Digital transformation is on the rise. Every day a thousand more companies decide to innovate their business system with digital solutions that allow for cost savings, automation in business processes, and faster operation. The massive transition to technology lets enterprises of any size remain competitive in the market. At the same time, the heavy reliance on enterprise software makes companies dependent on access to web sources as well as more vulnerable to malware, cyber-attacks, and hacking.

If you own an online business or are thinking to design custom software to improve your business performance, it is vital to explore the risks and implications that also come with the advantages you receive.

Let’s look at the top cybersecurity trends that are likely to shape the IT market in 2021.

1. Cloud threats

Cloud computing is among the most widely-used services across the globe. Cloud integration is an essential part of every project development that is implemented through outsourcing or by a distributed team. 

As much as cloud back-up and recovery is an effective method to safeguard your project from data loss, you can be still powerless when it comes to attacks on your cloud service provider. Should it fall victim to cybercriminals, data leakage will cost you a reputation and partners that count on your ability to protect confidential data in collaboration. This is why the trend for secure cloud services will be even in more demand than before. When migrating your data to the cloud, you should make sure the protocols lying at the core of your cloud provider’s processes are properly followed and implemented so that the risk of cyber-attack is close to zero.

2. AI integration

The use of AI is observed across all industries. Be it healthcare or banking, AI tools can considerably accelerate the operational processes and automate the workflow. Its application in the area of data security is also observed in organizations that need to collect and analyze high data volumes, thus undergoing the risk of catching malware online. AI creates a shield against ransomware attacks and reports critical issues to the security team before your business system is destroyed with a cyber-attack. The latest data say that AI’s share in the cybersecurity market is expected to reach 38.2 billion by 2026. This trend will most likely become critical for large-sized enterprises and corporations that need to ensure the highest level of data security in their IT infrastructure.

3. Data privacy

The issue of data privacy has been on the agenda since the appearance of social networks. But if social media owners and admins are responsible for keeping their user data confidential, business owners should think of protecting their business information themselves. For this reason, the technology that helps to control data access like Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) or Zero-Trust Network Access will be extensively used among businesses. Their purpose is to ensure that the data remain isolated from unauthorized users and cannot be exposed to cyber-attack even if remote workers employ different devices to manage business processes and develop projects in teamwork.

4. Data analytics

We know that the value of data analytics above all lies in effective data management methods. However, one can also leverage it to strengthen its data security. In this case, data analytics software is designed to analyze the system’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities that can be a gateway for hackers. Data-driven cybersecurity solutions can help companies understand better how they interact with outer online systems and servers and thus take the right measures that will reinforce their safety online. Thus, data analytics can be a smart way to provide the company with good knowledge and insights into its security system.

5. Data breaches

Data breach is the most common type of cyber-attack that happens on a daily basis. Despite its low cost, it results in huge financial losses that small and large enterprises have to bear because of their negligence and weak protection methods. 

One in three data breaches usually takes place as a result of phishing, most commonly in the form of disguised emails, SMS, and calls. Statistics show that there was a total of 540 reported data breaches in the first half of 2020. This number, however, may indicate that millions of sensitive files were stolen by hackers. On average, 158 accounts get hacked every second. This trend is alarming and indicative that all businesses should be vigilant about their activity on the web.

6. Remote workforce

The outbreak of Coronavirus has put an end to the supremacy of offline businesses and made it clear that every company should be present online in order to remain afloat in any circumstances. The tendency to keep part of the team out of house or hire outsourced specialists to participate in your project is going to get stronger. 64% of businesses have provided comfortable conditions to continue their operation online and 27% are preparing to move online in the near future. Powered by tracking and project management systems, remote workforce has proved to be as effective as real-life labor. The only implication is that more users being active on the web will lead to even higher data volumes and as a result more security concerns.

7. Skills shortage

The last trend that is prevalent in the IT market these days and will still remain in the next few years is skills shortage. Sadly, the growth of online businesses and E-commerce is not followed by an increase in the number of specialists that can serve enterprises and take care of their data security. The cybersecurity sector is among the few demonstrating a 0% unemployment rate and requiring more experts and professionals than what are currently educated at higher institutions. The spread of malware, viruses, and cybercriminal activity are all contributing factors to low-security levels among enterprises, especially small-sized companies and startups. Here, the best solution for every business is either hiring an outside specialist to check on their system regularly or nurturing an in-house expert in their team.

Betty Lockwood is a web developer, blogger, fintech expert and caring mother of two kids. She loves to write about new technologies, business news, traveling, and music events. Betty is also an editor-in-chief at Computools. Follow Betty on Twitter.

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What does your website look like? Does it create a strong incentive to contact you for help, or is it outdated, slow-loading, and difficult to navigate? Does the site’s content address common search terms related to your practice? Does it answer questions that your potential clients ask Google?

This article explains how you can supercharge your firm’s virtual presence to capture viewers’ attention, incentivize them to become your clients and improve your Google ranking. 

Now is the Time to Update Your Website

Open a new window in your browser, right now, and go to your firm’s website. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does my firm’s website load quickly?
• Is there an obvious way for viewers to contact us?
• Are our practice areas apparent?
• Do we post our firm’s settlement and judgment results?
• Are our attorney and staff bios current?
• Are photographs of attorneys and staff recent?
• Do we have location pages for each of the geographical areas we serve?
• Do we have a blog? If so, do we post to it?
• Have we posted client reviews?

Now visit your firm’s website on a mobile device. Is your website optimized for mobile?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, you are losing business and Google rank unnecessarily. Read on for solutions.

Your firm’s website must load quickly

If it does not, potential clients will feel impatient and simply move on to the next law firm’s website. 

Not only will you lose that potential business, but the click rate tells Google how viewers feel about your site. If they click away within seconds, Google thinks they have had a poor experience and your ranking will suffer as a result.

A website can load slowly for a number of reasons, including photographs and images that are too large. These can and must be optimized to load more quickly. If you’re using WordPress, you can install a plugin like WPSmush that will automatically reduce the size of the images.

Before uploading new images, you might first run them through a tool called Tiny PNG to reduce the file size without sacrificing quality.

If your site is more than a few years old and has not been updated, chances are that there are some add-ons and plug-ins that are causing delays in loading. These can be removed using a tool like Google Pagespeed Insights.

If you have had several different developers work on your site, chances are that the code is a mess. If your site is based on WordPress, you can use Better WordPress Minify to minimize your code. 

Viewers must be able to contact you with one click

Of course, your phone number should be in the header, but since the viewer found you online, don’t you think an email option would be used more?

For this reason, you must have a “contact us” button. Clicking on it should take the viewer to a contact form on your site, or open their mail application and autofill your email address. It’s all about making it easy for the viewer to contact you, and therefore more likely they will do so.

Your practice areas must be evident to a viewer

This section addresses your blog and your location pages as well.

A viewer probably found you by using search terms related to your practice areas, but if they can’t immediately find the answer to their question they will move on to the next site.

If they search “divorce lawyer to help me with child custody,” that query had better land them on your blog post describing how child custody works in their jurisdiction, with a link to your practice page and a call to action promising them help if they contact you. 

If they search “workers’ compensation lawyer near me,” that query had better land them on your location page for their city, town, or county.

If you don’t post to your blog, start now. You can find topics to write about by using Google. Two ways to do this are by using Autosuggest and People Also Ask.

Google Autosuggest

Autosuggest is a powerful tool for finding frequently-searched queries. If you are a personal injury lawyer, you might start typing in “how much is a settlement after a…” and Google might supply “car crash” to complete the query. You can then write a blog post addressing the factors that affect insurance settlements and judgments in your jurisdiction, with links to your results/settlements/judgments page and your practice page, and any other blog posts that address auto accidents.

Google “People Also Ask”

“People Also Ask” is a box Google provides when you type in a query. Including the exact same language as the People Also Ask queries and answering the query in a blog post will help you rank and attract viewers whose problems you can solve for them.

Post settlement and judgment results if possible, as well as client reviews

If your practice area does not lend itself to posting settlement and judgment results – for example, if you are a bankruptcy attorney – you must get creative. In the case of a bankruptcy attorney, you can advertise that you have “over 20 years’ experience,” you have helped clients discharge “over $3.5 Million in debt,” or you have helped “over 1200 clients get a fresh start.”

Client reviews are a must. Viewers look for online peer assessments for everything, from restaurants to babysitters to piano teachers. They want reassurance that you do the job you say you do, and that real people have used your services successfully. 

Gathering client reviews can be automated using software like MailChimp or Constant Contact. This is well worth the investment.

Update your photographs and bios every year

No potential client wants to see an attorney photo that is obviously 5, 10, or more years old from the hair or beard style or the clothing. Take new photos every year to show your current appearances, reflecting current hairstyles and clothing.

