Results for: business website

Digital Branding

B2B Brand Recognition Tips to Consider in 2021

Brand awareness creates brand recognition, and brand recognition builds customer loyalty.  When a business customer identifies with another company, they not only buy that company’s products, refusing to ever consider their competitors’ products, but they will also buy their products repeatedly.

If the product lasts a long time, then a business will buy other products that the company makes. Buying that company’s products has become a part of their operation. They rely on that B2B relationship the same way they rely on their board of directors.

With that said, it all starts with establishing excellent brand recognition. While there’s less pressure on B2B enterprises to invest heavily in their brand, that doesn’t mean they’re off the hook. Establishing an identity within the industry remains as essential as doing the same in the consumer market. 

This quick guide will help you increase your understanding of building your company’s B2B brand. Let’s dive in.

Tip #1: Build an Impressive Website  

The first step to building B2B brand awareness is creating a great website that attracts attention and engages visitors. Besides the skillful use of graphics and copy-written content, it should be easy for visitors to understand what service the business offers.   

Take, for instance, the brand recognition needs by a global payroll solutions company. Its homepage should explain its unique selling proposition in the first fold. That way, potential customers can immediately understand how international payroll services can cost-effectively manage the entire payroll of a large organization.  Doing so makes it possible to quickly and accurately compensate employees working in multiple locations.  

Tip #2: Focus on Creating a Good First Impression  

Your advertising materials include brochures, business cards, and stationary.

If these are not well-designed, your company will lose business. You will not impress clients or attract new business partners. That’s why it’s important to search for professional graphic design companies to help create these materials. 

High-quality marketing collateral shows that a business is professional. So, use the best color combinations, card quality, and professional descriptions. 

Also, evaluate the quality of other branding elements to create an excellent first impression. For instance, see if your logos, slogans, and signage align with your brand image. 

Tip #3: Engage in Social Media 

Besides setting up a profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, research any other social media platforms your target audience frequents. Social media allows you to engage with prospects, clients, and future business partners. Stay active on these platforms, with regular posts, providing content that shares your expertise. Hire a team to manage your social media presence, ranging from social media managers to graphic designers and writers. 

Tip #4: Publish in Industry Magazines 

Prospects looking for business services often read these for industry news and to discover new products or services. Consider publishing guest posts in these magazines, offering invaluable advice on business-building strategies. 

It might also be possible to arrange an interview for your company. Speak to the editor about what makes your company unique and share the founder’s story. If you can intrigue the editor, they might send a staff writer over to interview the top executives in the company. Additionally, advertise your services because your target audience will be reading them.  

Tip #5: Create an Email Newsletter  

Despite the growing number of new marketing methods available online, email marketing remains one of the best ways to build a business-to-business relationship. While other marketing trends rise and fall, email continues to help build relationships between companies and their clients.

Here are a few ways to get your emails read rather than ignored when they arrive in your subscribers’ inboxes: 

* Offer great value, providing information that will help your readers to improve their business. 

* Since readers are quick to discern sales pitches pretending to impart information, offer accurate information that makes a difference. 

* It’s okay to make sales pitches, but do it with discernment, rather than trying to get the reader to buy your product at every opportunity. 

* Hire an email copywriting professional to write your email sequences. 

Brand awareness sets your company apart from your competitors. Differentiate what makes your company unique and explain how this uniqueness positions your company to get things done better and faster.

Uncategorized

E-commerce Security 2021: Alternative of Google reCaptcha

hCaptcha…. ummmmm….. sounds different right? Some might have heard about it but do not know what it is. In simple terms, hCaptcha is an E-commerce security software for bot and spam detection.

Now, you will be thinking you already have reCaptchas for bots and spammers. Well, in this article I will clear you out all about What is hCaptcha? How does it work? Is it safe? Is it better than reCaptcha?

E-commerce security is the major concern for online business owners. Spam and bots affect E-commerce websites adversely. They misuse your site data and hence, you lose the trust of your customers. E-commerce merchants are always in search of protecting their websites from these spammers.

Among the many options available to protect your website from spam attacks, Captchas are one of them. Captchas help you to prevent spams and bots from entering your online store. Completely Automated Public Turing-test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) keeps spams and bots away from the website. CAPTCHA recognizes humans and stops spam bots from entering the website.

What is Google reCaptcha?

Initially, people used distorted images with alphabets and numbers on the registration form, checkout page, and login page to prevent spammers from entering the website. With the advancement in technology, spammers and bots got smarter and this technique would no longer prevent them.

