Steven – Page 88 – Altitude Branding

All posts by Steven

15 Sneaky Ways to Build Brand Awareness

Steven on October 18, 2018

Building brand awareness is critical for any business in order to build a strong customer base and drive leads, sales and ultimately bring business success. However in the modern commercial landscape with so many brands competing for attention, how do you stand out?

Here are the sneaky techniques brands use to build awareness without consumers realizing they are doing it, which you can apply to your business, no matter how big or small!

1. Create a Brand Identity

If you want to build more brand awareness, it is essential to have a strong, recognizable brand. Think about your brand’s identity and what makes it unique. Be sure to promote this in order to stand out. Have a clearly defined messaging strategy and style guide for your brand. Have an approved set of logos, letterhead, font, and colors and use them with rigorous consistency – this is crucial for brand recognition.

2. Link building

Link building involves attaining links to your site from established, authoritative sites. Generating these links essentially comes down to creating quality, useful content which sites will want to share, as well as outreach to relevant sites to build links. Local link building, in particular, can greatly improve your local SEO, improving brand awareness through search engine results, as well as driving organic traffic to your site.

3. Hold Contests on Social Media

Running contests on social media is a great way to increase your brand’s visibility to new users. There are many ways to do this and it is best to be creative and as original as possible. Just make sure your contest format encourages users to share the link with their network (for example to get more votes for their contest entry).

4. Use Facebook Advertising

With over 2 billion users on Facebook worldwide, Facebook can help you reach a greater audience and build your brand awareness. Organic reach will only get you so far (especially with the Facebook’s current algorithms), but you can bolster this with paid advertising. Facebook ads are relatively inexpensive and can be targeted to a specific audience to a staggering level of detail.

5. Get Users to Promote You on Social Media

You can even put your followers to work and have them promote you on social media. Run a campaign which encourages users to post a picture or similar to a particular hashtag, and you will instantly increase your brand’s organic reach. A great example of this is ASOS’ #AsSeenOnMe campaign, in which the brand has users post and tag photos of themselves wearing their favorite ASOS outfits.

6. Let Your Personality Shine Through

Social media can be a great platform to connect with your audience on a more personal level and show a different, more playful side of your brand. Some brands have even built a reputation for having distinctly entertaining social media channels – such as US brand Wendy’s, which is famous for the quips on its Twitter account.

7. Work With Influencers

In the past couple of years, we have seen the rise of the social media influencer. Influencers are powerful because they play off one of the basic tenants of marketing: consumers are most likely to use your business if referred by a friend. Because influencers form quasi-personal relationships with their followers, if they recommend a product it is almost as if a friend is recommending it. Identify influencers appropriate to your niche, and reach out to them to suggest partnerships.

8. Sponsor Local Organisations

To build brand awareness on a local level, you can sponsor local charities, events or sporting clubs. Not only is this a chance to support your local community, but in return they will display your brand, giving you an opportunity to not only promote your business but to do so in a way which shows your altruistic nature.

9. Create Branded Packaging

This is a technique used by some of the world’s biggest brands: when the customer’s shipment arrives, it is wrapped in specially designed branded packaging. This builds the emotional connection the customer has to the brand, as it makes the product feel like a gift from the company itself. Any small or medium business which ships products to its customers can apply this strategy by having custom branded packing made up for shipping.

10. Set Up Referral Programs

Reaching new audiences through word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways to build your brand. Other than providing excellent products and services, you can encourage this by creating referral programs. As part of a referral program, encourage your existing customers to refer you to their friends and contacts by offering them a free product, service or subscription in return.

11. Create Your Own Infographics

Infographics are a highly popular, shareable form of content. Create engaging and interesting infographics which feature your brand’s logo and website. Do this well and your infographic will be shared across social media, reaching thousands of users along with your branding.

12. Brand Your Vehicles

If your business has vehicles – cars, delivery vans etc – make sure these are branded with logos and signage. Doing so creates free advertising as the vehicles drive around. Even if you do not have official vehicles, do this with your own car and ask your staff to do the same.

