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A web-based matching service links angel investors seeking investment opportunities with entrepreneurs seeking capital.
Nadine Todd
Finding an investor interested in your business or, for investors, an opportunity worth investing in is not always easy. Investment Network South Africa facilitates these meetings through an online portal where entrepreneurs list their investment needs and registered investors receive regular investment summaries of the opportunities currently available.
Is the site safe?
The South African Investment Network belongs to a group of 30 networks across 80 countries worldwide, which combined currently have 120 000 members. In 2007 Angel Investment Network was nominated for the Best Angel Investor award by UK-based Spears Wealth Management at the HNW (high-net-worth) awards for its contribution to angel investment.
A hosting site that allows entrepreneurs and potential investors to find each other, Investment Network also sends regular updates to the angel investors registered with the network and allows entrepreneurs full access to the details of investors registered with the site. In all but the lowest package, contact by investors is guaranteed or entrepreneurs receive their money back. The site also helps entrepreneurs become investor-ready with useful documents, business plan help, funding guides, articles and videos available online.
Starting at R749 for a basic 90 day listing up to R1 499 for a full-service package.
Visit www.investmentnetwork.co.za for more information.
(Video) Where Entrepreneurs Go Wrong When They Seek Funding
Nadine Todd is the Managing Editor of Entrepreneur Magazine, the How-To guide for growing businesses. Find her on Google+.
Access To Finance In SA: What You Need To Know
Finfind's inaugural SMME Access to Finance Report reveals some of the biggest challenges SMEs face when trying to get finance. Understand the landscape, and you can adjust your business to obtain more finance.
Darlene Menzies
Access to finance is a primary challenge for the majority of SME owners, particularly in the early stages. Without an understanding of the complexities of SME funding and the challenges experienced by both the providers and seekers of finance, it's impossible to address the obstacles that are hindering increased deal flow.
Many countries have transparent data from lenders on a number of SMEs applying for loans, the reasons they are applying, financing terms, the interest rates, rejection reasons and rates, non-performing loans and factoring volumes. However, this information does not exist in the public domain in South Africa, even though it is crucial for policy-making. There is an urgent need for quality data and increased transparency to map SME's access to finance and understand their funding challenges so that practical solutions can be developed.
Finfind has responded by publishing South Africa's inaugural SMME Access to Finance Report. As an innovative fintech company that provides SMEs with a free funder matching service and an up-to-date database of over 420 finance products from public and private sector SME funders, Finfind has comprehensive data on the providers and seekers of finance. The report has enabled us to provide valuable insights about SME funding that can benefit policy-makers, funders and organisations involved in SMEs.
Some of the key findings of the report include:
High demand for SME finance
The SME funding gap in South Africa is estimated at between R86 billion and R346 billion per annum. It provides a compelling, largely untapped market opportunity for innovative funders who are able to develop new lending models and risk assessment tools tailored to address the challenges of this complex and burgeoning market.
Related: Small Business Funding In South Africa
Funders require new risk assessment models
Banks currently struggle to serve SMEs as they treat business (big and small) as a single market, and apply traditional lending methods that use collateral and conventional financing scorecards as a one-size-fits-all approach. These traditional instruments are detrimental to micro, very small and small businesses securing finance. For funders to close the credit gap, innovative new credit scoring models that enable more accurate risk assessment need to be designed specifically for this target market.
There is a lack of SME credit record data in South Africa
South Africa has comprehensive consumer (personal) credit record data that is well organised and regulated. However, this is not the case for SME credit record data. The credit bureaus in the country have little, and in some cases, no credit history data for SMEs. There is no regulation of SME credit record data, and no standard means of data collection (or a framework for credit records) for SMEs.
This poses a major challenge for SME lenders as they use the credit score in their risk assessments. Funders request credit reports (credit checks) from the credit bureaus to assess a business's historic credit conduct. In the case of SME lending, funders request the credit report for both the owner and the SME, even though they are two separate legal entities.
The current system does not uphold legislation that distinguishes between the owner and the business, which means that when SMEs apply for finance, lenders rely on the credit records of individual owners to assess the risk of lending. This prejudices SMEs that might be extremely creditworthy but have owners with compromised personal credit scores.
Related: Government Funding And Grants For Small Businesses
The lack of SME finance readiness is a major hindrance to securing finance
The qualitative research shows that many SMEs are unable to access funding as they cannot provide funders with proof that they are bankable and can afford the finance they are requesting. Funders need to examine the SME's financial records to determine that the business is viable and to assess their ability to repay the funding. To do this they require access to the SME's latest financial statements and up-to-date management accounts including income/cash flow projections and outstanding debtors, tax clearance certificate, VAT statements and business plans amongst others.
Financial record-keeping is a major challenge for many SMEs and they are not able to produce these documents. Without these, they are unable to access finance, and are ill-equipped to make sound decisions in their business or properly manage their cash flow. Poor cash flow management often results in SMEs falling behind on VAT and PAYE commitments as they are unaware of what is owed. Many viable businesses are liquidating due to liabilities owed to SARS and other creditors as a result of poor financial record-keeping and an inability to secure funding.
Further to these key findings, the report provides valuable insights into the supply and demand for SME funding. It profiles the SMEs seeking finance by geographic location, turnover, age of business, sector, job creation, financial need and amount of finance required, amongst other key indicators. It also profiles the funders, and considers the supply and demand matches and mismatches, highlighting some of the funding gaps and opportunities in this critical sector.
About the smme access to finance report
Finfind launched the report in partnership with the SA SME Fund and its findings have been made freely available to stakeholders in the SME ecosystem. The report identifies providers and seekers of SME funding in South Africa, and the associated challenges, gaps, opportunities and potential solutions to increase funding success in this vital sector. While ground-breaking in terms of the information it provides, this initial report did not answer all the questions in this complex environment, but provides an excellent start to understanding the landscape.
Related: How To Get A South African Government Loan
The report is based on independent analysis of Finfind's funder and SME finance seeker datasets in 2017, the largest SME access to finance research sample to date. In 2017, Finfind had a total of 126 916 visits to its platform, 81,2% of which were unique visitors. The average time spent on the site was more than five minutes per user.
The report analyses comprehensive data from more than 10 000 SME funding requests that were matched with a base of 148 funders and 328 finance offerings. Comparisons of the Finfind data with data from SARS, GEM SA and StatsSA studies show that the Finfind data is representative of the SME market and that the report findings can be generalised for SMEs in South Africa.
Looking For Funding? Try Manufacturing
There are over 200 national incentives for the industrialisation of South Africa. Can you tap into grant funding to grow your business?
Nadia Rawjee
Many people ask me why the focus of public investment in SMEs and business is so heavily weighted on the manufacturing sector?
The reality is that investment in industrialisation results in a multiplier effect in jobs, foreign earnings through exports and increased tax revenues. Countries that focus on industrialisation have proven its potential to stimulate economic growth and address social challenges.
If you're looking for opportunities and the support needed to realise these opportunities, manufacturing is a good place to start. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) offers several manufacturing-based incentives and grants.
Below are the ten key general principles associated with the DTI incentives:
1. Matching concept
DTI grants are based on a 'matching' or 'co-funding' principle, which requires an applicant to invest a portion of the funds required for the project for which funding is being requested. The DTI will fund a portion of the project qualifying costs (anywhere from 10% to 90% depending on the specific fund) on condition that the applicant can prove a source of the remaining portion. The source of the difference can be debt, equity or any other form of funding.
2. Qualifying/allowable investments or activities
The DTI sets rules for what can be funded by way of a grant (qualifying costs). These may differ based on the incentive, but the general rule is that the main application of grant funding is for plant, machinery, tools and equipment. Land and working capital will not qualify and would form part of the co-funding.
Related: How Investors Choose Who To Invest In
3. Project size
This refers to the full project size and includes all costs involved in implementing the project. All costs include capital expenditure (e.g. plant, machinery, tools and equipment), working capital (e.g. salaries, wages, stock etc.) and other costs including, but not limited to, land, vehicles, business development and certifications.Not all costs will qualify for funding from an incentive.
4. Bankability
Projects are evaluated to determine their bankability. The DTI aims to ensure that the principles applied in an application and business plan are realistic and will result in a sustainable business and/or project. In evaluating bankability, the DTI will look at the ability and know-how of the team and will require the applicant to show proof of market.
Proof of market is demonstrated by off-take agreements, purchase orders, contracts or letters of intent.
5. Timelines
Incentives are strategic funding and, as such, are not an appropriate source of funding for distressed businesses or businesses with short timeframes. This funding should be viewed as strategic funding. The DTI may provide timelines for processing applications, however, applicants must be prepared for timelines longer than those indicated. Applications may take anywhere from three to 12 months to be processed and approved.
6. Approval prior to investing
Investments made prior to the approval of an application will be non-qualifying investments. This means that an investment made before receipt of an approval from the DTI cannot be recuperated. This will be enforceable even if the investment made formed part of an application that was approved.
7. Milestone based claims
The DTI will make payments based on project milestones as indicated in an application. Each fund may define its own milestone parameters.
Related: Who Would Invest In Your Start-up, And Why?
8. Rebated claims
Claims are rebated to applicants. This means that an applicant must first invest, in line with its application, and then submit a claim for the approved investment. This principle demonstrates the importance of securing co-funding, which will be used to initiate the project.
9. Tax free grants
Grants awarded and paid are tax-free.
10. Equity substitution in nature
As grants are not repayable, they can be considered equity for purposes of securing debt. Most debt funders require a portion of equity from an applicant to lower the risk of debt. Debt financiers will consider a grant as an equity contribution, allowing applicants to unlock debt that would otherwise not have been available.
6 Steps To Ensuring You Meet Your Funder's Mandate
Find your funder, approach the right people, and tick all the boxes.
Diana Albertyn
1. Determine why you need funding
According to Quinton Zunga, founder and CEO of RH Bophelo, a special purpose acquisition company with interests in the healthcare sector, many business owners do not understand cash flow and its impact on the operations of a business. "A good idea without enough cash flow is not sustainable," he says. "You have to prepare the business for the worst-case scenario and ask yourself 'what if things don't work out my way? Do I have a plan B?' Don't assume you'll be able to access finance to save the business if your cash flow is poor."
The reality is that too many business owners apply for funding because their working capital is under strain, customers owe them money or their margins are too low.
"There's a big difference between funding that will help you grow your business, and trying to plug a self-inflicted cash flow problem," agrees Kumaran Padayachee, CEO of Spartan SME Finance, an alternative funder.
The key to growth funding can be summarised in one sentence: Will this help me make money? If the answer is yes, you've ticked the growth-funding box. If you're not sure, relook your financials and forecasting. If the answer is no, you're trying to solve a cash flow problem that will not be fixed by taking on more debt funding.
"As a funder, we care about what entrepreneurs want the money for," says Kumaran. "We look at business models and strategy. We take a view of the entire picture, which gives us insight into whether the funding will be used in a growth context, or to plug a gap created by a strategy, cash flow, sales, marketing, management or an access-to-market problem."
The real insight is that it shouldn't only be up to funders to determine the answers to these questions, but business owners themselves. If you understand why you need funding, one of two things will happen: You'll realise there's a problem in the business that funding won't solve, and you can begin working on it; or you'll be prepared when you apply for funding, increasing your chances of securing the finance you need.
2. Understand the funding landscape
Different sectors, industries and funders have their own rules and mandates. To understand the funding you're trying to access, you need to first understand the sector you're in, and the funding rules that apply.
For example, property is a long-term investment and funders in this space require a commitment of at least five to 15 years. TUHF, which is a specialised residential property finance company, also requires an equity contribution, as it does not offer 100% financing.
"Funding is usually made up of two components: Financing (loans) and equity (owner's contribution)," says TUHF's CEO, Paul Jackson. "The purchase price of the property, the costs of refurbishment and the amount of money the client can contribute of his own money are the three main contributing factors that determine how much financing the client will need to apply for."
More importantly, entrepreneurs approaching TUHF are dealing with industry experts operating within a niche space. This is true of most funders, and should be carefully considered by business owners.
When you're considering your growth options, focus on what you absolutely need to push the needle, and make do with what you can as you build up your pipeline.
"In every case ask the question: Do the costs involved in accessing the finance make sense? Will this help drive growth? How? Once you've ticked those boxes, consider all your funding options. There are a lot of solutions available to you, from bank funding, which is the cheapest to access but requires a lot of collateral, to private equity funding, which involves giving away equity in the business," says Kumaran.
"Alternative funders like us play in the middle of these two traditional options. Alternative funders tend to be niche and specific, focusing on specific sectors or industries. They carry more risk and don't require collateral, which is why they're more expensive than banks, but they bring industry and sector-specific insights as well — and it's debt funding, which means you aren't giving away equity in your business. Their processes tend to be efficient as well, largely due to the niche nature of the funder. When you're ready to grow, find a funder that matches your needs and understands your business."
3. Start early
"Raising capital patiently is key, because acquiring funding quickly but unwisely could lead to repayment issues," says Quinton. "Some funding can only be accessed later and you need to be patient, or you may find yourself struggling to pay it off before your business has grown big enough to do so. You need to focus on preparing a business plan and understanding the cash flow impact of the decision you make. Look for an advisor or banker to work with you on the business plan."
4. Know what funders look for
All funders are looking for specific business and personal traits in the business owners they back. Quinton values integrity and honesty, a good understanding of the business they are in, and personal commitment. "Funding a new business is always tough because the entrepreneur may not have experienced all the sides of the economy and may not be accustomed, mature and ready enough to go to the next level. This is where a steady track record is advantageous," he adds.
Related: Attention Black Entrepreneurs: Start-Up Funding From Government Grants & Funds
Paul agrees. For TUHF, the entrepreneurial character and competence of the borrower is of paramount importance. "We follow a character-based lending approach," he says.
"A client that displays certain characteristics is considered a better investment option. These include entrepreneurial qualities; an open-minded attitude that is willing to take advice; someone who is self-disciplined and manages the cash flows of the property to the benefit of the property, and not for personal use. Other sought-after characteristics include someone who keeps their tenants happy by keeping the property clean and well maintained, providing all-round good customer service; is committed to doing everything in their power to ensure the success of the deal; is up-to-date on utilities; and directly involved in the property management, even if there is an external service provider."
5. Avoid red flags
Every funder has red flags they watch out for and they will walk away from a deal if they find them. "A bad past business track record indicates the business owner's legal, financial, and HR values," says Quinton. "These are important to us. Without some ethos and standards, you end up not being on the same page as your investor. I usually ask about the entrepreneur's previous partnership — how they handled it and why it ended. Desperation is also a deterrent, as is a poor business case."
Paul agrees. The driving factor in TUHF's business is the borrower's aptitude in property. "Real estate competency is therefore a key characteristic of TUHF borrowers. It's important that the building is properly matched to the skill and entrepreneurial competence of the borrower. Some of the conditions we evaluate include a credit record, ensuring the borrower is not under debt review, or blacklisted; returned debit orders on a client's bank statement; track record and state of repair of the client's other properties; having the right risk attitude, which in our case is considered, cautious and patient; taking the time to do due diligence; and property fit — does the size and nature of the project match the client's talents and experience. It's a red flag for us if one of these is mismatched."
The most important step in funding is perseverance. Many business owners knock on multiple doors and make numerous applications before finding a funder that fits. This could be because red flags need to be addressed and financial management accounts followed, but each time you approach a funder you learn something new that you can implement in your business.
"Don't view failure as a disaster," says Quinton. "Figure out which stage of the lifecycle your business is in and align that to your commitments."
Hello, I found this information for you: "Find Your Match". Here is the website link: https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/funding/attracting-investors/find-your-match/. Thank you.


