Gone are those days when you only needed to put blocks of text on your website and expect a boost in engagement rates. People are becoming more graphics-centric and believe it should be an integral part of every marketing stage.

That’s where illustrations come in. They are powerful visual elements that you can employ on every aspect of your website – homepage or blog posts. 

According to Springer, customers guided by texts and illustrations perform 323% better than those without. This is especially true if the illustration is placed on your sales page and places where you need to nudge your customers down the conversion funnel.

Note that an illustration can simply be a work of art with characters depicting your brand process. It can also be a combination of data visualizations created with geometric shapes and is useful for articles.

In this article, we will discuss ten important steps that will help you create a cutting-edge illustration.

10 Steps To Create Custom Illustrations For Your Website

Creating a custom illustration for any page on your website is a no-brainer, but you need a basic knowledge of how designs work. So it’s advisable you go through a few tutorials on Youtube to help you get a good feel of how things work. 

Regardless, we have simplified ten basic steps that will help you create awesome illustrations as a beginner or pro below.

1. Finding The Right Tools

There are several tools for creating illustrations, but the best picks on our list are Adobe Illustrator (AI) and Procreate. AI is a vector-based design software that you can use to design logos, fliers, prints, infographics, and illustrations. And designers sometimes use it to convert raster-based images to vector-based art and vice versa.

Procreate boasts similar functions to AI, such as logo designs and illustrations. You can use Procreate to design artwork, including 2D and 3D characters, which are helpful for storytelling on your home and sales page. Additionally, you can get resources like anime and manga brushes for Procreate from platforms like Brush Galaxy, which makes the tool even easier to use.

2. Brainstorm A Concept

Once you have a preferred tool, it’s time to brainstorm a concept. You should have a clear picture of how you want your illustration to look, what it should contain, the colors, fonts, and the message to pass. On a better note, you should first identify what page of your website you’re designing the illustration for.

If you’re creating one for your homepage, then you’re most likely going to be working with stats like previous sales data, completed projects, and many others. In some cases, it could be character or descriptive art, which is often useful for impressing new visitors to your website.

A blog post usually does not need overly complex visuals. So your illustration might just wrap around a single paragraph, statistics, or fact. The same goes for case studies and newsletters.

When you’ve figured out what type of illustration you need, visit sites like Pinterest for variations of your concept. Filter the results to get relevant ideas and visuals. You can also explore Canva’s library and Freepik for more.

3. Sketch Out Your Idea

Don’t forget to sketch the ideas you’ve just brainstormed. Concepts are very volatile, and it’s quite easy to forget one or two at every click. If you have an iPad, you can download Procreate and use your pen to quickly create a rough prototype. Alternatively, you can do the sketches on a sheet of paper – anyone works.

Note that you’re not replicating the same concepts you’ve seen from other designers. You are only taking inspiration from their illustrations to create yours. So take note of the possible variations that can give your own design a unique look when sketching.

4. Set Up Your Workspace

The workspace is where all of your designs take place. To enhance your productivity and creativity, you should put all the necessary elements here. For example, you can line up your color palettes on the left for easy access when you’re creating your illustrations. This saves you the stress of going to the color drawer over and over again.

Other things to include in your workspace include your preferred shapes, quick boxes, images, and the texts you will use. Another way to tweak your workspace is by adjusting the existing preferences.

5. Start Designing

Now that you have your sketches, you can scan and upload them to Adobe Illustrator. Start by tracing out the sketch lines and get a basic shape in place. You only need to create a gray draft before adding colors and other elements.

Adobe Illustrator has a font-matching feature that comes with Adobe Sensei. Use it to dig out the best fonts and strokes to use for your texts.

6. Work With Geometric Shapes

Geometric shapes include rectangles, squares, circles, and stars. Often, most non-sketch illustrations start with these shapes and are further combined to create more complex designs. For example, you can use Adobe Illustrator’s “distort and transform” tool to bloat and pucker your shapes for a more artistic look.

When creating illustrator charts for in-article use, you can work with rectangles for the bar and circles for pies. 

7. Prioritize Brand Consistency

Brand consistency means presenting your brand across all channels the same way. The importance of brand consistency is instant recognition. And that means anywhere your customers or previous website visitors see your designs, they know it’s you.

A quick way to implement consistency is by creating a reusable template for your illustrations. You should also maintain the colors you use, your inscriptions, the logo, and the design pattern. 

8. Go 2D And 3D If Necessary

While most illustrations are already pretty good without adding extra aesthetics, they don’t have to look paper-like or rigid. For more realistic and expressive designs, you can use tools like Procreate and Adobe Illustrator. 

Also, note that not all of your illustrations need to be 2D and 3D. For example, illustrative pie charts and statistics for email content should be as simple as possible. Blog illustrations can take it an inch further and go 2D. 

9. Review And Edit

Once your illustrations are ready, sleep on them and review them for extra details. You should also test them across different devices and screens. Importantly, your file size matters a lot since they will be going live on your website. 

So ensure you optimize each byte without affecting the illustration’s quality while also prioritizing your page-load speed.

10. Use Pre-built Templates

Instead of creating everything from scratch, you can alternatively use pre-built templates. Some sites like Freepiks offer both premium and free templates which you can edit. All you need to do is insert your data where necessary.

If you are a bit versed in graphic designing, you can do some tweaking to the colors, shapes, and other elements used. 

Conclusion

Illustrations are so important and almost indispensable if you want to create a quality experience for people on your website. Adding them to your blog posts is even more crucial and can help enhance engagement.

To create a custom illustration, you need to brainstorm and sketch a concept. Afterward, open up your design software and set up the workspace. Scan the sketch and start designing. Finally, add the finishing touches.

Featured Image by upklyak on Freepik

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The entrepreneurial landscape is awash with potential, yet one of the most significant challenges entrepreneurs face is identifying a viable, market-ready business idea. 

This is where a Business Idea Generator comes in. It’s a tool or service, often AI-powered, that provides novel business ideas based on specific parameters like personal interests, industry trends, and market gaps. 

As an aspiring entrepreneur, leveraging such a tool can be pivotal in transforming your dreams into a successful startup.

What Refers to a Business Idea Generator?

A Business Idea Generator uses advanced algorithms, industry data, and sometimes, human intuition to generate a list of potential business ideas. These generators come in several forms:

• AI-based generators: These leverage machine learning and big data to produce business ideas based on trending market needs and gaps.
• Human-curated idea generators: These are often platforms where experienced entrepreneurs share unique business ideas based on their experience and market understanding.
• Industry-specific generators: These generate ideas within specific industries, taking into account the unique dynamics and trends of the selected field.

However, using a Business Idea Generator is not without its pros and cons. On the positive side, these tools can inspire creativity, provide a wide range of options, and save time. 

On the downside, the ideas generated may lack originality, and there’s a risk of receiving an idea that’s not a good fit for your skills or interests.

The Role of a Business Idea Generator in a Startup Journey

Business Idea Generators can be instrumental in various stages of a startup journey. They spark creativity and innovative thinking, helping you to think outside the box and explore areas you may not have considered. 

By offering a variety of unique business ideas, they open up opportunities for niche markets and innovative solutions. 

Some successful startups, such as “Airbnb” and “Uber”, were born out of unconventional business ideas that addressed a specific market need.

Turning Your Dreams into a Business Plan with a Business Idea Generator

Turning your dreams into a successful business involves more than just having a great idea. Here are some steps to follow:

• Use a Business Idea Generator: Input your interests, skills, and market trends you’re curious about.
• Evaluate the ideas:* Not all generated ideas will be perfect. Evaluate them based on feasibility, your passion for the topic, and market demand.
• Select the best idea: Pick an idea that aligns most with your dreams and seems viable in the current market.
• Validating Your Generated Business Idea

After generating and selecting an idea, the next crucial step is validation. This involves confirming that your idea is not just good but also has a real demand in the market. Here are some methods of validation:

• Market research and competitor analysis: Understand the market size, customer preferences, and the competitive landscape.
• Customer discovery and validation: Conduct surveys and interviews to understand your potential customers’ needs and responses to your business idea.
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP) testing: Launch a basic version of your product/service to gauge customer reactions and gain feedback for improvements.

Moving from Idea to Execution: Building Your Startup

With a validated business idea, the next stage is to build your startup:

• Develop a business plan: This should detail your business model, marketing strategy, revenue model, and growth plans.
• Gather resources and form a team: Identify the necessary resources and the right team to bring your idea to life.
• Seek funding: Depending on your needs, seek out investors, apply for loans, or bootstrap.
• Launch and scale your business: Start small, measure progress, and gradually scale your operations.

Potential Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Despite its benefits, using a Business Idea Generator comes with potential challenges. You might end up with an idea that doesn’t resonate with your interests, or perhaps the idea is too broad, lacking specificity. Here’s how to handle these issues:

• Lack of personal connection: If you don’t resonate with any of the generated ideas, don’t despair. You can always adjust and tweak the ideas to better align with your passion and skills, or try using a different generator.
• The broadness of idea: If the idea is too broad, take time to refine and narrow it down. Focus on a specific target market or niche to make your idea more precise and actionable.

Do’s and Don’ts of Using a Business Idea Generator

As you navigate the entrepreneurial journey, a Business Idea Generator can be an invaluable tool. However, it’s essential to use it properly to maximize its benefits. 

Here are some do’s and don’ts when using a Business Idea Generator:

• Do’s:

1. Do consider your interests and skills: While the generator may offer a promising business idea, it must align with your passion and skills to increase the chances of success.
2. Do validate the idea: No matter how good the idea seems, always validate it through market research and customer feedback before investing time and resources into it.
3. Do be open-minded: An idea might seem outlandish or far-fetched at first, but with a little creativity and ingenuity, it could turn into a successful venture.
4. Do use it as a starting point: Use the generated ideas as inspiration and tailor them to suit your vision and the needs of your target market.

• Don’ts:

1. Don’t blindly follow the generator: Remember, it’s a tool to spark inspiration, not a definitive guide. Always use your judgment and intuition.
2. Don’t ignore market trends: While considering the generated ideas, keep an eye on market trends and demands to ensure your business idea has potential for success.
3. Don’t rush into execution: Take your time to evaluate and refine the idea, build a robust business plan, and gather necessary resources before jumping into execution.
4. Don’t neglect the competition: Even a unique idea can face competition. Research your competitors to understand their strategies and identify ways to differentiate your business.
5. Don’t forget about scalability: Choose an idea that not only fits your immediate goals but also has the potential to grow and evolve with time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a Business Idea Generator can significantly influence your startup journey. It can stimulate creativity, help identify unique opportunities, and accelerate the ideation process. 

While it has its challenges, with careful usage and by complementing it with personal intuition, market research, and validation, it can indeed turn your dreams into a successful startup.

Remember, an idea is just the beginning. It’s the execution of the idea through a well-devised plan that ultimately determines the success of a startup. 

So, use a Business Idea Generator as a launching pad, but rely on your skills, perseverance, and adaptability to navigate the entrepreneurial journey ahead.

Featured image by Lala Azizli on Unsplash

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For many, living on campus during college is an integral part of the university experience. Social engagement and academic sharing by living on campus enable students to enrich this period of higher education. Thanks to on-campus residence, students can access multiple educational extras including seminars, conferences and lectures, libraries, sporting activities, and university clubs. Communal living permits students to form lifelong friendships with peers and form closer relationships with faculty members.

Fortunately, residential technological advancements are not just limited to private residences, apartment complexes, or hotels. Now universities are integrating technological solutions into on-campus dorms to improve comfort, efficiency, and security.

Security is one of the principal concerns for parents when children leave for university. Violent crimes and mass shootings experienced across the nation at schools and on college campuses have shocked and worried families sending sons and daughters off to college.