Update the content of every bio with accolades, honors, education, and other recent achievements, and if an attorney doesn’t have any, you can list how many clients they have helped “as of [this year]” then encourage that attorney to go out and make some new news.

Every aspect of your website should reflect the current year. Blog posts can be updated with developments in the law and retitled “[this year] Update.” Settlements and judgments should be up-to-date. Client reviews should be listed most-recent to last-recent.

Reviewing your website and taking these steps to revamp it will pay off in more business and better Google ranking for the services you provide. Good luck!

Veronica Baxter is a writer, blogger, and legal assistant living and working in the great city of Philadelphia. She frequently works with ACE legal marketing.

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Why is UX/UI important to eCommerce Websites?

In order for you to get a great conversion rate you will require something that will assist you to showcase your services, products, and brand to your consumers and potential consumers, this will make it easier for them to know about your brand and the services and products and it will also help you sell more products and services. To achieve this you will need a user-friendly website that uses a great UI UX web design.

How to attract online customers? 

A great user experience is vital for an eCommerce website and is a great start. This will assist you to boost your revenue through retention and conversion. While the opposite, a bad user experience will make potential customers lose interest and abandon your website. A good website takes into consideration both a good user interface and a good user experience. The user interface (UI) is mostly focused on how the website looks while the user experience (UX) is mostly focused on the user’s experience. The design, navigation, text, and paragraphing are all components in the user interface. Successfully applying both, a great user interface (UI) and a great user experience (UX), will help you boost your business to a higher level.

Picking the Best Combination

Both the user interface (UI) and the user experience (UX) play a major role in the entire user experience. But how can you use them to your advantage and attract more customers and boost your sales?

1. Improve Readability

Most of the users today are searching for quick and easy reads, this what most internet users want to see while they are spending their time on the internet. When visiting a website most users are searching for quality content, they just want something simple and easy to read.

It mostly revolves around using simple terms for your content and limiting the use of italics. The general customer experience can be improved by reducing readable errors.

2. Eliminate mistakes

If a user notices your website has some errors they will immediately begin to lose trust and interest in your brand. It is important to keep the overall design of your website simple and mainly focus on the smaller details. Some of the noticeable things that might irritate users include difficult navigation, poor accessibility, and ads placed all over your website.

3. Focus on navigation

When a user visits a website one of the first things they notice about a website is the navigation. If the users can easily transition from reading about one service or product to another, they are likely to return to your website in the future.

If your navigation bar is confusing and it causes the user to get confused, this will frustrate users and result in the loss of a prospective customer and the multiple referrals that she or he would have made to their family and friends.

4. Keep it simple

The more complicated a website looks, the more frustrating it is for the user. The main goal is to keep the general design of the website minimalistic and simple to create a user-friendly website. The website should not be flooded with information about multiple products on one page. Similarly, it’s also not advisable to have a complex design for your website. Complex designs can drive some users away. It should also make it easy for customers to purchase products from your website, using QR codes for eCommerce or barcodes to enhance user experiences.

5. Remove Problems

If your website already has some problems, you need to work on fixing those problems. Some common problems include incorrect tags, social logins, forums, completeness meters, and flagging of content.

Most user experience problems are caused by user interface issues which can directly affect the overall user experience. Once the user interface problems are solved, the whole user experience will improve.

6. Serve Each Community

The internet has converted the world into one huge village. These days customers come from all over the world from multiple backgrounds and for you to build a successful business you will need to satisfy their needs separately. For example, some people don’t have a technical education or fully understand English.

Similarly, it’s crucial that people with special needs who might want to visit your website are not ignored. The added extra features such as smooth connection or voice features can greatly increase customer satisfaction and give them a reason to come back for more.

Joyce Kimber is an entrepreneurial writer. She currently writes for IronSoftware which creates c# libraries including Tesseract software to solve real-world problems. She always finds new ways to improve her work performance and quality. Connect with Joyce on Twitter @joyce_kimber91.

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Because of this growth and the fact that cryptocurrency isn’t going anywhere, many small businesses are wanting to become involved in the space. They want to be able to accept crypto payments to open up their physical or online stores to a whole new audience.

To do this, they will often need to enlist the help of a cryptocurrency wallet. This will help them send, store, and receive cryptocurrency safely and securely. But with so many wallet options being advertised out there, which are some of the best to use? This blog post is going to go over a several of them.

WLX Wallet

One of the best options for small businesses is WLX wallet (read more). This wallet is perfect for those who want a mobile wallet that is both convenient and secure. The app can offer a personalized experience, and users will enjoy a smooth and simple UI. They offer low fees and support for many of the most popular coins and crypto assets that you might have.

This wallet is also incredible for making payments. You can make global transfers, provide instant payments, and even automate recurring payments over time. The security offered by this wallet is without a doubt one of their strong suits. From encrypting data to regular audits and tests, the team is focused on keeping your coins and tokens safe.

Exodus

Exodus is a software wallet that offers great performance whether you are on the desktop version or the mobile version. This wallet gives you a lot of control and lets you manage more than 100 different crypto assets. Both UI and design are incredibly clear and appealing. There are also a few different themes to choose from to change up the wallet’s appearance.

The app and desktop experiences aren’t overloaded with numerous option choices. Instead, they focus on what is important such as an overall view of your portfolio, the ‘send’ and ‘receive’ options, and options for recovering or backing up your wallet. The wallet also lets you monitor the markets easily, and comes with a built-in exchange. 24/7 human support is also offered if you find yourself experiencing any issues with using the wallet.

Electrum Wallet

The Electrum wallet is another option for small businesses to consider. Electrum is one of the oldest Bitcoin wallets available and has become quite popular over the years. 

It is open-source and is quite safe to use as no information is stored on the server. Plus, they offer the use of two-factor authentication to protect users.

There are several other reasons to consider Electrum, as well. Using the software is easy, and it is incredibly fast. Their servers are decentralized, which means there is no reason to worry about downtime. The wallet also verifies each and every transaction and supports many third-party plugins and accessories.

Unfortunately, if you want to buy, sell, trade, or accept any other crypto assets, this wallet won’t be able to help you out. This is because it only offers support for Bitcoin, which isn’t great for businesses who want to branch out to other crypto assets.

Jaxx

As a choice for those who want to manage over 85 different cryptocurrency assets from home or on the go, Jaxx is another solid option. The software has no login, is always free (other than the small fee for sending crypto), and features a clean interface. The software is great for giving you an overall view of your assets. You can track different coins and tokens, view your balance, and follow different changes over time.

Jaxx is also great for keeping you up to date with the latest news, right in the wallet. The fact that there is no login is great for those who enjoy their privacy, but you need to be very careful with your private keys. If you lose them, you could lose access to your funds forever, so always keep them in a safe place.

Ledger Nano X

While all the wallets we have looked at so far operate online, these aren’t the only options. There are offline wallets too, also known as cold storage. One of the most popular choices is Ledger Nano X. It is a small device that, once plugged into your computer, gives you access to your cryptocurrency. The Ledger Nano X supports well over 1000 different crypto assets and tokens.

The main reason the Ledger Nano X is so popular comes down to how secure it is. This device keeps your wallet offline, for optimal security. No one will be able to access it online, only you, since you have the device and the keys. Even hackers will be no match for offline wallets like this. This can give you as a business owner a lot of peace of mind.

Your key also remains completely secured in a chip. In addition to being plugged in, the Nano X also has Bluetooth connectivity, which allows for a wireless connection to your computer. It is very easy to carry with you anywhere, and the screen and buttons on the device can be incredibly helpful, as well.

Unfortunately, these wallets can be quite expensive and this might deter some people from using them when there are plenty of high-quality free options available.

In conclusion, any of these cryptocurrency wallets are a great choice for small businesses and individuals alike. While ultimately choosing one will make things easier don’t hesitate to try out a few and see which you prefer. Of course, be sure to do your own independent research and be sure to choose one that is secure and you feel comfortable using at your business.

Acquiring a wealth of experience in writing articles on trends and prospects for the development of the game industry in the world I've found myself as a Freelance Journalist. I am writing now about blockchain and cryptocurrencies trends, sometimes covering the importance of bitcoin for various other industries.

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Our article will explore 8 latest trends in web design and development in 2021. Here are some of the ones we predict will have a huge impact.  

1. Use of Automated Testing Tools to Help Improve User Experience

 2020 has been a trying year due to the pandemic. Yet, it has also been a year when e-commerce has exploded. Brick and mortar locations became a no-go zone with the lockdowns. Most customers now use e-commerce platforms for shopping.  

Businesses had to catch up real quick; otherwise, they would lose out. It, therefore, became imperative to give customers a good user experience. Customers demand responsive websites. Businesses have had to invest in the latest technologies to keep customers happy.  

