BUSINESS THROUGH THE SOCIAL MEDIA

The term social media refers to the social networks that, you and your friends are most likely very familiar with. A social medium serves as a channel or venue of social expression and inter-connection. People are joining these networks for friendship, relationship, social networking, business, or entertainment. One joins it by creating an account, providing the required personal information/description, or company information. A member is represented as an account user through the personal profile, a social link, and other services. Members share their interests, activities, and interact with one another. Examples of these social networks are Facebook, Googable, YouTube, Badoo, Friendster, Twitter, Bebo, MySpace, Linkedln, and Multiply.

A few emerging sites with new features are foursquare, google buzz, loopt, blippy, and groupon. Membership in these popular social media sites can provide a list of benefits. It is a  venue for establishing friendships,  relationships, building  support  networks,  forming  new business  ideas, and business connections. According to Wikipedia, an estimated 200 social networking sites worldwide had been reported as of 2008.  

Social networking sites have been evolving as another medium for internet business strategy. People post messages, photos, videos, and links for the purpose of distributing marketing messages. You can actually increase your sales by posting links to your main website in these social media networking sites. Aside from building personal friendship, or relationships, the other purposes of social media are:

¨     as venue for self-expression (blogs, forums)

¨     socio-economic advocacies for the common  good  

¨     Exchange of  information/ideas among the members of the network,

¨     Real-time broadcasts for various purposes

¨     Educational communication tool between teachers and students

¨     Grassroots organizing for some sectors of society

¨     Career Development, Employment opportunities/internship 

¨     business networking for various purposes

¨     global advertising 

¨     Building brand image and brand networking

¨     Social media pages  are now admissible as court evidence

¨     Other related purposes

You can expand your business quickly by creating user accounts in these various  social sites and by inviting the members  of your social networks  to  view the  products  or  services in your  website.

 

Trusting relationships can be developed through simple ways such as: 1) Welcoming new  friends, 2) communicating your positive values in your activity updates; 3) sharing learning experiences, 4)posting helpful tips, 5) greeting friends on their birthdays and other significant occasions, 6) sending them personal messages, 7) writing positive, inspiring comments, 8) using bookmarks, setting up widgets, feeds, rss; and by 9)optimizing your social media sites through the use of  appropriate  keywords and  phrases.  

You can engage your friends to comment by posting interesting, timely, helpful, or  exciting newsbits or  comments. This is a way of proving that you’re giving value to your friends/prospective customers. This is an effective way to build trusting and lasting relationships. Trust is the basic foundation of all relationships so when it is time to start selling, it is prudent to ask permission first.

 Your business can gain online friends and customers through social networking. You can keep on adding friends or groups to grow your social network, establish relationships,  build trust  among  your friends through  friendly messages, notes, posts, and links. Gradually work your way towards your goal, which is, of course, your marketing goal. The key indicators  of your success would  be the 1) growth of  your network, 2) the  number of  site  visits, 4) comments, impressions, 5) leads, sales leads, and  6) revenue.

Whatever your reason for using these social media sites, the same etiquette observed in other social settings apply:

1. Don’t use your personal account for your business. Create a separate business page or account.

2. Respect everybody.  If you happen to know a friend’s secret, keep it private. Do not carelessly broadcast it on his/her wall.

3. Quality over quantity. Build quality friendship. Choose your friends. Quality relationships usually last longer and are more reliable.

4. Don’t push your product, service, or envelopes much too often. Once every 6 months would be enough. Remember that, except for a few new additions, you are dealing with almost the same set of friends/contacts every day.  The more you persist, the more likely they will resist, until you get purged from their list.

5. Multiple posts in a single day could choke the home pages of those with over 3000 friends. This could prompt some members to hide or completely remove certain posts to free their display.

