Category: Marketing
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Don’t Stick To Age-Old Methods Of Marketing: These 7 Are The Best To Date!
Marketing has taken a rapid pace in the past few years. From the traditional pen-paper and poster stamping tactics, it has landed in the digital world. As per stats, this swift growth has been seen in the past two years than in the previous 50 years. But what makes digital marketing work so efficiently? Perhaps its the prolific content creation, hard-core search engine optimization, white hat link building and more. While these tricks are important, there’s more to these tactics that are often overlooked and scoffed when professionals look at marketing campaigns. If you want to hit the bulls-eye and want to boost sales, here are some tricks that can do wonders for your camping and can increase the sales graph: Video Marketing: Users mostly spend more and more time online, with over a wide percentage of that time to be spent on digital videos. Those digital videos are the weapon to drive more sales. How? Let’s say, you were watching the video of nail art and suddenly an annoying add pop-up; that annoying advertisement is gold who use InStream marketing service. Since you will pay for legitimate views on your video, the advertisements are set to come up various times in between the clip. This way, you will get more visitors, and your ads will work exactly like other paid ads. Facebook Advertisements: Sure you might not be interested in Facebook applications, you cannot deny the fact that this platform can drive more sales. It’s the largest platform to bring your brand to the outer world. In this, you can easily target specific users and can reach to potential buyers. You don’t have to reach to the mass of Facebook audience, just target those who have liked your niche. You can look for a target audience on the basis of age, their likes and dislikes, cities, and more. Since there millions of people on Facebook, Facebook advertising agencies use this platform to do miracles on businesses. Emails Are Still There, So Use Them! If you fear that your domain-based emails will be moot into your marketing scene because many social media users already have an email address, fret not! There will be millions of old-school users who still use emails to connect with friends. Some stats also indicate that the email marketing has an impressive ROI of around 12.2%, which is 4 times higher than other marketing channels. Further, this marketing strategy is a cult favorite of startups. And bonus, it doesn’t need tons of money to run a campaign. Retargeting: Convincing people to pay attention to your website and to believe in your business idea is difficult. However, retargeting ads can help. Retargeting is more like nudging in which people show relevant ads to only those people who have previously visited your website. When the customer comes to your website, the browser gets cooked. When the same client visits other sites, the retargeting platform will get notified by the cookie, and the users will see the same as they have liked on your page or site. LinkedIn Advertisement: Linkdln is quite a professional place to showcase anything, and serious marketers appreciate its value. They use the platform to showcase advertisements to those who are willing to see them. Although marketing to these platforms is bit costly, you will get to show your ads on millions of other networks. Viral Marketing: Creating a strong buzz for your brand on the Internet is very important to drive sales. So, work on creating content that easily goes viral. You can use any of the said platforms to viral your business to make it an overnight success. You can use hilarious content, genuine piece of information to bring traffic to your platform. This not only helps your brand to shout to the outer world but will also help in converting traffic to the buyers. Having a successful brand is an uphill battle of fierce competition. So, pick your marketing strategy effectively and skyrocket your business. Read also: 7 Proven Marketing Tactics To Increase Your ROI In 2018 Social Media Marketing: Six Trends To Keep Your Eyes On
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How To Make Your Content More Engaging : 5 Easy Peasy Ways
Content marketing is an essential tool to increase the net reach of a business. Especially since consumers are becoming more and more research dependent to choose from hundreds of options for the same product or service. “Google” has now become a verb and customers “google” everything before buying. In this scenario, content marketing becomes very important to make sure the customers get to see your website and content. Search Engine Optimized text and smart use of keywords are important to make your content visible. However, just attracting a customer to your website is not enough. Keeping your website visitors engaged is equally, if not more, important. But how do you do that? Here are a few things you can do to engage your website visitors. Content Marketing. Different Ways Content Marketing Can Make Things Possible For You There are several factors you have to take care of if you want to multiply your business in the right direction. Content Marketing can make things easier for you. 1. Keep Your Content Informative: The prime objective of your website and the aim of your customer is to gather information regarding a particular subject. Thus, while experimenting with everything else, do not undermine the importance of quality information in content marketing. Focus on incorporating a diverse range of subjects in your content, add news pieces, and give your readers more reasons to visit your website multiple times. 2. Present Data via Infographics: Statistics automatically increase the quality of your content. But let’s face it, numbers can get boring if not presented correctly. Thus including data in your content without making the readers lose their interest in the content can be a tough job. A good and proven way is to use infographics. Curate your own infographics based on reliable data. However, it is important to keep in mind that the data should be readable and understandable by your readers. 3. Include Videos: Videos are much more engaging than text, especially when it comes to informative text. Curate videos related to the products or services you offer. You can also include clippings of interviews or news that presents information relating to your services. For example, if you offer natural and organic skincare products, you can add news clippings talking about the harmful effects of toxins in cosmetic products. To be more engaging, use animation and curate your own video describing why the customer needs what you are offering. It is advertising yes, but also a part of your content. Hence, do not shy away from using videos on your website. 4. Use Pop Culture: One thing we can all agree on is that no one likes to read boring content. You have to put in efforts to make your content more interest-grabbing. A good option is to use pop culture references so that the customers can relate your content to their daily lives. While this does not mean there should be any compromise on the level of information, it surely will help you develop a connection between your services and your customers all the while making your content more enjoyable. 5. Personal Touch Is Important: While the prime function of your content is to give out information, personal touch to your content can make it even more reliable and relatable to your customers. Sharing your personal experience regarding any particular subject, or an anecdote of an incident while availing of service shows that the information you provide comes from experience and is thus practically useful to your customer. You can even hire content marketing service providers to enhance your visibility and access online or invest in a WordPress maintenance service to manage your website so you can focus more time on marketing. The above-mentioned points help you make your content engaging. However, it is also crucial to make sure that your content is shareable. Add in sharing links for different social media platforms. Keep the comment section open and try reverting back to your customer's feedback regarding your content. These little things can help you get the best out of your business’s online presence. Read Also: Know Why Content Marketing Is Important For SEO Improve Your Local SEO Via Content Marketing
