Basic Tips on Digital Photography
In digital photography, an expensive camera can not in any way guarantee that you will become a skillful photographer. It will help you to enhance your skill as a photographer, but on its own, it can not do any good. A digital camera that is handy and afordable should be able to help you take that journey through photography. Most of the digital camera out there should give a good enough features to help you capture the most memorable images that you may run in to.Some digital photography tips to help you capture stunning images that’s next to reality.While most of the digital photographers do the same thing over and over again, this is to help gain enough experience and hopefully develop the skills that they want to achieve. Should not be any different for the common people starting with digital photography. Once the digital camera comes in place, take time to figure out the specification, play with the functions, and shoot limit less number of photographs, do not care of the outcome in the beginning, but make sure to get familiarize with the digital camera.Most of the digital camera has a function to set the camera according to scenes. Fiddle around with this settings and get to know which one suits which situation. Go through the manual of the camera. Know the slightest details of the camera and its limitations.If the camera has can shoot up to 10 megapixels, shoot at its maximum setting. It is what you have paid for anyway. Normally the price of a camera increases as its pixel rating increases as well. So go ahead and capture to the camera’s maximum ability. But always remember to buy the memory card with large capacity, so that it would not limit your number of shoots.In the beginning you might take shots that is not perpendicular with the horizon. Making your images inclined. This is a result of hand movements and sometimes because of our in ability to focus straight. One way to overcome this is to again take a number of shots at one particular scene. Choose one that is you think straight enough and delete the rest.Talking about lighting, you need not go to a professional and teach you that a person behind the sun will give you an image that is more like a silhouette, some sort like a shadow. While a person facing the sun or light will give the unnatural image, and might make your subject narrowed his eyes because of the sun. The best is that if you can stand the subject perpendicular form the ray of the sun, this will give a great hair line.At times the eyes gives an undesirable shadows specially if your above the light. Make use of the flash at this situations. It is a good habit to make use of the flash in the flash mode function of your camera. Remember to get closer to your subject to give it the fill that it really needs.One of the camera setting is the Macro. It will give great dynamics to your image. Giving that exhilarating appeal. Macro mode normally gives you a shallow depth of field. Which means only the subject that you have focused will be sharpen, the rest will be soft. Explore this mode and enjoy that dynamics in your images.The self timer mode is one of the least use function of a digital camera. Use this to take an image or a scene with you being a part of that image. This function can also be use to eliminate any movements when you press that shoot button specially in longer shutter speeds.White balance is another aspect that you may want to experiment with. An auto white balance will give you a cooler images. It automatically sets the cooler color for the scene. Try shooting in manual mode, lets say in cloudy whenever it is sunny. Or night if its indoor. It will give a nice warm color image.Follow this simple steps and you might just be on the road to making every image looking like those taken by professionals. It may not be a short journey, but I can assure you that it will be worth the wait.
Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: May 22, 2006
It’s Monday May 22, 2006, and it looks like the NYSE Group (NYSE: NYX) has taken the first steps to becoming a truly global market place as they have submitted a $10 billion offer to merge with Euronext. Such a merger would create the first trans-Atlantic stock market, valued at $21 billion. While the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) has increased their stake in the London Stock Exchange to over 25% which may put them in a position to force a merger with the LSE. The world is getting smaller and the financial markets are right in the middle of it.The NAMC Newswire’s “Wall Street to Main Street” segment in its entirety is only available to subscribers. Don’t miss out and Keep in mind that all subscriptions are free and will remain that way. All that you need to do is go to http://www.namcnewswire.com and add your email address to receive the full segments. We value your privacy and all email addresses are only used for NAMC related items and not shared with any third parties.We want to give our listeners/readers a voice, so we are going to try something new on “Wall Street to Main Street”. We want to hear from you but not only to ask questions but also to make comments about various companies. We are going to give our listeners/readers a voice on “Wall Street to Main Street” by including their brief outlook on the companies that they may own or follow. This is only extended to those that are subscribers to “Wall Street to Main Street”, so you need to register in order to participate, it’s FREE. All that you need to do is either shoot us out an email using our contact form on our website at http://www.namcnewswire.com or give us a call toll free at 888-463-9237 between the hours of 6:30pm and 12am EST weekdays. Your question or comment could be a part of