All posts by Steven

Digital BrandingLegal BrandingLocal Branding

Transportation in IoT Era – 6 Ways Tech Can Improve Your Business

Before getting into advantages of IoT technology, let’s first define the term “Internet of Things”. It is a system of smart devices which use sensors, processors, or communication hardware to acquire and send all relevant data from the environment. They will collect data from living patterns in real-time to optimize and improve all aspects of living experience. For the transportation business, it means a lot! You’ll be able to track all your vehicles whenever you want. But, let’s go slowly. In this article, we will show you six ways of how IoT tech can improve your transportation business.

Track vehicle’s health

In the future, it will be essential to track a vehicle’s health in order to create maximum efficiency. On top of that, many cars will be driverless, so in that situation, you won’t have to worry about anything else other than a vehicle. This part of an IoT ecosystem will be getting regular real-time inspections through GPS vehicle tracking systems. The goal is to operate cars, boats, or buses to their full potential. If any problem occurs, sensors will notify drivers about the issue, as well as other vehicles on the road. Also, companies will be able to monitor fuel usage, speed, or vehicle’s age 24 hours per day. Because of that, manufacturers will be able to improve the quality and produce better vehicles continually.

Driver’s and pedestrians’ safety

Safety has always been the primary thing in the traffic, and it will be in the IoT ecosystem, of course. The idea in the future is that vehicles communicate with each other in real-time using data. Even though it seems weird, it will massively improve the safety of drivers (if the vehicle requires a driver), as well as pedestrians and passengers. Smart sensors on cars and buses will have the ability to alert other vehicles and traffic participants about potential road hazards, traffic delays, etc. According to the United States Department of Transportation, new IoT technology will reduce crashes on the road by 80%!

Logistics and geo-fencing

Geo-fencing is an IoT tool designed to improve logistics and make it a lot easier. Also, it doesn’t matter if you manage a small or large fleet of trucks, it is suitable for every business. How does it work? Can’t be more simple – logistics managers will always know if a large shipment or package is not on the right path anymore. Also, the supplier will be able to manage all massive supply chains from only one device! It will require only a few people to track and monitor a large number of shipments. Finally, geo-fencing can also prevent overcrowding. For instance, if it’s necessary, it can redirect vehicles to other directions in order to avoid school zones and quiet areas.

Infographic created by Track Your Truck, a GPS vehicle tracking devices provider

Finding the fastest route to the destination

IoT transportation technology will help us get faster to any destination. It is also pretty simple – real-time data on the traffic will be provided continuously. Therefore, we will be able to choose the best and fastest route quickly. The most important thing here is efficiency. Businesses will save both time and money, as well as fuel since you won’t choose the wrong route. According to INRIX, American commuters spend between 42 and 80 hours sitting in the traffic, which is a disaster. This number will massively drop with the implementation of IoT tech solutions.

Customer service

Customer service is an essential part of the business and it always will be. Logically, tech transportation improvements will also affect this area of business. You will continuously get precise information about all orders, and therefore, you will be able to inform customers about the exact time the delivery is going to arrive. Also, if something unexpected occurs, you’d be able to update your customers. Such super responsible behavior will create trust among your customers. They will be constantly informed and updated which will make them satisfied even if an unexpected delay happens.

Better organization of public transit

Even though technology is continually improving, in many cities, we still don’t have consistent arrivals of buses and trains, which is often very frustrating. However, in an IoT ecosystem, with the help of real-time tracking tools, passengers will have exact information where their bus is at the moment. They will be able to travel with ease, without any uncertainty. How exactly is this going to work? Passengers will receive personalized travel information about potential delays or unexpected events. Based on that, they will have more options – either to wait a few minutes more or to go for another bus or train. The point is that passengers won’t have to guess the time of arrival anymore; every information will be super precise.

IoT will change every single aspect of our life. Transportation is one huge area where both businesses and customers will benefit massively because of new technology solutions.

Local Branding

Turn Your Home into Your Company’s Headquarters 

Working from home is amazing, but setting up your own company at your home is even better. This requires quite a lot of planning, though, and figuring out how to do that. Most startups are started in their founders’ family homes, while some of them stay there in the future as well. Working and living at the same place means you won’t waste time commuting to your office, which is amazing! However, in order to turn your family home into your office space, you’ll need to spice it up a bit. Reorganizing it and making sure you’re able to work are two crucial issues, so take them into consideration first. If you’re thinking about this idea as well, here’s how to make your private space more corporate.

Reorganizing the space

If you’re about to start this process, keep in mind that there are two solutions you can opt for. On the one hand, you and your family can move out of your home and into a new space. This is where you’ll continue your life, and your old home can be easily converted into headquarters for your company. This sounds like a hard solution, but separating your private and personal life is actually quite simple. Mixing them together might not be that easy.

That’s the other alternative, of course, and it’s something people who can’t afford two homes have to consider. Instead of moving your family out of your home, you’ll be moving your business in. This means you’ll have to provide some corporate space, and the best way to go is dedicating an entire room to it. Having a spare room is amazing, but what if you don’t have one? You can move your kids from two separate rooms into one, which might end up being surprisingly beneficial. If that’s not possible either, tear down some walls, make your rooms smaller, and convert two big rooms into three smaller ones. That way, you’ll have enough space for your business without sacrificing your family’s peace of mind.

