Category: Digital Branding

Digital Branding

Legal Accounting Software: A Complete Solution

Introduction

All businesses are legally required to keep accurate financial records, but computerizing your accounting systems can have wider benefits. Accounting software can track your expenses and can properly account them on your financial statements saving time and money, and offer you valuable insight into your business.

“Accounting software is easy, mature and cheap enough for it to make sense for anyone. It is more efficient, both in terms of time and cost than traditional accounting. ,” says Jon Norris, web editor at Crunch Online Accountants.

Billing and accounting software help in capturing all chargeable time and automatically calculate fees due using complicated pay rates to bill clients in installments or upon case completion. This is important in cases in which the bill on a matter is being paid by more than one party, or where a payment should be applied to expenses, rather than to the legal fee.

Many business owners are not aware of the importance of using accounting software. There are, however, some overlooked advantages of using legal accounting software. Here are some reasons you should use accounting software for small business clients as well.

1. Continuous Financial Monitoring

2. Minimizes Mistakes

3. Computerized Invoicing

4. Tracks Inventory

5. Actionable Reports

6. Eases Tax Compliance

 

What should you be looking for when buying legal accounting software?
Accounting software packages are designed for particular industries, such as medical practice, construction, consulting practice, law firms etc.

Choosing accounting software for your business is not very simple, you need to document what you want the legal accounting software to do for you. You should consider various factors such as Cost, Features, Post-sale support etc.. before buying it.

If you choose the accounting software system carefully, investing in a computerized accounting system can be one of the best decisions you can make for your business.

Here are a few items to keep in mind when selecting accounting software for your business:

1. User Interface

Before purchasing Accounting software check for its ease of use. Everyone who would be using the application may not have an accounting background. Software which you choose should have a simple user interface and it should not make difficult for you and your team use it

2. Features

Before buying software system make a list of features that you would need in accounting software. Here some of the features must be part of the accounting software system:

  • Basic accounting features: Accounting software you purchase should offer basic functions like invoicing, income and expense tracking, financial report generation, and customer management.
  • Tax preparation: Make sure your accounting software helps you with your taxes with features like automatic tax calculations, multiple tax rates, and tax reporting.

3. Accessibility

Check the accounting software you are is cloud-based and has mobile access. With using cloud-based software allows you to access your data from anywhere anytime, which nowadays is pretty much anywhere.

4. Customer Support

Accounting software you purchase, however, user-friendly or advanced, is a bit uncomfortable for everyone involved. Be sure that from time to time you or the staff is going to need support from an expert. The product’s user manual is not going to have all the answers.

5. Cost

Choosing the right software for the business budget is a key consideration. Some software providers will charge an annual maintenance fee for you to receive updates and upgrades as they are produced. Some companies provide basic software and then you are forced to buy ‘add-ons’. So before buying the software check if there are any hidden costs for upgrades and support.

6. Data Backup and Security

Losing your client’s data and communications is a total nightmare. Make sure the software you purchase can perform regular data backups.

Questions to ask when evaluating accounting software

Ask yourself these questions before you buy:

  • Is training required to use the accounting software?
  • Do you have to pay for additional software licenses if you take on extra users?
  • Does the accounting software have the capacity to grow with your business?
  • Can you upgrade the accounting software is required?
  • Would it be easy to transfer your data to a new system should you need to switch?
  • Is the software compatible with what your accountant uses?

Here is the best legal accounting software you can consider if you are planning to buy accounting software for your business.

Best Legal accounting software

HDPOS Smart

About Software

HDPOS Smart is the best billing software to handle small to a large enterprise business on multi-locations. It has a ton of features that help you run your business with an ease. It’s not only is a billing software but has excellent Financial Accounting and inventory management features.

Feature

  • Billing & Invoicing
  • Intuitive User Interface
  • Accounting
  • Expense Tracking
  • Reporting
  • Mobile App
  • Online/Offline

AbacusNext

About software

AbacusNext make your accounting practice operate efficiently, communicate effectively, and helps you grow exponentially.

Features

  • Accounting
  • Retail POS
  • Private Cloud
  • Quickbooks Integration

Bill4Time

About software

Bill4Time is accounting software with instant access to all accounting activities. Bill4Time helps to track all balances and payment activity, so you can stay on top of your business.

Features

  • Billing & Invoicing
  • Accounting
  • Expense Tracking
  • Time Tracking
  • Reporting
  • Mobile Apps
  • Online/Offline

Conclusion

When companies are conceptualized entrepreneurs need different tools and skills to get the required traction in the market but when the company becomes very big, then diverse kinds of skills and tools are needed like accounting software to succeed.

Once you have determined whether or not you need accounting software for your business, it’s important to figure out which features you need. We suggest you choose the software based on your business requirements.

Author Bio:

Divyanshu Jangid is a Digital marketing expert with experience in marketing and communications. His interests include researching, reading about new technologies and content marketing. When he’s not working, he enjoys spending time with his family, friends and playing billiards.

Digital Branding

E-commerce, Shopify, and Dropshipping: Your Business Review on These Outlets

If you’re looking into making money by establishing a business, you will be surprised and overwhelmed to see the market explode with a ton of options – and we are talking just between physical and online outlets. If you want to get into the online business, you may find yourself having a hard time choosing among building an e-commerce website, using drop shipping, or going for Shopify as a means of conducting business. Being “overwhelmed” is an understatement, given how each platform offers a lot of potentials. If you have to choose one, though, what would it be? A journalreview course and other business sources can provide you with detailed information of each of the three (3), but in this article, we will give you a quick summary for you to have an idea.

The global digital market scene is not a new place for businesses. In fact, statistics indicate that global retail sales for e-commerce can skyrocket to up to $4.5 trillion in as early as 2021, and the spread of retail e-commerce worldwide resulted in “powerhouses,” such as countries in the West, being overtaken by those in the East. The biggest markets today include China ($672 billion), the United States ($340 billion), the United Kingdom ($99 billion), and Japan ($79 billion). A lot of people also go beyond domestic when they order products online, which makes the online shopping scene an exciting venture for you to take.

Choosing Your Business Outlet: E-commerce, Shopify, or Dropshipping

With the above in mind, studying these platforms through a journalreview course can lead you in the direction, especially if you are really serious in this endeavor.

For the meantime, here’s a brief overview of how these three (3) platforms work to serve your needs:

E-commerce

  • E-commerce is a general term used to describe e-commerce websites, which are platforms that allow you to make a business and provide services and products to a particular online audience. This is helpful, as a lot of consumers prefer making purchases online because e-commerce websites allow them to access products and services instantly and conveniently.
  • Unlike the other two platforms, e-commerce websites are actually built from the ground up. This means it’s technically your own website, and you play with how it’s supposed to look like. Of course, this also means having to do the work in terms of search engine optimization (SEO), website design, and marketing to get traffic.
  • E-commerce websites do have a much wider reach, though, as people can now purchase products and services from you any time of the day. Your store can be open during holidays, and you’re as free to provide as many services as you like.
  • There are management and web development platforms can set up a website for you in no time. This means if you have a product or a service to sell, it’s really as easy as one-two-three. Of course, managing your website by yourself is an entire beast of its own. You may need to hire a small workforce to help you handle your business, but that also means potentially getting a lot of profit in the process.

Shopify businesses

  • Shopify businesses are good alternatives to selling services and products online, primarily because it makes setting up a platform for your service easier. Unlike e-commerce websites that will require setting up everything on your own, Shopify in itself is a platform catering to the needs of small businesses who want to have a more convenient means of selling goods.
  • Shopify stores can benefit from a whole host of features from Shopify, especially when they become premium members. Shopify’s features can be integrated easily integrate into your store, which means you don’t need to hire a technical expert for processes that can be accomplished with just a few clicks.
  • Shopify stores can literally be made in just three steps. Not to mention, with Shopify’s easy-to-use features, you can offer you services without even needing to go through intense technical training on how to handle your data. You just need to add your products, customize the design of your site, and finalize your domain.
  • Despite the many advantages Shopify offers to its entrepreneurs, there are also risks involved. As your store is dependent on the performance of Shopify, your service is pretty much in trouble should there be a reason for Shopify to close. Moreover, there might come a time where changes in Shopify policies might make it harder for you to sell your services. Being dependent on the convenience Shopify provides can be a disadvantage, so it’s best to use this platform as a stepping stone while learning how to create independent platforms.

