Ads, which helps our retail partners capture new monetization opportunities while broadening advertiser reach to millions of new customers via additional relevant placements on retailers’ owned and operated online storefronts.”
6. Instacart is impacted by seasonality. Instacart expects seasonality to cause fluctuations in its quarterly financial results.
“Our advertising and other revenue has historically been seasonally high in the fourth quarter and seasonally low in the first quarter in a given year as a result of how advertisers deploy their budgets,” according to the filing.
7. Instacart Ads growth strategy. Here’s how Instacart said it plans to increase its advertising revenue:
“Capture More Ad Spend and Add New Brands on Instacart Ads. We intend to earn a greater portion of brands’ spend across digital marketing as well as other data and customer insights. Growing the number of active brand partners and their spend will depend on our ability to grow the size and engagement of our customer base to create more clicks and impressions and to innovate on our ads offerings to deliver attractive ROI to our brand partners.”
“Grow Sales for Emerging Brands and Non-Food Categories. We intend to grow sales for emerging brands and non-food categories that have higher advertising budgets, such as household products, pet items, and personal care. As we grow sales for emerging brands and these categories, we expect to experience a mix shift towards GTV with higher advertising and other investment rate.”
What Instacart said. The company’s filing also touted its high ROI and ability to drive purchases:
“Our grocery expertise has enabled us to build differentiated advertising solutions and tools that allow CPG brands to reach and engage with high-intent customers at the point of purchase and within minutes of delivery and consumption. With our unique customer data and insights, we provide differentiated analytics for brands, allowing them to better optimize their advertising spend and grow their wallet share.”
Integrating generative AI into search presents a compelling value proposition.
If SEOs figure out how to adopt this technology effectively, it could revolutionize the industry and fundamentally change how people interact with search.
While there are still some concerns around the accuracy of AI-generated content, as well as omissions leading to some information being taken out of context, SEO expert Eric Enge explained that the technology is still a fantastic tool for creative inspiration and saving time.
Below is a summary how generative AI can be used to drive your technical SEO strategy, as presented by Enge at SMX Advanced.
1. Coding
One of the impressive aspects of ChatGPT is its proficiency in coding, according to Enge. He explained:
“Chat GPT gives you a very good starting place for your code. Sometimes, it can be a little buggy and needs to be debugged, but it’s a really good place to start – and that’s how I advise you to use it.”
“If you use it to generate schema markup, remember, it is just a starting place. So make sure you have someone who knows how to read schema markup to validate that it’s right. Using generative AI just speeds up the process.”
2. Generating Hreflang tags
Enge shared an example of a scenario where he used generative AI to create Hreflang tags for different webpages:
“I had four different languages. It gave a bunch of tags and they all look pretty good. This is an example of how [generative AI] can help speed things up for you.”
3. Translation
Generative AI produces accurate results when used for translation purposes. Enge said:
“I used it to translate keywords from English to French and it produced a really strong set of results.”
“This sort of thing could really help from the point of view of operations or speeding up the operations of your business because these are fairly common applications.”
4. Implementing .htaccess rules
Enge added that generative AI can also be used to help speed up the process of implementing .htaccess rules:
“If you have somebody who’s saying that they’re GoogleBot, but they’re not from one of Google’s IP addresses, that’s generally speaking not a good thing. I don’t know explicitly what harm could come from it, but there isn’t any good that will come from it. So you can it to block those.”
“You can just routinely do a run through to find the the people who are doing that to you and then just block them. This is a pretty good thing to be able to do.”
“It came up with a bunch of great titles as prospects to use. It’s great for brainstorming ideas but I would recommend applying search volume analysis too because we don’t really have that data from ChatGPT yet.”
“But what this technology does let us do is just get some ideas of what we want from the title from the user perspective – and that’s an important perspective to bring.”
6. Producing meta descriptions
When generative AI is used to create meta descriptions, additional prompts can fine-tune the result until you’re happy with it. Enge added:
“I just kept throwing these little wrinkles at it and it gave decent suggestions for six different meta descriptions.”
“The best way to create a meta description is to create something that compels a user to want to click through – because we know it has no influence on ranking. So we want to make it enticing to the user so that they have an understanding of what they’ll get if they click on your result. Generative AI can be used to create examples that might be closer to what we might want to use.”