Explore unusual areas

The aforementioned ideas are all right when working alone or with just a few people, but what about bigger companies? If your business starts growing, you’ll have to hire more employees, and they require more space. That’s when spare rooms and other smaller spaces just aren’t enough, so you have to think outside the box.

Probably the most popular areas for all aspiring business owners are garages, basements, and attics. If these spaces are clean and well-organizing, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use them. Moreover, all of those areas are spacious and can fit a number of people. Just get everything organized, purchase enough office desks and chairs, and start taking your company to the next level.

Establish some rules

One of the problems with working from home is getting properly focused on your work. Wandering around aimlessly, taking a nap, having a snack, or turning on the TV is easier than you can imagine. That’s why you have to establish a few rules and stay committed to your work as much as possible.

The same goes for your family as well. If you have kids, you’ll need to teach them how to behave and tell them what they need to do. You could separate your professional and personal spaces with those cool barn doors that are both protective and beautiful. These will make your headquarters better than ever, and that’s something all entrepreneurs want.

Protect your headquarters

Even if you live in a completely safe neighborhood, you should still be careful and protect your company’s headquarters. This is particularly important if your venture starts growing and you begin earning more money than before. This will attract potential thieves who might try to enter your home and steal valuable equipment. But, if you get organized, this doesn’t have to happen.

Start by installing CCTV around your home. This should stop most burglars because they don’t want to waste their time on a well-protected property they can’t enter. Also, think about getting a guard dog that will look after your home headquarters even when you’re out of town. Finally, don’t forget about cybercriminals and do whatever you can to protect your transactions against hackers. This is vital for every online business that deals with financial transactions over the Internet. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so update your security and make sure your work is absolutely safe and protected.

Turning your home into corporate space is never easy, but it’s not impossible. You just have to find a way to make it all work for your family and your work. Respecting everyone’s wishes is essential, so hear your family out before doing anything. This way, you can listen to their feedback and be able to create a better combination of private and personal space than ever.

Digital Branding

Podcasts and Their Influential Role in SEO

The primary pillars of a successful SEO strategy are links, high-quality, and engaging content. However, the world of SEO has evolved, and if you examine traditional strategies that include images, articles, blog posts and at times videos, you will find that in the past they were highly resorted to invoking organic inbound traffic for the website of a business. These techniques are very popular when it comes to generating targeted traffic to the site. 

Podcasts – How do they boost SEO?

For many years’ businesses have under-estimated the value of podcasts when it comes to increasing targeted inbound traffic to their site. Experts in SEO state that podcasts, if embraced correctly, play an instrumental role in enhancing targeted traffic to your site. Besides more inbound traffic, podcasts help to establish your brand, and it supports all your efforts targeted at link-building for your site.

In order to start, you must note that podcasts should leverage your SEO campaigns. You should be aware of how to rank them for better brand visibility and inbound traffic. The following are some expert tips on how you can optimize your podcasts and bring in more traffic to your site-

 

  • Guest speakers for the podcast- Podcasts are ideal for optimizing your site as they attract links. For getting more links, you need to create podcasts that are both engaging and interesting. They should be useful and drive the visitor to click on your business URL. A good podcast has the ability to attract targeted audience well in today’s competitive market. A simple way of attracting more and more visitors to your site is to hire a guest speaker to promote your podcast. For instance, if a person gives you the time to be interviewed, it is obvious that they would like others to know about it as well. They will share the links of that podcast episode, and you can host it on your business website page along with other social media and podcast channels. With these efforts, you give your targeted audience the chance to connect with your business website in a natural way. 
  • Choosing the guest speaker- When it comes to choosing the right guest speaker for your podcast, look for someone who will have a business benefit for appearing on your podcast. The guest speaker might be from a company who is about to launch a new service or product in the market or an author ready with a new book. SEO experts say that authors are generally good guest speakers for podcasts. 
  • Talk to your podcast guests before going live- To get the best out of your podcast guests, speak to them directly before you go live. You should ask them to link back to your business and an excellent time to ask them for that social media link is the time just before the interview. You need a verbal commitment from them. You can increase your chances of getting a link when you send an email out to them and inform them that the specific episode has been posted and you would appreciate some social mentions and a link.
  • Podcast title- The title of the podcast is crucial to find its way to Google Play Music and iTunes. Experts from credible SEO services across the nation say the title of your podcast should be interesting and compelling. It should be well-defined and explain what the podcast is about. If you keep a vague and obscure title, your efforts to generate inbound traffic fail drastically. It is prudent to use keywords, but at the same time, do not stuff the author tag of your podcast with them. In short, the podcast should be created in such a way that you are proud of it. In short, experts suggest the title of the podcast should be defined and clean. You can use some keywords in the sub-titles of the podcast as well.
  • Optimize the RSS Feed- Now; the average user does not use RSS Feed as much as they used to do in the past. However, the RSS Feed helps people to subscribe to your podcast on iTunes. Google Play Music and other popular platforms. Your Feed also gives information about your podcast to the above platforms as it generally takes about 24 hours for the fields to update on directories like iTunes. The RSS Feed that you get from WordPress is free, and you can use that for your podcast as well.
  • Leverage the website- The podcast is audio content that helps you to attract trusted links to the business site. SEO experts face this challenge of getting genuine and trusted links to business sites, and a podcast makes it simple for them. For instance, if a writer sees your podcast and wishes to link the podcast, showing him links authoritative sites that feature your business content proves that your content is high in quality and trustworthy.

