Tag Archive for: Video

Mitel announces definitive agreement to acquire Polycom

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Polycom logoCombines global technology leaders to create a complete communications and collaboration portfolio and an enhanced ability to deliver profitable growth

  • Creates new $2.5 billion revenue company with scale and differentiated portfolio to expand in evolving enterprise communications market
  • Delivers attractive value for Mitel and Polycom’s shareholders with significant operating leverage and synergy opportunities
  • Polycom brand to be retained
  • Results in a significant reduction in net debt leverage ratio
  • Transaction expected to be accretive to Mitel in 2017 

OTTAWA and SAN JOSE, Calif., April 15, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mitel (Nasdaq:MITL) (TSX:MNW) and Polycom(Nasdaq:PLCM), today announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement in which Mitel will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Polycom common stock in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $1.96 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Polycom stockholders will be entitled to $3.12 in cash and 1.31 Mitel common shares for each share of Polycom common stock, or $13.68 based on the closing price of a Mitel common share on April 13, 2016. The transaction represented a 22% premium to Polycom shareholders based on Mitel’s and Polycom’s “unaffected” share prices as of April 5, 2016 and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

New company with shared vision for seamless communications and collaboration

The combined company will be headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, and will operate under the Mitel name while maintaining Polycom’s strong global brand. Richard McBee, Mitel’s Chief Executive Officer will lead the combined organization. Steve Spooner, Mitel’s Chief Financial Officer, will also continue in that role. Once merged, the combined company will have a global workforce of approximately 7,700 employees.

“Mitel has a simple vision – to provide seamless communications and collaboration to customers. To bring that vision to life we are methodically putting the puzzle pieces in place to provide a seamless customer experience across any device and any environment,” said Mitel CEO Rich McBee. “Polycom is one of the most respected brands in the world and is synonymous with the high quality and innovative conference and video capabilities that are now the norm of everyday collaboration. Together with industry-leading voice communications from Mitel, the combined company will have the talent and technology needed to truly deliver integrated solutions to businesses and service providers across enterprise, mobile and cloud environments.”

“Together, Polycom and Mitel expect to drive meaningful value for our shareholders, customers, partners and employees around the world,” said Peter Leav, President and CEO of Polycom. “We look forward to working closely with the Mitel team to ensure a smooth transition and continued innovation to bring the workplace of the future to our customers.”

Global scale and strategic scope provide key customer benefits

The combined global company will offer customers an integrated technology experience supported by an impressive ecosystem of partners. Key market positions include:

  • #1 in business cloud communications (i)
  • #1 in IP/PBX extensions in Europe (ii)
  • #1 in conference phones (iii)
  • #1 in Open SIP sets (iv)
  • #2 in video conferencing (v)
  • #2 in installed audio (vi)
  • Installed customer base in more than 82% of Fortune 500 companies
  • Deep product integration with Microsoft solutions
  • Mobile deployments in 47 of the world’s top 50 economies
  • Combined portfolio of more than 2,100 patents and more than 500 patents pending
  • Global presence across five continents with approximately 7,700 employees worldwide

Enhanced platform expected to deliver profitable growth with opportunities for synergies and significant debt deleveraging

The combined company will have a significantly larger financial platform with the scope, scale and operating leverage needed to strategically expand in an actively evolving market.

Transaction Details

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, subject to stockholder approval by Polycom and Mitel, receipt of regulatory approval in certain jurisdictions and other customary closing conditions. Following the closing of the transaction, former Polycom shareholders are expected to hold approximately 60% and current Mitel shareholders are expected to hold approximately 40% of the outstanding Mitel common shares.

Source:  Mitel Website

“Communication Manager” provides UC foundation

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The Avaya Aura Communication Manager is a core component of the Avaya UC platform and the foundation for delivering real-time voice, video, messaging, mobility and other UC services.Old Phone 2

The Communication Manager registers and maintains all Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) endpoints, call routing, call queuing, prioritization of voice and video calls and much more. The product also has built-in conferencing and contact center applications — suitable for companies with call centers and demanding conferencing needs.

The Communication Manager offers more than 700 features that are available to all users, no matter where they are working from, including office users and remote users working from home or on the road.

With this product, SIP and H.323 are fully supported, along with other industry-standard protocols. Connection with PSTN and ISDN services is possible using Avaya’s media gateways, such as the Avaya G250. These media gateways work pretty much the same way as most vendors’, connecting to the Aura Communication Manager and providing inbound and outbound call routing to PSTN and ISDN services.