7. Summarizing content
Enge said generative AI is accurate when summarizing content as it carries out this task solely using content you have entered, leaving no room for confusion, date omissions or false information:
“It’s a great tool for summarizing content because there are no issues with hallucinations.”
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8. Keyword grouping
Enge also shared examples of him using ChatGPT prompts to classify and cluster keywords into groups. He added:
“It actually did quite well – although it wasn’t perfect – with classifying keyword list and groups based on their search intent for the commercial transaction.”
“However, for clustering the keywords into groups based on relevance, ChatGPT did a really good job. In fact, I would say it was 100% accurate with the answers it gave me.”
9. Content assistance
Generative AI is also a useful tool for generating content ideas. You can ask ChatGPT to create a list of popular questions related to a topic to get a list of potential article ideas:
“You can use this technique when you’re just beginning to build out a new topic area on your site. You still need to have a subject matter expert go through the details and definitely don’t assume the list it gives you is comprehensive.”
“However, it can speed up your brainstorming process and I think this is a pretty interesting aspect of this tool.”
Watch: Using ChatGPT to drive technical SEO
Below is the complete video of Enge’s SMX Advanced presentation.
“Gen Z Significantly Prefers User-Generated Content, Older Millennials Lean Toward Streaming, InMobi Insights Survey Shows,” proclaims a press release I recently read.
This headline almost drove me to start a loud, angry, uncontrolled rant, but I didn’t want to look like Abe Simpson in the “Old Man Yells at Cloud” meme.
So, let me explain quietly, rationally, and unemotionally why marketers should think twice before continuing to use outdated demographic cliches and obsolete content descriptions.
Before I do, let me provide InMobi Insights with equal time.
What types of content do Gen Z, younger millennials, and older millennials prefer?
InMobi surveyed more than 1,000 US consumers about their streaming subscription behavior and found:
Gen Z (ages 18-24) enjoys user-generated content (UGC) more than other content types. UGC was followed by music/podcasts, gaming, and TV in that order.
Younger millennials (ages 25-34) consume content across all formats equally. They don’t have a clear content preference.
Older millennials (ages 35-44) enjoy TV the most. UGC was their second choice.
In the press release, Justin Sparks, the Director of Vertical Strategy for North America at InMobi, said:
“The clear generational divide shows how the content vehicle of the time creates lasting habits and familiarity. To win over Gen Z as they come into purchasing power and boardroom and political influence, UGC will be the critical lever across the content ecosystem. You can see this with the NFL’s Sunday Ticket deal with YouTube that starts this year as they move away from a long-standing partnership with Dish TV to court Gen Z fans to the sport.”
OK, equal time is over.
Who is our target audience?
Now, I believe that one of the questions that brands and agencies should continue asking is: “Who is our target audience?”
But I also think we should start asking, “Why are we still using Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers to segment the audiences we do or don’t want to target?”
There are many ways to segment audiences. This includes specific interests and intents as well as demographics. So, why should we begin asking questions about our use of generations now?
The Pew Research Center, which has been at the forefront of generational research over the years, decided to take a step back and reconsider how they approach generations going forward.
This should be required reading for every marketer and executive at all brands and agencies in America.
Dimock said:
“At Pew Research Center, we think it can be useful to talk about generations. But there are some important considerations for readers to keep in mind whenever they come across a news story or research about generations.” These are:
Generational categories are not scientifically defined.
Generational labels can lead to stereotypes and oversimplification.
Conversations about generations often focus on differences instead of similarities.
Conventional views of generations can have an upper-class bias.
Ritson concludes, “It’s time to leave this lazy approach to segmentation behind.”
What can I add?
What is user-generated content?
While you’re reviewing your assumptions about market segmentation, you may also want to tackle another tough question: “What is user-generated content?”
Is it the type of content created by James Donaldson, also known as MrBeast? He’s one of the most successful YouTube creators, with over 163 million subscribers.
But MrBeast also has a TikTok account with 84 million followers, an Instagram account with 38.5 million followers, an X account (formerly known as Twitter) with 21.3 million followers, and a Facebook account with 4.2 million followers.
MrBeast’s content features elaborate stunts, challenges, and giving away large sums of money. For example, his most-watched video is “Would You Fly To Paris For A Baguette?”
Uploaded to YouTube on Dec. 8, 2022, it now has 853 million views and 37.9 million engagements.
It’s worth noting that this wasn’t a fluke. MrBeast has uploaded 89 videos to YouTube in the last three years, which now have 14.5 billion views and 502 million engagements.