Image Source: Nabtron

Later on, with “identify a thing”, the user has to solve the challenge, where it provides a grid of nine pictures and the user has to select appropriate images in order to move ahead.

Image source: Terence Eden

Then after Google bought the reCaptcha and offered a high level of security simplifying the process for users. The user just needs to tick the checkbox “I’m not a robot” without brainstorming to solve the questions. People liked it as the process became faster for them. Plus, it provided a greater level of security.

Image source: Google Developers

Google provides reCaptcha service for free in exchange for user data. Every time a user solves a puzzle, Google gets information about the user’s behavior, what site is being visited.

The latest version of Google reCaptcha is Invisible reCaptcha. With invisible reCaptcha, “I’m not a robot”, the dialog box was even removed and the user was not prompted with any question to solve or perform any task. It tracks user behavior without any user interaction.

What is hCaptcha?

hCaptcha is a complete alternative to Google reCaptcha, owned by Intuition Machines. It is basically the same as reCaptcha with some major benefits. hCaptcha is a blocking tool for bots and spammers to enter your E-commerce websites. hCaptcha offers a high level of security and protects websites from spam and bots. It accurately identifies what is safe and what is a risk for the website. It provides challenges that are difficult for bots to solve but easy for humans.

Image Source: MageComp

Benefits of hCaptcha

Along with, security hCaptcha offers other benefits for E-commerce websites. Let us figure out what hCaptcha has to offer

  • hCaptcha provides security from spam and bots to enter the website.
  • It provides privacy to the user’s personal information.
  • It allows earning money when a user solves a puzzle. The money is received in the virtual form known as Human Tokens which can be used for image classification or given as charity.
  • Users of your site will be able to see the charity work you are doing, increasing your site’s reputation. 
  • hCaptcha provides easy tasks to humans consuming less time.
  • They classify the images and sell back the image classification service to others without binding the personal information of the website visitors.

Is hCaptcha safe?

With hCaptcha, you need not worry about spam, bots, or malicious factors affecting your website. Your website visitors get more privacy if hCaptcha is running on your site. The service providers get an image classification service. You get an incentive with which you can buy services or donate to charities like Wikimedia Foundation. 

Moving from reCaptcha to hCaptcha is like a walk in the park. You simply need to perform 3 simple steps which will cost you less than even 30 minutes. Thus, migrating from reCaptcha to hCaptcha is a stress-free easy-peasy task. 

hCaptcha vs reCaptcha

reCaptcha is being used by millions of people around the world. But the major problem with reCaptcha is, it breaches privacy policies. This problem is solved with hCaptcha. The user’s personal information is safe with hCaptcha. Apart from security, hCaptcha benefits the user as well as the website owners. hCaptcha is not managed by an ad service, hence there is no violation of user information.

Is hCaptcha better than reCaptcha?

Google is becoming less effective in figuring out bots and spam. For this reason, it is better to find an alternative for it. hCaptcha is the new arrival in the spam-preventing area. hCaptcha classifies the images without selling the personal information of the users. hCaptcha provides a small incentive for image classification which the owners can donate as charity. Looking at the positive sides of hCaptcha, yes it is better than reCaptcha.

Final Words:

In a dilemma whether to switch to hCaptcha or not? I must say it’s a pretty good idea to switch to hCaptcha for preventing bots and spam. Integrate Magento 2 hCaptcha Extension and safeguard your store from bots and spammers by increasing the customer experience of the store.

Flipping from reCaptcha to hCaptcha is a matter of minutes by keeping the personal information of the users secure. hCaptcha offers straightforward, effortless, and authentic bot detection making it easy for humans.

Author Bio: Zoya Scoot is a Hubspot Certified Inbound Marketing Specialist and Content Marketer at MageComp. With her exceptional research work on Magento, she has helpes MageComp to grow in many ways. Some of her articles are featured on Google SERPs, which drives lots of visitors.

SaaS Branding

How to Get More Customers

Every business needs a constant stream of customers. Without plenty of satisfied customers, you won’t have a business, regardless of how well everything else in your business works. 

If you don’t attract enough customers after you launch your business, then your business will flounder, failing to flourish. And if your volume of your customers drops after you’ve established your business, then your business might close when revenues drop below operating costs. 

While the value of getting plenty of customers is obvious to every business, many businesses often lose sight of this goal, distracted by internal business concerns.

