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Digital Branding

Seeing the Red Flags: How to Spot Fake Printing Businesses Online

Steven on August 12, 2019

https://www.pexels.com/photo/coward-cowardly-crime-cyber-crime-271078/

There is no denying that the Internet has made doing business easier, more convenient, and faster. However, the sad fact is that while you also want to ensure that all that speed and convenience also comes with safety and security issues. There are so many websites that are scams, fraudulent, or fake. The ease and speed of the Internet has given rise to so many cybercrimes that it has ballooned into a $1.5 trillion (yes, with a “T”) industry.

There are many types of cybercrimes, such as third-party content injection (where external parties can “inject” content into your system where you connect to unsecured WiFi connections), fraud ($40 brand new iPad anyone?), or most commonly, phishing.

What is Phishing, exactly?

Phishing is a type of cybercrime where a scammer will try to gain your sensitive information, particularly financial information, by providing false pretenses. There are various methods of phishing, such as sending out fake emails about your bank account getting hacked, or websites asking you to “validate” your account. Usually these messages have a link attached that will lead you to another website where you will enter your financial information, thus making it available to the scammer. These messages will often appear as legitimate emails from banks, online payment portals, or other financial companies, luring you into a false sense of security.

When you try to buy checks online, you are a prime target for these scammers because you will need to provide your financial information in order to complete the ordering process!

How Can I Protect Myself?

While there is no 100% guaranteed method of protecting yourself from scammers online, there are ways to avoid websites that can make you a more vulnerable target. Here are some tell-tale signs that you can look out for, and if you see even one of them, you should immediately close that window.

The URL is your first clue

You might think that a suspicious URL would be a dead giveaway, but you would be shocked how many people don’t take the time to actually check the address bar when they visit various websites. Trusted and reliable websites will have a URL that begins with “https://” and there is a small padlock icon on the right side of the address bar. Google will even do a lot of the work for you; if the site is safe and trusted, it will highlight the URL in green. If there is something suspicious about the URL, it highlights the whole address bar in red and you might even get a warning message!

There’s even a concept called “The Line of Death”, which is an idea that an Internet user should not trust anything below a certain point on your browser, as it is easy for a scammer to make the website appear legitimate. In the case of websites where you will give sensitive financial information, the “Line of Death” is as early as the address bar.

Trust seals should be available

Many companies that handle sensitive financial information for their clients will go out of their way to show that they invest in their security protocols, so you will most likely find trust seals on top of their website. These can include logos from trusted anti-virus companies such as McAfee or Norton, or even an accreditation from the Better Business Bureau. However, it is also quite easy to just copy-paste these seals into a website’s layout, so make sure to click on these seals to see if they are legitimate.

The content CAN be a red flag

In the past, it was quite easy to spot a website that was fraudulent. These websites often used stock images, the layout was cheap, and the grammar of the content was horrible. These days, however, scammers have gotten more sophisticated, and you can find fraudulent websites that are difficult to distinguish from the real thing at a glance. If you are in doubt (some websites do use generic images and content while still being actual businesses), try looking for other details such as a physical address for the business, contact numbers, a policy page, or customer reviews. Most scam websites won’t go as far these details because they simply won’t have the time, manpower, or resources to create such a detailed scam website. They want to be able to scam as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time, so they go for quantity over quality.

Google can be your best friend

Google can be a useful, if not completely foolproof, tool in determining if a website is legitimate or not. You can use their Google Safe Browsing Transparency feature. Simply copy-paste the URL of the website in question, and Google will give you an idea whether or not you can trust a website. However, the simplest way is still the most basic way: if in doubt, just close your browser and look for another website.

Digital Branding

Essential KPIs that Matter to Savvy Social Media Managers

Steven on August 11, 2019

This post is contributed by Olu Bunmi.

Social media managers must master and monitor certain essential key performance indicators (KPIs) for more effective social media management, which encompasses the process of strategizing, creating, and managing content and interactions across social networks.

Doing this per network can be time-consuming and confusing without measurable KPIs, and given several such indicators, social media managers must decide which ones align most with their business goals. This would inform what strategy, approach, and platforms will be most effective.

In this post, we’ll be highlighting seven (7) such social media KPIs that should inform your social media marketing strategy and help you improve productivity, results, and ROI for your business ASAP, but first

https://pixabay.com/photos/twitter-facebook-together-292988/

What is Social Media KPIs?

Social media KPIs are social media metrics that measure the performance of your social media activities. Some of these are vanity metrics that do not really impact your bottom line but are measured simply because they’re measurable.

Recently, Instagram announced it will be hiding the number of likes from the public in selected countries as a test case. The aim is to get users to focus more on engagement than the number of likes. If your entire Instagram marketing revolves around a number of likes, for instance, you may need to start considering other ways to get more Instagram followers to grow your business for social commerce purposes.

This brings us to

The Evolution of Social Commerce

In the early 90’s, retail websites were like mere online product brochures with limited accessibiility and functionality, cahracterized by poor UI and UX. The term ‘Social Commerce’ was coined in 2005.

These days, social commerce has evolved and improved and differs from social media marketing. As a social media manager, understanding this difference will most likely be the difference between just promoting brand visibility and actually making sales.