13. Distribute Bumper Stickers

Bumper stickers are a similar concept but on a simpler level. Have colorful, visually appealing bumper stickers made out and distribute them to your customers, visitors, other businesses, and anyone else you can think of! You can apply a similar concept for other types of stickers which people may put on their laptops, water bottles or elsewhere.

14. Create Branded Merchandise

Another way to get the wider population to advertise your business for you is through merchandise which displays your brand’s logo. The possibilities here are practically endless: t-shirts, caps, re-usable water bottles, key-rings, pens: the list goes on. Depending on your business, you may sell this merchandise at a reasonable cost or give them out to customers (or the general public) as a free promotion. This not only makes your brand visible to the person who receives the freebie, but also to anyone else they come into contact with.

15. Don’t Be Afraid To Be Controversial

Although it may not be suitable for every brand, creating controversy can be one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness. Look at Nike’s recent ad campaign featuring controversial athlete Colin Kaepernick. On the one hand, this sparked a raft of negative reactions and even boycotts from one section of the US community, while on the other, the brand has stated the campaign has driven record engagement and leads for the company.

About the author

Tom Buckland is a digital marketing consultant specializing in technical SEO & Amazon Marketing. He’s the founder of HQ SEO in the UK and loves helping businesses profit through smart digital marketing strategies.

SaaS Branding

Snatchbot Added Line To Increase Its Multi-Channel Reach

Steven on October 16, 2018

Of all the free chatbot platforms, the popularity of SnatchBot has seen a steady rise. This is due to the simplicity of the platform which revolves around the premise of making a simple and effective chatbot for all businesses.

Enabled by an AI revolution, integrated with leading technology

The AI revolution is already at our doorsteps. People are no longer scared to speak with machines as long as machines are able to answer their questions and provide solutions to their needs. The concept behind SnatchBot is not to trick customers into thinking that they are chatting with other people but to create a unique customer experience by and offer instant solutions to the common problems that customers face when they use the service of a business.

This is the age of social media, and there are more people interacting with business brands all over the world than ever before in the history of the word. Customers are spending more time on social media to reach out to their favorite brands. While this is great marketing news for businesses, it easily takes financial toll and time toll on the business budget.

SnatchBot, a brainchild of Henri and Avi Ben Ezra who are brothers and co-founders, is dedicated to making chatbots freely and easily accessible to all users and businesses around the world. Until their business started running, the chatbot had been an elusive and extremely complex technology. Thus, by making it free and easily accessible to businesses and users, they are able to save businesses tons of time and money that would have been spent managing the social media team. Also, it also saves the users tons of waiting time.

A true omni-channel approach to chatbots:

Up until now, SnatchBot covers WeChat, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, and Slack. It also offers web integration directly with business websites. While these are the major social media platforms, SnatchBot was missing out on Line—which is the biggest social media platform in Japan.

The Line app was launched in 2011, and it amassed a whopping 200 million users in its first year. In less than two years of being in business, Line became Japan’s largest social media platform with over 218 million active accounts. The social network is now evaluated to be worth over 1.4 billion dollars. However, they are not relenting in their feat to dominate the Asian market. They are constantly improving their features and their presence.

For existing businesses in Asia—mist importantly, Japan and South Korea—utilizing this platform could be the deciding factor in making a maximum business impact. Having a technology that helps businesses reach the customers in the Japan and South Korea market will increase customer trust and brand awareness. Therefore, it was good news when SnatchBot announced that they are launching a free chatbot that supports the Line messenger. By allowing business brands on the Line social network to have a simple and easy integration of SnatchBot to the messenger, business brands are being empowered to communicate with their customers effortlessly.

By handling routine questions, SnatchBot is able to redirect the focus of companies on the most important business concern which is providing valuable services and products to their customers. Also, when routine questions are being handled through SnatchBot’s automation software, they are able to pay attention to more pressing customers’ needs that require highly technical intervention. According to the National Australia Bank, SnatchBot will save the organization about 16 million Australian dollars annually—that is a massive financial relief even for a company of their size.

It does not require any special technical expertise to use SnatchBot. All you have to do is to select the desired template and develop your responses from there. It is quite intuitive and completely free. If properly set up, it will give out all the information about your business that you want your customers to know; it will answer simple inquiries; and, it will redirect users to live support is necessary.

