Mid-year is often a good time to review the status of your business and consider making changes to help your business grow during the second half of the year. It is also an opportunity to assess the level of support your business is getting from digital solution tools, what is available in the market, and what to consider helping propel your business and customer engagement.

While enterprise businesses may have large technology budgets and can assemble a team of specialists, it can be different for small and microbusiness owners. They grapple with a variety of unique challenges running their business to compete in crowded marketplaces, yet this is starting to change.

Generative AI (AI) has taken significant strides over the past year and introducing new tools and strategies does not have to become a major investment or require expertise. With AI by your side, it’s use can help create a marketing strategy to not only stand out, but also help to drive increased engagement and fuel growth. With the increasing use of AI tools, Generative AI is on a path to become the next equalizer for small businesses.

Putting AI to work for content creation

AI becomes a companion in crafting both creative and easy to use content calendars. With AI tools, it can be easy to determine which themes and topics will resonate with desired audiences. From there, content can be created to be distributed across channels, establishing deeper connections with customers while boosting an online presence.

Generative AI steps in to assist in crafting content that captures attention and keeps readers engaged. It provides suggestions and enhancements to existing content and suggests professional images giving small businesses an edge in refining their messaging. And it saves time by tailoring integrated content across various channels. AI’s ability to tweak copy based on real-time feedback and analytics, can also help to fine-tune a rich content strategy delivering strong results.

Unveiling the benefits for targeted marketing

AI tools can also be used to delve deeper into competitor research. Using sophisticated algorithms and data, AI tools can swiftly gather information on competitors’ activity. And that is not all – AI can also serve up invaluable customer insights by analysing data from various sources. By discerning customer preferences, behaviours, and demographics, small businesses can more precisely pinpoint the right audience for their products and services. Once locked onto the right targets, AI helps discover the most effective channels to reach potential customers, helping to ensure marketing efforts are reaching the right audiences.

Evaluate, Adjust, and Shine

AI powered tools are not just here to make businesses look good, they excel at measuring customer performance. By tracking metrics like website engagement rates, conversion rates and customer satisfaction, AI provides insights into what is working and what needs a tweak. This allows small businesses to gauge the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and make informed decisions for improvement.

With access to this variety of insights, along with knowledge of their own business plans, businesses can take advantage of the benefits of using AI tools to streamline processes, consider new ideas and gain customer insights. Working along with human intervention, these insights can be essential to refine the outcomes. Knowing the business well can add the human evaluation element to the AI produced insights, which presents a more well-rounded view when considering opportunities for improvement.

With business owners using AI responsibly, the use of AI tools can be a significant technology enhancement for small businesses looking to go up against their competition and successfully grow their business. With these tools easily available to small business owners and entrepreneurs, AI offers the ability to both save time and money while elevating brand presence and resonating with target audiences more effectively than ever before.

For more information getting started with AI:

AI guide for web design — How to create a website with AI (https://apo-opa.co/3LsELnF)

AI logo design — A hands-on guide (https://apo-opa.co/3zI9J8S)

Find out more about how GoDaddy can help your business (https://apo-opa.co/4cJHbua)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GoDaddy.

About GoDaddy:
GoDaddy helps millions of entrepreneurs around the world start, grow and expand their businesses. People turn to GoDaddy to name their idea, create a professional Web site, attract customers, sell their products and services, and accept online payments. GoDaddy’s easy-to-use tools help micro-entrepreneurs manage everything in one place, and its experts are available to provide 24/7 assistance. For more information about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com.

Widespread attacks against civilians persist across South Sudan, driven primarily by subnational armed violence involving community-based militias and/or civil defense groups, according to the latest quarterly brief by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). 

Between January and March 2024, UNMISS documented 240 incidents of violence affecting 913 civilians nationwide, of which 468 were killed, 328 injured, 70 abducted and 47 subjected to conflict related sexual violence. This represents a 24 percent increase in the number of violent incidents (from 194 to 240) compared to the same period in 2023.

Inter/intra-communal violence by community-based militias and/or civil defense groups remains the primary source of subnational violence, accounting for 87 percent of victims (796 individuals) documented across South Sudan.  Civilians in Warrap State suffered the highest rates of violence, accounting for 37 percent of total civilian victims nationwide, followed by Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria States.

On a positive note, the number of documented abductions decreased by 30 percent (from 100 to 70), compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, and documented incidents of conflict-related sexual violence decreased by 25 percent (from 63 to 47).

Nationwide trends of violence involving the conventional parties to the conflict remained relatively low during the reporting period. However, military operations and activities involving Government security forces and organized armed groups and their respective proxy armed elements continue to place civilians at risk, predominantly in parts of Central Equatoria State.