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5 Unusual Social Media Tips That No One Will Know About
There is nothing that drives business success better than social media marketing. With billions of users signed in to different platforms at different times, there is no doubt that reaching your target audience is not a vicious cycle. However, you might scribble social media at the helm of the list that contains the tools you will use for your digital marketing plans, but you will not get desired results if you don’t do everything right. With a recent study showing that social media referrals contribute to over 30% of a website’s traffic, this calls for you to be armed with the latest tips and techniques that will place you ahead of your rivals. Have you read an array of blogs, sites, and other sources of information, but you tend not to achieve social media marketing success that you desire? Stop stressing and keep reading! Below are a few social media strategies that nobody will tell you about. 5 Unusual Social Media Tips That No One Will Know About: 1. Write long posts : Weird, right? You are used to writing a few sentences that explain your products or services and how to purchase them and you consider your work done, huh? To achieve more success in social media, you need to write longer posts that will give more valuable information to your target audiences. If the primary social media platform for your business is Twitter that has failed to back down on its 140-character limit, you can use it alongside other platforms such as Facebook and Google+ that allow longer conversations. This way, you will have the capacity to engage more with your audiences. 2. Come up with Facebook groups : Today, organic search for official pages for brands continue to diminish among users. Therefore, you need to adopt a new strategy if your desire is to remain relevant in your industry. You can do this by creating Facebook pages. With them, group members will be able to receive notifications whenever you update new information. 3. Include a personal touch on your tweets : With thousands of feeds that continue streaming with no end on tweeter, most of your tweets can go without notice. However, if you customize them with catchy font color and line breaks, you will capture the attention of your audiences. In a bid to break the monotony of short-form messages on this platform, you can include a fun symbol or fun emoji, a small undertaking that can see your brand gain a competitive edge over your competitors. 4. Don’t rely on social media platforms : Social media users have their personal preferences. Since Facebook recorded a user population of over 2 billion people last year, don’t tend to think that it is the only platform you can easily reach your target audience. No! Signing up for social media is free; hence you should take advantage of this fact and sign up for as many platforms as you can. Then, regularly share valuable information in as many networks as you can. Ultimately, your brand will gain a huge following which will lead to the attainment of your digital marketing goals and objectives. 5. Be Weird! Yes, social media is not a place to be serious at all times. Unlike your competitors who will always be super-professional in their marketing bid, try as much as possible to be less formal and humorous. At times, share information that will make your audiences laugh, smile, and/or get inspired. This will make them admire the authenticity of your company, a move that will boost your authority and credibility. When you implement the unusual techniques mentioned above, be ready for massive social media success that you will only measure using tools such as those found in this. Read Also : This Is Why Social Media Is Essential In The B2B Sales Process How Social Media Can Boost Up The E-Commerce Industry How To Master Social Media For Businesses & Entrepreneurs
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5 Reasons to Use Magento for Your Next Ecommerce Website
Magento is a hugely popular platform for creating online stores and e-commerce sites. There are many reasons for this popularity including being a fast scalable platform that is also responsive and mobile-friendly. While still being easy to optimize for SEO. If you need help, there is a large community of developers constantly working on improving the platform. There are also helpful agencies like Bing Digital Magento Agency. Along with, a variety of extensions, plugins, and add-ons to completely customize your store and user experience. 5 Reasons to Use Magento for Your Next Ecommerce Website: 1. Flexible and Scalable With Multiple Store Management : Magento has been created with an open modular architecture. It optimizes web pages for faster delivery and has accelerated server response times. It also has efficient backend operations and boosted database flexibility to handle traffic surges. What this means is Magento can grow with your business. When you first build your store, you can start with one module hosting a small number of products. As you add modules, you can grow your store into thousands of products. This allows unparalleled flexibility. You can also manage multiple stores through one convenient administrative panel. If your store takes off, and you get a lot of traffic the speed improvements will help keep your site up and running. 2. SEO Friendly : Site speed is an important SEO ranking factor. The improved performance of Magento will keep your site running fast and optimized for speed. This software is also helpful in optimizing page traffic, indexing, landing pages, and avoiding duplicate content issues. There are also some great Magento SEO plugins available such as SEO Suite Ultimate which helps with things like meta-tags and rich snippets. And advanced SEO Suite which helps with canonical URLs and things like pagination and indexing. 3. Large Community of Developers There is a large community of Magento developers. There are several very active Magento forums where people help each other and share ideas. Reddit also has a very active Magento community as do many programming websites. There is no shortage of Facebook groups. If you use Magento, you can be sure that there is an active group of developers working on the platform and available to help you if you need to hire someone. 4. Marketing and Shopping Cart Options : There are quite a few tools and plugins available to help with your marketing efforts. Whether you’re trying to create coupons, a multi-tier pricing system, or landing pages there is a Magento solution for you. There are also many shopping cart solutions that enable you to customize the purchasing process. 5. Mobile Friendly The growth of mobile is outpacing desktop use. You want your online store to be mobile-friendly. Fortunately, it’s easy to create a responsive website with Magento. There are many tools that will help make your website mobile-friendly. It’s also possible to have a mobile shopping platform that easily integrates into your existing web store. This platform is really an all-in-one solution for building e-commerce stores. Read Also : Best SEO Tools For Ranking The Website Would Your E-commerce Website Pass The Cybersecurity Test? Here Are 3 Things You Could Be Doing Wrong
