Lansing MI Archives - Page 31 of 113

Guest Post: A Guide to Creating Compelling and Engaging Social Media Posts

Nearly everyone is active on social media since it’s an excellent platform for sharing whatever you want. However, posting for a business is an entirely different story such that you have an objective to reach out to your target market.

There are a lot of things to consider when publishing on social media. You should also understand the different platforms and learn more about your market so that you can attract the right audience at the right time and place.

However, the most important thing you need to concentrate on is to appeal to the emotions of your audience, as connecting with them can help influence them in positive ways.

Below is an infographic to guide you in creating compelling and engaging social media posts on the four most popular social media platforms particularly Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. From this infographic, you can learn about the tone you should use, what content to share, when to share it, and so on.

For each platform, there are ways in which you can maximize all the features that each one has to help you gain the attention of your target market.

Work on improving your social media posts by using this guide for your audience, as well as help your business grow.

Source Page: https://www.microcreatives.com/general/infographic-creating-social-media-posts/

Paula Arce

As she makes her way in the digital marketing world as a Content Specialist, she also makes sure that she’s updated with the latest memes and trends among other things. With her inner rapper, Paula pops those headphones in and listens to her R&B and Hip Hop playlist during her long rides to and from the South. She either gets herself a venti cup or two of her fave iced coffee or a cold bottle of beer on a random day. There’s nothing in between.

#BetterCallPaul – YouTube Features

In this episode of Better Call Paul, Paul talks about some things you may not have noticed that YouTube provides after you upload your video.

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► Subscribe to the #BetterCallPaul Channel Here:
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Paul has been a visual storyteller for as long as he can remember and decided to turn that into a career. He chose video as his medium and his award winning style has been seen nationally as well as praised locally. A self-proclaimed community proponent and pro-Michigan advocate, he owns and is creative video strategist for UnoDeuce Multimedia which is celebrating its 6th year in Lansing. Paul was just recently awarded the 2015 Entrepreneur Institute Micro-Entrepreneur of the Year.

Don’t forget to
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Thank you for watching this video. I hope that you keep up with the weekly videos I post on the channel, and just so we couldn’t keep this channel going without your support, so please comment, like and share.
—-

Also Subscribe to the main UnoDeuce YouTube Channel Here to see the client work we are putting out up to 3 times a week!

http://bit.ly/2jklgle

Follow Me Online Here:

Website: www.unodeuce.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.schmidt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pauldeuce
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauldeuce
Periscope: https://www.periscope.tv/pauldeuce

Please Subscribe to our Channel!

2nd Brain Collective Podcast – Denise Peek of the Entrepreneur Institute

Ms. Peek has lived in Lansing since 1972 and graduated from Lansing Everett High School. She holds two Associates Degrees, one from Davenport University in Fashion Merchandising & Management, one from LCC in General Studies. In 2006 she received her BA from Northwood University in Marketing with a Minor in Business Management. In 2009 she received her Masters of Science Degree in Community Economic Development at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire. She has been the Executive Director of the Entrepreneur Institute for the past sixteen years. In January 2016 she became an Adjunct Faculty Member at LCC teaching Marketing 200 and will be teaching Marketing 200 again this fall.

Her experience in sales & marketing includes, experience in the retail industry, advertising sales in electronic media (cable television & radio) and newspaper has assisted in her duties as the Executive Director. As the Executive Director she facilitates the credit before capital and business plan development training programs. She has been able to increase the exposure of the Entrepreneur Institute in the community and increase the services offered by the organization. In December of 2011 the Entrepreneur Institute became the regions only SBA Microloan Lender.

Accomplishments & Professional Development

Personal Accomplishments

May 1999 – March 2000 – Former board member of the Entrepreneur Institute
March 2000 – May 2000 – Interim Executive Director of the Entrepreneur Institute
May 2000 – Present EIM Executive Director
2001 – Capital Area Michigan Works Alumni of the Year!
2001 – Certificate of Achievement for “Distinguished Achievement” in “Individual Excellence in
Regional Cooperation” by the RED TEAM
2002 – Michigan Works! Outstanding Alumni Award
2005 – Career Woman of the Year, National Association of Career Women, Lansing Chapter
2011 – Catalyst of the Year, Michigan Emerging
2016 – Adjunct Faculty Member Lansing Community College
Professional Development – Certifications/International Trainings/Programs of Study

Certified NxLevel Business Plan Training Instructor – 9/01
Participant in Entrepreneurship Training Program: A Ghana-United States Exchange Accra, Ghana – 6/05
NeighborWorks America, Program of Study Management and Leadership Program – 9/06
Participant in the “Connecting the Linkages between Gender Equality and Economic Sustainability for Community Advancement and Capacity Building: A Women’s Empowerment Program,
Professional Fellows, South Africa & Tanzania – 9/13
Past Community Involvements