Automated testing tools provide a way to check the functionality of a website. They identify bugs and glitches, whether on the browser or mobile. The demand for online services will not end anytime soon. 2021 may very well experience more significant growth in the sector.  

2. Incorporation of Virtual Reality

 Business owners may have to improve the user experience with virtual reality. Customers need to feel like they are at a physical location. It allows for better interaction with products and services. In years gone by, e-commerce owners have primarily relied on images and videos.  

But now, the competition is greater. Even brick-and-mortar store owners are on the online platform. Providing an interactive experience for customers is now a necessity. Those who incorporate virtual reality may gain critical traction with customers.  

3. Incorporation of 3D Elements

3D is nothing new, but it is a trend that will only grow bigger. There was a time it was out of reach for many companies. Startups could not even start to think about the cost implication. However, technology has continued to evolve.  

Many web designers and developers now have easy access to 3D elements. It provides a more affordable option for those who cannot afford virtual reality. 3D allows for better interaction. Business owners will reduce bounce rates and engage with audiences better.  

4. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

 Chatbots and virtual assistants are already in use.  We, however, do not see the trend ending anytime soon.  Voice-user interface enhances experiences online. Instead of typing in requests, you simply speak it.

 Note-taking, information search or any other applications become so much easier. It could explain the popularity of Alexa and Siri. Having the same on your website is sure to be a win-win situation. The best part is you save on the cost of hiring full-time staff and customers receive responses promptly 24/7. 

 5. Increasing Inclusivity

Web designers are becoming more conscious of the need for inclusivity. How do you, for example, ensure that a visually challenged person can use a website? It calls for easier navigation and more visual navigation tools. 

 Stronger contrast between text and backgrounds helps with better visibility. Focus indicators, labels and instructions improve navigation. The use of jargon-free, easy to understand copy is great for better communication. 

 6. Greater Adoption of Dark Mode

Dark mode seems to be gaining more popularity. We can only expect it to get bigger in 2021. Twitter was one of the leading contenders with their mobile app. WhatsApp was quick to follow and the reception was quite positive. Dark mode allows for design aspects to stand out.

Dark mode also contrasts with the background resulting in an aesthetically appealing website. It brings a chic modern look to a website. Quite honestly, it is more likely to catch a user’s attention. 

It is also easy on the eyes.  Very bright colors can hurt your eyes, especially if you use the computer for too long. If you are using AMOLED or OLED screens, you get to save battery power with dark mode.  

7. Less Focus on Design Perfection 

Less focus on design perfection is resulting in a movement known as anti-design. It is all about throwing caution to the wind and allowing for imperfection. Designers can distort, exaggerate and experiment to their heart’s content.   

The grid system, for example, has been in use for a long time when designing layouts.  But now, web designers are coming up with interesting asymmetrical layouts.  It frees them from rigidity and allows for more experimentation.   

While the trend is not for everyone, it may very well catch on.   The younger generations who are now business owners may be more willing to adapt. You get more dynamism and a more exciting web design.  

Designers use multiple-element overlays, collapse gutters and empty spaces.  The play on fonts and image sizes makes the outcome more appealing. 

 8. Colorful Minimalism

Minimalism is something that web designers have done for a long time. Year-in, year-out, it continues to maintain its relevance. We do not see any change in 2021. What makes it attractive is the focus on basics. 

The text is clean, and there is a lot of empty space in the design. Many people associate minimalism with black and white websites.  But now, the trend could be moving towards colorful minimalism. 

Designers embrace the use of bold colors in the background and fonts. Even if they do this, they maintain the basic features of minimalistic websites. The result is a simple yet visually impactful website design.  

Final Thoughts

It is interesting to see the direction web design and development take in 2021. 3D elements, virtual reality and voice user interface will enhance overall experience. Designers now have more freedom to really express their creativity. 

Minimalism, dark mode and less focus on perfection are the perfect avenues for this creativity. Page responsiveness and loading speeds will be easy to check with automated testing tools. Such tools eliminate human error and make the processes more efficient.

Dan has been building teams and coaching others to foster innovation and solve real-time problems. Dan also enjoys photography and traveling.

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Outsourcing agencies can provide much-needed external support for businesses that are operating with a relatively small workforce. By outsourcing several services or tasks, an enterprise can enjoy the benefits of additional labor resources without having to hire new employees.

Getting extra help is especially important these days, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to persist. Implementing community quarantines and setting restrictions in close-contact interactions have compelled many businesses to work with fewer people. Armed with a skeleton workforce, the number of tasks can be overwhelming for the personnel, and the quality of their performance may deteriorate.

One particular area that significantly affects the overall operation of a business is IT management. In this modern age, most business activities are automated. Needless to say, the completion of routine tasks, such as managing computers, servers, email accounts, and the like, is also largely dependent on technology.

Moreover, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, businesses must acquire additional labor resources without filling their worksite with more people. If you are running a company with a small staff, you may be asking, should you outsource during a pandemic?

There are numerous benefits to outsourcing IT support services, from enhancing productivity to shoring up any skill gaps in your company’s internal IT team. But how do you know if IT outsourcing is indeed right for your business? Here are several reasons that you can take into account:

1. Outsourcing can be customized to meet your specific business needs

Outsourcing IT support involves selecting from an array of professional IT services that are being offered by a provider. Thus, depending on your needs, you may pick a specific IT support service or opt to outsource your entire IT management functions if that is what’s necessary to stay operational. 

Some providers even allow their clients to create personalized service packages. This means you can use some of their services to help your current IT team.

2. Outsourcing It tech support is more cost-effective

Hiring an in-house IT team can be very costly, so if you’re just starting your business, this may not be the best option for you. 

Having an internal IT department means you will be responsible for a lot of expenses, including their salary, sick leave incentives, workers’ compensation insurance, employee benefits, and the like. 

Moreover, you’ll be the one providing them with work equipment, system software, adequate workspace, and other necessary components of an in-house IT infrastructure. Keeping all these in mind, outsourcing for your business’s IT support needs will always be more cost-efficient.

3. Service providers can help you maximize your It infrastructure

As previously stated, you no longer have to build a new in-house IT infrastructure since a provider can handle all of your hardware and software needs. To make things better, your IT service provider can help you select technologies that best suit your company. 

With the right choices on tech purchases, you can expect a higher return on investment. Additionally, your provider can also take care of your current infrastructure’s maintenance, as well as upgrade your IT systems, allowing you to get the most use out of them.

4. IT experts can help you keep up with modern trends

We all know that the field of IT is continuously evolving at a fast pace. Unless you and your IT team have the means to continually update existing software and adjust configurations to accommodate rising trends, your performance can be compromised.

By employing the services of a reputable and reliable IT consulting firm, your company can have instant access to the latest technology trends in IT infrastructure, data management, communication systems, and the like. Hence, you’ll be assured that you can keep up with or even stay ahead of the competition.

5. Outsourcing It tech support allows you to focus on core business tasks

With an external IT service provider managing your tech needs, you can spend most of your time and resources dealing with the most important aspects of your operations. Your staff will also be able to perform their tasks effectively without IT issues derailing their focus.

6. IT service providers can help boost your network security

IT teams are every organization’s main line of defense against cyberattacks and malware. By working with a competent IT service agency, your system can be protected well from data breaches that can expose your company’s sensitive information. They can also endanger your customers’ personal information, which can lead to many undesirable consequences.

The Bottom-Line

Small businesses can benefit immensely from outsourcing IT services. It allows your company to get personalized tech solutions, keep abreast of IT trends, cut down costs, and strengthen your network’s cybersecurity. 

However, it’s also crucial to be smart in choosing the right IT consulting firm or service provider to work with. Therefore, be sure to conduct sufficient research on the background, reputation, and competencies of the companies you’re considering.

M. Alan Shapiro is the CEO of Executive Boutique Call Center, an outsource call center and BPO provider that offers tremendous value and expertise in helping its customers with their multi-channel customer service, tech support, lead generation, and back office support. Since 2008, he has been helping his clients’ companies grow by providing them with high quality, reliable outsourcing services from their two offices in Cebu, Philippines. He spends his free time snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking and gardening.

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Some boring terms 

Stop Loss – an order that minimizes losses in case the price starts moving against your position. This order execution leads to the position closing with a loss. Stop Loss is always associated with an already open position in the market or with a pending order. It is used to minimize risks and manage an open position.

Take Profit – an order that locks the profit when the asset price reaches a certain level. Take Profit execution leads to the position closing with a profit. This order is also always associated with an open position in the market or with pending orders.

