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Usually, monitors or televisions come with built-in speakers. However, if yours doesn’t have one, you might want to connect an external speaker to the display.

Well, it’s best to plug the speakers into suitable PC interfaces if you’re using a computer monitor. But if you’re using it as a TV or facing issues with the internal speakers, you’ll be glad to know that monitors support external speakers.

Unfortunately, not all displays have built-in audio output ports, and you might need some other adapters or converters to make it work. As such, this article guides you through the five simple yet effective ways of connecting speakers to a monitor.

Before learning to connect speakers to a monitor or television, it’s essential to consider a few things.

Firstly, speakers can be either active or passive. Basically, the passive ones have dedicated cables to plug into amplifiers before establishing a connection with the monitor or other devices. On the other hand, active speakers have a pre-installed amplifier and thus can be directly connected to the monitor.

Active Speakers vs. Passive Speakers

Secondly, you need to know that monitors can have both input and output ports for transmitting audio signals. While the input ports receive signals from other sources, the output ports are meant to send signals to your speaker.

Hence, you need to check whether your monitors have dedicated audio output ports if you want to connect external speakers. Usually, modern displays come with digital ports (Optical Out, HDMI ARC), while some can also have analog ones (RCA OUT, AUX).

Different Types of Monitor Audio Ports

Sometimes, the audio interfaces on monitors and speakers do not match. In such a case, you’ll need to use proper adapters or converters. For example, if the speaker needs an RCA connection and your monitor only has an AUX port, you can use an RCA-to-AUX converter.

Likewise, if your speaker has an analog audio interface, but the monitor has a digital one, you’ll require a Digital-to-Analog audio converter. Similarly, a speaker with a digital interface and display having an analog audio output requires an Analog-to-Digital audio converter.

Usually, most monitors have built-in speakers. In fact, if you’re using a TV as a computer monitor, you can easily play sound through it instead of needing an external speaker.

However, not all internal speakers can meet your expectations. Thus, an external audio output device is excellent if you want an amplified sound or wish to add more bass.

So, you can go through this section to learn how to connect an external speaker to the display device.

If your monitor or television has built-in audio output ports, you can directly connect the external speaker, and this should work fine.

Audio Out or Line Out: These interfaces require a 3.5 mm standard audio cable to transfer the monitor’s audio to external speakers or headphones. Well, the port can be labeled AUX or may also be marked with a headphone or sound wave icon.

Digital Audio Out: This is an optical or coaxial audio interface with a rectangular shape that sends audio signals to compatible devices. Generally, they are labeled Digital Audio Out (Optical) or Digital Audio Out (Coaxial).

TOS-LINK: This interface looks identical to the Digital Audio Out but is labeled TOS-LINK (Toshiba-Link). They use optical cables made of silica, plastic, or glass and are comparatively lighter. Moreover, they can transport audio signals over a distance of 5 to 10 meters, maintaining the best quality.

S/PDIF: The Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format (S/PDIF) is another optical port that uses digital coaxial cables for transmitting audio signals. Well, they have the same interface as the Digital Audio Out and are often used in studio monitors to enhance sound quality.

HDMI ARC: Although most monitors have HDMI IN ports, some display devices can also have an Arc port generally labeled HDMI OUT(ARC). Well, this was introduced for the ease of connection of Soundbars or Home Theater Systems. Hence, if you have an HDMI speaker, you can directly play sound through the monitor without needing an adapter or converter.

USB: Few monitors do come with a USB Hub. This means that you can directly connect USB or USB-C-compatible speakers.

Coaxial: Coaxial cables can be used for the transmission of both audio and video signals. These days, coaxial speakers are becoming popular, and interestingly, a dedicated port can also be found on most monitors.

Well, some of these common interfaces include:

Now that you’re aware of a monitor’s various audio output ports, you can identify the right one for yourself, and you can go through the below guide on how to connect your speakers to the display:

Well, the audio device should start working as soon as you connect them to the monitors, regardless of the port you use. If the speaker doesn’t work, you can manually select the right model and check if this solves your problem:

If your monitor or smart TV supports Bluetooth, you do not require any cables to connect to one or multiple Bluetooth speakers.

