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magento 2
Digital Branding

How You can Migrate the Product Data Easily with the Help of Magento 2 Import/Export Extensions?

on December 5, 2019

Chances are, you are going round and round in a circle to find a thing that can help you migrate from one platform to another. The major problem is, even if you find such a thing, it should be able to do things quickly and without much effort. This particular concern can be resolved by Magento 2 import export categories extension. With the help of this Magento 2 bulk categories import/export, it is possible to migrate product data, product attributes, product reviews, wishlist products, and categories at a swift pace. With its help, you can effortlessly customize your data, which would make your store up and running without wasting any time.

There is always a sort of discomfort associated with change because it makes us feel uncomfortable. However, you might have heard the proverb “Change is the only constant.” Once you have an eCommerce store to manage, change becomes an integral part of your life. In case you are looking to migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2, it is essential to manage your product data efficiently. If you go for the manual mechanism, it can take a lot of time. And if there is any mistake, it can have a disastrous effect on the SEO performance of the website, customer experience, and conversion.

Let’s now look at the simple mechanism to migrate products from one platform to another with the help of Magento extension.

In case you are looking for a stress-free way to import-export data to your Magento store or find an effortless alternative for exporting data to another platform, it is time to select one that offers convenience so that you can save your time, money, and effort.

Let’s now divert our attention to some of the Magento 2 import-export products that make your life effortless.

Import Export Product Extension

This ingenious extension has been developed to import and export products at a quick pace. With its help, you can import products and update images with a CSV file. It can assist you in importing and export all types of products like grouped, bundled, configurable, downloadable, simple, and virtual products. You can import and export products with specific fields, which gives you even options to customize your experience.

Import Export Product Attributes

As a default in Magento 2, you can import and export products with the help of the CSV file. However, the default function does not have attributes. Attributes are nothing but building blocks of any product catalog. It ultimately increases the customer experience, which cannot be ignored. You can even try Magento 2 import export categories extension to manage bulk product attributes like attribute group, attribute type, attribute sets, attribute options, attribute values, etc.

Import Export Product Reviews

For any business and particularly an eCommerce business, it is vital to get customer reviews to attract people to purchase your products. While migrating from Magento 1 to Magento 2, you should never forget about product reviews. Instead of manually moving them, use Magento 2 import export product reviews extension that will assist in managing the product reviews. This includes status, review title, status, and ratings. With the help of a single CSV file, it is possible to migrate customer data connected to the reviews.

Import Export Categories Extension

Magento 2 extensions can also come handy when it comes to migrating categories. Select Magento 2 import export categories extension to manage root categories, subcategories, and also assigned products. This way, all the category data like meta descriptions, meta title, meta keywords, anchor, category description, category image, page layout, and custom layout will get migrated with a CSV file. It thus, makes editing the categories very straightforward.

Selecting the Right Magento 2 Extensions to Migrate Your Product-Related Data

We have summed up various Magento 2 extensions that can make your lives easier and convenient in the long run. The key is never to use the default option. Instead, employ extensions that allow you to edit fields as per your specific requirements and complete the process swiftly. Also, do not forget you can always count on the support from your selected Magento extension development company. By having Magento experts working on the process means that your migration process will be not only seamless but also stress-free.

If you are looking to migrate from Magento 1 to Magento 2 platform, contact a professional Magento eCommerce development company like Elsner, your trusted Magento migration partner. With the help of its class-apart Magento migration services and ingenious Magento 2 extensions, your product data will get migrated without much hassle.

laptop-notebook
Digital Branding

Why Social Media Marketers Should Rely Less on Facebook

on December 4, 2019

Social media marketing is a must these days. No longer is social media a simple website or application on the Internet for connecting with people in different parts of the world, no matter the timezone. But rather, social media has taken over digital marketing these days. In fact, it’s one of the most effective ways on how to promote and sell a brand’s product or service. JSMM is a social media marketing agency that specializes in a lot of digital marketing tactics, so they can pretty much attest to how social media helps accelerate a brand’s interaction and engagement with users, as well as its online visibility.

