By Jeff Maling ,Rod Fertig And Arun Muthupalaniappan There are few business leaders around the world not thinking about digital transformation in some shape or form. Whether improving omni-channel commerce or developing digital extensions to product lines, businesses are working out how to drive profitability through digital. But traditional metrics might underestimate the impact of digital, leaving companies vulnerable to aggressive competitors or pure-play disruptors. Many managers are missing digital signals that could help them better compete. Armed with a hypothesis that the stock market was undervaluing digital, we sought to create the largest known repository of digital data on U.S. companies. Our aim was to prove the link between digital strength and shareholder value, and do so in a way that passes the rigorous standards of hedge funds. We looked at the top 1,000 U.S. public companies, mapped every digital property for those companies, collected 75 billion digital consumer interactions…

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By Gee Ranasinha Saying you have a “startup” is sexy. Saying you have a small business? Meh… Just as you’re trying to enjoy your Kale smoothie in peace, you bump into yet another self-proclaimed entrepreneur boasting about their new startup. How their company is set to become the Uber of Augmented Reality Cat Litter Delivery By Edge Cloud Artificial Intelligence-Enriched Drone™. How their mission is to change the world, one organically-grown matcha latte at a time. It’s enough to put you off your avocado on toast.But while they’re clearing space in the spare bedroom to launch the next unicorn, the truth is that 90% of these people don’t have a startup. In the best case, they have a small business. In the worst case, they have a hobby. Just Because It’s A New Small Business Doesn’t Make It A Startup Wikipedia defines a startup company as “…an entrepreneurial venture which…

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By Neil Patel When it comes to marketing, exposure is the name of the game.Having high-quality content is great, but it means nothing if there’s no one actually reading it.With that in mind, it’s no wonder that brands and businesses from all over the world are doing everything in their power to increase their exposure on social media.At this point, there are a variety of ways that you can do this. While certain tactics, like using social media ads or relying on organic traffic, can certainly be helpful, there’s nothing quite like word of mouth to get people talking about your product or service.The average consumer today is more likely to do business with you if there are other people willing to vouch for your business. Just take a look at the data that Impact found, analyzing the importance of word-of-mouth marketing.Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool, but it’s difficult…

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Originally by https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/news/paypal-m-pesa-ink-deal-ease-online-payments/ Safaricom users will now be able to make transactions online thanks to a partnership with conglomerate PayPal, an online global payment platform and TransferTo, a cross-border mobile payments network. The new service will allow movement of funds between M-Pesa and PayPal accounts, a huge boost to eCommerce. Qualifying M-Pesa customers in Kenya can link their PayPal accounts to their M-Pesa wallets, enabling them to easily buy goods and services from merchants around the World. “M-Pesa’s collaboration with PayPal will open up global marketplaces and the global economy to millions of Kenyan and Kenyan-based businesses and individuals. Beyond money transfers, this development ushers in a new era of speed and convenience beyond borders, as we work towards innovating robust platforms through which more entrepreneurs and consumers can benefit from the growing eCommerce industry”, said Joseph Ogutu, Director – Strategy, Safaricom. To make online purchases, customers will be required to…

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By Patrick Gillooly Resources ,especially your time are precious commodities when you’re a small business owner.When push comes to shove, you can’t afford to spend time on anything that doesn’t directly benefit your bottom line and grow your business.This is why many businesses don’t invest much time in their social media strategies. But the truth is that social media can help you grow your business, and you should be active on social media despite the challenges of quantifying its impact. And I promise you don’t need to dedicate hours each day to make it work for you. In fact, smart small businesses focus on where their most-profitable audiences live. They also create a social media strategy that turns ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’ into dollars and cents. Let’s look at three ways you can use social media to grow your business: 1. Increase awareness Social media is one of the best ways…

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By Kim Garst Creating highly shareable content is the quickest way to grow your audience, subscribers and consequently sales.When your content gets shared, you get in front of a whole new audience, and you gain masses of social proof too.Social Media has been dubbed pay to play, but if you have highly engaging and shareable content , the less you need to rely on paying for reach as your content will do the job for you. Well, it’s easier said than done, right?! Don’t worry, after reading this, you’re going to find it easy to create highly shareable content! Why Content is a BEACH Say that aloud and you get the idea… creating highly shareable and engaging content is tough.You put all this effort into crafting the perfect posts, researching, writing, proofreading, publishing and promoting… and what happens? Nothing!No likes, no comments, and definitely no shares.Just silence.Crickets chirping in the…

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