Trailing Stop is often used by traders instead of a traditional Stop Loss order. It is set at the distance from the current price required by the trader. If the price moves towards increasing profit, the trailing stop order automatically changes the Stop Loss level, following the price at a distance set by you. If the profit decreases, the trailing stop order remains in place and upon reaching its level, the profit (or loss) is fixed automatically. On the one hand, a trailing stop order fixes the maximum loss amount you`ve determined for a position, and on the other hand, it doesn`t limit its possible profits. Trailing Stop mechanics sounds a bit complicated – because it is. However, you can use paper trading, available on multiple exchanges, to get a hold of this concept and become a better crypto trader. 

Stop Loss in detail  

When we`re dealing with a volatile cryptocurrency market, the biggest challenge is limiting losses. Unfortunately, many investors have learned about this from their own experience. For example, Bitcoin tries to rise to at least $10,000 but still falls below $9,000. Fortunately, there is a solution – automatic selling when it falls to a certain price. 

Stop Loss is intended to limit the investor’s losses. Although most investors have a long position in mind when talking about a stop loss, it can also help protect a short position – in this case, the asset is bought back when its price rises to a certain level. 

Stop Losses will help you save your money or avoid getting from a bad situation to a worse one. You choose a level that is comfortable for you, and thus you get some wiggle room when the asset will rise back in price. Regularly using stop losses will help you preserve your trading profits. Even if you expect the green candle to get even higher, but you want to guarantee you won’t lose all your trading profit to some enormous red candle. A beginner just buys an asset and hopes that it`ll cost more tomorrow, but we assume that you`re ready to learn something. 

There are several types of stop-loss orders: fixed, dynamic, and trailing stop loss.

Fixed stop loss is the simplest method. For example, you have 1 Bitcoin, but you`re worried that its price will fall below the $9 thousand overnight. You place a stop loss, thus placing an order on the exchange so that when the price falls below 9 thousand, your Bitcoin is immediately sold.

However, a situation may arise when overnight the price may both fall and rise relative to the declared level. Then the loss cannot be avoided if you want to keep bitcoin on your balance.

The solution to his problem will be using the dynamic stop loss. In this case, if the BTC value falls below 9 thousand, half of the existing position will be sold. If the price falls further, half of the bitcoin can be bought again at a low price. If the price reverses, half of the position will still be there to profit from. 

Some words about Take Profit

Take Profit order plays a key role in the strategies of many traders and is used with different assets. When prices start to rise, orders serve as an upper limit and ensure that assets are sold before prices start falling again. Imagine a poker player that knows exactly when to leave the table.

A trader usually chooses an activation price for his take profit order based on technical analysis. Typically, these orders are used for short-term trades as they can significantly reduce profits when a trader chooses a long-term strategy.

Take Profit order helps to avoid emotions during the trading process. When opening a trade, you can safely choose the price at which you will be ready to exit, instead of succumbing to emotions and selling assets too soon or too late. They also eliminate the need for traders to manually sell their assets and monitor prices throughout the day.

Although take profit guarantees a profit, it is possible that the order will be executed and prices will continue to rise. Accordingly, you may be missing out on more substantial profits. There is also a possibility of a human error, so always check that the settings are correct to avoid costly mistakes.

Trailing Stop in action 

A trailing stop order allows investors to automatically adjust the price at which they`re ready to sell an asset in accordance with changes in its price. Such orders are very popular with the stock market traders and guarantee that the investor doesn’t forego profit possibility in the sudden volatility event.

Trailing Stop orders track market movements. If the prices rise or fall, the limit at which a trader will sell increases or decreases with them.

The challenge for traders who use a trailing stop order is to find a middle ground between too small and too large a limit. If the limit is set too close to the current price, it`s possible that normal market fluctuations could cause unwanted selling. A trailing stop order that is placed too far from the current market price creates the same problem as a fixed stop loss: it cannot fix profits.

Instead of an afterword

We hope that you became a better trader and are ready for the real work now. And if you value your time and comfort, then you`ll like the professional app for cryptocurrency trading – GoodCrypto. Use this knowledge and send stop loss and take profit orders to Binance and any of 20+ exchanges.

Crypto Marketer & CEO Rgray.io Twitter Facebook

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Some companies use psychometric assessment to boost a candidate’s overall assessment during their recruiting process and ideally to ensure the best place to perform. The importance of psychometry assessments is disputed, but those who use them assume that the overview of the candidate’s temperament, powers, vulnerabilities, and job styles may be more accurately expressed. A psychometric evaluation is never used in isolation but as part of a more integrated appraisal approach.

Psychometric tests can allow employers to determine a candidate’s potential performance and increase employee satisfaction by making the right recruitment decisions.

Understanding the concept of psychometric tests

Psychometric assessments assess a child’s strengths and gifts. These assessments contain questions about logic, competence problems, skill questions, scenario-based questions, questionnaires about motivation, and questions about personality profiles. The best way to target the steps which should be non-measurable is by these online psychometric test. You need to identify, for example, whether or not an individual is artistic. You can take a longer path by looking at the person for days, check their way of thought, and perceiving their world. However, the self-understanding of the individual who experiences this mechanism may be quite skewed. A psychometric examination will automatically produce goal outcomes without bias at this point. The accuracy and precision of a psychometric test are dependent on the values that underpin the test.

Standardization 

Any concepts and hypotheses are developed for psychometric research. An individual can’t create a self-intelligence test of his own. The criteria must be met in line with philosophy. Several theories, including classical test theory, item response theory, and the Rasch model, have been developed. Before a psychometric test, the formula should be defined, and the model should be standardized such that any time an applicant takes it, unbiased results. The test should be done according to the model.

Reliability

A psychometric evaluation must be trustworthy. The outcome should be coherent and less influenced by the environment and the external environment. A psychometric test outcome can also not unnecessarily affect the attitude of a student. If a pupil is anxious on the occasions that he is delighted and enthusiastic, then the outcomes will be different. Reliability is most important when psychometric assessments are used to assess the career choice, and whether a student reports a different outcome each time the results are redundant.

Psychometric tests and decision making

Psychometric tests can assess knowledge, critical thought, motivation, and personality profile. An interview can be very arbitrary, and while employers typically estimate skills and expertise fairly precisely, a lot of the aligned principles may also be left to instinct.

A psychometric evaluation would include concrete, reliable results that will provide a clearer overview of an applicant’s suitability. Psychometric tests can be claimed for having ‘science’ integrity and objectivity for the recruitment process. It can offer a fairer and more exact method of determining a candidate since a standardized examination is administered to all candidates.

Traditionally, these assessments take the form of multi-choice questionnaires and pen and paper but are evolving more and more towards an interactive sphere. This helps them to be accepted into every phase of the recruiting process rapidly and efficiently.

Some organizations also prefer psychometric tests to screen vast numbers of recruits at the outset of a recruiting drive (and later elimination). Psychometric assessments can help minimize the workload of the employee’s boss significantly by easily recognizing a smaller group of eligible candidates to do well at the ensuing stages of the interview process.

What can you measure with the tests?

Tests of various forms exist but are mainly used to determine how individuals vary in inspiration, beliefs, interests, and perspectives on particular roles and circumstances. As far as personality is concerned, evaluations will demonstrate how a person functions and how both his surroundings and colleagues communicate.

The tests help to evaluate the ‘secret’ characteristics of an individual. Formal knowledge and previous experience can not necessarily offer an up-to-date and consistent evaluation of these personal credentials. For example, aptitude testing might offer a clearer, more practical, more current image of the applicant’s skills than a formal education certificate. Suitable allowances will be available for all applicants whose first language is English or who need a fair chance.

Benefits of the psychometric tests

For a student with a job selection, a psychometric test has many benefits. This assessment will help students recognize their strengths and abilities and lead them towards the career that is right for them with a trained counselor. This exam also saves a lot of time as a student does not have to go through many career magazines and can have a career consultation that is guided and centered. Furthermore, these experiments are easy to investigate and can provide immediate and accurate results. The majority of such experiments are analyzed and conducted with computerized software tools, and the result is also published through the Software Tool.

A successful psychometric examination shows how a student can cope with stress, deal with tough situations, and what kind of features when appropriate. A successful psychometric examination will potentially take us a step further by showing us what drives a student and what kind of job opportunities suit him best. Psychometric assessments are currently conceived to answer a student’s unique questions. For example, it would be more important for a student interested in engineering to consider what engineering is best for him rather than looking at job opportunities.

Some specialist consultors have idealized the psychometric assessments based on students’ specifications in various fields such as arts, industry, engineering, and research. This is achieved to optimize the advantages of the proper psychometric assessments for a pupil.

The post Why Do Employers Love To Use Psychometric Tests In Recruiting? appeared first on SiteProNews.

Increased Efficiency

Technology has the ability to significantly improve the efficiency of a business. Whilst technology has of course been embedded into the industry, the extent to which it is now used on a daily basis has not been seen before. Software is available that can reduce the workload of staff in all areas, for example being able to process major transactions through Blockchain without having to waste time going through banks. The time that is saved can be invested in other areas of the business, so software like this is becoming increasingly popular. This should give any business a lasting competitive advantage.