Creating online brand awareness with the aim of creating visibility and driving traffic to your social media page is social media marketing. This does not guarantee sales, even though it promotes sales. Direct sales resulting from social media marketing is social commerce because at this point, you can measure ROI.

Social Media Marketing by the Numbers

Statista reports that social media global penetration rate is now 45%. Meaning nearly half the world’s population or 3.48billion people are on social media, growing the worldwide total by 288 million (9%) since this time last year.

As of Q4 2018, Facebook had 2.32 billion monthly active users.
As at April 2019, Instagram had over 1billion monthly active users.
Youtube currently has 1.9 billion monthly logged in users

This shows how social media is shrinking global space and creating opportunities for large scale commerce for businesses.

Furthermore,

95% of young adults between the ages of 18-34 are most likely to follow a brand on social media
Currently, there are over 60 million businesses using Facebook Pages
6 million of these businesses use Facebook Ads.
78% of people who complain to a brand via Twitter always expect and receive a response within an hour.
On Instagram, top brands get to see a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21% which is 58 times higher than on Facebook and 120 times higher than on Twitter.
90% of Instagram users are less than 35 years old, making it the best social media platform to target millenials, etc

Why Businesses Need a Social Media Strategy in Place

Without a social media strategy in place you’d be beating about the social media bush. As more businesses go online, your competition increases as evident in the foregoing statistics. To stay ahead of the game, you will need an effective social media marketing strategy that will boost visibility, sales and customer satisfaction.

To implement your social media strategy, you’ll need a platform.

Here’s how to pick the right social network for your kind of business:

Identify your audience and their favorite social networks with the highest engagement. You can identify your targeted audience by studying their demography, which includes their age range, gender, income and social trends that interest them.
Identify the resources needed for a successful social marketing plan, bearing in mind that each social media platform is unique. This will ensure that your business goals and network align.

Next step is to find a good social media manager who can help coordinate and implement your social media strategy.

Following are seven (7) key areas to judge your social media manager’s performance

7 Essential KPIs For Savvy Social Media Managers

Measurable metrics generally vary per network, some are similar. Following are 7 key social media KPIs you should watch:

Audience Growth Rate

This indicates how fast your brand is growing. This can be tracked by identifying the number of new followers for the month divided by the number of your total audience. If you’re currently focusing on Instagram, here’re smart ways to get more Instagram followers.

Click Through Rate

The number of clicks on links you post show how eye catching the title and images in your posts are. This typically shows if it got the attention of your audience. You can calculate this by dividing the number of link clicks you have by the number of people who have seen the post.

Likes

This also shows how interesting your content was, and it helps in favoring your page visibility for platform algorithms. Instagram is currently experimenting with hiding likes from the public to encourage more engagement.

Shares

Shares indicate that your posts are interesting enough to warrant recommendation, and this can be used to measure your virality rate by dividing the number of people who shared your post by the number of people who saw it. This also shows your amplification rate. Also note the number of mentions you get, for virality.

Comments

Note that relevant content sparks conversations and engagement is one of the top areas you should pay attention to on social media. Engagement is often evident in the comment section. Authentic engagement means you’re doing a lot of things right.

Reviews/Feedbacks

Customer testimonials help to build trust and credibility for your brand. You can also measure this by creating a survey to evaluate customer satisfaction with your products or services.

Impressions/Profile Visits

Although not every social network displays the number of new people who visit your profile, most do, and this will tell you how well all other factors above have influenced people who heard of, or came across your brand to check it out. It shows you your reach.

Conclusion

As a social media manager, the success or failure of your social media strategy or campaigns largely depend on you. Knowing what to and how to measure this success or failure rate (progress) is key. Let us know which social media metrics or KPI matter most to you.

Author Bio:

Olu Bunmi is a freelance writer who loves to write business, ecommerce, entrepreneurship and social media content.

Digital Branding

Handling Of Crisis Management

Steven on August 11, 2019

In your company, a crisis is an event or circumstance that alters the regular dynamics of business processes. Appearing unexpectedly, crises can come from both internal and external factors. Industrial or occupational accidents, strikes, problems in customer service, product failures, or policy changes might produce internal crises while changing economic policies, social changes, or natural phenomena outside the control of the organization might upset a company as well and require crisis management.

Such moments of difficulty are natural in any company, and it is important to understand how to identify a crisis in your company. Before a negative event upsets the normal flow of business, becomes public, and threatens to harm the brand, it is time to activate crisis management techniques before the crisis calls into question the image of the company in front of consumers.

An administrator should know that no matter how bad the situation is, it can always get worse. By applying such proactive techniques, the company does not destabilize after that event.

One of the first questions that usually arise is: “Should you speak or remain silent about the situation?” Poorly conducted communication in times of crisis, with misconceived statements, will enhance what is already ruined, but choosing to keep quiet is usually not an option in crisis management. If the company doesn’t speak out about something that is obviously happening, journalists can write whatever they want.

Employ Crisis Management Techniques

When Is The Best Time To Act?

When situations arise that break down the normal functioning of the organization, it is time to immediately proceed to implement business crisis management tips such as those offered at www.PR360.com to develop strategies.

Once the importance of having excellent business crisis management strategies is understood, the next step is to design your plan. Given this, several questions may arise, such as: what factors should you consider? What should you do first? Who makes decisions? What resources do you need?

