Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Puts A Damper On Many Travel Plans

As many of you may know by now, especially if you have upcoming plans to travel to one of our neighboring countries like Canada or Mexico, your travel plans just might be at risk. “The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act or 2004 requires the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State to develop and implement a plan to require all travelers, U.S. citizens and foreign nationals alike, to present a passport or other document, or a combination of documents, that denote identity and citizenship when entering the United States. Congress amended portions of the Act in 2006. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is the Administration’s proposed plan to implement this mandate.” So what does this mean? Well, for starters, if you’re traveling to Mexico, Canada, Bermuda or the Caribbean, you are now required to obtain a passport for your travels outside the United States.You could, not to long ago, travel to Canada or Mexico as easily as traveling to visit your parents 5 states away. Not anymore. The Federal government’s goal to “strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign visitors” now requires all travelers to basically “check-in” by obtaining a passport for identification and proof of citizenship. This is an absolute necessity to secure our borders against un-authorized access with the foremost hopes of preventing terrorist acts by individuals abroad. Unfortunately, the policy and enforcement on border security will affect both incoming travelers and domestic travelers going abroad. As of January 2007, traveling to Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean is now considered “traveling abroad,” where once we could travel to the above countries with limited or no documentation needed at all.So how does this affect travel to Canada? Or Mexico? Or Bermuda? Or the Caribbean? Well the short answer for you is not much. But if you’re like me, and take family vacations annually to Mexico, it might cost a bit more this year. Take for example a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children under 16 years). The cost of our trip just exploded because by law, I am now required to obtain a passport for each individual crossing in and out of the United States. So, lets see, not only do I have to pay for the monetary cost associated with obtaining a passport, 4 passports in this example, but I now have to take the time out of my day to find out where I can pick up 4 passport applications; then fill them out, and then find a place that will take my passport photo to be attached with the passport application. I’m not done…I have to round up my entire family to go on this passport excursion. Do I pull my kids out of school for this? Do they miss band or sports practice after school? Do I waste an hour and fight traffic with my family just to find our passport applications and a place that will take our passport photo? Unfortunately, this scenario will look all too common in 2007 and beyond as the Federal government continues to increase security for our Country. My advice is to get your passport early and beat the rush. And if your lucky, you can find someone who will come out to your work place or home and furnish all your passport needs, from forms to photos, like Mobile Passport Photos in the Midwest.

9 Reasons Why B2b Manufacturers Are Investing in Digital Marketing

Manufacturing marketers shifted gears in a big way this year, turning their attention toward sales as a primary goal for content marketing, according to a recent article in Content Marketing Institute (via Joe Pulizzi, @JoePulizzi), featuring research from Fathom. The article explains some of the changes that B2B manufacturers are making in their marketing programs, and the results may be surprising to you! They were to us, which is why we’re detailing out 9 of what we think are the most important findings in this report and sharing them with you in an easy-to-read blog:

82% of B2B Manufacturers Use Content Marketing
The report details that only 18% of B2B manufacturing marketers do not use content marketing. Wow, that’s a low percentage, meaning that 82% do use content marketing, which is defined by the article as: “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”If 82% of B2B manufacturing marketers are using content marketing as part of their strategy, there must be a reason, right?

26% of B2B Manufacturers Say that “Content Marketing is Effective”
According to the report, last year, 30% of B2B manufacturing marketers said they were effective at content marketing. More importantly, 53% of those B2B manufacturing marketers that have a documented content marketing strategy say they are effective. So what’s the key here? Having a strategy and a plan, and executing against the plan.

37% of B2B Manufacturers Have a Dedicated Content Marketing Group
And not only 37% already have a dedicated group of marketers that focus on content marketing, but 19% plan to have one in the future. This number, according to the report, is growing rapidly. The most effective among them are much more likely to have a dedicated group (67% vs. 37%).

89% of B2B Manufacturers Say that Brand Awareness is the Ultimate Goal
The report shows that in comparison with other B2B peers overall, manufacturing marketers are much more focused on sales as a goal (85% vs. 75% overall). In addition, far more manufacturing marketers cited sales as a goal this year than they did last year (up to 85% this year vs. 56% last year).

65% of B2B Manufacturers Are Creating More Content
According to the report, the percentage of marketers creating “more” content is down 4% from last year, but still remains high. 21% of respondents are creating “significantly more” content and 44% are creating “more” content than years past. If 65% are creating more content than ever before, then something must be working for these marketers.

87% of B2B Manufacturers Use Video
The report shows that an overwhelming amount of content marketing for this industry is focus on video production. Other important tactics include eNewsletters (85%), Social Media Content (85%), Website Articles (84%) and Illustrations/Photos (82%). The use of videos increased from 80% last year to 87% this year moving up to the #1 tactic from it’s spot in 3rd last year.

89% of B2B Manufacturers Use LinkedIn
The article shows a breakdown of how these marketers use social media platforms. While 89% use LinkedIn, 83% use YouTube (which makes sense as, according to our last stat, 87% use video). “Even though more manufacturers are using YouTube this year (83% vs. 81% last year), LinkedIn has surpassed it as the most often used platform, over a 16% increase from last year.”

27% of B2B Manufacturers Post Daily or Multiple Times Per Week
For B2B Manufacturing Marketers, frequency is important (at least for 27% of the respondents)! But comparatively, these marketers are behind other peers in differing industries where 42% post daily or multiple times per day. Only 14% of B2B Manufacturing Marketers said that they post “less than once per month”.

47% of B2B Manufacturers Plan to Increase Spending
Something must be going write for these marketers! According to the article, 47% of these marketers plan to increase their spending on content marketing within the next 12 months. While peers plan to increase 55%, this is still a high number for the industry. Last year, 46% of manufacturing marketers said they planned to increase spending, so the trend continues.Manufacturers, while in the past more traditional in terms of marketing using tactics like print and direct mail, have upped their digital marketing and content marketing efforts in almost every way.

MBA in Health Care Management

The health industry is at a booming pace now days. In case you want to have a future in this related industry then it becomes very essential for you to choose an apt course that can make things work for you. For instance, if you decide to do MBA in Health Management then you must pursue your course after understanding the relevance and importance of that course in enhancing your professional life. Apart from this, there are various other facts that you need to keep in mind before going for any specific health care education.Why seeking for health and well being education?Well, this is for all the courses, whenever you choose to go for any higher education you must be clear in your mind that why do you want to do this and what can you gain out of it. If you are clear with this, you will concentrate more on your education and will aim for a better future. If we talk about specifically for this health care field, then it has dual benefits. Firstly, immense monetary gain and secondly you are in a way helping people through your work.Career opportunities• Professional outlook: Being a graduate you may practice your skills and by the time you your MBA or any other health care management degree, you can easily look forward to a lucrative and responsible career ahead. Apart from this, if you are not interested in hard core health service then once you pursue MBA in this particular field you may even opt to become a financial manager or administrator for that matter.• Monetary prospects: As far as your annual income is concerned, pursuing a career in this field can really prove to be lucrative and money making for you.Degree SpecificationsThe course material vary from one institution to another thus, there is no specific detail on what all will you learn out of it. There are various types of courses addressing students requirement such as full time, part time, distance, executive or evening courses. All these courses in Health care Management try to fulfill the objective of the student. Health System Management, Health Information Technology, Law and Ethics in Health management, Managerial Communications, Financial Management, etc. are few relevant course materials that are taught to sharpen the skills of the students in this particular course.The degree of MBA in this field makes you capable of handling the responsibilities, keeps you updated with the technology and imparts knowledge to grow you as an individual and as a professional.