Small business owners, in particular, are more likely to lose track of the value of growing their customer list because they are often overwhelmed by so many other aspects of business tugging at their attention.  

Fortunately, customer acquisition is not complex, and here are three simple strategies to ensure your business always has more than enough customers to thrive:

Get Direct Leads 

If you are a contractor, for example, you can pre-buy business leads from a contractor locator service like Networx. Networx leads are available in real time. As soon as they secure a qualified lead, they will then pass the job to you as one of their qualified affiliate contractors. You won’t have to go through endless negotiations with the customer to win the contract.

Improve Conversions 

When your business attracts targeted leads, then your sales will soar. If a high volume of traffic doesn’t trigger a large spike in sales, then review your customer conversion process.  

If you’re not sure how to gauge customer conversion rates, then hire a business consultant who can figure out a better mechanism, strategy, technique, or policy to turn prospects into customers. 

Consider Rebranding

If your business once had a lot of customers but now struggles to attract enough interest in its products or services, your branding may be archaic, no longer relevant.

That could happen for many possible reasons:

  • corporate reputation issues,
  • change in market conditions,
  • a surge of fierce new competitors who are offering better quality products or services at a lower cost, or
  • change in the needs or wants of your target audience.  

If you suspect that you’ve lost your market share because your brand has lost some of its appeal, then consider rebranding.

Rebranding isn’t as simple as designing a new logo, coming up with a snappier slogan, or building a trendier website. Rebranding goes deeper. It’s a sea change. Rebranding goes beyond a new look and feel. It reflects your company’s new approach to market conditions. 

You can decide exactly how to rebrand by monitoring audience preferences to understand what change in direction to make.  

Upgrade Customer Service  

There’s no point in spending time and energy acquiring new customers if you lose existing customers at a steady rate. It’s not enough to just acquire new customers, you also need return business from loyal customers.

Since the cost of acquiring a new customer is so high, you are wasting money if you have no strategies in place to build customer loyalty. Your revenues will take a hit if you don’t address the issue of a high turnover in customers.

You can improve customer service by reviewing customer touchpoints. 

Make a list of things to test and tweak:

  • enhance customer interactions,
  • update dysfunctional customer service policies, or
  • get your staff more engaged in customer satisfaction. 

If you don’t have a clue about the quality of your customer service, ask your customers directly. Use the best survey tools to get customer feedback.

Troubleshoot Your Customer Acquisition Process

If your business is not doing well, troubleshoot why you don’t have enough customers. Review how you acquire customers and try new marketing strategies to get customers.

Legal Branding

How to List Products on Amazon Without a GTIN or UPC?

A Global Trade Identification Number is required for any products sold on Amazon (GTIN). You must apply for a GTIN Exemption if your product does not have one. But don’t worry; it’s not as challenging as it appears. If your product does not have a UPC, EAN, ISBN, or UPC code, you must apply for a GTIN exemption under a specified product category. Let’s have a look at what a GTIN Exemption is. Also, visit olifantdigital.com to get more information or professional Amazon help.

What is GTIN?

A Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN), commonly known as Product ID, is a unique number assigned to each product sold on Amazon, as previously stated. This can be found as a barcode label on a product’s packaging. The GTIN, or Global Trade Item Number, is a unique string of numbers that identifies particular products beneath the barcode but is not the barcode itself.

 

Types of GTINs 

UPC: A Universal Product Code, also known as GTIN-12, is a unique 12-digit numerical product identifier under a barcode that is most commonly used in the United States and Canada. These can be found on almost all tangible things in retailers. As a result, it is the most widely used barcode type on the planet.

EAN: A European Article Number (EAN) is a unique identifier for products sold in the European marketplace. The EAN, commonly known as GTIN-13, is a barcodeThe EAN, also known as GTIN-13, is a 13-digit numerical product identifier that appears under a barcode.

JAN: A Japanese Article Number is similar to an EAN in that it is only used for products sold in Japan’s marketplace.

ISBN: ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number, and it is a unique identifier for books. There are 10 or 13 digits in an International Standard Book Number. The number was chosen by the date of publication.

GTIN-14: It relates to the container codes.

 

UPCs and Barcodes

While UPCs are the most prevalent sort of GTIN used for Amazon.com sales, they are not required for every product sold. However, it is contingent on elements such as the brand and category in which you wish to sell. If you sell a private-label or handmade product, you may be qualified for a GTIN exemption. This exception would mean that the product would not require a UPC for listing on amazon.