Access Control for Increased Student Safety

Technological advances now permit the use of fobs, keypads, keycards, and mobile entry credentials. Keyless door locks now eliminate the need for students to carry keys or keycards. Doors can be opened using biometric scans or credentials in a smartphone app. This increases property protection, impedes unauthorized access, and significantly reduces the need to change locks because of lost, stolen, or misplaced keys. 

Access to common areas such as fitness centers, student lounges, study rooms, or pools can be equipped with secure entrance technology facilitating controlled entrance to all areas within on-campus housing facilities.

Technological security access systems also provide several other benefits such as logging who enters and exits a building and facilitating rapid entrance thanks to automation. 

Anomalies such as repeated use of entry credentials can be quickly identified and verified alerting university officials if access credentials have been stolen, cloned, or shared.

Cloud-based access control systems permit remote management from anywhere so that doors can be locked and unlocked at any time from anywhere eliminating the risk of students being locked out and vulnerable. 

Stolen credentials can immediately be disabled so that they cannot be used by bad actors. Credentials granted to service providers and maintenance professionals can be deactivated once tasks have been completed.

Security Video Monitoring

Campus security has always been a priority at educational institutions, but today’s generation of students has grown up in a world where video recording is the norm everywhere. This facilitates the use of video security monitoring within and around dormitory buildings. While privacy does remain a concern, pathways, parking lots, entrances, and exits that are a part of university housing facilities should all benefit from video security surveillance cameras with these areas benefiting from proper lighting. 

Now school video security monitoring systems integrate AI. This permits universities to use automation to monitor potentially suspicious behavior in real-time. Causes for worry can be identified rapidly with alerts sent to security personnel facilitating immediate intervention. Emergency responses become proactive instead of reactive. This greater level of monitoring helps to create a safer environment for students.

University dormitory administrators are also able to identify occupancy rates and times as well as usage patterns. This information can lead to better use of housing resources such as water and electricity increasing efficiency, reducing waste, and saving money.

Security video monitoring systems can integrate biometric facial recognition to improve access control efficiency and increase housing security. These systems can also be programmed to send security alerts informing residential managers and security personnel of a need for immediate intervention should unauthorized entrances be attempted, or suspicious behavior be detected.

Cloud-based video systems can permit security personnel or residential managers to view video feeds from school security camera systems remotely using mobile devices and video analytics can send notifications to security staff and local authorities.

Dorms Are Smarter

Thanks to greater connectivity, the IoT – Internet of Things together with machine learning algorithms and AI are able to collect massive amounts of data and analyze it in real time. Residential managers and building administrators can improve property management and services offered. For example, heating and cooling systems can be better managed thanks to data collection and analysis of energy consumption and occupancy patterns. Smart lighting for increased security can be tailored to meet traffic flow. Automated rapid access controls reduce building entrance time and security procedures are improved thanks to data collection and analysis.

Data collection and analysis through IoT also allows for quicker maintenance and upkeep. Smoke, carbon monoxide, and fire detection sensors can alert authorities and first responders immediately. Heating and cooling systems can signal malfunctions in real time so that repairs can be addressed promptly.

Improved Connectivity

Students require better, faster, and more reliable Wi-Fi connections along with cellular signals. Apart from completing coursework, greater reliability in connectivity also permits students to remain in contact with friends and family members, alleviating parent worries. 

Campus dorms are now boosting connectivity with better networks and routers. Students benefit from stronger signals for personal needs but so do security processes and personnel. Better connectivity permits those responsible for security and safety to benefit from monitoring without interruption and to use remote security solutions such as lockdowns should the need arise.

Alarm Systems

While alarm systems are regularly used for smoke, fire, and carbon monoxide detection, student security does not end with these three threats. Alarm systems can notify students and administrators of unauthorized accesses or break-ins, intrusions, broken glass, gunshots, and dangers in general.

Cloud-based alarm systems send out mobile alerts in real-time and offer the possibility to program automatic lockdowns or evacuations when called for. Internal and external locks can be managed to contain specific threats to a limited area within the dormitory.

All Things Considered 

Security technology now aids administrators and college security personnel in providing a safer environment for university students. Parents can feel better about their children being away at college. Thanks to technological advancements being adopted within university housing, students enjoy a better-quality residential experience. Safety and security are increased allowing students to enjoy their university experience while focusing on their studies.

Featured image by Adrien Olichon on Unsplash

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Corporate leaders and hiring managers are being pressed to exhibit tremendous patience, creativity, and determination right now. As of May 2023, the U.S. labor market is experiencing a serious glut of job seekers. According to government statistics, there are more than four million positions than there are available workers. In other words, it’s still very difficult to get people to even apply for advertisements, let alone fill seats.

There are countless reasons for the labor shortage. The Great Resignation (or Migration, as some call it), has certainly affected recruitment efforts. When people know they’re needed, they’re less likely to accept the first job they’re offered. And though mass resignations are expected to drop by the end of 2023, they’re still happening. Another factor has been a change in the way professionals want to work. When Slack conducted a survey on virtual work arrangements, 94% of respondents said they wanted remote options. That’s a hard sell for some companies and in specific careers like healthcare and manufacturing.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you’re without choices if you have openings to fill. You just need to acknowledge your biggest recruitment challenges and then find ways to bypass them. To help you start, consider the following hiring conundrums and how to overcome them.

Challenge #1: You can’t find qualified applicants.

You post on all the same job boards that have worked like a charm before. But your results? Well, they’re not exactly what you want. You keep getting hits from candidates who don’t even have the basic skills or experience you need. That’s a problem, because you can’t wait forever to build out your dream team and start to scale.

The first strategy to take if you’re in this boat is to consider hiring people overseas. As long as the work can be done anywhere by the right person, you’re good to go global. The only potential snag is that you’ll want to plan ahead. Bringing aboard employees from other countries requires a knowledgeable partner’s legal and financial savvy. For example, Oyster offers automated global hiring management assistance for its customers. Join forces with a global employment platform like Oyster and you won’t have to worry about being compliant with foreign regulations and rules. You’ll just get to expand your talent pool while mitigating your risks. 

The second strategy is to try novel recruitment methods. You might want to search for potentially qualified people on LinkedIn and send them a “cold call” note. Or, you could try smaller, niche job sites like those aimed at minority worker groups. Even if you get just a few more hits than usual, you’ll be ahead of where you would have been.

Challenge #2: You lose tons of candidates throughout the interview process.

It’s happened again: You’ve found some amazing applicants who’ve submitted their resumes. As your hiring team looks over all the candidates’ information, you get pretty excited. Why wouldn’t you, when you have so many possibilities? Yet by the time you reach the one-on-one interview stage, most of those candidates have gone elsewhere. The result? You have to start the process over again — and you’ve lost lots of time.

If this challenge sounds far too familiar, you probably have to take a look at your hiring journey. Many corporations have made it very time-consuming to move applicants through the hiring process. They’re not trying to be difficult, of course. They want to make sure they don’t end up with a bad fit. Nevertheless, their hesitation winds up hurting them in the long run because candidates don’t want to wait. According to Indeed, the average after-interview response time from company to interviewee is 24 days. Even if you’re in that sweet spot, consider moving more quickly.

With so many jobs available, high performers will take the best offer they get. Even if you can only shave a few days or a week off your hiring, you could see instant improvement. Be sure not to scale back too much, but do consider where you can tighten everything.

Challenge #3: Applicants don’t have the skill sets you want.

You’ve been advertising some positions for weeks. You’re getting resumes, which is good. However, you’re not getting anyone with all the skill sets you want. Although you’ve made requirements clear in your advertisement, you’re not seeing those requirements reflected in applications. What gives?

The answer may not be one you want to hear, but it’s one you need to consider: Your bar may be too high. In other words, you’re trying to get a unicorn employee. Do unicorn employees exist? Perhaps in some universe, but your chances of seeing one may be lower than you presumed. Consequently, you’re better off looking for someone who can be trained on the skill sets you want.

Think of this as a switch to hiring based on a talent’s potential. You’re seeking someone not with all the qualifications intact but with the characteristics to learn. It’s not a matter of lowering your standards, though. You’ll need to set up a training plan for the person you hire. That’s okay and may actually make you a more appealing prospective employer. More than six out of 10 workers would trade their loyalty for the opportunity to upskill on their company’s dime.

Challenge #4: Diverse candidates just don’t seem to be interested in working at your company.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have become an important part of the mission of many companies. Yet it’s hard to foster support for DEI initiatives if you’re not hiring people from historically underrepresented populations. If you’ve seen no uptick in the diversity of your candidates, you may need to make some changes.

Initially, look at your job description. Are you using biased language unintentionally? Your advertisements and postings could sound perfectly reasonable to you but be a “turnoff” to diverse candidates. Even using terms like “rockstar” or adding gendered language to your job postings could be having an adverse effect. Now may be the perfect time to review everything you’re posting to spot any unintentionally biased or coded phrasings.

Next, revamp your worker sourcing. Look for untapped candidate pools that focus on Black candidates, Latinx candidates, veterans, LGBTQ+ applicants, and job seekers from other diverse communities. You may even want to consider advertising on specific diverse platforms or to social media groups. Done well, this can boost your application numbers representing more diverse talent backgrounds and abilities.

Recruiting isn’t the easiest task in the world, that’s certain. However, it’s possible to refine your processes so you can fill positions more dependably and with great people.

Image by yanalya on Freepik

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Bob: Hey, Rob! What do you do?

Rob: I have a brand of my own. 

Bob: Oh, what’s the name?

Rob: It’s called “X”. 

Bob: Okay, where can I find it?

Rob: Here, at this address. 

Bob: Umm, I meant which social platform…

Moral of the story: If your brand is not on social media, your brand practically doesn’t exist to your audience. 

Besides, Data Reportal said that 75% of web surfers use social media to research brands. 

So, if you are reading this thinking about how to get more inbound sales for your brand – maybe, it’s time to tell your audience that you have a brand.

Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just starting out, it’s crucial to understand how social media can help you build brand awareness and grow your business.

Wondering how you can do that? 

Well, then, you’re at the right place. We will not only tell you why you should use social media for brand awareness, but you will get a perfect roadmap to do that. 

Let’s dive in!

Why Should You Use Social Media for Brand Awareness?

Brings your brand to the spotlight

There are almost 300,000 new brands issued every year – what are the chances of your brand surviving now? 

Almost, none if it’s out of your audience’s sight. 

But, social media, if implemented with the right strategy, can bring your brand to the spotlight of its ideal audience. 

From vertical videos to scroll-worthy carousels and even some longer text posts and trending hashtags – you get the chance to express your brand voice & reach out to potential customers by just hitting the “Post now” button.

The easiest part? You don’t even have to sit and post each content every day. There are a number of social media automation tools available out there where you can schedule all your months in one go! 

Lets You Connect with a Wider Audience

Remember the heart of Iron Man’s suit (without which he couldn’t function)? 

The scenario is pretty much the same when it comes to your brand. It cannot function without its heart, i.e. its ideal audience.

And when your goal is to build brand awareness – this is even more evident.

On social media, you get to have a real-time conversation with your audience, reply to their comments, and even slide into their DMs (in a non-creepy way, of course!).

When you evolve as a responsive & interactive brand on social media – you can foster trustworthy relationships with your audience, build a community around your brand’s presence & even establish yourself as an authority. 

Builds Your Brand’s Personality

Without a unique personality, your brand is just a name out in the cloud. However, with social media, you can establish a unique brand identity, get creative and even play a little humor. 

It is your brand’s personality that can help you stand out from the crowd and leave a long-lasting impression on your audience’s mind – which will keep them coming back!

Have you seen how Sephora does it?