Drop shipping

  • Drop shipping is in itself a new spin on the online service and product selling market, as it essentially tackles a new dimension for retail. In dropshipping, stores don’t have products in stock. They get products from third parties and have these products shipped to customers. This eliminates the hassle of buying products wholesale without being able to sell everything.
  • When you utilize drop shipping, you will save a lot of time and resources as you will not need any physical stock with you. This is helpful because you don’t need to buy products in advance and end up not selling everything. The risk here, of course, is when manufacturers don’t have what you need yet, so you should pay close attention to the availability of your products and production capabilities of the manufacturer.
  • You don’t need complicated processes for storage and orders. A lot of e-commerce websites with their own physical stocks need large containers or storage spaces and an organized system for picking orders, packing, and shipping. Drop shipping allows you to outsource these processes, making you earn money without a lot of effort.
  • Of course, the catch here is that you might lose profit if no one actually buys through your website. This means the crunch to actually get consumers to buy your services is immense, as people buying your products will be your lifeline. Drop shipping also requires making connections with manufacturers and other product providers, which in itself takes time and experience to accomplish.

The Bottom Line: Choosing the Best Business Outlet Takes Time and Planning

Choosing the best platform for your business involves identifying the nature of your business, the functionalities you need, and your own abilities to manage the business. This means the “best” among the three options really depends on what you’re looking for. Review the points above to help you make an informed choice in establishing a successful business online.

Digital BrandingLegal Branding

Reasons Why It Is Mandatory to Employ the Services of an Expert Graphic Designer

A professional graphic designer is an asset to any business. However, some business owners are unable to understand and appreciate that employing the services of an expert graphic designer would have a positive impact on their business and that they could achieve business success with their help. Many business owners are interested in cost cutting and they feel that using stock images, logo online creator and even charts, and graphs from Microsoft Excel are enough to create an impressive graphic design. This is definitely not true and is actually, an opinion of people who do not have any knowledge or idea about the responsibilities and role of a qualified graphic designer.

Understanding the Role of a Graphic Designer

A graphic designer plays a pivotal role in the success of your business. He is a professional who is known for creating and assembling pictures, motion graphics, or typography with the objective of boosting your business’s aesthetic appeal. They could help your brand to steal the show, make your brand appear really more polished and professional, and expose your products to brand new audiences. Here are some of the reasons why a professional graphic designer must be hired.

Getting Ready for the Future

Today’s restless young audience is increasingly suffering from attention deficit or consistently decreasing attention spans hence, marketing messages require being delivered fastest possible and visuals or images are the best possible way of doing that. With the mobile technology becoming more and more popular, the larger screens of laptops and desktops are losing their significance and modern audiences have no time to invest in reading your marketing messages. You have to realize that the future of all marketing campaigns is reliant on images and visuals. If you need professional graphic design solutions, then you may get in touch with Tayloright.com.

Moreover, wearable technology is no longer a work of fiction. Today this path breaking technology is prevalent and so screens are gradually getting smaller. In this present scenario, a graphic designer comes in handy. He would have sound knowledge to efficiently adapt digital marketing endeavors to diverse screen sizes. He would be playing a critical role as technology evolves. A graphic designer would be ensuring that all your infographics, images, videos, and visuals are of top quality and unique so that Google regards them as quality content.

Giving a Boost to Your Brand

For businesses that face stiff competition, it is essential to opt for top quality branding. They require standing out from the rest and so high-quality branding would be required. Your business logo, your website layout, and marketing materials, your chosen colors and fonts would be helpful in creating the first image or impression among the customers. Only a professionally qualified graphic designer could be manipulating these elements with expertise so that the customers are able to perceive you the way you actually are. A good graphic designer helps to create a robust brand. A strong brand would be a memorable one that would leave a long-lasting impact on the customers’ minds.  It would be building trust and getting positive referrals from happy customers. A weak brand would be forgotten in no time.

Saves a Lot of Time

A qualified graphic designer would be creating appropriate designs for your brochures, logo, or even PowerPoint templates. A graphic designer could create a design in almost a quarter of your time.

Conclusion: Makes You Stand Out of Competition

A graphic designer would be creating a distinctive brand that would be raising your business much above your competition. You must not initiate your business in the wrong direction. Consider making a lasting impression with the perfect logo and most appropriate marketing materials. Employ the services of a competent graphic designer right from the word go.

Author Bio:

Maria Jones is a graphic designer and a passionate blogger based in Boston. She is extremely familiar with the digital marketing scene, and also she recommends ace services such as Tayloright.com on her blog.

Digital Branding

Steps to Automotive Digital Marketing Success

If you want to generate a lot of sales, opting for Automotive Digital Marketing can be a very good idea. This allows you to promote cars like the Dodge Caravan a lot easier, and in the end, you can get a lot more sales. You have to realize that professionalism and quality are what really matters the most in here. Of course, adapting and adjusting all of this can be an amazing opportunity to explore the new option. But the right tactics will surely help you generate more sales and value, which is what you want to have at the end of the day.