Cette web page d' homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. People submit their personal diaries of life, work, and even sexual exploits. Ensuite, le contenu texte de la web page doit avoir une sémantique riche autour du champ lexical de ce mot clé. You'll choose up the Bucky Equinox at the native Chevy seller; drive it to the Kwik Journey; arrange the promotion(straightforward), after which deliver it back while you're accomplished.
Denials of access and coverage ought to happen to people who're likely to deceive or intentionally confuse, thus harming the public and their understanding of public issues. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee as Labor Secretary, Andrew Puzder, heads a California firm that decided to move headquarters to Tennessee.
For the majority of the inhabitants, common and important information consumption— a lot much less paying for information—supplies little satisfaction of their needs. Dailyhunt is India's #1, Information and local language content application with over a hundred and fifty five Million app installs offering one hundred,000 information articles in 14 languages licensed from over 800 publication companions on daily basis.
So the cops found out concerning the criminality taking place inside due to a tip from a neighbor, Adam Brewer, who runs Adam's Rib Restaurant proper next door. Une double peine qui a coûté cher en emplois à notre pays. Encouragez les personnes à consulter votre website web ou à se rendre dans votre magasin, à télécharger votre software ou à acheter des produits.
Recently I was asked to evaluate a ebook entitled Quirky The subtitle is: The Outstanding Story of the Traits, Foibles, and Genius of Breakthrough Innovators Who Changed the World. Accéder à un aperçu instantané de ce dont les personnes parlent actuellement.