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How To Choose The Best Broker For You
Choosing the right Forex broker can make a big difference in launching a successful investment career in the trillion-dollar forex market. However, choosing the best forex broker is no easy task given the overwhelming number of brokers all gunning for people’s money at any given time. 1. Types of Forex Brokers : When it comes to online foreign exchange trading, an important consideration is opening a trading account with a reputable forex broker. There are three types of forex brokers ranked based on how they handle transactions and how they execute market orders. No Dealing Brokers : As the name implies, No Dealing Brokers lack a dealing desk and instead, strive to offer the best composite quotes from multiple forex quote providers. In this case, providers will post their best market prices that NDD forex broker will have to choose to execute transactions. NDD brokers charge a commission or widen the bid-offer in order to make profits from trades entered by traders. Market Makers : A market maker is a type of forex broker that offers a two-sided customer market. In this case, the broker always ends up taking the other side of trade depending on the side that a forex trader has taken. In case a trader makes a buy, the broker is obliged to take the sell-side. Electronic Communication Network : An ECN forex broker provides a platform whereby forex traders from all walks of life regardless of skills congregate to place trades. 2. Features of a Reliable Forex Broker : Regulatory Compliance : In a sector where the number of international forex brokers can be overwhelming, scrutinizing regulatory compliance can be the only way of ending up with a reliable forex broker. Going through forex brokers reviews do not a sure way of ending up with a reputable broker as such reviews can be manipulated. Highest rated forex brokers are always in compliance with the highest level of regulation depending on jurisdiction. For example in the U.S, regulated forex brokers are members of the National Futures Association and are registered by the U.S Commodity Futures Trading Commission as well as the Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer. A flashy forex broker website cannot be used to rate a broker. Trading with a regulated broker is essential if one is to rest assured of the security of their deposits as well as the integrity when it comes to trade execution. Trading Platform : The best forex trading account is one that comes with a trading platform that is pleasing, easy to use and has a variety of indicators and tools for technical analysis. Legit forex trading companies offer trading platforms that have clear-cut buy and sell buttons. Some go the extra mile and provide panic buttons for closing all open positions at once. Conversely, trading with a forex broker offering a poorly designed platform can lead to costly mistakes such as opening a trade when one intended to close or going short when one meant to go long. Customer Service : Highest rated forex traders come with a robust customer service team that is always on dial any time of day to address forex trader’s needs. When choosing a forex broker, it would be essential to give them a random call just to get an idea of the service they are likely to offer once an account is opened. 3. How to Identify a Good Broker : A good forex trader is one that charges lowest transaction costs when opening and closing trades. Spread and commission charges can significantly eat into one returns if caution is not taken. Legit forex trading companies allow people to deposit and withdraw funds hassle-free. Any broker that comes with restrictions on when one can withdraw or the amount of money one can withdrawal should be a big no. Execution of trades is another aspect that one should always pay close attention to when selecting forex brokers. Under the normal market condition, a forex broker should allow trades to get filled, at or very close to the market price on the screen. Going through forex broker reviews is of utmost importance prior to opening a forex trading account. Such reviews provide clear-cut information about the kind of forex trading service one is likely to experience based on other forex trader’s experience. In addition, trading with a regulated forex broker is a must. Read Also : How Real Estate Factors Into Business Decisions Protecting Your Business From Retail Theft 6 Tips To Help Your Business Stay Ahead Of The Competition
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Explore Some Interesting Marketing Trends for Your Business in 2018
How effective is your business marketing strategy? Have you been successful in staying abreast with the latest marketing trends? Have you been implementing effective strategies for measuring your success? If the answers to the above questions are no, do not lose heart. You are certainly not alone on this count. Several small businesses and SMEs do not even bother to find out if at all their business marketing tactics are working successfully. Here we would be examining some of the latest business marketing trends that are dominating the scenario today. You are advised to follow these strategies for gaining incredible business success. Tune Your Market Strategy : A small segment of business owners is aware when their market strategies are tanking. This could happen due to lack of planning, poor planning, haphazard attempts at success and no foresight. Successful digital marketers know that a large portion of their budget must go into content marketing on blogs, social media, and emails and so on. Good content must be created and promoted so that the business is noticed and can take off. Plan, Plan, Plan Less than 40% of businesses have effective content marketing strategies in place. Some fail due to poor quality content, others because they don't target their audience properly. A good marketer always tracks activity through each stage of the funnel and ensure that the strategy is fine-tuned when things go wrong. Tracking & Measuring : How to gain marketing success digitally for your SMEs could still seem to be a mystery for many of you. A huge percentage of small business entrepreneurs, as much as 46 percent to be precise, actually do not have any idea if the marketing strategies for their businesses are effectively working or not. Thanks to the present cutting-edge technologies, you are in a position to keep on tracking all your marketing returns, expenses, and debt. For example, you could today find out exactly how much it would be costing