the Wall Street to Main Street radio show that is syndicated daily.Remember that you can always listen to the NAMC Radio on Streetiq.com, the leader in financial podcast. http://www.streetiq.com and is also available on iTunes.Political FrontVietnam is making headway as they are seeking to become part of the World Trade Organization. Their first step is the preparation to sign a trade agreement with the United States in June, this would be a first step in them reaching their goal of joining the World Trade Organization.Even though Germany and China both agree that a diplomatic resolution must be attained in the Iran uranium enrichment situation, Iran is not open to suggestions. They have adamantly stated that they are not only going to continue the enrichment but they intend to increase it on an industrial level. This just makes a tense situation worse.The U.S. Attorney General Gonzales has commented that he believes that any journalist that publishes classified information could be prosecuted. What ever happened the First Amendment, if the government begins to dictate what can or cannot be reported on then how can journalist actually be credible?, that’s a question that the people should bring to capital hill.President Bush is pushing for congress to pass the immigration bill, but many think that the plan may do little or nothing to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexican border. I guess if there is a will there is a way but it should reduce the attempts.Movers and ShakersSome major movers in Fridays trading session included Titanium Metals (NYSE: TIE) which traded up $4.06 to close at $35.05, Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) which traded up $2.43 to close at $21.70, Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) a stock that we have featured on “Wall Street to Main Street” as a stock on the move, it traded up $3.60 to close at $34.95 after a Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) deal was struck, Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) traded up $2.44 to close at $24.58, British Airways (NYSE: BAB) flew upward as it traded up $5.61 to close at $66.16, First Avenue Networks (NASDAQ: FRNS) traded up $2.93 to close at $15.44, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) another stock that we featured on “Wall Street to Main Street” traded up $6.51 to close at $56.22, Focus Media (NASDAQ: FMCN) which we mentioned may be looking to have a presence in the Untied States and one suitor may be Impart Media Group (OTCBB: IMMG) the stock traded up $7.46 to close at $69.18, Supertex (NASDAQ: SUPX) traded up $3.30 to close at $39.91 and Darwin (AMEX: DR) traded up $2.76 to close at $18.76.Analyst Upgrades/DowngradesRecent Analyst upgrades include Microchip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP) which was upgraded to a Buy from a Neutral by UBS, Mattel (NYSE: MAT) was upgraded to an Outperform from a Market Perform by Ryan Beck & Co, United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) was upgraded to a Buy from a Hold by Stifel Nicolaus, Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE: CY) was upgraded to a Buy from a Neutral by UBS and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) was upgraded to an Outperform by Piper Jaffray.Recent Analyst downgrades include Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) which was downgraded to an Equal Weight from an Overweight by Lehman Brothers, St Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) was downgraded to a Hold from a Buy by Deutsche Bank Securities, American tower (NYSE: AIV) was downgraded to an Outperform from a Buy to a Neutral by Merrill Lynch and Midwest Express (AMEX: MEH) was downgraded to a Market Perform from an Outperform by Raymond James.Analyst Coverage Initiations include Allegheny Energy (NYSE:AYE) which was initiated with a Hold rating by AG Edwards, Alexandria Real Estate (NYSE: ARE) was initiated with an Under Perform rating by RBC Capital, Embarq (NYSE: EQ) was initiated with a Hold rating by AG Edwards and an Equal Weight rating by Merrill Lynch and Formfactor (NASDAQ: FORM) was initiated with a Buy rating and a $47 price target by Citigroup Investment Research.Tid BitsWal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is exiting stage left from the competitive South Korean market as they have agreed to sell its 16 stores to South Korea’s largest discount store chain Shinsegae Co. for 825 billion won, or $882 million. Wal-Mart said the decision to withdraw was part of its global growth strategy.Barron’s ran a feature on Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) over the weekend and stated that Yahoo has a massive audience online at a time when advertisers are shifting to online marketing or increasing their online marketing efforts. They also made mention of the fact that Yahoo has been overshadowed by Googles (NASDAQ: GOOG) success and this has led Yahoo to its 52 week low. There is no doubt that Yahoo is cheap at this point, it is definitely a $45 stock disguised as a $29 or $30 stock, but that may not be realized until they show their current efforts adding to their bottom line.Last Week Home Depot (NYSE: HD) announced that they were looking to acquire a small bank called EnerBank USA from CMS Energy Corp. (NYSE: CMS). This acquisition would allow Home Depot to issue uncollateralized loans to contractors to keep the revenues flowing. This is something similar to what Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is trying to do but on a different scale, you can expect Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) to follow suit in the near future.And the beat goes on…., more companies are being investigated in the ever growing stock options probe that we continue to hear about. The latest to join the party is KLA-Tencor Corp (NASDAQ: KLAC), they are citing that back in 2001, that’s right they are going back in time on all of these companies, but back in 2001 the cite that KLA-Tencor issued stock options to their top executives twice during the year both at the stocks low point for the first and second half of the year. They also add that the Chairman of KLA, Ken Levy received 10 stock optin grants from 1994-2001 and all preceded recent rises in the stock price. So I think that Levy has a slight problem now. Another added to the list was Boston Communications Group (NASDAQ: BCGI), as they join the likes of Comverse Tech (NASDAQ: CMVT), UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) and others.Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is tying in with Lenovo Group to offer pay as you go computer service to those people living in developing countries. They are beta testing “FlexGo”, which is a pay per hour computer use service. They plan on launching this service in Brazil shortly and in the coming months expanding into Mexico, China, Russia and India. This is an effort on Microsoft’s part to get a strong footing in the up and coming nations that would eventually be users of their products. They are nurturing a market that they will try to dominate in the years to come.Since satellite radio was introduced, with Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) leading the pack, you needed to be plugged in to your home or car stereo system to use it. But XM has changed all that recently as they introduced the world’s first portable XM Radio/MP3 Player portable device, it’s called “XM2go”, no computer is required You will now be able to take your XM radio with you to the gym, on your jog or on the bus or train ride to work. Pioneer is the technology company behind the unit, and the unit is set to work with Napster (NASDAQ: NAPS) and not the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPod. So companies that should be looked at are flash memory makers, as this is what drives the unit and not a hard drive. I wonder if Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) will be supplying the chips.FURIOUS FIVEThis is the Firstof our “Furious Five” companies that we see excelling in their industry in 2006. The company to kick off this weeks “Furious Five” is Gymboree Corp (NASDAQ: GYMB) it trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol GYMB.For our outlook, and other vital information on the companies that we feature as the “FURIOUS FIVE” on Wall Street to Main Street just subscribe for FREE at http://www.namcnewswire.comWe cannot stress enough that investors need to do their due diligence, call the companies, get the information, consult with your investment advisor and if you do not have one consider getting one. Put the same time into investigating these companies as you do when you go to purchase a new television, it’s only for your protection. When it comes to thinly traded securities stagger your orders or put a limit order in to avoid a run up.NAMC Newswire NoteGo to the NAMC Newswire for updates at http://www.namcnewswire.com and you can listen to the NAMC Radio for the audio version of “Wall Street to Main Street” at http://www.namcnewswire.com/namcradioTo register to receive the Wall Street to Main Street Free Daily Newsletter Click Here or go to our site and click on the Newsletter section. http://www.namcnewswire.com/newsletter
CEO’s that want to contact us can do so by going to http://www.namcnewswire.com or call us at 888-463-9237.Louis VictorNAMC Newswire888-463-9237Disclaimer:
None of the information contained on the NAMC Newswire constitutes a recommendation by the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, nor its parent company that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific investors or person. Each individual investor must make their own independent decisions regarding any security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio Any past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. The NAMC Newswire, its journalist nor its parent company does not guarantee any specific outcome or profit, and all investors should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investments featured on the NAMC Newswire or the NAMC Radio. The strategy or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value and investors may get back less than you invested. Before acting on any information featured on the NAMC Newswire website or the NAMC Radio segment, investors should consider whether it is suitable for their particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from their own financial or investment adviser. Investors are also urged to do their own due diligence before investing in any security.All opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio are based upon information that is considered to be reliable, but neither the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, its parent company, affiliates nor assigns warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. The statements and opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire by its journalist are based on their outlook at the time of the statement or opinion, and are subject to change without notice. NAMC may at times hold a position in the companies that it features, in these cases appropriate disclosure is made.
Review of FreeStockCharts a Streaming Online Stock Charting Software