One of the most popular social media platforms today is Facebook. Facebook is arguably the most powerful and most used social networking site ever to exist. With Facebook, you can connect with your family and friends, collaborate with colleagues, and meet new people. You may even buy Facebook likes and comments to achieve rapid success. That’s why a lot of companies globally use this platform as one of their primary channels to market, promote, and sell. More than that, it also helps in establishing a stronger online presence.

However, some experts may not agree with Facebook being an effective and efficient tool in social media marketing. In fact, social media marketers are even advised to rely less on Facebook. Curious? Here’s why:

Ads Are Getting Too Costly

Startup businesses that rely on social media marketing in today’s digital era can attest to this. Lately, Facebook ads are starting to get costly, with little to no improvement in their overall performance. While this is not an easy feat for small businesses, larger and established companies can better provide a budget for this. That is, of course, if you’re willing to splurge on Facebook ads. Might I suggest you do your research first and plan ahead so you can allocate finances and budget, and, be able to pay for this commitment in the long run.

Consumes So Much Time

While there are automated Facebook services available to do the job for you, these programs and software can’t do everything still. At the end of the day, you have to rely on yourself, your team, and your skills to be able to respond to most of your customer concerns, queries, and feedback. On top of that, you also have to check-in on your analytics, analyze reports, and such for you to be able to improve in delivering and optimizing your content.

In turn, if you fail to manage your reputation on Facebook, then your supposed social media marketing strategy could potentially hurt you in the end.

Insufficient Privacy

These past years, Facebook has had issues regarding privacy, and it is, in fact, one of the major concerns of most Facebook users – whether personal account holders or companies. Although Facebook has now simplified its privacy settings, it’s still safe that you stay out of this platform if you’re trying to build your brand’s name. One incident of getting hacked, and you permanently damage your business’ reputation. Now, you wouldn’t want that. So, since the stakes are high, you might as well opt for other social networking platforms where you can secure your brand like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram.

Slowly Losing A Hold On Its Marketing

Long gone are the days of Facebook skyrocketing in the field of social media marketing. Today, more and more marketers shift from Facebook to other social networking platforms simply because Facebook has lost its charm in marketing. Originally designed to be an interactive platform where people could share information, Facebook has gone downhill by losing control of who posts such circulating information and what exactly is included in these posts.

Of course, as a marketer, you intend to uphold and protect the image and reputation of your brand. However, today, it has become so easy for random users to post malicious content on your wall – a few of which may possibly come from competitors, and that’s the sad reality of it.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, a lot of social media platforms like Facebook are provided for marketers all over the world. However, before fully immersing your social media marketing strategies on these platforms, make sure you’ve done enough research so as to avoid spending on platforms that wouldn’t and couldn’t bring your business any good. Social media marketing plays an important role in your business, and, in fact, takes up a huge chunk of your budget and overall performance. The least you can do is integrate your company with tools and platforms that do not deliver as what they have promised.

Local Branding

Tips for Bringing Your Dog to Work

on December 4, 2019

We all generally love dogs. No matter the size or shape, all of them are loveable dogs – We adore them and they are our closest companions. And if you ask anyone why they love their woofers so much and care about them every day on a deep level, those people will tell you that there is a strange bond between men and dogs. In the end, we all know that our dogs care about us in return, offer us company, love, and loyalty. You can’t experience that kind of love with humans.

This love is very important to a dog. Loyalty is not a joke. Separation is one of the greatest fears for many dogs and it causes a kind of anxiety. Dogs become upset because of separation from their guardians, or the people they are attached to. This anxiety sometimes culminates with the dogs urinating, defecating, barking, howling, chewing or trying to escape. And the separation is inevitable because we have to go to work. How are we supposed to solve this problem?

Well, Bring Your Dog to Work!

Dogs are a great source of happiness but they can also become a source of stress. And having a time-consuming job can make the dog parenting an impossible mission. The only solution for that is bringing that dog (or some other pet) to work. But there is a problem with that idea – some people don’t like animals. There are plenty of reasons for that. Some people are scared and others don’t like the smell or some other aspects of those beautiful creatures.

What are The Possible Obstacles?