The management of business crises includes all the actions or measures taken to address the different scenarios to be presented at three different moments along a timeline:

The pre-crisis or prevention stage
The crisis
The post-crisis or recovery stage

Pre-crisis is the most crucial stage because all possible risk scenarios are projected here. You should analyze your strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats. This will develop strategies, that is, a Pr 360 Business Crisis Management Plan.

In this first stage, Pr360 should follow the following steps:

Evaluation And Identification

It is recommended to audit possible known risks. An activity or production process can perform risk analysis by conversion-based PR Agency. It is also feasible to conduct drills and exercises with different scenarios.

Crisis Committee

After identifying the risks, you need to assemble a committee chaired by the top executives of the organization and composed of those responsible for the areas involved. The makeup of the committee signals that you are serious about addressing the problems and ensures that the committee has the authority to develop policies to handle them.

Prepare the Business Crisis Management Plan

After completing the previous steps, a strategic plan is drawn up. This must contain a description of all the processes and the risks identified, and instructions and procedures to follow to address each emergency.

Apply The Plan

After the pre-crisis stage, and once the corresponding plan has been developed, you will have a tool with defined strategies to deal with any emergency, with specific specifications for each moment of its development.

Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Business Crisis Plan

Crises are seldom solitary events. To be better prepared for the future, your plan should contain mechanisms to measure the effectiveness of your actions. If you properly manage the crisis, you will be in better shape to identify and respond to future disruptions that are a part of running a business.

Top Tips For Handling A PR Crisis

It’s a worst-case scenario that can befall even the most prestigious organization: a public relations crisis. From a string of bad reviews to a serious financial scandal, a negative incident can have a powerful impact on a company’s reputation — no matter how small or diplomatic it is. That’s why it’s critical for every business to have a reaction plan in place. Here are some do’s and don’ts when navigating a PR crisis.

In today’s digital age, news can go viral almost instantly. The implementation of a swift and effective crisis management plan is essential. An organization should address the issue head-on, whether it’s with an apology, an explanation or an announcement. If an immediate, informative response is not possible, the business should at least communicate that it’s looking into the issue and give a reason as to why there will be a delay. Above all else, it’s important to take responsibility for what happened.

Before sending representatives to address the media, make sure they fully understand the response strategy and are given enough information to answer questions. If time allows, set up a practice session to ensure they are prepared. Emphasize that the company’s message must be consistent across multiple channels.

Refrain from saying “no comment,” as these are two of the most damaging words in PR. Shutting down communication leaves a gap for others to fill, and what they say may be worse than the truth. If an organization is waiting for more information, it should let the public know that it is working on a response or a reaction to the situation.

For more tips on how to handle a PR crisis, see the accompanying infographic.

News Exposure provides a variety of media monitoring services, including TV broadcast monitoring.

Personal Branding

Need an additional source of income? The best Home-Based Business Opportunity

Steven on August 11, 2019

The best home-based business opportunity, through Big Ear Inc., means that you become a provider for Big Ear, a company that offers ear protection. This home-based business opportunity will add an additional source of income while you try to make ends meet, or if you want to have disposable income. The provider for this home-based business opportunity is the ideal position if you like to socialize and sell important products.

Big Ear Inc sells two main types of ear plugs: Solid Ear Plugs, and Custom-Fit Earplugs. They are called Big Ears, and, as a provider, you will play a role in the selling of each.

Provider

Your best home-based business opportunity starts with becoming a provider, which sells Big Ear hearing protection products. The provider will also be active in the community, enjoy socializing, and with produce Big Ear Solid Earplugs. During your time as a provider, you will:

Take impressions of ears. The process is simple. You will take a cast of a customer’s ear, collect their money, and then mail the impression to Big Ear Inc. Your client will have their earplugs within 21 business days. More importantly, you’ll get paid for your role in the process. You will also not be involved in any part of guaranteeing the warranty, which will make your role easier.
MakeSolid Ear Plugs. This process is quick. In 45 minutes, you can make your client a pair of Sold Ear Plugs. You can also make multiple sets at once.
Spreadthe word of the importance of hearing protection. This is how providers give back to the community. By spreading the word, many clients, neighbors, and friends will be spared from having tinnitus and other hearing damage. As a provider, you will make your community healthier.
Have a local presence. Network, network, network! Without having a solid network of clientele locally, you will not make a lot of money. Having a local presence is key to building up the number of clients that you cater to in a given week, month, or year.

Extra Income

If Big Ear accepts you as a provider, you are well on your way to making money. As a provider, you are given franchise rights to sell Big Ear products. In this part of the best home-based business opportunity around, you can earn extra money from:

Taking impressions of ears for filtered ear plugs. Simply take a cast of your client’s ears, collect their money, and mail the impression to Big Ear Inc. The company will take care of the rest, and your client will have a set of ear plugs within 21 days.
Producing Big Ear Solid Ear Plugs. The process takes only 45 minutes. Since multiple sets can be created at once, the more sets you make, the more money you make as a provider.