your business for acquiring a new customer. You must consider all dollars diverted toward various areas of marketing including social media, website, blog writing, trade shows, direct mail, paid social, etc. you must consider factoring in all you have already spent on all these important marketing elements and then divide the amount by the number of new clients you acquire every month. Moreover, you must find out from exactly which marketing channel you are able to get new clients and more inquiries. It is imperative to consistently track ROI. Social Media Marketing Is Currently the Rage : As per a recent study, it has been predicted that 2018 is surely going to be the year of intense social media promotion and marketing. Among the SMEs, an impressive 71 percent is expected to gain new clients by using social media platforms effectively for marketing their brands. This present marketing trend must be given a lot of importance and most entrepreneurs are appreciating and understanding the effectiveness of social media marketing. Social media is certainly one of the hottest business marketing trends. Facebook is obviously the prime choice for small businesses as 79% of entrepreneurs would be using Facebook in all their marketing endeavors. Will your business be benefitted if you incorporate the social media marketing plans into your business strategy? According to some Facebook exponents, Facebook success is all about going mobile. If you wish to maximize the impact of Facebook in the marketing and promotion of your business, you must dedicate all your efforts at generating and delivering everything mobile-friendly. Virtual Reality Is Common : Virtual reality is gaining importance by the day and is, therefore, becoming a common marketing tool for both small and big brands. The actual challenge would be to utilize Virtual Reality or VR in such an effective way that it really makes sense for both your target audience and brand messaging in general. VR marketing actually is an emerging trend and now is the right time for exploring the options that are available to you and getting well ahead of the competition. More Dependence on Interactive Content : Several brands, particularly in the B2B sector are relying heavily on PDF content or blog content for generating leads as an integral part of content marketing tactics for their organizations. 2018 is going to be the year of interactive web experiences which ultimately help in boosting engagement. These experiences would be demonstrating amazing thought leadership content definitely in more impressive, visual, and animated ways. Pinterest : Pinterest is actually regarded as a niche social networking site. However, it is forecasted to be a huge success. The best way of grabbing marketing attention is by utilizing Pinterest Lens and its versatility and functionality for engaging effectively with consumers and showcasing your mind-blowing style, products, and services. Artificial Intelligence : Early exponents of AI or Artificial Intelligence have categorically realized the efficacy of AI in boosting user engagement. However, incorporating AI into any site’s chatbox such as the Facebook messenger could be creating more creativity and it also helps you to understand clearly the target market of the brand. Artificial intelligence would be addressing consumer needs and issues with perfection and the same degree of efficacy as a human agent. Remember it would be quite effective and helpful if the artificial intelligence experience absolutely delights your customers in basically lighthearted and fun ways. Conclusion : This year marketing trends have focused on honesty and authenticity. The latest marketing trend is to focus on stark reality or brutal honesty and this marketing trend is winning a lot of acclaim and appreciation. Marketers could discuss their products and explain clearly how advantageous those products or services are. They must, at the same time, tell their target audience the scope for improvement and the flaws that may still exist. All these statements could be supported by truly objective customer reviews. Authenticity for brands is the hottest marketing trend today. Around 86 percent of the customers feel authenticity is of utmost importance while deciding and evaluating the brands. Around 60 percent of consumers believe that user-generated content is the best form of authentic content. Read Also : Marketing – What’s Right For Your Business? Know Why Content Marketing Is Important For SEO Digital Marketing: Utilize Facebook To Support Your Hospitality Business
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Tips on Selecting a Storage Solution for Your Growing Business
As your business grows, so does the need for secured professional data storage. You will have to store information in the form of graphics, e-mails, audio files, document presentations, spreadsheets among other forms. As a business owner, you should understand that you need more space to store your data when you develop new business systems or applications, generate new database records or create more files. In most cases, choosing a reliable storage solution is difficult because there are numerous professional companies offering such services. The following tips can help you determine the right storage solution for your business: 1. Assess your current and future data storage needs : Since your business is growing with time, you should first consider your current and future needs for storage. You should start by determining whether you have the minimum storage requirements for your device drivers, applications, documents, etc. Of the space you have left, you need to determine whether it can sustain your storage needs for the next five years. You can manage your business storage needs by restricting the number of storage employees can use, but you cannot sustain these restrictions for a long period of time. 2. Consider your storage options " Your storage option can be determined by the type of business you are running, your storage needs and your budget. Hence, it is very important to consider all the options to avoid making a mistake or invest your money wrongly. If it is your first time to choose a storage option for your business or you are not familiar with the options, seeking professional advice is highly recommended. However, you will have to spend some money, but it is the right thing to do instead of taking risks or depending on trial and error. Flash memory thumb drives, external hard drives, network-attached storage, and online storage are some of the options you can choose from although cloud storage is a form of online storage that increases the performance of your network, makes data easily accessible to your employees and guarantees data safety even in case of system failure. If you are not sure about the storage option to choose or even the pros and cons of the options available, you can visit ServerMania.com to learn more about these storage options. The site offers a range of information mainly about cloud storage to help you make the choice. In fact, if you don’t know the storage option to choose, you can seek professional advice from the site. 3. Develop a plan : Finally, after making up your mind that you need a data storage solution, you need to develop a plan. The plan will help you make the right choice, spend wisely and exhaust all the option(s) before you make a final decision. Consulting with a trusted IT advisor is the first thing you should do to benefit from their vast experience, knowledge, and skills. Secondly, you will have to research on your own because you cannot rely solely on opinions and ideas from other people. You will have to dispute them, argue, ask questions and give your opinion. Prudent business owners do not wait until they need more storage to look for options. Instead, they start planning in advance to avoid making mistakes and explore all the available options. Even if you are looking for a viable storage option, you don’t have to spend a lot of money because it can affect your business. In fact, you should remember that you will spend more money as your business grows because you will have more storage needs. This means that you need to be very considerate when selecting a storage solution. Read Also : 5 Steps On How To Market Your Business Using Social Media Why Every Business Needs Digital Marketing Make Your Business Popular Online