All listed products must have a GS1 (Global Standards 1) registered barcode if they do not have a GTIN exemption. GS1 is a non-profit organization that creates and maintains international business communication standards. The only legitimate way to purchase a UPC for use on Amazon is through GS1. When using FBA, your product packaging must have an associated UPC number, an Amazon barcode, or an FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit). This FNSKU is an Amazon-specific code that keeps track of your inventory. You can also check the amazon PPC guide to have complete insight into the significant information.

 

GTIN Exemption

There is already a list of brands that require a GTIN to be listed on Amazon.com. GTIN exemptions are not available for these brands since they utilize a GS1 authorized barcode on their products. If a product does not have a GTIN and fits within one of these brands, it will be “suppressed.” You can apply for a GTIN exemption if you meet the following criteria:

  • You want to sell products for which the brand, maker, or publisher does not issue a GTIN.
  • You are the maker, brand, or publisher of a product that you want to sell but don’t have barcodes for.
  • You wish to sell product parts that don’t have a GTIN, such as automobile parts or product accessories.
  • You want to sell a bundled pack that contains multiple products.

 

Requesting a GTIN Exemption

To be eligible for an exemption, you must meet certain criteria. It’s a lot easier to register a GS1 account and receive barcodes here than it is to claim you need a GTIN exemption. Obtaining GTINs is the simplest solution in the long run. Check to see if your product is listed in Amazon’s massive catalog to discover whether you qualify for a GTIN exemption. Even if the same product is sold by numerous sellers or companies, it’s common for everything to be linked to a single listing. The barcode is what makes this relationship possible. Your products don’t appear in Amazon’s catalog and/or you don’t have barcodes, thus you’re exempt.

If an existing product matches yours, your offer can be added on the detail page of that product without the need for a GTIN. The product should appear in the manage inventory area on the “Seller Dashboard” within a few minutes. If your product doesn’t match, you’ll need to apply for a GTIN exemption before it can be added. You’ll need the following if you’re a brand owner, manufacturer, or publisher: The product’s name and 2-9 photos of the product against a white backdrop, taken from two different angles, including the product’s box.

 

Guidelines

  1. The brand name supplied on the application must match the brand name on the goods and/or packaging exactly.
  2. Images of the item and packaging must be taken in the actual world. When photographing the product, they must show it being held in hand or placed on a table.
  3. The product branding must be affixed to the container or the product itself in a permanent manner.
  4. There should be no certified GS1 barcode anywhere on the goods and/or packaging, as this would eliminate the need for GTIN Exemption.
  5. You can always re-apply if you mistakenly used the wrong brand name or category when applying for the GTIN exemption.
  6. Listing under a new brand or in a new category necessitates the submission of a new application each time. . In a single application, you can request GTIN exemption for up to 10 different brand names/category combinations.

 

Resellers’ Requirements

If you’re reselling products, you’ll need a letter from the brand’s owner written in the local language of the market and contains the following information: Name and contact information of the addresser or writer of the letter

  • Your address, phone number, and email or website address
  • Reasonable reasons why the product requires a GTIN exemption After that, go to Seller Central and click the following link — Request a GTIN exemption.
  • Select “Select” and search for a category that applies to your goods.
  • Then, “verify your eligibility.” If it comes back as “ineligible,” a GTIN will be required.
  • “Check for eligibility” is the next step. If it comes back as “ineligible,” a GTIN will be required. If not, click “Continue.”
  • Amazon may take at least 48 hours to react. You may check the status of this in Amazon Seller Central’s ‘Case Log’ area.
Create a branded blog
Digital Branding

Best Ways to Promote your Apps

Mobile app creation opens new ways for getting customers to recognize your brand. The app is the perfect way to show how dedicated you are towards the audience. Around 50 percent of customers use the app to make purchase decisions and scan for information.

That said, thousands of customers will be attracted to your business when you start taking care of them and give them a navigable way to get access to your goods and services. Mobile app marketing for getting more customers is very important.

Businesses approach mobile app development companies and after that they start finding the best ways for app marketing. So if you’re looking for a simple approach to promote the app, it’s worth considering certain strategies.

Explore the Ways to Promote Your Mobile App

· Choose the Right App Store

How to Market Your Mobile App – the Choice of the right App Store helps. Let us give you a broad notion. When you are considering the promotional strategy, always choose the store to list your app that will be a perfect one for the business and the market you want to target. Always make sure about adding the app to the different App Stores.