The podcast at this point of time becomes worth linking to. When it comes to the creation of a podcast, ensure that every episode is different and it should be worth linking to. Take subjects that interest and will provide information to your targeted audience. This information will generate inbound links that, in turn, will boost the SEO page rankings for your business with success.

Therefore, when it comes to the creation of podcasts for your business, you will find they play a highly influential role in the search engine optimization of your site. They should feature guest speakers who will benefit from your business. The title of the podcast should be relevant to your business niche. It should contain content that is compelling to invoke a call-to-action by the visitor. 

In this way, the SEO of your business site can be boosted, and it can be added to your search engine optimization strategy along with blog posts, articles, images, videos, and more. For getting maximum results out of your podcasts, always hire skilled and experienced professionals from credible SEO companies to help you generate organic targeted traffic and better lead conversions!

Legal BrandingLocal Branding

Future Green Jobs You Should Consider as a Career Choice

The reason why a green job would make for such a great career choice is due to the fact that people tend to be getting eco-friendlier with each passing minute. This means that while the existing demand is quite formidable, it will most likely further grow in the future. Aside from this, in order for a job to constitute a great career option, it also needs to be financially lucrative. This means that there should either be a probability that you’ll advance in your field or a likelihood that you’ll start your own business once you gain enough experience and make enough contacts. With that in mind, here are seven career choices you should consider.

Environmental engineer

Due to the alteration in environmental laws and regulations, almost every company in construction, manufacturing or transportation needs to hire an environmental engineer. This alone means that there’s an incredible demand for professionals in this field. Other than this, the position itself is highly respected and the median annual wage is at a formidable $85,000 mark. All of this combined makes it a desirable job and an interesting career choice for anyone.

Wind turbine technician

Solar power is definitely not the only renewable source of energy out there, even though it is by far the most popular one. The power of wind is finally starting to get the recognition that it deserves. The majority of wind turbine technicians learn their trade at technical school but a specialized associate’s degree program for a wind turbine service technician usually takes two years to obtain. Keep in mind, nonetheless, that some of the most important secrets of the trade you’ll acquire through experience in the field.

Recycling worker

Another option is being a worker in the recycling industry. While it is true that working in the recycling industry does a lot to help our planet cope with its numerous pollution and resource shortage problems, the truth is that the job of a recycling worker usually isn’t that inviting or attractive – the work often entails onsite work with lots of different safety hazards. Many of them can be resolved with the use of the correct equipment, such as using helmets, Everprogloves, special suits, etc. On the other hand, starting your own recycling business seems to be a great idea. Learning the business might take a while, which is why you might want some niche-experience as well as some education in the field of waste management.

Green construction

The construction industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world, as well as one of the fields that have the biggest environmental impact. Fortunately, the job of a civil engineer is becoming greener and greener every single day. This consists of several different aspects, ranging from green construction materials all the way to green building practices. For instance, the use of scaffolding in construction is much eco-friendlier than the use of cranes and work platforms, seeing as how it causes less soil vibration and doesn’t require fuel to run.

Solar photovoltaic installer

The first thing that crosses one’s mind when a green career choice is mentioned is most likely the job of a solar photovoltaic installer. While you are making the world a better place, one step at a time, this is a hard and arduous physical job, which is why it’s only for those who know where they’re heading. In time, you might start an installer business of your own. For the time being, keep in mind that once a person installs solar panels on their roof, the chances of their neighbors doing the same goes drastically up. Also, the solar panel maintenance is stepping up in the game and there would be sure work for that too. Therefore, the impact that you’re making is even greater than it may seem at the moment.

Urban growing

There are a lot of people who have dreamt of leaving the city behind and going to the countryside in order to grow their own food and sell it on the farmer’s market. The main reason why they haven’t done that is that they think that it means leaving all the convenience of living in a major metropolitan area behind. However, what if we were to tell you that it’s possible for you to have your cake and eat it too? All that you have to do is get a couple of containers, free up some roof space and acquire all the necessary equipment for urban growing.

Water quality technician

Water is a substance that’s essential for our survival on this planet, however, when not used for drinking and personal hygiene, it’s crucial to our industry, agriculture and… well, everything else basically. This is why becoming a water quality technician is so appealing. Moreover, the job is incredibly interesting due to the fact that it requires elaborate testing and use of shade balls in areas where there’s a likelihood of drought. A similar situation happened with the reservoir Ivanhoe where about 96 million of these shade balls were dropped.

Conclusion

As you can see, the diversity of these career options can really help you find the career option that you’re looking for. Keep in mind, though, that your experience in this industry also depends on who you’re working with, as well as what kind of agency, institution or organization you’re working for. In other words, don’t be afraid to pivot if things don’t seem to be to your liking. You might be able to find what you’re looking for someplace else.