Dogs are our best friends but sometimes leave quite a mess behind them. This is why some employers wouldn’t like them around the workplace. Apart from running around, throwing up, or defecating, or urinating, they also leave their hair around the entire place. Some breeds don’t have those kinds of problems like that Bullmastiff of mine. As you may already know, Bullmastiffs have a short coat and they don’t shed too much. Their main problem is drooling. And my boy Ares drools so much that I have to carry a towel at all times with me. But Ares goes to work with me every single day. And my boss is ok with that. But how could you make your boss tolerate these kinds of things and why should he?

Tips for Bringing Your Dog to Work

A study in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management discovered that workers who are allowed to bring their pets to work had stress levels that slowly decreased throughout the day. On the other hand, the same study found that the workers without their pets had stress levels that ratcheted up throughout their workdays. This is one of the good reasons for bringing your dog to work. You might tell that to your boss?

Natural Icebreakers

Who can resist saying hello to a canine? This is how you could use your dog to build a good relationship with your coworkers, bosses, vendors, or clients.

Preparing for the day at work

  1. First thing first – you need to make sure that no one objects. Not everybody loves pets and some people suffer from allergies. So, if it bothers one person, don’t do it.
  2. Make sure your dog is vaccinated and microchipped.
  3. Pack the food, a water bowl, a toy, and a dog’s bed.

Your Dog Needs to Have the Right Personality

You should be careful with this one. You should make sure that your pet is relaxed in front of strangers. If your dog tends to be anxious in new environments or uncomfortable in front of new people, she might be happier at home – alone. Think about this, plan it, and consider a short trial before going full time.

Training

Training is always very important. You should make sure that your dog follows important behavior cues like “Come”, “Stay”, “Sit”, “Stop”, etc. Good behavior is the key if you want to socialize your dog.

Take breaks

Sometimes, bringing your dog to work involves taking her outside because… well, nature calls. However, sometimes accidents happen, we have all been there. Just apologize and move on.

Distractions

Be prepared for distractions. I mean, you will be happier and more productive, but dogs bark – especially if there are more dogs in the same office. Some people find it difficult to work near dogs that bark, whine or just run around and play with toys. In case that someone calls you because of those distractions, approach this conversation open-minded. 

Pet-Free Zones

Establishing pet-free zones would be a nice idea. It is a far better idea than letting them wander the main floor or offices.

Don’t Bring Sick Pets to the Office

Sick pets will spread the germs or flees all around the place. This is why you should leave your dog at home if you know that there is something wrong with him or her.

Clean up After Your Dog

You should bring bags to take care of dog poop and fur remover brush because of, well fur. You do this and your coworkers will thank you later.

In the end, bringing your dog to work is an awesome idea if your coworkers are ok with that. A research shown in an infographic made by Petco suggests that bringing dogs to work can improve employee health. The presence of friendly animals might reduce the average heart rate and blood pressure, and some scientists claim that petting animals reduce cholesterol and stress. However, this is not as easy as it looks. You have to be careful, clean up after your dog, and make sure that your dog is friendly towards other animals and humans.

Digital Branding

What You Should Know About Marketing as a Career

on December 3, 2019

For new graduates, marketing is a popular destination, and it’s easy to see why. Marketers are the individuals that prompt us to take action in regards to purchasing a particular product or service. The role is all about identifying the demand for a product or service and then looking for ways in which customers can buy them in optimum amounts so that the company can be lucrative. To be more specific, marketing involves market research, distribution, and design of the product analysis, where to sell it or the place, pricing as well as promotion (well known as the 4 p’s in the marketing domain.

By tapping into the buying habits of consumers, your role is to develop new products, design the packing in order to make it distinct, PR, creating advertising strategies for the various media forms like newspapers and TV and finally, after-sales service.

The primary reason why so many individuals find the marketing domain luring is the prestige that is usually associated with working on some of the most reputable, big brands like Virgin, Coca-Cola, etc. However, as with most things in the world, it is not all glitz and glamour. If you are interested in a career in Australia, for more info you should read this article.

There’s marketing that’s directed towards luring people to eat more veggies, utilize less energy, and purchase health insurance. Then there is the business to business marketing that promotes office and industrial products, direct marketing through mail, telephone, TV, and online.

One of the most appealing things about getting into marketing is the numerous opportunities to specialize in particular domains like direct marketing and market research or diversify into other related domains like advertising and PR.

