A new way publishers can stay financially sustainable
The news landscape is undergoing a constant state of change, resulting in closures and consolidations of existing players and the emergence of hundreds of mission-driven new enterprises. Many of these early-stage digital newsrooms are resource-strapped, especially when it comes to technology and product development. With support from the Google News Initiative, theNews Revenue Hub aims to correct this.
The nonprofit organization is building a team of engineers, product specialists and data scientists to fill gaps and spark growth and sustainability in newsrooms, assembling a first-of-its kind technology team dedicated to meeting the needs of next-generation digital newsrooms.
As a nonprofit providing critical infrastructure and consulting service to newsrooms, the News Revenue Hub has helped more than 70 local, regional and national organizations crowdfund over $42 million since 2016. Last year, Hub newsrooms averaged a 55% increase in member revenue and a 23% increase in email subscribers.
The first product this new GNI-backed team is building will be a streamlined, simple-to use contribution management system called the News Revenue Engine. This product, set to be released in early 2022, will make it easier than ever for mission-driven digital news outlets to steward and convert casual readers into sustaining donors.
Boosting B2B Marketing Credibility with Social Proof and Influencers: 4 Tips
This is gonna be the greatest blog post EVER.
Did you believe me there? You probably didn’t.
Sure, I might think it’s an awesome piece of content. But I’m not exactly an objective source. Now, if you were to come across a post on social media from someone you know and trust, linking to this blog post and saying it’s the best thing they’ve read all year? That’s a different story.
Therein lies the immense value of social proof, which is only growing more impactful as businesses and society evolve into a new era. A survey from Kantar Media last year found that 93% of people trust brand recommendations from family and friends, while only 38% trust information from advertisers. Meanwhile, 84% of people say they trust online reviews as much as their friends.
As a marketer, accepting this reality may cause some discomfort: We can’t control what people say! That’s why a great product and customer experience are table stakes. But when those pieces are in place, today’s marketers can take plenty of steps to strategically encourage and elevate social proof and influencer content.
Building Credibility for Your Brand the Right Way: 4 Key Steps
Going above and beyond with transparency, highlighting third-party voices, portraying influencer authenticity, and creating buzzworthy experiences are among the best ways to build credibility in our current business landscape. A closer look at each:
#1: Embrace Radical Transparency
In business, the term “radical transparency” is usually evoked as an internal management philosophy — keeping employees looped into everything that’s going on, good or bad, to increase engagement and investment. I feel the concept can also be applied externally.
Heightened business transparency is largely happening on its own, in a digital environment where customers and communities can keep a closer eye on a company’s activities and positions.
Why not lean into this transparency? When you proactively put everything out there for people to see, it fuels a perception that you’re not trying to hide anything. That’s a huge credibility booster.
A few examples of transparency that might be considered “radical” but should really start to become the norm:
- Openly acknowledge and address negative reviews instead of burying them
- Share product/service pricing upfront instead of obscuring these important details
- Own the mistakes you make as a company, and share what you learn from them
- Recognize the relative strengths of your competitors in marketing materials, rather than playing up only their weaknesses
- Be forthright about who your product or service is NOT a fit for
If there’s one thing business buyers don’t like, it’s surprises. Given the stakes, nobody wants to find out down the line that there’s an unexpected cost, or unmentioned implementation complexities, or unspoken functional limitations.
Radical transparency helps eliminate surprises and can dramatically increase buyer confidence.
#2: Put Third-Party Reviews and Analysis Forward
As noted earlier, customers tend to be more interested in hearing what other people say about your solutions than what you say about them. That’s not to say a company can’t toot its own horn, but this should be balanced by objective third-party voices.
Think about ways you can incorporate these trusted, unbiased perspectives into your own content. Highlight research from authoritative market analysis firms (e.g. studies from Gartner, Forrester, Nielsen) that helps establish a need for what you offer. Let trends and statistics do the talking. Build out authentic case studies that are more focused on illustrating your solution’s impact in a customer’s organization rather than just heaping lavish praise.
And of course: Point prospective customers to user review sites so they can see for themselves how people describe experiences with your brand. A recent article at Forbes shares tips on getting more reviews and leveraging them effectively.
[bctt tweet=”“Customers tend to be more interested in hearing what other people say about your solutions than what you say about them.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN” username=”toprank”]#3: Aim for Authenticity in Influencer Partnerships
Influencer associations can be excellent sources of credibility for your brand … provided they are handled the right way. From our view at TopRank Marketing, that means taking a relationship-based approach more so than a transactional one.
Influencers who are recognized, respected, and trusted in a particular industry or niche can be tremendously valuable advocates. But when your association with them is superficial, that value is lost. Customers will see through it. Nobody’s putting a lot of stock into the genuine sentiments behind a glowing social media post that has an #ad hashtag at the end.
