Halloween is
a Scottish variant of All Hallows Eve. The holiday is thought to have both
Christian and Pagan roots and has become a day of trick-or-treating, scary
stories and horror films.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Amazon ReKindled After Losses
Amazon
has become an iconic website on the Internet and is widely recognized as one of
the premier Internet-based companies alongside giants such as Google. Unlike
its competitors, Amazon is known for dealing in quality products that all
buyers can trust. Additionally, they have expanded their services. Amazon is no
longer just the middleman in sales between producers and consumers, but a
producer of its own, creating the Kindle Fire to compete against Apple's iPad
and other tablets. This appears to have paid off, as in a recent report their
investment has narrowed initial losses and boosted sales figures.
Knowing
when to grow has been part of Amazon's success, and any business can learn a
thing or two from them. The online retailer has actually been working with losses
since they decided to produce their own products. Now, they have managed to cut
those losses by almost 150% from the same time a year ago. This is due in large
part to their expansion into more international markets, offering more services
to their Amazon Prime users, and free video streaming content.
Their
rebound is astonishing considering the fact that this year has been dreadful
for any type of business who deals in product sales. Even EBay posted a
disappointing forecast citing complete lack of consumer confidence, a statement
supported by many analysts who expect this to be one of the worst holiday
shopping seasons in recent memory. Amazon, on the other hand, is looking
forward to a prosperous holiday season due to the loyalty of their Amazon Prime
members, who will take advantage of sales starting on Black Friday.
If you
want to make sure that your company is prepared for this holiday season, it
would be wise to utilize your full online potential. Centel Media™ can help your
company achieve this with our online outreach services. We will increase your
number of followers and likes on your social media pages through our social media optimization
services. We can also promote your company by issuing press releases, and increase your
company’s appearance on search engines through Google AdWords optimization. While
holiday sales figures are predicted to be dreary, that doesn't mean your
company can't be like Amazon. Take advantage of the lull by embracing new
opportunities.
Jonathan Wong,
Creative
Writer,
Matthew
Shaffer,
Editor-in-Chief,
Friday, October 25, 2013
U.S. No Longer Trusted
Trust has
always been hard to come by. When trust is broken, it’s often impossible to
mend. In the case of the United States government and many other countries,
trust has been lost. Germany's Chancellor, their version of the President,
found out from a German magazine that the United States may have been spying on
her through her cellphone. As we will see, careful wording, transparency and
trust are closely linked.
While this isn't the first breach of trust between the United States and other countries, the topic hasn’t lost any steam. In a White house press release, the United States denied spying on the Chancellor and many other accusers, however, they did not deny spying on foreign leaders and other individuals in the past. Some of the media has pounced on the wording, but I don't think anyone is surprised by the terminology. Espionage has been a major, if illegal and immoral, part of both the public and private sector.
This is why trust is hard to come by. While we would like to be trusting of everyone, it simply does not happen in the real world. Competition is everywhere and many look after themselves to get a leg up against rivals.
Keeping trust often requires you to give it in return. You can’t expect others to open up to you if you’re not opening up to them. Transparency is the key. It may reflect on your company poorly in the short-term, but in the long-term, your clients and contacts will appreciate it. If you’re open, others will see that you’re willing to take on their opinions and adapt to make them more at ease.
For a business, maintaining trust with both clients and customers is one of the greatest assets your company can achieve in its lifetime. With proper trust comes business ventures, more customers, and greater opportunities that you would not have otherwise. At Centel Media™, we have the tools to help you attain that trust. A well-known strategy to build trust is to create press releases, which can develop a platform for your business's intentions. We also create company blogs and will even submit a Wikipedia article to further support your cause.
If you’re struggling to start or maintain a relationship between you and your customers or you and other contacts, Centel Media™ can help you regain a trustworthy name.
Jonathan
Wong,
Creative
Writer,
Matthew
Shaffer,
Editor-in-Chief,
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Starbucks's Prices Boiling Over
Coffee
shops are a way of life for many Americans. The smell, the caffeine, and the
atmosphere are enough to perk up even the worst case of the Mondays. The most
notable chain of coffee shops is Starbucks. Starbucks distinguishes itself from
its competitors by offering premium quality coffee with a price to match. While
the prices are a tad high, many people in America don’t seem to mind, as the
shop is one of the most popular destinations for coffee.
However,
it seems that in China a report by the official China Central Television or
CCTV news agency uncovered that Starbucks was making rather large profit
margins on its sales there by taking advantage of unsuspecting Chinese
customers. Apparently, their coffee is more expensive than in a majority of
other markets. This negative report is not something any company would want,
and the best way to counter it is by spreading the right information to fill in
the gaps.
While it
is true that Starbucks charges more in China than it does elsewhere, there are
several factors that are responsible for premium price tags. In this Eastern
country, the cost of food tends to be higher than in the United States due to
differing regulations, which forces Starbucks to ramp up their prices.