After watching this “user-generated content” at your next marketing meeting, you might want to ask, “Why can’t we create content like this?”
If you work at a media and entertainment company, then you should pound the table and ask your team, “Why aren’t we creating content like this?”
It’s also worth knowing that Donaldson isn’t the only YouTube creator to transform user-generated content into a rewarding career.
Oxford Economics estimates that YouTube’s creative ecosystem supported more than 390,000 full-time equivalent U.S. jobs and contributed over $35 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2022.
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What is our target audience watching on TV?
Finally, you may want to ask your marketing team, “What is our target audience watching on TV?”
Yes, I’m a baby boomer. But, no, I’m not trying to turn the clock back to the “Mad Men” era.
Remember, InMobi Insights found older millennials enjoy streaming TV the most.
Near the end of the article, I reported what YouTube CEO Neal Mohan had said at Brandcast:
“We’re seeing a seismic shift in the way people consume content. More and more, viewers are tuning into YouTube on the biggest screen in their home. According to Nielsen, YouTube is the leader in streaming watch time on TV screens in the U.S.”
Although I didn’t report this at the time, Mohan added:
“Viewers – especially younger viewers – no longer make a distinction between the kind of content they’re watching. When they turn on the TV, they want everything they love in one place – from their favorite creators, to blockbuster movies, to football. And they can find it all on YouTube.”
At that event, YouTube Chief Business Officer Mary Ellen Coe talked about YouTube’s partnership with NFL Sunday Ticket and the unique opportunities YouTube was creating for fans to experience sports on YouTube and YouTube TV. She noted:
“No one does sports better than YouTube. We give you access to all the content fans love with live and on-demand and across league partnerships like the NFL, the NBA, and more. And we’re the number one sports destination for Gen Z fans.”
After making this point, Coe added:
“Tonight, I’m excited to announce a new way for fans to see game day from a creator’s perspective. We’re launching a new original Shorts series on the NFL’s YouTube channel after the football season kicks off this year, ‘NFL Creator of the Week.’”
Finally, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told the Brandcast attendees:
“Millions of football fans are on YouTube to catch all things NFL…. In fact, this past year, NFL content on the platform gained a 27% increase in watch time year-over-year, with 1.9 billion views.”
And after reviewing my notes, it turns out that Goodell added:
“NFL Sunday Ticket is only the beginning…. And creators from every content category – from fashion to food – are going to be a part of this, helping bring new audiences into the world of the NFL. One such creator is MrBeast, who’s YouTube’s biggest creator.”
My story in May mentioned that YouTube reached over 150 million people on connected TVs in the United States, according to Nielsen data.
And I added, “That’s a much bigger audience than brands and agencies can reach during the Super Bowl.”
Since then, I’ve stumbled into the definition of “co-viewing” in the Google Ads glossary. It shares this news nugget:
“Panels show that multiple people are watching YouTube together on TV screens, a consumer behavior characteristic of linear television viewership as well.”
The glossary also explains:
“When multiple people watch YouTube on a connected TV (CTV) device together and view an ad at the same time, it could lead to more impressions and reach for your campaign.”
Get it? Got it? Good.
So, who is your target audience?
If it’s Gen Z, then it turns out that YouTube is the number one sports destination for Gen Z fans.
If it’s older millennials, then YouTube is the leader in streaming watch time on TV screens in the U.S.
And if your target audience is football fans, then YouTube is now the exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket.
And as part of this partnership, YouTube creators are getting first-of-its-kind access to the NFL: their games, their clubs, and their athletes, and the fans who love them.
So, the media world is turning upside down – again. That means it’s time to start asking questions like, “Who cares if Gen Z significantly prefers user-generated content or older Millennials lean toward streaming?”
Why? Because brands and agencies can reach football fans across YouTube’s entire array of NFL content, whether they’re viewing live games on YouTube TV and Primetime Channels or watching highlights, post-game commentary, and other related content across YouTube.
If you miss this opportunity, you might end up looking like Abe Simpson in the “Old Man Yells at Cloud” meme. And you wouldn’t want that.
Do you know what your yard’s worth? If you live in California, just 30 feet could translate into six figures. That’s because revolutionary real-estate company Yardsworth is paying plenty of green for unused green space.