Source: Instagram

Even though Sephora’s business model is all about beauty and wellness products worldwide – they go steps further in their socials and features tutorials to influencer collaborations and more. 

And guess what? That’s what differentiates Sephora from other brands in the same niché! 

If you still haven’t figured out a personality for your brand or are confused about it – try out social listening tools like Hootsuite to know how your competitors are doing it.

If you’re just starting out and do not want to invest in a premium tool right away, there are many Hootsuite alternatives you can go for – that get the job done without the pocket pinch. 

Reduces revenue investment 

Compared to other paid channels of brand promotions, social media is quite cheaper – and that too, without compromising on the benefits you can reap. 

In fact, there are a number of brands that have built such a great social media presence that they don’t spend a single penny on paid ads or promotions. And are still successfully generating leads!

Not only will you save on your investment budget, but your sales cycle will also be comparatively shorter – because you have already educated & nurtured your audience on your socials. 

Boosts Your Brand Credibility

Okay, you have a brand. So, does the 3 million other founders – how will your audience know if it’s credible?

Well, there are ample harder ways to get it done – let’s talk about the easier one then; which is – promoting user-generated content on your social channel. 

When the mass audience sees your customers giving positive feedback about your brand,- there won’t be any room for second thoughts. The feedback can come in many formats – from vertical shorts to written reviews, and even static before and after images. This is called customer retention marketing which prevents any sort of customer churn.

Your Roadmap to Using Social Media for Building Brand Awareness

Go for Value Over Anything Else

Social media works much like Newton’s third law of motion – “To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction“. 

You give your audience crap, you get crap back. 

You give value to your audience, you get rewarded with engagement/sales. 

So, create content that doesn’t only resonate with your audience’s pain points – but also ensures they are reaping value from it.

Because your audience will only remember your brand when they get something of value from you.

If you still aren’t sure whether your audience is finding your content engaging enough, try using the best social media analytics tools to track your social media curve. 

Say It With A Compelling Story

Who doesn’t love a good story? So, why not leverage the same for your brand! 

It’s your chance to develop a compelling brand narrative that’s clear, concise & resonates with your ideal audience. 

What’s best – if your brand really has a solid story to tell, like ‘rags to riches’ or something similar. Make sure your audience sees it and knows about it! 

Engage, Engage, Engage

Source: Twitter

It will be an amateur move to consider that your ideal audience is seeing or interacting with your content. 

No matter how great the hashtags are or how aligned the content is, almost half of your audience is not even aware of it. 

So, how do you reach out to all your audience?

Well, that’s where engagement comes in. 

Make a list of your ideal lead profiles and start engaging with them every day – or at least twice every day. 

You can comment on their posts, reply to their stories or slide into their DMs (but not in a creepy way!) – all these will ensure that you always stay at the top of your audience’s mind.

Collaborate with Influencers

If you thought influencer marketing was just for B2C – we are sorry to break your bubble – because B2Bs have a similar share in it. 

And partnering with influencers is a great way to boost your brand’s visibility on social media. 

Go ahead, and find influencers in your industry who have a moderate to huge following and an engaging audience – and collaborate with them to create content that resonates with your audience & promotes your brand.

Takeaway

Now, you get it? 

While other channels like blogs and podcasts still work great for building brand awareness – social media brings you faster in front of your audience. 

And, for your brand to survive the hustle & bustle online and still bring in revenue – there’s no alternative to building brand awareness on social media.

Featured image by Loc Dang

The post The Role of Social Media in Building Brand Awareness appeared first on noupe.

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) denotes strategies to persuade website visitors to become clients. What influences customers’ shopping behavior? In the world of B2B SaaS, you need to present a product that serves the following primary purposes:

• enhancing business performance;
• solving common pain points;
• increasing sales;
• reducing costs;
• providing a team with the needed capabilities that are easy to comprehend.

But even having the best and most useful product doesn’t guarantee conversions. You need to succeed in the challenging CRO process, improving the user experience on the website and removing any barriers on the purchase journey. For example, online store owners follow eCommerce UX design best practices to achieve it. What can a B2B SaaS company do?

A great customer experience begins with understanding the path a potential buyer follows when interacting with a brand. It involves all of the company’s points of contact with a prospect. Ideally, these paths should be well thought through from many perspectives: UX\UI, sales, and marketing, to name a few.

By investing time in conversion rate optimization, a company can pave the optimal way for a potential client to buy more. In this article, you’ll find out what software as a service (SaaS) companies can do to increase their website’s conversions.

1. Analyze Your Landing Pages

B2B clients need more time to convert compared to direct consumers. They avoid impulsive purchases, so having a good landing page with essential information about the product is a must for a B2B SaaS company. These are pages intended to trigger a particular action:

• subscribing to an email newsletter;
• signing up for a demo version of the software;
• opting in for a trial period;
• buying the tool.

So they should be powerful in marketing terms. Here are some pointers for designing a landing page:

• Let people sign in with a single click.
• Use a strong copy, with headlines and subheadings defining your unique value proposition (UVP).
• Include engaging elements, such as videos, to tell about your product more.
• Highlight the benefits for a potential business client (not only the features of the product/service).
• Reduce doubts and increase trust with social proof (testimonials, achievements, awards, partners, etc.).
• Personalize communication with pronouns and tailored content.
• Remove the website’s navigation from a landing page to double the conversion rate.

FreshBooks increases the number of conversions by stating the ability to cancel subscriptions and not to insert credit card data. It also displays product ratings and reviews. At the bottom of the page, there is a Frequently Asked Questions section and product benefits for businesses, helping prospects decide.

Screenshot taken on the official FreshBooks website

2. Give an Idea About Your Product with a Short Free Trial

Gaining awareness of your product and stimulating interest in it typically constitutes the first step in lead generation. That’s where the opportunity to test the software becomes of the utmost importance. If you neglect this step, most consumers will skip your product and turn to your competitors. As most SaaS companies provide an opportunity to run the product for free, you need to follow their suit.

In light of this, work on improving visitor-to-free trial/freemium conversions. It includes offering a complete product for a brief period (a trial) or providing a minimal, non-time-limited version of your product (freemium). So customers will need to either pay for the service after a certain period or complete access to all features without any limitations or watermarks.

A case in point is MailChimp, a marketing platform for small businesses. You can utilize the tool for free, but it’s limited to 2,500 monthly emails sent, one user, and some advanced features.

Screenshot taken on the official MailChimp website

People need to understand the tool fast. Ensure a smooth onboarding process. Let consumers complete their tasks and get to grips with the software to encourage them to purchase it for a longer time. The bottom line is that the product should solve customer problems before the end of the trial. That’s where the following tips may help:

• display the value of the products with the help of metrics and reports;
• instill a sense of urgency when the trial is coming to an end;
• follow up with those who don’t subscribe to discover reasons for abandoning the service.

3. Use Clear Calls-to-Action

Suppose you’ve convinced visitors to subscribe or buy. Where should they click to get the desired solution? To encourage visitors to stay on a website and submit a contact form with an inquiry or download a whitepaper, include the CTA to catch their attention immediately. While it may seem obvious, organizing the CTA is a critical step on the CRO list. Take this information into consideration when improving CTAs:

• These can be links or buttons, leading people to other sales funnel stages. 
• They may differ in prominence, with the most important being highlighted.
• As clicking the button denotes conversion, you need to place them front and center on your pages.
• The wording should be understandable and give clear directions.
• Generate FOMO by advertising innovative features or limited-time deals.
• CTAs should be concise, stating the product value in several words.

Look at how DocuSign emphasizes CTAs by increasing their size or spacing them out. This strategy is especially successful as there are minimum elements in the above-the-fold area.

Screenshot taken on the official DocuSign website

4. Cut Down on Your Lead Form Fields

Analyze your website forms. Is all information necessary to initiate the first contact with your company? Stick to the minimal number of fields. Allow users to complete them in a couple of seconds. Ask for the essential information only and make it up to clients whether to insert some details. For example, asterisks above specific fields will denote their importance. You may either hide the rest in accordions, remove them, or leave them without any marks.

Zoho enables prospects to sign up by inserting an email address, password, and country. But there is a quicker path. You can use a Google or Microsoft account to access Zoho CRM.

Screenshot taken on the official Zoho website

The fewer fields you show, the higher your chances of converting people into customers. If it’s necessary to collect such information, try separating forms across several pages. According to statistics, choosing multi-page over single-page forms can increase conversions from 4.53% to 13.85%.

In most cases, successful conversion in B2B SaaS will involve starting a conversation with your sales team, not purchasing. Keeping that in mind, you need to reduce the effort of making an appointment.

5. Practice A/B Testing

What should you pay the most attention to in terms of marketing? Your messages. A\B testing gives a great hand at determining which elements, phrases, and layouts bring back a higher response. As such, using tools such as Visual Website Optimizer and similar, you can test the components on your landing pages to get an insight into customer behavior. These include calls to action, color schemes, texts, and visuals.

Such variation test campaigns allow for splitting your audience and showing them different options. For instance, you can build a hypothesis on the wording used for sign-up forms or even the subject lines of your newsletter send-outs.

As the business grows, you may conduct polls and surveys or analyze heatmaps to gather user feedback on your business. Implement the results on your touchpoints, including the website, app, social media, email, etc. It can involve making minor adjustments like changing the look of your landing pages or adding CTAs that are simpler, clearer, and more effective at boosting conversion rates.

You may find out what works best by comparing the results of gathered data like the number of clicks, downloads, filled-out forms, etc. You can also discover the bottlenecks that need fixing and underperforming solutions to replace. This way, your marketing efforts will bring back a more effective resonance.

By analyzing data of this kind, you can optimize the customer journey map and build stronger relationships with your clients. Not to mention that such an approach saves marketing resources and gets a better return on investment.

Major Takeaways

B2B SaaS companies should start optimizing their websites and solutions for conversions by analyzing customer psychology. What do people seek when inserting specific keywords in search and landing on your page? Leverage website analytics and tools to determine their interests and pain points.

We’ve described several ways to enhance conversion rates and sales, such as:

• organizing landing pages;
• adding a free version of the software to evaluate it before buying;
• improving CTAs, their position, color, wording, and so on;
• simplifying the registration process;
• finding the best variant with the help of A/B testing, website analysis, and heat mapping.

Generate high-quality content and ensure website usability. Attract the target audience and solve people’s problems. If you follow these pieces of advice in addition to the CRO best practices, you will get more qualified leads for your B2B SaaS business.

Featured image by Stephen Phillips – Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash

The post 5 Best CRO Tips for B2B SaaS Websites appeared first on noupe.

For many marketers, an influencer marketing strategy is a no-brainer. The others are still deciding on the worth of influencer marketing. 

Both are perfectly right in their own way: After all, the importance of influencer marketing “depends” on the type of industry you’re in and the kind of work you do. 

However, if you’ve never dipped your toe in the world of influencer marketing but are eager to learn more, we’ve got some jaw-dropping statistics that’ll help you shape your strategy in 2023.  

Please note: We’ve only noted the statistics acquired from studies conducted between 2021–2023 to ensure relevancy.

Let’s dive in.  

Key statistics to shape up your influencer strategy 

1. When asked to share a budget, 23% of marketers planned to spend 40% of their marketing budget on influencer marketing, whereas the average majority (25%), planned to dedicate 10–20% of their budget. (Source)

Some marketers leverage AI to cut down costs. There are tools that help to find potential candidates in a short period of time, plus writing tools can help develop guidelines and brand books to make the partnership seamless. 

Tools like Klear, Chat GPT, and specialized writing tools for marketing and sales content, for instance, are some valuable resources marketing teams can leverage to save time and money. However, it is crucial to check for features and specifications in advance to choose the right toolset. For those looking in for tools in the content space, online reviews like this one on Jasper.ai vs. Copy.ai are helpful. 