People who are new to marketing often begin their career as a Marketing Executive. However, in a world where branding and re-branding are the most common, this role often goes by Assistant Brand Manager or Product Manager. Market Researcher is another popular entry position in the marketing industry.

Go up the ladder, and you will get to the Marketing Director and Manager position. This is an industry that currently has around one million workers, but it is very fast-paced. Even though it might be glamorous at some times, it involves hard work throughout.

Employment is, for the most part, permanent, and as the media selection becomes more and more diverse, in combination with an always available appetite for consumerism, the demand for creative and skilled marketers will always be there, and so will the rewards. So, if you’ve always been impressed by marketing, you shouldn’t have a doubt about making it your career.

Local Branding

Must-know Tips for Selecting a Professional Backpack

on December 2, 2019

As a professional, it is essential to have a fashionable and practical business office bag for commuting. Hence, various selecting options and standards appear. Among all of those experiences and multiple backpacks choices, what are the decisive factors affecting our decisions? Today, we will share a shopping guide for you, hoping to help you in choosing a durable working backpack.

During the whole selecting process, there are three most basic and vital factors:

1. Portability.

Most people choose shoulder backpacks to avoid single-shoulder bags from making them overly bear the load, which would significantly affect their health. That’s the reason why when we choose the office backpack, we should select one not being too heavy. The backpacks ought not to add any extra weight to the loading. In contrast, they should be light and convenient, not resulting in heavy-burden travel. As a result, it is suggested that the shape and material of the working backpacks should be chosen to reduce the local burden of the human body.

2. Reasonable zoning.

When it comes to a professional package, we should choose a thoughtful partition design according to our own needs. Or else, your backpack could be in a mess, and you would have no ideas to find the stuff you need. For example, we need to have a targeted exercise function on the backpacks for sports purposes, and the bag should have its own extendability as for traveling; likewise, a business official backpack should be of high value and fashionable design, even specializing in technology to make the packaging convenient. It would be better to choose a flexible partition design to meet the needs of different scenes in our daily life.

3. Material.

Everyone would like to choose a durable and waterproof shoulder bag. After all, no one wants his valuables, such as laptop computers, to be wet by rain. Therefore, when you purchase a working commuting shoulder bag, it is essential to choose a fabric that has a daily waterproof function. Moreover, the fabric material determines the durability of the backpacks, so we should pay more attention to it.

Recommended backpacks

After talking so much about the selecting standards, we have already had some of the backpack manufacturers that achieve high in these aspects.

Aoking backpack, founded in 1985, is a diversified enterprise that integrates with designing, researching & developing, manufacturing, export trading, e-commerce, and operation. In China, they own more than 20,000㎡ modern production base and more than 800 workers.

During more than 35 years of hard work, AOKING has successfully entered 68 countries, and now owns more than 500 distributors all around the world, including many on-line platforms like Amazon and Ali-express. Their products include business bags, casual backpacks, school bags, camping bags, and luggage, etc.

AOKING business commuter backpacks meet perfectly those standards mentioned above. The all-black color design gives off a sense of high-scale and adapts to all daily scenes, including working as well as traveling. Even IT workers favor the powerful functions of keeping and organizing stuff. With this backpack, you will have no worries of not finding the needed. As for the details, it won’t be left behind compared to other bags. The shoulder belt is uniquely designed to lessen the stress of human beings. The surface touching the back is also comfortable and could help give off the heat. The zip is specially made of stainless metal materials, which attributes to expand the life span of the office backpack.

With these selection tips, I am sure you could make the right choice out of all the diversified products now. Getting started, you would be better to try out Aoking canvas backpack, and you won’t regret to do that.

Legal Branding

Equity Release Schemes For The Elderly

on November 29, 2019

The average life expectancy of people across the globe has increased over the last few decades thanks to modern medicine and nutrition. That means being old does not mean living on pills and resting the whole day. People are healthier, agile and active and post-retirement they look to accomplish things they could not during their working days. They are taking up new sports, going on international vacations and much more. But these involve considerable expense which their retirement savings may not be able to afford. 

What is Equity Release?