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How to use IT to Save Your Business Money
In a world that’s focused on making your business fly, ‘return on investment’ (ROI) is a term that’s usually talked about when you’re planning SEO, PPC or social marketing strategies. In fact, IT can offer a huge ROI for your business – simply by streamlining processes that could otherwise see your team or contractors spending unnecessary time struggling with sub-par systems and devices. We’ll walk you through 6 of the best ways to save money, with nothing but IT as your tool… How to use IT to Save Your Business Money: Explore open-source software : It’s easy to forget that Microsoft, Google, Adobe and the other huge software and service providers aren’t the only companies out there who create worthwhile resources. If you’re used to working for a company, you might take it for granted that the typical applications you’ll use (think; word processing, spreadsheets, customer relationship management, accounting – and much more) are just there for you within a few clicks – but actually, those pieces of software cost a significant amount of money. The truth is, the household names are the ones we know about because they’ve got the budget to market their products far and wide – but in fact, there’s a host of great open-source applications out there that are completely free to use – you’ve just got to know where to look. Open-source is more than just a money-saving tip though, in fact, there’s a world of developers who believe open-source is the only way you can truly reflect user’s needs in the long term – and many of those developers commit themselves to maintain and adjusting the free software to suit businesses just like yours. This TechRadar list offers some great open-source applications that’ll definitely help your business save money when compared to full price alternatives. Let employees work on their own devices : ‘Bring your own device’ (BYOD) such a simple idea – yet so many businesses resist it. When you let your employees use their own devices to do company business, you’re saving huge amounts of money – and actually increasing productivity at the same time. Countless studies have shown that employees are more comfortable and more productive when they use their own devices for work tasks – and the maths really adds up: If using a device you’re familiar with only saves 10 minutes each day – that adds up to an incredible 45 hours over the course of a full working year – essentially offering you a free week’s worth of work if you’re happy for employees to use their own machines. Of course, there are security considerations to be made – and BYOD is likely to be impractical if you’re handling a lot of sensitive client information, but if you’d like to take away a huge chunk of capital expenditure from your budget, these could be problems you’d be happy to work around. Outsource support : When it comes to money-saving, good tech systems can give and take in similar measures – but one of the largest costs to consider when you’re installing IT relates to the people who are going to support it. If you’re a small company, even if you only have a very small number of employees, you’re probably going to need someone to support your IT systems – and if you don’t have that person in place, you run the very real risk of not being able to trade if your IT network goes down. So, what does the maths look like? Well, you’ve got a $40,000 basic wage for someone who comes with the skills set needed to keep a network up and running by themselves – then you’ve got to factor holiday cover, sickness, maternity/paternity leave, training and what happens if that person decides they’d like to work somewhere else. All in all, carrying IT staff can be problematic – and extremely expensive – which is why managed network providers (MSPs) are becoming more and more popular with small to medium-sized businesses. With an MSP, you’ve got the potential of 24/7 access, 365 days a year – plus no need to worry about keeping an individual up to speed with the latest accreditations and training programs. You simply pick up the phone and access the support – which, most of the time, can be applied to your systems remotely. If you’d like your tech to save you thousands – you could do a lot worse than finding a good MSP and treating them like they’re one of your valued team. Buy resources ‘as a service’ : If you’re bringing your IT support onboard as an outsourced service – why not do the same with your applications, platforms, and infrastructure? In the last 10 years, larger tech companies have realized that there’s an increasing number of small businesses becoming established year on year – and those companies simply do not have the money that’s needed to buy expensive software licenses, development platforms and costly networking infrastructure straight out of the gate. The solution? Offering all of the above on a subscription basis – pay for only what you use, whenever you need it? A result is an increasing number of people opting to move to solutions like Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s G-Suite – both examples of ‘Software as a Service’ (Saas). That said, it’s not just cloud-accessed software that’s available in this manner, Microsoft now provides email exchange servers on a similar subscription basis too – with the robust security you’d expect from one of the biggest tech companies on Earth. All these things are made possible by the cloud – the concept of storage and services that are hosted centrally, with your internet connection bridging the gap between your business and the resource. Of course, you’re going to need a connection that is stable and fast enough to allow uninterrupted access – but that’s more than realistic for most internet service providers. Interestingly – the monetary benefits of SaaS are actually likely to be two-fold, as there’s an increasing body of evidence that suggests people actually work more effectively together when they’re collaborating online, even when compared to sitting next to one another in an office space. If you want to increase productivity and reduce costs with the help of IT tech, you could do a lot worse than to explore which of your required resources could be procured ‘as a Service’. Read Also : How Does Modern Technology Propel The Success Of Your Business? 5 Affordable E-Commerce Shopping Carts For Small Business What Are The Benefits Associated With Crowdfunding For Businesses?