6. Review your posts before sharing/publishing them. Is it the truth? Or something of value, beneficial, fair, or just?

7. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated. This is the golden rule in all social settings. - Copyright 2011. Ma. Francia Bengco

Sleepless in Manila

               National legislations and local ordinances imposing non-disruptive behavior in public places, especially in school zones, churches, and residential neighborhoods are too numerous. Most of these “silence” regulations are usually implemented at night in due respect for people who sleep at night and work during the day. The fact that most people are usually asleep and quiet at evening time promotes tranquility for their fellow nighttime sleepers.

               On the other hand, thousands of daytime sleepers, such as call center agents who, in their own humble way, contribute significantly to the economy of the country, are still not protected by any such legislation. These agents who have to work at night and sleep during the day cannot enjoy the same peace and quiet in the neighborhood because it is during the day that most people engage in the hard, sometimes loud, pursuit of personal interests and goals. People are preoccupied with their trade and transactions, actively participating in community social affairs and door-to-door dealings. They boast of their  singing voices and ear-popping music, especially during festive merrymaking. It is during the day that phones are ringing, TV sets are blaring, road workers are drilling, cars are honking, dogs are barking, and little kids are screaming.

               A law protecting the right of night workers to a restful slumber during the daytime in a peaceful environment that observes the same placid privilege of nighttime sleepers, is becoming necessary. After all, not every call center agent enjoys the comfort of sound-proofed bedroom walls in spacious homes. -Copyright 2009, Maria Francia Bengco

AN EMERGING NEW WAVE OF MODERN-DAY HEROES

              Overseas Contract Workers (OFW) are considered to be the country’s modern-day heroes because of the huge remittances they send home that boost the country’s economy. Moreover, in their noble goal of providing better lives for their families, they sacrifice a lot by being away from their loved ones, by being alone and lonely at night, to work and interact with a foreign culture, in a distant foreign land.

               There are nurses who work as caregivers, doctors who work as nurses, artists who work as singers, dancers, or general entertainers, engineers who work as technical support personnel, and even licensed teachers who work as domestic helpers. They try to raise their families from a distance. A few of them becoming oppressed laborers and slaves, sometimes coming home in crutches, physically and psychologically disabled. A number of them even come home in wooden caskets. The foreign remittances of these modern-day heroes sent through the formal channels range from US$6B – $8B (2006-2008) every year. This amount goes directly to their families, with the government getting only a certain percentage of it in the form of taxes. The net income that the government earns from these remittances is approximately P11.5 B each year. The foreign currency, of course, remains in the government coffers.

               To show its concern over the OFWs’ wellbeing and plight, the government provides assistance in the form of contingency funds, helpdesks, and other support mechanisms. Philippine consulates in these foreign lands are also provided with an annual budget for this purpose. In addition, national-level politicians include OFWs’ concerns among their top priority projects. As there are millions of these OFWs, their votes, as well as those of their relatives, comprise millions, too.

               In comparison, today’s contact center agents have their own form of sacrifices, too. They work during the so-called graveyard shift, risking limb and life to muggers, hustlers, and snatchers who, alongside them, under the cover of darkness, also ply their shady trade. These agents sometimes miss a considerable amount of sleep during the day because it is easier to get sufficient sleep during normal nighttime rest hours when everybody else is asleep and quiet. Daytime sleep is affected by all the hustle and bustle of people’s daytime trades, chores, and leisure and entertainment activities. Despite all these, agents are expected to perform to their optimum at work. Drawing quick breaths in-between high-frequency calls, they expel the same life-sustaining air during each customer interaction, with the same air-sucking cycle repeated almost a hundred times during each working night. Their job performance is measured meticulously by the so-called balanced scorecards, a strategic planning and management system which had evolved from the original design of Kaplan and Norton.

               Moreover, despite their working at odd hours, contact center agents are still able to raise a family, continue their own college or graduate schooling, send their own children to school, attend community socio-civic activities, and even maintain leisure schedules for their own and their family’s wellbeing. A considerable number of female contact agents are solo parents, raising one or two kids. These agents dutifully carry out their work responsibility of serving the needs of the clients’ customers. They have to maintain customer satisfaction so that the clients would be able to maintain and expand their businesses at lower operating and administrative costs. This is how contact center agents contribute significantly, not just to the national, but also to the global economy; significantly fueling the economy as their numbers increase each year.