Online Real Estate Auctions

Whilst online real estate auctions have existed for some time, as a result of Covid-19 their popularity has sky-rocketed. Buyers are able to buy properties quickly, usually at below-market price, and they aren’t caught up in a property chain. Sellers can quickly offload properties that they no longer want or need without having to wait for months on end for the deal to go through. The pandemic meant that physical auctions couldn’t take place, so online versions took their place. The benefits of being able to buy a property without the added inconvenience of travel costs is likely to make this a trend that sticks around. 

Targeted Online Advertisements

The development of ad technology means that real estate agencies are able to target potential buyers much more accurately. Things like proximity, interests and purchase history can all be considered when trying to find the perfect buyer for particular properties. For example, when trying to sell multi-million pound properties, you might target people with an interest in designer clothing or those who spend a lot of time in the area the property is in. 

If you wanted to target families, you might focus on people spending money on baby products or family holidays. Research of demographics (also made much easier through technology) will inform which direction you take, yet targeted ads should definitely be considered as a significant element in any social media marketing strategy.

Social Media

Aside from paid advertisements, organic social media is also an extremely powerful tool which enables real estate businesses to interact with potential customers, build a strong sense of brand and share exciting content. There are so many ways you can do this, but here’s an introduction to get you started. 

Firstly, make sure you are using hashtags. So many people use the hashtag feature to find something they’re looking for, making it a very useful tool. For example, if you have a luxury home to sell in Mayfair, you would hashtag things like #LuxuryMayfairProperty and #ExpensiveHousesLondon, alongside more generic hashtags such as #HouseInspiration and #RealEstateLondon. This will attract the attention of the people you think could be potential buyers. 

Social media is also fantastic to generate a buzz. Going back to the luxury home in Mayfair, if you post professional photos onto your social media, not only might it draw in buyers, but it will also encourage interest from people who might see it as their dream home. Even if you do not have a luxury real estate company, posting ‘dream homes’ will still help to engage people with your content. For maximum success when creating your social media strategy, try to find a balance of posting content directly linked to your business and also things that your followers will find interesting. 

360 Video Tours

Whilst photos are useful, people find it difficult to get a real sense of what a property is like without seeing it in person. That was the case, until the development of virtual reality enabled 360 degree video tours of homes. People are able to gain familiarity with a property before deciding whether to view it. In terms of efficiency for the real estate agents, this is fantastic, as it saves them from wasting time travelling to properties to meet  potential buyers and showing them around just to be told that it isn’t quite for them. Adding this user friendly tool to websites will draw in more potential customers who aren’t wanting to waste their time. Whilst this has existed in the past, it has become more useful than ever during the pandemic. 

An important element of this is the use of drones, which is common when creating 360 tours, as well as aerial images and videos of properties. Aerial photography was extremely expensive prior to the use of drones. Thanks to the accessibility of the technology, drones can be used by real estate agents themselves if need be without needing to outsource professional photographers. The potential for agencies to create high quality content has gone through the roof.

Daisy Moss is a freelance writer specialising in technology, real estate and the commercial property industry. When she’s not writing, you’ll probably find her exploring commercial property for sale in London or enjoying a weekly yoga class!

The post How is Technology Transforming the Real Estate Industry? appeared first on SiteProNews.

Today, you not only have tons of options, but it’s more like a prerequisite for any business to have one. There are several eCommerce platforms out there – Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Wix Stores just to name a few.

For the sake of this article, however, we’re only going to compare the unexpected competitors – Shopify and WooCommerce. The idea of Shopify vs WooCommerce is kinda unconventional, mostly because they both cater to an array of different people.

Shopify

It was the year 2006 when 25-year old Tobias Lütke wanted to sell snowboards online but figured that it would be a challenge to sell them without having an easy-to-use eCommerce platform and that’s how Shopify came into being.

No matter if you’re selling physical products, digital products, services and consultations, memberships, or even tickets, Shopify can easily be the platform for your online store.

Not only can you set up your online store, but you can also accept payments and manage your inventory, all from this one platform without ever worrying about the technical aspects of managing a website such as web hosting, caching, security, etc.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce platform that was built with WordPress to help people set up their online store. It is technically a WordPress platform. WooCommerce is known for its strong community backing and momentum.

It was set up in 2014 so it’s fairly new and has come a long way since then. WooCommerce was primarily designed for B2C business transactions. The fact that it has more than 300 extensions, clearly indicates that it was designed for expansion. 

Since B2B transactions are less standardized than selling products or services to the public, they often need customizations. WooCommerce provides a wide variety of extensions as well as the ability to build custom extensions, which is why it can even be used for B2B transactions.

What’s an Ideal eCommerce Platform?

Just the mere ability to sell products online isn’t going to cut it. When there are options, you will always look for the most feature-packed eCommerce platform. Here are some of the things you can look for:-

Costs Less

Obviously, expense is your first priority. How much you end up paying for an eCommerce platform is something you need to consider, but you’ll also need to compare prices and likely go for the one that’s cheaper. Ideally, you want to be able to scale up your business within the right budget.

Easy to Use

A Platform that has a more convenient user interface will always win. Obviously, the complexity will always depend on how vast the features of a platform are, but presenting those features in a way that’s comprehensible and has the potential to become second nature in the long run is the ideal.

More Payment Methods

How many ways you can take and make payments is yet another important feature you want to consider. The more payment methods you have (PayPal, Stripe, etc.), the more likely you are to incline towards the platform.

Multiple Integrations

At times you may need to make certain customizations that aren’t available in the default mode. In that case, plugins and integrations always come in handy. The more customizable a platform, the more ideal it is.

High Scalability

If you have a long-term business plan, you’ll have to consider the scalability of an eCommerce platform. As your business grows, you’ll have more products, more variations of the same products, and a good eCommerce platform should be able to handle your growth well.

WooCommerce vs Shopify

Based on the above parameters, we will shed light on the “WooCommerce vs Shopify” debate to end it once and for all:-

Cost of Using WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source platform and is available as a plugin for WordPress for free. It may be free but every website needs a domain name, SSL certificate, and a hosting account with varying costs, depending on who you obtain these services from.

Typically, a standard domain name costs $15, web hosting around $8, and an SSL certificate costs $70-80. That’s quite a lot of money if you’re just starting your business. However, with WooCommerce’s growing popularity, hosting companies are offering specialized plans that lower the cost significantly.

For example, Bluehost, the officially WordPress and WooCommerce recommended hosting service provider, offers users a free domain name, free SSL certificate, and a discount on web hosting which can help you start your online store for as low as $6.95/month.

Cost of Using Shopify

Shopify has 3 plans with the basic plan starting at $29. You can upgrade these plans to the Shopify and Advanced Shopify plans for $79 and $299 per month respectively. Each of these plans include a domain name, SSL certificate, and web hosting.

Shopify even has 2 little known plans, namely Shopify Lite and Shopify Plus, which are at 2 different extremes, costing $9 and $2,000 per month, respectively. 

Shopify Lite is for people who don’t want to set up a website and just want to advertise their product on Facebook, where people can make in-app purchases. 

Shopify Plus, on the other hand, is for people who want to set up multiple stores, high volume traffic capacity and even greater scalability than you get with Advanced Shopify.

How Easy is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is not a hosted platform, which means that you will need to install it, manage its updates, keep backups, and make sure that it’s secure. However, there are plenty of free and paid plugins that can automate most of these tasks for you.

How Easy is Shopify?

Unlike other websites, Shopify doesn’t need a domain name, SSL certificate, or a hosting account, which means you don’t need to install, manage, or update any software. As soon as you set up your Shopify account, you’re good to go without having to worry about security, performance, backups, or compatibility issues.

With Shopify, as soon as you sign up, you get to pick the design for your website and from that moment on, it has drag and drop modules that are really convenient. As soon as you’re done with that, you can start adding your products. 

Payment Methods in WooCommerce

With WooCommerce, you get Paypal and Stripe payment methods by default. You can even add all the other popular payment methods via add-ons. WooCommerce is highly customizable, which means you can even add regional and less popular modes of payment as well.

Payment Methods in Shopify

Shopify offers plenty of payment options as well. It even has its own payment solution called Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe) apart from being able to allow other popular third-party payment gateways. 

But here’s the catch – Shopify charges an extra 2% fee on every transaction made through any third-party payment gateway, on top of the transaction fees charged by the payment gateway. If you’re using the Advanced Shopify plan, you can reduce this fee to 0.5% by paying $299 per month.

Integration Capabilities of WooCommerce

Since WooCommerce is open-source and built on top of WordPress, it’s highly customizable. It gives you access to more than 55,000 free WordPress plugins and several other paid plugins as well. From being able to add multiple payment gateways, lead generation, to SEO and performance optimization, there’s a plugin for everything on WooCommerce.

