What sort of iPhone 5C color should you get?

Choose a color and see whether each description matches your personality.

White: You are a reckless anarchist with no respect for anything or anyone. Why get a new iPhone 5c in the one color that makes it appear, at first glance, identical to stupid old iPhones? Why bother owning a  phone? Why bother owning anything? Why bother? Why?

Red:  You are curious and ambitious. The 16th of the month is a good day to have that frank conversation about money with a friend or boss.

Yellow: You have already purchased black striped stickers and an “antennae” USB plug-in and have big       plans to dress your phone up as a bumblebee. This is adorable and we highly encourage it. 

Green: You are color blind. You’ll just take whatever phone is easiest for the cashier to grab from the back.

Read full story at: Vanityfair.com

3 Things That Must Be Cleared With a Social Media Outsourcing Company

You have to be living under a rock if you still don’t realize how important social media is in promoting a business today. It has certainly progressed from being a merely fun pastime and a way to keep up with gossip and other things, into an essential tool for business marketing and product promotion. Having social media accounts is now a necessity for any business that hopes to capture a loyal, local market.

The problem is, investing time in this for your business is very demanding in terms of time and human

resources. It may sound like a simple thing to do, but it’s actually a lot of work. Social media outsourcing is your number one option to solve this problem.

Just like with any outsourced processes and jobs though, it is important to lay down all the cards and make important things clear to both parties. As clients, you have the privilege to tell your service provider what you want to accomplish and which methods you wish to use. Use that chance to establish the rules and points of agreement between you and your chosen service provider.

1. Outline the tasks you want your social media outsourcing company to do.

You can cut back the number of hours you spend on SMO by 90% if you turn over the bulk of the work to a third-party service provider. Let your social media outsourcing team work on finding images, videos, blogs and articles related to your business, and then have them posted on Facebook or Twitter. Give them the task of managing your multiple accounts, accepting friend requests, sending out invites, doing outreach (with customers, interested visitors, and industry peers that can help your business gain more audiences) and coming up with posts that are catchy and have the potential to go viral.

2. Declare your budget and let it be known that it isn’t flexible.

Tell your outsourcing company how much you are willing and able to spend. We’re talking about the longevity and scope of the service. Yes, there will be fees drafted beforehand by the social media outsourcing company, but that can increase over time. By letting them know your budget, they can come up with a work schedule that will to match that price. 

3. Establish SOP’s and parameters for the posts.

One of the things skeptics have against outsourcing social media management is an outsider will practically represent and speak for your business. One wrong statement in social media can demolish months of marketing work. That’s why it is very important that you establish SOP’s regarding posts. For instance, you can allow them to make generic posts, like comments about viral videos and events. However, they should not respond to negative comments from displeased customers and just leave that to you. Also tell your outsourced social media managers what attitude and tone of voice they should adopt when interacting with customers and visitors to your wall.

It will be unwise to just let your social media outsourcing team do their work with minimum supervision or without any cardinal rules. Vague and unclear instructions increase the possibility of committing gaffes in conversations and posts. Always remember that small mistakes in relations can bring down the biggest companies. Don’t let that happen to your business and make these three matters clear with your outsourcing company.

World's Oldest Tiger Loves to Play Like a Kitten in a Fountain

This is such a heart-warming video. No matter how old this tiger was, he still is a kid-at-heart.

What to Look for in a SEO Philippines Company

Just because you’ve finally created a company website and accounts on several social media platforms doesn’t necessarily mean you will immediately start seeing a significant improvement in brand awareness and an increase in sales. It can take a lot of time and hard work for you to see the results you want, especially if you’re doing everything on your own. If you want quicker results, you’ll have to get help for certain aspects of online marketing. 

One such aspect with which many business owners choose to seek help is search engine optimization (SEO) and many of them choose to seek help in a Philippine-based SEO company. Should you choose to do the same, it pays to know what characteristics you need to look for in a SEO Philippines company.

What a SEO Philippines Company Should Be

1. Responsive - Regardless of how busy they may be, a credible company always has time for their clients (existing and prospective alike). This means they respond promptly to emails, chats, and calls. When you look for a SEO service provider, therefore, put those that give prompt responses at the top of your list.