               According to PEZA, the country now has 788 Contact Centers in over 20 key cities and with an approximate two hundred sixty thousand employees. The Board of Investments predicted this number to grow to 431,000.  In an investment –friendly political environment, this prediction could materialize.

               The government has tagged the contact center business as the "Sunshine industry" because of its very fast and massive expansion over the last 10 years. These contact center agents are the same people who make this sunshine industry one of the strong pillars of the Philippine economy. With an approximate 260,000 plus agents paying income taxes every year at an approximate average of P30,000 to P38,000 per agent per year, this translates to a net income of approximately P7.8B to P9.88B for the Philippine government. It is the net amount, and it’s fast approaching the figure earned by the government from the recorded official OFW remittances each year. With moderately strong purchasing power, contact center agents infuse money into the financial system steadily throughout the year, not just during certain peak seasons, such as Christmas, which is the seasonal market infusion by the family-beneficiaries of our OFWs. In addition, the government also benefits from the corporate taxes paid by every BPO/Contact Center company. The industry’s growth is assured, as long as investor-friendly executives are elected to top government posts.  

               So we have our modern-day heroes, the OFWs, with strong foreign currency remittances. And we also have our contact center agents, with their equally strong income tax payments and steady purchasing infusion into the market. Could they be the strong reasons this economy is staying afloat? Could they not be considered an emerging new wave of modern-day heroes? If this is so, perhaps the government can also establish the same support mechanism that it provides to OFWs. Currently, internal support and care is provided by the BPO/Contact Center companies to its employees. But outside of the work environment, in the dark streets of the cities, these agents who rub elbows with the hoodlums who also work during the same odd hours of the night, also need the protection of the government. Perhaps police outposts could be established in strategic areas for this purpose? The company- hired security guards are expected to protect the best interests of the company, and these workers, the agents, need some protection outside of the company premises. The local police is equipped with the mandate, the weapon, and the power to apprehend these criminals, or to engage them in hand to hand or armed combat.

               Let us make our streets safe for all; and during the graveyard hours, let us make these streets safe for our emerging modern-day heroes. Heroes need not be dead. They can help the country better if they are alive. –copyright 2009, Ma. Francia O. Bengco

WRITING FOR DIFFERENT AUDIENCES

Do you blog for your friends alone and some intended group of acquaintances? You probably have a very limited audience then. Would you rather be read by a larger, heterogeneous audience? Most writers aim to reach a wider audience for their particular story, campaign, promotion, or advocacy. The term “audience” is generally defined as a group of readers, viewers, or listeners who collectively read a particular written content, or  view & listen to an audio-visual material. In this particular context, we are referring to an internet audience for your online electronic content.

Audiences come in all ages, shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. They also read your content for different intents and purposes. Your particular audience will understand you better if you adjust your language to convey your message better. Let’s look at the profiles of our eight types of audiences and how to gear your content for them.

          1. The Knowledgeable Children or Youth. They are the schoolchildren, the teenagers in or out of school, the youth who spends a lot of time finding helpful resources in the internet. They are internet savvy and are often interested in games, stories, homework pointers, graphics, social media, and a lot of other things which may not even be for kids. They are usually not your target audience but they are capable of judging your content, and if they find it extremely helpful, they will share it with their parents or other mature family members or relatives. This group needs an action-packed, descriptive vocabulary and a simple content presented in a more exciting form such as a video or interactive text.

          2. The Lay or Non-Specialists. They usually know a little bit of almost all the things in life, work, business, technology, art, & science; yet they need to master at least one of these many things. They don’t possess expert knowledge and require graphical descriptions and more detailed information about most topics. It is quite easy to attract their attention. You can adjust your style, tone, and terminology to maintain their interest. They need visuals for easy comprehension.    

          3. The Executives or Managers. They are usually most knowledgeable about their own field of specialization or particular industry. They also know about many things, but they usually require a lot of supporting data and recommendations before they can arrive at conclusions, choices, or important decisions. Your writing must also appeal to the majority of people in their particular industry.