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Travel News: CityPASS Goes Mobile, Hawaii Is Safe Despite Volcanic Eruptions, and 'The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle' Returns to Universal
5/24/2018 — By The Budget Travel Editors
Pongpon Rinthaisong/Dreamstime
There's a great big world out there, and our latest "news you can use" may inspire a trip you never knew you needed.
From NYC to Kilauea, from Chicago to Hogwarts (really!), we're getting travel news and deals that will rock your summer. Where will you go next?
CITYPASS GOES MOBILE
CityPASS is already one of the most convenient and affordable ways to explore big cities, including the newest destinations to join the CityPASS family, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Denver. Now the discount-coupon powerhouse is moving into another kind of new territory: mobile devices, which are expected to account for more than half of all digital ticket sales for events and transportation in 2018. The new CityPASS mobile ticket option lets you access discounts directly from your smartphone and simply scan the mobile CityPass from your phone at the point of entry. We want to know: Have you tried CityPASS? How did it help you save on vacation?
HAWAII IS SAFE DESPITE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
Hawaii Governor David Ige has a simple message for globetrotters: "Travel is safe to the Hawaiian islands." Sure, we've been watching the incredible footage of the Kilauea volcano's lava flows, fissures, and ash plumes, and we've wondered, "Hmmm. Is now the right time for a visit?" Governor Ige says, "We have a skilled contingent of scientists, geologists, metorologists, and health experts whose work is being support around the clock by emergency officials and law enforcement… with the purpose of keeping the public safe and informed." Hawaii tourism officials also assure travelers that the volcanic activity is having no impact on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Kauai, and that travel to and within the islands is unimpeded by Kilauea. However, most of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is currently closed.
'THE NIGHTTIME LIGHTS AT HOGWARTS CASTLE' RETURNS TO UNIVERSAL
In addition to the usual fun (interactive wands, thrilling rides, sweet frosty Butterbeer), the Wizarding World of Harry Potter immersive land at Universal Studios Hollywood is bringing back "The Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle" on June 24. As the sun goes down at Hogsmeade Village, the land's central square, the four houses of Hogwarts (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin), will be showcased in a state-of-the-art light display and extravaganza of special effects accompanied by new musical arrangements by Academy award-winning composer John Williams presented in a surround-sound environment.
Travel News: Sign Up for TSA PreCheck at Staples, Book a "Walking Vacation," and the Norwegian Bliss Takes to the Seas
Travel News: Southwest Will Fly to Hawaii, the Port of L.A. Commemorates Memorial Day, and Free Train Rides for Teens
This Could Be Your Passport to Big-City Savings
Ultimate Guide to Visiting Harry Potter

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


TY2018 - All IMF, ESTRST and BMF information is posted on the FTA State Exchange System (SES).
Beginning with TY2017 all IMF, ESTRST and BMF information is posted on the FTA State Exchange System (SES). This includes forms, publications, schemas, rules and reject codes.
TY2016 - Schemas are posted on the FTA State Exchange System (SES).


Happy MLK Day Y'all!!! I hope you're enjoying your day off. I've been doing a lot of reflecting today. Mainly, I'm very grateful for the life that I get to live that is due in large part to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and MANY others. As I stated on my IG page, I feel that we should all take this day to learn a little more about him than what we were taught in school! There was so much more to Dr. King than the two pages that they gave him in our history books!
About the Look: You probably recognize this plaid duster from a previous post (see here). The great thing about plaid pieces is that they can be remixed so many different ways. So, I decided to throw this duster over this cute button up dress (seen here also). It's actually a pretty warm outfit. What do you think of this look? Make sure to click the links above to shop the pieces!
I love your style and the outfits you choose. You wear them all very well. Now, that I am back working, I am going to pay more attention to your recommendations. I am still in the process of losing weight so some styles will look better on me than others, but at least I will have something to reference. Great blog and pictures!
Thank you so much Latisha! I really appreciate you. Also, if you need any style advice on pieces that I haven't mentioned on the blog, please let me know. I try to write about things that I know my audience will benefit from.
Your picture quality is so much better!
Thank you! Yes, I had to step it up lol!


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The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (), also called Speaker (), is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Russian parliament. It is the fourth highest position, after the President, the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Federation Council, in the government of Russia. His responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day business of the State Duma, presiding and maintaining order at the regular sessions of the parliament. The Speaker also chairs the Council of the Duma which includes representatives from all the parliamentary parties and determines the legislative agenda.

The Speaker of the Duma may intervene and express his views but is supposed to be unbiased in his activities at the regular sessions of the parliament.

History

The position Chairman of the State Duma was established in 1906, when the State Duma of the Russian Empire was established. The first chairman was Sergey Muromtsev. This position existed for 11 years during which five people held this position. It was abolished together with the State Duma after the Russian Revolution.

It was restored after 76 years, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the constitutional crisis of 1993. The first Chairman of the State Duma after the restoration of the post was Ivan Rybkin.

Since January 1995, the speaker of the State Duma is also a member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

Current Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin was elected October 5, 2016.