Guest Speaker for the American Marketing Association’s Regional Conference at LCC
Guest Speaker, MSHDA’s Affordable Housing Conference, Connecting Michigan Communities Annual Conference
LCC Alumni Committee Member,
Westside Commercial Association Business Development Committee Member
Facilitator/Business Consultant – BCI Entrepreneur Academy Workshops
Charter Member and Past President Elect, Lansing Black Chamber of Commerce Affiliate Chapter of the Michigan Black Chamber of Commerce
Board Member, Community Reinvestment Fund
Consultant/Coach for the Athena PowerLink Network, Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce
Learn more about Julie Powers and Greater Lansing Housing Coalition:

Website
Fan Page
LinkedIn – Denise Peek

What’s a Good Video Length For Social Media?

There’s so many platforms, yet it feels like unlimited time. However, the platforms do have limitations, whether it’s established by them or it’s under your discretion using the analytics they each give you. Video is the premier way in which to tell a story or grab someone’s attention. It does depend on the platform you use to determine what you want to say and how.

#BetterCallPaul – February 2018 Recap

This month we look at what was launched from Fraser Trebilcock, Living Water Ministries, CEDAM and Daystarr Communications
—
► Subscribe to the #BetterCallPaul Channel Here:
http://bit.ly/2jbP69q
—
Paul has been a visual storyteller for as long as he can remember and decided to turn that into a career. He chose video as his medium and his award winning style has been seen nationally as well as praised locally. A self-proclaimed community proponent and pro-Michigan advocate, he owns and is creative video strategist for UnoDeuce Multimedia which is celebrating its 6th year in Lansing. Paul was just recently awarded the 2015 Entrepreneur Institute Micro-Entrepreneur of the Year.

Don’t forget to
—-
Thank you for watching this video. I hope that you keep up with the weekly videos I post on the channel, and just so we couldn’t keep this channel going without your support, so please comment, like and share.
—-

Also Subscribe to the main UnoDeuce YouTube Channel Here to see the client work we are putting out up to 3 times a week!

http://bit.ly/2jklgle

Follow Me Online Here:

Website: www.unodeuce.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.j.schmidt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pauldeuce
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pauldeuce
Periscope: https://www.periscope.tv/pauldeuce

Please Subscribe to our Channel!

2nd Brain Collective Podcast: Rich Howard of Big Brothers Big Sisters

Mr. Howard grew up in the Lansing area and is a graduate of Michigan State University. He holds a BA in Communication and a MA in Counseling. He is currently a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the State of Michigan.

Rich has over 18 years of higher education experience holding faculty and administrative positions including Registrar, Executive Assistant to the President/Board Liaison and Vice President for Strategic Initiatives.

Rich left higher education in 2006 to pursue consulting in the non-profit sector. He has consulted with numerous school districts both in state and national-wide, as well as with Girls Scouts of the USA and United Way Worldwide.

He currently serves as the Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters Michigan Capital Region located in Lansing. He resides in Caledonia with his wife Peg of 26 years and their 3 children Andrew, Joe and Elizabeth.

Learn more about Rich Howard and Big Brothers Big Sisters, Michigan Capital Region:

Guest Post: 5 smart and streamlined options for Live streaming software to consider

A live streaming occasion has already created havoc in the current online sphere and is an auspicious venture for the future. Supported by immaculate live video streaming software these live streaming businesses have been able to make huge money in the past few years.

Basically to stream anything live from anywhere, whether it is your house or office, you need to take stress and put enough exertion for a thrilling outcome. The plan needs to be without any uncertainties or hassles.

There is barely any alternative in launching a live streaming platform with proper live streaming software. The ones trying to build a website have various ideas in mind compared to the ones looking to launch a live video streaming app. The budget would totally depend on the features included.

Before commencing anything let us talk about what a video content management system is. From the day video has become an important feature for the upgrade of communication and net turnaround, businesses have been coming up with new techniques to store, share and manage numerous files with video content in them across several networks affecting the bandwidth.

A video CMS is definitely the answers to these worries. It is primarily software which aids businesses to take care of, accumulate and share videos online. Now let’s discuss the uses of a video content management system.

As content owners begin enhancing the number of videos they’re creating, things like video administration, storage and distribution turn out to be very complicated and problematic. This is the time where video content management software comes in.

A video CMS is a one-stop solution that helps content owners to oversee, monetize, research and track their video content on the web.

A huge advantage of using video CMS, be it live streaming or video-on-demand is that it enables content makers to consolidate the technical aspect without having a negative effect on quality and it makes distributing videos to various OTT stages and tools considerably easier.

How to choose the best online video sharing CMS?