The chatbot is designed to make businesses work faster and more efficiently especially when they are trying to reach their customers on the major social media platforms; and, according to co-founder, Ben Ezra, the bot is designed for all business types—small, medium and large businesses. With the Line integration, SnatchBot is able to turn interactions on social networks to transactions in a fun, easy and smart way.

Now that SnatchBot integrates with Line messenger, users based in Japan and South Korea will spend less time trying to connect with customer support, and this will free up more time for the call agent to handle more complex issues. These bots are deployed in multiple sectors, including health, finance/banking, education, tourism and local government. It is hard to imagine any sector that will be without this technology in the near future.

Digital Branding Local Branding

In The Eye Of The Beholder

Steven on October 16, 2018

Is there ever a wrong time to take a photo? Every moment in life offers a chance to take an amazing picture. No matter the expression during the snap of a photo, pictures give people a chance to imagine their own storyline. Every feeling gives you a glimpse of a different moment that can be captured.

How can the color of your skin complexion dictate the best lighting choices for beautiful portraits? Various types of positions create different shades of light. Imagine sitting in front of a bay window ten minutes after sunset. Outside, the street lamp light shines into your window brightly. If you position your head right in front of the lamp post light, you could create the illusion of morning dawn during dusk.

Rays of light shining through windows are fun to use with your imagination. They help create silhouettes and sepia-like coloring for your photographs. The look of eyes in a picture carries a fusion of energy cold or warm. Overhead lights in a dark room can help you highlight separate distinctive features from your face.

Creating a picture that revolves around your eyes being the center of attention may not be so difficult to achieve. I would find a pitch dark black room with light shining through the window. Stand in the dark until you can’t be seen then gradually ease your face into the edge of the light, just enough until your eyes show. It might look spooky but now you’ve given life to a dark silhouette of yourself.

During a photography shoot, every picture isn’t meant to be joyful or sad. Some can harbor aggression in your facial expressions to get your point across. Our clothes often capture the mood of some photos in an interesting way. If your wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, this could indicate a warm laid back Saturday morning watching your favorite TV shows. An unbuttoned collar on a dress shirt and tie with rolled up sleeves could indicate days worth of work done.

Pictures definitely rely on your choice of personality. Whenever photography takes place, there are some basic lighting positioning such as key light, backlight, and full light.

Using indoor lighting is cool, but there is something to love about the natural light outside. Natural light gives a sense of fresh energy to the field of captured moments.

Although most picture subjects may absorb the natural light better, natural light can be a little more tricky in developing epic photos. Freelance shots are more ideal for natural light is that the sun may rotate to a different position or clouds may cause unwanted shade at times. Each picture can remain unique by applying the same method of photography.

Using indirect natural light can help achieve some of the most defining pictures during your photo shoot. The terminology used for this style is called front-lit. If you are looking to control the shadows from behind, back-lit might be more situational as it hits your subject from behind.

Epic photos are a gift to share with your loved ones. Potential employers might require your modeling services. Storing the collection of photos you accumulate should be easy for people to access. Look into creating a portfolio of your photos by using portfolio templates. By doing so, you can share your photos with anyone, anytime.

If you find yourself uncomfortable with social media platforms, keeping a flash drive of your work on your key ring leaves you prepared for the unexpected. You never know when someone might say do you have any work I can see. Modeling and photography have complimented each other for ages any many more to come. The two are therapeutic for some and an outlet of expression for others.

Remembering the creative use of camera angles rely on your personality. Each photo you take as a model revolves around the amount of energy you project in your photos. The old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words, rules the world of modeling and photography today. Using body language, eye contact, and different fields of energy, will always help your photogenic expressions.

Digital Branding

SEO and Why It’s Crucial to Take Care of It for Your Business

Steven on October 16, 2018

It has been more than two decades since the term “search engine optimization” (SEO) first got its start that one would expect for it to be as ubiquitous as Google and smartphones by now. Unfortunately, SEO still isn’t that popular – at least not yet. It doesn’t mean, though, that you shouldn’t use it, most especially if you have a business whose lifespan depends on the number of customers buying from you.