Election

According to the 101st article of the Russian Constitution and the Regulations of the State Duma, the Chairman is elected from among its members by secret ballot, using ballot papers of the candidates who have the right to nominate deputy associations and deputies. State Duma may decide to hold an open vote.

Latest election results

Mission and authority

According to Article 11 of the Regulations of the State Duma, the Chairman is allowed to:

Preside over the meetings of the chamber;
Responsible for the internal regulations of the chamber in accordance with the Russian Constitution and the powers vested in it by the Regulations of the state Duma;
Organizes the work of the Council of the State Duma;
Performs General management of activity of the State Duma Apparatus;
Appoints and dismisses the Chief of staff of the State Duma with the consent of the Council of the State Duma and the submission of the State Duma Committee on Rules and organization of work of the State Duma appoints and dismisses the first Deputy Chief of staff and Vice Chief of staff of the State Duma on representation of the Head of the State Duma Apparatus;
Decides on the granting of certain powers to the Chief of staff of the State Duma, including these rules and Regulations, the first Deputy Head of the State Duma Apparatus;
Makes the decision about giving the Apparatus of the State Duma of separate budgetary powers of the main administrator of budget funds chief administrator of Federal budget revenues, chief administrator of sources of financing the Federal budget deficit;
Approves the budget estimates of the State Duma for the next financial year;
Represents the chamber in relations with the Russian President, the Federation Council, the Government, Federal entities, the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Prosecutor General, Central electoral Commission, the Central Bank, the Commissioner for human rights, the accounting chamber, public associations, other organizations and officials, as well as with parliaments of foreign States, high officials of foreign States and international organizations;
Involved in conciliation procedures used by the President in accordance with article 85 (part 1) of the Constitution of Russia to resolve disagreements between bodies of state power of the Russian Federation and bodies of state power of subjects of the Russian Federation, as well as between bodies of state power of subjects of the Russian Federation;
Directs submitted to the State Duma a bill and materials to it at a fraction for information and the Committee of the State Duma in accordance with the issues of reference
Instructs the Scientific Council to lawmaking, to conduct the examination under consideration of the State Duma of the bill;
Directs the conclusion by results of examination of the bill in Committee of the State Duma;
Sign resolutions of the State Duma;
Send to the Federation Council for consideration approved by the State Duma draft laws on amendments to the Russian Constitution, Federal constitutional laws and Federal laws;
Directs the President of Russia Federal laws passed by the State Duma in accordance with article 105 (part 5) of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
Issues orders and instructions on issues referred to its competence;
Directs submitted to the State Duma a draft resolution of the State Duma and materials to it to the relevant Committee for consideration and sets the period of preparation of the draft resolution of the State Duma for consideration by the chamber;
Directs the conclusions of Public Chamber by results of examination of the bill in Committee of the State Duma;
Directs submitted to the State Duma projects of the state programs of Russia, including the Federal target programmes and proposals for amendments to the state program of Russia, including Federal programs, to the committees of the State Duma Committee on budget and taxes for its consideration;
Directs submitted to the State Duma draft guidelines for the budget policy of the Russian Federation, the draft guidelines for tax policy of the Russian Federation, the draft guidelines for customs tariff policy of the Russian Federation and draft budget forecast (draft amendments budget forecast) of the Russian Federation for the long term in the State Duma Committee on budget and taxes for its consideration;
In the period between sessions of the State Duma forwards the draft main directions of budget policy of the Russian Federation, the draft guidelines for tax policy of the Russian Federation, the draft guidelines for customs tariff policy of the Russian Federation and draft budget forecast (draft amendments budget forecast) of the Russian Federation for the long term in the Federation Council;
Directs submitted to the State Duma the Government of Russia about the development and expected timing of adoption of normative legal acts, development and adoption of which is stipulated by Federal laws in the relevant committees;
Directs submitted to the State Duma the report of the Government of Russia about the results of work on realization of agreements on production section during the reporting period, the State Duma Committee on budget and taxes;
Directs submitted to the State Duma proposals of the accounting chamber of Russia on suspension of all kinds of financial payments and settlement operations under accounts of the auditees (control) in the State Duma Committee on budget and taxes;
In the period between sessions of the State Duma sends within three days of receipt of the conclusion of the State Duma Committee on budget and taxes the draft Federal law on the Federal budget for the next fiscal year and planovyi and the draft Federal laws on budgets of state extrabudgetary funds of the Russian Federation for the next financial year and planning period in the committees, commissions of the State Duma and in the faction in the State Duma, the Russian President, the Federation Council, the Government of Russia and the Accounts chamber;
In the period between sessions of the State Duma appoints the State Duma Committee on budget and taxation responsible for the project of the Federal law on the Federal budget for the next financial year and planning period and the draft Federal laws on budgets of state extrabudgetary funds of the Russian Federation for the next financial year and planning period and the relevant committees on the draft Federal laws and their preparation for consideration by the chamber;
In the period between sessions of the State Duma includes the draft Federal law on the Federal budget for the next financial year and planning period and the draft Federal laws on budgets of state extrabudgetary funds of the Russian Federation for the next financial year and planning period in the approximate program of legislative work of the State Duma for the current or for the next session;
In the period between sessions of the State Duma makes the decision on the basis of the conclusion of the State Duma Committee on budget and taxes on the return of the draft Federal law on the Federal budget for the next financial year and planning period in the government of the Russian Federation for revision;
Inviting Federal Ministers and other officials for answers to questions of deputies of the State Duma;
Making a submission on the appointment and early termination of powers of representatives of the State Duma of the members of the Supervisory boards of the organisations created by the Russian Federation on the basis of Federal laws, as well as representatives of the State Duma in the other created by the Russian Federation authorities and organizations;
Directs the invitation of the Government of Russia to take part in the work of the governmental Commission on investigation of causes of the occurrence of circumstances of an extraordinary nature and liquidation of their consequences to the relevant Committee to prepare proposals on the composition of representatives of the State Duma in the government of the commission;
Exercise other powers prescribed by the Regulations of the State Duma.

Chairman of the State Duma in its sole discretion, to include in the draft procedure of work of the State Dumblebee questions:

On the election for the vacant position of Deputy Chairman of the State Duma;
About the vacancies in the committees and commissions of the State Duma.

Chairman of the State Duma or on behalf of one of his assistants represents the State Duma reports on the activities of the chamber over the past session about the project and the approximate program of legislative work of the State Duma for the current session. On these reports, the State Duma can make the decision.

Chairman of the State Duma has the right to speak at a meeting of the State Duma on the issues attributed to its competence by the present Regulations, and issues within the jurisdiction of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Constitution, Federal constitutional laws and Federal laws. The Chairman of the State Duma for performance is given up to ten minutes.

Chairman of the State Duma has the right to decide issues of expert, scientific, consultative and other support of legislative activity of the State Duma. On matters associated with the expert support of the legislative process in the State Duma and the improvement of the legislation of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the State Duma creates a Scientific Council for law-making.

State Duma has the right to cancel any order, the order of the chairman.

List

Living former Chairmen
As of  , there are three living former chairmen. The most recent death of a former chairman was that of Gennadiy Seleznyov (1996–2003) on 19 July 2015, aged 67.