But if you’re unsure whether your display device supports wireless technology, you can check the monitor manual. Also, you can explore the monitor settings using a dedicated button, generally present at the bottom or back side of the device.

Now, you can follow the below instructions on how to connect Bluetooth speakers to your monitor:

If the audio ports on your speaker and monitor do not match, we recommend getting an appropriate adapter.

For demonstration, let’s say the speaker only has an AUX input port while the monitor doesn’t have an output AUX port. In this scenario, you can utilize the RCA OUT port and connect the speaker using an AUX-to-RCA adapter:

However, if the audio device supports AUX (analog) but your monitor only has digital audio output ports (USB, TOSLINK, HDMI ARC, etc.), you’ll need to use a Digital-to-Analog audio converter:

USB audio cards or also referred to as sound cards, utilize the USB ports of a device and have LINE-IN and LINE-OUT ports for the connection of external speakers.

Clearly, this means that the audio cards are applicable to only those monitors and audio devices with USB and AUX ports. Nonetheless, using it significantly improves the sound quality, preventing the speaker from making static noise.

Kindly follow the below steps on how you can use the USB audio cards to establish a connection between your monitor and an external speaker:

Since most modern monitors come with at least one HDMI output port, the HDMI Audio Extractor is useful for connecting an external speaker. Moreover, this component consists of both L/R OUT and Optical Out ports, which is why most speakers are also compatible.

Below is a complete guide on how to use the HDMI Audio Extractor to establish a connection between a monitor and a speaker:

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Hyper V Is Not Authorized To Connect: 5 Ways To Fix It

Hyper V is Not Authorized to Connect: 5 Ways to Fix It Don’t hesitate to apply these easy fixes right away

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Hyper V lets you create virtual machines on your Windows PC, but often it can run into a bunch of errors.

Several users have reported facing Hyper V not authorized to connect errors not allowing them to use the tool.

You can try updating all drivers on your PC or restarting the Hyper V service, as described below.

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Hyper V or hypervisor is Microsoft’s product that lets users create and manage virtual machines. You can check out our guide to understand how to enable Hyper V in Windows 11.

In this guide, we will give you a bunch of solutions that will help you resolve a common Hyper V not authorized to connect error. Let us check it out.

What causes Hyper V not authorized to connect error? How can I fix the Hyper V that is not authorized to connect error?

Check if the Hyper-V Virtual Machine service is running.

Make sure that you run the Hyper-V Manager using an account in the Administrators group otherwise, you will be denied access.

Restart your PC and Hyper-V server.

Install the latest available Windows update.

Reinstall Hyper V from Windows feature updates.

If you checked all the boxes above, let’s see how we can fix this problem with the solutions below.

1. Tweak the system settings

One of the easiest ways to avoid coming across issues on your Windows 11 PC, is to keep all of the drivers on it updated.

Often, we forget to update drivers and because of that not only your PC’s performance will be hampered but it will also trigger issues such as Hyper V not authorized to connect errors.

The above solutions require you to manually check for updates, which is quite time-consuming. A better alternative is to use a trusted third-party tool to update all drivers for you automatically.

We would recommend you check out Outbyte Driver Updater. It scans your PC for all faulty drivers; all you need to do is select all the ones you would like to fix, and everything else will be done automatically.

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3. Restart the Hyper V services

Expert tip:

Launching the relevant services also helps get rid of the An error occurred while attempting to connect to server. Check that the Virtual Machine Management service is running and you are authorized to connect to the server error.

And while you are at this, it would also be helpful to disable all non-essential services in Windows 11.

4. Use Command Prompt 5. Run Hyper V as an administrator

Running as an administrator will help in the case of the Hyper-V You might not have permission to access it error. You can try reinstalling the Hyper-V feature from Windows Features. Check if a new Windows update is available. If yes, then install it.