FreeStockCharts.com (formerly BestFreeCharts.com) is, in my opinion, the best free stock charting software. Actually, I believe FreeStockCharts.com is head and shoulders above most stock charts by online brokers on their websites and other expensive stock charting software. If you’re still using Yahoo! Finance for charts and checking the price of a stock, you’re living in a cave (no offense to the Geico Caveman).FreeStockCharts.com’s parent company, Worden, took their flagship charting software package TeleChart 2007 (a.k.a. TCnet) and opened it to the public free to use. For many professional investors and traders, TeleChart 2007 is the top choice for charting software. FreeStockCharts.com has a database of over 7000 stocks.*Note: Latest 15-minutes of real-time data is provided by the BATS exchange that currently accounts for 12% of market volume.The top 3 features that set FreeStockCharts.com apart:1. Real-Time charts and data for over 7000 U.S. stocks, some foreign markets, all major forex pairs, and market internals data (such as the NYSE advance/decline statistics Mark Haines announces every morning on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street). Make big watchlists of stocks you’re interested in and see all of the price changes in real-time.2. Browser-based desktop-quality stock chart software right in your browser. No more worries about downloading, installing, and updating software. We are entering the age of cloud computing where all the expensive equipment and software are stored on some far away server. All you need is to turn on your browser, on any computer from anywhere, and access all your data online. Google is doing it to email with Gmail, tradeMONSTER has done it with the first browser-based broker & platform, and Worden is doing it to stock charting software with FreeStockCharts.com.3. Access your personal watchlist and chart configurations all online. You have to register for the free account so they know who is customizing the settings, but once you do, all your latest updates will be saved. If you add certain indicators or draw trendlines on a specific chart, Apple (AAPL) for example, those lines and indicator settings will stay. You can access that chart from any computer from anywhere, not just on your computer anymore. Same with your watchlists. Make a list for the top stocks you want to trade, make another for market data. All of these settings will be accessible whether you’re traveling or at a friend’s house just borrowing their computer.ChartsThe charts are clean and easy to see. Several options are available to customize the look of the chart by editing the “price history” properties. Choose from the standard plot styles: Line Chart, OHLC (Open High Low Close) Bar Chart, HLC (High Low Close) Bar Chart, CandleStick Charts, Bar Charts, and Area Charts.To cover users of all preferences, FreeStockCharts went overboard and provides a ton of ways you can view the stock’s chart and data. I haven’t seen many charting software that allows you to see these some of these lesser-used timeframes like the 3-day chart or 7-day chart. The time frame simply refers to the amount of time each bar or candle covers. For example, a bar on a 3-day chart shows the price range of that stock for 3 days.Intraday Time Frames: 1-minute chart (yes! for hyperactive day traders/scalpers!), 2-minute, 5-minute, 10-minute, 15-minute, 30-minute, and 1-hour. Daily Time Frames: Daily, 2-day, 3-day, 4-day, Weekly, 6-day, 7-day, 8-day, 9-day, Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly charts (for those investors who live forever). When you move beyond looking at just 1 stock on 1 timeframe, FreeStockCharts allow a lot of freedom to customize your workspace.Tools & IndicatorsFreeStockCharts.com comes equipped with a full collection of 25 charting tools and 68 of the most common indicators. The main thing that FreeStockCharts.com lacks compared to top charting softwares is the ability to code your own indicators or install proprietary indicators such as John Person’s PPS indicator. If you want to code your own indicators, alerts, and autotrade, you will have to trade up to the likes of TradeStation, E-Signal, TD Ameritrade’s thinkorswim, NinjaTrader, or RealTick.The basic tools allow you to navigate the chart and mark the chart for your own reference: cross (see the price and indicator statistics), plain, pan, erase, text, ellipse, rectangles, and arrows. Technical analysis tools include: trend, fibonacci arc, fibonacci fan, fibonacci retracement, fibonacci time, Andrew’s pitchfork, error channels, Gann fans, horizontal lines, Quadrant lines, Raff regression channels, regression channels, regression lines, speed line, tirone levels, and vertical lines.You can customize the indicator according to each indicator’s specifics, but also the color, period, and positioning of the indicators. Particularly cool is the ability to apply certain indicators ON TOP of other indicators. For example, you can apply moving averages to just about any indicator. Advanced traders may find that useful if they use moving averages to filter and manipulate the original indicator one level further to find the patterns they find useful. It is amazing FreeStockCharts lets you export any and all data displayed on the chart.Watchlists and NewsFor veteran users of TeleChart 2007, you’ll know Worden’s extensive data isn’t limited to stock prices but also company financial data. FreeStockCharts, like TeleChart 2007, can build customizable watchlists based the the stock’s price, the price change, but also countless corporate financial data such as earnings, return on assets (ROA), sales growth, etc. Before you make your own watchlist, check out the countless standard watchlists that come with FreeStockCharts – they organize stocks in just about every way you can think of. The news panel shows you constant updates of headlines related to the stock you’re currently focused on in the chart. Like a lite version of SkyGrid, this panel brings the news to you instead of you having to go to several news sites.