If you are not aware of how important SEO is, the following reasons why it’s crucial to take care of SEO for your business should help you educate yourself further about it:

1. Businesses using SEO are more likely to attract potential customers.

Three out of every four Internet users don’t bother checking a search engine’s other pages of search results aside from the first one. That’s why some businesses set aside a specific budget to ensure that everything they do online is in line with SEO best practices. After all, a business that shows up in a search engine’s first page of search results has a higher chance to be checked out by a potential customer than a competitor who’s in the fifth page of the search results.

As you’re running a business yourself, you’ll want to make sure as well that you become included in page one of a search engine’s search results so that you can get potential customers. It shouldn’t be just a one-time thing though. Aim to be in a search engine’s first page of search results as consistently as you can.

2. Businesses using SEO are more likely to attract more substantial revenue.

A spot in a search engine’s first page of search results would most likely attract more potential customers towards your business than if you were in another page. The bad news is that your website’s visitors may check you out but leave without buying anything. The good news is that other potential customers who found you online may purchase something from you, which is a favorable and profitable outcome that you’ll want to experience more often by taking care of your business’s SEO.

3. Businesses using SEO are more likely to become well-known.

Aside from attracting potential customers and profit, running your business with SEO in mind would gain you more publicity than if you didn’t consider using it at all. The average person usually sees websites included in a search engine’s first page of search results as popular and thus trustworthy. No wonder then that several other businesses want a place in page one of a search engine’s search results as they also want to gain the attention and trust of whoever they’re targeting.

SEO has been around for years, but some businesses still don’t know anything about it. Or even if they’re familiar with it, they’re hesitant to try it. As someone who runs a business, you’ll want to get a lot of online traffic, especially as people would most likely find out about you through the Internet rather than through traditional means of advertising. However, having an Internet presence for your business isn’t enough. You should also take care of its SEO as the above-listed discussion presented. If you’ve made it to this last sentence of the article and yet you’re still clueless about it, you should read HigherVisibility’s SEO guide for a clearer idea of its importance for your business.

Digital Branding

How to Do SEO for Your Site with Keyword Research Tools

Steven on October 15, 2018

Search Engine Optimization of a website always centralized around the keyword and has been the important element. Since ages, a lot many changes have made and with this evolutionary component of SEO, choosing the right set of keywords for the content building has become a necessity. You have to make your ways through these keywords in order to increase the rank. You need to start monitoring the progress of site based on keyword precision. As per the expert belief, the usage of keyword has become complicated due to some reasons like:

Now the search query in Google focuses on the semantic part of the content from the user context rather than querying up the word by word typed in information. It has become tough to optimize each and every word of the specific set of keywords.
No proper information can precisely determine the information about the ranking. Google has stopped providing the information, and some third party is now offering information about the rankings.
The rankings have become volatile and are meddling the potential consistency of keywords. Google makes changes due to which there is a constant optimization from the competitor alongside your strategy.

Photo credits: https://pixabay.com/en/seo-sem-marketing-optimization-web-758264/

No matter what, the keywords are still a very important element of the SEO and other marketing strategies. The keywords provide an insight into the user patterns followed for search which helps in guiding the topic and builds the focus on marketing strategy. You can obtain the metrics using tools that can let you know about your website performance. There are many steps by step streamlined way which can tell you how to work on your keyword Research for Search Engine Optimization. You can check keyword inspector.com to find out more. You have to keep in mind about the targeted audience while working on keyword Research using the following tools

SEMRush: This is a paid tool with some limited free options. It is very valuable for conducting Search Engine Optimization of the site which is not only restricted to Keyword. You can get information about the complete site by entering the domain name and also get information about the ranking. If you are planning of outdoing some of your competitors, this information is helpful. If your sole purpose is to work on ranking, then this tool is best.
SpyFu: This tool’s prime focus is on the competition which is needed if you already are a level down from your competitor. Instead of finding the detail about yours, try to find out about competitor domain. By doing so, you can evaluate the focus and strength of your competitor’s keyword relativeness with the content. You will get the understanding of how to choose a keyword for prime target and in the end; you will be winding an excellent strategy for optimizing the site.

Conclusion

It is very important to have a strong SEO for your site and strategy for the keyword order to beat the competition. With the help of tools, you might be able to achieve your goal.