“We cannot emphasize enough the urgent need for collective action by national, state and local authorities, as well as community leaders and national politicians, to resolve longstanding grievances peacefully, especially as South Sudan approaches its first elections,” said Nicholas Haysom, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of UNMISS. “Building a culture of human rights is fundamental to achieving sustainable security, peace, and democracy.”

UNMISS continues to protect civilians across the country with thousands of peacekeeping patrols conducted by land, air, and boat. The Mission also helps bring communities together to reconcile and build peace through dialogue. Additionally, UNMISS continues to actively support political and peace processes, including security and justice sector reform, constitution-making, and preparations for elections.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Fifteen months since the beginning of the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, millions of people do not have access to essential services like food, water, and healthcare. Nearly a quarter of the country’s population have fled their homes and lost their livelihoods while months of fighting have taken a heavy toll on civilian infrastructure.

“The humanitarian situation in towns like Al Fasher, where people have been trapped in fighting for months, is critical,” said Pierre Dorbes, the head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sudan. “Some areas of the country are not even reachable by phone, which makes it nearly impossible to operate. Meanwhile, throughout the country, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society volunteers have been working at great personal risk.”

Millions of Sudanese civilians struggle to access the basics for survival like water points and agricultural land. Fighting and displacement have forced farmers to miss planting seasons. This, combined with rising food prices, is leaving many families to go without enough to eat. 

The rules of international humanitarian law are clear: civilians and civilian objects, including infrastructure and agricultural land, are protected. The ICRC speaks directly the parties to the conflict about their obligations to ensure that people living in the territories under their control can meet essential needs, including adequate food and water supply.

In the first half of 2024, the ICRC, often in partnership with the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) has been providing emergency assistance and helping improve access to essential services. However, difficult access, including deteriorating security and administrative challenges, continue to hamper humanitarian relief efforts.

“What we managed to do in the past six months is very little compared to the vast suffering we see every day,” Mr. Dorbes said. “People urgently need more help, and we call on the parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and to do everything in their power to improve humanitarian access.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Continued violence in Sudan, particularly Sennar state, is anticipated to drive 130,000 additional people to the eastern state of Gedaref over the next few days, which already holds over 650,000 people displaced from different parts of Sudan in addition to more than 25,000 people from Ethiopia in Tuneidbah camp alone. The International Rescue Committee is scaling up its response in Gedaref to meet the ever increasing humanitarian needs of the displaced population. Resources in the displacement camps in Gedaref are already severely strained, with a lack of proper shelter, healthcare as well as  water and sanitation, especially when the camps are already hosting IDPs from previous security events and subsequent displacement.

Eatizaz Yousif, IRC Sudan Country Director said;

“In Gedaref, resources are already strained, as people continue to arrive from different parts of Sudan, severely traumatized after fleeing conflict, often needing basic services such as medical care, food and shelter. IRC is scaling up our work in Gedaref by providing basic items such as hygiene kits, ‘dignity kits’ which include items such as sanitary pads for women as well as medical services.

“In our Sudan Crisis alert released last month, we warned about the need to tilt the scales towards peace in Sudan, not more war. Just a month later, we are seeing the human and tragic impact of continued fighting. Without enhanced diplomatic efforts to help secure a ceasefire, Sudan risks being further torn apart by the conflict, with dire implications for millions of civilians, and regional security. Sudan is already the world’s worst displacement crisis and is rapidly becoming the world’s worst hunger crisis as well. In areas overtaken by violence, even for those that choose to remain, there are no resources available as markets, homes and shops are looted.

“As the rainy season starts, we fear the worst if adequate resources to fortify shelter and provide aid are not met – shockingly, half way into the year, the Sudan humanitarian response plan for 2024 is only 18% funded, meaning millions of people will be without critical, life-saving aid if world leaders do not step up to provide adequate funding. The world cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the crisis in Sudan.” 

The IRC has adapted and scaled up our programming in Sudan to address increased humanitarian needs. We are supporting people who have been displaced internally through economic empowerment services, health and nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs. The IRC also provides protection and empowerment services for women and children, including gender-based violence survivors in Blue Nile, Gedaref, White Nile and Khartoum states. We have established offices in new regions, including Port Sudan, and are in the process of launching an emergency response in River Nile state to deliver cash assistance, safe water, and sanitation and hygiene services to vulnerable communities. We are also working on resuming work in South Kordofan state to deliver cash assistance and on establishing a presence in new locations to address gaps in humanitarian coverage and expand our programming in response to the enduring humanitarian crisis in Sudan. The IRC is also working in Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda to support refugees from Sudan. To learn more about IRC’s programming in Sudan, go here.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Rescue Committee (IRC) .