Travel

Since a provider will need to travel in connection with their job, that means that all travel can be written off on taxes, making it the best home-based business opportunity around. Providers will take road trips to places such as trade shows, sporting venues, boating shows, and any other venue where hearing protection may be needed. The best part is, it’s all deductible on taxes, which will put even more money in your pocket. A provider will travel to some of these locations:

Trade Show Events. Trade shows deal with a variety of topics. Whether it’s technology, the latest sporting gear, or any other event, Big Ears are relevant in almost all of these trade shows. And, you’ll get a tax deduction just for selling your products! The Solid Earplugs are the best sellers at trade shows.
Sporting Venues. Do you like seeing your favorite team play? How about selling Big Ears? How would you like to do both AND get a tax deduction? This is what Big Ear offers.
Boating Shows. Do you like boats? Do you like making money? How about selling Big Ears while enjoying boating? How about it all being tax-deductible? This is why this home-based business opportunity is a must.

Helping the Community

As a provider, you have the opportunity to make this the best home-based business opportunity around as it will allow you to give back to the community. By spreading the word of how important hearing protection is, you will help many community members preserve their hearing. You will also help them prevent hearing loss or damage, such as tinnitus or partial deafness.

A Full Inventory

Nothing is more embarrassing than trying to sell an earplug, only to find out that you don’t have it in stock. Big Ear Inc. will make sure that you are not shorthanded when it comes to earplugs. You will have a wholesale list of products, from mixed martial arts (MMA) earplugs to college marching band earplugs, all at your disposal. These earplugs are also high-margin earplugs, meaning they are the most requested and relevant, so you won’t have to try in vain to sell them, making the best home-based business opportunity even better.

Your inventory will include earplugs from the hottest markets, including:

Industrial earplugs
Motorcycling earplugs
Aviation earplugs
Sports earplugs
Swimming Earplugs
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) earplugs
Biking Earplugs
Marching Band Earplugs

Exclusive Rights

Finally, the provider will have exclusive territorial rights in which to sell. This means that no other person can become a provider who also lives in your area. This will apply both to your production of Solid Ear Plugs, and the taking of impressions for Big Ear Custom Fit Products. Thus, you will have no competition with someone locally, and be able to maximize your profit.

With all of these benefits, this is a must. You can protect the hearing of those you love, go on road trips, and manufacture hearing protection, all from the comfort of your home and community. It is certainly worth a look!

Your clients will love your products. You will love your additional income. This will be your best home-based business opportunity yet!

Legal Branding Local Branding

5 Inexpensive Ways to Market Your Business

Steven on August 11, 2019

Every business owner is always looking for two things: growing their business and saving money. It would be great if everyone simply came in and gave volunteer hours or 100 million people suddenly decided that they needed to buy your products.

Marketers are always trying to make sure they are at the top of their game and looking for new ways to improve their brand. Tactics are changing constantly and what may work one month isn’t going to work the next.

While you may never receive Shark Tank like exposure either, there are surefire ways where you can successfully grow and market your business without breaking the bank.

Social Media

Social media is king these days. People get their news from social media, communicate with one another and use their profiles to promote businesses and products.

The good news for you is that creating a social media page is 100% free. There’s no subscription service, up-front payment or money you have to commit. Making your business’ social media page is quite easy.

Now, you can do paid promotions for your business which are much cheaper than traditional advertising. With social media, you’ll want to make sure you’re consistently updating your page. That could be with photos, news on sales or links to your company’s website.

Just remember to keep it updated and fresh, so people won’t be trying to figure out if you’re still in business or not.

Networking

It’s a tale as old as time, but word of mouth and old-fashioned networking can do wonders for your business. You never know if that person at the convention, your neighbor or your friend’s cousin can help you or vice versa.

You don’t have to be that person who is whipping out their business card at every single minute, passing it around and making sure everyone knows who you are. You can be the kind and the cordial person who isn’t afraid to talk about themselves, up to a certain point.

Cross-Promotions

There are plenty of businesses out there who are direct competitors and others who can simply go together. Don’t you think the CEOs of Peanut Butter and Jelly love working together?

In all seriousness, cross-promotions are a great way to promote your business while helping others. If you run a tour business, you can put your information in local restaurants while you let them print their information in your tour packet.

Look for other business and workplaces that can offer you a symbiotic relationship. It also helps to have plenty of referrals out there as well!

Direct Emailing

Making a newsletter is a simple way to keep your customers involved in what is going on with any sales or promotions.

Just have customers give you their email address upon purchase or completion of services and voila! You’ve just found a surefire way to keep in contact with your customers for as long as you want.

Whether you may your newsletter weekly or monthly, make sure you’re consistent so you have constant feedback and outreach with existing customers and maybe even reach some new ones.

Giveaways

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that would turn down something that was being given to them for free. That’s why you can offer put on various promotions and giveaways with your business.

You can do it through social media or your storefront. Have people like, comment and share your latest announcement to enter into a drawing. You could be doing a buy one, get one free with your store.

Pass out items at trade shows or conventions to have your name and logo circulating out there as much as possible.

Local Media

If you’re local, one of the ways to easily promote yourself is through local media. That can be a radio, TV or the newspaper. Local news is always looking for a story, and you can all and ask them to talk about your business.

It’s an easy way to not only talk about yourself but to make sure your business is being put in front of hundreds of eyes or ears. You don’t have to go on a blazing media trail, but just having something out there will help people become aware of what you’re doing and how they can reach you.

