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What are the different career routes in digital marketing

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Our world today is constantly connected. With technology literally at our fingertips – being ‘online’ has become a way of life. In fact, digital marketing isn’t the ‘next’ big thing – it’s already here! This relatively new industry is experiencing exponential growth which opens up many opportunities if you’re seeking a career in digital marketing. And what’s more, digital marketing has become a cornerstone of a company’s overall marketing strategy – so simply put – a digital marketer is in high demand.

If you haven’t quite decided which career route in digital marketing you want to take, that’s okay. This article will cover some careers that are the most popular in digital marketing. It’s also a really great start to complete a digital marketing course so that you have a solid background and full understanding of the many aspects that make up digital marketing.

Why choose a career in digital marketing?

As the entire world becomes digitally connected more and more each day, there can be no doubt that a career in digital marketing is a great choice. The number of businesses that don’t have an online presence these days is diminishing – which is great news for a digital marketer. You’ll always be in demand. Almost every business needs to create an online presence to just stay in business, let alone to grow and prosper.

Many elements make up digital marketing. As digital marketing continues to grow so too do the many parts of what makes up digital marketing.

It’s comforting to know that there are many reasons why the demand for a digital marketer continues to grow. So, let’s take a look at the main reasons this is so.

  • E-commerce popularity – The convenience and ease of making purchases online is second to none. Busy lives are becoming busier and more consumers are enjoying this comfort. The number of e-commerce sites is mushrooming. You can buy almost anything online these days therefore a career in the complex world of e-commerce is a solid choice.
  • Number of people online rising – With more brands finding digital platforms a better way of advertising, the number of people online is rising daily. Digital marketing professionals have practically guaranteed job opportunities.
  • Cost-effectiveness – Advertising has traditionally been seen as a costly grudge expenditure. Digital marketing has changed all that. More businesses are snapping up the chance to market their brand online as it’s one of the most cost-effective methods of advertising.

The different roles within the digital marketing sphere

So, we’ve established that there are plentiful opportunities for a digital marketer and choosing a career in this industry is a wise choice.

But what job possibilities exist in digital marketing? Three are a wide range of career routes you could take, so let’s take a closer look at the possibilities.

  • Content creator – Captivating online content is not a fad. Great content is not about to fade into the background. Therefore, being able to create engaging, informative and eye-catching content is a sought after skill in digital marketing. Remember, content is ‘still’ king.
  • SEO specialist – Search engine optimisation has become quite a complex skill. Optimising a website so that it appears on the first page of the search engine results pages is key. This role is constantly evolving; therefore, an SEO specialist needs to keep up to date with new trends, tips and techniques.
  • Social media marketer – The popularity of social media continues to skyrocket. Almost every brand has a profile on at least one of the social media platforms.
  • Email marketing – Email marketing has been around for a while, yet it remains a very effective form of digital marketing.
  • Inbound marketing – As the world becomes more digitally focussed, it’s important that brands retain a certain human element to their digital marketing. Personal engagement is vital for a career in inbound marketing.
  • E-commerce specialist – Shoppers just love the convenience of making purchases online. E-commerce has become big business.
  • PPC marketing – Google Ads is a must in any digital marketing strategy, therefore pay-per-click (PPC) marketing know-how is crucial. Understanding the metrics is a sought after skill.
  • Digital analyst – Every digital marketing campaign needs analysing. Understanding the results of a campaign is key to developing ongoing digital marketing strategies.

 

5 Tips For Managing Your Ecommerce Store More Efficiently

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Managing an eCommerce store can be challenging, especially if it’s your first venture into the world of online marketplaces. Whether you’re running an online retail store, subscription service, or other eCommerce variety, these five tips are universally applicable in just about any eCommerce business. Follow these five tips for greater efficiency and success with your eCommerce store.

1. Be Mobile-Friendly

If you’re running an eCommerce platform, it’s pretty much a requirement that your site is mobile friendly. In fact, ideally, you’ll have your own app so customers don’t have to use their mobile web browsers to access your products. An app is a simple but effective way to bridge the gap between you and your customers and keep your brand at the forefront of their minds.