2. 43% of brands spend less than $10k/year (US Dollars) on influencer marketing. However, there are a few who spend more than $500k. (Source)

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3. Instagram is the most popular channel for influencer marketing, with 87% of marketers and 90% of creators planning to increase their presence there. (Source)

4. According to a 2022 survey (whose respondents were mainly brands and PR and marketing agencies), 54% of the organizations said they worked with up to 10 influencers, and 3% said they worked with 1000+ influencers. (Source)

5. In 2023, brands plan to decrease their spending on the following platforms: Snapchat (73%), Twitter (58%), Pinterest (43%), etc. (Source)

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6. Zara, Shein, and Instagram are the most talked-about brands on Instagram. (Source) 

This indicates the audiences there place importance on fashion, which means if you’re in the fashion business and you sell products like leather jackets and linen suits, partnerships with creators on Instagram may be an exceptionally good strategy for you. You can get a lot of valuable data for earned media and social media mentions and utilize this data for your HubSpot lead scoring, which will help you get more conversions in the end. 

7. In 2022, brands placed importance on the following metrics when partnering with influencers: engagement rates (32%), social media traffic (19%), and brand mentions (11%). (Source) 

However, in 2023, the following metrics have the highest level of importance: views, reach, and impressions (49.6%), engagement (25.5%), and conversions/sales (24.9%). (Source)

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8. 61% of brands prefer to work with the same influencers, whereas the remaining 39% prefer working with new influencers. (Source)

9. An average majority (77%) of influencers are female, and 23% of them are male. (Source) You’ll find a breakdown of this statistic by each platform below. 

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10. In 2021 and 2022

• Mega-influencers charged at least $1,200 (US dollars) per Instagram post, whereas macro-influencers charged anywhere between $185-$2500. (Source)

• On TikTok, mega-influencers charged an average minimum of $1,034, and macro-influencers charged anywhere between $151-$793. (Source)

• On YouTube, the former (mega-influencers) charged an average minimum of $2,500, and the latter (macro-influencers) charged between $1105-$16,234, thus making YouTube the platform that requires the highest amount of investment for influencer partnerships. (Source)

If your budget doesn’t allow you to partner with mega or macro influencers, you can try getting your foot in the door with organic posts instead of paid ones. 

For example, if you’re in the pet industry and want to work with a cat influencer, you can offer them free products, such as toys, food, accessories, furniture, and even cat insurance. That might get you noticed (and if your luck has it, you might get a free post out of it too). 

This barter strategy worked so well for Awful Cloth, it got them noticed by influencers Jason Derulo, Bryce Hall, and Charli D’Amelio. 

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If you get a free post or promotion, make sure to highlight it in you social media and website to use it as social proof. Create eye-catching captions to boost sales by leveraging AI writing tools, photo editors and upscale API to ensure high-quality.

11. A 2021 survey said that 53% of respondents believe influencers are the most skilled at promoting beauty products, and 45% of them said they are the most skilled at promoting clothing/accessories. (Source) 

12. More than 61% of the brands plan to use artificial intelligence or machine learning to identify which influencers to work with. (Source). 

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13. 39% of brands prefer to work with nano-influencers, whereas 30% of them prefer to work with micro-influencers. (Source) 

14. An influencer collaboration takes approximately 16 days to complete its full lifecycle. (Source)

15. Price per post for any influencer partnership is usually determined by the following formula, “Average engagement x Engagement Rate Price.” 

The average engagement rate cost on YouTube is $0.04, on TikTok is $0.21, on Instagram is $0.56, on Facebook is $2.63, on Pinterest is $5.51, and on Twitter is $37.82. (Source)

Side note: Prices are in US dollars. 

16. Lifestyle, fitness, entertainment, etc., are some of the most profitable niches for influencers. (Source) 

When you take an average of how much 500,000 influencers charge across various niches on a variety of platforms, these are the figures you’ll get:

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17. In 2022, these were the accounted engagement rates of influencers: Nano-influencers (2.53%), micro-influencers (1.06%), mid-tier influencers (0.91%), macro-influencers (0.86%), and mega-influencers (0.92%). (Source)

18. Between 2022 and 2023, 70% of influencers have increased their rates, 2% have decreased them, and around 28% are keeping them just the same. (Source) 

19. Men prefer to follow influencers who operate in the gaming, fitness, and food niches. While women prefer to follow influencers who operate in the skincare, fashion, and food niches. (Source)

20. A study that focused on Gen Z and millennials said that these audiences prefer to follow someone who’s authentic, funny, or knowledgeable, as opposed to someone with a large following. (Source)

Learn more about influencer marketing 

Since we’ve only seen the rise of influencer marketing in the past few years, there’s still a lot to learn about the industry’s future and how effective it could be in the long run. 

To keep up with all the trends in influencer marketing, you can regularly follow places like Influencer Marketing Hub, Adweek, and Noupe (as we regularly post advice on improving your brand presence and marketing strategies).

So are you ready to take the leap and invest in influencer marketing? Join the thousands of brands already tapping into this lucrative marketing strategy. You won’t regret it and neither will your bottom line. 

Happy influencing! 

Featured Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik

The post 20 Key Influencer Marketing Statistics to Help You Shape Your Strategy in 2023 appeared first on noupe.

Small-scale manufacturing is often the most fraught place to be from a cash flow perspective. You might have achieved some success, but be faced with the prospect of struggling to invest to expand your operations because your profit margins are tight, to put it lightly.

With that in mind, there are a few ways to overcome this conundrum, keeping your outgoings to a minimum, boosting your profitability, and still keeping customers happy. Here’s how.

Identifying Areas of Potential Savings

Since every penny counts, you must first take the time to identify areas of potential savings and pinpoint where changes can be implemented without compromising quality or customer service.

As part of this, consider reviewing overhead costs such as rent, utilities, and payroll expenses. Each area offers an opportunity for savings if managed carefully and strategically. Perhaps you’ll find that it’s possible to renegotiate rates with your commercial landlord, switch to a better deal with a new energy supplier, or streamline your staffing. If handled on a case-by-case basis, you’ll surely find a more cost-efficient way forward.

Additionally, look into ways to reduce energy consumption, perhaps by investing in efficient lighting solutions or updating older equipment that’s less power-hungry, and will lead to long-term savings. You can even claw back some cash when replacing outgoing hardware if you’re savvy, as you can easily sell used plastic machinery and other manufacturing equipment through online marketplaces.

Streamlining Operations to Increase Efficiency

One of the best ways for a small manufacturing business to cut costs and make more profit is by streamlining operations. This involves analyzing current processes, identifying weaknesses or areas that could be improved upon, establishing clear goals, and developing strategies toward achieving them. It’s an approach that can be applied to any organization, of course, but has manufacturing-specific elements to keep in mind.

For instance, it’s a good idea to invest in software solutions or automation tools that can help you reduce manual labor with tasks such as inventory tracking or order processing. These are often time-consuming to deal with by hand but can be easily accelerated with the right platforms.

Also, look into opportunities to outsource elements of your operations. This could include complex yet necessary aspects like warehousing, which a third party might be able to handle far more affordably than you could manage in-house.

You can even outsource things like accounting, payroll management, workforce management, marketing, and whatever else you need to. The leaner your small manufacturing firm is, the more adaptable, agile, and profitable it will be.

Making Smart Purchasing Decisions With Suppliers

In order to remain competitive and profitable, your purchasing decisions have to be on point. This means taking the time to research suppliers, compare prices, and weigh up the terms and conditions of sales contracts. This will help you identify the best possible deals for materials or products that your business needs.

Taking advantage of bulk ordering discounts also makes sense for businesses involved in mass production on any scale, as this can save money on essentials over time, while also preparing you to accommodate spikes in demand without being overwhelmed.

Finally, take into account quality considerations before making any final decision. It’s better to prioritize value for money over pure price because the cheapest option is a false economy if the goods you’re getting aren’t up to your usual standards. There’s no point saving a small amount if it only ends up creating consternation among your customers.

Implementing a Culture of Continuous Improvement

For any small manufacturing business that seeks to make more profit, establishing and maintaining a culture of continuous improvement is key. This involves creating an environment where employees are encouraged to think outside the box and suggest new strategies for reducing costs, while still delivering on the overarching mission statement of your firm.

This won’t just happen organically, as you need to be active in developing this culture, and giving your team members the tools and the motivation to live up to its promise. For instance, providing training programs for your staff on how best to identify potential savings opportunities will help build their skillset, as well as catalyze collaboration between departments.

It also makes sense to reward ideas or initiatives that have been successful in cutting costs, as this will motivate everyone involved while reinforcing positive behaviors.

Final Thoughts

Profitability is within reach for any manufacturer, and it doesn’t have to be achieved by cutting corners. Hopefully, you’ve now got a basic framework for finding cost-cutting measures that won’t jeopardize your position in the market.

Featured image by cottonbro studio

The post How to Cut Costs and Make More Profit in a Small Manufacturing Business appeared first on noupe.

Some people may tell you that anything worth inventing has already been invented. That is not true, it probably never will be, and it certainly will not be the case for the website design world, which just keeps growing and improving.

Website requirements keep becoming more and more demanding. Website design has to correspondingly follow suit. Today’s websites have to be fast, responsive, user-friendly, and engaging in every detail.

Multipurpose WordPress themes are great at helping website builders get a website up and running quickly and efficiently. That said, what is involved in finding one that will best meet your needs, especially in terms of user friendliness and engagement as well as conversion proficiency?

The best way is to select a theme that has the features you need and is ranked highly by its users and those who should know.

Here are 10 such multipurpose WordPress themes, one or more of which will likely have your name on it.

1. Be – Multipurpose WordPress Theme with 650+ prebuilt websites

When website designers get together to discuss popular multipurpose WordPress themes, it usually isn’t long before the talk turns to BeTheme, a supremely popular 250K-user multipurpose theme that keeps getting bigger and better. BeTheme’s 40+ core features give web designers easy access to a host of powerful and up-to-date site-building tools, design aids, and options.

• Be’s library of 650+ customizable, responsive, and UI/UX friendly pre-built websites make website building fast, fun, and easy.
• The new Be Builder is the fastest, lightest and most intuitive website builder for WordPress. Click on https://demo.muffingroup.com to inspect Be Builder’s stunning capabilities.
• Be’s WooCommerce Builder is an excellent tool for creating layouts featuring popular customer-centric elements like product previews, sticky menus, and more.
• Add the Header and Mega Menu Builders and Be’s wealth of design options and you have all the flexibility you’ll ever need.

BeTheme has the responsiveness, flexibility, and performance you need to create award winning websites that will leave your competitors in the dust.

Click on the banner to learn more about BeTheme’s powerful core features.

2. Pro – Top WordPress Theme

Pro is different from most multipurpose themes in that it takes you out of your comfort zone (and places you into a better one). To say the change you’ll experience is significant is an understatement. Pro has not only made website building fun again but is ThemeForest’s fastest selling top WordPress theme of all time:

• First, there is Cornerstone, a website builder that is by all accounts the most advanced website builder in WordPress and one of the most enjoyable to work with. 
• Pro’s native Grid Editor is powered by CSS Grid in a point and click interface and makes those “impossible” looking layouts possible.
• Pro’s header, footer, page, blog, shop, and layout builders are different as well in that they work as a family. 

Click on the banner to see for yourself what Pro brings to the table.

3. Total WordPress Theme

Being able to create a website that does justice to your business is something a multipurpose theme can usually do easily. Building one that exceeds your wildest vision is seldom a problem either. The Total multipurpose WordPress theme can do both.