Digital Branding

Risk Management Strategies For Microsoft Dynamics

Steven on October 15, 2018

Anytime companies implement new software programs, there is always a chance that problems will occur. Microsoft Dynamics is no exception. In some cases, companies fail to implement the program correctly. In other cases, they may run into errors as they work through their projects. Although it is easy to blame the software for these types of problems, they are usually caused by user error. The software itself undergoes intense testing and is thoroughly checked to make sure it is compliant. Because of that, the odds of the program being the cause of the problem are relatively slim.

Instead, any errors most likely stem from improper use of the program. The likelihood of running into these types of errors can be reduced by implementing the program as carefully as possible.

Identify the objectives of your project. Prior to implementing the software, you should already understand what your objectives are. What do you hope to accomplish for your organization as a whole? What are your goals for this specific project? How can the Dynamics ERP and CRM help you achieve these objectives? How will you know if you succeed? If you fail to answer these questions before you begin, your chances of successfully implementing the program significantly decrease.

Train your employees. In order to get the most out of the program, you need to have people on hand who know how to run it. You don’t necessarily need to train every person in your organization. However, there should be at least a few people on your team who know the program inside and out so that they can deal with problems whenever they arise. Like other software programs, Dynamics is often updated by Microsoft. The people at your organization who work directly with the program should keep up with any changes – Usedynamics has some great, in depth information on the matter.

Create a plan for your project. Even though the Dynamics program is a cloud-based service that can help your company be more efficient, there are limitations to what it can accomplish. When planning your project, set realistic goals. In your plan, discuss vital details such as your projected workflow, any data migration that needs to take place, team members who will be involved in the project, and a basic sense of the overall workflow. Coming up with a detailed outline of your project also will help guide you when deciding what investments you need to make. As an added bonus, it can improve efficiency by preventing problems like duplication or poor coordination between different members of the team.

Prioritize good communication. Like other projects, a successful CRM or ERP project relies on good communication between departments at your organization. Thanks to the cloud-based nature of Microsoft Dynamics, project data is more accessible than ever. This is in contrast to past programs where all of the data was compartmentalized.

Planning your implementation. When you begin implementing MS Dynamics, there are a number of decisions that you need to make. For instance, do you want to update the program manually or automatically? Do you want to pay for it upfront or do you want to pay over time with installments? The answers to these questions usually will depend on how much money you have to spend, the requirements of your project, and the knowledge and technical skill level of your employees.

Evaluating your mobile needs. In today’s world, most software programs are judged on whether or not they are compatible with mobile devices. Evaluate the needs of your business to decide whether or not mobile compatibility is a priority. This will largely depend on how your employees work. For instance, if they work remotely, they are probably more likely to use mobile technology than if they work in the office.

Digital Branding SaaS Branding

A STEP-BY-STEP Guide to creating a SWOT Analysis for your brand strategy

Steven on October 10, 2018

When you set out to build your brand strategy – it’s always best to be number 1 in a new market – then number 2 or number 3 in an already crowded market. But, how do you build a great foundation for your venture?

The answer? A SWOT Analysis.

WHAT IS A SWOT ANALYSIS?

A SWOT analysis of your brand strategy would give you an idea about the strengths (S), weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and threats (T) of your brand’s ability to dominate the market.

SWOT ANALYSIS EXAMPLE

Let’s take real-life scenarios. A good friend of the writer named Sameer was starting a business where he would buy journals from India and sell it to the United States through an e-commerce store.

After a lot of research, he found a journal he liked and took his first step towards his goal. Upon the advice of the writer, he followed this step-by-step SWOT analysis for his product.

1 – Evaluate the Strength of your Idea

Sameer first did a quick Google research for the following keywords.

1 – Journals USA Buy

2 – Journals California Buy

3 – Self-improvement Journals USA Buy

4 – Gratitude Journals California Buy

He found some common denominators in the competitor’s websites.

Firstly, he found that there was virtually no copy under any of the products.

Secondly, he found that each of these websites had multiple journals for sale.

So, he found where his strengths lay;

He would sell just one journal on his website.
He would focus on a benefit-driven copy for his website.

2 – Swallow your Pride and Admit your Weakness

Next, Sameer needed to closely look at his weaknesses.