Mobile-friendly sites will load quickly and be responsive on mobile devices. This is important, considering that most people prefer to use their mobile devices anyway to do their online shopping. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re going to run into trouble attracting new customers and keeping your current customers engaged. Let’s be honest, a slow-loading or unresponsive site is simply too frustrating to spend much time on. Disengagement, and therefore lack of sales, will occur for your business without a mobile-friendly eCommerce site.

The best thing you can do is pay a developer to create an app for your business. That way, you can be certain your customers can access your brand and products no matter where they are. With an app, you’ll be able to offer a more customized and personal experience for your customers.

2. Chatbots

It can be difficult to reply to every inquiry your customers make when visiting your site, especially if you have thousands of users on a monthly basis. The best solution to this problem is a chatbot or an automated chat system that will pop up when customers navigate to your site. The chatbot will say something like, “how can I help you today”, which will prompt a response from the customer.

Once the bot knows what the customer is looking for or needs help with, the correct representative will be notified. With some systems, the AI handles the entire process; directing customers to the specific pages or products they’re looking for based on their feedback to the initial contact questions.

3. Streamline Your Web Design

An overly-complicated website can be both difficult to navigate and slow to load. Sites that are laden with graphics, videos, and pictures are simply ineffective in that the visual elements quickly become distracting. It’s best to keep your site design as simple as possible; you want to get your point across without employing too many details on the aesthetic side of things.

Simplicity is king when it comes to effective websites. The best websites are responsive and not oversaturated with graphics and flashing ads. If you’re not sure how to streamline a DIY design you did on a site like Wix, it’s best to just get a designer/developer. The expertise and customization these professionals can offer your site simply can’t be matched by doing it yourself.

4. Use a POS

There are dozens of options in the POS world that can help your site streamline its payment processing and better manage inventory. POS software for retail is affordable and versatile, with several built-in features that will help better your business overall and make the website much more efficient.

If you’re struggling with inventory management, or your current payment processing system isn’t working out, it’s time to make the switch. You can choose POS services like Square POS or Vend HQ for products that will meet your every need and bring a customer satisfaction guarantee along with them!

Many small businesses believe that investing in a POS system can turn out to be a costly affair. However, you can look for companies that offer free POS systems to track their business activity. To learn more about this, you can visit the link here.

5. Pay Attention to Customer Feedback

Last, but certainly not least, you’ll want to pay close attention to customer feedback when it comes to running your store. Customers will let you know if the site is difficult to access or navigate, or if there’s something wrong with the inventory system. The customers who shop on your site have plenty of valuable insight that you can utilize to streamline the buying process and the site itself.

As with any business, the customer is the key component to your success. Therefore, you should always take any complaints (or compliments) seriously and work to address them as quickly as possible. This will help you better manage the business as a whole, and continue to promote loyalty and trust among your customers.

Conclusion

For every eCommerce store, there are steps that can be taken to improve management and help streamline operations for a more efficient store overall. Don’t forget that a professionally designed and maintained website will ensure that things stay efficient and load properly. You want your site to function as well as it looks, or else customers will more than likely disengage from the site altogether!

 

Interdependence PR – What to Watch Out For When In a Meeting With a PR Company

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My business spent a very long time looking for the right PR company before we finally settled on the amazing team at Interdependence PR, who have completely transformed our business with their expertise. During that search we learned an awful lot about PR companies and how they go about their business, and we also sat through many meetings with companies who just weren’t the right fit for us. We learned during this stage that there are many red flags to watch out for when looking to get the perfect company for your particular business. Owing to this experience I wanted to give you the skinny on a few things which you need to watch out for during your meeting with a potential public relations company.

Track Record of Success

Let’s just get one thing clear, almost every PR company who you speak to is going to be able to talk a good game, why? Because this is what industry they are in, in fact it is the least that you should expect from them. Unfortunately however there are many who can’t quite back up their words with actions and this is why you have to focus on the track record of a company. If a PR firm can show you evidence of their past successes then great, if they cannot then it may be time to look elsewhere.

