Quick Guides for Labor Law Compliance

Recently I have been helping a client with on-boarding.  It brought me back to when I worked in HR and all the tasks associated with getting new employees up to speed.  Let’s face it – it can be a bit daunting.  There are a number of on-boarding checklists and guides to help HR professionals with the process.  Of course, staying up to date on labor laws is a critical  part of the employee management process  Knowing how labor laws relate to the workplace, in terms of  what is and what isn’t compliant, is so important.  I wanted to share an article I read on Small Business Matters that provides a list of several guides to help you stay compliant with labor laws:

Employer’s Guide to Hiring, Managing and Nurturing – Small Business Matters

So What’s So Great About the New Health Care Bill?

Last week the new health care bill – aka – “The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act,” has given birth to its first set of regulations.  Although controversial, there is some cause for HR professionals to celebrate.

First of all, the new bill requires that everyone MUST purchase health insurance.  People must get coverage from their employer (if they can) or the government will gladly assist.

How does this relate to HR professionals?   Chances are, you already work at a company offering medical insurance.  If you’re a recruiter, you may want to focus on recruiting for the health care industry.  With more people having medical insurance, there will be an increase in the number of doctor visits and, thus, a need for more health care support services (and need for HR generalists, benefits administrators, etc).

Another cause for celebration?  As the HR rep for your employer, you can be the good messenger for a change.  When you communicate the new provisions, such as telling employees that their insurance will not be canceled if they get sick, or they can’t be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition.  And, then there is the expanded coverage for adult children who are  still hanging their hat at home.  How many parents thought (maybe hoped?) to be an empty nester  and are now finding their  adult children needing health care coverage?  Well, now you can cover them on your policy until the age of 26.

Change is here. This sure beats having to once again repeat a familiar HR saying in this economy … “Don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger”! For a summary of the bill click here.

Creating dynamic webinars

As I prepare for my Fall 2010 eMarketing class, I find myself wracking my brain to incorporate a variety of learning techniques that will keep students engaged.  The standard PowerPoint lecture is dead.  Today, students need stimulation and variety to keep them engaged (and awake).  I use videos, discussions, games, animated presentations and activities to illustrate learning objectives.  And then, it hit me… marketers need to think the same way when delivering online presentations!

The monologue is yesterday.  We need to create dynamic dialog between all parties. That means a webinar should involve the everyone on the line – the coach, the presenter(s) and the audience. How? Here are a few ideas:

• Take a poll
• Have multiple speakers or use a panel
• Use multimedia such as videos to illustrate a point
• Have a contest where participants get points for questions
• Incorporate humor
• Use case studies

What other ideas do you have to make a webinar engaging and effective? Please share.

Webinar Success Series: 5 Tips for Targeting Outbound Communications

This is the first in a series of blog posts about webinar success.  This post focuses on the importance of getting the word out. Here are five short tips to help you focus your efforts:

1. Know your audience.

Know where they look for  information and what issues are important to them. You can do this by reading blogs and joining special interest groups. Another great way to gain insights is to attend webinars and listen to the questions asked.  You may uncover a new pain point which could serve as your next webinar topic.

2. Content is king.

In real estate the key is location and with webinars, it is content.  Content should speak to the issues you identified in the previous tip.  Make sure that you communicate the hot topic in the subject line of your emails.

3. Lists.

Your house list is always the best list and will deliver the best results.  You can also rent lists. When you do, try to find a niche publication that targets your market segments. Sponsorships can also help you reach your audience. Connect with business partners, your speaker, and trade associations to see if they can help you spread the word.

4.  Leverage social media.

Post your event on LinkedIn events and Facebook events.  Join relevant online groups and interact with the group.  You build your credibility when you comment on the subject. Start to tweet about your topic  4 weeks  prior to your event.  This is not a “Attend My Webinar” broadcast but provide content on one of the subjects you will be discussing.

5. Make it simple to register.

When it comes to landing pages, less is more. The more information requested on the registration page, the less likely a person will fill it out.  Only ask for the information you absolutely need. If that means name, company, and email address… then just ask for that.

Did you find these tips helpful? What other tips have  you discovered? Bluebird would love you to share?

Summer Fun: Best Practices in Digital Invitations

This fun article from the writers of “Stuff Hipsters Hate” may focus on more casual events – like summer barbecues and martini parties. But if your target audience is a little more junior and a little more digitally savvy, there may be some good take aways.