• Total’s 50+ quick-start demos will get your project off to a fast start.
• Bring in Total’s 90+section templates, live customer settings, site builder elements and the WPBakery page builder with customization settings, and they will do the rest.
• Total’s layout options include boxed, full-width, and dynamic layouts and advanced page settings.
• Slider Revolution is included, plus Total is compatible with the popular plugins like bbPress, Uber Menu, Easy Digital Downloads, WPML, and many others.

Building an online store? Total integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce and features a multiplicity of WooCommerce styling options. Click on the banner to learn more.

4. Uncode – Creative & WooCommerce WordPress Theme

Uncode’s attention to flexibility and performance has made it a top selling Envato theme with more than 100,000 sales to date.  With this pixel-perfect creative WordPress theme at your fingertips it is remarkably easy to – 

• work with the advanced Product Builder, impressive shop layouts, and configurable Ajax product filters with variations swatches to build incredible WooCommerce websites.
• mix and match 70+ carefully crafted importable pre-made designs and select among 500+ Wireframes sections that can also be used for rapid prototyping. 

5. TheGem – Multipurpose WordPress WooCommerce Theme

TheGem is not your run of the mill WordPress theme. It has been quite accurately described as being the Swiss Army knife of creative WordPress themes with features that include –

• TheGem Templates Builder that enables you to build headers, footers, products, cart & checkouts, mega menus, popups, and many other templates easily with Elementor or WPBakery page builders.
• TheGem Blocks -a massive library with 600+ professionally crafted pre-built page sections and templates – will definitely accelerate your work.
• 400+ pre-built importable complete websites for any purpose and niche.

You’ll love TheGem’s professional customer support, as have 70,000 others.

6. Avada – Best Selling Multipurpose WordPress Theme

Sales figures can be a help when choosing a WordPress theme. That would certainly be true with Avada. Its 750K+ sales have made it the #1 best-selling WordPress theme of all time.    

This top-selling multipurpose theme makes it easy to create amazing websites quickly and easily thanks to the following:

• A 1-click demo importer that doesn’t waste your time.
• Avada’s visual drag and drop builder lets you build an impressive website in a few hours, you can customize layouts, content, headers, footers, forms, store pages and anything else, and updating global styles across your website has never been easier

7. Blocksy – Free Premium WordPress Theme

Blocksy is innovative, fast, Gutenberg and e-Commerce ready, and is a great companion when you need to build a high quality website. Blocksy is a great WordPress theme with key points –

• Blocksy’s elegant starter sites will get your project off to a smooth start. 
• Blocksy’s header & footer builders, Content Blocks module, and dynamic data support.
• Privacy focused by locally hosting Google Fonts and controlling Google Analytics using the Cookies Consent extension.

Blocksy is built using the latest web technologies and is fully compatible with Elementor, Brizy, Beaver Builder, and WooCommerce. 

A White-label option is available for web agencies.

8. Kalium – Creative Multipurpose WP Theme

Kalium may well be the most beautiful creative multipurpose WP theme of the decade. Simply install a starter site, live edit it using the Elementor or WPBakery page builder, and before you know it your website is complete!

You can –

• select from unique portfolio types to create fantastic portfolios to showcase your work.
• preview changes in real time with Kalium’s Live WooCommerce builder.  
• choose from a variety of different layouts and designs to customize headers and footers.

Kalium is noted for its optimized theme files that produce very fast loading times.

9. Litho – Multipurpose Elementor WordPress Theme

Litho is a creative, modern, and highly customizable multipurpose theme that gives you complete control over the content of your website. You can use this multipurpose Elementor theme to build business, eCommerce, blog, or portfolio sites.

Among Litho’s key features you’ll find:

• 37+ ready home pages, 200 + creative elements, an awesome library of 300+ templates, and one-click demo import.
• Slider Revolution, a free theme bundled premium plugin.
• online detailed documentation and excellent customer support.

Litho is WooCommerce ready and multi-lingual WPML compatible.

10. Woodmart – WooCommerce Multipurpose Theme for Any Kind of Store

WoodMart places an all-in-one WooCommerce solution at your fingertips. A quick check of this WooCommerce WordPress theme’s website will be enough to quickly convince you it is definitely worth a good, close look. 

Woodmart comes with – 

• 80+ pre-built one-click importable demos together with a library of 400 pre-made templates. 
• Elementor shop and product page builders and a custom checkout with Elementor feature.
• header builder featuring unlimited layout possibilities. 
• a full AJAX shop, an AJAX Quick shop, AJAX filters and search including search by SKU.

Woodmart does not need plugins to create a state-of-the-art eCommerce store. 

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When your website represents your business’s online storefront you want it to not only look great but offer a seamless user experience and perfectly represent your brand.

A premium multipurpose WordPress theme is usually up to the task of accomplishing just that. It is definitely the case with the 10 multipurpose WordPress themes discussed in this article. You   can’t make a bad choice, and you should be able to find a multipurpose WordPress theme that has your name on it.

The post Discover 10 Best Multipurpose WordPress Themes to Use in 2023 appeared first on WebAppers.

Tons of data are exchanged every second, so- What is your opinion that businesses can have deeper insights into their vast data?

The best solution is- Data Visualization Design. It helps recognize patterns, errors, and red flags, identify weak points, and extract valuable insights. Data visualization’s sole objective is to help businesses make informed decisions to take business a step ahead. 

Here visualization refers to the pictorial representation of the data that gives a clear view. For a business, data is everything. The visualization is beneficial for:

• Data analysis 
• Faster decision making 
• Simplifying complex data and more. 

A business can leverage the data visualization design by improving it. If you want to know how to improve your data visualization design, then continue with this blog. 

Let’s start with some basic information!

What Is Data Visualization Design?

Data visualization stands for graphical representation of data, where the process turns raw data into forms of maps, graphs, and infographics. The design that represents it is called data visualization design. Visualization’s sole advantage is offering a seamless way to visualize the trends and data patterns via extraction from the data chunks. 

The prime objective of data visualization techniques is to represent the data to end users in an easy format. You will be surprised to know that the human brain responds to visuals instead of text. Some tools are available that help with better data visualization, such as Power BI, Tableau, Zoho Reports etc.  

These tools can help derive insights to take customer experience to the next level. Additionally, data visualization is considered a key part of the strategy to unleash the hidden qualities of data. 

The Process of Data Visualization

A question might arise in the reader’s mind: what is the data visualization process? So, the process works like this: 

• Goal of research

Here you need to identify the research goal, what kind of data is needed and what kind of visualization you need to communicate your research. 

• Fetch the data 

Get access to the large data set. Manually it will be a daunting task, so you can take the help of APIs, scrape data from the internet, or use tools to collect the data, such as Power BI Dashboard. 

• Data Cleaning

It helps in the easy visualization of data because clean data remains free from error and makes the process easy. It saves time instead of fixing the issue while visualizing the data. 

• Choose A Chart

Data charts are the best options for data visualization and effectively convey the message. Here you need to pick the chart that matches your needs carefully. 

• The Tools

Multiple tools are available for processing the data, and some of the legendary tools available are Tableau and Power BI. Suppose you have less budget. You can start with free tools like Power BI Desktop.  

• Prepare Your Data

Data preparation includes multiple steps such as formatting columns, value conversion, filtering, grouping, and combining variables. 

• Create Chart

The final step is chart creation which also holds key steps such as data import into the software, selecting chart type, and more. 

Until this section of the blog, we have gone through crucial information about data visualization design. So, it’s time to look at the top ways or tips to improve data visualization design. 

Top-10 Tips to Improve Your Data Visualization Design?

The tips mentioned in this section also represent the data visualization best practices that can help you a lot. So, let’s start. 

#1. Choose A Suitable Chart

The first best practice for storytelling via visualizing the data is choosing a suitable chart as per needs, as a universal size can fit all. You can also combine the related charts for the best effects. Some popular formats are bullet charts, bar charts, line graphs, maps, and pie charts. 

#2. Colors for Data Representation

Colors play a crucial role in making data visualization design more appealing, so choose it with some intention. If you want to show data growth, then using warm colors is the best, or you can use light colors to represent the less growth to represent less growth. The only condition is that colors must match the intended message you want to deliver. 

#3. Data Labels & Annotations

Using data labels and annotations to improve the data visualization designs is crucial. It helps in creating an easy understanding among the end users. The labels help in recognizing the data points, and on the other side, annotations provide additional information. 

#4. Predictable Patterns  

Unpredictable patterns can destroy the whole visualization. The reason is if patterns are complex or random, then users will find it difficult to understand and fail to get what they want from the data. So, one of the data visualization techniques is to use a predictable pattern. 

#5. Alignment

Align data elements in an appropriate format to create the best effect of data visualization design. The correct alignment will help the users navigate from one section to another easily. Here you can use the basic technique, such as aligning the data on X and Y axis, but all must be relevant to each other. 

#6. Use of Appropriate White Space   

The appropriate white space will assist you in making visualization smooth. It helps in balancing the information showcasing, including the other colors. You can show the crucial data in colors and put other data in whitespace for clear visibility. 

#7. Reduced Chart Junks

If you plan to create a data visualization design for the best experience, limiting chart junk is one of the best ways. It works by removing the unnecessary or distracting elements that do not relate to the message you want to convey. 

#8. Visual Hierarchy 

The only objective of data visualization design is to represent the data in an understandable format and to engage the customers. One of the best ways to do it is to represent the data in a visual hierarchy so readers can move from top to bottom or vice versa effortlessly to view the desired data. Here BI tools work fantastic for example, one of the best benefits of Power BI is to represent the data in a visual hierarchy. 

#9. Highlight Patterns 

Using shapes is the best method to highlight the data patterns and relationships. The shapes can be anything such as a circle, square, triangle, cube or any shape else. With the help of shapes, you can showcase data overlapping or increasing or decreasing. 

#10. Consistent Size 

Whatever charts, graphs, or shapes you are using for data visualization design, its size must be consistent. It will create clarity instead of confusing the readers’ eyes. For better visualization, clarity is a must. 

The Final Thoughts

There is tough competition in the market where multiple brands are competing. Here data visualization can help a lot to identify the weak points you can work on to have a strong presence. By improving the data visualization design, you can create a better effect. The tips mentioned above can help you with it. For better effect, you can consult with the experts or take the help of professionals from top Power BI development companies or companies with vast experience. So, without any delay, take the right decision at the right time to add value to your business with the help of data processing and visualization.  

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Follow this guide to learn how to create a powerful Google Ads strategy. This is a fast and easy way to increase your sales.

Google Ads are one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise your business online. Whether you’re a small business owner or a marketer working for a larger organization, Google Ads allows you to target customers precisely. 

The best part of running Google Ads? They let you achieve instant results. Instead of relying on SEO and organic traffic, you can get your brand in front of the right people straight away. 

The only problem is you have to pay for ads, which means you need to run a Google Ads campaign that works. Otherwise, your ROI won’t benefit your business.

And when you start exploring paid ads, there are various types of Google Ads campaigns you can use. 

With options for Google search ads, display, video, and text ads; new features for mobile apps and voice search; and access to real-time data about your ad performance, there’s a lot to consider when launching a paid search campaign.

In this guide, we’ll explore the Google Ads platform a bit deeper and reveal some of the best Google Ads tips and tactics you can use.

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is a digital advertising platform developed by Google. It allows businesses to display ads to people who are searching for specific products or services on Google Search and other Google-affiliated websites. 

Advertisers bid on keywords that they think people searching for their products or services will use, and their ads are displayed alongside search results. When someone clicks on an ad, the advertiser is charged a fee called a “cost-per-click.”