Also, you can uninstall problematic updates if the Hypervisor error appeared after performing a Windows update. You can check out our guide that will help you easily uninstall updates in Windows 11.

Update your BIOS by following how to enter and update your BIOS in Windows 11 step-by-step guide.

Run SFC Scan and DISM commands to fix or repair missing/corrupt system files. Use System Restore to turn Windows to a previous state in which the Hypervisor worked.

That is it from us in this guide. We hope the above solutions helped you fix the issue, and do not forget to let us know which one resolved the issue.

Still experiencing troubles? Fix them with this tool:

How To Calibrate Your Monitor

If you’re an avid photographer, you’ve probably shot tons of photos, investing a large chunk of your time and disposable income in a digital SLR camera. And you’ve spent even more time learning the ins and outs of photography, including lighting, composition, and image editing. So why don’t your photos look better than they do?

Maybe it’s your monitor.

Why Should You Calibrate?

Calibrating your PC display is an important step, for one simple reason: You want the colors and black levels to look as accurate as possible. The most obvious benefit of proper calibration is that it ensures the best results when you’re editing or viewing photographs. But accurate colors and black levels also make videos and games look better on your monitor–you’ll be viewing content in the way the content’s creators intended.

In this article, I’ll talk about how you can use Windows 7’s built-in tools to perform a quick calibration. Then I’ll mention a website or two that can aid in calibrating your display. Finally I’ll discuss a low-cost hardware tool, to give you a feel for how you might use something similar to calibrate your monitor.

Consider the Monitor’s Capabilities

Before diving into the minutiae of monitor calibration, I’ll talk a bit about displays themselves. At first blush, it’s a great time to be a computer user: Big, bright displays with very fast response times cost a couple hundred dollars. What’s not to like?

Well, they may not be very good. Most low-cost LCD screens use TN (twisted nematic) technology. The response time of TN displays can be fast, but most of these monitors are limited to a color depth of 6 bits per pixel. With three pixels representing the red, green, and blue primary colors, this means the number of simultaneous colors on screen is limited to 262,144. Such displays simulate higher color depths via dithering–a process that digitally simulates greater color depths than are really available. That’s why, if you’re looking at an image with finely shaded color gradations, you may see color banding.

You really want a monitor with a color resolution of 8 bits per pixel, since such a display is capable of showing over 16 million simultaneous colors. A few monitors capable of 10 bits per pixel are shipping now, too.

Most of the higher-end displays that support 8 bits per pixel use either a version of IPS (in-plane switching) or some flavor of PVA (patterned vertical alignment). Both technologies are more costly to manufacture, but you can find relatively good, 24-inch IPS-based displays for around $400. The point isn’t to focus on the LCD tech as much as it is to pay attention to better color depth.

Set the Color Gamut

A good rule of thumb is to set your monitor’s color gamut to match your target output device. If you’re mostly editing photos that go up on websites, good old sRGB works just fine, even though it’s “only” 78 percent of the NTSC color gamut. If your printer is the target device, you may want to set a higher color gamut, depending on the printer model. But then you have to worry about the color settings on the printer. Calibrating for printer output is a whole other topic that requires its own article.

I want to focus on monitor calibration for everyday use and for uploading photos to the Web. I’ll mention calibrating for video in passing, but the assumption is that you’ll view the video on your monitor, rather than burning it to a Blu-ray Disc for playback on an HDTV.

Next page: Understanding monitor settings, and starting Windows 7 color calibration

Understand the Monitor Settings

Before diving into the act of calibration, it’s worth discussing monitor settings. The display I’ll be using as an example is the HP ZR30w. This monitor lacks a built-in video processor, so the only physical adjustment you can make on such a model is the brightness of the backlight. You handle any other adjustment through the graphics card’s software controls. AMD, Nvidia, and Intel all offer software controls to tweak color balance, contrast, and so on.