Digital Branding

The Most Efficient Ways to Make Money on Instagram

Steven on August 7, 2019

A lot of people are discovering the benefits of working on the internet. It would seem like being stuck in a dead-end job from 9 to 5 is not that appealing anymore. But you know what does sound attractive? Mastering Instagram and making it the sole source of income.

There are definitely more than one way on how to monetize Instagram, and if you are looking to get started yourself, this article is the perfect place to find some inspiration.

Start with Building an Audience

Before moving on to the methods, it is important to note one thing – your monetization will not come to fruition if you do not have enough followers and decent engagement. Instagram is all about those two.

Building account takes time, but that is not enough. You will also have to:

Optimize your profile by adding contact information in your bio. Consider including a couple of keywords and hashtags as well. It becomes much easier to find you on Instagram.
Keep to your schedule. If there are one or two days of no posts, that is not a big problem. Nevertheless, you should still try to post at least once or twice every day.
Quality images. Visuals play a very important part of Instagram. If your images are not looking great, you will lose credibility, especially in the long run. Get a camera if your smartphone is not good enough.

Your account will grow faster if you follow these tips. And once you have a hefty number of followers, you can move on to the monetization.

https://unsplash.com/photos/tMI2_-r5Nfo

Writing a Blog

Not a conventional method, but quite a few bloggers have moved on from a standard website blogging to Instagram. This behavior suggests that finding an audience here is easier. Even more so if you prefer to show off pictures instead of writing walls of text.

Monetizing a blog is pretty easy as well. You can promote other people’s products by mentioning them in your posts, or redirect your readers to an online store.

Influencing

Top influencers make thousands of dollars by posting a simple picture with themselves and a product.

Becoming an influencer is a lot of work, but not out of your reach. If you have a decent strategy and are willing to work towards this goal, it should become a reality sooner or later.

Dropshipping

Similar to blogging, a lot of entrepreneurs are finding Instagram to be another great channel of increasing sales. Since the audience which comes from organic traffic and social media is different, it is not that surprising to see such a behavior.

It does not mean that you need to have a website to start dropshipping. Instagram by itself is more than enough. Just make sure to not run out of content to post.

Affiliate Marketing

Putting shortened links in your posts and bio can bring money if you can convince your followers to click the link and make a purchase.

Affiliate marketing is different from influencing because your goal is to make a sale rather than try and raise brand awareness. Therefore, the words you use in posts will also change. Read this guide on affiliate marketing to make the most out of it.

Grow and Sell Accounts

After you get more experience with growing Instagram accounts, you can easily make a business out of it. A lot of people have no patience themselves and are looking to cut corners.

The internet is full of people who are willing to buy an account which already has thousands of followers. Try researching which niches are high in demand, and build a few accounts for sale.

Instagram Marketing

All those Instagram models in pictures are definitely not the ones who write the posts or edit videos. There is someone else behind it, and if you can learn Instagram marketing, that person could be you.

Showcase Your Products

There should be plenty of individuals who would be happy to purchase your products if you have a talent for creating something unique. A few of the most popular ideas would be:

High-quality pictures which could be used for promotional posters;
Handmade accessories or jewelry;
Custom-made phone cases, t-shirts, calendars.

Even a single post with something truly spectacular could create a snowball effect and give you more than enough customers for the future.

In summary, Instagram certainly creates more than enough opportunities for those who are willing to give it a try. Instead of hesitating, put these doubts aside and start. Even if you set extremely low expectations at first, you can build on from that to a point where making money becomes the easiest thing ever.

Digital Branding

How to Maximize Your Instagram Ads Strategy To Boost Your ROI Fast

Steven on August 6, 2019

Instagram is massive right now. Do you how huge is it these days?

Well, in 2019, IG’s ad revenue is set to hit a staggering 10.8 billion dollars. The platform generates that kind of revenue because they have over 2 million active advertisers.

Amazing, right?

So, what’s up with all the Instagram-mania? Instagram’s visually focused nature is a fantastic platform for brands who want to showcase their products and services. On the plus side, millions of Instagram users are actively seeking out brands that deliver the most visually stimulating experience.

So, how do you ensure that you maximize the platform? We’re breaking it up to five effective tactics on how you can maximize your ads strategy to boost your ROI, setting you off to the right direction in no time.

https://pixabay.com/photos/instagram-social-media-web-pages-1519537/

Research your customer interests

One of the first things that you should add on your list when developing a strategy is your target audience research. For you to be able to maximize Instagram’s greatness to the full, you need to start by knowing your audience first. Gaining valuable insight into their interests, preferences, and other behaviors pave the way to creating a successful Instagram strategy.

Think of your buyer’s persona. What’s the typical profile of an average customer that you want you market your products to? Then, check your Instagram demographics. By knowing key statistics such as age, gender, and their location, you’ll get your content out to your target audience using that data.

Deliver the type of material that most of your audience can relate to. Doing so shows that you care about the same things and have the same interests as your followers.

Leverage user-generated content

User-generated content, also known as UGC, is any form of content that’s created by users or past customers about a specific product or brand. The authenticity it creates makes the user one of the brand’s advertisers as well.

In a survey, almost 76% of individuals say that they trust a content more if ‘average’ people share it compared to a traditional advertisement. There’s no doubt that a vast majority of people believe the recommendations of others more.