Critical environments can also have a second Communication Manager installed, providing high-availability and uninterruptible service in case the primary server is down. Extending this redundancy model further, in the event that both servers are down, users will automatically register to the media gateway — if available — and have access to basic telephony services until the servers are restored.

The Communication Manager is offered as a standalone hardware application server or a virtualized application. It runs on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system, offering increased reliability, speed and smaller hardware requirements, as opposed to other non-Linux-based systems.

The Communication Manager can support up to 36,000 endpoints and 24,000 SIP trunks, making it a scalable solution for small to larger enterprises.

Lync is now Skype for Business

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Old Phone 1If you already use Skype to communicate with friends and family at home, you’ll appreciate the power and familiarity of Skype for Business where it’s easy to find and connect with co-workers. And you can use the devices you already have (iPhone, etc.) to reach business contacts through an “enterprise grade”, secure, IT-managed platform. If you’re already using Lync at your office, you’ll recognize all of the features you already use but in a new interface with simplified controls and some good new additions:

Call from Skype for Business using your desk phone for audio

If you have a PBX (Private Branch Exchange) desk phone and your IT department has configured it to work with Skype for Business you can search for people in your organization and place calls to them within the Skype for Business user interface, while audio for the call flows through your standard desk (PBX) phone. You can also place calls from the Skype for Business client using any phone near you (like your mobile, home, or hotel phone). The person you’re calling sees your phone number as though you were calling from your company’s main phone number.

When you make a Skype for Business call with audio routed through your desk phone, you also get:

  • IM—so you can do a quick copy/paste of a URL you want to share (as an example)
  • Desktop and app sharing—so you can easily show and tell, work through problems, or explain stuff with pictures
  • Attachments—send files to the other person without leaving Skype for Business

Rate My Call

Kind of a cool feature called “Rate My Call” lets Skype for Business Server administrators collect call data, access standard reports, and export raw data for further analysis. Users are prompted to take a survey after completing a call.
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First there was Skype, a popular app for instant messaging, video chat, and voice calls. Then Microsoft bought the company in 2011, continuing to offer it as a consumer product along with Lync as a business application. But last year Microsoft announced it would drop Lync in favor of Skype for Business, which would combine features of both Lync and Skype.

Today, some people are confused with what is actually available and how it works. There are two Skype services (free and paid and online or on-premises versions). There are two client types available as well.

Cores:

Skype for Business Server 2015: This on-premises server provides IM, presence, peer-to-peer VoIP and video, conferencing, enterprise voice, and telephone-system (PSTN) connectivity.

Skype for Business Online: This service is on line and bundled within Microsoft Cloud or Office 365.  It provides IM, presence, peer-to-peer VoIP and video, and conferencing. It does not provide enterprise voice or PSTN connectivity, but these features are in development.

Clients:

Skype for Business: This client replaces the Lync client as part of the Office suite. It works with either version of Skype and on almost all iOS and Android phones.

Skype: This client is available for consumer download, providing free service for personal use. Its features are similar to those of Skype for Business but usually are more limited in scope.

Pretty cool stuff…  Microsoft seems to finally be consolidating their story and solution to Enterprise voice and communication.  As a result you will likely see more selling to the corporate IT team in your company with Microsoft pointing out these selling points:

  • Online meetings, messaging, calls, video, and sharing with up to 250 people.
  • Find anyone in your company and schedule meetings in Outlook.
  • Enterprise-grade security and management of employee accounts.
  • As low as$2.00 user/month

6 Ways Video is good for Business

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Video Conferencing for the Small and Medium size companies.

Screen ShotOne of the best ways for businesses and employees to stay connected with each other is through the use of innovative technology. This is also great news since everyone also wants to save money and do something that can help benefit the environment. That is exactly the idea behind using remote video conferencing. This can end up not only helping business people to become more productive, but will also end up saving time and potentially a lot of money. Here are some of the ways remote conferencing can help.