Most monitors do have built-in video processors, and give you a host of physical controls for the display. This can lead to adjustment confusion: Do you use the monitor controls for brightness, contrast, gamma, color, and so on? Or do you use the graphics card control panel?

My personal preference is to avoid relying on the monitor controls. I prefer to put the monitor at some standard setting; if, for instance, it has a default setting for D6500 (which means a color temperature of 6500 kelvins), I use that. I turn the brightness and contrast down fairly low, as well; if I have the option, I’ll set the brightness level to roughly 200 cd/m2 (you may see this setting reported on some sites as 200 nits, though the units aren’t exactly the same).

If you’re working with an automated calibration tool, such as the Spyder 3 Express I’ll use as an example later, typically it will load all the calibration data into the graphics card instead of the monitor. Some professional calibration tools coupled with certain professional-grade displays can actually adjust the LCD panel itself, but those combinations are often very pricey–though they do ensure very accurate calibration.

If a monitor doesn’t offer a specific color temperature number, I usually use the ‘warm’ setting. I also alter the preset to something like ‘photographs’ or ‘video’ if those presets exist. Beyond that, I rely on the graphics card control panel.

Since we’re trying to keep it simple, let’s look at how you can easily make changes without getting too intimate with either the graphics control panel or the monitor display controls.

Set Up Windows 7 Color Calibration

In this example, since I have an HP ZR30w LCD screen without a built-in video processor, I need to use the graphics card control panels for adjusting color. Also note that I’ve set the viewing conditions profile to ‘WCS profile for sRGB viewing conditions’. This selection uses the ZR30w profile–installed from the driver CD-ROM packaged with the monitor–rather than the system default.

Now that you have your gamut settings in place, it’s time to calibrate the display.

Next page: Calibrating a monitor in Windows 7

The tools built into Windows 7 for monitor calibration are simpler versions of those that shipped with the original Windows Media Center. You can use them to adjust the contrast, brightness, color balance, and gray levels. Since the HP ZR30w I calibrated doesn’t offer on-screen controls, I need to use my graphics card control panel to adjust contrast (the display has a brightness control).

Above is the AMD graphics control panel for adjusting color, brightness, and other calibration settings. Nvidia and Intel offer similar panels with their graphics hardware.

When you start up Windows 7 calibration, you get a simple gray screen, with a ‘Next’ button and a link to a help file. All you need to do is walk through the steps, reading the instructions as you go along. What you see with each step is a basic instruction screen, with examples of good and bad images. You want to try to replicate the ‘good’ image as closely as possible.

First up are your gamma settings.

Then you move on to brightness.

After brightness comes contrast.

The last actual calibration setting is color balance, which turns out to be more of a grayscale adjustment.

Once you finish calibrating, Windows (if you wish) will walk you through ClearType setup, an optional antialiasing technique that makes on-screen text easier to read.

Next page: Some useful tools

Web-based calibration tools are also available, though most of them require even more manual adjustment than the Windows method does. Websites such as Display Calibration let you work with test patterns and examples of what a correct image should look like; to calibrate from them, however, you’ll need to become intimately familiar with either your monitor controls or your graphics card control panel.

Whether you use the Windows method or Web-based tools, the process is manual and requires heavy use of your own eyes. Of course, the problem with eyes is that they vary in capability–and if you’re even slightly color blind, visually calibrating your display becomes difficult.

Thankfully a host of automated calibration tools exist, ranging in cost from $80 to thousands of dollars. Certainly, if you’re a professional photographer or videographer, you’ll spend what you need to get the tools necessary for precise calibration. Most people, though, can get by with less expensive tools such as Datacolor’s Spyder 3 Express.

Buy an Automated Tool for Simple Calibration

The Spyder 3 Express costs from $80 to $100, and fully automates the calibration task. It’s just one example of a simpler tool; if you want more precision and a higher level of control, you need to invest more money.