How To Read Stock Symbols
Over the last ten years, an entire industry has developed covering, researching, and analyzing the stock market. Once considered a niche market, represented only by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News, the financial media has experiences explosive growth. From cable news networks, like CNBC and financial aggregate sites like MSN Money, Google Finance, and Yahoo Finance, to popular broker and investment blogs, financial news is no longer niche. It is mainstream, accessible, and important for every investor.Today, many investors are utilizing online platforms and discount investment firms in order to keep more of their money in their pockets. Brokers charge hefty commissions and fees, which can drain an investor’s account. With some basic information and research, the average investor can make a profit without the help and assistance of a broker.Basically, your stock represents your share in the ownership of the company and it is your claim on any future earnings and dividends. Buying stock in a company shows that you are interested in its long-term success. Profits are eventually paid out in dividends, and the more stock you own, the more dividends you receive. Choosing a successful stock means that an investor should have a basic understanding of basic business principles and models.The most efficient way to research stocks is to use their stock symbol. The stock or trading symbol is an abbreviation traders and investors use to identify a company. These symbols incorporate letters, numbers, or both. While most symbols are three letters, some are four, and occasionally, company’s use only one letter as their stock symbol. These symbols were originally used on the ticker tape when stocks were traded on paper.Some of the more popular symbols include AAPL (Apple), GOOG (Google), (KO) Co ca-Co la, and TGT (Target). Some companies inject some humor or some homage into their symbols. Southwest Airline pays homage to its home field, Dallas Love Field (LUV) with their stock symbol. Legendary piano manufacturer Steinway remembers the great Ludwig Von Beethoven with its symbol, LVB. Harley Davidson uses HOG and the auction house Sotheby’s uses BID.These symbols can change to reflect mergers and acquisitions as well. When Hewlett-Packard merged with Compaq the new company assumed the stock symbol HPQ. Wireless and internet giant ATT is represented simply by the letter T, reflective of the company’s original business model.Sometimes, the symbol is followed by a “period”. This “behind the dot” notation and special codes are represented of the type of stock being offered. Class “A” stock is represented by the letter A, X indicates a mutual fund, and K notes common, or nonvoting stock. Pink sheet stocks and over the counter stocks (.PK), NASDQ small cap stocks (SC) and NASDQ National Market (NM) all have behind the dot notations.Investors can find the stock symbols by executing a simple internet search, and use the stock symbols to keep track of the stock’s activity and movement. Stock quotes are important when looking for real time stock quotes.
Travel Risk Management: Are You Ready for a Crisis?
Introduction If you know that business travel is not without its risk and the potential for crisis, then you need to read this article. In this article we are going to talk about the management and containment of crisis as it relates to travellers and travel managers. The objective of this article is to share with you the collective knowledge on managing crisis and significantly improve your ability to identify and manage a crisis but also improve your business travel efficiency.During this article I am going to discuss travel risk myths, crisis management, plans and options so you can immediately compare or improve your own travel risk management system for your travellers or travel management department.Crisis by definition is something you didn’t have a plan for or something in which you are unprepared. Additionally, it can be a series of events that in concert create a crisis. Events or issues that occur, to which you have a plan and strategy, is merely an incident.Crisis Management/Leadership The first thing is to clarify what is the difference between crisis management and leadership. More importantly, which one is the more important?Crisis management relates to the response to event/s that threaten your business, travellers or travel activity. The event leads and you follow with plans, decisions and actions.Crisis leadership, on the other hand, is more about getting ahead of the events and issues to prevent, management and even contain the impact to your business or business travel activities. While management is a portion of the leadership demand, your actions and involvement lead the outcomes rather than a more passive wait and act approach with pure crisis management.Crisis leadership is the less practiced of the two, but the most significant in terms of results and reduction in risk and impact. If you take nothing else away from this session, it should be that your focus should always be on Crisis Leadership, not crisis management.Myths There are many myths and half-truths about crisis, disruption and threats within the travel management sector. Much of this misinformation has originated from travellers themselves, media, travel managers, friends and family or so called “experts”.For example, many travellers and planners are focused on terrorism. The reality is, you have a very, very small chance of being exposed or affected directly by a terrorist act. It doesn’t mean you should discount it as a threat altogether but it shouldn’t dominate your plans or processes if not a proportional threat to you and your travellers. Conversely, almost everyone overlooks motor vehicle accidents. Yet, they happen far more frequently, can have devastating affect on travellers and are the least common plan contained within company travel management departments.Travellers and travel managers must be prepared, educated and have supporting plans for any event that has the potential to delay, disrupt or harm the traveller or the business.The most common events include:
Motor vehicle accidents
Airline delays or cancellations
Airport closures or disruptions
Transport delays
Bad weather
Sickness and illness
Petty crimes
Hotel fires
Political disputes
Demonstrations and gatherings