Digital Branding

How To Make Sure You Are Choosing The Right Digital Marketing Agency For Your Boston Based Business

If you market your business online, you may want to consider hiring an agency that specializes in this area. However, keep in mind that choosing the right digital marketing agency can be complicated. It’s something you definitely want to get right but this isn’t easy to do. Besides the fact that there are thousands of these agencies, they are all the best! Or, at least, that’s what their marketing says.

In addition, there are a lot of different aspects of digital marketing, such as search engine optimization, email marketing, social media marketing and on and on. How can any digital marketing agency be experts in all of them? So with that in mind, how are you going to make sure you pick one of the best Boston SEO companies for your business?

Here are five key things you can do when searching for a digital marketing agency that will help you narrow down the search and pick the agency that is right for you.

1. Discuss It With Those You Know and Trust

When you are making a huge decision, like choosing a digital marketing agency to help grow your business, one of the best things you can do is talk to those you know, respect and trust. Talk to other business owners you know who work with an agency. Someone you trust isn’t going to send you to an agency that they don’t believe in or want to work with themselves.

When it comes to such big decisions, most business owners make their decisions based on referrals. In fact, 84% of these types of business to business decisions are based off of referrals from other business owners.

After all, a decision like this could make or break a business. It’s not something you want to leave to chance. If you want to know the truth about how good or bad an agency is the best way to do it is to talk to business owners who have worked with that agency.

Keep in mind, as mentioned above, there are many aspects of digital marketing. When you ask other business owners be sure you discuss what specifically you are looking for in an agency. If you have decided you want to focus on social media to generate leads, you don’t want to hire a digital marketing agency that focuses on search engine optimization.

2. Who Are Their Clients?

Who else works with this agency? While talking to other business owners is a great way to narrow things down, it’s also important to find out about other clients of the agency. You don’t want to hand over a big check and find out the agency is a one person shop run by the niece of the person who gave you the referral and that business owner is the only client. At least, until you that is.

Check out the agency’s web site. It’s a digital marketing agency, they most certainly should have a web site of their own.

If they don’t have a web site, or if the web site has no information from other clients, such as case studies, or testimonials, it’s quite possible this agency is not going to be able to handle what it is you want them to do for you.

If the referral was from someone you really respect and trust and you still want to meet with the agency, be sure and ask them for other clients with whom you could speak to about the work they had done for them.

While many clients make agencies sign a non-disclosure agreement,an agency should be able to give you at least a few clients or case studies. If they can’t, you may want to move on to the next agency on your list.

3. The Agency Needs To Earn Your Trust

So you’ve checked out their web site and they have some big clients, or some clients in your industry that all seem very happy with what the agency has done for them. But sometimes you need to dig a little deeper. Of course the agency is going to put their best foot forward on their web site.

If the agency touts some great case study results, ask if you can speak with the agency’s contact at the company. This way, you can verify the marketing results on your own instead of just trusting the agency on their word.

If they are willing to tout case study results, they should be willing to give you a contact so you can verify those results.

4. Ask The Questions That Matter For Your Business

When you interview an agency, be sure and go into it prepared. Have a list of questions that are relevant to your business, the type of digital marketing you want to do, and the results you are looking to achieve. It’s important to also have an idea as to the answer you are looking for so you can focus on what matters.

After all, all good salespeople can give you an answer that sounds great without ever actually answering the question.

If this is the first time you’re hiring an agency, you may not even know where to begin with questions. Go back to your friend that referred you and talk to them. They should have a pretty good idea of what questions are important for you to ask.

5. Listen To The Questions That You Are Being Asked

A good agency likes to work with certain types of clients, just as you want to hire the right agency. That means they are interviewing you as well.

They are looking for signs that you might be more trouble than you are worth. They won’t work with you if they feel there are red flags that indicate it would not be a good working relationship.

This means a good agency will be asking you questions as well. They will want to know about your digital marketing plans, what your goals are going forward, who you consider your competition, etc. They need to know all the details to be able to determine if they can even help you grow your business.

Put these five tips into action when choosing a digital marketing agency and you’ll greatly increase the chances of hiring an agency that can help you reach your business marketing goals.

Puzzle solving tips
Personal Branding

Top 5 Puzzle Solving Tips For Beginners

There’s no doubt that computer games are great and playing them brings immense joy, but there are people in the world who would prefer solving a puzzle instead of playing Fortnite or Pubg. Yes, you read that right, and right now if you are here, chances are that you are also one of those people who love the feeling of accomplishment when you solve a puzzle.

Speaking of solving puzzles, sometimes these puzzles are so tricky that they can easily confuse you and it can take you hours to solve a simple puzzle just because you are stuck in one place. If this happens to you quite often and if you really don’t want to waste all those hours being stuck at your puzzle, then stick with us till the end of this article.

Today we are here with five of the best and the most effective puzzle-solving tips for beginners that will come in handy to you in all the puzzles and mystery games.

5 Great Puzzle Solving Tips

Rubic's cube - can you solve it?

1- Come Up With A Plan For Puzzle Solving

Before taking a whole one wide stab at the puzzle, stop for a while and just analyze the puzzle and think of a good strategy to solve it. It’s obvious that no one strategy can work for you in all the puzzles, so always first analyze the puzzle you want to solve and then think of a good strategy that can create a win-win situation for you. Without a plan, it will be very difficult for you to solve the puzzle and complete it in the first place.