For now, ensure that your monitor is warmed up (leave it running for at least 30 minutes) and that you have installed the latest drivers for your graphics card.

Using the Spyder 3 is quite easy. First, install the calibration software (check the Datacolor website for the most recent version). Launch the software, and let it walk you through setup and calibration. Connect the puck to a USB port, and hang the puck from the top of your display, aligning the puck with the outline that the SpyderExpress calibration software displays. The puck has a suction cup for attaching to the surface of your monitor; you should occasionally tap it to maintain the suction.

Once installed with the puck in place, the calibration software measures the output from the display, and sets it accordingly.

The calibration process adjusts your monitor to settings that the tool determines are accurate. This basic tool doesn’t allow any manual tweaks, so you’ll need to choose a more expensive model if you want to be more involved.

In my experience, the photographs I’m editing these days look correct, now that I’ve done a proper monitor calibration. Having a correctly calibrated monitor helped me discover that Photoshop’s Camera Raw application often blows out the highlights of my photographs by setting the brightness too high. Now I can see how garish the changes are, and dial them back accordingly.

The bottom line: If you’re interested in photography or video, calibrate your display. Even if all you do is the basic Windows calibration, it’s still better than simply staring at weird-looking images and wondering what’s wrong.

How To Connect To Your Target Audience

Targeting a broad audience that isn’t interested in your products or services – or can’t afford them – might boost website traffic on paper, but it won’t add any money to your wallet. To ensure your business is more than just a hobby, you’ll need to pinpoint your brand’s target audience to hone in on people who will engage with your product and ultimately make repeat purchases.

Once you’ve found your target audience, save time and money by performing proper keyword research. Getting your new product or service in front of consumers where they hang out, whether through online channels or social media, can help you gain new customers quickly and keep repeat customers anticipating your next offering.

Let’s break down what a target audience is, how to identify it, and how to reach these consumers.

What is a target audience?

A target audience is a segmented group of consumers that want to buy your product or service. A target audience can refer to general followers of your brand or a specific group of followers interested in one or more products or services.

You can identify a target audience by age, gender, geographic location, social media engagement, repeat purchases and other information. For example, if you sell spa services, your target market might be people who frequently purchase facials or pedicures. If you provide a specific service such as pedicures for men, segment your target audience by gender and even by men who have purchased services within the last six months.

How to identify your target audience

Communication is vital to identifying your target audience. To effectively analyze the buyer data you receive consistently, implement the following best practices:

1. Use the data from your best customers.

What makes a buyer love your products and make repeat purchases? Look for patterns in information such as when additional purchases are made, as well as the buyer’s location, age and preferred social media platforms. You can also survey your customers if you need specific data reference points.

Tip

Manage your online reputation to see what people are saying about you and whether they trust your business. Take steps to strengthen your company’s reputation if necessary.

2. Follow competitors, and track your industry.

Stealthily watching your competition can help you find ways to improve your services. For example, if your competitors are lacking in the customer service department, invest in additional ways your customers can contact you, such as via online live chat or a Facebook group.

Track industry trends to find ways to improve and add to your product line. For example, does your industry sell better in a brick-and-mortar application or an online store? Being proactive is essential for staying ahead of your competition.

3. Narrow down your target audience.

If your business caters more to men than women, it’s vital to market to men. Even if your customers are already predominantly one gender, you can further narrow your market by age group, location, interest and buyer type.

The more you can narrow your target audience, the less money you will spend (or waste) trying to acquire the right customers.

4. Invest in marketing tools.

Going through your customer data to find patterns, customer analytics and other pertinent information can be daunting. Fortunately, marketing tools can help you collect and analyze the business data you need to be competitive in your industry.

For example, Google Analytics provides in-depth data regarding website traffic, and Facebook business tools include engagement insights. Instagram business tools can also provide valuable data. If you already have a CRM tool for your business, use its CRM reports feature to analyze pertinent customer data.