UGC generates more engagement on Instagram and is critical to the success of brands in the platform. As more and more users engage in your material, your posts will be prioritized. As a result, more people will stumble upon your content on the Explore tab.

Building relationships with customers

Social media is here to stay, and it’s incredibly crucial that you build and foster relationships online, as it is in real life. According to VoyMedia, “By building meaningful relationships with your customers, they’ll eventually turn into the most loyal followers, sharing your products and services to their circle and other communities.”

So, you need to identify what your customers value about your products and services, as well as in their life. Actively engage with your followers, so that people will feel that they have someone whom they can personally talk to, or have a connection with.

Unlock the power of Instagram carousel

Until much recently, Instagram allowed users to post multiple images in a single post. These are known as image ‘carousels.’ Ever since it was released, brands and businesses are thinking of creative ways to incorporate them in their ad marketing strategy.

So, if you’re launching a new product or service, it’s an excellent way to drive your audience’s interest, and ultimately, sales.

What’s more, you can also incorporate photos with videos on your Instagram carousel to promote various campaigns. As you know, videos can covey extensive information in just a short amount of time. Therefore, it’s a great way to share product photos without saturating your feed or being over promotional about it.

Use the right hashtags

Why are hashtags so important? Well, they make your content a lot more discoverable and puts you in front of new users. But the challenge is finding the right amount of balance when it comes to choosing specific hashtags in your account.

Knowing the right hashtags to implement is essential. Study your competitors and other top influencers in the platform to find the best hashtags that work out for you. Find the ones that are relevant and trending. Also, get familiar with Instagram’s lingo and scour for evergreen hashtags. Making all of these a habit is vital.

Understand your CTA

Call-to-Action also known as CTAs, play a crucial role in directing people what to do next. Through CTAs, you can ask people to buy your product, get in touch with you, or visit your site.

However, not all of them are created equal. The key here is to be as creative as possible to encourage people to take action. Tease your followers, make them understand why they need your product, and help persuade customers to take action by using active language.

Additionally, injecting a sense of urgency will make your customers feel like they’re missing out if they don’t make immediate action. CTAs like ‘for a limited time only’ or ‘available to the first 150 customers’ never fail to work its magic.

Measure what’s important

Now that you have a good idea of what type of content you’ll be creating, you have to deal with metrics to help you track things. Measure the performance of your posts, as you find the ones that drive the most engagement.

As your numbers grow on Instagram, it makes sense to start checking the numbers and watch how it progresses. Tracking your Instagram metrics will give you insight with what’s working for your business to help your business and brand grow.

To wrap it up

There are a lot of opportunities to make your business flourish in the world of Instagram marketing. The good news is when it comes to boosting your ROI, you don’t need to have millions of followers. All you need to have is to develop a solid Instagram marketing strategy that helps connect your audience on a meaningful level as you meet their needs.

Digital Branding

5 Trends You NEED To Know About To Do SEO In 2019

Steven on August 4, 2019

If you’re just starting out with SEO it can be easy to get confused by the overload of information you can find on the internet. We’ve all been there, don’t worry. But everyone has to start somewhere, so why not start with something you know will work? If you’re just starting to get into SEO, there are some important things to know before you get started so you´re not stuck with outdated SEO tactics.

We sat down as a team and talked about the things that have changed over the course of 2019, what’s worked, and what hasn’t, and came up with a set of things you need to know if you’re going to be doing SEO for your website. For each of these topics, I could easily write an essay (and maybe I will!), but for now they’re a fantastic starting place if you’re looking to get really good at SEO in 2019.

1. Optimize For Mobile First For Great SEO In 2019

The mobile revolution is upon us, with Google leading the way. With a recent update to the search ranking system, Google now ranks websites based on their mobile versions first. This means that if your website isn’t ready for mobile users, your rankings overall are going to suffer.

With more people using mobile search than ever before (a whopping 57% of all web traffic!) there’s no reason not to optimize your website for mobile. In fact, these days it’s non-negotiable. If you want to rank well, you need to be catering to mobile users. The best way to start thinking about mobile-first is to consider your users. If you’re looking for something on your mobile phone, chances are you’ll want to get the information you’re looking for fast, without too much scrolling, zooming, or effort involved. Keep this in mind when you’re designing your website and you’ll already be a step ahead of most people

2. Write For Humans, Optimize For Search Engines

While having a lot of fresh content is important, if you’re not writing it for your audience specifically you may as well not be writing at all. In 2019, it’s not enough to just be writing content for keywords. Your blog articles, webpages, and all your other content has to be relevant to your users and their needs. Write your articles for people first, and focus on creating high-quality content that provides real value.

This kind of content is great for more than rankings. Leveraging top-tier content can get you links from other sites, influencers, and can land you opportunities for guest posting and outreach if you play your cards right.

To sum it all up: Write your content for people first. Optimize it for SEO second.

Do the first and the other often comes naturally, but a good balance of both will get you the best results.

3. Page Speed

Sometimes all your page might need a little TLC in the speed department. Meaning the speed your page loads at, and the speed at which people can find the information they’re looking for have to be quick. With the rise of mobile, people’s attention spans have been dropping. And with the freedom of choice the internet gives you, you’ve not got much time before your website visitors jump ship and visit the next site down the list. Your competitors.

