Month: April 2020

Instagram can be your gateway to a wider audience. Marketing enthusiasts consider it the best platform to promote your brand, gain a massive following and target audience effectively to grow your business. But, with its ultra-smart algorithm and plenty of competition on the channel, it is getting difficult to cope with the rival brands.

Most importantly, engagement issues have been increased than before. According to a web design agency New York 13% of the world’s population uses Instagram and 80% of this population follows brands. So, it’s fine to feel overwhelmed when your engagement is declining.

We have compiled 11 effective tips for you to try and skyrocket engagement on your profile!

1. Post Visually Consistent Content

Instagram is all about visual content and it will probably stay like this in the near future. So, you need to be more focused on the quality of your photos. Glossy perfection is now taken as an old trend.

Nowadays, the users are automatically drawn to distinct perspectives and authentic expression. To achieve this, experts recommend using candid shots, minor edits with muted or earthy tones. So, the days when high-saturation filters and perfectly positioned objects used to grab attention are long gone.

You can still opt for any editing style. But, to keep followers engaged with your feed, you must build a visually consistent content. It needs to resonate with your brand identity and attract your audience.

2. Use Stories Stickers

Instagram has been coming up with interesting ways so that brands can engage with their followers. One way to maintain engagement on your profile is to create fun Instagram stories using stickers.

These stickers can help you improve as a brand. Various stickers like quiz or question ones are designed to communicate with followers; you can also ask their opinion and experiences.

3. Find Relevant Hashtags

When it comes to adding hashtags to your posts, make sure to use the trending and industry-related ones. You can research hashtags and look for the following:

• The type of content under the hashtags
• The number of comments and likes on the posts

If you are producing similar content, you can incorporate it in your post as well for maximum engagement.

4. Don’t forget to add Location

If you have been ignoring the location step, start doing it now. The easiest and quickest way to improve engagement on your feed is to incorporate location in each post. Your posts with location have higher chances of engagement.

For example, if you make a story while attending an event in a certain city, you can insert the location sicker. This way, your story will pop up in the location’s stories for other followers to watch and explore your feed.

5. Repost Popular Content

Look at your post’s insights and study which posts have been performing well on your feed. Don’t hesitate to repost those posts on your stories and encourage your followers to share it on their stories. This way, a new set of followers can find your page and eventually bring engagement.

6. Develop a Specific Hashtag

If you have been using Instagram solely for marketing, creating a specific or branded hashtag would be beneficial for you. For example, you can think about a short, recognizable hashtag with your brand name in any form. #Colorpopme from Color pop cosmetics can be a good example to take inspiration.

7. Tell Your Brand Story

To create authentic content, don’t shy from telling the honest, raw and vulnerable part of the business. Give your audience something that lets you connect with them on the emotional level. Your authenticity will ultimately bring impressive engagement. Thereby, you can share struggles on bad days along with achievements and everything lesson worthy in between to create a stronger bond.

8. Write Detailed Captions

Earlier, one-liner with one or more emojis would work as a caption. If you were in the same boat, you need to abandon this practice and focus on your providing details. Instagram allows caption limit up to 2,200 characters long. But, you don’t have to write 1k words in every post.

A well-crafted informative caption is what you need to boost engagement. When you start writing, ask yourself why you want to share this post, how is it going to help people or does it value your follower’s life? Once you know the answers to questions like these, you will come up with a captivating caption.

9. Share Videos

Your followers might not be interested in reading paragraphs. But, no one can ignore to a fun yet informative video. A video is a fun way to deliver valuable content. You can make how-to videos, share behind-the-scenes, etc for engagement on your feed. Plus, Instagram offers several video formats that make video sharing handy and effective at the same time.

10. Maintain Consistency

Make sure to devise a posting schedule and stick to it. No one wants to follow a page that posts on rare occasions. When you post regularly, your feed stays fresh and your followers receive constant doses of information. Consistent posting is also an ultimate way to grab the attention of users who haven’t followed your page yet.

To make the most of your posting, it’s necessary to learn the Instagram algorithm. The algorithm tells you when your followers are most active. So, you can make a new Instagram post accordingly.

11. Go Live

The live feature on Instagram is the best option to get instant engagement. When you have a special announcement, you need to reveal a new product or service or you want to interact with the audience, going live can do wonders for your feed.

Most importantly, IGTV takes 4x space on the explore page. If your live session makes it to the explore page, you are going to get more eyes on it than photo posts.

Final Thought

Instagram offers interesting features that ensure elevated engagement. You only need to find what works best for you to get the attention your page deserves.

If you want to determine the success of your business, you will have to value it. However, business valuation is a critical process. Most of you think that your business is on the right track as long as you are earning high revenues. Still, it takes into account various factors such as the sector you are in, the level of competition, the type of competition, and how you run your business.

Well, such factors require you to analyse more in-depth into the performance of your business, and it requires exceptional skills and patience. If you want to get a quick idea of the worth of your business, the turnover valuation will be the right way.

What is Turnover? Can You Address It As Profits?

Before you value a business based on turnover, you should know what exactly it is. It refers to the total sales generated by your company. You can say it, in other words, gross revenues or gross profits.

Turnover is the total income of your business, known as net sales. However, profits are figures left after meeting all of your expenses. It is vital to know the level of turnover to find out whether you are attaining the level of the desired profits.

Although you leave no stone upturned to market your business, the sale is likely to the drop-down. Gross profits can be low compared to the annual turnover, and if so, you need to implement a strategy to cut back on the cost. If you keep the operation cost low, your profits will go up.

When Should You Estimate The Success With Turnover?

Though turnover is the critical factor in determining the success of a business, you need to find out the right time to do it. Even though sales rather talk about how efficient your operations are, it serves a reasonable basis for business valuation. If you have a start-up, you may not have a set of company accounts. In this situation, you may need to value your business as soon as possible.