Integration Capabilities of Shopify

Shopify comes with a powerful API and an App Store from which you can buy third-party plugins for your Shopify store. The App Store has hundreds of apps for every contingency, letting you add multiple features to your store. There are add-ons for SEO, discounts, product reviews, countdowns, etc.

Scalability With WooCommerce

Since you have to host your WooCommerce website separately, you’ll be responsible for maintaining its updates, backups, and security yourself. As soon as you start getting more traffic to your site, your starter WooCommerce hosting plan will run out of resources.

On the flip side, you’ll have plenty of options to manage your growth since you’re in full control of your website. From better management of resources with caching to upgrading your hosting plan to more powerful servers, it’ll all be in your hands.

Scalability of Shopify

When it comes to the technical parts of your Shopify store, you don’t ever have to worry about its performance, security, or scalability. As soon as your business starts growing, you can simply upgrade your Shopify plans.

Shopify’s infrastructure can easily handle your business growth without you having to worry about backups, downtimes, updates, or security. With Shopify Plus, you’ll also be offered enterprise-grade services.

WooCommerce vs Shopify: Who Wins?

If we were to put forth the WooCommerce vs Shopify argument as objectively as possible, then the following parameters would be the basis for making a decision:-

Budget

Winner: WooCommerce – Clearly, because it’s overall cheaper than Shopify.

Ease of Use

Winner: Shopify – It takes a lead here since you don’t need to set up and maintain domain, SSL certificate, etc.

Payment Methods

Winner: Tie – Even though WooCommerce clearly has more options, it’s insignificant because Shopify already supports all popular payment methods.

Integrations

Winner:  WooCommerce – You get 100 times more free plugins than are available for Shopify.

Scalability

Winner: Shopify – When it’s time to scale up, Shopify allows you to upgrade your plan instead of having to change your hosting plans to better service providers.

Wrapping Up

I swear I tried to keep the diplomacy aside and tried to declare the true winner in this competition, but it seems both of these platforms have their own utilities and will appeal to different people for several reasons. 

These may not be the only parameters but here’s a takeaway – If you’re someone who’s familiar with knowing how to manage your website and more inclined towards wanting to be able to customize your eCommerce website as much as possible, WooCommerce is the platform for you.

On the other hand, if you’re more about avoiding the technical aspects of your eCommerce website and your sole focus is to be able to use it easily and scale it without any hassle, then Shopify is the platform for you.

Devansh is an avid writer who loves writing everything that's associated with Business and Technology. He writes about Web Development, Designing, Digital Marketing, even Machine Learning and AI. He's currently contributing his content to Resourcifi Inc

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That’s the marketing copy that LinkedIn has chosen for this season. I’m happy to report that real numbers indeed back it. LinkedIn stands only second in popularity when it comes to B2B marketing. With over 760 million users, the platform is designed to kick-start the entrepreneurial mind and hold on to its visitors through valuable connections. 

That’s precisely where LinkedIn strikes gold. While other social media outlets are mostly likes-driven, LinkedIn focuses on helping you reach your target audience with the utmost ease. 

But, how do you ace LinkedIn? And more importantly, how do you find the people who’d want to do business with you? 

While finding your perfect buyer is easy with the platform’s advanced search, converting them is what makes a business successful, especially when your buyer is another business itself. Here are five tricks, tools, and strategies to help you up your game and bring in those valuable leads. 

Spice Up Your Company Page to Reflect Your Potential

To begin the lead generation phase, you need to give your prospects some stronghold to reach out to. Your company page is your first point of contact, a bridge between the social media platform and your own website. 

So, don’t just copy your web content and stick it across the page like a noob. Your LinkedIn company page should be intriguing enough to make people want to look further. Reposting your blog links or product page might keep you active, but they do not have the power to deliver that conversion-level engagement. 

• Create an aesthetic through banners, visuals, logo and profile pictures consistent with your brand imagery. These images are the stepping stone to your other content. Analyse your competitors and leverage strengths to create an environment that feels unique to your audience. 
• 2000 characters. That’s the limit you have to describe your company. Build on the consumer pain points, explain the value and then enlighten them about your services. Remember to keep it simple and sparkling. 
• Become a thought leader in your industry by posting blogs, infographics and other relevant content that gives your audience valuable information. Consistency and execution are your best friends here.

Take Ernst & Young, for example. While accounting may be considered one of the blandest professions creatively, E&Y has opted for a rather colourful banner with interesting copy. The visuals match the brand palette and create a seamless look between the company and the banner image. Since the first thing you notice is a question, a user is bound to scroll down searching for an answer. 

Optimize, Optimize and Optimize

We are here to be found. LinkedIn is not only about outbound marketing and searching for people endlessly. The social media platform can become one of your biggest inbound lead generation machines in no time. 

To be relevant, you need to find out what your target audience is searching for. Stack that against the services you provide, and voila, you have an initial understanding of which keywords to place on your pages. 

You only need to apply the same rules of SEO to your LinkedIn page. Whether that be the keyword placement or backlinks through employee connections, optimize and re-optimize your content to become highly visible. 

Hootsuite makes it abundantly clear through its headline, description and banner that it can take care of anything related to social media. Now when a business searches for “social media management,” Hootsuite is always ready to stand first in line. 

Engagement is a Two-Way Street

First things first, you need to publish content, and you need to publish it regularly. Keeping the informative value high, you can lure potential customers and industry leaders to what you have to say. 

But, this only works if you go all out and support them too. Reply, comment and like the content that is posted by others to spark a conversation. The best sales pitches don’t talk about the product. They instead reflect what the people behind the product are capable of. 

Build relationships that last. Since most professionals on LinkedIn are decision-makers, these connections are bound to bear fruit in the future. 

Plus, by building a strong network, the chances of getting recommendations and insight into your core consumers can be amplified significantly. 

Create a Showcase Page

As a business, you may have various divisions that target different audiences. To facilitate such diverse enterprises, LinkedIn offers an extension to your company page known as Showcase Pages. 

Showcase Pages create a separate spotlight for your brand, unit or initiative. The key to deciding whether you need a showcase page is asking yourself these three questions – 

1. Do I have a brand that stands out from the rest of the company?
2. Does that brand have its own audience? 
3. Can I create unique content for them?

If your answer to all these questions is yes, then you’re ready to build a Showcase Page. Click on the admin tools button and get started. 

An essential tool for B2B marketing, Showcase Pages allow you to target your audience with the right kind of information. They allow you to develop an interest in your products and build relationships with consumers at the same time.

Adobe Creative Cloud is an excellent example of how to leverage your products as individual brands. It is specially geared towards talking about the software and services offered by the brand. The page shown above captures any prospective consumers that are only interested in the Creative Cloud rather than the whole Adobe ecosystem.  

Your Employees Are Your Biggest Influencers

Your employee on LinkedIn is a representative of the company. When they engage, you receive recognition. As a part of your organization, if an employee puts out their opinions and thoughts that align with your branding goals, you should re-share them on your company page to magnify the reach. 

This kind of content works well because people like other people. It lends your company a human touch rather than just being an enterprise behind a logo. If one of your colleagues stands to become a thought leader in the industry, your company will ride the wave alongside him to capture the audience’s attention. 

When people who work for the company show belief in its mission and vision, it positively impacts your brand perception. Since every employee, whether on a junior or executive level, has their own set of connections, your reach can be augmented through their actions.

Conclusion

Now, you know what, you know why and you know how. 

LinkedIn can be one of the most valuable tools in your digital arsenal if used correctly. Working as a B2B sales funnel, it is poised to become a one-stop information desk for everything your company sells and represents. With the right strategies mentioned above, you can use this informative channel as a means to convert your prospects into high-value leads. 

While all theories sound good when heard, the real test is in the execution. Remember to execute consistently. Test the different forms of content and recognize patterns over time to establish a marketing strategy you can bank on. 

So, step it up and get ready to bring in the business.

Soma Talukdar is Digital marketing Analyst with YRSK Marketing & Branding Solutions. She has 12+ years extensive digital marketing experience to provide tips and insights to businesses looking to learn more about things like blogging, branding, and social media, mobile, and content marketing.

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Infographic Courtesy of: verilife.com

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But what if you live in an uncrowded place where there aren’t enough people to get to know? Or, although singles are enough next to us, how could we increase the possibility of concluding more matches? Also because, let’s face it, the famous phrase that appears on our screen “No new people nearby” is not exactly exciting. Well, if you have some money to spend, you can buy the Tinder Plus service which allows you to change your location on Tinder and thus moving (virtually) to another city allows you to increase the chances of a match. But if you’re not willing to pay, and want to use this service for free, there are tricks that can be implemented. Fake GPS Tinder is not something impossible. How to change location on Tinder? Just keep reading!