Equity release schemes are products that help the homeowner over the age of 55 years to use the money (equity) tied up to their homes to come up with income for their needs without having to relocate. Many elderly homeowners are looking to release tax-free cash from their assets through equity release, and the money borrowed can be taken as a lump sum or in installments or a combination of both.  There are mainly two types of equity release options:

  • Lifetime mortgage
  • Home reversion

Lifetime mortgage

In this type of scheme the loan is secured on your home provided you have the ownership and this amount need not be rapid till the end of the mortgage term or till the property is sold or the borrower dies or moves to a care home. This option is further categorized into: 

  • An interest roll-up mortgage: The interest gets added to the principal amount and the entire amount has to be paid at the end of the mortgage term or when the house is sold. The loan can be availed as a lump-sum or as a regular payment. 
  • Interest-paying mortgage: The interest does not roll-up on the money borrowed as the payments are made on a monthly or ad-hoc basis. The principal loan is recovered when the house is sold or the mortgage term ends. The loan can be taken as a lump sum, and some options allow you to pay off the capital too before the end of the term. 

Home reversion

In this type of scheme, the complete or a part of the home is sold to a reversion company. That company will in return provide payment in lumpsum or in installments. A lease will be granted to the homeowners so that they can remain in the home for the rest of their lives, a more detailed synopsis can be seen here on how the scheme works.  After the company sells the property post the death of the owner or when moved to permanent care, the reversion company gets the proceeds depending on the share of the property sold. 

Who can get an equity revision scheme?

There are a few conditions to be eligible for this scheme:

  • For a lifetime mortgage, the borrower should be 55 years of age or more.
  • For a home reversion plan, the borrower should be 65 years or older. 
  • The property you are using for equity revision should be your main residence and should be in good condition
  • It is not suitable if you have dependants
  • If there is an earlier loan on the property, the value of equity release will be based on the current market value of your home and the outstanding loan amount. 

If you decide to go for an equity revision scheme consult a specialist to understand if it is right for you. Sometimes selling a business needs to be considered in succession planning and equity release.

Digital Branding

Marketing Ideas To Grow Your Dental Practice

on November 29, 2019

One of the key factors to a successful business is proper marketing. The same holds true for a successful dental practice. Apart from providing quality service to its existing patients, offering the latest treatment options, competitive pricing helps add new patients every month. In order to attract new patients to your dental practice, a need for a good marketing plan is vital. Listed below are some effective marketing ideas to grow your business. 

Do an SEO on your Website

One of the most common ways of searching for any service is through a quick look at one of the search engines. The chances of your business being visited by a user and making an appointment are higher if the ranking on the search engine is higher. For the website to be ranked higher, it has to be optimized using on-page SEO which involves making the site more user-friendly, having good content and much more. After the on-page SEO is done, backlinks have to be created along with the regular posting of content. A well-optimized website is bound to get organic traffic and that can be a great marketing strategy. 

Optimize the My Business Page

This is the simplest and the best marketing strategy that consumes very little time. By optimizing the Google My Business page there will be an immediate growth in the organic traffic as the local listings come up when there is a location-based search. While filling out the following ensure that you cover the following:

  • The business category which helps the users search for their specific requirement
  • Business description
  • Main phone number, address and hours of operation
  • Review section 

Use email marketing

Email marketing is one of the important forms of marketing and it holds true even for a dental practice. It can not only engage existing patients but also invite new ones and try to pull former patients back and is one of the successful marketing ideas. For such great ideas, you will need professional help.  It is one of the best ways to increase conversion rates by just creating a series of newsletters or emailers.  Ensure that you send weekly content to the target audience and subscribers to get better revenue.

Referral bonus system

A patient bonus referral program is a great motivation for existing patients to bring new ones to your practice. If an existing patient recommends someone to your practice and that person visits you then the referrer is rewarded with a discount, a dental product or other such things. This is a win-win situation for both you and the patient, as they get a bonus and the practice gets new patients. Moreover, doing this is simple as all you have to do is, hand the old patients referral cards or send them as an mail. 

Appointment reminders

One of the major problems in a dental clinic is that patients may not show up for their appointments. So it is essential to have reminders, be it a phone call or an app to remind patients of the visit. One can use the calendar alerts to send reminders via email or phone and remind booking confirmations.