To get a sooner response on behalf of the users, start with the Google Play and Apple store. The distribution through the App Store is around $90 per month, while Google Play charges around $25 for the registration fee, and there is 30 percent associated with the list price. Besides, before you invest in picking up the App Store, consider the regions you want to cover.

· Rates and Reviews

High reviews and rates from the users ensure helping the app to draw the attention of the customers. Always ask the audience to rate the app. Also, request them to spend a few minutes writing a short review of the service they have got from your app. Add value like unlocking the new content or the virtual life.

More than 50 percent of organizations choose to redirect their investments to customer experience innovations that can give an unstoppable way to broaden your brand. Make sure about increasing the chances of getting the quality of feedback. You can also get the scope for the ranking in the App Store with the utilization of the right keywords.

· Use of Social Media Marketing

One of the most vital strategies that you need to consider is social media marketing. It can make sure about drawing the attention of the interested users. Conversion of the visitors to the customers also becomes easy by considering social media marketing. You can entertain the subscribers with useful content, thematic Infographics, and hot topics.

Make sure about never spoiling everything just by mindless copy-pasting. Rather make the social media marketing of your app great enough for catching the attention of the users. Besides, make sure about getting the feedback in time while bringing in the important updates.

· Designing the App Appropriately

Whenever it comes to promoting the app before releasing it, you will have to design the website appropriately. Highlight the main news regarding your app, the key features you’re of contents, as well as capabilities.

Pay attention to designing the app and upgrading it to match the present market standards while making it quite navigable. When you have built your mobile app, ensure attracting the people to the website while running the ad campaign with the assistance of the advertising company.

Pay attention to offering the users additional value like the personal discount. You can do so in return for the subscription to the app. The email base also becomes an additional channel that can develop the interaction with the customers. However, in the entire strategy, never consider spamming as a way to market your app.

· Connection with Professional Bloggers

The app marketing strategy starts before the app is launched. So you will have to build an international audience who will be there to serve as the face and the voice. Go ahead with marketing the app both locally and globally right after the app launch.

For that, you don’t have to consider building a bond with high-budget influencers. Rather, you can promote the mobile app by interacting with professional bloggers. You can also consider the app listing websites that can give you reviews and help generate subscribers with massive downloads.

The alternate method you can choose is reaching out to the top websites and social media personalities. Such a strategy can make sure about generating the app’s awareness with pace. One of the best ways to promote the app is to stick to engaging directly with the customers.

· Use of Email Marketing

Use of Communities, text messages, social media or interviews, video promotion, and similar other strategies can engage your consumers. However, one of the best and the classical ways to promote the app is email marketing.

Email marketing can still prove to be one of the best ways to promote the app internationally. It’s worth noting that mobile email opens have noticed an increase of 180 percent in the last three years.

All you have to do is openly broadcast the features, user ratings, reviews, benefits that your app will offer the users over similar competitive apps. Besides, you should also consider the selling point for relating every global scenario to the app: the best headlines, small and catchy titles, taglines, and subject lines. Then make sure to send out a clear picture of your app. Ensure sending out the bulk mails internationally to make sure about giving you more downloads in lesser time.

· Featuring App using your own Blog

A mobile user spends 2 hours and 51 minutes on the apps from his entire browsing time. This value suggests that the apps account for roughly 90 percent of smartphone usage. So, it’s clear how engaging the apps can increase your brand’s value. In addition to including the app on the website, you will have to regularly schedule the blog post in terms of another marketing strategy that can leverage your app’s presence.

You can also introduce the complete story regarding the app and let your target audience learn its purpose. The story-telling strategy works as one of the best ideas to promote your mobile app. Let them know how the app can be used while making things easier for them. You can include screenshots, videos to make it an engaging and better understanding of the content.

· Promotion with the Help of the Promo Video

There are around 2.87 million apps in the Google Play Store alongside 1.96 million apps in the App Store. You can create a promo video that will be good enough to promote the mobile app. It turns out to be the simplest and quickest way for someone who wants to understand the brand. Note that 21 percent of Millennials open an app 50+ times per day.

This value shows how important the promo video is for the promotion of your brand. The promo video turns out to be the best idea by which you can entice the visitors towards your brand. You can make the video quite attractive when compared to the other app promo videos.

This tip is something that can bring more views. With one of the most effective ways to promote your app, you can rest assured that you can take advantage of the video SEO. The proper title of the video will highlight your brand when the user’s query and the YouTube video title match.