“Our state has a housing crisis and needs millions of homes,” says Matt Lucido, founder and CEO of Yardsworth. “For many families, their home is their largest financial asset. Historically, the only way to monetize that asset was by selling it and moving, typically to a worse area. But that’s displacement and gentrification.”
Lucido launched Yardsworth to help people stay in their homes while earning money. “Yardsworth is the opposite of displacement,” he explains. “We pay historically under-banked homeowners six-figure sums to stay in their homes, while creating thousands of new homes. We want to enable all people to live better lives in high-cost housing markets.”
How Yardsworth works
Many homeowners don’t realize how much money could be parked in their empty backyards because restrictive zoning laws used to make it impossible to build on that land. But with the recent passage of the California HOME Act (also called Senate Bill 9 or SB9), lots may be split into two, and new homes — either for sale or rent — can be constructed on them.
“Because of SB 9, homeowners could be sitting on more than a hundred thousand dollars of saleable value,” Lucido says. “Yardsworth not only shows them what their underutilized backyard space is worth, but also helps them access that value.” Toward that end, Lucido’s enterprise buys empty backyard space.
Yardsworth also takes care of all the necessary paperwork and red tape, so that homeowners don’t have to. “We handle the lot-subdivision process from A to Z,” Ludico says. “For instance, we apply to the city for parcel map updates, apply for SB9 Urban Lot Split approval, help homeowners communicate with their existing mortgage lenders, and record the final transaction. We also pay all of the fees that applicants would typically incur — which can quickly add up to approximately $75,000 — on the homeowner’s behalf.”
As Ludico explains, Yardsworth’s experienced team covers every aspect of the process, so you don’t have to. “We engage experts such as surveyors, land use consultants, architects, utility consultants, lawyers, underwriters, engineers, and data scientists, among others.”. With knowledgeable professionals in charge, every parcel is cared for and personalized with sensitivity and good taste.
For homeowners who have thought about building an income stream by adding an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), Yardsworth presents an opportunity to outsource the work of permitting and construction, as well as the ongoing headaches of being a landlord or vacation rental host. By selling part of your land instead of building an ADU, you can front-load decades of returns while unloading the hassle.
What’s your yard worth?
With Yardsworth, it’s easy for homeowners to learn what their yard could be worth — think of them as the “Zestimate” of backyard land valuations. All you need to do is enter your address at Yardsworth.com to get a valuation.
“If your backyard qualifies, we’ll send you a no-obligation, fixed-price offer for a portion of it,” Lucido explains. “If we haven’t launched in your market yet, you can get added to our waiting list.”
According to Lucido, your little patch of land may be worth a lot. “Our offers are often far more than the average median income of a family in the neighborhoods we serve,” he says. “In other words, we give them more than a year’s income for their entire family to stay in their homes. This money is usually tax-free.”
If homeowners accept the offer, they get a portion of the total as an immediate advance, and the remainder at the close of escrow. “These payments are cash and don’t require any ongoing relationship with Yardsworth,” Lucido says. “We’re not a lender. This isn’t debt. You don’t ever have to repay it.”
What will happen to the new lot?
“By law, we can only build one thing on new backyard lots: housing,” Lucido says. “We construct a small home on the new lot, usually a single-family house. If there’s enough land, we may be able to do a house plus an ADU or a small duplex. The maximum is two units in total.”
Rest assured that the law does not permit short-term or vacation rentals like VRBO or Airbnb. “The idea is to preserve neighborhood integrity,” Lucido explains. Yardsworth will either sell the new property or rent it on a long-term basis.
Similarly, Yardsworth ensures you can keep your private driveway. They typically use an alley or sideyard setback to create new access to the second lot. Sometimes new tenants might park on the street. Yardsworth also protects your privacy with a new fence that will run along the lot line.
Revitalizing urban areas
To gain access to a large infusion of cash quickly, you no longer need to contemplate selling your home.
Yardsworth promises to put hundreds of millions of dollars into homeowners’ pockets, essentially paying them to stay in their homes, while also creating the housing stock that California so desperately needs. This innovative approach will not only save existing communities, but also make housing affordable for new residents. In this way, Yardworth is turning the Golden State into gold.
Sales scripts are of questionable effectiveness. At the same time, not a single company in which there is a telephone conversation with a client can completely refuse them.
A script is a conversation template that is written adaptively for managers and is designed to help them in the process of concluding a deal with a client. All information in them is strictly structured and allows you to quickly issue an answer to any request from the interlocutor.