2- Don’t Overthink

The moment you start overthinking, you lose, and even the easiest of all puzzles will start confusing you. Also, always know that when you start overthinking and if a puzzle confuses you a lot, the first thing you need to do is to think of a very advanced mathematics strategy to solve it. Trust us on this one as we have seen a lot of people using some really complicated formulas to solve different puzzles so do try this too.

Find patterns for your puzzle

3- Look For Patterns

Remember what we said about analyzing the puzzle first? Well, that’s exactly what you need to do to figure out patterns. Sometimes there are proper repeating patterns in the puzzles, and all you have to do is to find out those patterns. You also need to start moving the pieces because that’s when you’ll be able to figure out the pattern. The more pieces you put into position, the easier the puzzle gets.

4- Work Backwards

If you have ever played maze puzzles in your childhood, you probably already know what we are talking about here. All you need to do is to work backward and then try solving a puzzle. We’ll be honest with you on this one that it’s all about stopping for a while and analyzing all the pieces that you have in front of you. In the “work backward” technique, you need to see the end of the puzzle and then start from there.

Don't give up on your puzzle

5- Don’t Give Up

There’s no such puzzle that’s “impossible”. The truth is that all the puzzles can be solved and it’s all about you not giving up. Take some rest in between, relax your brain but don’t give up no matter what. Believe it or not, puzzle-solving can increase your productivity and creativity, which is something everyone wishes for. So, stay consistent with your efforts, and we assure you that you will get that joy from the feeling of accomplishment. All you have to do is to be patient with the puzzle and calm your brain down.

 About The Author:

Rebecca Zamolo is a social star and entertainer who is best known for her comedic videos on her self-titled YouTube channel, which recently surpassed 7 million subscribers. She is also one-half of Matt & Rebecca YouTube channel alongside her husband. Rebecca regularly produces challenge videos, puzzle and game videos, and 24-hour challenge videos. She is also known as the inventor of the gamemaster.

Digital Branding

4 Strategies to Build Brand Awareness for Your Ecommerce Business

In the digital world, when someone says “Apple,” you’re more likely to think of the brand that gave us the Mac, iPad, and Siri, instead of the fruit. 

That’s how effectively a brand name can leave a mark in our minds.

Now imagine having that kind of brand power for your ecommerce business.  

Although the journey to establishing a successful brand can be unique to each business, there are techniques you can use to get your brand to your target market successfully. 

In this post, let me share with you four strategies to build brand awareness for your ecommerce business. 

Let’s dive right in.

1. Share Your Brand Story

The concept behind why storytelling can be an excellent marketing technique is simple: people love hearing a success story. 

Your brand’s story gives your brand more depth and something your audience can connect with, which makes it an excellent element to add to your marketing efforts. 

For instance, technology company GoPro wrote on their website how the company founder Nick Woodman “started with a 35mm camera and a wrist strap made from old wetsuits and plastic scraps.” 

Now, the company has grown internationally and “has sold over 26 million GoPro cameras in more than 100 countries.”

Weaving this kind of narrative into your marketing strategy lets your audience “feel” the experience in your story, which helps build a connection and establish trust with them. 

When people trust your brand, they are more likely to come back, buy again, and tell other people about you. 

Your brand’s story can be anything. 

It can be a narrative of your product development journey, founder, or how the idea for your product was born as a solution to a problem.

People like hearing stories, and you can use that to your advantage with a narrative that gets your message and brand across to your target audiences.

2. Develop Your Brand Identity

Your product can leave a lasting impression on your customers even after they make the purchase and your brand identity shapes that impression.  

For instance, when someone mentions M&M’s, you’ll immediately think of those red and yellow button-shaped characters frequently shown in their commercials.

Through their iconic characters and marketing campaigns, M&M’s brand personality presents their product as fun, creative, and witty, plus, it’s something that people can easily relate with. 

There are plenty of ways to put a “face” to your brand, but one of the best ways to establish your identity is through your logo

If you’re on a tight budget, you can use online logo generators to help design your logo, or you can hire professional designers to do it for you.

Here’s a tip: If you want to tap into the creativity of the people on the internet, you can get your logo through design services such as LogoMyWay Designers.    

Through the service, you can run a logo design contest and select the best design of your choice. 

Your logo is also crucial for your other marketing efforts – such as using it for your ecommerce website and ads – since customers associate it with your brand and products. 

When designed appropriately, your logo can help you leave a good impression on your target audience, build trust with your potential customers, and ultimately lead them to buy. 

3. Create Interactive Content

In today’s digital age, there are many things to consider, such as building an effective business website, your customers’ needs, and the latest trends. 

More and more people prefer using visual mediums to communicate and interact. 

Thus, you need to shift your brand awareness strategies to cater to this kind of customer preference and improve how your customers interact with your brand.    

An excellent strategy to engage your target audience is through interactive content like videos.

With videos, you can create interactive and fun product demos that show your target audiences how to use your products and the benefits they can get.

For example, makeup brand FentyBeauty posts “Tutorial Tuesdays with Rihanna” on their YouTube channel, which shows viewers makeup looks that you can do with their products.

This is a great way to engage your target audience, offer them value that your products can give, and raise your brand awareness by giving them a unique experience with your brand.