Video broadcasts are considerably larger than Word documents, spreadsheets, and other office archives. The default most extreme record measure permitted in a SharePoint site is 50 MB. To place that in context, you would require more limit than 50 MB to store a single moment of video caught with an iPhone.

With CMS framework, you can just enquire based upon the document names and physically entered metadata. Interestingly, video CMS like Panopto offer the capacity to scan inside videos for particular words that are talked or shown on-screen amid the video, at that point quick forward the watcher to that correct point in the introduction.

Without a video CMS, your recordings cannot be hosted; nothing is done to guarantee compatibility with the gadgets getting to them. For instance, a WebEx video put away in its default ARF format on a SharePoint website would not be distinguishable on tablets or cell phones.

Some of the most recommended live streaming software includes:

Open Broadcaster Software

This is free software for live streaming any event and is the best choice for entrepreneurs with a vision setting feet into this business for the first time. Being an open-source program, the source code can be availed by every single individual around.

You can even relish abundant sources and layouts which are crafted differently for different content including features such as RMTP streaming to YouTube, Twitch, DailyMotion etc. Because of its high performance in the streaming of gaming sites, it is also cherry-picked for live streaming of gaming content.

VMix

If you want your rendering and production to be immaculate then we would suggest you go ahead with vMix which emphasizes on live production. If you want it for free then you have to be content with the basic necessities including simple streaming and recording with Standard Definition quality.

The more you pay, better the resolution you are going to relish. This would take you up to 4K with infinite inputs. You can now add effects to your live streaming video in different channels without your CPU’s processor taking any stress.

Telestream Wirecast

Telestream Wirecast would provide you an excellent pro-quality live recording. With this live streaming software one can also carry out the coding of live streams for continuous broadcast to a number of servers.

IP cameras assisted by HTTP, RTMP and MMS web streams are present in the pro version to generate live scoreboards, replays and advanced audio handling.

XSplit Broadcaster

For recording a professional video using a simple interface is commendable and here is the place when XSplit checks-in. One can relish HD live streaming without making any payment aided by some production tools and audio support.

Premium versions, however, offer incomparable HD broadcasting with the use of the most upgraded production tools.

StreamNow

StreamNow is one such broadcaster software aiding in smooth and non-stop live streaming without any issues. A subscription plan is initiated and premium videos can only be relished after subscription. Users who are not attracted by the subscription plan can also go ahead and commence the “Pay-Per-View” scheme. With safe and robust payment gateways StreamNow is one such live streaming software which acknowledges sharing benefits between the user and the business software provider.

Video CMS software such as Streamhash provides the best products in the market at the moment sticking to the goal of creating a impeccable platform which would be beneficial for both the website and its viewers.

Video streaming has become extremely popular with the days passing by. Upgrades in the computer networking over the past few years supported by modern operating systems and brilliant PC’s have made streaming economical for normal customers.

With the growth of live streaming platforms everywhere, the urgency of top-class live streaming software has increased heavily as well.

Now, it is totally up to you as a budding entrepreneur what you would want to use as live video streaming software for your endeavor. Abundant choices are available in the market. Make sure you choose according to your business remembering its prospect.

Amanda Smith is a marketing professional with expertise in strategies to engage customers and improve business opportunities. Interested in marketing communications and like to keep abreast of new trends and developments.

The Numbers and Letters of Modern Video and What They Mean

Over the last 20 years, there’s been a boom in the video production industry. New formats advance and change it seems like every 5 years. Then we have to learn a new system of numbers and letters, what they mean, and how they fit into our workflow. But, what if you aren’t in the video industry, those numbers and letters may just seem like gibberish. Well, I think it’s time to break it all down for the lay person.

THE LETTERS

SD (Standard Definition): For those who grew up in the standard age of television, this is what you are used to. A square picture or actually rectangle because it was a 4:3 frame. Ironically what we are being forced back into with Instagram and Snapchat.

HD (High Definition): The video that became popular in the early 2000’s is up to three times the size of SD, and is popularized by being described as two numbers: 720 or 1080.

UHD (Ultra High Definition): Video that is gaining more popularity now. It is about 3 to 7 times bigger than High Definition and encompasses 4 K and 8K.

HDR (High Dynamic Range): This is about the lights and darks (contrast ratio) and how close the colors can seem to real life (color accuracy). Basically, it’s making the pixels better instead of adding more to create a better picture.

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface): This is a cable and input/output mechanism for the transport of high quality uncompressed audio and video. There is a limitation for how far away from your device you can be with the cable.

HEVC (High Efficiency Video Encoding): This is an encoding mechanism for Ultra High Definition or 4K to be compressed and sent around the web just as easily as regular high definition is now.