2. Flexible - Even if they’ve worked with clients in the same niche as you, a credible SEO Philippines company understands that every client has a unique set of needs and requirements. You should therefore stay away from companies that offer one-size-fits all solutions. When you interview prospective service providers, ask about the techniques and strategies they plan to use in their effort to help you achieve your goals. A credible company will carefully ask you about your goals and then outline their strategies accordingly. If the person you’re speaking with simply spouts off generic strategies and techniques without even asking you what you want to achieve, it may be best to look elsewhere.

3. Consistent - A credible company may not be able to give you the top ranking at all times, but they should at least have you consistently land on the first page (preferably within the top five) of search results. Of course, they should also be able to do the same for their own website. The best way for you to gauge consistency, therefore, is to check a company’s website rankings and ask for references. If a company’s site has consistently ranked well for a considerable amount of time, then there’s a good chance they can do the same for you. 

It’s also a good sign when a company doesn’t hesitate to give you some references. This means they’re confident that their clients (past and existing) will have good things to say. It therefore pays to spend some time talking to some of the businesses they’ve worked with and are currently working with to get a good grasp of how they operate and what work ethics they adhere to. Ask the clients how the SEO Philippines company was able to help them and how consistently they enjoyed positive results.

There are, of course, other qualifications you should look for in a SEO service provider. The characteristics discussed above, however, are among the most basic attributes any SEO company should have.

The Popularity of SEO Outsourcing

Having a strong online presence has now become very important for just about any business. Because of this, search engine optimization has become even more relevant than it was in the past. Consequently, more and more businesses have chosen to outsource their SEO needs. If you’re just starting to venture into the world of optimization, then it’s definitely a good idea to learn as much as you can about this popular trend.

What SEO Outsourcing Involves

In most cases, outsourcing involves letting someone else handle repetitive and time-consuming tasks on your

behalf. This can mean hiring an outsourcer to build links for you, create relevant and highly-optimized content for your web pages, and register your company website to search directories. When you choose to outsource such non-core but very helpful tasks, you have the option of hiring a local outsourcer or an offshore outsourcing company.

Why SEO Outsourcing Makes Sense

Search engine optimization involves a lot of different tasks such as on-page and off-page optimization, site audits, keyword research, backlink analysis, and online reputation management. It can be tough to find a team of experts who can successfully handle all of these tasks for you. When you outsource, you are assured that these tasks are being taken care of by experts and specialists for whom these are just part of their daily routines.

Another good reason why it makes sense to outsource your SEO is that it is generally cheaper than getting an in-house team together. You won’t have to pay salaries, benefits, and bonuses because the team working on optimizing your pages isn’t officially employed by your company. Additionally, you have the freedom to outsource as many or as few tasks as you want. This gives you a kind of flexibility you aren’t likely to have when you keep everything in-house. Hiring an outsourcer also frees up a lot of your time, which you can now devote to enhancing the core aspects of your business.

Local SEO Outsourcing vs. Offshore Outsourcing

As mentioned earlier, you have the option of outsourcing your optimization needs to a local or an offshore company. In a majority of cases, the financial implications serve as the defining factor that determines which option a business owner or online marketer will take. Hiring a local outsourcer may give you more control over the outsourced tasks and make it easier to address important issues that may arise, but hiring an offshore company usually offers a great deal of savings. This is because the cost of labor in many offshore locations is a lot lower than in Western countries. When you choose to outsource offshore, however, you’ll have to go through the screening process very carefully to make sure you get the best work quality for the amount you pay.

There are businesses that actually enjoy the best of both worlds, so to speak. These businesses have chosen to outsource the more technical aspects of SEO to an offshore company and then hire local university students to handle the simpler tasks. You could do the same to fully benefit from this popular business solution.

SEO outsourcing is now a very popular business solution and it would definitely be a good idea to learn as much as you can about it.

Why Hire a Staff Leasing Company

For small businesses, it may not be very practical to hire in-house employees for every single process necessary for running the business. For example, a business with only a handful of employees may not really need an entire HR department to handle such things as payroll, income tax, and workers’ compensation claims. In this case, it may be a lot more practical to hire the services of a professional employer organization (PEO), also known as a staff leasing company.

What is a Staff Leasing Company?