His biggest weakness was his marketing budget. If he were to take the Ad words route based on the projections, it would cost him close to $25 dollars to acquire a sale.

With a marketing budget of $500, he couldn’t risk running out of capital. So, he decided to explore alternate forms of advertising instead of Ad words.

3 – Look for Opportunities in Lesser Crowded Areas

Sameer had been hearing a lot about Instagram shoutouts.

Upon some quick research on Instagram hashtags, he found that the yoga handle has closed to 2 million posts.

Now, coincidentally Sameer practiced Yoga as well. So he decided to put his $500 dollars into marketing his business through shoutouts.

He found the best handles related to yoga and spirituality wrote a quick starter e-book on yoga which he used as a low tripwire offer of about $7 and then created an upsell page with the journal with a tagline “Journal like a Yogi”.

4 – Search for threats that can effectively shut you down

Sameer’s biggest threat now was the long lead time that comes with going through the funnel approach.

Upon his first couple of shoutout tests, he found that he got a 2% conversion on each shoutout expenditure.

So, at about $50 per shoutout – he would get close to 5 sales of his e-book. But no one was buying his journal.

He was $200 short and had just about $300 left before he ran out of his capital.

After looking at the analytics on his Upsell page – he found that a majority of the users bounced off within the first 10 seconds.

After a lot of dwelling, he decided to test a down sell page.

So after a user purchased his e-book he would then send them to the Upsell page for his journal.

Once a user clicks away from the page – he sent them to a down sell page where he gave the customer $20 off their first purchase.

After sending about 5000 people to his website – he saw that his tripwire e-book sales remained the same but this time he managed to sell one journal which helped break even on his shoutout expenditure.

This was a promising enough start for Sameer to continue on with this venture.

CONCLUSION

A SWOT analysis is just a tool you use to fine tune your business strategy. Do not make the mistake of spiraling down the analysis rabbit hole. An action is the greatest key to finding out if your theories are based on sound results or not.

Result driven advertising should help you here. Closely monitor what effect each one of your USP’s or offers has on your customer. Evaluate your cost per lead and lead time and then go about fine tuning it until you can fully automate the process.

Once you have found a good marketing strategy you need to scale up your operations and the best way for you to do that is to use a CRM software for marketing.

Kapture CRM is a cloud-based marketing SaaS provider that helps you automate a lot of the key tasks in your business.

Kapture CRM customizes its offerings according to the needs of your industry. The cloud-based platform can be used over a mobile application as well that is integrated over both iOS and Android platforms as well. Currently, Kapture powers 500+ brands in 12 countries.

Digital Branding

SEO Ranking – Most Important Steps (Beside Keywords)

Steven on October 10, 2018

Everyone knows what SEO is and its importance in today’s marketing world. However, a lot of people seem to be confused by how exactly it works, and what’s important when writing in this style. So if you want your article to appear at the top of the searches, you are going to need to focus on more than just keywords. Of course, keywords are, well – key; but there are other things to pay attention to, and here they are.

Relevant content

There is a reason people focus on a single topic (or a relevant group) for their website. Sure, there are some websites – predominantly news focused – that cover a broad range of topics, but if you want your content to be optimized, and if you are just starting out, you want all of your content to be relevant to each other. Posting an article that is completely unrelated to your overall theme will throw people off and they might not return, or they might miss your main message completely.

Dwell time

One thing the algorithms look for is how long people actually spend on your site. If they just click to enter and realize it’s not what they expected then click right back out, it will hurt your rating more than help it. This is why misleading titles and introductions are a terrible idea, and why you should employ reader retention strategies. Nowadays, readers’ attention spans are getting shorter, and the “two-minute reads” are getting a lot more attention, but what happens when you want people to stay longer? Well, giving them more content is the easiest way. As soon as they are done reading the first article, they should be offered several others to choose from (all, of course, with eye-catching titles and intros). This will make sure your reader stays with you for as long as they have time.