MP4 (Motion Picture Expert Group Part 4): This is a file format that is a universal container for compressed video and audio. Like jpegs, it is a cross platform, easily read file for uploading and downloading up to high definition video.

AR (Augmented Reality): AR is the integration of digital information from a device and the user’s environment in real time.

VR (Virtual Reality): VR is a completely simulated environment created through computer technology.

MR (Mixed Reality): This is a combination of both Augmented and Virtual Reality where there are either real objects in a virtual world or virtual objects or characters integrated into real environments.

SRT (SubRip File Format): This is a file that holds video subtitle information and is used for captioning videos online. This is a standard file that is read by DVD’s as well as most video uploading systems.

THE NUMBERS

1080p (Full HD): 1080p refers to the absolutely pure form of the regular High Definition video format. The p stands for progressive scan, which means it isn’t field based. The best way to see full HD is from a Blu-Ray player connected by HDMI to a 1080p Television.

4K: This number refers to a video picture with a resolution of 4000 pixels. UltraHD is an offshoot of this video standard.

360 Degree Video: Also known as immersive video, it’s an interactive format that uses a device that has recorded a complete globular view at the same time. The viewer than has a chance to choose where they want to look in the video. The difference between this and VR, is 360 is video of a real world environment not created and you can interact with it on a screen.

120 FPS: This refers to the frames per second or the speed that a camera can capture a photo. By shooting this high, it means you can down convert it without losing motion quality. Plus, it makes for some great slow motion.

There you have it, just a few of the number and letter combos you’re going to see and what they mean. I know it’s something I have to stay up on, but now you have the ability to nerd out with me.

2nd Brain Collective Podcast – Jayme Taylor of Taylor*d Marketing

Jayme started her career while attending Michigan State University, as a telemarketer for the MSU Delvelopment Fund. Her love for mentoring and building relationships based on trust also began to flourish.

Having been in the media industry for 20-years, she has learned the importance of multi-platform marketing strategies and passes that expertise on to her clients.

Jayme is the Mother of 3-boys and resides in Okemos, with her husband Jeff. In her spare time she enjoys running, reading, watching her boys play sports and spending time with family and friends.

Learn more about Jayme Taylor and Taylor*d Marketing:

Guest Post: 4 HR Factors Your New Company Must Plan for

Human resources professionals work hard to keep workplaces productive and safe. They organize training, create hiring procedures, and coordinate employee benefits. These many responsibilities provide challenges that HR managers must plan to overcome.

Here are four ways HR departments can make positive contributions to their organizations.

Creating a Friendly Environment

Taking proactive steps to build a positive environment can save human resources personnel a lot of headaches. When miscommunications result in tension and blame, HR often must find a way to get things running smoothly again. If the environment becomes toxic, HR managers often become referees.

HR managers can foster a positive environment by properly handling disputes, encouraging positive employee interactions, and training bosses in leadership skills.

Another surprisingly effective technique HR managers favor is creating a warm and comfortable atmosphere through office decoration. Fresh flowers, appealing colors, and artwork make employees feel at home, resulting in a happier, more productive workforce.

How to Handle Disputes

Chandler notes that no matter how positive an office environment may be, occasional disputes are bound to occur. Having a process in place to handle serious disputes allows them to get resolved. The last thing anyone wants is for problems to fester.

HR managers have success with processes that allow employees to talk to higher-ups without fear of retaliation. Simply expressing a confidential opinion should never result in negative consequences. When issues are identified, they can then be appropriately addressed.

Leadership Skills Training

When managers show leadership styles that are positive and productive, a professional, cohesive tone pervades the work environment. When bosses behave in counterproductive ways and display negative leadership qualities, employees become demoralized and disgruntled.

Training is crucial because, despite the best intentions, some bosses simply fail to grasp how they can help create a productive atmosphere. Management training should always emphasize leadership skills, such as giving constructive feedback, setting expectations, and teambuilding.

Safety Training Classes

HR departments must always consider their safety training program. Without proper instruction, employees are likely to neglect safety procedures. They may also engage in dangerous practices without realizing it. Safety training provides them with the knowledge they need to perform their jobs with the contentiousness employers have the right to expect.

Many organizations find that the best method of training employees is through a professional training organization. For example, Advanced Heavy Vehicle Driver Training Centre provides extensive training in the operation of heavy vehicles, such as trucks, forklifts, and construction equipment. Third-party training courses offer the advantages of professional instruction and documentation of the company’s compliance with all regulations.

HR departments play a vital role in keeping workplaces functional and safe. By fostering positive work environments and properly training employees, HR managers provide immense value.

Anica is a professional content and copywriter from San Francisco, California. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. She was raised in a big family, so she’s used to putting things to a vote. Also, cartwheels are her specialty. You can connect with Anica here.