Also, through videos, you can convey your message creatively and interactively that help make your target audiences feel like you’re talking to them personally, which helps you build a relationship with them.    

4. Run Social Media Contests

With social media, running a contest to boost your brand visibility can be easier now more than ever. 

Picture this.

You’re scrolling through Instagram to see what your favorite celebrities are up to and suddenly you find a post that asks viewers to “tag a friend” to win a contest. 

That got your attention, right?

From scrolling through your newsfeed, you’re suddenly interested in the brand, what the contest is all about, and what you can win.  

Now imagine applying that same strategy to your target audiences. 

With a social media contest, you can draw your target audience’s attention to your brand without being too promotional.  

It’s also a good marketing tactic because it offers the chance of getting value with the least amount of effort. 

After all, who wouldn’t want to win a contest just by sharing a post and tagging a friend, right?

You can use hashtags like #tagafriend for your social media contests, have the social media influencers your work with share the post, and run your it across your multiple social accounts.

That being said, social media contests can spread like wildfire, which makes them effective marketing tactics for your brand visibility throughout your social media accounts. 

If you want to target specific audiences or know the kind of content that they are looking for, you can use social media monitoring tools to improve your social marketing efforts.

Social media contests are also highly effective at creating user-generated content (UGC) from customers, which holds a lot of marketing power. In one study, consumers say they trust other people’s recommendations more than they believe in curated content by marketers.

That is why UGC is essential for any business’s marketing campaigns. Whenever you promote a new product or seasonal brand custom packaging, generate a buzz around it by organizing a social media contest where customers create content featuring the product.

What’s Next? 

Building your brand awareness for your ecommerce business requires more than just the strategies in this post. 

However, by employing these techniques, you are on the right track to raising your brand visibility, building trust with your target audience, and establishing relationships with your potential customers.

Legal BrandingLocal Branding

Top 7 Jobs Where You Can Help People

There are a lot of Australians who find helping others to be a high priority. They do their day jobs and use the money that they earn this way to help others by donating or funding certain organizations. Others wait for their day off in order to volunteer at a charity organization. However, what if you didn’t have to lead a double life? What if your main source of income was also in agreement with your life-long passion for helping others? For all those who have asked the same question, here are the top seven jobs where you can help people on a daily basis.

1. Counselor

There are many different ways in which counseling people can help them turn their life around. For instance, you can become a substance abuse counselor. You could also specialize in becoming a behavioral disorder counselor. Other than helping people with problems of these formats, you can also opt for becoming a career guidance counselor and help people figure out what they want from life. Either way, through education, you’ll acquire the knowledge necessary to help others. By honing these skills, you’ll drastically increase your ability to help them out.

2. Teacher

Pursuing a career in education is a noble call which is probably best described in Taylor Mali’s poem “What Teachers Make” (they make a difference). Skilled teachers can not only help one unlock their full potential but also help people develop a passion for learning, which is a trait that will benefit them throughout their life. Language teachers can help them peek into a whole new world of literature, jokes, wordplay and new contacts. Either way, regardless of the field you opt for, you’ll definitely be making a difference.

3. Healthcare

Working in the field of healthcare is one of the most upfront ways to help others. The best thing about it lies in the fact that there’s so much room for specialization. For instance, you can become a hospital nurse or a nurse that specializes in taking care of the elderly or people with special needs. The last two especially leave some room open for alternative employment options. For instance, you could look for work in retirement villages or find individuals who need your help. The demand for professionals is widespread and you can even narrow down your search to a luxurious retirement village in Central Coast.

4. Nutritionist

Being a nutritionist is about more than helping people lose weight. It’s about helping them learn how to improve their health on their own, as well as how to better understand their own nutrition habits. What you need to bear in mind is the fact that being a nutritionist is a job that requires constant self-improvement. This is because there are new studies emerging every year, as well as due to the fact that dietary supplements that are flooding the market are getting more and more numerous. Some of them are incredibly beneficial but it takes an expert to learn how to tell the good from the bad.

5. Personal trainer

Other than being a nutritionist, you can also help people by becoming a personal trainer. This, however, is not an easy thing. First of all, you need to understand that your own body is your own best self-promotion tool. Second, you need to learn a thing or two about warmup, safety, and recovery. This is the only way in which you can protect your clients and deliver reliable results. Finally, you need to become a psychologist and motivational speaker, at the same time. This is in order to help people give their very best.

6. Artist

Sometimes, the way in which you help others doesn’t have to be direct or conventional. Think about it, what people need after a hard day is a mental getaway and the best way for them to receive it is through art. This is why becoming an artist is one of the best ways to help, not just individuals, but humanity as a whole. Becoming a photographer, a writer, a musician or a designer has never been easier. This is due to the availability of online tools and platforms that specialize in these fields.

7. First responder

For those who need to see the immediate effects of their actions, those who want to do something more physical and those who aren’t afraid to risk their lives to help others, becoming a first responder is always an option. There’s nothing nobler than being a firefighter, an emergency medical responder or a police officer. Keep in mind, however, that this is only for those who have the strongest will and determination. Images that you see in the line of duty are not something that will leave you once you head home. Still, someone has to do it, so why not you?