Key Takeaways

So, with this blog, you have got the highlights regarding marketing your mobile app. It’s worth noting that user spending time on app stores will be increasing by 92 percent in 2022. Creating an exceptional app is important for increasing the sphere of the business while also reaching out to new customers.

There are dozens of app promotion channels, but not all of them work appropriately for promoting your app. Do follow the tailored ecosystem with a specific range of app promotion strategies as mentioned above. In the process, also consider the tools, services, and platforms. Give priority to building a strong app promotional and marketing strategy.

Digital Branding

Actionable Ideas For Omnichannel Branding On A Budget

Omnichannel branding has always been the cornerstone of business success, and it becomes all the more crucial amid the pandemic. It comes as no surprise that even startups and small businesses are willing to go the extra mile with an investment in omnichannel strategies. It makes your brand visible across the entire channels, so there is hardly a chance of missing out on customers.

Building a presence across physical and online channels like the web, mobile, and social media can take a lot of effort and investment for a business. But you need not worry about cash constraints as you can achieve omnichannel branding even on a shoestring budget. Here are some actionable ideas that work.

Know your customers

Whether you plan to start from scratch or only want to extend the existing branding strategy, a good understanding of your customers gives you the right start. Consumer preferences change often, so it makes sense to track them at all times. Knowing the buying channels they prioritize enables you to be selective about the initiative. For example, you may start with social media promotions if they are active on this online platform. Building a web and mobile presence can wait for later.

Leverage quality content

Creating quality content is the most effective way to push your business across all customer engagement platforms. The best thing is that you can do it yourself, as long as you are creative and passionate about your brand. Hiring a professional is worthwhile if you can stretch the budget a bit. Quality content entices your customers everywhere and gives them a reason to try your offering. It builds trust and credibility for your business and serves as a sustainable asset.

Outsource software development

Another area where you will expect to save money is software development. Outsourcing rather than developing in-house is a smart approach. Technology services are relatively affordable in countries like Argentina, where you can find talented professionals. You will expect to develop a mobile app on the cheap if you want to add mobile branding to your omnichannel strategy. Consider outsourcing services for Software Development Argentina because you can secure top talent without spending a fortune. Find developers with expertise in mobile apps and onboard a team to kick start your mobile branding initiative.

Ensure consistency

You may have the best-looking website and mobile apps, and the most incredible offline campaigns to popularize your brand. But don’t expect things to work when they lack consistency. Make sure that the look and feel, messaging, and everything else you showcase, are consistent across all channels. Customers should be able to recognize your brand everywhere and connect with it. Consistency breeds trust and ensures that buyers stay with your brand for the long haul. You can create a consistent presence across all channels without spending a lot. Just stick to your vision and replicate it in all the campaigns.

Creating an omnichannel reach for your brand sounds like a daunting and expensive task. But it is easier than you imagine, and you can do it without a massive expense. Just follow these branding rules, and you are good to go!

Digital Branding

5 Smart Ideas to Earn Money Without Having to Work

Working a nine-to-five job can be fulfilling, but earning money without having to work? That’s even better. Passive income provides extra cash flow, especially in today’s economic upheaval. It can even give you financial freedom and a ticket to early retirement. But aside from starting your own business, there are many other lucrative ways to earn while you sleep.

Here are some passive income ideas to inspire you on your journey to being your own boss:

Generate Rental Income

One no-brainer way of earning passive income is to put a property up for rent. Those who have a home or condo can host on Airbnb. It doesn’t have to be an entire property. Listing an extra room in your home for rent also earns well on the side.  

Store owners can even host an extra space in their store for a vending machine owner. The former can get extra income from the rent, while the latter can generate passive income from their machine.

The good thing about this money-making idea is that property owners can rent their extra space if they’re short on cash or use the property themselves if otherwise.

Anyone can still get a piece of the real estate pie even without property to rent out. Real estate investment trusts (REITs), real estate-themed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and real estate crowdfunding platforms allow the average Joe and Jane to invest in this industry without owning property. 

In particular, crowdfunding platforms allow investors with as low as $500 to participate in real estate deals they could have never dreamed of before with that money. 

Of course, as with any type of investment, you must do your due diligence when selecting a platform to trust your money with. Do your homework, and read authentic investor ratings and reviews on your platform of choice. 