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Marketing – What’s Right for Your Business?
When it comes to running a business, marketing plays a huge role in your day to day operations. Regardless of how big or small your business may be, it still needs a solid marketing strategy to help it grow and expand. However, with so many different types of marketing available these days, it can be difficult knowing which one is right for you. Here, you’ll discover how to decide which marketing method is right for your business. Though no matter what type of marketing your business pursues, finding the right DAM solutions to store all of your marketing content is important. Online marketing options : If you aren’t yet focusing your efforts into online marketing, you’ll definitely want to start! Digital marketing has become an integral part of modern business. As the majority of consumers turn to their smartphone to buy from and research local businesses, at the very least your company should have a website. Regardless of which type of business you run, you’ll definitely want to set up a social media account for marketing purposes. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram all provide fantastic marketing opportunities. However, you need to ensure you’re choosing the right one to match your business. You need to go where your target market is, so researching where your ideal customers hang out the most will help you to determine which platform to focus on. As well as social media, cold emailing paid ads and content marketing are all worth considering. Offline marketing : While online marketing is definitely huge right now, don’t underestimate the power of offline marketing too. Take leaflets for example. When targeted correctly, leaflets can prove to be a very powerful marketing tool, especially for local businesses. You don’t need to actually deliver the leaflets yourself either. You can hire companies like Leafletdrop.co.uk, to distribute the leaflets for you. Simply select where you’d like the leaflets delivered and they’ll take care of the rest. They can even design and print the leaflets for you. Consumers are much more likely to respond to direct offline marketing methods than they are to an email for example. You can also increase the chance of conversions by properly researching your target market and ensuring the leaflets only get dropped off at your ideal customer’s homes. Other offline options you may find useful include radio, newspapers and magazines. However, for the most part, leaflets tend to be the most successful and affordable option out there. Why a mixed approach is often best : If you’re looking to create the most successful marketing strategy, ideally, you’ll want to focus on a mixture of online and offline methods. That way, you’re going to target the largest number of consumers. Digital marketing is largely successful for millennial and middle-aged audiences, while offline methods work better at targeting the older generation. Overall, it doesn’t really matter which type of business you run, both online and offline marketing strategies can help grow your brand and capture new customers. The trick is to do as much research into your target market as you can to establish where they hang out and where your efforts are best focused on. Read Also : Know Why Content Marketing Is Important For SEO Digital Marketing: Utilize Facebook To Support Your Hospitality Business How To Deal With Debt By Doing Business Marketing Smartly?