Motor vehicle accidents within your own country can be stressful and dangerous but on an overseas business trip they can be 100 times more challenging and dangerous. Consider language, local authorities, first responder, standard of healthcare, families and support in your plans and initial response.Airline delays and cancelations. They happen all the time but they are not just an administrative response. You may need to consider safety, transport, quarantines, security threats, government response and wide spread suspension of services to overcome the issue and maintain safety of your travellers.Airport closures or disruptions. Failed systems, electrical problems, threats, weather, construction and so on can prevent you even getting to your flight. Consider the impact this has on your plans and how your traveller will need to possibly extend stay, move to alternate airport or find accommodation.All other transport delays and disruptions can create crisis when everyone no longer has access to trains, buses, key roads or even water transport. Have a plan and add it to your immediate decision making process.2010 and the commencement of 2011 has seen travel of all kind affected by natural disasters and weather. Weather and natural forces have and always will impact travellers. It does and will continue to occur. It is highly concerning how unprepared travellers and companies are for volcanic eruptions, typhoons, floods, earthquakes and general bad weather.People get sick or feel unwell all the time. This is compounded significantly when travelling. Standard of care, language, access, cost, complications, choice and numerous other location based concerns will determine just how at risk your traveller will be. A single, “one-size-fits-all” plan or solution will fail and you need to be aware of these issues immediately with the onset of an affected traveller.Crimes are a reality of any city in the world. However, travellers seldom know the risks and may be preyed upon by thieves and criminals. The loss of phones, money, and other items may seem less likely to constitute a crisis but when overseas, injured or not able to speak the local language, all these simple events can create a major concern for your business travellers. This can be amplified if you have a senior executive or a group of executives affected.Hotel fires and emergencies are more common than most people think. The immediate threat to an individual is fairly obvious but the impact that the lack of accommodation choices can create from the temporary or permanent closure of a hotel is a much bigger concern. This was graphically displayed during the Mumbai terror attacks (as extra ordinary as the event was) when most of the best/preferred hotels were now unavailable in a key part of the city. This removed thousands of rooms for business travellers and forced many to cancel or significantly alter travel plans just because there were a lack of suitable accommodation options, whether affected by the events or not.Any event that alters the political stability of a location or region or results in thousands of people out on the streets constitutes a risk to your business travel plans and travellers. They can happen spontaneously or take time to develop. The immediate dangers and the ongoing disruption can have a major impact on your business or traveller.Again, plans, preparation and thought to these issues will greatly reduce the impact and improve your business too.Now that we have removed the most common misconceptions, let’s focus on the management and containment of a crisis.Crisis management The key to successful crisis management is planning, training, plans, decision-making and adaptability.Planning Given the issues previously covered, you now have a better insight into how and why planning is important to remove the more emotive issues from the realities of real business threats and events.Planning needs to include multiple departments and perspectives to be truly effective. One of the greatest weaknesses I see regularly is that departments continue to manage the risk of travel through multiple departments with multiple plans. The input and plan needs to be unified. Depending on the company, it may include travel managers, security, HR, finance, marketing, C-suite and operations.All plans need to be continuously updated, location specific, aide in the decision-making process and modular enough have elements extracted quickly and effectively. Modern, effective plans embrace technology. Rapid, efficient access to information, along with running updates is the hallmarks of a modern sustainable plan, regardless of the size of the issue or the company.Training No plan is effective without training and rehearsal. Training, whether through simulations, drills or live, full-scale exercises are vital to the success of any crisis situation. Such sessions don’t need to be boring or overly complicated but must include travel managers and planners along with the more common crisis and emergency managers.Increasingly, training is becoming a mandatory requirement for key positions and roles. It can be linked to internal HR processes but must support the business objectives and measurable on how it reduces the risk to people, business, brand and travel demands.While the plan creates the framework for crisis decision-making, teams can learn a lot from training on how and when to adapt their plans. How the team interacts, strength, weakness, leaders, followers, limitations, tools and many more planned and surprise outcomes are possible with effective training.Adaptations No plan will completely script all the events, issues and options available for every plausible travel delay, disruption or crisis. You need to be able to adapt and evolve from the original plan and intention. This can only be achieved with planning, plans and training.Solutions So what do I need in my plan?Here is the best travel risk management content for your plan:
Objective(the single most important part of any travel policy)
References
Scope
Legal
Insurance
Finance
Reimbursements
Limits
Priority/precedence
Management Authority/ies
Situations
Procedure will likely cover:
Planning
Resources
Tools
Authority
Executive Decision making
Limits
Budgets
Training
Compliance
Pre-trip admin
Providers
Booking
Accommodation
Airlines
Ground Transport
Safety and Security
Health and wellness
Emergency
SOP/Actions on
Insurance
Travel Monitoring /tracking
Reporting
HR
Entitlements
Threat/risk levels
Shelter in Place
Relocations/evacuations
Management Authority
Review
Don’t forget your risk assessment will need to include the key elements:
Traveller
Location
Activity
Support/Resources
Response
ConclusionThere you have it. Now you know what is required, how do you rate your current plans and preparedness?You now have the most relevant issues and areas to focus upon that will reduce or contain the majority of incidents you may face your travellers will be safer, your business more profitable and your costs will be contained by reducing your exposure to expensive crisis events.We have debunked popular travel threat myths, identified the difference between crisis management and leadership, outlined plans and options so you can immediately compare or improve your own travel risk management system for your travellers or travel management department. Review your plans and make the immediate improvements.You will know when you have an effective crisis management system for your travel risk management strategy when you have little to no crisis.You may have numerous events or incidents but you have a plan, you’re prepared and your decision making is fast and consistent. If not, you have failed and you will run from crisis to crisis on a regular basis.
Is “Content Marketing” the New “Promised Land”?