          4. Academic Theorists & Non-Practitioner-Mentors. Like the experts and specialists, they need a well-written, well-documented paper. More than that, they want something new and interesting which should also be fully supported with references, citations, and peer review from fellow academicians, not necessarily from the field practitioners. They are well adjusted to reading gazettes, academic & government publications containing the so-called professional jargon. If you use dialectics, officious stock phrases, and high-handed language, they will find familiarity with such; but at the same time, they recognize and appreciate forthright, clear, and most concise writing.

          5. Technicians, Specialists, & Experts. They require a completely specialized vocabulary when you write about their interests--the latest news about technology, science, and industry. The technicians & specialists know how a product works and how to repair it. The experts had designed the product, tested it, and know it inside out. They need actual peer tests & reviews, and with full documentation. Invite them to comment on your content and to share their expertise with others.

          6. Specific Communities or Groups. Whether it is small or big, a group is a good target audience for advocacies, promotions, marketing, & other campaigns. Their collective choices, preferences, decisions and plans of action are easily arrived at through their group discussions and the collaborative/supportive efforts among the leadership & members. They usually have clear goals and targets achieved through open communication channels. Writing for them requires good convincing power through a simple, clear language. Convincing their leaders usually means convincing the entire group.

          7. The Consumer.  They seek the complete (usually comparative) information about certain products with the aim of making the best choice. They don’t want to make the mistake of spending their money on a product that won’t serve their needs, purposes, taste, or preferences. Product reviews help the consumer by: giving them relevant information about the product, help them save time and money, and lead towards product enhancements.

          8. General Audience. If you have a readership of at least fifty thousand, there’s a huge probability that your audience is an assortment of types. Adjusting your readability level will help convey your message better. Most writers of marketing and advertising copies, target a general audience for a wider variability of readership and a larger probability of marketing success. A well arranged, well-illustrated, well written product user’s manual is a good example of a content written for the general audience. It is properly organized in a step by step procedure and easy vocabulary. Although it has technical content, it can be understood by the ordinary product user. Content for the general audience need not always be illustrated though. The use of clear, simple, powerful descriptive language is usually sufficient to convey your message. Your message could further spread to a larger audience through the ripple effect. Use appropriate style and structure and arrange the right information in the right way so that your reader can see the connection of all the sections. The consumer groups belong to this category, but falls under a highly specific type of general audience category.  

          There’s a need to consider these two things in writing your content: 1) writer’s purpose, and 2) intended and unintended audience. Achieve your purpose through a clear and powerful language that easily convinces your specific intended (target) audience. Spread your message further to the unintended audience through word of mouth. A satisfied audience shares your message with their loved ones and friends. Your beneficial message has triumphed if it has been shared and continuously shared with many people. Write something truly helpful and your message will remain in the hearts and minds or your present and future audience. Why not start touching them all today? 

NATURAL REMEDY MADE FROM PLANTS WORKS UNDER THE PRINCIPLE OF MICRONUTRIENT CELL THERAPY

ARE YOU SICK? OR IS A LOVED ONE SICK?  REH HERBAL IS  THE AFFORDABLE NATURAL  WONDER  CURE.  IT HEALS   DISEASES  AND  REJUVENATES  BODY CELLS. For  orders  or  inquiries please email to: rehherbalphilippines@yahoo.com.  

Ka Rey had suffered a debilitating diabetes, hypertension and a terminal cancer in 1994.  He got cured by the cocktail he  prepared out of  herbs, fruits, and  vegetables he prepared from their backyard. Today he has been growing the same tried and tested herbs, plants, and fruit trees in an organic plantation established for the purpose of producing the freshest pesticide-free plants for the herbal medicine that has cured hundreds of disease sufferers –REH HERBAL.