Conclusion

At the end of the day, like with any other career choice, you have to choose what is best for you. This is why you have to be as honest as possible and try to understand your own needs and wants. Not everyone is built for the above-listed seven career paths. Fortunately, there’s plenty of other options out there for you to choose from, even if none of the above-discussed items suit you. 

SaaS Branding

5 Tips To Help You Build A SaaS Business

Validate Your Idea

It doesn’t matter what kind of software product you are interested in creating, everything starts with an initial idea. It is always a bonus to be original. However, the success of your Saas business will mainly depend on the quality level of your software system as well as the market need for the product you want to develop. After all, insufficient consumer interest in a product is the main reason why 42 percent of all startup businesses fail.

Imagine that you want to launch a beacon proximity marketing platform for medium- and small-sized retail businesses. What is your plan for it? The first thing you should consider is a feature set that can help you stand out from your competitors (which includes some high-profile vendors including Beaconstack, Swirl, Moca, and Google) and get multiple use cases created for your product. The second thing you should do is determine the number of companies that actually use beacons and figure out what their pain points are (being unable to measure customer satisfaction and engagement, high volumes of sensor data, and the high cost of getting a dedicated mobile app developed, etc.). 

You should also address the concerns of shoppers: 64 percent of consumers choose not to opt into in-store tracking due to potential infringement of their privacy and message overload. You probably realize at this point that it is simply a dead-end to get hung up with proximity marketing. Is your product able to address needs such as monetization of beacon-generated information and smart asset management? Does it make sense for you to have a dedicated app created that supports your analytics platform (and try to challenge giants such as RetailMeNot)? Find it is a good idea to develop an MVP, gather feedback from customers, read our guide on SaaS KPIs, and adapt the scope if necessary. 

Develop Your Monetization Strategy

Although a majority of Saas companies prefer giving their product away for free to get a solid user base established, more forward-thinking SaaS entrepreneurs like Chris Savage (Wistia) and Tom Kuzler (Aweber) recommend that you start out using a paid plan, and then study consumer behavior, get your product polished, and then proceed to offer a freemium without running into the risk of underpricing your SaaS product. Having a small amount of paying customers (and lots of time to spend on your customer service) is an excellent way to keep advancing your business, get your product tailored to the needs of your customers and retain users.

Develop a Strong Tech Team

Let’s return to the beacon analytics platform: There are other similar Saas offerings (the joint project by Swirl and Mist, for example) that incorporate innovative technology such as virtual beacons, machine learning algorithms for analyzing sensor data, GPS tracking solutions, mobile SDKs that allow customers to connect current mobile applications with the system, and Cloud-based business intelligence apps.

Therefore, you need to develop a strong and skilled in-house team (six to eight senior and middle developers) for handling software development as well as ongoing maintenance for several months in a row – and it may take years for trails to be converted into paying customers. To eliminate or reduce insurance costs and office space and obtain access to new pools of talent, EU and US SaaS entrepreneurs frequently hire overseas software developers (with Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe heading the list of the most popular destinations for outsourcing). Also, going offshore is an excellent way to lower your software development costs (which can be an issue for startup companies that are on a shoestring budget). That said, your team needs to have a CTO – otherwise, you may have a difficult time raising enough VC capital for your business.

Keep UX In Mind When Creating High-Performance Software

Be careful with Fixed Price contract. You will most likely need to make changes to the scope of your project. The only that you can ensure cost-effectiveness and flexibility is to choose the Time and Material pricing model.

Second, it is a good idea to partner up with a leading Drupal/WordPress/IoT/mobile development services company with an impressive portfolio and then stay hands-on with the entire project. Don’t underestimate a UI design’s power: a few years ago there were three experienced nurses who failed to determine how to set a medication reminder set up properly and as a result, a patient was dehydrated to death. Your customers are non-technical people who expect user-training videos, short registration forms, clear calls to action, and contextual menus. As long as your customers are able to solve setup-related issues without having to speak with a customer support specialist, then that means you have done a great job.

Market Your Product Correctly

You should actually start to market your SaaS solution well before your product goes live. Get a good explainer video and landing page created. Launch a Facebook or Google AdWords campaign to drive traffic over to your website. Another good idea is to get several informative articles published on your corporate website as well as reputable third-party websites that highly the benefits that your product offers. It also can help to get involved with startup events and get press coverage from some leading IT portals. Spread the word as much as possible and you will be successful.   

How Can You Start a Successful SaaS Business?

You are probably thinking that it’s going to cost you a fortune to get a decent SaaS product developed and years to recover your marketing and software development expenses.

Before giving up on your SaaS business, you should read this incredible Kissmetric posts written by Ryan Shank who was able to develop a SaaS business (analytics and call tracking software) for under $40,000. In particular, I want to compliment the decision made by Mr. Shan to contract a company employed developer (instead of freelance software engineers who don’t always have the necessary PM skills and expertise to ensure your project is delivered in a smooth manner).

Then there is Dropbox. This multi-billion company took a non-traditional approach to MVP development. They created an inexpensive but highly informative and creative explainer video which helped the company grow its beta waiting list overnight from 5,000 up to 75,000 users.