Sell Digital Products

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels

Digital products are an excellent source of extra cash. This is especially helpful for content creators, educators, and creative professionals. They only need to generate content so they can start selling them online and generate sales indefinitely.

For example, social media marketers can create calendar templates to help professionals plan their social media content. Photographers can sell stock photos. Meanwhile, educators can create ebooks about their areas of expertise and sell them online.

Create an App

For developers and programmers, creating apps can help them add to their income stream. Like selling digital goods, apps can keep bringing passive income as long as users keep downloading them. App creators can do it two ways: either putting a price tag on their app or making it free and monetizing it through ads.

Startups can also fund their big idea through trusted crowdfunding platforms. This helps them raise capital from investors to launch their app. If the company grows, investors can benefit by receiving a good portion of the profit.  

 

Start a Blog or YouTube Channel

Photo by Los Muertos Crew from Pexels

We’re now seeing a trend here. Creating stuff helps people earn extra. This is similar to creating content through blogs and a YouTube channel.

Blogging has been a popular passive income stream since the beginning of websites. 

Entrepreneurs earn passively through sponsored posts, affiliate links, and digital products. Content creators can also turn to YouTube to generate income from ad revenue and sponsored videos.

The trick to becoming successful on both platforms is always to be consistent with posting. In the online world, what’s out of sight becomes out of mind. Creators can be easily forgotten, with tons of competitors vying for attention online.

Invest in Stocks

Stocks have made rich people even richer, but that’s not to say average-earning people can’t take their shot at it. By investing in the right companies, stocks can generate extra income beyond what one usually earns from a nine-to-five.

While investing in stocks is a passive act, investors should do their homework to earn huge success. Studying business’ annual reports helps us better assess which companies to place their bets on.

Get That Bread

Nothing is impossible if you only put in the work. Working to earn can bring food to the table, but having a steady source of passive income can fill in the gap that a regular job can’t. And if we can, why not do both? This way, we’ll at least have a safety net and extra savings for the rainy days.

Now, all you need to do is find the right passive income source that suits your skills and interests best.   

SaaS Branding

5 Ways for Companies to Appeal to Younger Customers

Businesses worked hard to appeal to baby boomers because they were the biggest block of consumers for a long time. That’s no longer the case. Millennials and younger are some of the biggest blocks of consumers now. The following are five ways to appeal to younger customers so that your business has a chance to grow.

  1. Social Media Platforms Make a Difference

If you want to reach younger customers and drive them to your website, it’s essential to get on social media platforms. Everyone is online, including older folks, but none are more active than younger customers. You want to get on every social media platform you can get on and be active. It’s important to show some care with these platforms. You have to invest in the pictures and videos you post because quality matters. Be sure to share meaningful posts. All of this matters to the younger consumer, and it will help you in the long run.

  1. Eco-Consciousness Matters

Another way to appeal to younger consumers is to focus on sustainability. Millennials and younger care about the environment and want the companies they visit to care about it, too. Do everything you can to show that you care. For example, you can install an EV charging station in the customer parking lot as a way to welcome young consumers who are driving electric cars. Even if they aren’t your customers yet, they might become interested if they need the charger. Make other changes to your business, like going paperless to be green.

  1. Socio-Consciousness is Important

Being eco-conscious is one thing, but your business should also be socio-conscious. Being a good corporate citizen is a good thing because it shows that you care about what’s going on in your community. The way you do this is up to you. For example, you can show your support for LGBTQ+ rights, or you can simply make sure everyone in your community knows that your business sponsors the local football team. Both of these make you look good, but one of them is a little more controversial than the other. You should honest about what you support, and make sure you do so because people do care.

  1. Being Authentic Really Wins

The next thing you want to consider doing is working on your transparency. Younger generations want to feel like they know you and what your company stands for. They want to feel like they can find out everything about you and that you’re always going to be honest with them. You’re going to have to work on transparency, and there’s a lot of ways to show transparency. For example, you can introduce a traceability feature. This feature allows customers to trace back the products you offer to their origin to make sure your products were made fairly and everyone was paid well. Authenticity also means owning up to mistakes before you’re exposed.

  1. Start Hiring Them and Listen

It’s important to hire some of these young folks. The more young people you have working for you, the more you’ll learn about them. Be open-minded about what they have to teach you even if you’re used to doing things in a certain way. Try to hire some of them to help you reach younger generations. The reality is older generations usually have a hard time connecting with younger ones. They have trouble speaking their language, often coming off as fake, and that’s not what you want. Do your best to be open to their suggestions. The more diverse your workplace is, the better things will be for you.