Track progress

It’s amazing how many people think that statistics are just for science and that they don’t need to know any of that if they are just running a website. But let’s say you sign up for some SEO reporting that gives you a report on how you are doing on demand and you notice that there was a sudden drop of reader retention and dwell time. What do you do? You investigate. You look for the exact moment that the drop started and see what was done there. Did a campaign suddenly end? Did you post something that people just didn’t like? Did you hire a new writer whose style just didn’t vibe with the readers? All of these are potential reasons you are losing readers and not reaching the peak of the search page. Tracking everything allows you to combat changes and make everything run smoothly.

Good formatting and proper image size

Opening an article and seeing a wall of text is just not something that people want. You might think it’s a way to trick them into reading all of it instead of just the parts that they are looking for, but then you are missing the whole point of writing. All of your articles should be divided into logical paragraphs with proper headings, clearly distinguishable from the rest of the text. Your image sizes should also be optimized, not only for faster load time but for easier reading. Make sure you check how your article looks on several devices, to make sure that the photos don’t shift something to the side or end up in an incorrect place.

Most importantly, make sure that you are always working on your writing. The better the actual articles are, the more people are going to read them and the more they are going to boost your SEO rating. In the end, everything we do can only bring us up so far, but the main quality has to be in the writing itself.

Digital Branding

The Worst Guest Blogging Mistakes

Steven on October 8, 2018

Each owner of a website that accepts guest blog posts is quite aware of the potential benefits. To begin with, guest bloggers can provide a fresh insight and more information about relevant topics, which increases the popularity of the website. Next, regular visitors to the site are offered an opportunity to enjoy a slightly different style of writing, which they may prefer to the one they are used to. Finally, the more content is created, the greater the traffic to the website, which translates into financial profit eventually… if the guest blog posts are not a disaster.

Many people aren’t careful enough when allowing (or writing) guest blog posts. For some, the most important is that some content is created. This is a major problem since quality needs to take precedence over quantity when it comes to running a profitable website. So, what are the most common mistakes found in guest blog posts that we need to avoid?

Content

People read your blog because they are interested in the content you’ve created. If you are skillful enough when it comes to writing, your readers will enjoy it more, but they are primarily interested in what you write, rather than how. Also, though you don’t want to bore people with your posts, you can’t really expect them to learn much from a short post (under 500 words, for example). So, finding the right measure when it comes to the topic and brevity is the key.

Visual aid

The way a blog is written also influences the impact it has on readership. Having long chunks of text rarely stimulates anyone to read the whole post. In most cases, such texts are briefly skimmed and though they may be informative and educational, the impact is likely to be missed. That’s why many successful bloggers resort to using bullets and relevant images to attract attention to the content. The former allows readers to find relevant information easily, while the latter has a great impact on search traffic since images are indexed by Google. However, make sure your choice of images is organic and relevant for the best results.

Not engaging the reader

Another common problem is the fact that many posts simply don’t engage readers, but simply present information. This is reflected in the choice of register and lack of questions, especially in the introduction. How many times have you started reading something and gave up very soon afterward, because you were just bored? Every reader wants to feel that you’re writing just for them. Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to become too personal, though some people may like it. Sharing personal experience is ok, but the trivial details of your life are hardly a matter of anyone’s interest.

Being too prolific

Although you can’t get traffic without posts, you can’t expect that multiple posts each day will help you achieve your long-term goals. It’s impossible to expect that you can maintain (let alone improve) the quality of your posts with hyper-production. This is particularly true for inexperienced bloggers. You don’t want the posts on your page to show symptoms of burnout.

Avoid blogging for blogging’s sake

The internet is saturated with posts about “how to blog” and your post on the same topic is unlikely to provide any relevant new insight unless you are positive you know something that others don’t. Readers are interested in very concrete topics and have come to your website because they thought they’d find what they are looking for or even be pleasantly surprised to learn something they didn’t expect. This element of delighting the visitor is one of those that make your page stand out among thousands of similar ones.

If you manage to avoid these common mistakes when it comes to guest blogging, you will stand very good chances of making the most of having someone else contributing to the growth of your readership and, consequently, bank account. So, be wise when it comes to using this powerful tool.