Marketing your dental practice needs a lot of patience and dedicated work and if you don’t have the time you can always consult an expert. 

Check your Instagram followers
Digital Branding

5 Ways To Check if Your Instagram Followers are Fake

on November 28, 2019

Let’s face it. The “likes” on Facebook and “followers” on Instagram can be very deceiving. You, like many businesses, buy followers from someone. You, as a business, trust them to provide you legit and authentic accounts, but you have to be careful. There are some people who will charge you hundreds of dollars deceiving you with bots and fake accounts. This is a serious issue, and for a business owner or an influencer, this matters a lot because you clearly aren’t paying all that money for some fake likes and follows.

Yes, it’s a smart thing to buy followers from someone because if you don’t, it will take you years to establish yourself on Instagram. But as said earlier, fake likes and fake followers are the last things on Earth that you want because even your users can now identify if there’s something fishy with your followers’ figures on your profile.

Speaking of which, today, we are going to jot down some of the best ways to check if your Instagram followers are fake. Do take notes because this really can help you identify if someone selling you followers, is trying to make a fool out of you.

Are Your Instagram Followers For Real?

Are your Instagram followers real?

1- The Hide And Seek

The best technique is the hide and seek technique in which if a bot account follows you, you have to follow it back, and if it doesn’t approve your request, it will become clear that it’s just a bot. Bot accounts take full advantage of the fact that one can make his account private on Instagram. This makes snooping on them very difficult for other people, but well with this technique, you can figure things out a little.

2- Empty Accounts

Most bot accounts and fake accounts have nothing in them. No profile picture, no posts, and no information. These accounts only exist for one purpose, and that is to follow the command of software whenever it says to like or follow another account. In short, an account that has nothing on it is a big red flag that it’s a bot.

3- Use An Online Checker

People are smart now, and where there’s a problem, there’s a solution too. You can do a fake follower check on Instagram, and you’ll have all the results right on your screen. There are a lot of online sites and apps available on the Play Store that allows users to identify fake followers of an Instagram account real quick. So yes, you can opt for this if you want to check the real following of your account.

4- Look At The Followers One By One

You paid the guy, your followers increased by thousands, and you are very happy with the figure. But wait, did you check these followers individually? If not, then head to your profile and check those “increased” followers. If these accounts are blank, empty with no profile picture, and no activity, then know that it’s a bot or a fake account.

Don't follow bots

5- Peep The Numbers

Another obvious way to tell if an account is a bot or not is to check its followers. Yes, you read that right! If an account has followings in hundreds and thousands but has little to no content published, it’s clear that it’s a bot account and that you have been fooled by the person who sold you followers, likes, and comments. Again, you can conduct an Instagram ghost followers check here to ensure that those extra followers you got are some fake and bot accounts.

Conclusion

These are some of the best ways to check if your Instagram followers are fake. Use these tips, and you’ll know the number of real people who are following you and liking your product.

Digital BrandingLegal BrandingPersonal Branding

9 Rules to Create an Awesome Business Website

on November 28, 2019

Table of contents

  • Introduction
  • 9 Rules to create an awesome business website
  1. Define your website’s purpose
  2. Pick an easy-to-remember domain
  3. Get an eye-catching logo
  4. Make your website mobile-friendly
  5. Keep the pages uncluttered
  6. Keep it easy to navigate
  7. Place your contact details above the fold
  8. Have a clean & compelling CTA
  9. Keep your website’s design simple
  • The final word

Introduction

In today’s fast-changing business ecosystem, an online presence is a must for any business — from brick-to-mortar. No matter whether you’re a seasoned business owner, if you have not created an effective website yet in this changing environment, you may lose significant business opportunities.

So no matter whether you’re just getting off or an established business owner having no online presence, building a website is inevitable. As per a recent study published by Bazaarvoice, online research greatly impacts the in-store shopping decisions. The report, The Robo Economy demonstrates that about 82 percent of smartphone users consult their phones on shopping they’re going to make in-store, while around 45 percent read reviews before they purchase.

Considering the latest shopping trends, having a business website to attract buyers is crucial to growing your business. But what are the fundamentals of creating one such website? For many business owners, creating a website seems daunting. They think that creating a website needs extraordinary skills and cutting-edge tools and technologies. But it’s not true. You’ll need to know just a few rules to create a powerful business website.