However, when you’re building long-term relationships with these influencers, to the point where they speak positively about your brand unprompted? When their audiences see them engaging with your people and co-creating impactful content? This is where the true credibility-boosting power of B2B influencer marketing lies.
Helping forge these kinds of authentic influencer ecosystems is an area where our agency specializes, so feel free to give us a shout if you want to learn more.
[bctt tweet=”“Influencers who are recognized, respected, and trusted in a particular industry or niche can be tremendously valuable advocates.” — Nick Nelson @NickNelsonMN” username=”toprank”]#4: Give People Something to Talk About
Increasingly, this is the primary task of the new-age digital marketer: It’s not so much about coming up with different ways to say great things about your brand — it’s about coming up with different ways to get other people to say great things about your brand.
How is this done? There are many ways, including:
- Creation of compelling thought leadership that counters conventional wisdom and gets people talking.
- Virtual events that bring together like-minded people around shared passions and interests pertinent to your industry.
- Delivering notable customer experiences or content experiences that generate buzz on their own.
- Providing exceptional employee experiences that compel team members to openly share how much they enjoy the company and culture.
- Running polls, conversation-starters, and hashtags on social media that expand your brand’s relevant reach and connect it to key topics on your target audience’s mind.
Meanwhile, the type of radical transparency cited in Tip #1 can itself be a means to generate positive chatter about your brand and its credibility. In an older but still highly pertinent article for WIRED about the see-through CEO, Clive Thompson summarized why this is really the only way to go:
“Here’s the interesting paradox: The reputation economy creates an incentive to be more open, not less. Since Internet commentary is inescapable, the only way to influence it is to be part of it. Being transparent, opening up, posting interesting material frequently and often is the only way to amass positive links to yourself and thus to directly influence your Googleable reputation. Putting out more evasion or PR puffery won’t work, because people will either ignore it and not link to it – or worse, pick the spin apart and enshrine those criticisms high on your Google list of life.”
Be part of the commentary. Take the lead in key conversations. Engage with leaders in your space. Act in a way that inspires other people to speak highly of your brand.
Credibility isn’t given; it’s earned. That’s a directive to which everyone across an organization must contribute. But marketers play a key role in earning and showcasing credibility for the brand, and I’d argue that it’s increasingly becoming our most critical job duty. Social proof and influencer marketing are vital cornerstones to doing it well.
Looking for specific guidance on advancing brand credibility through your marketing strategy? Check out my post from last year featuring six tips for infusing credibility into B2B content.
The post Boosting B2B Marketing Credibility with Social Proof and Influencers: 4 Tips appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog – TopRank®.
Meet the health startups joining Accelerator: Europe
The pandemic accelerated a global movement towards digital health and wellbeing services, and startups across Europe are using technology to solve some of the biggest challenges in this space. This trend is reflected in how investors view this sector: since 2016, the combined value of healthtech startups in Europe increased from €6.8 billion to €35 billion and in 2020 the sector saw a €644m increase in funding.
As more entrepreneurs address the growing need for more accessible healthcare with their technology, we announced a special health and wellbeing-focused edition of Google for Startups Accelerator: Europe earlier this year.
Meet the 15 startups selected for our class
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Alike Health (Israel): A healthcare solution that taps into the power of medical records by utilizing proprietary AI, crowdsourcing, and big data.
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BIOTTS (Poland): A company developing proprietary drug delivery technologies and formulas in the fields of diabetology, oncology, and dermatology.
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Braive (Norway): A psychotherapy platform that gives people access to tools to help tackle life’s challenges.
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Cuideo (Spain): A home care solution for the elderly, using an advanced matching algorithm to bring together caregivers and users.
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dermanostic: (Germany): An online dermatology practice where patients can be treated digitally and receive prescriptions via an app.
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goodsleeper (Poland): A digital self-help solution to treating chronic insomnia, based on scientifically-proven and drug-free methods.
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Happy Bob (Finland): A personal digital health assistant that reduces the stress of diabetes data overload and helps achieve better glycemic control.
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Hyperhuman (Romania): An AI-powered platform that helps you transform your video workouts into reusable fitness content.
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LactApp (Spain): A mobile app that gives new mothers customized expert answers to breastfeeding and maternity questions, powered by AI technology.
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MedApp (Poland): A startup developing technologies to support diagnostic imaging and next-gen digital medicine, specializing in AI, 3D imaging, and big data analysis.
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MESI Medical (Slovenia): A diagnostics company developing medical devices and providing clinicians with tools for predictive medical assessment.