Change GPS location on iPhone and Android 

If you read some articles, in the various websites of the sector, you will notice that to overcome the area constraints imposed by the Tinder algorithm, everyone will suggest you to install fake GPS apps on your mobile device that allow you to simulate a change in GPS position. Indeed, these apps are fully functional, because if you set Fly GPS on Paris and enter a post on Facebook, then you will see that registering on Facebook will show you all the places in the Parisian capital closest to you. 

On iPhone:

The first application we recommend is Dr.Fone – Virtual Location (iOS) because with this application you can change the iOS GPS location without needing to jailbreak your iPhone. You can simply download Dr.Fone on your PC. Install and launch. You will find an interface like below:

Click on ‘Virtual Location’ and you will be taken to a virtual map as follows:

From the map you can change the iOS GPS location to any location in the world. Very easy! You just need to fill in the address you want in the search bar located at the top left corner of the screen. Click Go and a small pop-up box appears. Click ‘Move Here’ and you will switch your iOS GPS position immediately.

Use iMyFone AnyTo

 After installing iMyFone AnyTo on your PC, it starts up. After connecting the iOS device via USB cable, unlock it and tap on Trust. At this point, a map will be loaded into the application from which you can access different modes. The teleportation mode in the upper right corner allows you to instantly move your location. Just search for the desired point in the maps or search for an address. Click Move and that’s it!

On Android:

In principle, faking GPS location on Android is easier than on iPhone. You just need to download a GPS converter application, in this case Fake GPS. Here are the steps: – You downloaded Fake GPS from Google Play. Open it once installed. – Open ‘Settings’ on your phone. – Enable developer options. – Does your phone allow fake locations? If so, enable it. – Click on ‘Choose fake location app’. – Go back to Settings and go to Location. Select Location mode and change it to Device only. – Open your Tinder account and go to Settings and Discovery. – You can now freely find dates in any location. 

There are still other ways you can change your Tinder location, including using a VPN and changing your Facebook location. However, these two methods are not recommended for several reasons, such as privacy. 

Conclusion: You don’t need Tinder Plus to find date in any location you want. There are many methods depending on the device you are using. However, if you are using an iPhone, Dr.Fone – Virtual Location (iOS) is the most recommended because it does not require a jailbreak and provides more features than similar applications. Tinder change location has never been easier!

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Source: What is Dark Mode in Email & How to Enable in Email Clients

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Webinars are gradually becoming one of the best methods to sell online. Many small businesses are taking to it for reasons which include:

• To establish themselves as authorities in their niches.
• Identify the pain point of their clients and solve it.
• Create awareness about their brands.
• Attract more clients around the world.
• Make more sales with ease.

But one problem these small businesses face is the inability to scale their webinar. They have taken steps to this effect, but it seems like it isn’t working.

They don’t see positive results. Even when they do, it’s not significant. In this article, we’ll look at 6 simple hacks that will help you scale your webinar as a small business. 

But before that, let’s define the term ‘webinar’.

What’s A Webinar?

A webinar is an event hosted over the web in which the presenters share their knowledge on a particular subject with their audience, participants, or attendees. It’s often business-related and allows for the exchange of ideas between participants and is presented through questions, comments, and answers.

6 Simple Hacks to Scale Your Online Marketing With Webinars

Choose a Suitable Topic 

The first thing you should do when thinking of doing a webinar is to identify a suitable topic. You may be asking what a suitable topic is. A suitable topic is one that solves the problem of your potential attendees. 

It should be one that a reasonable number of people are craving to get a solution to. Conduct research on the internet or use any keyword research tool to ascertain the estimated number of people looking for a solution to such a problem. Doing so will inform you of the number of participants who are likely to register and attend your webinar.

Ensure that the Content You Want to Deliver is of the Highest Quality 

Bear in mind that your prospective attendees may have participated in such webinars in the past and probably didn’t receive enough value. Ensure your content is superb, giving them a reason to be grateful for participating.

Develop your content in a systematic manner so it flows along at every stage. Make it interesting in such a way that there won’t be a dull moment throughout the webinar session. If you don’t have expertise in a particular area, involve an expert who can help. Content and how you deliver it is key for a successful webinar. 

Choose Suitable Webinar Software 

Identifying the best webinar software is important. The software you use to host your webinar to some extent determines the result you will get.

Host your webinar with software that is user-friendly, easy to use, and compatible with a lot of devices. Attendees who registered for your webinar may find it difficult to participate if the webinar software is not compatible with their devices or easy to navigate. 

 The implications are they won’t receive value for their money if they paid to participate in it. Secondly, you have limited the number of people who are likely to purchase the products you’ve created.

Get Your Timing Right

One of the mistakes some small businesses make is to host webinars at inappropriate times which can impact attendance. 

The first thing that should determine the timing of your webinar is the time zone of your prospective participants. Another is their age. Take, for instance, if your target audiences are in North America and Western Europe. The different time zones in these regions becomes a major factor. 

What you need to do is to identify a time that is okay for both. Also, the age of your audience should matter to you. If your audiences fall in the age bracket of 30 – 45, you should know that probably a lot of them have jobs and are likely to be occupied during weekdays. 

In this case, the best option would be to schedule your webinar during the weekend. Timing your webinar correctly can lead to an increase in the number of people who’ll participate and that’s a plus for you.

Promote Your Webinar 

If you don’t promote your webinar, only a few people will know about it. The more people who know about your upcoming webinar, the better your chances of achieving your goals. This promotion can be free or paid.

If you have a large number of followers on different social media platforms that is a good place to start your free promotion. You can run adverts on Facebook, Instagram, or even YouTube, targeting audiences who are likely to be interested in your webinar. 

Offer Incentives 

You need to offer something that will capture the attention of your audience. This could be a free e-book or video course that is related to what you plan to deliver on the day of your webinar. The reason for offering an incentive is to capture email addresses through a landing page you can create with email marketing tools like GetResponse or ActiveCampaign.

With that done, you can follow-up by sending reminders for registration, date, and time of the webinar. It can also be a means of selling the products you’ve created even if attendees didn’t purchase on the day of the webinar. People cherish freebies and it has proven to be an effective way of getting their attention. 

Final Thought 

Webinars are one of the best ways to grow your small business. Learning how to scale a webinar is a must if you want to see the positive results that come with it. That’s why you should take the right steps to make it work for you. The points made here are worth trying the next time you plan a webinar.

Chuks Chukwuemeka is a Content Creator, Blogger, and Digital Marketer. He’s the founder of Depreneurdigest, a blog that focuses on helping online businesses succeed. He specializes in providing consultancy services to small businesses on how to grow their online presence through blogging.

The post 6 Simple Hacks to Scale Your Webinar as a Small Business appeared first on SiteProNews.

Yet, many small business owners feel insecure about marketing, thinking that they do not have the resources that large companies do. Some are also under the impression that a good product will spontaneously attract customers and not require much nudging.

Yes, you did come up with a business idea you believed in and worked tirelessly to build a product/service around it. But not even the best product can speak for itself. It needs a little help to tell prospective customers about its functions and how it can help people looking to solve a problem or be entertained.

Thankfully, there are many ways to achieve that goal. And unlike traditional ‘old school’ marketing, small business owners can efficiently get the word out about their product at little to no cost.

How? Let’s find out below

1. The Best Place To Hide A Dead Body Is The Second Page Of Google Search Results – Unknown

You may already have a website or an online store running for your new business. However, when posting content on the online medium, make sure to tighten up your SEO skills to improve the likelihood of being found by the relevant audience.

According to Moz, the first page of Google results garners around 71 % – 92 % of traffic. Other studies also show that the initial five results receive 67.6% of clicks, whereas the remaining five just receive 3.73%.

Instead of posting just any content, focus on building a strategy that DOES NOT get buried on the second page of Google. Conduct thorough keyword research and see what your competitors are doing. Analyze the search intent of your targeted audience. And then create content accordingly.

2. We Don’t Have A Choice On Whether We Do Social Media, The Question Is How Well We Do It? – Erik Qualman

With over 3.81 billion active social media users worldwide, the need to maintain a robust social presence is apparent.

Create accounts on each of the leading social media channels. Besides posting your own content, encourage visitors to share their experience with your product/service. As we all know, word of mouth is the best advertising strategy. Enticing users to promote your brand through giveaways and contests can go a long way in building a credible profile.

You can also add social media plugins to your website to increase your social media account’s traffic to your main landing page.

3. If Social Media Is The Cocktail Party, Email Marketing Is The ‘Meet-Up For Coffee. The Original 1 To 1 Channel – Erik Harbison

Email marketing is often overlooked by entrepreneurs and small business owners. But did you know: For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $42.