A few highlights:

If hipsters hate it, your target audience might, too!

• E-mail is best for get-togethers that only involve one social group
• Mass texts are best for inviting a small group of close friends to something (but NEVER for a business event! Apparently, hipsters hate this.)
• Facebook is best for house parties, performances and other less intimate event

Happy reading! (And Happy Summer!)

Ralph Elliott’s Tips on How To Price Your Seminar

Recently, we found this older article from the great Ralph Elliott – the true guru on seminar marketing – on how to figure out the price point for your seminar. It’s a bit dated – particularly in that it doesn’t reference any online channels! – but the formula still works:

Use the following formula to calculate the price you need to charge to make our promotional costs 20 percent of total revenue.Her e are your formula characters:
RR = The number of attendees/1,000 brochures
%MC = Promotion as a percent of total revenue
PC = Promotional costs per 1,000 brochures
NP = New price

Multiply RR times % MC. Divide that figure into PC to obtain NP.

So, while the channels may be a little antiquated, this is still a valid formula. Just substitute “brochure” with “cost per email” or, if possible, the cost of your combined marketing efforts divided by your estimated universe. You should be able to come up with the price you need to charge to keep your paid event profitable.  (Of course, that’s something we can do for you, too…)

We’re big fans of Ralph Elliott at Bluebird University. We’re especially excited to be speaking at his conference on effective seminar marketing in August. Take the trip to Chicago to see us in action, and to see firsthand why we’re such big fans!

Bluebird is growing! Welcome, Sasha Lam-Plattes.

Per our press release this morning…say “hi” to Sasha!

Bluebird University, an innovative company offering complete outsourced seminar solutions, today announced the addition of Sasha Lam-Plattes as Director of New Business Development. Mr. Lam-Plattes joins the organization from BI, where he was focused on client innovation.

Bluebird University is expanding its staff as it adds more clients to its growing roster. The organization is dedicated to helping B2B businesses generate highly qualified leads, deepen relationships with current customers, or train valued staff or clients through a premium seminar experience. Current clients include a broad range of companies across a variety of verticals, from startups to Fortune 500s.

Mr. Lam-Plattes is responsible for all revenue-generating activities for Bluebird University. He brings with him a strong business background rooted in customer loyalty and motivation, honed in leading companies including ADP and The College Board. During his accomplished career, he has designed and implemented award-winning programs for many Fortune 500 companies.

“We’re very excited that Sasha has joined our team,” says Rosanne Kinder, Vice President, Operations of Bluebird University. “His creativity and history of driving growth for innovative companies, combined with his entrepreneurial spirit make him a great fit for Bluebird. I’m optimistic about the growth we’ll see with Sasha on board.”

Mr. Lam-Plattes holds a marketing and communications degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.

Make your launch…an EVENT

I’ve launched many B2B services for businesses over the years – technology-based services, telecom services, marketing services, all kinds. Typically, these launches involve an announcement and new page on the web site, a press release, and a call or email to industry media. Sometimes there’s a new Ad Group added to the Google campaigns. Usually, there’s a lot of excitement internally…and very little excitement externally. Even if we get articles or launch announcement in the trades, there’s rarely a rush of customers on the phone or to the site.

What if you could change that? What if you could generate so much excitement around your next product or service launch that you walked away with a list of qualified, *interested* leads?

Add some spark to your service launch!

Webinars can do that. By announcing your new service with a webinar, you’re literally creating a launch event.

A launch webinar doesn’t just tell the world your news, it illustrates it in a way that both shows and tells, creating an experience that is far more impactful than a press release. If, for example, you’re about to launch a new mobile marketing service for your agency, create a webinar that actually shows the benefits of mobile marketing. Build a demo campaign or share a case study, design dynamic slides illustrating best practices. Your audience will get a real taste of the service you’re launching, and ideally, will leave wanting more.

And what’s even better is that you can build a multi-touch campaign about your launch event, a campaign that will have momentum and purpose, building up to the big event. It can include multiple press releases, sponsored search, email campaigns, social and more. Email an invitation to your webinar to your house list (who know you and will be interested in your launch – and who are already your best prospects), include a link in your press release, and share it with your social networks. Drive all your potential attendees to a landing page to register.