Think about SEO

It doesn’t matter if you want to sell a Ford or a Jeep Wrangler, the idea is to always try and find a great value for your money no matter what. The true focus here needs to be on improving your SEO approach as much as possible. It will just make things better and easier, especially if you have lots of competitors. Being in front of your competition can do wonders and it will make the process a whole lot better for you in the end. Sure, it’s not meant to be very easy, but it can provide you with outstanding results if you do it right, so you might as well want to consider all of that.

Start blogging

Believe it or not, your Automotive Digital Marketing success is mostly all about blogging and the results that you can get from it. Ideally, you want to create blogs often. You can make them self-promoting, or you can focus on other results like that if you want too. The idea is to always push the boundaries as you adjust and adapt all of that to suit your needs.

Paid Ads

SEO is great, but it can take a while until it delivers the results you want. What you want to do here is to opt for some paid ads. These ads are great as they promote your business and they are not that expensive either, which is a very good thing. Not a lot of people realize this, but paid ads are extremely helpful and they can bring in front unique benefits all the time.

CRO is important

The conversion rate optimization is crucial if you want to boost sales, conversions and website visitors. The idea is to focus on value and professionalism more than anything else. Once you start doing that, results will shine and that on its own will offer a crucial benefit to consider.

Lead nurturing

Nurturing your leads is very important. You want to offer them some info about the cars they are interested in. Believe it or not, lead nurturing allows you to generate more sales because you place the potential sale on a buyer’s radar. And suddenly you have more sales just like that.

It’s always hard to find the right approach when it comes to Automotive Digital Marketing. But these ideas will come in handy and they will offer some amazing results. Just remember, quality is everything, so try to consider all of that if you can and you will not be disappointed!

Digital Branding

The Groundbreaking Impacts of AI and Machine Learning on Marketing

How AI and Machine Learning Can Revolutionize Marketing

Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are two of the hottest buzzwords that are dominating the discourse in business and academic spheres. This is rightly so because AI and machine language have enormous possibilities and applications for various sectors. Essentially, AI and machine learning are a new way of creating problem-solving systems that will have the ability to become self-aware, at least in the distant future.

Marketing being a prominent industry, where AI can play a substantial part and bring revolutionary results. In recent years, there has been a palpable influx of AI-powered advanced data analytics tools (based on machine learning algorithms), growing availability of sophisticated data sets, and an informed decision making based on big data. Machine learning, on the other hand, has extensively changed the landscape of digital marketing by focusing on personalization, behavioral targeting, micro-targeting, and other marketing parameters.

Here is how AI and machine learning will impact marketing:

Processing of data for the success of online marketing

Effecting marketing is utilizing popular platforms to market and sell products; successful marketers have consistently done that. First, it was email marketing, then they depended on Google to advertise their products, and then came Facebook and being used as an important tool. Currently, Instagram and Snapchat are prominent platforms. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are great at working and processing data. As an example, a machine learning system can process the customer behavior of a particular demographic by analyzing which customers can come back and likely to purchase. When this insight is combined with marketing automation, potential customers could be converted by sending them an ultra-relevant deal. Also, in online marketing, when content marketing agency distributes customized content with the help of AI-powered tools to the right audiences, then it is a win-win situation for marketers and customers.

Extreme personalization

Intelligent automation and machine learning will help future businesses personalize and humanize engagement and reach the maximum number of audiences more effectively. Marketers will readily integrate machine language and AI personalization solutions into their strategies. By doing this, they will be able to deliver exponential accuracy and better results, which will immediately impact their bottom lines. Furthermore, AI and machine learning will help businesses personalize offerings as customers shop, optimize their journeys and click paths, and better predict what they want next. This ultra-personalization will result in even greater conversion rates. Online shoppers are increasingly expecting a customized experience now and they want retailers to know their preferences. Thus for online businesses, it is extremely important to customize their online shop with powerful web hosting platform in order to meet customer expectations.

Chatbots for great user experience

Chatbots are already performing certain tasks such as chatting with a user through a conversational interface. So the most advanced bots will be powered by AI and machine learning, helping it to understand complex requests, personalize responses, and improve interactions over time. Since communication is increasingly becoming advanced and chatbots are its new extension. They are taking over social media marketing and allowing marketers to engage with users in terms of content consumption, customer service, and transactional engagements. Chatbots are available to companies of any size, which gives small businesses an opportunity to compete with established brands.