See also
Chairman of the Federation Council
List of Deputy Chairmen of the State Duma

References

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Worried about your final grades for the current term? Have too much to catch up with and too little time to do that in time? Are you overloaded with lengthy term papers that you cannot even sort out? Hey, welcome to the students' club. Everyone must have had problems like this, even if they are geniuses. There is nothing to be ashamed of or sad about. It is much worse when, despite having an opportunity to deal with those academic challenges, you choose to fail. You should always bear in mind that it is okay to ask for help with your term papers, especially when you know you can get it for sure.
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You are here: Home Themes Disability Equality Fundamental Rights in the EU : challenges and achievements in 2013
Fundamental Rights in the EU : challenges and achievements in 2013
Posted on 08/06/2014	by Carla Fronteddu	in Disability Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Gender Equality, Gender-based Violence, News	with No Comments on Fundamental Rights in the EU : challenges and achievements in 2013
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has just released its Annual Report "Fundamental rights: challenges and achievements in 2013"
In its new report, FRA maps out the fundamental rights challenges and achievements that took place over the course of the year and makes practical suggestions about how to ensure people can have their rights better protected in the EU.
FRA's Annual Report points to the many fundamental rights challenges in Europe today. But it also testifies to the significant achievements that have been made in 2013, says FRA Director Morten Kjaerum. The concrete suggestions we have put forward should help ensure that rights protection across the EU makes further progress. The choices the EU makes now will shape fundamental rights for the years to come. We need to work together to ensure that the laws we have today deliver fundamental rights in practice for everyone in the EU.
Here are a few highlights of the 2013 report:
FRA surveys on violence and discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, on violence against women, and on antisemitism all revealed general feelings of fear and high levels of under-reporting among victims, particularly hate crime victims. Greater efforts are needed to strengthen support and protection of victims under the 2012 EU Victims' Directive.
The tragic events off the Italian coast of Lampedusa underlined the urgent need for EU-wide action to safeguard the lives and rights of migrants. The European Commission initiative to reduce deaths at sea sets out lines of action to address many of the issues through stronger European cooperation.
The revelations of widespread data surveillance pointed to apparent weaknesses in the authorities responsible for data protection at European and national level. Significant reforms of the EU's data protection rules that resulted from the backlash should help strengthen data protection across the EU.
According to the report, in 2013 the EU and its Member States took a variety of important steps to protect and promote fundamental rights by assuming new international commitments, revamping legislation and pursuing innovative policies on the ground. Yet, fundamental rights violations seized the spotlight with distressing frequency: would-be migrants drowned off the EU's coast, unprecedented mass surveillance, racist and extremist-motivated murders, child poverty and Roma deprivation.
The Focus section 'An EU internal strategic framework for fundamental rights: joining forces to achieve better results', looks at how to improve the protection of fundamental rights within EU Member States and the Union they are collectively building.
The 2013 report also features two new chapters, one on Roma integration following the drawing up of the national Roma integration strategies and a second looking at the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and especially its use before national courts as it approaches its fifth anniversary as a binding document.
You can download the report in English and in French
Read the press release "How to strengthen Europe's fundamental rights protection: FRA suggests" in English and in French
Child-friendly justice: a new research project by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency
In the frame of its research project looking at hostility towards children with disabilities across…
Gender equality in the EU: progress is too slow
Men and women are not and never will be the same, but they should have…
Time For Equality to sign the Diversity Charter Lëtzebuerg
Time For Equality is celebrating its first year of activity by joining the Diversity Charter…
The Rainbow Europe package 2014
ILGA Europe has just released the latest edition of its Rainbow Europe package, which shows…
47 days since 276 schoolgirls were seized from their school in Chibok, Nigeria. While some…
Tags: Europe, FRA, fundamental rights
« "Violence against women: an EU-wide survey – Main results"
2014 European Elections through the lens of Gender »


OUCH! This lorry driver came to an abrupt halt under a town centre bridge.
The lorry was wedged under the Albert Bridge, next to the railway station in central Middlesbrough, at 6pm on Wednesday, shedding some of its load.
Passenger trains were stopped for about an hour and freight for two hours after the accident.
The Mercedes lorry was removed soon after 8pm.
The driver, from Scotland, has been reported for driving without due care and attention.
The bridge's height has historically been a trap for the unwary drivers of high vehicles.
The most dramatic incident in recent times was when driver Graham John Nesbit, 54, was lost in the town centre and his double decker bus with 24 passengers on board smashed under it - slicing off the vehicle's roof.
Nine of his passengers on the X61 Durham to Scarborough service were on the top deck when it rammed the structure on the morning of Sunday, August 6, 2006.
The former ambulance driver kept his licence.
Teesside magistrates fined him £225 with £250 costs and gave him six penalty points after he admitted driving without due care and attention in September last year.
Debris was left hanging loose from the bridge after it was struck by a lorry on April 25 last year.
The lorry did not stop - possibly because the driver was unaware he had hit the bridge.
In the '50s a special "low-line" double decker was drafted in especially to cover the route under the Albert Bridge.