Content, Content, Content… it’s the new buzz word in marketing circles these days. Since Social Media isn’t living up to its claims for many companies, they are looking for the new “silver bullet”… which now happens to be “Content Marketing or Content Management.” Is it the new found Promised Land for marketing?I would encourage you to think a bit broader and deeper when it comes to a discussion about Content Marketing. We have to remind ourselves that “Content Marketing” is actually just a “TOOL” with a Bigger Purpose if used correctly. Like many of the other traditional, digital, and social media “tools” already being used, this one can fit into the same category… unless you THINK DIFFERENTLY.Start with the concept that generally, “Marketing ruins everything.” OK, I know this will get some people’s feathers ruffled and for others of you, you will say Amen, it is completely accurate. The point I want to make is that when marketing gets a hold of “a new thing (tool)” they tend to do two things to it… over use it and use it incorrectly. Content Marketing probably won’t be any different so it will follow the same path at some point in the future… unless you treat it differently.If you think of Content Marketing as a “tool” you are missing the point and its value.There are two concepts in marketing… “PUSH” and “PULL” marketing. All traditional marketing was designed as “Push”… shoving out lots of ads and other information to the audience. This worked amazingly well in the Industrial Revolution when there weren’t any other options for the consumer to hear about products and services. Ad agencies were born and raked in millions of dollars on the backs of this approach. It has essentially died when we left the Industrial Revolution behind and entered into the Internet/Digital Revolution.Unfortunately, many people in marketing didn’t get this was happening right under their nose. Instead, they saw a whole bunch of new “tools” called Social Media show up that they thought were simply a new and improved way to “push” their information to the customer. They were wrong. The customer initially thought this was pretty cool and welcomed the new way of getting information… then marketing ruined it. They started shoving everything they could… faster and in more volume… than they ever had before. They thought this would work… it didn’t. It was still “push marketing” only using a different tool called Social Media instead of direct mail, TV, radio, magazines, billboards, and a host of other traditional media tools.The audience grew up and learned how they wanted to receive information and it wasn’t by having billions of pieces thrown at them through every channel they were on… they learned where the “off switch” was and turned off this barrage of messaging. The numbers have been declining steadily and marketing is wondering why their audience doesn’t want to see their valuable ads and self-promotional information. They really never did…Enter Content Marketing as a new way to “push” more information to the customer. It is new because it actually involves content… something of substance (written, video, podcast, etc.). The consumer is asking for this… they want to learn more but invest less time in consuming the information. Once again we are seeing most marketing groups seeing the next “Promised Land” and as such are shoving more and more “content” to their audience. The right concept… wrong execution.The content isn’t RELEVANT, HELPFUL, or TIMELY for their audience… it is just once again voluminous amounts of information… much of what we can already get by doing a search. This is where marketing stands to “ruin content marketing” as they have done for so many other forms of media.But there is a solution… “PULL MARKETING.”Pull Marketing is all about the “customer WANTING the information you have because it is relevant, helpful, and timely and so they PULL it to them… when they want and how they want.” This is an entirely different way to think about marketing. It is marketing the customer actually wants in their life because it is VALUABLE to them.CONTENT MARKETING is an absolutely amazing way to create an effective PULL MARKETING strategy and execute it in a way the customer will love. Now companies have the opportunity to truly understand their customers wants and needs and anticipate what will be helpful and relevant in their lives and then give this to them in a timely manner. When marketing adopts this mindset, they have crossed over from the old traditional “push” process and adopted a completely different strategy of “pull” into their strategy.THIS WORKS… AND THE CUSTOMER IS BEGGING YOU FOR IT.Content Marketing can be the next PROMISED LAND for your marketing and company efforts… if you adopt a “PULL MARKETING” strategy and erase the “PUSH” strategy from your brain. Content marketing is absolutely something that your audience will love and reward you for when developed with a PULL MARKETING STRATEGY. It is what they want… marketing just has to understand this and not screw it up again.What will you do as the leader of your company… the business owner and CEO? Will you allow your marketing to be done the old traditional way and lose the immense value in front of you that you could benefit from by using a “PULL CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY?” I believe the leadership team needs to direct the marketing function to be more OBSESSED with their CUSTOMERS and give them the ability to create a powerful PULL MARKETING strategy… using CONTENT as the core. Today leadership teams need to be more involved in marketing than ever before.Today it can help to significantly solidify your brand, create true differentiation, and endear your customers to you in ways your competition can’t… this is where marketing and customer obsession can become your true competitive advantage. When this happens, Content Marketing can become the new PROMISED LAND for your company… and your customers will reward you both with business and much more WORD-OF-MOUTH… and we all know this is the ultimate success for marketing and the organization overall.Will you adopt and drive a PUSH or PULL strategy as a leader of your company? This is an excellent time and opportunity to put your company in front of the pack of competitors.