Predictive delivery

Predictive delivery utilizes machine learning algorithms to deliver consumers highly researched, specifically targeted product recommendations, wherever they engage with a brand. 35% of Amazon.com’s revenue is generated by its recommendation engine. Interaction taking place between brands and consumers, whether through e-commerce sites, social media, or in-store, will be stored and tracked down using AI. Predictive solutions then analyze these insights and determine the most logical steps, and finally predict actions that specific consumer profiles will take. Predictive engines will be highly instrumental in creating and executive personalized marketing strategies. These solutions will be fully developed and rendered through mobile apps. Predictive delivery is important because consumers have become more tech-savvy and brand awareness and they are also becoming more cognizant of their options.

Wrap up

There is still a long path to tread since we are in the early days of AI’s influence on consumer behavior. We have yet to hand over our obsession of making decisions to machines. As AI-powered systems become more powerful, reliable and sophisticated, we’ll all start to “outsource” more of our consumer search and choice set construction tasks to AI and machine learning. It is, therefore, critical to understanding AI and machine learning and their powerful potential to shape marketing.

Digital Branding

Office Tips for a More Relaxing Atmosphere

For a lot of people in America, the office is an iconic place. Most people actually spend more waking time there than in their homes, but only a handful take the time to make the space that they work in work for them.

Today, there are many workers that work virtually, but there are still millions that come to an office each working day. While work can be stressful, the office needn’t be. Creating an oasis of calmness in your immediate workspace has the potential to make your entire life healthier: here is how.

1. Declutter the Immediate Work Space

Surprisingly, some people find things much better in a mess, but if you are always pushing things aside to find your keyboard or balancing your keyboard on your lap due to the lack of space on your desk, you need to take a few minutes of your time to clear out that stuff. The area 6 inches to the side as well as in front of your computer should be clear to allow for comfortable movement.

The small aggravation of being unable to move freely can greatly add to your mental stress. The same goes for the chair, which should freely move in and out so that you never feel “chained” to your workstation or desk. People organize their paperwork in different ways, and that’s okay, but you always should have enough space for moving and working.

2. Hang an Inspiring/Beautiful Image in Your Direct Line of Sight

The eyes need regular breaks from whatever work you are doing. A simple painting, photograph, print, or any other image that strongly resonates with you should go up in your line of sight, so that you can daydream a bit (which is great for productivity) and take eye-strain breaks too.

If your job is a means to an end, you must never forget what that end is and an image can do a great job of reminding you. Avoid pictures of family since your everyday stresses with them can become triggered if you use them as your focus image.

For instance, if you are working a job to provide for your family, your focus image should be one of places that you wish to vacation with them or even a home that you would love to live in with them.

3. Bring in a Plant or Add Water Features

You can find numerous plants capable of surviving and even thriving in office environments. Greenery has been shown to lower both stress and blood-pressure levels as well as clean the air. A plant will also give you something to tend/water when you need a break rather than hitting the snack bar or coffee machine again. A lot of people like a water feature in their space too, it provides a relaxing feel like a plant. The water fountains at the Soothing Company are a very popular addition as they add a stylish and relaxing touch to the area.

4. Install a Sound Blocker/Muffler

The noise from your fellow workers can be quite distracting. The clattering of the Xerox machine, the loud phone chatter, and the squeak of office chairs are quite bothersome.

A small desk fan can provide a layer of white noise and a nice breeze while a small water feature can be turned on whenever you wish to concentrate. The sound of water flowing is both meditative and relaxing, and has the potential to screen out other sounds.

5. Keep a Large Bottle or Glass Full of Water at Your Desk

Sip from this bottle or glass all day. Dehydration can be incredibly stressful for the body. It stresses the kidneys and liver, amps up existent irritations, all which lead to you feeling sluggish.

Everyone’s been there: Coffee for breakfast, juice with lunch, and it is now 4 p.m. and you feel crummy, have a headache, and your feel tired too and its all because you never had enough water throughout the day. Then you drink several large glasses and you have to use the bathroom 4 times before the end of the day.

If you drink water throughout the day, you will feel better and will not have to use the bathroom so many times in succession.

The final piece of advice is that you need to take a look at your office and your life there. What things do you find more aggravating on a day-to-day basis? Can you do anything to change or modify them? Perhaps there’s a simple solution to something that’s been bothering you.