The Google Ads platform allows businesses to create an account, set up their campaigns and ad groups, and choose from different targeting options and bidding strategies.

The platform is very powerful, but it can also be a bit overwhelming for those who aren’t familiar with PPC. We’ll share some tactics to help you get started. 

Using Google Ads to Grow Your Business

Google Ads is an excellent way to grow your business. It’s one of the most powerful marketing tools available that lets you get results fast.

When you run search ads on Google, you can reach new customers searching for products or services like yours and help increase sales by showing them exactly what they want to see. You can also use Google Ads as a way of increasing brand awareness and reaching potential customers, and driving traffic to their websites.

The great thing about Google Ads is that you can be extremely specific about who you target. This means only the right people see your ads – which helps you achieve a better ROI.

It’s important that your business creates ads that are highly targeted and relevant. The more specific your ad is to its target audience, the better it will perform. 

Here are some tips and tricks to help you use Google Ads to your advantage.

1. Use Google Sheet’s Built-in Ad Planner to Find High-Value Sites and Audiences

Google’s Ad Planner is a valuable tool for discovering high-value sites and audiences. Use it to optimize your Google Ads campaigns by finding new opportunities for audience targeting, including sites with high site traffic and/or profitable audiences.

• Open Google Ads and click “Start Now”
• Click “Find Audiences”
• Select “Places” under “Location,” then type in the location you want to target (e.g., “Los Angeles”). Click “Search”
• Now you’ll see a list of all places within Los Angeles – you can filter these results by category if necessary.

The built-in planner tool can help you with audience targeting. It’s a free tool that lets you view and compare audience data for your existing ads, keywords, and placements. You can also use it to find new audiences based on demographics like age, gender, parental status, or interests.

2. Keyword Tools

Use the latest keyword tools to build a well-researched list of keywords for your bid requests. 

The first step in optimizing your Google Ads campaigns is creating a well-researched keyword list for each ad group. You can do this by using the following keyword tools:

• Google Keyword Planner – The GKP allows advertisers to enter multiple keywords alongside each other into a single column to compare them side by side—and then choose which ones they want their ads displayed next to! This makes it easy for anyone who doesn’t know enough about SEO strategies yet still wants quick results without much hassle involved.
  
• Google Trends – This tool will show you trending queries so you know what people are most interested in at any time. It’s also helpful for finding related terms that aren’t necessarily synonyms but might be useful for targeting.

Keyword tools can help your business achieve its goals by providing the data necessary to make informed decisions about your marketing campaigns. By using these tools, you can better understand how people search online and what they’re looking for—making it easier for you to reach them with relevant marketing content.

3. Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are words or phrases you can add to your pay-per-click advertising campaigns to exclude certain search terms from triggering your ads. For example, if you sell red shoes but not blue shoes, you might add “blue” as a negative keyword. 

This will prevent your ad from appearing when someone searches for “blue shoes” but will still allow your ad to show up when someone searches for “red shoes.” 

By using negative keywords, you can help to ensure that your ads are more relevant to the people who see them and that you are only paying for clicks from people who are more likely to be interested in your products or services.

4. Remarketing

Remarketing is a way to reconnect with people who have previously visited your website. It involves adding a snippet of code to your website, called a remarketing tag, which adds visitors to a list. 

You can then create a campaign that targets this list with personalized ads as they visit other websites within the Google Display Network. Remarketing aims to bring these previous visitors back to your website and potentially convert them into customers.

You can create a remarketing list in Google Ads by using the “Audiences” section. When you create an audience, it will appear in the left navigation of your account. You can then use that audience when creating a campaign or ad group.

5. Conversion Optimizer

Check Conversion Optimizer to get a better CPA. This feature automatically optimizes your campaigns to help you get the best return on investment from your ads. If you don’t have Conversion Optimizer enabled, we recommend doing so when setting up your campaigns.

Conversion Optimizer can help you get more conversions for your budget by using machine learning to optimize your bids instead of relying on historical data. 

You’ll see an estimated cost per click (CPC) for every keyword in Google Ads, and it will also show CPC estimates next to each keyword when viewed through Google Ads or Search Partners Manager interfaces. The system will automatically optimize for conversions over time and learn how much each keyword bid increases or decreases the conversion rate.

6. Use Google’s Free Tools

To get the most out of your ad campaigns, it’s essential to have a good understanding of how they perform. Google provides free tools that can help you do this.

For example, Campaign Experiments allows you to run A/B tests on your ads to determine which ones perform better and why. You can also try different ad images or copy variations with A/B Testing to see what works best for your audience.

Google Optimize allows advertisers to test landing pages and conversion rates of specific site pages. This tool allows businesses with limited resources to perform large-scale multivariate tests without access to expensive software or human resources needed for manual testing.

7. Start Simple

Several approaches work when creating ads. If you’re starting, try basic text ads because they give you more flexibility, are easier to track, and take less time to make than image ads. They also tend to be cheaper than image ads.

Image ads are more engaging but require more effort to create and manage. You’ll need to upload images that are high quality and use keywords in the right way. Images can also be expensive since they take up more space on Google’s ad network, which means a higher cost per click (CPC) for your business.

8. Google Adwords Express

Get started with Google Ads by using AdWords Express or Smart Campaigns. They require little management, but that also means you have less control over your account settings and performance than you would with other types of campaigns. For example, AdWords Express lets Google automatically set your budget by choosing a daily budget range for your campaign.

Google Ads Express is a simple way to get started with Google Ads. With AdWords Express, you can create a campaign with just one click and then set the budget for your ads (or let Google automatically do it). You don’t have to worry about setting up your ads or budgets, making this option perfect for those new to online advertising.

9. Split Testing

Split-test your landing pages to find the best-converting pages for each campaign. Split testing is a powerful way to increase your conversion rates. It can test landing pages, ads, and even keywords.

The best way to use split testing is by starting with one of your existing campaigns—you don’t want to waste time creating new campaigns for each experimental campaign. Then pick a few variations of the same ad or landing page and split them evenly across your target audience.

It’s okay if you only have enough traffic for two tests; make sure there’s a significant difference between the variations to tell which works best! The more people you have in each test group (the “sample size”), the more accurate results will be.

10. Keep Up to Date

Stay informed about all the changes happening in the PPC landscape! Google is constantly changing the way it displays search results. They’ve been doing this for years and have made hundreds of changes to their algorithm since 2000. 

In addition to changing how they display search results and ads, they also change their landing pages—the pages that appear when you click an ad on Google. These changes can have a significant impact on your PPC strategy!

Conclusion

There’s a lot that goes into developing an effective Google Ads strategy. It’s important that you’re open to trying new things, experimenting, and monitoring the results. The more you test and optimize, the more effective your Google Ad campaigns will be. This means delivering a better ROI from each ad campaign you run and driving more revenue for your business.

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In recent years, online shopping websites like Temu have become a popular way for consumers to buy goods and services. One of the most significant trends in online shopping is the rise of e-commerce marketplaces. These are online platforms that allow multiple vendors to sell their products to consumers. E-commerce marketplaces offer many benefits to consumers, including convenience, variety, and competitive pricing. In this article, we will explore the benefits of shopping in an e-commerce marketplace in more detail.

Convenience

One of the most significant benefits of shopping in an e-commerce marketplace is convenience. Consumers can shop from the comfort of their homes or even on the go, using their smartphones or tablets. This eliminates the need to travel to a physical store, wait in line, and carry items back home. With e-commerce marketplaces, consumers can easily browse, compare, and purchase products with just a few clicks.

Variety

E-commerce marketplaces offer a vast selection of products from multiple vendors. Consumers can find a wide range of products, from fashion and beauty to electronics and home appliances. This variety allows consumers to choose from different brands, styles, and prices, making it easier to find products that meet their preferences and budget.

Competitive Pricing

E-commerce marketplaces often offer competitive pricing because of the high level of competition between vendors. With multiple sellers offering similar products, consumers can compare prices and choose the best deal. Moreover, many e-commerce marketplaces offer discounts, coupons, and promotions to attract and retain customers.

User Reviews

Another advantage of shopping in an e-commerce marketplace is the availability of user reviews. Consumers can read reviews from other buyers, providing valuable insights into the quality, performance, and satisfaction of the product. This helps consumers make informed decisions and avoid purchasing products with negative feedback.

Payment Options

E-commerce marketplaces offer multiple payment options, making it easier for consumers to pay for their purchases. They can use credit or debit cards, e-wallets, bank transfers, or cash on delivery. Moreover, some e-commerce marketplaces offer installment plans or financing options for more expensive items, allowing consumers to pay in installments over time.

Security

E-commerce marketplaces prioritize security and privacy to protect consumers’ personal and financial information. They use encryption technology, secure payment gateways, and other security measures to prevent fraud, hacking, or data breaches. Additionally, they provide customer support and dispute resolution services in case of any issues or concerns.

Product Information

E-commerce marketplaces provide detailed product information, including specifications, features, images, and videos. Consumers can read product descriptions, compare specifications, and view product images and videos to make informed decisions. This information helps consumers understand the product’s quality, functionality, and suitability for their needs.

Time-Saving

Shopping in an e-commerce marketplace saves time for consumers. They can easily search for products, filter by category, brand, price, and other criteria, and sort by popularity, rating, or relevance. This eliminates the need to visit multiple physical stores or spend hours searching for products online.

Accessibility

E-commerce marketplaces are accessible to everyone, regardless of their location, time zone, or physical ability. Consumers can shop at any time of the day or night, and from anywhere with an internet connection.

Loyalty Programs

Many e-commerce marketplaces offer loyalty programs or reward systems for their regular customers. These programs can include points, cashback, discounts, or exclusive offers. By participating in these programs, consumers can save money and get more value from their purchases. Moreover, loyalty programs can increase customer engagement and retention, leading to a long-term relationship between consumers and the marketplace.

Customer Service

E-commerce marketplaces provide customer service to support consumers before, during, and after their purchases. They offer various channels such as live chat, email, phone, or social media to help consumers with their inquiries, issues, or complaints. Additionally, they provide tracking and delivery information to keep consumers updated on the status of their orders.

Personalization

E-commerce marketplaces use personalization algorithms and data analysis to offer personalized recommendations and suggestions to consumers. They can analyze consumers’ browsing and purchasing history, search queries, and social media activity to provide relevant and customized products. This personalization can enhance the shopping experience and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Return Policies

E-commerce marketplaces provide return policies to allow consumers to return or exchange products that do not meet their expectations. These policies can include a certain timeframe, condition, and mode of return. By having a clear and flexible return policy, e-commerce marketplaces can build trust and confidence with consumers and reduce the risk of negative feedback or disputes.

Sustainability

E-commerce marketplaces are increasingly adopting sustainable practices and promoting environmentally friendly products. They can encourage vendors to reduce their carbon footprint, use recyclable materials, or donate a portion of their profits to charitable causes. By promoting sustainability, e-commerce marketplaces can attract socially responsible consumers and contribute to a better world.

Conclusion

In summary, shopping in an e-commerce marketplace offers many benefits to consumers, including convenience, variety, competitive pricing, user reviews, payment options, security, product information, time-saving, accessibility, loyalty programs, customer service, personalization, return policies, and sustainability. By leveraging these benefits, e-commerce marketplaces can provide a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience for consumers and build a strong reputation and brand loyalty.

FAQs

Is it safe to shop in an e-commerce marketplace?

Yes, e-commerce marketplaces prioritize security and privacy to protect consumers’ personal and financial information. They use encryption technology, secure payment gateways, and other security measures to prevent fraud, hacking, or data breaches.

Can I return or exchange products in an e-commerce marketplace?

Yes, most e-commerce marketplaces provide return policies to allow consumers to return or exchange products that do not meet their expectations. These policies can include a certain timeframe, condition, and mode of return.