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5 Tips for Marketing Your HVAC Business That Actually Work
HVAC repair is one of those services every homeowner or property manager needs at one time or another. So why aren't you getting as much business as you want? In many parts of the country, HVAC repair is a highly competitive business. In fact, 70% of new HVAC businesses fail in their first year. Our intention isn’t to scare you but to help you recognize the importance of a strong marketing plan and help to know about the HVAC estimating software working procedure. If you're looking for new ways to market your HVAC business, the methods below have proven to be successful time and time again. Best Ways to Market Your HVAC Business : There are plenty of marketing ideas online, but how do you know which ones will actually work? Here are a few of the most important and reliable methods: A Great Website : We truly can't emphasize this one enough. With smartphones in nearly everyone's hands, the first thing a consumer does today when they hear about a company is search online. A professional-looking website is no longer just a helpful addition. If you don't have one, customers get suspicious. They start wondering if you're a legitimate company or if this is just a side business that you aren't knowledgeable about. There are sites online that will help you create your own website, even if you have no web design experience. You could also choose to hire a professional designer for a more customized and high-end look. If you're looking for examples of strong HVAC websites, look at the site for Hays Cooling and Heating. They have a professional look and they give customers everything they need to decide that this is the right company for them. Content Marketing : Let's stick to the online sector and talk about content marketing. Content marketing is the strategy of making your site an informative resource for customers, rather than one giant sales pitch. Content marketing will factor into your initial web design as well as your continuous updates. If you update your site frequently, you'll show up closer to the top of the list of results when someone searches for an HVAC company on Google or other search engines. The best way to do this is with a blog you update regularly. Keeping with the content marketing strategy, your blogs should be helpful and informative. Base them around real questions people are searching for. These blogs are also great to share on your social media profiles, so they further enhance your online presence. Networking with Other Contractors : Unfortunately, you're in an industry that is plagued by mistrust. In HVAC as well as many other types of home repair, there are some businesses and contractors who don't do their job well while taking money from customers unjustly. This means most homeowners and property managers are slow to trust their contractors. When they find one they trust, they tend to ask them for recommendations for other specialties as well. Develop relationships with plumbers, home builders, cement layers, and other construction-based specialties. We're not talking about a formal arrangement. Just make sure they know who you are and what you do good work. If one of their clients is looking for HVAC services in the future, those contractors are more likely to refer them to you. Pay-Per-Click Advertising : We all know how pervasive Google is as a search engine. When it comes to digital marketing, one of your primary goals is showing up higher on Google's search results. So why not go directly to the source? Paid ads through Google will put you at the top of one of the first pages when customers Google a relevant search term. You can also set any budget you're comfortable with, so nearly any business can afford some level of paid search engine marketing (SEM). Referral Codes : Remember that discussion about how slow customers are to trust contractors and home repair companies? This makes customer referrals another powerful marketing tool. You don't have direct control over whether a happy customer refers you, but you can give them an incentive. Rather than posting general coupon codes online to drive business, give referral codes to past customers. If a new customer hires you with a previous customer's discount code, the new customer gets a discount and the previous customer gets credit toward future services. Exhibit at Local Home Expos : Many cities and regions have occasional home expos. These are shows where homeowners can learn about all the latest updates on the services they may need, while also meeting their local service providers. Not everyone likes to socialize and sell themselves, but these expos are vital opportunities. You have an audience full of people who are potential customers, so be sure to get involved. Signage on Your Van/Truck : Half the battle with marketing is simply getting your name out there. The more a customer sees your name, the more they'll see you as a legitimate, trustworthy company. One cost-effective way to spread the word is by using the space on the side of your van or truck. This actually serves two purposes. First, it gives you more visibility. Second, it gives you a more professional image. If you pull up to a customer's home in a branded van with a name you're trying to stand behind, as opposed to a beat-up anonymous truck, it adds a layer of credibility. Building Your Online Reputation : Here we are, back at trust again. Online reviews are one of the most important ways to get new business (or avoid losing new business). Looking up online reviews is common practice for consumers today, especially if they're making a large purchase like an HVAC repair. Build your online reputation on Google, Yelp, Angie's List, and more by encouraging happy customers to post reviews. Setting Up Your HVAC Business for Success : An HVAC business isn't always an easy one to start, and it takes dedication and planning to make it work. But with the tips above, you can build up your business and secure a future for your company. For more help starting or growing your business, check out our business tips blog. Read Also : Know Why Content Marketing Is Important For SEO 4 Points To Consider When Creating A Great Content Marketing Strategy Today How To Deal With Debt By Doing Business Marketing Smartly?
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Top 5 Benefits of Writing Term Papers
Writing term papers is considered by many students as the bane of their existence. Apart from requiring hours of writing, term papers also involve a great deal of researching, reading, and thinking. It is no wonder then why many see term papers as a chore than a great learning opportunity. But more than just for completing academic requirements, learning how to write term papers actually offers many benefits that are useful not just in school but in many other settings and situations including the professional environment. Expands Knowledge : One of the more obvious benefits of writing term papers is that it expands knowledge. Researching and reading are two crucial phases of the writing process. Engaging with sources such as books and journals exposes a student to a great deal of information that is eventually absorbed by the student’s mind. This is especially true if the topic of the term paper is of personal interest to the student. When students are made to write on subjects that they are passionate about, the chances of retaining knowledge increases and the writing process becomes an enjoyable learning experience. Each term paper leads to more knowledge being acquired. Teaches Correct Citation and Formatting : Another benefit of writing term papers is that it teaches correct citation and formatting. Term papers are usually required to follow certain citation styles such as MLA, APA, or Chicago among others. Each of these prescribes standard ways of formatting the paper and citing sources. When students write terms papers, they also become familiar with these citation styles. Learning these styles is particularly useful since formatting papers and citing sources are practiced even in the professional environment. Improves