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The Secret to the Future Growth of Your Ecommerce Channel: Social Commerce
Pete Boyle / 17 min read
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Most purchase journeys have too many unnecessary steps in the conversion funnel.
Each one massively increases the chance your potential customers are going to abandon their purchase and leave your store forever.
The problem lies in modern merchants' reliance on software and tech solutions.
We're all too concerned with gamifying the process and making sales through cheap tactics instead of solving genuine consumer problems.
We're overthinking things.
Because the truth is, you only need two things to create a successful online business.
A product that genuinely helps people solve a problem.
A streamlined purchase journey. One that makes it easy to buy and that begins where the customer is most active and engaged.
You'll have to find the first on your own.
But for the second, you have to stop looking at things like gamification and low value offers that push the purchase.
You have to examine how you can use technology to create a better customer experience.
Which is what the smartest ecommerce brands in the world are doing with social commerce.
It makes complete sense if you take a second to think about your customers and their actions.
There are1.47 billion daily active users on Facebook alone.
60% of Instagram users say they find new products on Instagram (so it makes complete sense to also sell them on the platform).
30% of online shoppers say they would be likely to make a purchase from a social media network like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat.
Social Media Messenger sales are massively outperforming the current ROI champion of email.
Your audience is on these social media platforms and they want to purchase through those networks.
So why complicate matters with extra steps that require gamification for even paltry conversions?
The smarter option would be to implement a social commerce solution that engages users where they are and turns their social media engagement directly into sales.
I'll get into the details of exactly how you can leverage social commerce to increase your brand's revenue, but first, let's head back-to-basics.
What Is Social Commerce?
Social commerce sells products directly through social media networks.
It differs from social media marketing as you're not redirecting users to an online store, but offering them the ability to checkout directly within the network they're using at that moment.
It's far more streamlined and, thanks to chatbot checkouts and autofill for payment and delivery details, means purchases rarely take more than a handful of clicks.
The social commerce purchase journey massively outperforms the purchase journey you're familiar with.
But social commerce is more than a string of popular buzzwords.
It's an easier way for people to complete the purchase of products they want and need.
Most ecommerce purchase journeys are too complex relying on redirects from one platform to another (some platforms requiring multiple steps themselves).
But with social commerce, you're effectively implementing Amazon's one-click buy now button on multiple, popular social media networks.
At its core, it's about making it easy for users to complete their purchase.
It's about removing the potential for confusion and thus abandonment.
It is, in my mind, about capitalizing on the point when a user's purchase intent and excitement about your product is highest.
And it's hardly anything new, the concept of social commerce has been around for some time now.
The History of Social Commerce
Social commerce is the latest digital marketing buzzword.
However, it's not a new concept. It's been tested and refined for quite a while by most of the large social networks.
Here's a little history lesson by social network.
Facebook Social Commerce:
Facebook is, without a doubt, the big dog.
With over 2.2 billion monthly active users there's a huge potential audience to leverage.
And as the biggest player, you'd be right to think they've ventured into social selling multiple times.
Feb 2007: Facebook does a virtual gift test which leads to the ability to buy gifts for friends. Gifts were limited to being used and displayed on the network though.
May 2007: Facebook marketplace opens allowing you to sell items to those within your network.
July 2009: 1-800-Flowers.com starts selling through Facebook leading to other brands setting up Facebook stores (Pampers, Disney).
July 2014: Facebook tests the buy button, allowing brands to sell to people without them leaving Facebook.
March 2015: Facebook rolls out payments through Messenger (however, it's just for splitting payments with friends).
July 2015: Facebook implements the first test for shoppable pages.
Summer 2018: Facebook launches Facebook Marketplace, a competitor to Amazon, Etsy and Google Shopping.
Those are the major developments with Facebook's Social Commerce efforts.
There have been a couple more in more recent history, but I'll get onto them shortly.
For now, let's look at Instagram.
Instagram Social Commerce:
Instagram is one of the most promising platforms when it comes to creating a social selling strategy.
Personally, I think it has the most potential.
People flock to the platform to look at beautiful images and videos.
If you can make your product the feature of those media offerings, you could see some killer engagement.
If you can turn that engagement into quick and easy sales (say…through social shopping), you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.
Whilst a younger network than Facebook and one without as many social selling experiments, there's still been a decent effort to create a social shopping experience through the platform.
June 2015: Instagram Shop Now button introduced. Taking a leaf out the Facebook playbook, Instagram adds a buy now button for brands.
November 2016: Instagram implements product tags so users can quickly identify the products they see in ads and their price (rolled out to a limited number of brands).
October 2017: Shopify and BigCommerce integrations open the possibility of selling through Instagram to thousands of other merchants using Instagram Shopping.
March 2018: Instagram's Shoppable Posts go live giving brands the ability to tag items in organic posts which, when tapped, brings up a new page which leads to a checkout.
Twitter Social Commerce:
Twitter's a peculiar company.
Until Q4 2017 they'd never made a profit.
With a lack of revenue, you'd think they'd jump head first into the world of social commerce, but they've been dragging their heels a little.
When they have taken action, they've not waited long before pivoting their social selling strategy and focused more on Twitter ads.
Here's how their forays into online shopping breaks down.
April 2010: Twitter offers their first feature that could help ecommerce brands – the sponsored Tweet. This would later grow into a suite of paid ads.
September 2014: Twitter introduces the buy now button allowing the sale of certain items directly from Tweets.
January 2017: After expanding the buy now button partnerships, Twitter eventually decides it's a pointless endeavor and fades out the feature until it no longer exists.
Pinterest Social Commerce:
Pinterest is very much like Instagram in that it's filled with content that is, first and foremost, visually appealing.
That means showcasing your products with awesome images should help you get some decent reach.
And with the right tools, you could see that engagement turn into sales, especially considering 80% of Pins on Pinterest aren't actually original content but repins.
June 2015: Pinterest offers their original version of buyable pins allowing a select few brands to add a buy button to their pins.
March 2016: Pinterestincreased the partnerships for buyable pins making it available to even more brands.
June 2016: A shopping cart was added to make it easier for shoppers to buy multiple products from different suppliers in one go.
The Current State of Social Commerce
So that brief breakdown of the different social channels and how they've experimented with social commerce brings us up to the modern era.
Social commerce is often talked about as the future of digital sales, yet none of the major networks have nailed the best way of making it work on their platform.
Twitter had so much trouble they even gave it up.
Right now, you've only got Facebook's shoppable pages, Instagram's buy now button, or Pinterest's buyable pins.
It's hardly the mainstream sales channel it was tipped to be.
But with each iteration and test, it becomes more mainstream
With each test, we get closer to seeing social commerce take over as one of the largest drivers of revenue for online commerce.
The problem lies with the big networks.
They're all limited to their own platform and even in that sense they're not, being completely honest, pulling their weight.
If you check any major success stories for social commerce they're using third-party solutions.
They're leveraging tools like ManyChat with click to Messenger ads to generate 11,000 new leads.
Brands like Marvel are using tools like jumper.ai for automated chatbot checkouts to sell tickets direct from organic and paid social media posts.
There's plenty of case studies out there on using social commerce and chatbots to create incredibly streamlined purchase journeys for users.
But very few use the native solutions provided by the big networks.
Which is really strange, because not only are retailers seeing some incredible results, but your customers are telling you that this is what they want to see more of.
23% of shoppers are influenced by social media recommendations (so why not sell straight from that recommendation).
51% of millennials (who will soon be the major buying market) are likely to make a purchase over social media.
84% of shoppers review at least one social media site before purchasing (so it makes sense to sell where they're going to research).
This is all a long-winded way of saying that right now, even in its infancy, social commerce is making a huge impact on the world of ecommerce and marketing.
It might be young, but as the tools become more sophisticated more people are turning to social media to not only research, but also purchase their products.
If I were a betting man, I'd put a sizeable stake on social commerce becoming one of the primary channels in the next decade.
Why am I so confident in this prediction?
What does the Future Hold for Social Commerce?
There's one primary reason why I'm so confident that social commerce will take over the world.
In the West, it's easy to focus on the US and European markets.
To look at things like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Christmas, or even Valentine's Day as the major events and indicators of changing consumer behavior.