These are some things you could do to try to reach that young block, but there’s always more you can do. Consider hiring a marketing team that’s had some success reaching younger customers if you want this to work.

Digital Branding

How to Successfully Undergo a Company Rebrand

When you first started your company, there is no doubt that you spent a fair amount of time and energy thinking about what the brand would be and what it would represent. This is the message you send out to the public, and it is that first impression they get of your company, so you want to be sure that the brand comes across in a positive light. And while that may have worked well for the company in the beginning, it’s not unusual to get to the point where a re-branding is necessary and makes sense.

Coffee, Phone, Paper, Business, Branding, Blank

Before you jump right in, there are some tips you can use that will help ensure the rebrand is successful from the get-go.

Will This be a Total or Partial Rebrand?

The first thing you need to think about is what kind of rebranding this will be. Are you just looking to rebrand certain parts of the business or is this going to be a complete rebrand? Experts will often tell you that a partial rebranding can be the smarter move, as it can help better retain your customers since certain aspects will stay the same. It really comes down to your goals and reasoning behind the rebrand.

Will You be Changing the Company Name?

Another thing to consider is whether you’ll be changing the company name as part of the rebranding. This can be a bit risky, but if done properly, it can really pay off. You can play around with the company name by reusing a current word, creating an acronym, adding a suffix or prefix, change up the spelling, and so forth. This helps to retain some of the familiarity.

Make Sure You Take Everything into Account

Far too often people get caught up in the name of the company or a redesign of the logo, but a rebranding is so much more. You need to be aware of the total package – meaning the entire message you’ll be sending out to customers from the name of the company, to the way the website appears, and even the messaging you use on the site.

Don’t Be Afraid to Hang On to Some Features

While you will have big rebranding plans and want to really shake things up, it should be said that there is nothing wrong with keeping some features. You can just give them a modern twist instead.

Don’t Hesitate to Bring in the Professionals

The final tip is to know when to seek help. You don’t want to hesitate to bring in the professionals to help you with your rebranding project. A professional branding firm will understand what the best steps are to take, how to ensure your new messaging is clear and concise, and that you don’t lose loyal customers in the process.

The fact is that rebranding your company can be a huge undertaking and while the rewards may be large, you still need to make sure you’re taking the right steps to ensure success.

Digital Branding

Some Branding Ways That Never Fails

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”

  • Seth Godin

Many global reports reveal that up to 60% of millennials go for brands published or marketed on different platforms. The consistent brand representation has helped the reputed brand expand its business reach by 23%. And this has made more than 95% of the companies form their brand guidelines encompassing details like branding colors, values, ethics, and protocol.

Now when it works as the base of any strong business, why not give it the required attention and get started with the proper branding practices?

Try to make no mistake as branding acts as the most valuable asset for your business. No matter online or offline, branding plays a vital role in all aspects of the company. If you are an entrepreneur, our advice is to construct a business identity and maintain it at its best in the marketplace.

Some important marketing activities include –

  1. Website and online marketing
  2. Building a branding environment in the storefront
  3. Work on content marketing and publishing
  4. Give a try at some offline marketing tactics
  5. Print signages and marketing collaterals

Here is how to make your marketing shout out loud –

Get a vision statement – Until you are not clear with what you want, you won’t be able to reach out to your ideal customers while leaving an impeccable impression on them. Know the value of marketing yourself as a brand and stand out from the crowd. Ask your marketing team to share content that shouts out loud to back your business.

Display the best in your brand – Until you won’t let people know what you have in your kitty for them, nothing won’t work. For this, you can get some signage boards or outdoor LCD screens displaying your best offers and deals. While you pick the showcasing LCD screens, go for quality ones that come with sunlight reliability and other remarkable features.

Infuse branding in everything – No matter if you are running a restaurant or an IT company in the middle of the vicinity, you should be good enough to embed your branding touch in everything you do. For instance – get a branding poster printed to be displayed outside a store or office, get some business cards, brand t-shirts for any official trip or event, and much more.

Be a sponsor – If your city happens to organize an event in the city, make sure to be a highlighted part of it. Be yet another sponsor to seek all the attention at once.

The final thoughts –

Making your brand do well in the current competitive times comes with many struggles and out-of-the-box ideas. While you may be paying all your attention to the website development for your business, it is essential to spend some heed to the offline marketing tactics. Brace yourself to get the best of these two worlds for your business.