Digital Branding

7 Secrets On How To Manage And Overcome Work-Related Stress

The stress and strain of your work life can follow you home, and if these persist, they can have a negative impact on your health and well-being. The short-term effects of minor pressures of work can lead to health issues such as sleep disturbances, headaches, muscle ache, short temper, bad moods, and poor concentration. On the other hand, chronic stress leads to problems such as insomnia, low immunity, anxiety, and high blood pressure. Moreover, most of the people that experience excess strain and work-related pressure tend to address it in unhealthy ways that include overeating, unhealthy eating, smoking, and excessive drinking.

Taking the appropriate steps to manages stress can help you be happy and great moods at home and the office. Below are stress management secrets worth trying:

1.    Track Your Stressors

Note down the various things or situations that get you worked up and stressed. Keep a journal of these stressors for a week or two as you also noted down how you respond to each of them. Pen your thoughts and feelings as well as any other information you deem important about your surroundings (which includes the physical setting, people, and circumstances as well as how you responded). Did you go for a walk, grab a snack, raise your voice, or go silent? The idea with this particular tip is to be able to find patterns among your reactions to the various stressors you face.

2.    Develop Healthy Responses

Regarding how you respond or react to the different stressors, you should strive to have positive and healthy responses. Alcohol, smoking and binge eating is not the best way to fight stress. Stick to healthy answers, and you will have a mind and body that remains upbeat after working on your tensions. Exercising is one of the perfect ways of dealing with stress, and the same goes for yoga and meditation. The same can be said of any physical activity that gets your blood flow going. Playing games with family and friends also help. Reading a book can help you take your mind off things allowing you to calm yourself mentally and physically. While at it, try and reduce your caffeine consumption especially late in the day or at night. Also, avoid too much of the TV and computers at night.

3.    Take The Time To Reboot And Recharge

The body is naturally set to work for a particular period and rest for another during a 24-hour cycle. It takes a break from the busyness of life when we sleep. Similarly, it is wise to “switch off” from work where you and enjoy other things that are not related to your job. Also, try not to think about your work during that period. That idea is to disconnect for your professional life and related demands from time to time. Take a vacation for a few days, go hiking, do activities that allow you to relax and unwind. Get enough sleep so that your mind and body can rest, reboot and feel recharged.

4.    Establish Boundaries

Many people in today’s digital age, feel pressured into being available 24/7 become of the many gadgets and the seemingly endless connectivity. As such, people can work at any given time. However, it is wise to establish boundaries between your home life and work life. Set some time for yourself away from work. For instance, you can make it a rule not to check your emails when you are off work or picking work-related phone calls when at home. While some people may have different preferences and opinions about blending their work and home life, it is necessary to establish clear boundaries to avoid bringing with you the stresses of work to your home.

5.    Relax

Be mindful of what you do and your surrounding (where you are observant of things without judging) and do your best to stay positive. Such things help you to have better responses to stressors. Combine such things with exercising, meditation, and deep breathing and melting work-related stresses will not be a hurdle. If things get too much, talk to someone professional

When feeling burdened at work, a simple activity such as deep breathing can help. Alternatively, you can take a short break and go for a short walk so that you can allow your mind to relax. You can also listen to soothing music that calms and uplifts you.

6.    Consult Your Supervisor

Most employers know and appreciate the fact that healthy employees are productive; therefore, most bosses invest in their workforce by ensuring that they have a conducive work environment that promotes the overall well-being of the employees. Part of such measures includes open communication channels that allow a worker to converse with the supervisor. The aim is not so much about giving complaints instead focused on the development of effective plans and solutions that help manage different issues that trigger stress and lower productivity. By talking to your supervisor and pointing out what you feel is slowing you down, you will be assisted to find suitable solutions. Systems can also be in place that can help workers identify employer-sponsored wellness resources that they can leverage to know what is expected of them and that encourage employee-to-employee support thereby fostering a productive atmosphere in the workplace.

7.    Get Some Support

If you feel bogged down by stress from work, do not hesitate to accept the assistance of your family, friends, and colleagues. For instance, there may be stress management resources at your workplace that employees can use when seeking help on how to overcome the stress of work and remain productive.  Check if your employer has an EAP (Employee, Assistance, Program) or if they refer workers to counselors if need be; the objective is to ensure that you get the necessary assistance and support as you try to manage or overcome stress.