Here are the top 9 rules to create an awesome business website:

1. Define your website’s purpose

Before you go ahead with the website development, it’s important to identify the purpose of your website. What do want to achieve?

You must clearly understand what your USP (unique selling point) is and what is your plan to come across. Merely knowing your industry and determining the content strategy is not enough.

Once your fundament purpose is defined, your focus should shift towards determining the actions that you want from your visitors to take after they land on your site. Is the website just for information, or to sell products/services, or to get signups?

The answers to those questions will significantly give you an overall idea of how your website design should be.

2. Pick an easy-to-remember domain

Selecting a domain for your website is tricky. Your domain or web address should be so easy and sticky that anyone after seeing it can remember for a longer period. Don’t include any number or dashes as it can confuse potential visitors to your site and harm your exposure. Also, such web addresses are not SEO-friendly.

Picking out some .com domains would be the best choice as most people are familiar with this domain over any other, which means you’ll get the most value for money when purchasing domain names.

3. Get an eye-catching logo

Images and symbols are the most effective way of communicating your message. A logo, which is often called the face of the company, is crucial to convince your customers. People will make a perception of your company based on your logo. In fact, a logo should be one of the most essential branding investments. You must not create your logo design casually.

Apart, you should also take care of other graphic design elements of your website. If you’re not sure which graphic design and logo fit your business website, hire a professional graphic designer to get them done.

4. Make your website mobile-friendly

The number of Smartphone users worldwide is growing rapidly. As per the Statista, Generation Z shoppers use a Smartphone while making an in-store purchase. They use smartphones for comparing products’ features, prices, and reviews. Therefore, it becomes imperative to have a smartly designed mobile responsive website for your business if you plan to run a successful business venture.

5. Keep the pages uncluttered

Studies have suggested that website visitors love to read clear, precise and short information. A website having too much and irrelevant information, it simply diverts visitors’ mind which leads to increased bounce rate. Give ample blank space on your web pages to breathe in. Also, whitespace increases the readability of your copy. Make sure that text and graphics on your web page are in good proportion and present a clean page.

Brainstorm if your website really needs social widgets like Tweeter feed etc. If the widget content doesn’t meet your purpose, remove it right away to make your page clutter-free.

6. Keep it easy to navigate

Creating a different website by using attractive Flash presentations may look tempting, but it might be a little difficult for your customers to quickly find what they are looking for. Therefore, it’s always advised to take the medium route when it comes to your site navigation. You should use drop-down lists with clear headings which present on every page of your website, incorporate a site map and the search bar at the top right-hand side so that it can be easily traced.

7. Place your contact details above the fold

What’s the benefit of having a website if no one knows how to get in touch with you? Of course, such a website is of no use. In fact, a website must include a “Contact Us” tab on your home page. Make sure that the contact us page contains information such as your address, phone number / mobile number and email address so that your potential customers can easily reach you out should there be any business related query.

Also, put social media links, either at the header or footer, if you use social media to connect with clients.

8. Have a clean & compelling CTA

Once the visitors have found something interesting on your website, you would like them to take an action — buy a product/service, call, sign up or download. Make sure that all of your pages have relevant call-to-action buttons/links that are clear. Also, the area around the CTAs must be clutter-free. If possible, keep them above the fold so that visitors do not have to scroll down to find the call to action.

9. Keep your website’s design simple

Avoid using fonts, colors and animated gifs which you think can distract visitors from the focus point. Keep the paragraphs short and informative, the ideal length of a paragraph is less than six sentences. Also, use bullet points that draw readers’ attention thus increasing readability.

The final word

Having a website for every business is crucial in the present day shopping environment where most shoppers search online before they finally reach a buying decision. This article aims at guiding new entrepreneurs and established business owners with no online presence alike to create an awesome business website. I hope these 9 simple rules will guide you through the process.

Cheers!

About the author

Campbell Joef is a graphic designer and blogger associated with Designhill.com , a custom designs marketplace, I generally write on topics custom clothing, concerning design and education logo, ecommerce, start-ups, small business.