  1. Video Means Employee Connections:
    Many, over 15% of office based employees work out of their homes multiple days per week. Because of this, video conferencing is highly valuable for employees who work from home a day or two. Video conferencing also provides immediate connection – It enables workers to get in touch within seconds. Rather than waiting for a quarterly meeting to come around, you can add insight into daily operations whenever you need immediate feedback. See last week’s blog post on what systems are free!
  2. Video and Facial Expressions:
    Live, online video meetings encourage employee participation through face-to-face expressions, unlike the traditional conference call in which everyone just talks into an office phone. Facial expressions and body language can be helpful if seen. They can encourage engagement, leading to more focus and participation in the business at hand. This also allows for strategy sessions and key meetings to be recorded and used as training for future hires.
  3. Video Means Less Travel Costs:
    With travel costing so much, video conferencing offers an enticing cut in the need for so much travel. Video links allow you to foster open communication with clients regularly, while potentially limiting travel to the most important of meetings. Not only are your travel costs reduced, the hours spent sending staffers all over the country is reduced as well, cutting down on lost time and productivity. Less travel on team meetings, customer meetings and training … all equals cost savings.
  4. Video Gives You a Competitive Advantage:
    The time and money you don’t spend on travel means you can gain a competitive advantage. When you provide a medium for your team to collaborate, share knowledge and communicate via video in real time, you’re fostering personal relationships between your company and your clients. This encourages client loyalty and reduces the time you spend going back and forth with revisions, quality checks and changes.
  5. Increases Productivity:
    Most of the better video conferencing systems now have the ability to help users share and edit all kinds of documents and files. All of this can happen in real-time.
  6. Huge Reduction in Carbon Footprint:
    Another interesting thing about the benefits of the type of conferencing is the potential to reduce your carbon footprint. Less car and less airplane travel reduces pollution.

Bottom Line:
Using a Video conferencing solution is one of the best things you can do for your business. Not only does it allow you to have a global presence, it is also great for your employees. This will end up saving your company time and money in so many ways, reducing your business travel and improving productivity.

“Saving Money with Video”

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Saving money and building relationships.

Video Conferencing for the Small and Medium size company.

Screen ShotEvery company wants to save money and build stronger relationships between their employees and customers.   While some people are uncomfortable talking over a video call, it can be an extremely valuable tool for a small or medium sized company.   How many times have you taken a business trip somewhere or attended a conference and said afterwards “the best thing about the trip is I got to meet face to face with a bunch of people I normally deal with over the phone”.   In other words, the trip was worth the effort because you were able to build upon a relationship that was, up to that point, only based on audio or written communication.   Video may not be as good as an in person meeting but it is the next best thing and it has a WHOLE LOT of benefits (see our blog post next week!)

First off, let’s talk about saving money.   How does “free” sound?   Here are the most common free platforms available to companies today:

Google Hangouts
Web | iOS | Android
This product started as Google+, then moved to Google Talk (Gtalk) and now has morphed into Google+ Hangouts.  The video chat capabilities Google has created are simple to use and powerful.

There’s no large program to download and install on the desktop, but you will need to add a Hangouts plugin to your browser. It’s available for most browsers, even Internet Explorer. Sign into Google+, make sure Hangouts is signed in, and you’ll see your buddy list on the right. Pick a name and you’ll see a chat window. Click the video camera icon to start a video chat. Very simple

Skype
Windows | Windows 8 | Mac OS | Linux | iOS | Android | Windows Phone |

Skype is the de facto standard in video chat between two people. However, each participant must have a Skype account and it’s only free when you are talking one-on-one. Group video chatting requires a premium subscription, which starts at $4.99 a month. While video chatting you can instant message, show off your desktop screen, and share files.

FaceTime
Mac OS | iOS

FaceTime comes free with all Mac and iPhones and is as easy to use as making a phone call.

Once you register your phone number and/or email addresses with the service, you can then find others. If you know another user’s contact info and they’re also using an Apple device, making a video call is as simple as pie. That’s the major strength, along with very high video quality. The only drawback with FaceTime is that it’s not on any other platform

CamFrog
Windows | Mac OS | Linux (Server only) | iOS | Android | Windows Phone
CamFrog lets you set up Web-based video chatrooms where you or others with a webcam can join a conversation. One-on-one conversations are also an option. Plus it’ll do voice and text if you don’t want others to see you.

Cisco WebEx Meetings

Webex is a standard way to share a desktop and do an online whiteboard, but it also offers VoIP features, even on the free level that includes standard-quality video chat. However you’ll have to pay extra for high-definition video.

Jitsi
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
If you like free software to be more open-source and unlimited try Jitsi.  Jitsi (formerly the SIP Communicator) has almost nightly new builds of the multi-protocol software.  It is ICQ for video and does SIP or XMPP-based video and audio, and works with Yahoo Messenger and AIM for text chat.

ooVoo

ooVoo takes on Skype directly by providing features like IMs, free voice calls to any phone, screen sharing, and file sharing—and on the video side it offers group video chat with up to 12 people, along with video call recording directly to YouTube. There’s a Facebook app that lets you join a video chat right from the Web.