3 Healthcare Marketing Secrets You Never Knew
Marketing a healthcare business is tough! the Healthcare Industry is a unique field because while you deal with the very sensitive nature of your patients’ treatment, which often frighten you, make you vulnerable or confuse you, you also work in a very scientific and avant-garde industry where treatments, tools and systems in constant evolution. Today, healthcare providers are rarely caught up in the new health marketing strategy and sales processes or respond to technological advances.The healthcare marketing landscape has shifted dramatically the past decade with the increase of technology tools, social media, and digital devices. A recent article for Socialnomics quotes Tricia Wilkerson, Senior Marketing Specialist at Conifer Health Solutions, on the state of B2B Marketing in the Healthcare industry: “Healthcare is notoriously behind other industries when responding to technological advances and audience expectations, so it remains important that marketers push the industry with smart trend adoption.”Here are some important stats to consider as you begin planning out your marketing strategy:• As of 2016, there were more than 326 million people in the U.S. Each one of them with their own personality and each one of them a potential patient.• 52% of smartphone users gather health-related data from a smartphone.• 91% of adults have their smartphone within arm’s reach 24/7.• According to recent Facebook data, the number one most asked for recommendation is a doctor or a healthcare provider.• There are 8.2 billion health-related video views on YouTube.As in many B2B industries, long sales cycles can mean change comes slowly to marketing strategy. So, to make it a little easier for you, here are some essential truths we’ve discovered about healthcare marketing. Here are the three healthcare marketing secrets and how they can rejuvenate your business:#1 Research and Define Your Ideal CustomersWhen you try to reach a particular audience, your success depends on how deeply you can guide them. Focusing on a certain segment of the market to generate and attract potential customers will not only help you polish your marketing, but also ensure that the customer association you get from your sales and marketing operations will have a better success rate.How to Reach Your Target Audience in the Healthcare Industry?If you are looking to improve your health care marketing, you may have realized that not all messages will be adapted to all audiences. Partnering with a marketing professional with health care experience is always a smart strategy. Before doing anything else, you need to consider your audience:• For whom are you creating this report?• What do they want to know?• What will they do with the information?For any organization and practice of medical care of all kinds (hospitals, manufacturers, doctors and surgeons, dentists, pharmacists or groups), the more specifically the target audience defined, the greater their capacity to inspire a positive response.Once you have identified your targeted audiences, it is helpful to gather some information about them. This information can help you determine the information needs of your audience, how you can communicate with them more effectively, and where and how you can contact them.#2 Create Valuable ContentHow do healthcare marketers develop and promote relevant content? First, they must understand the needs of clients by building insight through primary research, syndicated sources, and behavior analysis. Next, they need to create content that meets their needs, such as video, blogs, articles and supports brand objectives. Finally, promote content in the media where customers interact and share.According to a new report, 85% of healthcare B2B marketers have a content marketing strategy, but only 4% believe their programs are extremely effective.For a healthcare marketer focused on a pediatric service line, creating helpful content could mean writing an educational article on the merits and concerns of pediatric psychology. When planning to increase content production when the vast majority does not believe that their content marketing efforts are highly effective, B2B marketing specialists are potentially prepared for failure.Content marketing nurtures a long-term relationship with customers, which is critical in the medical industry.3 Tips to Grow Your Healthcare Company with Content Marketing:1. Know what your customers want to learn2. Be a healthcare industry leader3. Capitalize on current eventsThe following tips will set you up with the knowhow you need to produce better content for your readers. Content marketing is an excellent way to both position your healthcare company as a thought leader and to generate new leads and customers for your business. Be creative and offer information that provides real insight for your customers.Target Ideal Buyers with ContentCreating and sharing successful Healthcare marketing content is all about your audience: who you’re speaking to and what you’re trying to say. To make the most out of your healthcare services, you first have to define the group of people you’re creating your content for and what they’ll find useful about it. Content marketing involves creating and sharing quality content that is specifically designed to attract your target customers. If you’re not sure how to get started with your content marketing strategy, we can help! Here’s how to target your buyer persona through content marketing.• Defining And Developing Buyer Personas• Consider The Buying Team• Mapping Content To The Buyer’s JourneyThe beauty of the specific content is that it was created with a specific group in mind to enjoy and learn from the way they prefer to consume content. Without a persona-based content marketing initiative, you run the risk of allowing your competitors to influence buyers by talking about their needs and addressing uncertainties through specific content, which increases the consideration of purchases as along the road.That’s especially true for B2B healthcare marketers, many of whom face more complicated, longer sales cycles, making their challenges with consistent and compelling content creation all the more problematic. With that in mind, there is a lot for B2B marketers in other industries to learn from the world of health marketing. Be sure to always involve a specific target audience through different channels and remain relevant.
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