As long as you are able to come up with a fresh concept, develop your software project requirements that are based on feedback from customers, and get a reliable vendor contracted for creating an MVP, then you should be able to get angle funding to raise money via Kickstarter. Then follow up using the tips provided above!

Digital Branding

How to Reset WordPress Website with WP Reset Plugin?

We all know how difficult it is to reset a WordPress database completely. If you are looking for options to instantly reset your WordPress website and are a non-developer who is trying their best to manage their WordPress development, the WP Reset Plugin is your ideal companion. We know that tasks like Debugging, testing and developing often raise the requirement of hiring an experienced developer which might be not feasible or possible at all times. This is where the WP Reset plugin is going to help you out.

The WP Reset plugin is specially designed by developers for the non-developers to help them debug, test, and develop the features of their website. In short, the plugin is pretty helpful for the plugin and theme developers.

The Functions of the WP Reset plugin

The WP Reset plugin is a fast, secure, and premium WordPress development tool. This plugin serves to help you instantly reset your WordPress installation. Once installed, the plugin quickly resets the site’s database to the default installation values. It speeds up testing and debugging by providing a quick way to reset settings and re-test code.

As opposed to the common action where a reset often causes the loss of data which was not intended, the WP Reset plugin has its multiple fail-safe mechanisms in place to protect from this accidental loss of data. Here is a detailed breakdown of what the WP Reset plugin resets and what elements it skips.

  • The reset deletes all customizations and content but does not modify any files. 
  • The Reset will delete all posts, pages, custom post types, comments, media entries, users
  • The Reset deletes all default WP database tables
  • The Reset deletes all custom database tables that have the same prefix table prefix as the one defined in wp-config.php and used by default tables
  • The Reset does not delete any media files. These media files remain in the wp-uploads folder untouched but will no longer be listed under Media in admin
  • The Reset does not fiddle with any files, plugins, themes, uploads 
  • The site title, WordPress address, site address, site language, and search engine visibility settings remain
  • All the currently logged in users are restored with the current username and password after the reset

Setting up the WP Reset Plugin

Setting up the WP Reset plugin is a very easy process. Here are the directives: 

  • Open WordPress admin > Plugins > Click ‘Add New’
  • Enter “wp reset” in search and locate the plugin. 
  • Click “Install Now”
  • Now activate this plugin
  • Access WP Reset admin page via the “Tools” menu

You can also upload the WP Reset plugin manually:

  • Download the plugin version from downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/wp-reset.latest-stable.zip
  • Now you must unzip this and upload to /wp-content/plugins/
  • Go to WordPress admin > Plugins > “WP Reset”
  • Click “Activate” 
  • Open plugin’s admin page located under the Tools menu

Once you are in the zone to reset your WordPress website in an instant, you can click the ‘Reset’ button after setting up this plugin. Once you click on the ‘Reset’ button, the plugin will ask you to confirm the action. You will find the two options; ‘NO’ and ‘UNDO’ button. However, once you click on the ‘Reset’ button, the actual Reset will take place.

Features of the WP Reset Plugin

The WP Reset plugin comes with some great features to help you work with full-fledged features. Let’s check them out.

1. One-Click Site Reset: The plugin makes website resetting such an easy task with its one-click site reset experience. All you need to do is click on the reset button to reset your WordPress website instantly.

2. Post-Reset Setup: The WP Reset plugin remains an absolute favorite for its users because after resetting the database, it reactivates all your themes and plugins.

3. WP-CLI Compatible: If you are someone who is looking to speed up their process, then the WP-CLI support is of great use to you. You can access the WP-CLI commands of the plugin via wp help reset.

4. Database Snapshots: You can employ the database snapshot feature of this WP Reset plugin to save some demo data or custom tables before resetting your site if you would like. You can use snapshots to find out what changes a plugin made to your database. This feature also helps you restore the development environment after testing database related changes.

5. Database Diff Viewer: Using this feature, you can find with one click if any plugin or theme has changed anything with the database. You can find complete information through the visual representation of the data.

6. Selective Reset Tools: The plugin lets you partially reset certain elements such as choosing to reset only transients, plugins, themes, custom DB tables, wp-uploads folder, .htaccess file or your site’s media. You can also delete .htaccess file. If you are looking to edit .htaccess without FTP, you can use the free WP Htaccess Editor plugin.

7. Webhooks Integration: WP Reset is fully integrated with WP Webhooks plugin. The Webhooks plugin lets you connect your WP to any 3rd party systems and enables you to initiate actions both from WPs end.

8. Plugins & Themes Collections: Once you are done with the reset, you can collectively install your favorite plugins & themes using this plugin. Just make sure that you already have a collection of these themes and plugins.

9. Multisite (WP-MU) Support: If you are going to be using this plugin for resetting your multisite, you can carefully do that with the sub-sites.

10. In-house Support: The support facility for this plugin is top-notch. Hence, if you ever get stuck, you will be able to ask your questions and have them resolved.

11. WP Version: The WP Reset plugin also lets you downgrade or upgrade WordPress to the older or a new version with just one click. In this manner, you will be able to test your themes or plugins on various WP versions.

The plugin is also testing a ‘Nuclear Reset’ feature. The onset of this feature will help you delete all files, all custom database entries, and tables. This feature is still under development.

You can download the WP Reset plugin, here.