There are others but you get the idea.   These tools are out there and can be leveraged in your business for practically nothing.  Once you have the platform to use then you can unlock all the other value – see our next blog post called “Why Video”.

Keeping the Nortel CS1000 Alive

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Avaya’s announcement of a “final release” of Nortel CS1000 at version R7.6 appears to have left these customers with one choice: rip and replace.

Enterprises that have Nortel CS1000 platforms and phones were hit hard by the Nortel’s bankruptcy. When Nortel’s telecom related assets were acquired by Avaya and GENBAND, the CS1000 customers became dependent on Avaya for ongoing upgrades and maintenance. Avaya’s announcement of a “final release” of CS1000 at version R7.6 appears to have left these customers with one choice: rip and replace.

Rip and Replace
The rip and replace solution presents several problems for the CS1000 owner. First, there is the expense of a new platform; in most cases new servers will be required. There certainly will be new software, management tools, operational procedures, and re-training of IT staff.

Beyond the core platform, there is also their considerable investment in desk phones. Many enterprises have proprietary Nortel TDM and/or Nortel UNIStim IP phones that are not supported by other vendors. With nearly half the cost of an upgrade tied to desk phones, replacing endpoints can be one of the biggest costs, and, of course, every new phone requires an end user to be retrained. And, since CS1000 customers have felt the pain of being tied to one vendor, standards-based SIP endpoints are in-demand.

The technicians that support the CS1000 and UNIStim phones are also moving on: either retiring or learning new systems. As CS1000 technicians refocus on other platforms, their numbers dwindle, impacting availability. As time goes by, the shortage in expertise and parts drives up maintenance fees.

Users will have to be re-trained. New apps will need to be introduced that essentially replace the CS1000 apps. UNIStim phones will have to be replaced. Moving to Unified Communications will be limited unless the CS1000 is eliminated.

IT’s Goals
Given the expense and complexity of rip and replace it’s no surprise that this is not a CS1000 owner’s first choice. An IT team’s goals for the continued life of the CS1000 are likely to include:

  • Extending the life of legacy UNIStim endpoints that can’t be converted to SIP
  • Building a true SIP-based solution
  • Maintaining feature transparency, thereby saving staff time and retraining users
  • Using the enterprise network or Cloud-based service
  • Adding Mobility (smart devices)
  • Offering UC to a range of endpoints (PC/Mac, tablet, phone)
  • Adding Video & Collaboration
  • Supporting Advanced Messaging

A GENBAND Solution
GENBAND has acquired Nortel’s carrier assets. Using their acquired intellectual property theyhave introduced three alternative paths for the CS1000 owner. All three pathways extend the useful life of the CS1000. The pathways not only allow the retention of the CS1000 investment, they also permit the addition of new capabilities for the users.
ScreenShot002
Three GENBAND Solutions

Wrap the CS1000 with a Cloud Overlay
This solution uses the GENBAND cloud-based service called NUViA™. NUViA™ is an enterprise-class Unified Communications as a Service designed to eliminate the need for premises-based session/call control. It is powered by GENBAND’s EXPERiUS™ solutions which is a platform that ties its heritage to the Nortel MCS platform.

NUViA services can overlay the CS1000 implementation without replacing the existing CS1000 hardware or software. It offers an overlay of UC, video and mobility applications on top of the CS 1000. The enterprise is free to use as little or as much as they want since it is sold on a per seat basis.

Migrate Endpoints to Cloud Based Core
This path expands the NUViA cloud based solution. The enterprise re-registers the UNIStim IP or SIP phones into the cloud-based NUViA system. The DID’s can be moved into SIP or cloud connections or can be maintained on premise gateways registered into NUViA. This allows the enterprise to be always current with the latest features. This solution is also priced on a per seat basis.

Migrate Endpoints to Premises Based Core
This third alternative moves the session/call control to GENBAND’s EXPERiUS™ service. EXPERiUS ties its heritage to the Nortel MCS application server. Given the heritage the feature set will be familiar to CS1000 users. However EXPERiUS is very much a fully virtualized platform with a hardware freedom model where enterprises can select Dell, HP, or IBM servers. The enterprise would re-register UNIStim, IP or SIP phones to the on-premises EXPERiUS servers. Enterprises can then add UC, video and mobility applications.

GENBAND’s Intelligent Messaging Manager integrates with EXPERiUS for voice mail, including emulation of much of the Call Pilot’s telephone interface.