But if you want to see how a truly effective ecommerce machine works, look no further than China.
The sales in China are incredibly high.
Their biggest shopping holiday, Single's Day, massively outstripped Black Friday and Cyber Monday put together in 2017.
Within 5 years China's ecommerce market has grown exponentially.
But here's the interesting bit, the Chinese market prefers one channel above all others.
In China, they're not really using mobile browsers to purchase products.
They're using social media to engage with brands at every stage of the purchase journey at a rate that puts the West to shame.
All well and good, right?
But hold on.
The Chinese market is fundamentally different from the West, right?
They have different concepts of online shopping, the culture around purchasing is different, and they are an absolutely mammoth country with an incredible population.
No way the methods that would work over there would work here… right?
If you take a look at the various developments in social media channels and social commerce, there's a definite trend of copying what's already working in China.
Most of the features you've come to know and love in Facebook and Messenger were implemented first in China's Goliath, WeChat.
Even Facebook's most recent patent application, "Processing Payment Transactions Using Artificial Intelligence Messaging Services", is but another feature already offered in WeChat.
It seems like Facebook is trying to implement the wide-ranging applications for social commerce already prevalent in WeChat.
And that's great news.
Each new social commerce patent, feature, and integration tells us that the biggest players in the social networking space are viewing social commerce as a serious channel.
That they're investing their time and money into the channel is a sign that things are set to grow.
But that's all going to come to fruition over the next 5-10 years.
So, do you wait around until this sales phenomenon is at its height?
You jump on the bandwagon right now and get yourself the best head start possible.
Social Commerce Tactics You Can Use Today
Social commerce has already come an extremely long way.
And if Facebook's trend of copying WeChat is any indication, it's only going to get bigger and more prevalent.
Knowing that there's promise is one thing, but knowing how to implement it within your store is quite another.
To help you get your social commerce strategy off to the very best start, I'm going to run through a couple of marketing strategies to help you make your first $1, $1000, and $100,000 through these social platforms.
The first thing I want to look at is a handful of tools that'll help you get up and running as fast as possible.
1. Improve Facebook Messenger engagement.
Tools like ManyChat can help you accomplish this by turn engagements on Facebook into automated chatbots through Messenger.
It's a great way to drive Messenger engagement, however, if you want to integrate with platforms other than Facebook you'll have to set up Zapier integrations.
2. Create automated bot checkouts.
Jumper.ai is a new tool which comes with a pre-built automated checkout chatbot.
You can get an automated checkout bot up and running within minutes and, thanks to their numerous native integrations, you can use it across almost all social platforms.
See how it works on Instagram.
3. Manage your social commerce with your ecommerce platform.
BigCommerce isn't in itself a social commerce tool but it allows you to integrate with multiple sales channels and manage your omni-channel strategy.
However, if you are running your store on BC there's a number of tools allowing you to quickly integrate your products to your Facebook store, Instagram tags, and buyable Pinterest Pins.
So those are three awesome tools to help you get your Social Commerce campaign off to a killer start.
Now let's look at a few tactics and trends to ensure success.
4. Low-cost products sell better.
Why do people browse social media?
It's not often to find the product they're looking for, right?
They're there to look at some awesome, engaging content.
To check on their friends, favorite celebs, or simply look at visual representations of their favorite hobby.
They're there to waste time in an enjoyable way.
Which makes it difficult to sell high-ticket products that need to be considered.
Imagine you're a keen cycler.
When walking down the high street you pass a store selling a $5,000 bike.
Are you going to buy it on an impulse?
But if you're walking along and you see the latest helmet for $80, a more effective pump for $35, or a pair of awesome gloves for $20 are you likely to buy them?
Most probably, yes.
Social media shoppers are there to enjoy themselves, not consider expensive products.
You're more likely to make the sale if you focus on low-cost products and impulse buys as it's more in keeping with their state of mind.
If you check most social shopping campaigns, you'll notice how the products are generally lower priced.
Below is the average order value of referrals by social network.
There's no hard and fast rule, but I'd recommend keeping your social commerce campaigns to $100 and below.
You can see from the above that the AoV by network comes out to about $50.
5. Always collect an email address.
"But hold on, that $5000 bike is my main money maker. How can I get people to buy it? If it won't sell through social commerce then it's useless to me". – You
I hear ya.
You don't have to stop selling those higher priced products, you simply need to adjust the sales funnel a little.
No one is going to buy a $5,000 bike on an impulse, especially if their first interaction with your brand is that ad on Instagram.
You've got to nurture the relationship and build trust before you can ask for the big sale.
And, as much as I love social commerce, it's not exactly the best for it.
So here's what you do.
You first get people to buy something from your store.
You focus on that small ~$50 purchase to bring people from your purchase journey into a customer journey.
Once you've made that sale, in the immediate follow up you grab their email address to utilize in an email marketing strategy.
Once the user opts-in to the email, you can start nurturing them over the coming weeks and months.
Before long, that $50 initial purchase is followed up with a $250 purchase. Then a $1000 purchase before, finally, you've built enough trust and desire to sell them that $5000 bike.
It's a longer path to that main purchase, but the LTV of that customer is also much higher than it would be if you'd just tried to sell them on the bike.
Focus on Engagement Over Sales
I'll be the first person to say that focusing on things like traffic, shares, likes and their ilk is a fool's errand.
You're running a business, right?
And so you've got to be focused on the actions that increase your bottom line.
Vanity metrics aren't going to help anyone… or are they?
The thing with social commerce is that it's dependent on the effectiveness of your social media campaigns.
You've got to make sales, but the father of sales on social is engagement.
Without it, your sales focused update isn't going to make any money.
So before you think about turning your entire social media account into something that is only focused on driving sales, look first to engagement.
Look at the other brands in your space and deconstruct what it is they're doing to get the best engagement.
Use that as a template for your own updates and then place your product at the heat of that template.
If like me, you've spent your career focusing on sales and revenue this can feel a little odd.
Instead of thinking about it in terms of "growing likes", think of it as getting enough traffic to run an effective A/B test.
Without the traffic, you can't depend on your results.
Without engagement, you can't judge the effectiveness of your social commerce campaigns.
Fascinating Social Commerce Trends
Social commerce might not be an entirely new channel, but it is finally getting attention after a period of time in the dark.
With this new attention comes new trends and new methods of engagement.
Whilst the tactics above help with the mechanics of your campaigns, you also have to understand how the trends are shifting so you can stay one step ahead.
1. Trust Lies in Micro-Influencers.
The dream for most ecommerce brands and retailers is to get a ringing endorsement from a huge celebrity like a Kardashian, world authority, or sporting hero.
Problem is, these folk are hard to nail down and, even if you do manage to organize something, it's going to cost you a pretty penny to get them to promote your brand.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing for an influencer marketing strategy.
In fact, consumers are more concerned now with authenticity.
Something which celebrities far removed from the day-to-day struggles of you and I cannot replicate.
More and more people are starting to turn away from blatant advertising instead trusting the word of smaller influencers to whom they feel a stronger connection.
In fact, influencers with less than 35,000 followers get the highest engagement rate at 5.3%.
Sure, they might not have the reach of the mega influencers, but the engagement is better and you're more likely to attract customers who you're able to build lasting relationships with.
The trend towards favoring smaller influencers is something you definitely need to be taking advantage of with social commerce.
2. Video is King.
Video. Is. Everywhere.
Log onto Facebook and you'll find autoplay social media videos of influencers hawking their new course.
Retargeting ads of that product you looked at in action.
And you'll find a reprieve from those hard sells in video shorts from your favorite TV shows and movies.
Video is moving from strength to strength in social media.
According to Forrester Research, video is worth 1.8 million words. Not sure how they came up with that stat, but it's also proven to be far more engaging which, if you've been paying attention, is the name of the game.
But the most important stat – 84% of consumers felt convinced enough to buy a product after watching a video about it.
3. Conversations are Leading the Pack.
Email is a personal favorite channel of mine.
The ROI is incredible, transactional triggers allow you to automate much of your customer communications, and it's my own personal favorite medium – text.
But there's a problem with email.
A problem which even the lovers of the channel like myself cannot ignore.
Email is almost 100% one-directional.
You're not speaking with your users, but are speaking at them.
Sure, they can respond, but it'll take you hours or days to offer the feedback they want.
And customers are getting a little fed up of waiting for those responses.
Modern consumers are, above all, impatient.