How can I find the best deals in an e-commerce marketplace?

You can find the best deals in an e-commerce marketplace by comparing prices, using coupons or promotions, and participating in loyalty programs. Moreover, you can subscribe to newsletters or follow social media pages to stay updated on the latest deals.

How can I ensure the quality of products in an e-commerce marketplace?

You can ensure the quality of products in an e-commerce marketplace by reading user reviews, checking product information, and choosing reputable vendors. Moreover, you can contact customer service if you have any questions or concerns.

How can e-commerce marketplaces promote sustainability?

E-commerce marketplaces can promote sustainability by adopting sustainable practices, encouraging vendors to use environmentally friendly materials, or donating a portion of their profits to charitable causes.

Featured image by Lucrezia Carnelos on Unsplash

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In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many small and medium businesses have transitioned to remote work environments. While remote work has its benefits, but also new challenges come along with it when it comes to protection against cyber threats and securing sensitive data.  

Small and medium businesses often forget to take care of their security and issues arise. 

This is usually due to the lack of human and physical resources. Small businesses often neglect to budget for security, so they often fall victim to hackers more than medium and large businesses. 

For ensuring that your security measures are up to date, outsourcing your IT security processes to a reputable IT company can be a smart strategy especially if you go for a local IT provider. 

In this article, we will outline some best practices for securing remote work environments in small and medium businesses.

 Using a PC or laptop from work

The first step is ensuring that your employees use a PC or laptop from work because many people use their personal PC or laptop for work. It is the same device on which they are using for personal things – online shopping, downloading some media, etc. This can raise a potential risk of compromising company data. Having a separate PC or laptop for work for employees is something that your company should consider. 

 Implement Strong Password Policies

Passwords are the first line of defense when it comes to securing remote work environments. We use them in everyday life, not just on our phones and computer but as well on PINs and credit cards. Businesses should require employees to use strong, unique passwords and change them regularly. Passwords should also be kept confidential and not shared with anyone, including colleagues. For a password, it is recommended to contain at least 12 characters combined with numbers, letters, and symbols.

 Use Multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to the login process by requiring users to provide two forms of identification. This can be a password and a security token or biometric verification. Multi-factor authentication helps prevent unauthorized access to company systems and data.

 Secure Remote Access

The connection between the home and the office can be made via the VPN (Virtual Private Network). It is a service that gives an employee access to corporate data in a secure way. Businesses should also ensure that remote access is only granted to authorized employees and that access is monitored and audited.

Keep Software and Systems Up to Date

 Outdated software and systems can contain vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cyber attackers. To minimize this risk, businesses should keep all software and systems up to date with the latest security patches and updates.

Server security patching is a tool that makes sure that the server gets the latest updates and that the update is checked and running. All applications (software) stored on a server can be vulnerable to malicious attacks. The objective of server security patching is to fix software vulnerabilities by ensuring that everything is installed on the computer systems.

Desktop security patching – Although patches are provided by software developers, users typically postpone updates on their computers. Companies put their trust in IT partners that can check these updates on a regular basis so that the user does not have to do anything. Their only “job” is to restart the machine so that the patches are applied. Even if they are asked to install updates, in some cases they postpone it. They do not understand the importance of it and how that can affect the company.

Educate Employees

Employees are often the weakest link when it comes to cybersecurity. Businesses should educate their employees on best practices for securing remote work environments, including the importance of strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and secure remote access. Since some malicious attempts go through your employees, they should also be trained to recognize and report potential cyber threats, such as phishing emails and suspicious activity. This is why training is so important. 

Security awareness training can make sure that employees understand and be aware of cyber threats. Onboarding programs and annual training can make a big difference in a company’s remote working cybersecurity. 

After security awareness training employees should be able to protect themselves and others around them. 

The importance of educating employees about IT security is not something that needs to be neglected. To prevent these threats companies should work closely with IT consultancy partners which can provide security awareness training.

 Implement Access Controls

Access controls can help limit the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data. Businesses should implement access controls that limit access to sensitive data to only those employees who need it to perform their jobs.

 Have a Data Backup Plan

Data loss can be catastrophic for businesses, especially if it includes sensitive data. Businesses should have a data backup plan in place to ensure that important data is backed up regularly and can be restored in the event of a data loss incident.

 Monitor and Audit Activity

Businesses should monitor and audit activity on their systems and networks to detect potential security incidents. This can include monitoring for unusual activities, such as failed login attempts, and auditing access logs to identify potential unauthorized access.

In conclusion, securing remote work environments in small and medium businesses is a critical component of cybersecurity. By implementing these best practices, businesses can help protect their sensitive data and reduce the risk of cyber threats. With the right policies and tools in place, remote work can be a safe and productive way to operate for businesses of all sizes. 

Whether you are a small or medium-sized business, taking proactive steps toward IT security is crucial to a remote work environment. To ensure that their systems remain secure, companies can partner with IT security experts who can provide a safe working environment, and monitor and prevent potential breaches from occurring.

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The education industry is consistently focusing on incorporating immersive technologies into academic courses to make learning entertaining and engaging ever since the wake of the pandemic. One such area of study for educators around the world is the metaverse. 

It seeks to immerse students in a fun environment where they can take part in educational activities that make learning more enjoyable. The days of students imagining textbook scenarios through teachers giving classroom explanations are long gone. We live in a digitally interconnected world today where ideas like metaverse are used in actual applications. It is simple to envision that metaverse as a service has transformational effects on the world’s educational system in such a situation. 

Metaverse’s Importance in Edtech

A metaverse is a virtual environment that functions as a parallel universe to the real world and allows users to interact realistically with virtual people and items. The usage of virtual and augmented reality technology in education has significantly increased in recent years, sparking the development of the metaverse edtech. 

As per Statista’s report, the metaverse in edtech market is expected to earn a revenue of $1.90 bn in 2023 with the growing demand for virtual learning. The use of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) in education and learning is referred to as the “metaverse” in edtech. With the use of the Metaverse, educators can engage students in learning activities by simulating real-world events and situations in virtual settings.

The term “Edtech Metaverse” refers to online learning environments where teachers and students can work together in real-time on digital content and with each other. Students can explore, experiment, and learn in these virtual environments in a fun and interesting way. The metaverse is poised to have a big impact on the future of education and has a lot of possibilities for the field. 

Applications of Metaverse in Edtech 

Here are some of the top applications of metaverse in the education sector:

3D Virtual Classes

With the rise of online institutions and universities, students are starting to notice a difference between immersive real-world classrooms and those that are virtual. The metaverse can close this gap by building 3D virtual classrooms where students can digitally interact with their classmates and teachers. 

Digital Education

With the addition of smart classrooms to school education curricula, pupils’ learning was increased via video projection on a variety of academic themes. By enabling students to become fully immersed in these movies, the metaverse aims to upgrade these classrooms by enhancing student learning. Additionally, it gives them a place to experiment, fail, and learn from their mistakes in areas that call for real-world experiments. Such 3D virtual learning can also be used in physical schools to meet learning objectives.

Virtual Tours

Imagine reading about a nation or location in class and then flying there immediately. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful experience? Although it is not practical in the real world, the metaverse makes it possible by providing virtual trips around the globe. The metaverse helps students widen their minds and perspectives on the world by enabling them to visit any location of their choice in a virtual environment in a matter of minutes.

Events Starring Well-Known People

It can be quite advantageous to invite notable individuals, such as scientists, doctors, and athletes, and to have the students engage with them and benefit from their expertise and experiences. In the metaverse, spaces can be created for online symposiums, conferences, and lectures.

Interdisciplinarity in Education

The metaverse has the power to lower subject barriers and encourage interdisciplinary study. It allows teachers to combine courses that were once considered distinct, such as science and mathematics, and to provide students with a comprehensive learning experience that illustrates how diverse ideas are used in the actual world.

Simulating Circumstances from Real Life

Learning in the metaverse is beneficial, especially because it may give an immersive experience to students by simulating real-world scenarios in which they can conduct experiments, display prototypes, and even participate in documentaries, like one on World War I. Topic-specific 3D settings may be developed in the future to support students’ learning and improve teachers’ explanations of the topic material.

Benefits of Incorporating the Metaverse into Education

A virtual world or collective place comprising several virtual worlds is known as the Metaverse, and it is accessible online. It’s intended to give consumers a really engaging, immersive experience that may be utilized for various things, including education. Additionally, the metaverse offers a secure and controlled environment where students can experiment, explore, and make mistakes without worrying about the repercussions. 

As a result, students may gain confidence and learner motivation while also developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. EdTech has the potential to benefit significantly from the metaverse.

The following are some advantages of the Metaverse in educational technology:

Gamification in Learning 

People stay alert when they are competitive. The usage of a metaverse in teaching helps improve concentration. The learners are motivated and encouraged to maintain their focus on finishing the tasks set when given badges and other types of acknowledgment.

Flexible Educational Strategies

Understanding is significantly facilitated if a concept is presented interactively in a virtual setting. For instance, it will be much easier to comprehend a fundamental idea of the solar ecosystem if one can practically travel through the galaxy and experience the positions and orbits of the planets. 

Accelerated Learning

Gamification, engaging hands-on exercises, 3D features, and entertaining activities in the metaverse can keep learners one step ahead. Additionally, because 3D simulations completely captivate a person’s vision and attention, metaverse learners experience less distraction as they are better able to understand the subject material.

Finding Information Quickly and Simply

Internet-enabled tools make it simple to disseminate knowledge to a larger audience. Once established, numerous students can use courses, saving both time and money. Individualized learning routes will be offered in a way that is simple to understand, thanks to personalized search results and improved socially collaborative capabilities. 

Metaverse in Edtech is Here to Stay 

Ever since Facebook changed its name to Meta, the phrase “metaverse” has garnered a lot of attention. Leading metaverse development companies and brands have already begun investing in several metaverse projects as a result. Although the idea of the metaverse is making its way into academia, its full potential in the field of education has not yet been realized. If you look forward to optimizing or building a metaverse e-learning app, connect with a metaverse application development company today.

Featured image by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

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If you are opting for video marketing for your brand through popular video streaming websites like YouTube, or Dailymotion, you must be facing difficulty in ranking your videos and getting more views and likes. Therefore it is of utmost necessity to opt for a professional video promotion company to get the job done. 

In this era of competition, it becomes quite difficult to choose the best suitable promotional company. So how to choose the best video promotion company? What criteria should you follow while selecting it? 

So, in this article, we will guide you on video promotion questions you should ask the video marketing company to evaluate its expertise.

Why You Need a Video Promotion Company

Your business really needs a video promotion these days due to the high competition. And if you are into promotional video production, you must find a way to promote your videos online to get the desired results. 

That is why you need a professional video promotion company to get your business in the limelight in no time. And before you make your decision of selecting a video promotion company, you must prepare questions to ask promoters so that you select the best.

A video promotion company will benefit you in:

• Reaching your target audience efficiently.
• Promoting your business online through videos effectively.
• Creating brand awareness on an extensive level.
• Increase your following on social media platforms.

What Video Promotion Questions To Ask From A Video Marketing Or Promotion Company

Well, there are lots of Video promotion questions for clients to ask promoters before handing them over your project. A few of the most important Video promotion interview questions are listed below:

1. For how long you have been working in this field? 

The first of the most important video promotion questions to ask any company is about their experience. Remember, you will come across so many claiming to be excellent in their work and driving results for promoting your videos, but does it make them trustable? Of course NOT. 

So, your first question to them should be about their experience with proof. Remember, it is the company’s proven experience that speaks a lot about their work and efficiency! You need an expert and not an inexperienced company. So, make your decision wisely before you choose.