The Benefits
The benefits of the three alternative solutions are:

  • Limited or no user training except for new features
  • The option to select either CAPEX solution with on-premises or an OPEX solution via the cloud
  • Retaining the Nortel phones can save $200 to $500 per user
  • Migrating forward with a SIP-based solution
  • Deploying a full set of UC features
  • No SIP device licenses

Conclusions
The enterprise may select to rip and replace their IP PBX. However, the GENBAND solutions offer a lower impact path for the future. The financial expenses will be lower if the enterprise can continue using its existing CS1000 and UNIStim phone investment.

This is not to say that the GENBAND is the best solution. The enterprise should look at the ROI on both the GENBAND solutions and a rip and replace implementation. It may be that the enterprise is ready to replace the UNIStim phones and the CS1000 is at the end of its ROI life. The GENBAND solutions offer another benchmark for comparison.

Author: Eric Krapf at nojitter

Will the Office Desk Phone Die?

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Traditional PBX vendors hope not.   How about a “Hard MAC”?   Not the Apple product but the move, add or change.   Need one of those?

There was a time not long ago where most all of us drove into the office every day, sat at a desk and did our work.   And we spent a whole lot of time on the phone!   Fast forward to today and the trends are pretty easy to see that are impacting the use, and outright need, of a desk phone.   For example:

Usage:   15 years ago my office was my “command center”.  I held meetings there and … you got it… talked on the phone.   Phone calls, voice mail, and more phone calls.   Today we simply do not talk on the phone near as much.   Mainly because we have other ways to communicate that we didn’t have before:  IM/Chat; e-Mail; Video; soft phone and of course the cell phone.  All of these other types of communication are driving down the minutes of the Office Desk Phone.   Ask yourself – if my Office Desk Phone went away today could I still conduct business at least for a while?    The answer of is almost sure to be “yes”.

Mobility:  Most of us don’t like to sit in one spot all day.   You know the Herman Miller $600 chair?  You needed one of those because you didn’t move all day and you had to be right next to your Desk Phone – in case it rang.   Now you can be in the backyard, at a park or anywhere and make and receive business calls.   This is better for you and better for the customer trying to reach you.

Millennials:   The 15 – 30ish year olds have really only known an environment with wireless phones.   They may have grown up with a land-line but it had a base station and wireless handsets.   If you are one of the younger Millennials you have always had a cell phone.   And guess what … when they buy a house or get an apartment they don’t get a land line so when they move into the office environment they won’t need one there either.   As the older workers exit the workforce (the ones who like landlines) they will be replaced by new workers who don’t want or need one.
Chart
The youngest households are abandoning landlines in droves. About two-thirds of households led by people ages 15 to 29 relied only on cellphones in 2011, compared with 28% for the broader population.

Softphones:   Most all phone vendors now have a soft client… it can be on your laptop or it can ride on your iPhone or iPad.   You can use your company phone directory and network resources on devices other than the traditional Desk Phone.

For smartphone users making and receiving calls via hosted PBX apps, voice quality and service availability are improving dramatically as 4G data networks spread. Even business software suites such as Open Office, traditionally the realm of desktop or laptop computers, are now available in mobile versions.

Summary:

So the trend is clear…   like the landline at home, the Office Desk Phone is trending down quickly.   So who will end up keeping a standard Office Desk Phone… the people who like to talk on a standard Desk Phone.  It will be a personal preference.  They say they can hear better and it is more comfortable.   Other than personal preference there are too many other options to free up some space on your desk.

5 Reasons to Upload NOW!

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0001066The worldwide presence of YouTube, a video sharing website, allows for billions of potential leads for your products, service or information.

YouTube can serve as a means of marketing and advertising, enabling affordable publicity and the potential of worldwide recognition. YouTube also provides the perfect platform for customer service. With increasingly complex technology releases invading the market, product demonstration videos can create a great base of interaction with customers.

Here are 5 reasons you should consider using your YouTube account for the sake of your business:

 

  1. Google

    There is a close connection between Google and YouTube… for example any Gmail account automatically has the same YouTube account (unless you have changed your account information). This means that the more you post things on YouTube (and tag your posts with your relevant keywords), the more likely you are to appear on Google’s search engine results.
    One of the most popular searches on YouTube and Google are “How to…” videos, so see if there is any way your company can incorporate these into your products and services.

  2. Social Media

    Did you know there are routinely higher click-through rates and engagement rates on Facebook and other Social Media platforms when photos and videos are used? Don’t miss out on this chance to get more response from your posts!