FYI

Most e-commerce platforms store customer data, which allows you to access customer wish lists, abandoned shopping carts, loyalty behavior, and other online purchase habits to gain deeper insights on customer interaction.

How To Create An Effective Telecommuting Policy

Create a telecommuting policy that is comprehensive and specific about details like eligibility, frequency, productivity, expectations and requirements, power structure, cybersecurity, and communication methods.

Have a clear plan in place for addressing telecommuting policy violations, and enforce your telecommuting policies fairly.

Use productivity applications, software and frequent employee feedback to determine the success of your policy.

This article is for business owners and managers who want to create a successful telecommuting policy for their remote or hybrid workforce.

Because there has been a major increase in people working from home since the pandemic, having an effective telecommuting policy is more important than ever. And now, after many companies have settled on permanent remote or hybrid workplaces, it’s essential to have policies that clearly outline these working arrangements. These policies will give employees a sense of what is and isn’t acceptable and can help everyone stay efficient and productive.

“Allowing people to work from home … attracts and retains top talent in a competitive market,” Brian Shapland, director of sales for Ancillary & Shared Spaces, told Business News Daily. “But there are factors to consider when giving your team the green light to work outside the office, like the impact it may have on employee engagement, team connectivity and the vibrancy of your office culture.”

The option to work outside the office is a dream come true for many employees who want better work-life balance. But without guidelines, managing remote employees can quickly become a boss’s worst nightmare. As your company grows, it’s a good idea to put a formal telecommuting program in place to help you keep track of employees who work remotely and ensure everyone is performing at their peak, regardless of location.

Why is a telecommuting policy important?

Working from home is the future of work. In fact, Gallup found that 45% of full-time U.S. employees spend at least some time working remotely, and roughly 60% of workers listed productivity as one of the top reasons they prefer hybrid or remote work.

Without a clear telecommuting policy, though, companies can flounder. Working from anywhere, whether at an office or at home, provides room for distraction. By spelling out your work-from-home policy, you can define exactly what’s expected of employees.

Did You Know?

Gallup found that 6 in 10 workers prefer their employer to establish clear telecommuting guidelines.

How the COVID-19 pandemic impacted telecommuting

While working from home used to be a luxury that very few were afforded, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly changed that. Companies were forced to abruptly switch to a remote workforce to keep their employees safe. Soon after, many realized just how beneficial telecommuting was.

In the survey mentioned above, Gallup found that many employees preferred telecommuting because it was better for their well-being, it allowed them more flexibility, they had fewer distractions, they felt more productive and they saved time not having to commute. Employees found these benefits to be so favorable that 94% of employees surveyed prefer some form of remote (49%) or hybrid (45%) work arrangement.

The aftermath of the pandemic has also resulted in workers being more selective about which companies they work for. Although competitive salary is still important, the type of employee benefits you offer can make a major difference in your ability to attract and retain employees. The combination of 10.4 million job openings and what has been coined “the Great Resignation” has forced employers to think critically about which benefits they offer, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Based on general employee sentiment, it is essential for companies to offer some form of flexible work arrangements, when possible.

Did You Know?

Gallup found that 37% of remote workers and 19% of hybrid workers would be “extremely” likely to look for another job if their employer removed the option to work from home.

“It is important to provide very specific guidelines and policies for employees to review and acknowledge [regarding] the telecommuting arrangement,” Davis added. “A quiet and private workspace is still needed [in the home], and work hours require full attention and dedication – no watching the kids while trying to work.”

3. Equipment and cybersecurity

An often-overlooked element of remote work is the security of the corporate data workers are accessing outside of the secure office network. Hunter Hoffmann, senior vice president of global marketing and communications at AmTrust Financial Services, recommended monitoring the devices and programs employees use when they work from home, and setting up safeguards against any potential hacks or breaches. It’s also helpful to educate employees on how to set up a secure home office. [Looking for employee monitoring software to track employee productivity and security? Check out our picks for the best employee monitoring software on the market.]