Digital BrandingLegal Branding

Technology Disrupts the Legal Industry

Technology is no doubt disrupting several industries, the most affected being banking and finance. While all this was going on, we sort of forgot the legal system. It has seemed invincible for the longest time now but it seems likely that the next time you seek notary services near you, you could be served by a robot. How’s that for progress? Okay, that may not be happening in a long time, but law students and lawyers are already seeing some changes in their area.

– Legal Research

Lawyers spend lots of time in their desks and libraries looking up legal documents and reading up on whatever they can find to attach to a case, but that is being made easy by technology. Instead of spending all this time in actual libraries, they can now access most legal write-up including submissions and judgments online. The only problems with this flexibility are that it strains work-life balance for these professionals even more.

– Artificial Intelligence and Decision making

These days, cases where facts are right there and stakes aren’t so high are decided by software to save time for more emotive cases. Traffic offences where the offender has been to court before are quite easy to decide after looking at the trend. However, murder cases and such that need the presence of a human being to reason and adjudicate are left to human judges. There is still the fact that coders need the help of legal professionals to come up with some of these statistics that enable the software to make its decision.

– Data Mining

Being as the data is available to any lawyer, they can now look up a judge’s reputation and judgments and be able to – almost confidently – predict his or her style and likely outcome if they are presented with a certain case. This knowledge leads to that particular lawyer pushing their case to the judge they believe would be lenient. Data mining is certainly working in favour of lawyers.

– Value Creation with Smart Contracts

78507412 – digital handshake on city background. 3d rendering

Some contracts don’t need too much time to create as they are quite repetitive and so they can be automated. Artists are already making use of smart contracts by automating repetitive services and in the process saving lots of money in legal and accounting fees. Think of a lease document or an affidavit. The message in one is the same as the other with the only difference being the figures and names of parties to the contract. These are being automated to spare time and money.

– Telecommuting

This has been working well for a while now and the future presents even more telecommuting. Law professionals travel so much most of the time but technology has made it such that people holding meetings in different continents feel like they are in the same room. This trend is breaking boundaries – where a lawyer in Africa can represent a client in Europe and vice versa. Less air travel means more work is done and less air pollution. Win-win!

These changes are not all negative. They will add value to the profession and create opportunities for those willing to jump right in.

Digital Branding

Mobile Marketing: What Is Incrementality Testing?

All mobile app marketers are looking to engage and convert more users. With so many marketing channels available, there’s a lot of pressure to quickly hone in on what will yield the most valuable business outcomes.

The more channels a business experiments with, the higher their chance for finding a blend that achieves substantial ROI. However, the experimentation process is tricky and time-consuming. Metrics like click-through-rate (CTR) and costs per acquisition (CPA) can give some useful insights, but they usually don’t tell the entire story.

Many marketers constantly wonder if their advertisement campaigns caused a consumer to convert. The answer to this question and more lies in incrementality testing.

What Is Incrementality Testing?

Incrementality testing, otherwise known as ‘Uplift Modeling,’ ‘Incremental Sales Lift’ or ‘Placebo Effect,’ measures the lift that advertising spending provides to conversion rates.

Advertisers can use incrementality testing to see how a single variable impacts user behavior. The resulting incremental lift shows how a certain digital advertising tactic impacts sales in comparison to other marketing endeavors.

Armed with this type of knowledge, you can then use data to formulate a more concrete marketing action plan. Dividing up audiences and marketing tactics into testing and control groups through incremental integration testing gives you reassurance results are not influenced by outside factors.

What Are The Benefits of Incrementality Testing?

The benefits of this type of test are robust. Incrementality testing can:

  • Validate the impact of digital media vs. organic conversions.
  • Validate conversions that are new.
  • Validate a single targeting tactic by a vendor.
  • Validate (and then compare) incremental sales across head-to-head tests.

Incrementality testing gives advertisers the ability to fine-tune their budgets since they have a better idea of how to allocate retargeting ad spend. In an advertising industry fraught with a lack of clarity, this type of testing gives businesses confidence in their marketing tactics.

However, despite all the benefits of incrementality testing, it’s still a pretty new concept that hasn’t yet achieved widespread popularity.

Why Isn’t Incrementality Testing Popular?

It might seem a bit weird that this type of testing has not been universally adopted, especially in light of its benefits. But incrementality testing carries a couple pitfalls.

First, testing is usually costly since money has to be dedicated to placebo advertisements. However, increasingly advanced AI technology is now letting companies with small budgets and volume carry out tests.