Digital Branding

Get Socially Professional With The Best Instagram WordPress Themes for Your Site

Steven on October 8, 2018

If you are an online business, you must have a presence in social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with your targeted audience. Today, your targeted audience is looking for the personal touch. If you are successful in providing your audience with the personal touch, the chances are high that you can convert visitors into loyal customers for your website or blog. The best part of social media platforms is that they are free and much cheaper than conventional marketing and advertising platforms. However, it is prudent for you to ensure that you have a marketing strategy that differs from one social media platform to another. For instance, if you are using Twitter, you must have short yet compelling messages that grab attention. If you are on Facebook, content is the key, and you should have an attraction caption that compels readers to go through your post. If you are on Instagram post visuals that speak and create a deep connection with your targeted audience!

The advantages of choosing Instagram for your marketing needs online

With 1 billion active registered users on Instagram monthly, you will be missing out on a large chunk of targeted customers if you are not on Instagram, it is high time to register now. The registration process is simple. You need to download the mobile application on your smartphone and follow the instructions. Once you have registered on the social media platform, you can start uploading pictures and videos that pertain to your business. Instagram has many captivating photo filters to help you get the desired effect when you wish to upload photos of your business online. Moreover, you do not need a high-quality digital camera to get high-quality photographs for your needs. Since it is a mobile platform, you directly upload the pictures to your profile. You do not have to use a computer for the purpose.

Instagram helps you to reach out to new audiences and expand your targeted market. When you are on the move, you can edit and upload posts as and when you wish to. In short, you will find Instagram simple for you to use and operate. The photo-sharing platform works well for your business primarily because people nowadays like to view pictures and videos moreover content. This is why Instagram is shooting up the popularity charts quickly. It is a mobile application platform that everyone should use for their business if they are looking for success and better brand presence.

How to increase fan following for your Instagram profile with WordPress Instagram themes?

When you have registered yourself on Instagram, the next step for you is to increase your likes, shares, and comments to invoke trust and credibility in the online market. There are reliable sources like GramBlast to help you increase likes, shares, and comments however you can also double your Instagram followers by incorporating it with your WordPress site. Besides, the above, you can also integrate Instagram into your WordPress site with the aid of Instagram WordPress themes. These themes improve the appearance of your website and attract the targeted audience to it as well.

Best WordPress Instagram Themes for your site

Given below are some of the best WordPress and Instagram themes you can use for your website or blog:

WordPress Instagram Widget- If you are looking for an Instagram WordPress theme that allows your visitors to get access to your Feed, this is the theme you should opt for. As the name suggests, it is more a widget and a theme. You do not have to rely on complicated downloads when you are looking for Instagram to be incorporated into your WordPress website. It is popular on many websites, and since it has a very light code, it does not hamper the loading time of your site at all!
Flexi Instagram Feed- If you are looking for some interesting Instagram layouts for your website, this theme will do the needful. You can opt for the carousel gallery format for displaying your images. If you like your pictures to be posted on your phone, choosing for the Polaroid layout will add a lot of glamor to your photos and provide you with the desired appeal. This theme also tells your audience where the image was taken as it gives you a world map to tag the location. You also have better control over what you want your audience to see.
EasyNote Instagram WordPress Theme- If you do not want your Instagram Feed to be the primary feature of your website and would like the Feed to be displayed on the header or the footer of your site, this theme is the right one for you. You can select the best content that you wish to show to your audience and make it the dominant feature of your website. So, if you intend to display the best of your website’s layout, this theme is the perfect one for you.

Check out these top WordPress Instagram themes for the better brand presence and fan following. They have unique features, and they always help you optimize your website fully when it comes to reaching out to your followers via Instagram with your WordPress website.

Therefore, if you wish to grab the strategic edge in the market, it is time for you to bank on Instagram WordPress themes today. They work for all types of businesses both big and small. Take a look at each one of them and go in for a demo first. Ascertain what your goals are and set the desired theme so that you get noticed better. These themes have the goal of increasing targeted traffic to your website and also make it look professional. An appealing site will always attract customers to take the smart step and activate the perfect WordPress Instagram theme that meets and matches your needs with success. Grab attention and make your followers happy with regular visual content they will love to see- all the best!

Author Bio: Walter Moore is a senior SEO consultant, a prominent SEO, and digital marketing services provider. He is quite experienced in the field of web marketing as well as website designing. For more information, visit GramBlast.