Results Driven

My team and I are incredibly passionate about our company and we are absolutely committed to delivering results for the company. Understandably then we also expect the same thing from any company who will be working on our behalf, especially if that company is one which specializes in public relations. During the meeting you need to feel this from the guys sitting across the table, that they are just as committed to delivering results as you are, if you don’t feel it, you won’t do well working with this company.

Customer Service

Something which we learned after meeting with many of these companies is that many of them really lack customer service skills. Quite why this happens I am not sure, perhaps they think that we need them more than they need us. Ultimately however this is a service industry and by virtue of that you must feel a strong level of customer service towards you. If they cant get that right, how well do you think they can help your business?

Jack of All Trades

Sometimes being great at many things is beneficial, when it comes to PR however you want a company who is specialized on your industry. They need to know how to speak to your market and how to strategize within it, if a PR company says that they can turn their hand to any market then you may wish to look elsewhere for a company which really specializes in what your business does.

Keep an eye out for these items when you have a meeting with a PR firm.

 

First American Home Warranty Reviews – Tips on Protecting Your Home From The Elements

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If you live in an area which is prone to natural disasters then it is absolutely crucial that you have done all that you can to make sure that your property has the protection which is needs. Surprisingly not enough people focus on this and I was reading some of the First American Home Warranty reviews recently, where so many remarked on the quality of the service, but also highlighted their own lack of preparation for a natural disaster. You only need to look at how the wildfires in California ravaged so many properties, to see just how important this is. You can never guarantee your property’s safety against the elements, but there are things that you can do to increase your protection.

Home Warranty

A home warranty will protect items in the home such as your plumbing and electrics, your HVAC system and your vehicles outside the home. Getting good home warranty is easy to do and you just need to get online, compare the best deals for buyers, check out what people are saying in the reviews and find the most suitable plan for your particular needs.

Home Insurance

Insurance is different from the warranty as this protects against damage to your home, including structural damage. A good home insurance policy should be one which protects against natural disasters, one which offers a low excess and maximum payout and one which offers reasonable monthly premiums. You should also look for a reputable company with good customer service, and one with experts of the insurance industry working for them.

Additional Protection

There are also things which you should be doing in the home to maximize protection.

Hurricanes – Hurricane shutters are a vital purchase and you should also look to make sure that your garage door is strong and reinforced. Another purchase which you should look to make is hurricane straps which will help to support the structure of the property.

Earthquakes – You must ensure that your property is able to withstand an earthquake of 9.0, this is the largest ever recorded. Within the home you need to focus on securing the cabinets and fittings in the home to be sure that they won’t fall and break if an earthquake hits. When attaching anything to a wall you have to ensure that you are using heavy duty screws and fittings so that it won’t budge.

Floods – Elevating your kitchen appliances and your electrical items off the floor will help you t minimize the damage which a flood can do, as well as helping you to avoid secondary issues like fire.

Wildfires – Make sure that there is an exclusion zone around the property, this zone shouldn’t have anything in it which could potentially catch fire, as this will then set fire to the property. Be sure that everyone knows why this zone is here and the importance of keeping it clear.

While it’s impossible to completely prevent damage, there are steps you can take to minimize it. If you’re interested in learning more, including tips related to obtaining an electrical license GA, visit our blog by clicking here.

TaxAudit Reviews Two Ways the IRS May Audit You

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There are some people you’d rather never hear from if you can help it: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is one of them. However, you may end up being one of the “lucky” taxpayers who are chosen to undergo the IRS audit process. The question you may be asking yourself in this situation is “How exactly will the IRS audit me?” According to the experts at TaxAudit, which has earned a number of glowing audit defense reviews, the IRS might choose to audit you in a couple of key ways.

First, the IRS may send you what’s called a CP2000 notice. This notice matches up the documents that third parties have sent to the government about income you’ve received – such as 1099s and W-2s – with the income-related information you’ve reported on your tax return. Let’s say you missed an individual retirement account distribution; in this case, the notice you receive from the IRS will show the income-related information you reported, the information that your employer, banks, and financial institutions reported, and the amount by which these two totals differ. Then, you’ll see how much extra tax you may be required to pay. If you believe that the CP2000 notice is erroneous, you can dispute the taxes being proposed within the next 30 days.

The IRS might also decide to complete a field examination audit. Revenue agents typically use this audit method for business entities or for individuals with high incomes or complicated incomes, according to current tax audit reviews. You can expect your audit to take place at your business location or at your residence. This might seem intrusive, but fortunately, it can also save you on the time and hassle associated with reporting to an IRS office.

Facing a tax audit can no doubt be stressful. However, staying organized and consulting an audit defense firm to find out what your rights are during a tax audit may help you to more confidently complete the process.

First American Home Warranty Reviews – Tips on What You Can Do To Protect Your Home From The Elements

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A natural disaster can strike at any time and even if you do get a little bit of fair warning, it is still vital that you have done all that you can in advance to keep your home protected. We have seen the devastation which has been caused in California because of the wildfires and in Florida following a hurricane and if you live in a zone which is prone to natural disasters you have to do all that you can to maximize your protection, and here is how.

Home Warranty

Home warranty will protect the large items in your home such as your HVAC system, cars, electronics and the plumbing system in your home, all of which could be at risk after a natural disaster. When searching for the best home warranty you need to check out reviews, it was the First American Home Warranty reviews that helped to choose those guys. Compare pricing and different plans for buyers of home warranties to get the best cover and the lowest premiums.

Home Insurance

Home insurance will protect the structural integrity of your home, as well as the damage which is caused by a disaster such as water and fire damage, as well as theft. Look for a home insurance company with great reviews, solid customer service, and experts who can help you to get the right deal based on the value of your home, and the risk of an ‘act of God’.

Earthquakes – If you live in an earthquake zone then you should ensure that your building is structurally sound and solid enough to withstand an earthquake up to 9.0. Also ensure that your TV, cabinets and items in the home are well secured so that they don’t fall when an earthquake hits.

Hurricanes and Tropical Storms – Hurricane shutters are a must buy item if you live in a zone prone t hurricanes and storms, so too is a solid garage door and hurricane straps which will support the structural integrity of the property.

Wildfires – You can’t fire-proof your home and so the obvious solution here is to make sure that the fire cannot get to it. If you are able to then you should clear an exclusion zone around the property. This zone should be clear from anything like foliage that can catch fire, which in turn could set fire to the property.

Another option which you could consider that will protect you and your family from the effects of a natural disaster is to build a safe room outside the home. This room should be like a concrete shelter which will protect everyone inside it. The room can be multi-functional and you could use it for storage or as a utility-style room.

The key here is in the preparation, do that well and you can ensure that your home is protected.

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The Benefits of Studying at the American College of Acupuncture

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American College of Acupuncture is a college in Houston which specializes in the teachings of Oriental medicine and acupuncture and they offer one of the best chances to study this topic in the country. This is a college which has been widely acclaimed and which is generally considered as being the best of its type in the USA. I have recently finished the most incredible 4 year course there which saw me earn a doctorate, and it has been the most challenging but rewarding 4 years of my life. If you wish to study Oriental medicine then this is the place to do it, and here are the benefits which you can count on when you do.

Courses Available

One of the most beneficial reasons as to why this college is so greta is because they offer a wealth of courses which you can take. My four year doctorate was just one of 2 doctorates that are available at the college, they also offer 2 masters courses which take a year each. If you just want learn a little bit about Oriental medicine then you can also take advantage of the short courses which the college offers, perfect to get a taste for this topic.

Depth

Whether you take on a short course or a post-grad option you will be amazed by the depth which the courses go into. For example they will not just cover the practices, theories and techniques behind Oriental and Chinese medicine, but also the administration side of things and how you can use these ancient practices in today’s modern world.

Quality of Professors

This is a college which prides itself on being the best in the country and in order to maintain that they seek out the very finest teachers and professors for there students. Some these professors have traveled throughout Asia honing their knowledge and their techniques and others have actually come from China and other parts of Asia, to share their knowledge. The professors demand a high standard from you and in return you will learn more than you ever thought that you could about these subjects.

Real Life Experience

The theory is of course important but so too is being able to put what you are learning into practice. It is for this reason that the college has a clinic on campus which is used by members of the public, giving you the perfect chance to put your knowledge into practice.

Health and Helping

The knowledge which you learn here will make you think deeper about your own health and the type of lifestyle which you live. For my part I have changed my own lifestyle as a result and I have also been able to help my friends and my family with the things that I have learned here, from health problems to supporting them with a healthier lifestyle.

The best college to study this topic and one which will provide you with a great amount of benefits.

 

Teachers Now Integrate Online Games into Their Lesson Plans

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There are many strong proponents of the value of gaming for productivity–particularly in the education realm. A quick look at this survey shows that 15 percent of gamers surveyed reported they have played online games in a school setting. With technology becoming easier to use and more integrated into our everyday life, online games now have a place in education. They are being used more and more in classrooms where teachers are gleaning opportunities to learn and grow by allowing the students to play online games as a part of the lesson.

Terry Heick, a writer for the education blog TeachThought.com shares, “Even if you’re soundly convinced about their merit and place in learning, how can you consistently integrate them in the classroom? The 21st century classroom is about diversity–infinite possible pathways between content and students, resulting in self-directed learning as much as data-driven ‘teaching.’ Online games can be a significant part of that.”

Research for Inspiration

For educators looking for specific ways to incorporate online games into their classrooms and lessons there are many resources available. Some teachers have found benefit using Wikis to find the most popular games. These allow you to collaborate and share ideas on how to teach and integrate these games into the classroom, whether you want to focus on World of Warcraft, Minecraft, or any other games that may come to mind.

Dr. David Childs, Ph.D., Northern Kentucky University shares many resources to help social study teachers incorporate online games into their lesson plans on Democracy and Me.org. “Using online games for educational purposes is nothing new, many people of a certain generation remember Oregon Trail and early math video games of the late twentieth century. However, many teachers do not realize the incredible role online games can play in the classroom today, especially in the area of social studies,” he explains.

Real Life Examples

This 2014 blog post on using technology to teach history in the classroom goes a little deeper, “Current video games, and even some older ones, contain huge amounts of historical, geographical, and economic data that we need to find ways to use…an AP US history teacher using the game Medal of Honor helped his students understand the events surrounding D-Day and the impact they had on post-war relationships.” This particular teacher connected the game to real life and tapped into students emotions by having veterans come in and share their stories — but only after the kids had played the game and learned the language used and a bit of the geography of that time period. It had a profound effect on his students.

The National Education Association is taking notice. They recently wrote about the uptick in game-based classrooms, focusing on Gaming and Instructional Technology Specialist, Lucas Gillespie, who has a blog devoted to showing teachers how they can incorporate gaming into the classroom. “I like to use the games that my students play at home because I find they have more fun and I’m better at creating lessons through those types of games,” says Gillespie. “With that, it is important to acknowledge that there is an equity issue around getting those types of online games in the classroom. I need to have a PC, often with some decent power, to play games like Minecraft: Education Edition, Cities: Skylines, and Offworld Trading Company.”

A Different Approach

But, what if you don’t have that kind of access in your school system? Gillespie explains, “I allowed students to bring their own devices to school. Students would team up to complete the tasks together in the game using the same devices they used at home. If none of that is possible, you can still use game-based learning in the classroom by having students create their own games. Whether digitally, on free programs like Scratch, or with low/no-tech board games, having students make their own games is an awesome experience and one of my favorite assessments.”

Online gaming is set to grow and evolve alongside advancing technology, including its educational applications. Engaging students with immersive and interactive activities, like visualizing a circle divided by 5 for math or geometry lessons, can enhance learning experiences and provide benefits both in and outside the classroom.

 

Working Capital: Your Guide to Making the most out of it

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Working capital is the amount of money required to meet the everyday expenses of an organization. It includes all the routines and unexpected expenses such as inventories, debts accounts receivable, and accounts payable.

It is essential to keep a strict continuous check on the working capital for maximizing the profit. To calculate the working capital, you need to subtract the current liabilities of your business from the assets. You can also calculate the working capital ratio, which tells you how much assets you have compared to the obligations. If your rate falls between 1.1 and 2.0, your business is going strong and healthy. You might need to understand this better through some examples of net working capital.

For the company to run smoothly, you need to have at least an adequate working capital, which means you can run day-to-day business operations with minimum difficulty. Hence, sufficient working capital means you at least have a ratio of 1.1. Moreover, enough working capital allows you to improve the number of your assets and lessen your liabilities apart from its myriad benefits.

Here under are the tips to making the most out of your business to ensure the improvement of your working capital:

  • Boost the profits

The idea to come up with ways to boost the profits needs a lot of creativity which is why businesses opt for a much easier one that is debt. Debt is suitable for a while and can help working capital if you can use it well. However, if you don’t use it well, the interest over the debt becomes one of the primary reasons for the fall in your working capital. You need to focus on boosting the profits with as few deficits as possible. You can do that by increasing your revenue and eliminating the overall everyday costs.

  • Be smart about the receivables process

The accounts receivable are the amount your customer owes you for the products or services you have already delivered to them. To pay this cash to you, the customer takes 30 to 90 days. It can cause cash flow issues, and if you take too much debt to cover it up, your working capital might end up falling in the end because of interest and fees. It is essential to opt for debt, but you also need to come up with ideas to make your customers pay early. This way, you will rely on mortgages as less as possible and have no cash flow issues. You can give discounts or long-term benefits to your customers who pay early. Moreover, make sure you only have trusted customers so that you can stay away from a massive loss in assets.

  • Some of your projects need outsourcing

As an owner of your business, you can neither do everything on your own nor rely on your top team members for everything. You need some support from the outside. For example, your business might need a warehouse, so if your business cannot afford to have one, you will need to hire warehousing services. Just like that if your business is unable to maintain working capital, you don’t have to stress out. Instead, you’ll have to hire the help of professionals who can help your business improve its working capital. There are many customer success stories to help you put your trust in the outside sources.

  • Come up with ideas to liquidate your unutilized assets

If you possess any asset which is out of use for a long time, you can turn it into cash to help you manage your working capital. For example, if you have some equipment that your company has not used at all or in a long time, you can sell it. You might have some extra unused space in your office building which you can rent. If you have this option, you can immediately get some cash out of it to improve your working capital.

  • Administer your debts

Debts are primarily useful for the business, but with the lack of administration, they can cause severe financial strain on the company decreasing the working capital. To minimize the amount of debt, you need to make sure that you keep giving incentives to your customers so they can pay you as early as possible. Moreover, you need to lower your debts by taking less of them and paying them right on time to avoid penalties and extra interest.

  • Say no to stockpiling inventory and uneconomical decisions

Though stocks are your assets, the most precious asset is actual cash. You will get better loans and vendors if you have more money than stocks. Make sure you only get the equipment that you can sell in a specific amount of time. Moreover, since business is all about making and saving cash, make sure you don’t spend wastefully anywhere. For example, you might have some old heavy equipment which is not working fine. So make sure you replace it instead of getting it repaired time and again to save yourself from the decrease in working capital. Remember that even the little choices matter in the business.

  • Strengthen ties with your vendors

It is imperative to gain the trust of your vendors. If you pay them within the time frame for their equipment, you can have a long term relationship with them which adds to the efficiency of your business. Also, a strong relationship with your suppliers can land you huge discounts and great deals. Taking care of your accounts payable is one of the chief elements to improve your working capital.

As per research, proper management of working capital has a remarkable impact on the profitability of the business. Achieving the ideal working capital ratio of 2.0 should be the goal, and for that, you need to come up with quick and creative ideas because to reach the top in this game you need to be distinct first.

Importance of Emergency Management During Natural Disasters

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In 2011, almost 300,000 people died in more than 300 disasters, and millions of people suffered and were affected because of it. The estimated cost of disasters during the last two decades exceeded 2 billion dollars. Earthquakes and disasters made 2011 the most expensive year in history in terms of recovery cost.

However, many countries are still not investing enough to avoid such disasters and are not taking certain actions for protecting their land. Many development representatives are still not providing proper aid to poor countries.

Disaster risk reduction should be considered to build a more sustainable and maintainable future. This requires an investment in prevention of climate-related catastrophes.

There are 5 priorities that have been identified for such actions:

  • Ensure that danger reduction becomes a local and national priority
  • Identify, estimate and monitor disaster risks and upgrade Red-Alert systems
  • Use awareness, innovation, knowledge and education to develop a culture of security at all levels
  • Reduce the basic risk factors
  • Strengthen the preparation for an operative quick response and recovery, from local levels to the national levels.

Disaster management organizations aren’t the only ones responsible for such harsh climate-related events, but citizens and political leaders are also responsible for these disasters. All of them can reduce the risk just by getting empowered to make decisions.

What is Emergency Planning? What is Disaster Preparedness and how does Risk Reduction Management work?

Emergency planning can be explained as the process of preparing methodically for future eventualities, including major disasters and incidents. The preservation of public security, limitation of injury and proficiency of life-saving assets are some of the important aims of reducing risks. Emergency planning is more like a procedure than a result — especially as the planning method itself needs to be modernized time-to-time as situations change.

The goal of disaster preparedness is to reduce the effects of a disaster on population and to plot a synchronized strategy that decreases the waste of time, resources and efforts. Disaster preparedness has the potential of saving the maximum number of lives and properties during a disaster — it aims to bring back the harmed population back to normal routine as quickly as possible. On the one hand, in order to sustain development activities, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) program must reduce disaster risk. Unreliable development policies will increase losses and risks of disasters. Therefore, DRR includes every part of society, government, professional and private sector.

Disaster managers and volunteers cooperate with emergency managers, local governments and other charitable organizations to provide aid and save lives. The chaotic and deadly result of Hurricane Katrina reminds people about the importance of collaboration and coordination.

Disaster Risk Reduction is a wide term that includes everything we do to minimize or prevent the damage caused by natural climate-related hazards, such as floods, earthquakes, droughts and storms. Raising funds for disaster risk reduction save lives, not just after the disaster happens, but even during a calamity. Homeland security degree supports a wide range of disaster risk reduction activities, such as:

  • Early Alert/Warning systems alert people before a volcano breaks out or tsunami hits, giving them time to escape the red-zone
  • Analysis of hazards can help the communities to plan where to build and how to build
  • Formation and construction of buildings in a way to survive damage
  • Skilled responders can instantly rescue injured and trapped people

The United States Presidential Policy Directive outlines emergency preparedness and organization efforts using 5 dependent mission zones, i.e. Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response and Recovery.

Prevention

Prevention means the abilities required to evade, daunt or stop an impending crime or endangered catastrophic incident. Prevention is an act that prevents an expected or an actual incident from occurring.

Protection

Protection is the capability to protect something from getting harmed by an artificial or natural disaster. It focuses on current activities that protect lives and properties. Few example are:

  • Storm shelters
  • Security valuations/safety checks
  • Physical security
  • Security recruitment

Mitigation

Mitigation is considered as a necessary ability to remove or minimize the loss of property and life injury by decreasing the impact of an incident or emergency. We can define mitigation as reducing the probability of threats and hazards that can happen. Few examples are:

  • Teamwork
  • Emergency tactics
  • Site plotting
  • Training

Response

Response is also required to calm an incident once it has already occurred or is about to happen inevitably. It establishes a harmless and secure environment; saves lives, resources and property; and enable the conversion to recovery. Example Response Strategies:

  • Campus/Site safety teams
  • Responsive team
  • Technology

Recovery

Recovery means the important abilities to contribute in restoring the usual operations after an emergency or incident. A few examples of recovery strategies are:

  • Mental health strategies
  • Family reunion plans
  • Continuation of Business

Emergency management or planning is the process that summaries the actions that are important to achieve the 5 inter-dependent missions of preparedness. Emergency strategies demonstrate an organization’s commitment to preparedness and safety. Emergencies can’t always be avoided, and all-natural disasters emergency plans offer the finest opportunities to prevent damage, protect property and people, reduce the number of injuries, respond effectively and recover from an incident.

Emergency management or risk reduction management is a key to reduce loss of lives, injuries and damage from natural disasters. People must be aware and prepared of what hazards they can face in their own societies. They must know in advance what exact preparations to make before an incident, what to do during a storm, flood, earthquake, fire or other disasters, and what actions to take after its consequences. We must learn and share the safety precautions to avoid losses from such disasters.