DO NOT minimize the significance of the registration form. You can not only update your list by asking for names, titles and email addresses, but you can ask more specific questions about their level of interest in an onsite demo. Something as to-the-point as “Would you like us to contact you to schedule an evaluation of your current mobile marketing program?” or “Do you plan to launch mobile marketing campaigns in the next 6 months?” Keep your form short, but if questions like this are important to you, sacrifice less important data to keep these on your registration page.

And of course, keep your playback link on your site, and email it to those who can’t make your big launch event. You can still capture those leads, even weeks later.

Top Ten Best Practices for Live and Online Presentations

If you’re doing a live presentation or webinar, the last thing you want to do is put your audience to sleep. Even worse, you don’t want to embarrass yourself with a sub-standard presentation! Here are our top ten tips to keep your audience engaged – and impressed.

1. Introduce yourself. It seems obvious, but many times, speakers forget to do this. Not only does your audience want to know a little bit about you, you may also miss out on a great marketing opportunity. Remember to say thank you, too!
2. Show me, don’t tell me: Don’t mistake your presentation for your script! You slides should illustrate your points, but shouldn’t spell them out. Since people may want to download your slides after the event, do keep them informative, but remember that they’re meant to be a visual aid first and foremost. Think of them as eye candy, not the main course.
3. Less is more: For the text you do include, be as succinct as possible. Cut any unnecessary words out of sentences – keep it short and sweet.
4. Remember readability: When you do need to include full sentences in your presentation, make sure they’re easy to read. Reverse text is hard to read. Use dark letters on a light background whenever possible. Use big letters, too – remember, it’s a presentation, not an essay. People will be viewing your words on a screen that may be only 10 inches high.
5. Keep graphs interesting: Spreadsheets are hard to read. Replace your spreadsheets with a compelling hockey stick chart…
6. Engage your audience: Literally – include polls and quizzes to keep your audience interacting. Use live demos whenever you can to keep things interesting.
7. Use a script – or at least, use notes: Even the best speakers need to stay on top of their content. minimize your “umms” and “uhhhs” by writing down what you’re going to say.
8. Use a conversational tone. Nothing puts audiences to sleep faster than a droning voice. Imagine you’re talking to a friend, and don’t be afraid to use a little humor, too.
9. Webinars only: *Never use a cell phone!* Speakers are best off with headsets connected to land lines. At live events, make sure you test your mike – and know how to use it – before you go on. Do this a few minutes before your presentation so you’ll be sure the volume level is where it needs to be. Try to give yourself enough “rehearsal time” to move around and see where you need to be – or not be – to avoid feedback.
10. Be aware of your voice. Do a little vocal warm up before you begin, have some water handy, and remember to smile when you speak! It sounds silly, sure, but it really works – you’ll sound warmer if you smile.

That our top ten. Got anything to add? Feel free to send us your comments!

SlideShare: iPad and iPhone Support Coming Soon

At Bluebird University, we’re big fans of SlideShare. It’s a great way to share information and allow your brilliant presentations to live on (and drive leads for you) long after your webinars have passed. And with over 25 million unique visitors per month to the site (per SlideShare) there are a lot of potential eyeballs for your content.

SlideShare goes mobile

So we’re very excited that SlideShare is going mobile. We figured Flash had been an obstacle in the past (SlideShare relies on it, Apple devices don’t support it…) and we’re glad they were able to find a work-around.  Their mobile presence, at least for us, has been long anticipated.

Here’s a snippet from the email we received from them a few days ago:

If you have been paying attention to the excited chatter about the iPad, then you have probably know that one of discussed issues is how the internet will look on the iPad without Flash.

Well one thing is for sure – SlideShare will look snazzy. It’s still being tinkered with, and is in beta, but we expect SlideShare to be iPad friendly soon.

To check out the Beta, just click on a presentation link – give us feedback – tell us what you would like.
Rest assure, SlideShare will go everywhere you want to take your presentations.

If you have been paying attention to the excited chatter about the iPad, then you have probably know that one of discussed issues is how the internet will look on the iPad without Flash.

Well one thing is for sure – SlideShare will look snazzy. It’s still being tinkered with, and is in beta, but we expect SlideShare to be iPad friendly soon.

To check out the Beta, just click on a presentation link – give us feedback – tell us what you would like.
Rest assure, SlideShare will go everywhere you want to take your presentations.

Unfortunately, I use a Droid phone, and not an iPhone…so please share your thoughts on how it works. Meanwhile, SlideShare, I’ll be waiting for the Android version. (Hint, hint!)