Communication and Language Skills : Writing term papers also benefits students by developing their communication and language skills. One characteristic of a successful term paper is clarity, or the ability to convey messages in a way that the reader can easily understand. Through continuous writing, a student gets better at expressing his or herself, such as by expanding vocabulary, choosing the right words, and constructing effective sentences and paragraphs. Of course, better communication and language skills are useful in every setting. Enhances Critical Thinking : Writing term papers prompts students to think hard about the topics they write about. Though writing may be mentally challenging, it benefits students by making them think in more critical ways. Students are advised to approach writing with an open mind and an objective view. They are encouraged to consider different perspectives, evaluate evidence, and be prepared to form or change their opinions. Students are called upon to take a stance and defend their position with strong arguments. By challenging minds, writing helps in making critical thinkers out of students. The ability to think critically, in turn, is a life skill that can be practiced in different environments especially in the workplace. Develops Organizational, Research, and Planning Skills : Finally, the benefits of writing term papers include the development of a whole set of organizational, research, and planning skills. Writing, like many other tasks, is a process that involves activities such as researching, prewriting, writing, revising, and proofreading among others. Through writing, students learn how to plan their activities, evaluate the credibility of sources, collect and organize information, manage their time effectively, and exercise responsibility. These skills along with the discipline that students develop are valuable competencies that help students succeed not only in school but also in life outside of campus. Though writing is no easy job, the benefits of writing term papers should be more than enough to encourage students to embrace this academic requirement. When students find that the knowledge and skills they have learned can be useful in other settings and situations, they will look back and be thankful for how writing has made them better individuals. Read Also : Top 7 Things To Take Into Consideration When Selecting Essay Writing Service Argumentative Writing – The Skills You Need To Develop 7 Ways To Get Better At Writing: Personal Growth
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10 Ideas To Successfully Sell Your Art Online
Selling art is always a challenge. You have to find ways to bring it to the attention of interested buyers. This involves working with agents, having big galleries to display your art, and so on. However, with the explosive growth of the web and the online market, artists now have more choices when it comes to promoting their work. How to Sell Your Art Online : You now have many different ways to provide exposure to your art online and find buyers. From online art galleries to creating your own website to sell your art, to promote your work through social media, there are many options. 1. Online Art Galleries : The best way to sell art is to get people to see it. Sign-up with a good online art gallery that provides good exposure and if they sell your art, you should get the major share of the sale price. You have to spend some time doing research to find good ones. The best online art galleries do not just display your work. They also curate your work and help you promote your work and to connect with other artists, and buyers, and collectors. Your art will be displayed well in the gallery in the relevant categories. Potential buyers can narrow down the results by filters like the subject, style, medium, etc. 2. Sell Through Specialized Art Marketplaces : Websites like Etsy, ArtFire, etc. focus on providing a marketplace for artists and for handcrafted work. On these websites, you can connect with other artists and artisans, show-off your work, and also get the opportunity to sell them. 3. Popular Shops and Auction Sites : While you are exploring your options, don’t forget websites like Amazon and eBay. Yes, they deal with a lot of different products. But they also let you reach millions of people across the world. To sell your art through these sites, you have to make sure that you promote your product links on social media, ads, and other means. 4. Build Your Own Website : There are now many ways to get your own online store with minimal investment. You can try TicTail, SquareSpace, or an eCommerce platform like Shopify. You can choose web templates to make sure your website looks good. Choose templates that are ideal for displaying art. Build your website and start promoting it to get visitors to your site who may become buyers. 5. Sell Through Social Media : Use social media websites like Facebook to promote and sell your art. However, for social media to be an effective marketing tool, you need to establish yourself as a person worth following. You need to build your personal profile, connect with other people, respond to other people’s posts, contribute useful content in communities, and so on. You can begin talking about your work and try to generate interest in it. Tweet about any sales you made or a new painting you added to an online gallery etc. on Twitter. Use Facebook well. Create a business page on Facebook and post interesting content about your art, show off your work. You can even set up shop on Facebook and sell on it. 6. Print-On-Demand Websites : With print-on-demand websites, you can get exposure to your artwork in many ways. You can sell prints of your work. You can have your art printed on several merchandise like shirts, coffee mugs, smartphone cases, and so on. This will create an awareness of your work and also provide a stream of income for you, letting you concentrate on creating more art and saving the funds to promote them in traditional ways. 7. Create Photobooks : Take professional photographs of your artwork and then select a few to create a beautiful photo book of your art. Use a service like a Blurb which lets you create stunning photo books. Blurb has partnered with Amazon so you can easily sell your photo books directly on Amazon. 8. Use Instagram : Instagram is an image sharing site. Take snaps of a few of your paintings or other artwork and share it. Use Instagram to create awareness about your art, your style, the media you use, and so on. 9. Make Use of Stock Art Sites : Select a few of your art that you feel are good but you can afford to give away to get more exposure to your work. Create a profile for yourself on sites like Shutterstock that tell a little about your work and your style. Upload good images of your art and let people use it for other derivative works. This can give more exposure to your art and people who use your images can share your image or your whole portfolio with others on social media, spreading the word. 10. Promote Your Art Through Occasional Giveaways : Everyone likes to get something for free, and if it is an original piece of art, that adds more value to the prize. Choose a small painting or illustration that is good but one you don’t mind giving away. Choose a picture or handicraft with size and weight that won’t cost too much to send to the winner. To ensure that you get entries for the giveaway from people who are interested in the work, ask them for instance, to write about why they would like to win the prize. Make it easy for them to share the giveaway page on social media. The internet has opened up so many ways to promote your art and sell it, through your own website, through online galleries, through social media, by organizing promotional events like a giveaway. Explore your options and use as many as you can to create a buzz about your work and finding buyers for it. Read Also : How To Master Social Media For Businesses & Entrepreneurs 5 Steps On How To Market Your Business Using Social Media Using Social Media To Promote Start-Up Businesses
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