Additionally, the Chinese tend to behave more casually in cafés than they do in
America: instead of taking their coffee on the go, Chinese people hang around
inside the café more often. This has the side effect of forcing Chinese Starbucks
to build larger shops in order to accommodate all of the customers. And
finally, China has higher import rates and tariffs, which certainly doesn't
help this whole situation.
Most
interestingly, there is a lot of support for Starbucks online from Chinese
users. This is quite a departure from traditional Chinese views on this sort of
Western lifestyle. Like Apple, Starbucks is seen as a premium brand, and many
are willing to pay a higher price in order to maintain that standard in their
lives.
If your
company needs to deflect damaging content, Centel Media™ can provide plenty of
strong support in your endeavor. In a case like this, we would create a negative article suppression
campaign. To give your brand more exposure, we can also create press releases that
will boost the legitimacy of your side of the story in defense of your company.
If you need more online support, social media might be the way to go. Centel Media™ has services to make the most out of social media by optimizing
your pages.
We want
your company to be in charge of your own image, not the media.
Jonathan
Wong,
Creative
Writer,
Matthew
Shaffer,
Editor-In-Chief,
Friday, October 18, 2013
Breaking Bad Reputations With Good
Most
of the time, maintaining a solid online reputation requires you to combat
negativity lobbied against you or your company. This can come from disgruntled
employees, dissatisfied customers, and random users on the Internet who don't
care for you or how you do business. But there are also many cases when online
reputation management will help spread a positive message about you.
Whenever
you receive an accolade for outstanding performance or news reporting the
achievements of your company, you want to spread that message across as many
platforms as you can. Don’t think that doing so will make you look cocky or
arrogant. If you frame praise in the right way, it’s never a bad thing. Your audience
or clientele will view such praise as a strong reason to invest their time and
money into your interests.
For
example, it was reported recently that Anthony Hopkins, one of the greatest
actors still living today, sent an email to Bryan Cranston, another great
actor, about his work on the TV show Breaking Bad. Hopkins had just
finished watching a marathon of the show and was so impressed with Cranston's
performance as Walter White that he sent an email heaped with incredible
amounts of praise for the actor’s work. Hopkins called Cranston's acting the
greatest he had EVER seen.
Usually,
the public is amazed when actors and actresses receive awards at prestigious
events like the Academy Awards or the Golden Globes. But for the performers
themselves, I'm sure receiving a personal statement of utter respect and admiration
from one of your greatest peers triumphs over any award. In the case of a
business, your company would certainly be happy to receive a plaque from a
convention of businesses for outstanding achievements, but it’s often sweeter
to receive glowing praise from another company, individual or group that
idolizes your efforts in the field.
If
you want to bring awareness to your accomplishments, you can do more than just
a simple ad campaign online. Consider utilizing Centel Media™, the top-rated
online reputation management firm in the nation. We can create Press Releases to further spread the message of your achievements.
Additionally, we can make such honors a focus on your Wikipedia entry through
our Wikipedia Submission service so that anyone who sees your
page knows your accolades.
Jonathan
Wong,
Creative
Writer,
Matthew
Shaffer,
Editor-In-Chief,
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Don't Be Shut Down: Take the Risk
In the
news Friday, Washington Congressman and House Representative from Wisconsin
Paul Ryan made a rather remarkable change to his position. As the public knows
well by now, Washington has been stuck in a political gridlock that has shut
down the government. Federal services across the nation have been affected and
the majority of the public is understandably upset at the situation. Once
elected, politicians are expected to get things done in office, but that
certainly hasn’t been the case and the American people are fed up.
Representative
Ryan decided to bolt from his party line, at least for a bit, as he tried to
place a possible deal on the table that will not involve defunding Obama's
Affordable Care Act, commonly known now as Obamacare. Whatever your political
beliefs or ideology, the federal government cannot remain in shutdown forever.
So unlike his fellow Republicans and Democrats, he took some much needed risks
in order to help push a bill through.
I
emphasis risk-taking because, in today’s market, there are so many companies
that need to stop waiting for catastrophe and start making the necessary moves
to push ahead. When times get tough, the majority of businesses and business
owners just do their best to outlast the problem, instead of trying to reach
out to customers and break new ground. These companies either don’t change the
way they market or take a more passive approach so that, in the end, they don’t
have to spend as much money. While this may be the safe road to travel, there
are opportunities that, if you take the risk, could improve your company right
in the here and now.
A cheap,
easy way to expand your business is to improve your online presence, which is
much less expensive now than it has ever been before. We at Centel Media™ have
services that will help you manage your online reputation. While this may be a
turbulent time, a solid presence online will give your company a boost in
exposure and provide more opportunities to gain clientele. If you’re just
starting up online, consider our Website Design, Blog Creation, Domain Name Registration, and Facebook/Twitter Page Design services.
If you’re already on the web, but don’t have the reputation you’re looking for,
you should utilize our Social Media Optimization and Google AdWords Optimization. Don’t
let economic woes strangle your business, take that initiative and invest in
online reputation management.
Jonathan
Wong,
Creative
Writer,
Matthew
Shaffer,
Editor-In-Chief,
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