Digital Branding

LinkedIn Branding and Sales Tips For Beginners

on November 28, 2019

Today, most businesses are on LinkedIn, probably including your company. But with your current efforts, are you even generating leads and converting it into sales? 

Your personal brand’s website is essential in creating connections. To establish yourself as an expert in the field, you must have great content. LinkedIn is a great platform to establish your brand, share valuable content, and convert leads into sales.

Indeed, lead generation is an essential part of the business. If you wish to gather paying customers, then you must have a good stream of leads. However, doing it on LinkedIn is not always easy. It demands skills, effort, and time. 

Thus, in this article, you will learn tips on how to generate sales leads on LinkedIn. 

1. Optimize your LinkedIn Profile

To optimize your page, polish it to make it as engaging as possible. Make it visually pleasing to make the content optimized during searches. Here are some steps on how to do it: 

  • Make Your Profile SEO Friendly – When you are filling out the information on LinkedIn, it should be SEO friendly. This can increase traffic, return on investment (ROI), and brand awareness.  Furthermore, you can compete with other business rivals and grow your business. 

Do this by conducting proper research to come up with keywords to optimize your profile.  Check what are the keywords your clients are searching for and incorporate it into your page. Proper keywords can provide you with direction, new topics, and wise use of your time. 

  • Fill Up All The Information – Fill up all the information in your profile completely. Research says you will more likely to receive inquiries if your page has all the information needed by the customers.  
  • Create A Vanity URL – A vanity URL, or branded link, refers to a descriptive and easily recognizable URL. It is a long URL that is converted to a short link to redirect from one location to another. It is different from short URLs of Goo.gl because it does not include the brand name of the person who created the link. It works by giving the audience a clear indication of the owner of the link. 

A vanity URL can increase brand awareness and improve your LinkedIn SEO. You can establish trust with your clients since people can easily recognize and remember your page URL.

  • 30-Second Commercial – Create a 30-second video commercial that answers the question “What do you do in your business?” and “What are the services that you provide?” Make sure that you include the text in your profile. This is a video pitch.
  • Showcase Your Projects – You have the chance to post the URL of your portfolio on your LinkedIn profile. Seize this opportunity. With projects, you can highlight your past work. You can demonstrate your talents and let clients understand the services you offer. 

As soon as your profile is done, don’t abandon it. Continue nurturing your page. To be a constant figure in the feeds of your clients, update your page regularly. 

Spend a minute each day to post an update for your LinkedIn network. Every time you post an update, your profile will be displayed on the feed of your connections. Make sure to add value to every post you make. See to it that everything is inviting and practical. Write articles, or share your business presentations. Finally, always take note of your goals. 

2. Write Effective Connection Requests  

Building your network is important to get the word out about your brand. When you reach out to people, you have reasons in your mind to justify why you want to connect with them. To connect with people, check their profile first. Look for something interesting and make sure to mention it in your personal message. 

For connection requests, the limit is 300 characters only. Make sure that you use this space wisely. Be straight to the point while also being genuine. 

3. Engage With Clients And Partners 

Encourage your contacts from other social media networks to connect to your LinkedIn profile, too. Thereafter, find opportunities on how to generate sales leads on LinkedIn from their connections.

Try manual searches to invite potential clients to visit your page. Join social media groups and be active in answering their questions. Post links to direct your contacts to your page. 

Remember, give the prospects what they want and need. At the end of the day, they are interested in building professional relationships. Thus, make sure that you avoid shallow marketing. Focus on professional engagement instead. 

You can achieve this by planning and conducting research. Be as detailed as possible to come up with a viable niche. Then, tailor your message to create a lasting impact. 

4. Write Recommendations For Your Contacts  

Write and post recommendations for your prospects and key contacts. After this contact approves your testimonial, it will appear on their LinkedIn profile. With this, they are more likely to return the favor. This can be a recommendation or referral, which would reflect positively on your brand.

Conclusion

It is possible to start generating leads on LinkedIn. But achieving hundreds of leads will not happen in one day. Learn to optimize your profile, connect with key people, and post content regularly. You will need to be creative on your posts to be noticed by prospects. If you are willing to exert time and effort, you will get leads in no time and win the hearts of your audience. 

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