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Mindly (Ukraine): An online marketplace for mental health specialists and their clients. Using tech and AI, they are making psychology accessible to everyone.
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myAGE.health (Czech Republic): A functional age monitoring system that measures the rate of aging and provides effective lifestyle recommendations to improve patients’ health.
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Nye Health (United Kingdom): A patient-facing app making it simpler for people to manage their medical data and improve their health.
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Regimen (Germany): A digital program for erectile dysfunction, fighting the stigma around men’s intimate health.
Google for Startups Accelerator is designed to bring the best of Google’s products, people, and technology to startups. In addition to mentorship and technical project support, the program also includes workshops focused on product design, customer acquisition, and leadership development for founders.
Key challenges, according to the founders
It’s important for startups to have specific goals for the program, so we talked to founders about the biggest challenges they hope to tackle with Google support.
MedApp
MedApp wants to expand internationally. Krzysztof Mędrala, MedApp’s CEO, hopes that mentorship will help support in “scaling the business to other countries and optimizing the development process, covering all activities related to its introduction to the market such as marketing and communication with new business partners, investors and key opinion leaders.”
Windows 11, tutte le novità del nuovo sistema operativo Microsoft
Making sign-in safer and more convenient
For most of us, passwords are the first line of defense for our digital lives. However, managing a set of strong passwords isn’t always convenient, which leads many people to look for shortcuts (i.e. dog’s name + birthday) or to neglect password best practices altogether, which opens them up to online risks. At Google, we protect our users with products that are secure by default – it’s how we keep more people safe online than anyone else in the world.
As we celebrate Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we’d like to share all the ways we are making your sign-in safer:
Making password sign-in seamless and safe
Everyday, Google checks the security of 1 billion passwords to protect your accounts from being hacked. Google’s Password Manager, built directly into Chrome, Android and the Google App, uses the latest security technology to keep your passwords safe across all the sites and apps you use. It makes it easier to create and use strong and unique passwords on all your devices, without the need to remember or repeat each one.
Nest Cam with floodlight is a smarter floodlight for your home
A floodlight does two great things for your front porch: It creates ambient light that welcomes family and visitors to your home — and it deters unwanted guests. But traditional floodlights are activated purely by motion sensors, which can be helpful when you’re walking outside in the dark, but not so much when a moth is flying in front of the light.
So when Nest set out to build our first connected floodlight, we wanted to integrate the smarts in our new Nest Cam to create a more helpful floodlight camera — one that turns on when activity is detected, and can be easily installed and replace an existing exterior light fixture.
Meet Nest Cam with floodlight, available today for $279.99. It’s designed to work exclusively with the Google Home app, so you can check on home or control your floodlight from anywhere. Here are 11 things to love about the newest nocturnal Nest Cam.
- Two of a kind: Nest Cam with floodlight combines our newest camera technology with a high-quality LED floodlight. The device is hardwired for continuous power and provides the option for 24/7 continuous video history (with a Nest Aware Plus subscription).
- A smarter floodlight: The floodlight is controlled by the smarts of the camera (rather than motion sensors alone) to light up the scene and capture important activity. Instead of the light switching on and off for activity that you don’t care about, you can select the types of activity that your floodlight turns on for, such as when a person, animal, or vehicle is detected. For example, set an activity zone so it lights your way when you pull into your driveway.
- Replace your existing lighting: Install Nest Cam with floodlight where you have an existing exterior light or wiring. It comes with what you need to upgrade your existing exterior light right in the box. We’ve created a step-by-step video as part of the setup process in the Google Home app to make installation a breeze, but you can also enlist the help of a Pro if you need a hand.
- Built for the Google Home app: Like the new battery-powered Nest Cam and Doorbell, Nest Cam with floodlight is built exclusively for the Google Home app. In the app, you can adjust the brightness of the lights, turn the floodlight on and off manually or control what kind of events turn the floodlight on.
- Enhanced by Nest Cam features: Nest Cam has built-in intelligence and on-device processing, meaning more features are available right out of the box that used to require a subscription — for example, animal, vehicle and person detection and the ability to create Activity Zones. It also has local storage fallback, meaning the camera will record up to an hour of footage (about a week’s worth of events) on-device if the power or internet go out, and when service returns you’ll be able to view your clips in the Google Home app.
- Your extra set of eyes: In addition to being powered by Nest Cam’s intelligence and delivering 1080p video with HDR, Nest Cam with floodlight is equipped with 180-degree motion sensors to detect movement. It’s optimized to give you a clear view and be your extra set of eyes where you need them. The floodlights also illuminate the scene, which makes for a clearer image in the dark.
