Stay connected with Web 2.0

Online social media has become one of the main keys to a successful business. Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – only pieces of the different resources available for connecting your company to the rest of the world. The internet has come so far so fast that for those people who haven’t yet discovered its true potential, well, they’re missing out on something big.

Everyone and their mothers (and sometimes grandmothers) has a Facebook now. What began as an online college community has turned into a place for individuals of all ages as well as place to develop company pages. Facebookers become fans of their favorite products and organizations, talking about them and sharing links with each other.

A company blog is wholly important and it can be used for a number of different purposes. Or you could have a different blogs for different purposes. Blogs add personality. They give your company a voice – something to communicate with. The company president could have a weekly blog focusing on new products and services, a new store opening up, promotions, or as a way to address national or global issues that affect the company. It becomes a forum for conversation among readers and functions as a way for you to hear your customers and interact with them.

There are hundreds of ways to stay connected with your target consumers, and doing it now is the most important step. You’ve got to give them something to grab on to, something that actively updates them – whether it’s a few Twitter updates a day about what’s happening in editorial, or a weekly blog post about upcoming events and promotions. If your content isn’t continually updated, your audience’s attention is more apt to wander elsewhere.

Timothy Shields & Associates recognizes that managing your own online community is difficult to do while you’re already running your company, and especially when you’re just getting it off of the ground. Some corporations have an entire department to manage their social media, but we know that small businesses don’t always have that luxury. Your company may not have the time to consistently manage all of the multiple media channels. With the help of our social media department, you can finally share your company with the world.

A good business plan requires being ready for disaster

Every building has to have an emergency exit strategy for safety purposes, right? And there aren’t many people who can argue that it isn’t a necessity. Now, when it comes to managing your business, do you feel safe without a plan in the event of a natural disaster or even a terrorist attack? No company should be without some kind of plan to get back onto its feet after catastrophe. Rather than having a “we’ll deal with it when we get there” mentality, your best bet is to know where to start when everything falls apart. Timothy Shields & Associates are here to help, as our web services provide you with the means to stay in business.

Ready.gov is a great place to begin, and certainly where we start. They break it down so that the idea of planning each aspect of disaster recovery feels a little less overwhelming. With multiple disaster factors listed, you can develop a plan for each and know your company is that much closer to being disaster-ready. “A commitment to planning today will help support employees, customers, the community, the local economy and even the country. It also protects your business investment and gives your company a better chance for survival” (Ready.gov).

“Plan to Stay in Business” – It’s easy to assume that your business will still be standing despite everything in around you falling to pieces. Click on each of their steps to find out what to do in order to stay communicated, choosing where to go, what to do in the event of a fire, and many other potential situations. Timothy Shields & Associates helps you prepare your business in the event that something goes wrong. We know that the potential for something to go wrong is there, and the best course of action is to step in before it happens.

“Talk to Your People” – Rather than brainstorming these plans by yourself and explaining them in the midst of disaster, be sure that both your employees and clients know what to do, as well. Even after the fact, you need to remain in contact with everyone – especially if there’s no way to physically get to each other. We’ll help with voice broadcasts and text messages to communicate with clients and employees. With the use Microsoft Exchange, you will be able to access your communication outlets from a mobile device. You can focus on pulling your company back together, because we host Exchange for you. And in a world that’s relying on technology more every day, you can’t afford to lose the ability to stay in touch.

“Protect Your Investment” – In order to actually run your business after a disaster, you’ll have had to hold on to every piece of data concerning your clients. Without that, you’ll find it difficult to provide your services to them. Remember, they’re putting their confidence in you to keep their business safe. We will do that for you with desktop data backup from Iron Mountain. Even with your own backup systems in place, that data might be as easily destroyed as the computers they were on. Our off-site data storage can give you the confidence that your company can still function after disaster strikes.

Our web-hosting services keep your business running smoothly without natural disaster or terrorist strikes looming, so imagine what we can do if it actually does. We’ll keep you in touch with everyone and keep your information safe for use after you’ve lost everything. Secure your company’s investment by having Timothy Shields & Associates as part of your disaster planning team.