“Enabling employees to work remotely opens up the likelihood that they’ll use their work devices to communicate via unsecured public networks,” Hoffmann said. “Password-protect all business devices, [and] make sure that data going out from [those devices] is encrypted. Keep a current inventory of all devices, and make sure each one has its GPS tracking turned on. Additionally, install technology to remotely wipe data from any device that has been lost or stolen.”

Davis added that if company-issued devices are taken home for remote work, employees should be aware that the equipment and any programs on them are to be used only for work-related purposes.

4. Communication methods

In many offices, instant messaging and chat services have become the communication method of choice due to their ease of use and convenience. It makes sense to have the whole team connect with each other through these platforms for quick discussions and collaboration, but employees who aren’t physically there need the benefits of face time, like their in-office colleagues have. Therefore, frequent phone calls and video conferences should be part of your routine with remote workers to ensure that nothing gets lost in translation via text-based communication.

Tip

Video conferences are beneficial only when they are used strategically. Follow these 10 tips to host a productive video conference.

4 Ways To Connect Authentically With Your Audience During Covid

In this age of radical visibility, technology and media have given individuals the power to stand up for their opinions and beliefs on a grand scale. Companies are under the spotlight like never before, especially as they navigate the recent pandemic. Because customers aren’t just making decisions based on what you’re doing to respond to coronavirus. They’re now assessing what you’re doing for your employees, your customers, and your community.

The trend over the last few years has included consumers looking for brands that align with their personal values. They want to support the ideals they believe in, and they’re now using their dollars to do that. And that’s more important now than ever.

It all boils down to authenticity.

How is your business communicating, marketing, and portraying itself authentically? What are your core values, and how are you using those values to clearly communicate your brand story?

Here are four ways to help your business connect authentically with your customers during COVID-19 and beyond.

Identify Your Brand Story

This is a point we’ve covered multiple times, but we truly believe that every business has a story, and it’s key to connecting authentically with your audience.

Your brand story could be as simple as you getting into the plumbing business because you needed a job and it was something you were familiar with. But, now, you own your own plumbing business and have 20 employees. You’ve provided for your family. You’ve helped countless members of your community. And, then, when you think about it, you also participate as a team in local community clean-ups.

There’s so much more to your business, and once you start to think of it as a story, there are key points you can pull out that will resonate with your target audience.

Don’t Be Afraid to Share

Right now, a lot of people are uncertain and a little scared. This is new territory we’re in. Don’t be afraid to share with your audience how this is impacting you. My local bakery shared a social post promoting their curbside delivery and urged people to order so they can stay open through the pandemic. I might not have thought to order cupcakes, but the idea of my favorite bakery going out of business is enough to get me in my car.

Consumers want to support small businesses, they don’t want to see empty storefronts once this is over. Don’t be afraid to let your audience know how they can support you and what you’re doing to keep your business running through this pandemic.

Related: 3 Ways You Can Support Local Businesses Now

Be Consistent

Your core values and brand story should inform every aspect of your business, your marketing, and your communications with your employees, customers, and prospects. This is a foundation of authenticity.

Think about how your business looks across all your online and offline channels, down to your in-store (or in-front-of-store) signage and your employees. All of these aspects are a representation of your business, and how your customers perceive you is important.

Consumers can sniff out whether or not a business is being authentic, and you don’t want them to feel that you’re being insincere.

Show You Care

So many companies have sent a standard email letting consumers know they care about customers and employees and are taking every effort to keep them safe. And that’s kind of it. What I’ve loved seeing is how many companies are taking it a step further, outlining how their employees are still getting paid, talking about community resources for those in need, or sharing how they’re supporting their friends and neighbors during this time.

This is what consumers want to see. They don’t want you to tell them you care, they want you to show them.

Separate, Together: Businesses Offer Leadership for Communities

3 Ways to Adjust Your Marketing During COVID-19

Companies Using Empathy to Guide their Marketing Messages During COVID-19

Tracy Oswald