2. Can I get to know about your former or existing clients? Do you have a portfolio?

A portfolio overview is mandatory when choosing a video promotion company. You can ask video promotion questions related to previous or existing work of a company. It is a right of a client to ask for a portfolio to evaluate if the company is best for the role or not. Although an experienced video promotion service can charge a bit higher, it will deliver the work as per your desire. 

Also, you can find medium to big-size firms that offer their services at an affordable cost. All you have to do is to go through the portfolio and evaluate the company’s expertise. Also, it will help you analyze if: 

• The video promotion company really values its clients’ opinions
• The company has acquired the target results efficiently and effectively. 
• The company has maintained good terms with the existing and former clients

Knowing what clients these companies have served will help you make your decision promptly. 

3. What strategies do you have to promote the videos?

So, if you are thinking that Which is a question that must be answered before promotion takes place? Well, it is about promotional strategies. It is utmost necessary to know about all the strategies a video promotion company will use to put your brand into the limelight. Google updates its algorithm quite often with new SEO techniques and only an efficient and knowledgeable company can keep track of it. That’s the reason you should always have strategy-related questions to ask promoters to evaluate their promotional techniques. 

Not only it will let you take your decision to hire them, but also will help you keep your content related to videos and clips ranking well on the search engines. Do cross-check their strategies to the latest trends going on and see if the promoted knows about the latest updates or not.

4. How much do you charge for the promotion of videos?

Obviously, your budget has the utmost importance when it comes to video promotion. And asking questions related to charges for the video promotion should be asked keeping in mind the services you want to avail. There are a lot of things involved in video promotion. Some basic areas are: 

• SEO for Videos
• Analytics
• Regional promotion 
• Measuring return on investment

Video promotion companies charge according to the services they offer. These charges may fluctuate as well as the service quality. Therefore, if someone charging you minimal, do not get yourself lured. Instead, focus on outstanding results while paying a moderate amount.

5. What success meant to you? 

Well, every video promotion company claims to be successful, but you should know what success really meant to them. The top-rated video promotion company will always prioritize the client’s success as theirs. Once you have shortlisted the top video promotion company, checkout 

What success means to it? 

How do they measure their success if they are handed over a video promotion project?

How successful the company has been in its previous projects?

Well, most companies will tell you that the sales generated through video promotion campaigns is their success ratio. Others will tell you that the views, engagements, and likes of the video is their scale to measure the success. 

Now, it’s your call what actually want from your video promotion. Either it will be to grow subscriptions. Or it will be to increase sales. Based on your objectives, you can choose your company. 

Wrap up

We have listed all the essential video promotion questions to ask from a company you are going to hire for your video marketing. So, before you are thinking to invest in any services related to video promotions, make sure to prepare a Video promotion questionnaire incorporating the important questions we have listed and achieve the success you always wanted.

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AI probably isn’t going to take over the world, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t taking the world by storm. ChatGPT, one of the newest tech tools around, is getting lots of press — and for good reasons. As people explore the platform, they’re finding plenty of creative ways to incorporate its best features into their businesses.

This doesn’t mean that organizations are getting rid of workers left and right, either. In most use cases for ChatGPT, companies are allowing the system to make their people more efficient. Handled appropriately and pragmatically, ChatGPT can free up employee time normally spent on “busy work.” More time on their hands means more team members who are able to work on higher-level assignments and duties.

Perplexed about how you can use ChatGPT? Look at the many unique ways experimentation is happening on the ground to get some ideas. Below are some of the more interesting ways that professionals are putting ChatGPT through its paces. After reading through them, you might be inspired to do likewise.

1. Fleshing out content outlines.

It’s safe to say that most content is best created with an outline in mind. Having an outline to follow keeps the writer on course. It also makes sure all relevant topics are covered, especially ones connected to juicy keywords.

ChatGPT can be used to not only construct but “beef up” content outlines. MarketMuse, a content quality platform, has released a proprietary ChatGPT integration. As a result, MarketMuse users can incorporate the topic model data in the ChatGPT prompts to build quality outlines fast. Since it’s an integration within the MarketMuse system, they never have to switch logins or tabs. They just need to pop questions into the platform and wait for ChatGPT’s responses to systematically populate.

The ChatGPT answers can come in the form of an outline, of course. However, the outline may be thin or lacking topics. By gauging the outline against a keyword assessment, users can more thoroughly design thoughtful outlines. In this way, ChatGPT helps marketers ensure their content has as much pertinence and value to readers as possible.

2. Making coding more streamlined.

No one ever claimed that writing code was easy, fun, or fast. Certainly, it can be rewarding. However, pulling together app code can be tedious at times. Plus, it can be prone to problems for newer, less experienced code writers.

One of the most remarkable uses for ChatGPT has come as a coding assistant. Recently, none other than Goldman Sachs announced that its developers were coding with ChatGPT. The concept is not to push software developers out the door, though. It’s to allow them to write faster and therefore produce more output than they would otherwise be able to.

As Goldman Sachs has noted, they’re just dabbling at this point. And most other big-name financial institutions haven’t yet jumped into the ChatGPT game. Nevertheless, coding with the help of ChatGPT is happening across many other industries. In the future, it may be a way for companies to construct minimally viable apps quickly and cheaply.

3. Educating people on foreign languages.

Duolingo has been known for years as one of the breakthrough platforms for language learning. To augment its platform and tools, the company has unveiled what it calls Duolingo Max. Duolingo Max is designed to leverage ChatGPT in different ways to ramp up recall and understanding of grammar and vocabulary.

The Duolingo Max product allows users to engage in an AI-focused back-and-forth roleplay. Additionally, Duolingo Max is set up to explain what went wrong when users make errors. The give-and-take affords users the opportunity to better improve their language proficiency.

This creative way to use ChatGPT was meant for foreign language learners. However, it might have applications for students who are learning the structure of the English language in school. Being able to “gamify” learning has always been advantageous. With ChatGPT, it may be even simpler to set up.

4. Writing no-frills emails.

Every day, professionals write and send countless emails. Some emails almost write themselves. What about emails that are important or more complex, such as to sales leads? Those emails deserve more energy and thought, but not necessarily at the initial writing stage.

ChatGPT can be useful for generating bare-bones emails based on general questions and prompts. These emails can then become the structural basis for more conversational, personalized ones. Many leaders like to put their finishing touches on all the content that goes out under their names, anyway. ChatGPT just provides a faster way to get to the personality-incorporating part of email writing.

Salesforce is just one of the many organizations trying out email writing this way. It’s also exploring ways to fold some instant customization into the mix. Most employees will still want to put their eyes on the final product before hitting “send”. Still, the opportunities seem to be endless for taking away the time-consuming sting of routine corporate email writing.

5. Enhancing (and personalizing) digital flashcard sessions.

Most students and teachers have encountered the tool called Quizlet throughout their learning journeys. Quizlets are online flashcards that promote learning through the use of repetition. In early 2023, Quizlet augmented its offerings with Q-Chat, based on ChatGPT.

How does Q-Chat make the flashcard construction process a little smoother? Quizlet says that by giving Q-Chat access to its vast library, Q-Chat can serve as a virtual tutor. Students can drill down deeper on topics of interest, getting more learning power from each flashcard session.

Quizlet refers to itself as an “early adopter” of ChatGPT technology and touts its other uses of AI. Though Q-Chat isn’t ready for full-blown release, its first-run edition will be available to those ages 18+. After working out any issues, Q-Chat is poised to become part of Quizlet’s wide range of product offerings.

We’re only scratching the surface of what ChatGPT is capable of doing. As more individuals and organizations think innovatively about generative AI, they’ll find new methods of using it. Who knows? One day, you may find yourself seeing ChatGPT as one of the most important assets in your toolkit.

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You have certainly heard a lot lately about learning management systems if you are new to the world of eLearning or are switching to online training. This is mainly because it is one of the quintessential eLearning tools, from which every online training and course module is constructed. In particular, if you have a big audience and a lot of content to distribute, LMS integration services are a crucial component of the design and development of eLearning. 

Here are just a handful of the most compelling arguments for why every learning professional should get effective LMS integration services on hand in case you’re still not sure if one is the ideal fit for you. 

Here are 10 reasons why LMS Shopify integration is beneficial for businesses;

Limitless Use Of Online Learning Resources

Your audience has unrestricted access to the data they require once you upload the eLearning course materials to the LMS and publish them. So that they don’t have to wait till their next online training session to improve skills and perfect job-related activities, even individuals who are on the road can connect to the eLearning platform through their smartphones and tablets.

Reduces The Learning Curve 

You’re assisting in keeping things simple for your audience by integrating your LMS with existing corporate tools (and minimizing the need for additional tools). They may concentrate solely on learning how to use the new LMS features, which accelerates their learning curve. For instance, since they are already familiar with using their video conferencing device, they don’t need to learn how to attend a class online.

Improves Employee Performance

Integrating ALMS to Improve Employee Performance Improved accessibility and a smaller learning curve help increase learning engagement. As a result, this improves employee performance at work. 

New hires can be added to your learning platform immediately through an LMS integration, ensuring that they receive the appropriate training. As a result, it will take them less time to become fully integrated into the organization and maximize their output.

Exerts eLearning Content In One Place

You may save all of your eLearning resources in one place rather than dispersing them across various hard drives and gadgets. This lowers the possibility of losing crucial data and facilitates the development of your eLearning course. If you’re utilizing a cloud-based Learning Management System, the data is accessible to all members of your eLearning team as it is all kept on a distant server. Learning management systems are a perfect fit for online collaboration because of this.

Learning and development Time Decreases

Because an LMS provides online learners with only the information they require in a clear and structured manner, it can even shorten the amount of time spent on online training. Additionally, they can test their comprehension by completing online tests or quizzes, taking part in interactive exercises and simulations, and watching eLearning videos that explain difficult procedures or jobs.

Combines Social Learning Experiences

Social learning is simple to incorporate into your eLearning strategy with the help of a learning management system. You can incorporate links to Facebook and Twitter sites, LinkedIn groups, and online discussion forums as the LMS is already available online. To draw in new students, you might advertise your eLearning course on social media platforms and design assignments that emphasize peer collaboration.

Agile and Easy Expands eLearning Courses

You can easily log into the LMS and make the appropriate changes without having to completely recreate your eLearning course if you wish to add more online modules to it to update content based on new trends or scientific findings. Since all of the content is in one place, you may update just the master eLearning course before distributing it to every online learner.

Boost Employee Happiness And Retention

There are several advantages to improving staff performance. Employees, for instance, prefer to stay with a company longer because they believe their contributions are recognized more, their sense of worth grows, and they are more satisfied at work. Studies have shown that good onboarding programs can increase employee retention rates by as much as 82%.

Improve L&D Tasks

LMS interfaces aid your L&D personnel in streamlining several laborious procedures and accelerating their work. Examples include compiling learning materials from outside sources and building rosters. Administrators and back-end developers don’t need to login in separately to get all pertinent data from various systems owing to SSO connectivity. Time and effort are reduced as a result. They can also work along with instructional designers, monitor course sales, and spot reoccurring problems that customer care has to handle.

Actions based on business insights

Business systems can offer crucial insight into the challenges or issues that need to be resolved. For example, CRM systems can spot issues with the management of client connections. You may quickly take corrective action, create a learning plan for your staff, and deliver it through the integration of an LMS with a CRM system. There are more possibilities for insight and corrective measures when there are many business system integrations.

Conclusion 

Remember that using the right LMS integration services for your requirements is necessary if you want to fully profit from a learning management system. Therefore, take advantage of free trials, learn about the features and available prices, and read reviews from other eLearning specialists who have used the tool. This will enable you to develop effective eLearning courses and make the most of the learning management system.

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