  3. Free and Easy

    “The best things in life are free,” right? Well so is YouTube! You can upload, view and share as many videos as you want, and it is not very hard to do! Follow their simple instructions, and before you know it, you will have your own video database to pull from!

  4. Look more “Tech-Savvy” than you actually are!

    The best thing about free and easy technology is that it has the power to make you look more advanced (technologically speaking) than you actually are!
    If you are unsure about how to make videos, here are some suggestions for sites to check into:

    Ezvid for free “drag and drop” methods of video making.
    PowToon for creative and fun animated videos.

    Or you may have some already installed software on your computer to easily make videos… the best way to find out is to try it and see what happens!

  5. Advertising

    This option isn’t free, but paid advertising on YouTube is also a possibility. Advertisements will show at the bottom of a viewer’s video screen while a video plays, or for high level amounts, before the actual video. This could be an option for you and your company.

YouTube has a profound audience, as diverse and nearly as large as the human population itself. With a prospering and growing web-based population, video sharing will continue to reign dominant, so NOW is the time to begin your expedition into video sharing services!

Keeping you “in the know” about technology trends and practices is our pride and joy here at FirstABS, and we invite you to learn more about our services and product offerings.

Social Media: So Easy, So Necessary

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Social Media… So easy, so necessary. We’re using it, why is it so important for businesses to use this “technology?”social-media-signs

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and countless other social media platforms play a huge role in the growth of businesses. In this day and age where technology is vital, don’t let your business fall behind because of its lack of participation in social media.

Social media is easy, fun to use and it can humanize your company, but the best part about it is that it is completely free. As a technology company, we at FirstABS recognize that “free,” “easy,” and most importantly, “effective” are not three things commonly found together, so we encourage you to take advantage of this communication platform.

Here are five ways social media can benefit your business:

1. Get a Farther Reach
Facebook and Twitter have been proven time and time again to allow businesses to reach markets they typically wouldn’t be able to, which results in more business, and therefore, more revenue. Actions on platforms such a Facebook cause a ripple effect – one person “liking” your status, instantly increases the likelihood that each of their friends will see and “like” your status, and continues in that same manner. Geographic location of each user does not have an effect on the rate of sharing your messages the way a bus ad or billboard announcement does, making the possibilities of exposure to your new and existing clients endless.

2. Humanize Your Company
The most beneficial element of your business plugging into social media is the ability to engage and communicate with your “likers” and “followers.” Through posts you can ask for user input, respond to questions or concerns, as well as like and comment on posts made by your users or your professional business connections you establish. This is the number one aspect of social media that is going to humanize your company and have a profound impact on the way customers view the potential of doing business with your company.

3. Rack Up the Reviews
Facebook in particular allows users to post reviews of up to “5 stars” with a comment about their experience with your business directly on your page, and even averages the total ”star count” of your business. This allows potential “likers” and clients visiting your page to preview how their experience dealing with your company might be. These reviews can also show up in search engine results. Additionally, this feature allows you as the business to reply to your reviews in an effort to thank, console resolve (etc…) any issues customers may bring to light.

4. Real-Time Communication
Social media is the perfect platform to use for promoting events, news, interesting information, new products, helpful tips and anything else you might want to share as a company. The content on your business page could be the deciding factor when it comes to users wanting to “follow” or “like” your page, so it is essential that the posts on your page are mindful, and most importantly, interesting and relevant. Include links, engaging questions, photos and videos to promote feedback and increased sharing of you followers. Even more importantly, social media gives you the option to always post updates and information real-time and immediately, so use it!

5. Pathway to Your “Real” Hub
Social media is a powerful tool, but let’s be honest… your real goal is probably to direct your users to places where they can get more in-depth information and your business, and hopefully decide to utilize its services. If that’s the case, then use social media as a tool to get them there! Link to your website or blog (wherever you are directing them to) frequently in your posts. Make them WANT to click to “learn more.” Many social media platforms have page analysis tools that are free for you to use, so you will be able to see which of your posts resulted in more activity and “click-throughs” to your links. Don’t forget to keep you “About” section up to date, informative, and full of your contact information as well!Social-Media-Collage

Don’t be afraid of social media, or waste its usefulness to your company!

First ABS has learned firsthand how easy and beneficial social media can be, and we invite you to like, follow and connect with us to learn more, and to stay up to date with all of our fun and important announcements! The links for our Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can be found at both the top and bottom of this page, we’d love to chat via social media with you or in the comments below!