They want what they want and they want it now.
In studying the desires of modern consumers, Drift found there to be a huge swing towards instant answers which can only be achieved through automated chatbots.
Consumers want to interact with your brand 24 hours a day without having to wait for a response.
Conversational commerce and automated social commerce chatbots are the only real method to implement this successfully right now.
4. It Capitalizes on a Growing Purchase Behavior.
Social media is not where users go to compare, contrast, and analyze potential products.
They're there to scroll through their friends' updates, to stalk the Instagram of their ex, or catch up on the latest updates in their hobby of choice.
Which means you're going to have a hard time selling high consideration, high-ticket items.
You've got to amend your promotional tactics to fall in line with their expectations which means highly engaging, eye-catching social promotions.
But that's not necessarily going to make sales, is it?
Well, it could. Especially considering how there's an ever increasing level of impulse purchases online.
When broken down by generation, it's easy to see why – upcoming generations are more prone to impulse buys.
These younger people are those more in tune with social media. They're also more prone to impulse purchases.
Couple the two together and you've got the potential for a massively profitable process.
Which is exactly what social commerce is.
It is, in effect, a two-stage funnel that capitalizes on someone's impulse urges by giving them a direct checkout within the updates they find most captivating.
If the trend of increased impulse purchases continues to increase, so too will the need for social shopping.
5. Built-in Social Proof.
It's difficult to convince a complete stranger, through little more than a compelling social update, to open their wallet.
Your potential customers know you will directly profit from every single sale, and so they're going to treat your promotions with a healthy amount of skepticism.
The same can be said, to a lesser extent, for the micro-influencers mentioned above. People know they'll have been paid and so view their claims with some doubt.
But other users are beyond reproach. Their word is honest and thus, trustworthy.
The problem has always been getting people to leave the reviews other users trust so much.
Generally, you're limited to social proof generating email campaigns which look something like the below.
The problem here is you've first got to get through the spam filter, and custom filters, and then you're hoping you reach the user at a time when they're feeling generous enough to leave a review.
The result is a very low conversion rate from users to reviews.
This is what social commerce does extremely well.
It generates user-generated content and reviews simply through general engagement.
Take a look at the below image from the above linked to Marvel case study.
This one post had 38,000 views and 541 likes.
Those likes tell other users this thing is worth their attention. It's something they need to be paying attention to.
It's not user-generated content in the traditional sense. However, each and every view, comment, and like is an additional positive mention of your brand.
Similar to word-of-mouth marketing, each mention from consumers who have nothing to gain by spreading the word is 100X more powerful than any promotion from your brand.
Because 91% of users trust other users and their opinions.
Social commerce puts both your promotion and user-generated content in the form of comments, likes, and shares into one place which will continue to grow the effectiveness of your campaigns as time goes by.
Examples of Successful Social Commerce Campaigns
Trends and tactics are one thing, but if you really want to get a feeling for how to leverage social sommerce you've got to see it in action.
Here are some of the best social media campaigns out there.
1. Marvel sells tickets with Social Commerce.
Being one of the biggest movie studios in the world isn't enough for Marvel.
They also wanted to leverage this emerging channel to see how it could help them increase sales.
Working with jumper.ai, Marvel created a simple automated checkout bot.
The user could trigger the checkout bot from Marvel's organic and paid social media promotions.
The user simply comments on the post with the hashtag mentioned in the update and the checkout bot takes over in their DMs.
Here's how it looked to the consumer.
In running this for both Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp the lowest conversion rate from hashtag engagement to tickets purchased was a staggering 50%.
You can check a little more out about it here.
Key Actions to Note:
The checkout and funnel was kept simple and focused on a low threat offer (a cinema ticket).
They made smart use of retargeting to re-engage past engagers and those who failed to convert.
They let the Marvel personality show through their use of gifs and images.
2. Jordans sell out on Snapchat.
As far as shoes go, there are few brands who can match the Jordan brand.
A partnership between Snap and Nike to promote the new Air Jordan III "Tinker" after the NBA All-Star game had the shoes sell out in a record 23 minutes.
Those who attended the afterparty were able to scan exclusive Snap codes which opened Snapchat and allowed them to complete their purchase.
Key Actions to Note
This campaign very smartly capitalized on a real-life event. Not only bridging the gap between social media and your day to day life, but it guaranteed an interested audience.
They followed through with the need for instant gratification with same day delivery
They stuck to one channel and mastered it rather than diluting their actions across multiple networks
3. PinDuoDuo raises $1.6 billion.
I know I'm hitting the China angle hard in this piece, but it's because they are so far ahead when it comes to social commerce.
PinDuoDuo is one of the newer apps in the Chinese marketplace, and they're doing some incredibly interesting things.
Basically, PinDuoDuo is an app which allows group buying of products.
The more of your friends you can get to go in on a purchase with you, the cheaper the price you all pay.
It integrates with WeChat and other big Chinese social media networks to make the sharing and interaction between friends much easier.
The way in which the creators have established and organized the app is incredibly smart.
The more I read, the more impressed I am about the way they've done things.
They're not focused on high-value products but on the lower value, non-brand named items and using the vitality of the process to help them grow to selling nearly $15 billion US worth of products per year within 2 years and raining 1.6 billion in funding.
PinDuoDuo is capitalizing on the social aspect of social media to help them massively increase reach and sales.
They're focusing on lower cost items which is key to grabbing those impulse purchases.
By gamifying the hell out of the process it fits with the average social media user's goal – to have fun and enjoy themselves.
Social Commerce is Moving from Strength to Strength – Now is the Time to Start Your Social Selling Campaign
Mobile use is on the rise.
Consumer attention spans are forever reducing.
More people are turning to social media in more areas of their life.
Your audience is spending more time on their phone, expecting quick and easy solutions to every problem, and sharing everything they do on social media.
The only logical action is for you to take advantage of these behaviors and start selling through the channels they're most engaged in with the kind of checkout they're looking for.
Even a few short years ago this was something small brands couldn't dream of.
The cost and effort required for a social commerce campaign was solely within reach of the large, multi-national brands.
However, thanks to tools like ManyChat and jumper.ai it's easier than ever for your brand, regardless of size to take advantage of the social commerce trend.
And I'd say that there's no better time than now to get started.
This thing is going to blow up beyond anyone's expectations.
If you wait to see how things pan out, you'll be putting yourself on the back foot and give yourself a lot of ground to make up.
Don't put yourself at a disadvantage.
Get your social commerce campaign started today.
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Pete Boyle
Pete Boyle is chief copywriter for jumper.ai, the easiest solution for setting up and managing extremely profitable social commerce campaigns. Sign up for your free account today.
View all posts by Pete Boyle
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This article is designed for Windows users that want to interface with Dymola from Python.
A Python Inteface to Dymola was first implemented in Dymola 2015. In this article Python 2.7 and Dymola 2017 are interfaced using Visual Studio 2010 with PTVS.
Figure 1: Snippet of Python Dymola interface functions.
Dymola does not include Python or a Python IDE so these need to be installed.
Section 6.7 of the Dymola User Guide Volume 2 contains simple instructions about how to install and test Python.
These instructions are easy to follow however make sure that you get Python 2.7. Also when you modify the PATH first create a backup of the path before modifying the path, and make sure that the path has been modified in the way you expect.
Run through the instructions in the Dymola Manual and make sure that DymolaExample.py simulates as expected.
Figure 2: Comparison chart of Python IDE tools.
I chose Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS) which is a free plugin for Microsoft Visual Studio for creating, debugging and running Python projects from within Visual Studio. This interface has many features such as auto code completion and integrated Python debugging.
I recommend running through the first 4 videos.
Create a new Python project using "From Existing Python code" as in Visual Studio Tutorial 2/6: Starting coding in Python using Visual Studio.
Select Python 64-bit 2.7 as the Python interpreter and leave the other settings as is.
Figure 3: Python Code Wizard for creating a new project.
Select Python 64-bit 2.7 as the Python interpreter.
Add the DymolaExample.py code by right clicking on the project name and selecting Add->Existing Item and browsing to <Dymola 2017 Installation directory>\Modelica\Libraries\python_interface\examples\DymolaExample.py.
Figure 4: Adding an Existing Item to the Python project.
Figure 5: Adding Zip Archive to Search Path.
<Dymola 2017 installation directory>\Modelica\Libraries\python_interface\dymola.egg is selected.
Now it should be possible to step through the Python code in the Visual Studio environment.
Figure 6: Stepping through the Python code in the Visual Studio environment.