In fact, emails are said to be more effective than social media. What’s more? They are more read than social media posts and generate exceptional results such as click-through rates, open rates, and downloads.

Entice new visitors or customers to sign up for your email address by offering a freebie or a discount. Keep your email relevant and straightforward. Update readers regarding the latest happenings of your brand. And make sure to add a personalized touch to your emails by adding the recipient’s name in every newsletter you send out.

4. Videos Can Attract A Different Audience, One That Might Not Want To Take The Time To Read A White Paper Or An Article – Brick Marketing

Video is another valuable marketing approach that enables business owners to convey more information in a short time frame. Viewers also retain 95% of a message when watching it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text. Overall, videos generate more engagement, conversions, and shares.

When it comes to marketing, video content can be delivered through many different formats. For example, you can show instructional videos on how to use your specific product or do a live Q/A session on Facebook Live for real-time interaction.

You can also shoot ‘behind-the-scenes’ of new product development or share videos of consumer testimonials on your social media pages to build awareness and trustworthiness.

5. The Secret Gift Of Paid Search Is That You Get To Control The User Experience, Rather Than The Search Engine – Avinash Kaushik (Market Motive Inc.)

Paid Search methods are usually disregarded by marketers as expensive methods of advertising. And yes, truthfully, they are a bit pricey, but paid search methods offer enhanced exposure and visibility to a brand. The average click-through rate is also higher than other marketing methods, with PPC visitors 50% more likely to purchase than organic visitors.

To cut costs down, look for promo codes and discount offers for Google and Facebook Ads. Some web hosting companies offer advertising discounts to their members as well.

For PPC ads, make sure to identify the most accurate keywords in your particular niche. Create attractive ads and optimize each area to improve your chances of getting clicks.

Paid ads on search and social media sites also give targeting options. This allows you to show your ads only to those who are more likely to be interested in your product. When creating ads, make sure you consider your target audience and filter the demographics to reach the desired audience more efficiently.

6. The More Advocates You Have, The Fewer Ads You Have To Buy – Dharmesh Shah

Having as many supporters as possible for your business is the simplest and cheapest way to get the word out about your brand.

For example, ask friends and families to promote your product/services. Send freebies to influencers and ask them to post reviews on their social media channels. You will be surprised to see how many of them happily endorse your product for a freebie.

Talk to your existing and prospective customers as well. Respond to every query or comment you get on social media. Participate in online forums like Quora, HARO, and Reddit and answer questions relevant to your industry.

You can also collaborate with other businesses in your niche market and introduce your business to a relatively newer audience.

7. Stopping Advertising to Save Money Is Like Stopping the Clock to Save Time – Henry Ford

Last but not least, remain consistent in your branding efforts. With so much competition, it may seem like a challenge to get the word out about your company.

Don’t lose hope and put a stop to marketing if results don’t seem favorable. Instead, keep your business goals in mind and continue pushing various advertising strategies to continually entice the audience. With time and effort, you will surely be able to get the desired results.

Good luck!

Amos Struck is a publisher and entrepreneur in the stock imagery field. He focuses on providing knowledge and solutions for buyers, contributors, and agencies, aiming at contributing to the growth and development of the industry. He is a recurrent speaker at Photokina Official Stage and an industry consultant at StockPhotoInsight. Amos is passionate about technology, marketing, and visual imagery. He also holds a keen interest in WordPress related news and articles. He is a recurrent speaker at Photokina Official Stage and an industry consultant at StockPhotoInsight. Amos is passionate about technology, marketing, and visual imagery. He also holds a keen interest in WordPress related news and articles.

The post 7 Low Budget Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses appeared first on SiteProNews.

If you truly want to create an impact and engage your audience in 2021, you need to start adding visuals in your content strategy.

Think of infographics as assets that you need to add to the content marketing mix. But how do you make them stand out from the rest?

During the past few months since I started my own blog, I tried my hand at infographics. Surprisingly, most of the bloggers I reached out to for guest posts loved the idea of an infographic. 

Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

Understanding Infographics

Infographic = Information + graphic 

In other words, a collection of minimal text, charts and imagery that give an easy understanding of the topic is known as an infographic.

It can be a long webpage or an image that includes graphs, charts and other data to give you all the information at a single glance. 

Types of Infographics

There are different types of infographics. Each of them is defined by its goal, the content and story it’s telling. Here are the most common types of infographics:

Information design

When you organise a concept to tell a story, you’re making an information design infographic. You can use flow charts, timelines, graphs and charts. 

Data visualizations

Includes data points from trends or surveys. In simpler words, it means making data visual, easy to retain and understand. 

Editorial infographics

They’re most commonly used by publications (such as the New York Times) and include more copy than any other type of infographic. Here, graphics are mixed with data points in a long-form to tell a story.

Gathering Data

You’re intrigued by the idea of creating an infographic and want to give it a shot. But how do you gather data? Here’s what you need to do:

Determine the Type of Data You Need

Sit down and determine the kind of data you wish to share in order to create a great story. Once done, start looking for that data in published journals, online or from your own studies or surveys. 

Customers’ Data

The number one untapped resource is proprietary data. Look for customers who’re willing to share their success stories (or failures). This will not only make your story unique but will also increase your engagement rate. 

Additionally, it makes you look more credible when you associate your brand with authentic sources.

Cite Industry Leaders and Experts

Including quotes from experts and leaders is the simplest way to make your infographic look more credible. 

Please remember to confirm the source. It can cause more harm to quote something a leader didn’t say. Citing sources will also help you seem more reliable.

Using Your Own Research

If you’re using your own research, it’s important to understand that it needs to be unique in order to be engaging. Mix data points with graphics in a manner that creates value. 

Tools to Collaborate, Compile, Organize and Research

For all the infographics I’ve created so far, I’ve used the following tools:

• Google Docs
• Scrivener: it’s a useful app for organizing, compiling data, writing and researching. 
• Good Notes: it’s a great tool to create mockups, draw and shape your ideas or simply write down your notes.
• Evernote: it’s a free tool that allows you to seamlessly share, collaborate, research notes and web content.

Designing your Infographic

You’re ready with your research but how do you design an eye-catching infographic?

Define Your Audience

Before you begin the actual designing, take a few minutes to define your audience. 

Keep the following questions in mind:

• Who is my audience?
• How will my infographic make them more informed?
• What am I including in my infographic that’ll add value for my readers?

Craft an infographic once you have the answers to these questions because they will help you create the right story. 

Determine the Infographic Style

Choose an infographic style based on what your audience will prefer. Also, take into account the kind of data you’re planning to share in your story. 

Does it include more text? Does it include a lot of graphs and charts? Or is it a mix of both?

Setting realistic expectations early on will help you create a meaningful infographic.

Create a Mockup

This can either be done by you or your designer. Ideally, you want to create a few mockups so that you can determine and use the best one. 

You can use the following tools to create a wireframe:

• Pencil and paper
• Adobe XD
• Balsamiq
• Sketch

Determine the Main Success Metric

What’s your goal with the infographic? Converting sales? Increasing readership?

Whatever it is, determining the ultimate measure of success early on is crucial. 

Conversion points will depend on where you place the infographic – a landing page, email or a blog page.

Choose wisely because the success of your infographic largely depends on it. Take into account your original goal and the stage of the buyer journey you are in.

Use an Engaging Headline and Compelling Pitch

Once your infographic is ready, it’s time to get traffic to it. 

You have a number of choices so as to where to place your infographic including emails, landing page, blog page or even a third-party platform like Hubspot, Eloqua or Marketo. 

Regardless of what you decide, you must have a compelling headline that not only attracts a lot of eyeballs but also gives an idea of what your infographic is all about. 

A supporting pitch will keep your readers engaged.

Finding and Sharing Your Infographic

It should be easy for your readers to find and share your infographic. The key is to optimise it so that you can get the maximum number of links. 

Platforms to Create Infographics

A lot of web-based platforms will help you create infographics at scale. 

Adobe Spark and Canva are best for static infographics. With a variety of templates, you can create an infographic in no time.

However, if you wish to create something unique, hire a designer who has an eye for detail and is well-versed with Adobe Illustrator. 

The Takeaway

To summarize, you need to keep the following points in mind to up your infographic game:

• Be informative: remember it’s all about educating and providing value to your readers. 

• Show, don’t just tell: keep your infographic visually attractive to draw the attention of your reader. Remember, the less text, the better.

• Logical Hierarchy: structuring the data is crucial. Strategize and make sure your headline, pitch and story closing are compelling. 

• Pivot as needed: Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s alright if you don’t create a fabulous infographic in one go. Change course and experiment a few times to create something great. 

Shristi is a content writer and owner of F and B Recipes. Formerly the Chief Content Officer at Raletta, she is currently working on her second cookbook. Feel free to contact her regarding a food guest post.

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