- Ambient light you can control: At 2400 lumens, the lights are bright enough to illuminate your patio or front yard in the middle of the night. In the Google Home app, Nest Cam with floodlight can be controlled like a smart light: adjust brightness, motion sensitivity, what the lights turn on for and how long — or manually turn the lights on or off with just a tap.
- Set up routines: Nest Cam with floodlight works with your other Nest speakers and displays, so you can control the lights with your voice. In the Google Home app, schedule when your floodlight turns on and set up custom routines either by time or voice command. For example, turn on your floodlight when you say “turn on the backyard light,” or at 9:00 p.m. every night.
- A floodlight you can count on: With an IP54 rating, Nest Cam with floodlight can withstand the elements so it’s there for you when you need it the most. And similar to our other new cameras, it also requires a Google account, which provides added protection like security checkup, suspicious activity detection and two-step verification.
- Add a Nest Aware subscription: With a Nest Aware subscription, you can extend your video history from three hours of event video history (comes with the device, no subscription required!) to 30 days of event video history and add familiar face detection. A Nest Aware Plus subscription extends to 60 days of event video history and 10 days of 24/7 continuous video history.
- Thoughtful, durable design: Made of durable, high-quality materials and a sleek, white design inspired by the lighting we use for the inside of our homes, Nest Cam with floodlight was designed to complement your home’s unique character, rather than looking like high-tech security gear.
If you’re interested in learning more about the new Nest Cam with floodlight, visit the Google Store.
The new indoor, wired Nest Cam is available today
Meet the second-generation Nest Cam (indoor, wired): a wired camera that helps you keep track of what’s going on inside your home and matches your unique interior decor. Starting at $99.99, it’s our most affordable Nest Cam ever. It has an adaptable design for tabletops or walls, and it comes in four colors: Snow, Linen, Fog and Sand with maple wood base ($119.99).
The new Nest Cam has 10 times more machine learning power than the previous generation, enhanced HDR video quality, and processes events on-device, which makes for more accurate and timely alerts. It can detect people, animals and vehicles, only sending you alerts for what matters most. We’ve also included three hours of event video history and the ability to create Activity Zones (which help the camera focus on the important places in your home). All of this works without the need for a subscription. Nest Cam also has local storage backup to help with reliability: If your Wi-Fi goes out, it will keep recording and upload your clips to the Google Home app when service returns.
Nest Cam is built specifically for the Google Home app, where you can view and control your camera anytime. You can choose which notifications you want to receive, set up Activity Zones and view your whole home history across your compatible devices, like displays, thermostats and new Nest Cams and Doorbell. A Nest Aware subscription expands your event video history to 30 days, and a Nest Aware Plus subscription provides 60 days of event video history and 10 days of continuous video history. Both subscriptions also come with Familiar Face detection to help your cameras identify people you know.
We designed this Nest Cam for the many ways you can use an indoor camera. To show you just how versatile it is, here’s how members of the Nest team are using it in their own homes.
Make the new indoor wired Nest Cam your own — it’s available today on the Google Store and at select retailers.
Il Fatto Quotidiano pubblica il QR di un green pass, nonostante i moniti del Garante Privacy
Alla redazione del Fatto Quotidiano non sono bastati tutti gli avvisi del Garante di non pubblicare Green Pass. Oggi il FQ ha pubblicato un articolo (copia permanente) nel quale la foto (che ho sfuocato qui accanto) mostra un Green Pass perfettamente leggibile, intestato a Romano C.G., nato il 18/6/66.
Qualcuno ha sovrapposto al codice QR un pallino sfuocato, che però non rende affatto illeggibile il codice, visto che i codici QR sono fatti apposta per tollerare danni e cancellazioni.
Per chi obietta “Ma tanto si tratta solo di nome, cognome e data di nascita”, ricordo che il codice QR contiene molti altri dati: lo stato di vaccinazione o meno, la data di eventuale vaccinazione, il tipo di vaccino e altro ancora. Dati sanitari sensibili, insomma, che non vengono letti dalle normali app di verifica ma possono essere letti tramite software facilmente reperibile online.
Questo articolo vi arriva gratuitamente e senza pubblicità grazie alle donazioni dei lettori. Se vi è piaciuto, potete incoraggiarmi a scrivere ancora facendo una donazione anche voi, tramite Paypal (paypal.me/disinformatico) o altri metodi.
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ART&more by gloTM: la prima opera di street art che diventa un NFT
Lo scorso luglio il lungomare di Napoli si è trasformato in un percorso artistico a cielo aperto Lo scorso luglio il lungomare di Napoli si è trasformato in un percorso…
L’articolo ART&more by gloTM: la prima opera di street art che diventa un NFT scritto da YOUR_DIGITAL_VOICE! proviene da Assodigitale.