Additionally, getting precise metrics from incrementality testing can be extremely difficult. A lot can quickly go wrong. Many marketers think incrementality can be measured merely by examining conversions before and after a digital marketing effort.

The most precise measurements, however, will come through scientific approaches like randomized control trials (RCT).

How Can I Perform a Test?

RCTs can be an easy way to take a lot of the complexity out of incrementality tests. You simply split a target audience into a control and test group and then show the test group advertisements. Then you’re able to observe conversion rates and calculate impact. This gives you a clear picture of the cause and effect of a marketing campaign.

It’s crucial to adhere to good statistical testing practices throughout the process to ensure legitimate results. This means randomly selecting people for groups from the same user pool. It also means coming up with a hypothesis, a primary outcome, and a definite start and end date to cut down on time distortions.

In the end, groups of people that have higher incremental lift probably need some more pushing through the sales funnel. Groups with lower lift are probably more likely to buy, even without an ad.

The Competitive Edge of Testing

Despite the trickiness of successfully carrying out incremental integration testing, it provides a lot of benefits to marketers and advertisers.

Understanding the effects of a marketing strategy can help optimize a budget, and getting an idea about the indirect impacts of a tactic lets you see how one marketing strategy affects another.

An optimized budget and high-level visibility into the varying effectiveness of your overall marketing strategy can position companies for long-term growth and ensure they stay a step ahead of competitors.

Digital Branding

How To Get The Media To Notice You

Do you want more media attention for your business? Read on, here are some great ideas to do so.

1. Know What The Outlet Covers

Although most media outlets seem to cover the same publication, each outlet uses a different approach/angle for the same. For this reason, you need to identify whatever angle or approach the outlet uses in the content and news they air. It is after you have identified their ‘beat’ that you can start working on producing the same quality and matching news as theirs. You may however have to watch, read, or even listen to their broadcast severally to get the ‘beat’ right.

2. Use Email Instead Of  Calling

Unless you have a burning question, always use email for media pitches instead of the phone. One of the reasons why you need to avoid calling is the fact that most calls go to voicemail. Listening to a voicemail message takes a lot longer than reading the text. It is even harder to forward the same, with most editors choosing to delete long voice messages if it isn’t direct to the point.

3. Try Reaching the Right Person

Media outlets like this have dozens of people working on different content each day. Sending your content to the wrong person means you won’t be ‘heard.’ With multiple writers and editors, you need to identify the specific person you wish to reach out to or contact. Many media outlets today have a desk software that helps route communications to the right person. All you need to do is identify the contact or use words that the software can understand to route your message to him/her.

4. Target The Outlet’s Regular/Main Feature

Take some time to learn/discover the outlet’s features, then identify where your story would fit perfectly. Most media outlets are always looking for stories and subjects to add to their features. It is after identifying the specific feature that you can schedule your story for online publication or in print. You may, however, have to follow the media outlet on Twitter to be able to see their feeds, as well as the editorial calendars to spot recurring features that may be of interest.

You, however, need to follow all instructions outlined for that specific feature to stand a chance. One of the best ways to have your business considered in the feature is by submitting the same to the right person. For instance, looking at the Contact page can give you a direct contact of the person/editor responsible for that specific feature. Sending a generic email pitch to the outlet only reduces the probability of getting to the said editor.

5. Let Your Expertise Known

Media editors receive tons of emails from people who want their businesses featured. While they cannot publish/air all these features at once, most editors save the emails for future reference/use should they need a source.  For this reason, it would be advisable to send the editor an email every 3 months indicating your expertise and availability for an interview. Make your expertise known and especially the specific topic. Your business should also have an online presence where these editors can find it on Google. Journos are similar to employers, they want the right people and those that show their expertise – check out this post from nPower to see the similarities.

6. Make Yourself Available

Journalist work on tight schedules whereby they may want to call you for an interview. Make the process easy by providing your phone number and other contact details in all emails and company website. You also need to make yourself reachable and respond to any attempts to reach you on time. Returning calls and responding to requests sent makes it easier for the PR rep to reach you. You may also want to keep your phone close each time – you never know when the PR rep will call.

7. Create a Resource Center for your Media

The press/journalist may want to grab a few things about your business before running your story. These include images of your top products, black-and-white and color logo, as well as headshots of the business executives. Creating a resource center for this, and in high resolution makes it easier for the media to cover your business well. It would also be advisable to include figures and basic facts about the company, which the editor can sieve through when running the story. Making these pieces of information readily available without the editor having to contact you makes their job easier.