Your website needs to be fast, with a load speed of under 5 seconds to stay competitive. Any longer and people start getting bored waiting and will close your site just to keep things moving. There are a dozen ways to increase the speed at which your page loads, but a lot of it comes down to optimizing images, code, and any website plugins you might have. Optimizing for page speed is integral to ranking well on SEO in 2019 and is a core ranking factor.

4. Think Like Your Users For Best SEO In 2019

While picking the right keywords for your website is always important, 2019 has shaped up to be the year of search intent. It’s not enough anymore to just find effective keywords that lead traffic to your site. You need to know what your users are searching for when they type something specific, and create your website and webpages to best answer their questions, and meet their needs.

Google takes into account bounce rates (how many users immediately leave a web page after clicking), page dwell time (how long a user spends on a page), content depth and length, along with a bunch of other factors when ranking pages. Understanding exactly what your visitors are looking for and tailoring your content and offerings to best answer those questions and searches goes a long way to ranking high on Google. If your SEO agency is not implementing these changes, please speak to them right away.

5. Jump On The Voice Search Bandwagon

If you’ve done any SEO stuff over the last year. there’s no way you haven’t heard someone talk about Voice Search. And if by some miracle you’ve missed it, then you need to get on board and implement it into your SEO strategy right now. If what’s happening right now indicates anything, it’s that voice search is about to flip SEO upside down.

In 2017, Comscore predicted that 50% of all searches would be made by voice in 2020. Current statistics show that 41% of adults use voice search at least once a day, making the 50% prediction extremely achievable.

With more and more people using voice search every day, the landscape for SEO is changing to one that relies more on being able to hit the top 3 results on a search term, and securing a featured snippet for your page.

With more and more people using voice search every day, your SEO efforts need to be focused on reaching the top 3 results for a search term and securing a featured snippet for your page. The way Google Assistant and Google Home currently conduct voice search is by reading out either the most relevant of the top 3 results, or the featured snippets. This snippet is part of a webpage that gets displayed at the top of the search rankings, making it a holy grail of SEO even if you’re not looking to rank specifically for voice search.

If you voice searched “what is the best dog”, Google would read out this list.

Ranking this high for voice search isn’t easy. It requires time, effort, and incredible, quality content. People tend to use longer questions and more conversational queries when searching by voice. And just like traditional searches, you’ve got to understand how user search intent will affect search terms and what your website is ranking for. You’ve got to answer your user’s questions as thoroughly as possible, and in the way that’s most relevant to their search term and intent. If you thought the quality of web content was getting crazy good now, stick around because things are going to get even better.

If you’re looking to improve your SEO and rank better in 2019, these tips from Digital Agency Melbourne (Xugar) will point you in the right path. Looking for more advanced tips? Check out Xugar for more quality content just like this.

This Post Was Submitted By Qurban Shah From https://techpin.com/

Legal Branding Local Branding

Need Storage Space for Your Business? Here Are 5 Ways to Create More!

Steven on August 4, 2019

Regardless of what kind of business you’re running, chances are that you need storage space. The problem lies in determining how much storage is enough. On the one hand, what you need is a big enough stock not to worry about the immediate future, however, there are some scenarios in which bulk offers on non-perishable items are so great that you can’t afford to miss out on them. This, nonetheless, means that you would need more storage space than you already have. Here are some of your options when it comes to this particular matter.

Outsourcing warehousing

The first option that you’ll have available would be to hire more storage space. The greatest benefit of this system lies in the fact that you pay only for the storage that you actively use, as well as in the fact that you don’t have to worry about the logistics. You may need self storage sizes selector to know which size fits best for you. This option is quite scalable, seeing as how you can always pay for more. You don’t even have to go for a warehouse, seeing as how individual storage units (in shipping containers) can be just as effective. The issue of drop-shipping, however, is the ultimate form of outsourcing warehousing, as well as outsourcing delivery.

How much storage can you keep secure?

It’s not just about how much you can store, it’s also about how much you can keep safe. You see, due to the fact that employee theft is a serious concern in the warehouse business, what you need to keep in mind is the fact that a bigger staff means a greater liability. Also, a bigger inventory is a bigger target, which is why you need to think about your ability to invest in security. Warehouse security investments are always necessary but you also need to figure out how much is enough.

Better organization

Sometimes, you don’t need more space. Instead, what you need is a way to better use the space that you already have. First of all, you can do this by hiring a seasoned warehouse manager. Second, you can do it by investing in a warehouse management system (WMS). Finally, you can invest in training your staff and proper warehouse equipment. Adequate shelving and equipment like forklifts, trolleys and similar can make the job of handling your storage a lot more effective.

Home-based business

The next thing you need to think of when it comes to running a home-based business is the fact that you have so many options within your own home as well as on your property. For instance, while the majority of people immediately think about the basement as an ideal storage space, the fact is that the attic or the main floor room that’s optimized for storage can be just as effective. On the other hand, you can also start thinking outside the box (outside your home, to be more precise) and look for agencies like Best Sheds. A shed of proper size can be more than an adequate storage solution, both temporarily and in the long term.

Predictive analytics

You can also look to reduce your storage needs and the best way to do so is to learn a thing or two about your business. For instance, when expecting large offers, you can make large bulk orders, however, by not having to do this preemptively, you’ll manage your warehouse a lot more effectively. Other than this, knowing which items are best-sellers, which supplies are most used and which items are seldom ever required, you’ll already make a move in the right direction.

