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music overhead announcements tips

How to Choose Good Background Music Services for Stores

choosing dressing like choosing music for storesGetting the right background music for stores isn’t always easy. It can be tricky to ensure you’re playing the right music, for the right shoppers, at the right time and place. And there are a lot of options – Something fast and pop-y, or mellow and jazzy, or hip and indie…the list goes on. But choosing good background music for your store isn’t about what’s popular or even what you like, it’s about your customers. And if you really know your customers, you’ll be able to choose great music for them, keep them in the store longer and shopping more frequently. Here’s how to test if you’re playing the best background music for retail stores:

Categories
branding marketing tips

4 Ways To Make Your Online Content More Snackable””

how to make marketing content snackableHow’s your attention span? Can you pay attention for more than 10 seconds? Studies are saying…not so much. Our attention span seems to be shrinking, from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2012. PLUS, 17% of internet page views last less than 4 seconds. Words, it seems, give us the most problems. One study found the average adult will focus for just 2.8 seconds – enough time to read approximately 140 characters. Maybe we can blame Twitter’s 140 character limit for that one… Either way, the implications are clear: marketers need to produce content that is more quickly consumed and more engaging than ever. It’s time for snackable content. 

Categories
tips virtual tour

How Not To Narrate: Why You Shouldn’t Do Your Own Virtual Tour Narration

How not to narrate - boy screaming into microphone - bad virtual tour voice overRecently I attended a conference that had the usual fare of keynote speakers, break-out sessions, lectures and PowerPoint presentations. One of the presenters, in addition to providing a live, spoken commentary for his PowerPoint visuals, included a pre-recorded narrative (also in his voice) that accompanied each slide. The experience caused me to question – Why do people record their own narrations?

Categories
tips video voice talent

How to Choose the Perfect Voice Over for Your Video Production

How to choose the perfect voice for your video productionWhen you’re creating a video production for your business, there are two main areas of focus: Visuals and Audio. The visuals come naturally to most. You might feature on-screen talent, show charts and statistics, or share photos. The audio is often a bit trickier to get right. Background music for videos is very important, but so is the voice that’s being used to describe or explain the content. Too often, online marketing videos rely only on music and visuals; the spoken word is neglected or completely omitted, which means marketing departments have completely missed an opportunity to efficiently and effectively share quality content with online viewers. 

Categories
presentations resources tips

How to Take Advantage of Prezi’s New Audio and Voice Capabilities

how to take use voice and audio on preziUpdate: 04/01/2019: Prezi no longer supports audio on their free product.  To add audio in a Prezi you’ll need to upgrade to a paid version like Prezi Plus or Prezi Next.  Check out this blog for alternative free presentation products which allow you to add audio.

When Holdcom started using Prezi about a year ago, we were very excited about the site’s ability to incorporate audio into online presentations. But then, we tried to do it. And we were very, very disappointed. After all, we know that a good presentation becomes great when you add professional voices and licensed, royalty-free music.

Categories
social media tips video

6 Tips for Making Better Vine Videos

Vine Video TipsVine is the new kid on the social media block. The app allows users to create 6-second videos about anything, then share them within the app and on other social media sites, especially Twitter. (Think of it as the 140-character approach to video production). Plus, videos made on Vine can be embedded on web pages and blogs. 

Categories
healthcare resources tips

Managing and Announcing Healthcare Mergers and Acquisitions

Healthcare patient files being managed for an acquisition announced to patientsThere is one constant in the healthcare industry: change. New rules and regulations, changing technology, additional facilities…very little stays the same for very long. Today, as “Hospitals” become “Medical Centers” that are part of “Healthcare Systems”, paying attention to patient communications is crucial. As you move through a merger, acquisition, or renaming effort, here are some crucial communication points to keep in mind:

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customer experience resources tips

Customer Service Tips for a Successful 2013

Customer Service Tips We’re a month into the new year, which is the perfect time for some quick tips for providing excellent customer service. No matter what business or industry you’re in – from freelancer to enterprise – there’s always room to improve customer service strategies. Here are our tips for ensuring great service as the year progresses:

Categories
marketing resources tips

5 Grammatical Errors to Avoid In Your Audio Script Writing

Writing tips from professional copy writers - notebook and pencilWriting a script can be harder than it looks, because by definition a script is intended to be read out loud.  When scripting your own Message On Hold program, virtual tour narration, or podcast, simple grammatical errors can confuse voice over talent reading the script and your listeners. There are many misconceptions about proper grammar, word-usage, and sentence structure that plague English speakers. English is not an easy language, and there are many intricacies to remember.  

Categories
podcast resources tips

Ten Tips Tuesday: Considerations For Your Next Podcast

Headphones for listening to a podcast with tips 126437307Are you an avid podcaster? Just starting out? Not sure what podcasting is to begin with? Don’t worry – these tips will help podcasters at any level create great-sounding episodes that are informative, interesting, and engaging. The major areas to consider are your content, delivery, editing, and distribution skills. Here are some tips and ideas for all of these areas: