Thursday, July 1, 2021

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WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Michigan-Based Orbion Space Technologies Secures $20 Million in Funding (Episode 250)

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 05:00 AM PDT

WJR Business Beat

On today’s Business Beat, Jeff discusses Orbion Space Technologies, a Michigan-based company that’s working on developing an aurora plasma thruster. Its system is now being met with widespread market acceptance, and it just secured $20 million in Series B funding.

Tune in to the Business Beat, below, to learn more about Orbion Space Technologies and how it may lead to Michigan becoming the epicenter of the space business sector:

Tune in to News/Talk 760 AM WJR weekday mornings at 7:11 a.m. for the WJR Business Beat. Listeners outside of the Detroit area can listen live HERE.

Are you an entrepreneur with a great story to share? If so, contact us at editor@startupnation.com and we'll feature you on an upcoming segment of the WJR Business Beat!

WJR Business Beat Transcript

Good morning, Paul!

Think business in Michigan. Most think autos, mortgages, pizza, travel, maybe even apples and cherries, but our economy is diversifying, and today’s feature on the Business Beat makes that clear — Michigan is more than just about cars when it comes to business. Fresh off just successfully raising $20 million in a series B funding round, Orbion Space Technologies of Houghton, Michigan, is focused on developing and producing its aurora plasma thruster.

That’s right, a plasma thruster being developed and produced right here in the state of Michigan. Now, of course, it’s reasonable to ask: what in the world is a plasma thruster? Well, it’s a next-generation propulsion system for satellites. Of course, the company’s plasma thruster system is now meeting with widespread market acceptance.

The RBN system uses the spacecraft’s electrical power to provide what the company describes as a gentle and fuel-efficient thrust that is required in deep space missions. Now, what I love about this story. First, diversification is critical for the state’s economic objectives going forward and, certainly, a company producing plasma thrusters for spacecraft is a strong departure from the norm.

Second, success by one company in a given field can attract others in that same field, and how cool would it be to see the space business sector booming right here in the state of Michigan? Third, Orbion describes its manufacturing approach as one which draws on part from know-how and technology from the automotive industry.

And fourth, the $20 million they just raised was actually oversubscribed in a round led by California-based Inventus Capital Partners, and their investment into Oregon brings investment dollars into the state.

I love this story! Hats off to Orbion Space Technologies of Houghton, Michigan and Godspeed.

I’m Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of StartupNation.com, and that’s today’s Business Beat on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR.

The post WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: Michigan-Based Orbion Space Technologies Secures $20 Million in Funding (Episode 250) appeared first on StartupNation.

6 Types of TikTok Content That Will Help Your Startup’s Videos Go Viral

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 02:05 AM PDT

Juggling tasks is key for entrepreneurs, especially when it comes to selecting priority marketing channels. For many new entrepreneurs, sticking to the tried and tested social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn is often seen as the safe bet, while some are not as familiar with newer social platforms like TikTok and Clubhouse, along with their vast capabilities.

However, with 689 million people around the world using TikTok every month and predictions that almost 40% of the U.S. population will be using it by 2024, it's becoming harder to ignore its appeal. TikTok content truly is the present and the future.

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If your startup is considering how it can use TikTok content to market its products and services, here are six types of video content to explore:

Hashtag challenges

As a startup, you should be well used to the need to get noticed, and one of the best ways to achieve this on TikTok is through hashtag challenges. This involves you setting a challenge for users to copy and share with their followers, hopefully encouraging each of them to do the same and sending your challenge and your brand viral. Finding the balance between showcasing your product while still creating a challenge that is fun and accessible to all is the key, exemplified by Chipotle's hugely successful #GuacDance challenge.

Influencer marketing

TikTok's influencers are hugely popular among a hard-to-reach young audience, making them gold for marketers. Finding the right influencer for your audience is key, but if you can work with him or her to create engaging content, like the #EyesLipsFace campaign from Elf Cosmetics, you can reach potential customers around the world.

Tutorials

Your social media marketing strategy should never be just about broadcasting your brand’s messages. You need to give your users valuable content, too, and tutorials are the perfect combination of promotion and information. They work especially well for brands whose products or services help to solve a common problem. Create a tutorial video showing consumers exactly how your product works.

User-generated content

Creativity is the name of the game on TikTok. Take for example, Converse. The company showed how well user-generated content can work by earning more than 50 million views for its #ConverseAllStar campaign, calling upon fans to customize their sneakers in the most creative ways.

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Giveaways

As a startup, you might not yet have a built-in audience like a brand the size of Converse, and this is where giveaways can help energize a campaign. Incentivizing users to share their content or take part in a challenge in the hope of winning something is a tried-and-tested way to get more engagement on any platform.

Livestreams

Livestreams are becoming more popular across platforms like Facebook and Instagram and even more so on TikTok. Livestreaming offers the chance to engage with users in real time with longer-than-usual videos and gives startups the ability to humanize their brand with behind-the-scenes content that tells their startup journey.

Each of these types of TikTok content can help startups build and engage an audience on TikTok with fun and lively videos that have the potential to go viral. Here’s an infographic to explain more.

TikTok content

The post 6 Types of TikTok Content That Will Help Your Startup's Videos Go Viral appeared first on StartupNation.

Try This on for Size: The Future of Retail is Social Commerce

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 02:00 AM PDT

social commerce

In 2000, e-commerce primarily took place on individual websites. Today, it happens in marketplaces. In early 2020, Bank of America analyst Justin Post released an update on the latest e-commerce market share trends, and it indicates Amazon alone dominates the e-commerce market with 44% market share and growing. Tomorrow, however, companies want to drive sales from where users spend more of their time—on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.

Welcome to the third era of e-commerce: social commerce.

Companies are constantly searching for ways to reach online users. In its analysis of digital advertising budgets, market research company eMarketer found digital advertising spending still growing as companies rush to court digital audiences.

Those digital advertisers face a challenge maintaining the effectiveness of their advertising models. Deloitte points out that total 

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