Automation

Previously, we’ve talked about the better use of your warehouse capacities. The first thing that this will do for you is to make you feel like you have a bigger staff than you really have. There are various ways in which you can achieve this, ranging from an investment in robotics all the way to the above-discussed purchase of a premium WMS license. Other than this, the more experienced your staff is, the greater efficiency in management you can expect. All in all, you have many different options.

Planning ahead

Keep in mind that the most important thing about the issue of storage is your ability to plan ahead. If you are nearing the peak of the season, you need to stock up in time. Also, predicting growth is incredibly important and it can do wonders for you logistically. Combining all of the above-listed methods is a great start to do so but while making your own plan, make sure to check which of these options are scalable. Moreover, some options handle your problems in the long run as well. For instance, when running a home-based business, a purchase of a large backyard shed is bound to satisfy your needs for good. Otherwise, you might have a similar problem in the future.

Conclusion

As you can see, with so many things going your way, it’s really not that hard to create a system that suits you the best. Furthermore, some of these methods require other skills and proficiency in other fields. Staff-management skills and spatial organization are just two of the most obvious examples. Overall, where there’s a will, there’s always a way and your issue with storage is the perfect example of this concept.

Digital Branding

How To Get Your First 10,000 Followers On Instagram

Steven on August 4, 2019

If you are planning to use the online world for your business then building a community on flagship social media platforms is highly imperative. And it just happens so, Instagram is the giant in the world of online marketing. Most of the well-established marketers and influencers will tell you that the first 10,000 followers on Instagram are the hardest to get. It’s because you are entering this world as a newbie, where people are yet to recognize you and your offerings. Getting more followers on Instagram is about getting to know the game, playing the game and then making your own rules. The game is getting interactions and engagements and knowing which content to post at what times.

If you are finding this a bit overwhelming, then don’t worry. You are not alone! Fortunately, we have lined up some best ways to reach your dream 10k figure, in the minimum amount of time.

Get Followers On Instagram

Food blog phoot

1. Finding the right content

The hardest part in your journey to success on Instagram is probably the first step. To get 10,000 followers on Instagram you need to know what type of content you want to produce and which theme to follow. You need to form your own identity, one that aligns with your product or service and the expectations of your audience. Generally speaking, humorous content or inspirational quotes attract almost all types of audience. They are great to get yourself started on Instagram. Put yourself in the shoes of your followers determine which type of content they would like or how they would like to be reached. Pictures, images, and illustrations attract the eye way more than plain text.

Finally, think of how you will get your new followers. Which type of hashtags you should use so that you will appear more in search results? Focus on quality more than quantity. With so much competition on Instagram nowadays, you need to do something out of the ordinary to get attention.

2. Make your followers feel special

Your followers are everything for you. Without them your business is nothing. So, you have to treat them with respect. Respond to comments, provide support, answer queries, and engage in personal chats to form a loyal user base. Developing a specific count on your number of followers means nothing. Even if you have not so significant number of loyal followers, it will benefit you a lot more. You don’t want those superficial comments or reactions, but you want them to engage with your content. And ultimately, they would end up buying your product or service.

Build interactions

3. Set timely goals

Having a standard or preset goal for you to check your progress with can be of great help. It helps you decide if your ideas or techniques are working or not. Your goals can be simple. For example, you want to achieve 500 followers in a month and get 100 engagements too. If you fall short then you would know you have to try something different. Checking your progress can regularly can prove very helpful on your road to gain 10,000 followers on Instagram.

4. Work with other influencers or marketers

If you want to get recognition in the market you need to engage with other brands. Interaction or partnering with other brands allows you to become visible to a bigger audience. Not only their followers but many other will be find and even engage with your content. You can also get much-needed ideas and creative advice from these brands and influencers as well.

Always use hashtags

5. ALWAYS use hashtags

Set your own custom hashtag and use it with your every post and story. Also use popular hashtags similar to your niche and as many of them. For searching any content on social media, hashtags are the way to go. So, you can only imagine the kind of exposure you would get through using them. If you don’t know which hashtags to use, just use the search option on Instagram. You will easily find which hashtags are popular and even get new ideas about your content.

6. Keep track of your Instagram Insights

Instagram Insights is a very convenient free tool that allows you to keep track of your audience, engagements etc. It will help you identify your audience by age, gender and location and their online times as well. You will also know engagements and interactions on each post and story. It is too good a tool to be free, so you should take advantage of it.

7. Learn from Instagram Engagement Groups

There are many groups on Instagram that give you ideas and techniques to get more engagements on your account. They can valuable advice to grow your account and increase your followers. Most of them are free to join and are very helpful/

8. Call your followers to contribute

As a brand, you would want your followers to give reviews and share their experience. You can have them post pictures with your product. You can also ask them to contribute photos of their food if you are into food blogging. It depends upon your niche, but don’t forget to include call-for-action in your content.

9. Embed Instagram links in your blog posts

By embedding Instagram link to your stories, feed, or a certain post on your webpage, you are doing yourself a favor. You are likely to get some viewers on your Instagram account and some of them may stick around and become customers,.

This Post Submitted By Qurban Shah From http://techshur.com/