The downside of the script is that managers try to stick to the given script at all costs. A standardized conversation from the first seconds becomes uninteresting to a potential buyer and he hangs up. In addition, the salespeople themselves stop thinking about the thread of the conversation and how the robots pronounce the given phrases. All this leads to losses in the effectiveness of the sales department and a decrease in profits.
However, all these disadvantages have nothing to do with well-written scripts that serve as a cheat sheet for a trained and motivated manager.
Simple scripts
Incoming calls are different in that the interlocutor already has a minimal understanding of the company and understands what needs he has. It doesn’t make the conversation easy. Moreover, the success of an incoming call will be the result of all the funds spent to attract a client. Therefore, it is important to carry it out correctly.
As a rule, it is enough for a manager to have at hand a list of questions that allow entering the client’s data into the database (additional contact phone number, full name), as well as identify the purpose of the call and determine further actions with the client. If the client is a target, he is sent to a more experienced manager for an order.
Scripts of medium complexity
One of the tasks of a secretary in any organization is to protect superiors from unnecessary calls. Therefore, you should not expect that he will connect the manager with the management at the first request. As a rule, this requires resorting to tricks.
First you need to identify the decision maker (DM) about the transaction. This can be done with:
corporate website of the company;
open base of the tax inspection;
social media;
with the help of clever scripts, conduct a telephone conversation with the secretary and find out the full name of the director.
Usually, a purchasing manager or a director deals with sales issues.
The main key to increasing sales is to identify needs and the ability to satisfy them by offering your product. However, to find out what the company is interested in, it is necessary to directly contact the decision maker. To do this, you need to make friends with the secretary or outsmart him to move on to the next phase — schedule a meeting by email, for example, etc.
Honest approach
To get the opportunity to talk with decision makers during a cold call, you do not always need to be cunning or manipulated. Sometimes an honest phone call is the best solution. However, you need to approach the dialogue based on psychology. It is not enough to simulate the situation in a script. You need to choose each word correctly and not use “beacons”, which will turn on the negative in the head of the interlocutor.
Cheating options
If the secretary received the installation from above: “Cut off all calls from sellers,” then honestly it will not work to break through him. Any appeal that includes the words “manager”, “sales”, “supplier” and the like will be a signal for him to politely refuse the caller.
You can’t wait for a positive result “by dropping an offer by mail”. A successful transaction can be achieved only by contacting the decision maker. At the same time, with each unsuccessful call, the chances of success decrease. If you are aiming for large sales, you need to act accurately.
In order to understand which script template will be effective, you need to decide on the maximum and minimum goals of the call. If there is an opportunity to bypass the secretary completely, then you need to use this. Sometimes you can contact the accounting department, and after listening to the proposal, they will redirect you to the decision maker without the participation of the secretary.
Complex scripts
Аlways be closing — this is the motto of successful sales. Therefore, it is very important that the manager has a script at hand that allows not only to achieve location, but also to close the deal profitably. There are many techniques that help influence the client. You need to choose the most appropriate speech models for the promoted sales area.
Seizure of the initiative
To be able to convince a customer to buy, you need to be able to speak. So, to seize the initiative in a telephone conversation. This is important when working with active interlocutors who ask a lot of questions.
It is important to be able to ask questions and get information of interest from the client. At the same time, do not scare him away and arouse interest.
Objection
Dealing with objections always scares managers. However, one cannot make sales without encountering them. It will be very useful for beginners to have a cheat sheet on hand, which allows you not only to cut off objections, but also to turn the conversation in a beneficial way.
An important rule: Whoever asks questions leads the negotiations. Therefore, it is always necessary to seize the initiative, but without force. You need to say “Stop” to the interlocutor very correctly.
Complete phone conversation template
The success of a telephone conversation depends on the quick reaction of the sales manager. There is no time to formulate an answer and weigh phrases in psychology. The main assistant in this situation will be an arsenal of ready-made answers to each question or objection of the interlocutor. An example of a successful complete script for a telephone conversation can help you develop your own script or change the dialogue strategy.
There is no universal script. It needs to be developed only on an individual basis, evaluating the goals of the company, sales volumes and the complexity of the proposed product. The best solution is to order scripts from scratch from experienced professionals, as well as the use of software solutions from developers such as Revenue Grid and others.