A PEO or a company that leases staff to client businesses is basically an umbrella company that handles practically any business process you may choose to assign. Some of these companies specialize in human resource process like payroll, benefits, income taxes, and claims. There are also those that specialize in accounting processes as well as those that specialize in marketing and promotions. When you hire a PEO, they essentially become a co-employer of the team that works directly for your business. You pay them to get a team together and ensure the delivery of your expected results on the agreed schedule.

Benefits of Hiring a Staff Leasing Company

Savings is one of the benefits business owners appreciate most in employee leasing. You are saved from providing office space, equipment, and materials and you only need to pay a fixed amount according to the agreed payment schedule. You also get the assurance that the team handling your business processes is composed of professionals who know exactly what they’re doing. This makes the solution not only affordable, but cost-effective as well. Since an external team is now handling the non-core processes for you, you have more time to focus on the core of your business, thus increasing the likelihood of achieving success.

Another possible benefit you can get from hiring a PEO has to do with insurance and workers’ compensation. For a small business, having one employee falling ill can be a huge problem, particularly since you probably only have limited funds to cover health insurance costs. A PEO can pool your insurance with those of their other clients, thus keeping the premiums to a minimum across the board. There are also PEOs that provide workers’ compensation as well as safety training, thus removing another burden from your shoulders. The training can reduce the number of work-related injuries, thus saving you from having to pay out expensive claims.

There are a lot of regulations you need to comply with when you go into business; it can be very time-consuming and perhaps even a bit frustrating trying to keep up with these regulations. What’s worse is that a failure to comply with just one or two of these regulations can possibly lead to fines or lawsuits, which can be even more frustrating. With the help of a PEO, you can make sure these regulations are duly complied with and that you won’t run into any legal problems at any time.

There are plenty of reasons for you to consider hiring a staff leasing company to handle the non-core processes of your business.

Staff Leasing: What Value It Offers

If you’re into any type of business, then there’s a good chance you’ve heard of staff leasing as one of the business solutions currently growing in popularity. You may even be wondering how it is done and what value it can bring to your business. Basically, this business solution involves an agreement between you and another company (usually in an offshore location) that provides you with a dedicated staff who handles the business processes you specify. You’ll be required to pay for their services based on a payment schedule and terms both parties agree to at the outset.

Benefits of Staff Leasing

Perhaps the biggest value offered by leasing your employees is flexibility where the size of your workforce is concerned. It allows you to easily add or reduce the number of people working for your business as needed, which is something you definitely can’t do without much hassle if you hire all of your employees in-house. Even better news is that you retain full operational control over your staff without being burdened by administrative processes such as payroll accounting, bonuses, and income taxes. That’s because these processes are all covered in the agreed fees and are therefore the responsibility of the staffing agency you hire.

Another huge benefit offered by staff leasing is its cost-effectiveness. The amount you pay the staffing agency is, in general, about 70% less than the amount you’d have to shell out if you hired an in-house team. That’s because the cost of living – and consequently the cost of labor – in many offshore locations is considerably lower than it is in Western countries. Considering that you’re getting the same quality of work or maybe even better, this huge savings is definitely one of the best reasons to lease staff from an offshore company.

Many business owners who have chosen to lease employees did so with a Philippine-based staffing agency and there are lots of good reasons to do so. A study conducted recently by GlobalEnglish Corporation ranked the Philippines as the world’s best country in business English. Yes, they were ranked even higher than the United States! This tells you that communicating with Filipino employees wouldn’t be a problem at all. It is also worth noting that the outsourcing industry is booming in this country, with highly-skilled and well-trained professionals joining the workforce each day. That should answer any worries you might have regarding work quality.

If you’re worried about the time difference, then you shouldn’t be. As mentioned earlier, outsourcing is a booming industry in this country and since employee leasing is simply another form of outsourcing, it is enjoying a boom as well. Staffing agencies have therefore taken to operating on a 24-hour basis, with employees working on shifts. You can be sure someone is taking care of your business round-the-clock. So, start assessing your business needs now to see if it would indeed be wise to lease staff instead of hiring in-house. If the result of your assessment points to leasing as the best solution to your needs, then don’t forget to take the Philippines into consideration in your search for the best staffing agency.