Phytochemicals  are present in many plants to protect them from  diseases. These same phytochemicals that  protect  these plants are found to  be good for humans, too, for the prevention and  cure of  diseases. Optimum health results from ensuring that the nutrients needed by the cells are found in the body. The 77 + herbs found in REH HERBAL have a synergistic healing effect. First it detoxifies the body, then it repairs diseased body cells, then regenerates healthy new body cells. Trusted and proven. There are many testimonials. This BFAD-approved  health cocktail (BFAD APPROVAL No.  RDII-MM-F-3510, PATENT No. 82407 1)  contains  the  botanical  extracts  from  over  seventy-seven (77)  herbs, fruits, and  vegetables  combined  to  produce  the  highest  concentration  of  disease-fighting phytochemicals  in a  powerfully-balanced  combination.

This  BFAD-approved  health cocktail (BFAD APPROVAL No.  RDII-MM-F-3510, PATENT No.  82407 1)  contains  the  botanical  extracts  from  over  seventy-seven (77)  herbs, fruits, and  vegetables  combined  to  produce  the   highest  concentration  of   disease-fighting  phytochemicals  in a  powerfully-balanced  combination.  The essential  nutrients  in  REH  HERBAL make the  body  cells  strong. These  ingredients  effectively  work  together in a synergistic way to  produce the  desired   medicinal   effect. Our REHerbal  is  now  getting  a  global  reputation  for   its  effectiveness  in  treating:  cancer, diabetes,  hypertension, tumors or  cysts,  heart and kidney diseases, asthma, anemia, diarrhea, paralysis, fatigue,  stress,  arthritis, rheumatism, tonsilitis, dysmenorrhea, UTI, PMS,  memory loss, poor eyesight,  fever/flu, sinusitis, ulcer, eczema, migraine, sleep disorders, leukemia, stroke, prostate, goiter,  and other terminal  illnesses.  The  drink  works  under  the  principle of   micronutrient  therapy. As the body gets used to the  cleansing power  of  the   REHerbal  and as the bodily systems normalize,  the immune system is strengthened, organ functions are restored and enhanced,  metabolism and stamina are  heightened,  the  blood sugar level is normalized,  and  the  blood is cleansed. The balance of ions in the body is restored. All of  these   changes  in the  body  lead  to  health restoration

The drink works under the principle of micronutrient therapy/cellular repair.  As the body gets used to the cleansing power of  the  REHerbal and as the cells  of  the  body  become well,  bodily systems start  to  normalize,  the immune system is strengthened, organ functions are restored and enhanced,  metabolism and stamina are  heightened,  the  blood sugar level is normalized,  and  the  blood is cleansed. The balance of ions in the body is restored. All of these   changes in the body  lead  to health restoration. 

EVALUATION, AND   TREATMENT  PERIOD

Patient  will  be  assessed  using  lab  tests  and  medical  certificates, if  any.  His/her   condition  will  be  photographed  for  documentation and  comparison with  future  photos.  Acute conditions requiring medical attention will be considered with their appropriate treatment or referrals will be made if indicated.  In the absence of acute medical conditions the patient’s presenting symptoms will be evaluated based on the likelihood of nutrition deficiencies or imbalances. 

Nutritional supplementation and/or dietary changes will be recommended if indicated and a trial period, typically two-six weeks, will be allowed to see changes in the patient’s conditions. The  client  is then re-evaluated based on the response.  Improved  condition may  be documented,  with  client’s   consent.

AVAILABILITY:

55.5% CONCENTRATION = P900  -  for  diseases   of  long  duration

99%  CONCENTRATION   =P1500  for   terminal  illnesses (cancer), cerebro-vascular disease, heart ailments – for  the  maximum concentration of  extracts  to kickstart  your  wellness.  

NOTICE:

The  empty  containers  may  be  used  as   water  bottle  containers  or   disposed  according  to  waste  disposal  laws.  Please   cut  up  the   empty  bottles   into  pieces  before  throwing  into  the   waste  can. This  should  prevent   scrupulous entities  from  collecting  the  bottles  for    imitation  formulation. 

Or  please  email  rehherbalphilippines@yahoo.com