Another scenario this valuation method works is when your business has a complicated setup. This method generally works for retail stores. As they have a record of sales made every day, they do not have any other way to do it.

How to Find The Value of a Business

Now you have got to know what is turnover in business and when you should value your business based on turnover. To start the valuation process, get the figures for weekly sales. Get your total turnover to date and add in the figure of previous financial years’ sales. Divide the sum by the number of weeks in that period.

Once you have estimated the average weekly turnover, you will have to decide how many weeks of that turnover equate to determine the value of your business.

For instance:

If you have a grocery store, you should multiply the figure by 10 weeks, and if you have a salon, you should increase the sum by 15 weeks. If you have a café or a takeaway, you should multiply the amount by 20 weeks. If you have a restaurant, you should consider multiple the sum by 30 weeks.

What Can Be The Average Small Business Turnover in The UK?

Getting into a profitable condition requires a lot of hard work. Many of you get disillusioned with the fact that you are making lower profits than you imagined at the time of taking it off the ground.  Over 50% of businesses fail within the first five years to withstand the competition.

Of course, turnover varies from the size of the company. Big companies will have higher turnover than small companies, including start-ups, but the question is how much a small business makes turnover in a year.

According to a survey, the average small business turnover in the UK with no employee is £35,000. It increases as the number of employees increase. If it has 10 employees, the turnover will be around £700,000. If it has 20 employees, it will be around £1,400,000.

There is no denying that if you can have enough profits after meeting all your expenses, your business is growing. Small business, including sole proprietors, can find out the value of the company based on turnover. If the turnover is high, the cost will also be high. Never miss an opportunity to keep the ball rolling even if you lack funds because small business loans can help you.

There are various Private lenders in the UK who could offer you these loans despite bad credit rating.

With the current measures, such as the stay-at-home order, effectively communicating through the COVID-19 crisis will be a challenge. Many healthcare companies have adapted to managing staff members remotely. Since this ultimately may become the new norm, organizations will need to adapt to effectively communicate with key stakeholders. Three major stakeholders for any healthcare organization could be:

1. Leadership
2. Staff
3. Customers

Healthcare companies will need to practice effective communication among all three of these stakeholders.

With a majority of offices closed due to stay-at-home orders, ensuring the leadership team is effectively communicating with the staff is key. The ability to walk down to an individual’s office no longer exists. 

How to Communicate

There are many different platforms healthcare leadership can use to effectively communicate. Most individuals are accustomed to using email. With the dwindling ability to speak face to face, inboxes around the world are being flooded. Following long email chains can be difficult and responses can get lost in replies. All kinds of organizations from eye care facilities to drug detox centers are adopting mediums such as:

• Slack
• RingCentral
• Microsoft Teams
• Google Hangout

All of these channels are effective but lack tone when messaging. To overcome the loss of tone and emotion when communicating, schedule a daily conference call with your leadership team. Using voice communication will allow for tone and emotion to be conveyed. Also, this form of communication will begin to bring some normality to the workforce. Hearing a friendly voice during the stay at home order can provide a calming sensation.

What to Communicate

Be Transparent

Healthcare leadership teams need to be transparent. Without a physical location, individuals may not be able to see what is transpiring in the organization. For example, if the breakroom supplies at a drug and alcohol rehab center are low, a staff member may think financial trouble is ahead. The ability to see “the writing on the wall”, may not exist in a virtual work environment. Being transparent with the team will allow for future planning. The new virtual workplace might be the new norm.

Singular Messaging

Make sure to communicate a singular message. Ensure all individuals are hearing and speaking the same message. By doing so, the organization will be able to instill confidence with staff during these times. By communicating a singular message, an organization may avoid the old telephone game. Without a physical office space, the ability to corral the staff members to change the message may not be available. If you find yourself in a mixed message situation, you may need to consider using a video conference platform.

The topics discussed in the leadership section should also be applied when it comes to healthcare staff. The important topic that must be executed correctly is singular messaging. Rounding up the leadership team might be an easy task, but depending on the number of staff members and shifts, corralling this portion of stakeholders could be difficult. By this time, staff should understand the organization’s standard operating procedures. Over the next several months, it will be important to communicate about the topics below.

Communication Practicalities

It’s important to bear in mind that virtual communication cannot replicate every aspect of in-person conversations. A great many non-verbal cues can be missed over a video call, so it’s important that all parties bear this in mind. This can have an impact on attendees who speak other languages. It’s easier to follow a discussion in your second (or third) language in person as you benefit from all of those unspoken signals and cues that are so essential to effective communication. As such, healthcare companies may like to consider options such as zoom interpretation services for communicating with multilingual staff. Easy to implement and use, this kind of interpretation service can also be hugely beneficial when communicating with customers who speak other languages.

Safety

The current COVID-19 crisis has rapidly produced mass fear. With the current media coverage regarding the deaths that have occurred, staff members are worried. They may not have the ability to work remotely or have the financial means not to work during this time. Considering their safety will go a long way.

Communicating About Safety

One of the easiest ways to communicate safety is through training. Leadership can facilitate additional training by adding new standard operating procedures or by supplying videos. The CDC currently has numerous videos on topics like hand-washing and making DIY cloth face masks. Having training information available for staff will go a long way.

Regardless of whether you have been able to secure PPE equipment or make cloth face masks, make sure to let the staff know what is going on. Often, staff members do not see or hear what is discussed behind closed doors. They only see what is delivered. Seeing a manager cleaning high-traffic touchpoints is a physical action that they see. However, they do not see the purchasing manager combing the internet for these supplies. Sending out a weekly report outlining the steps you have taken (successful or not) will ease any worries among the staff. Knowing that the organization is doing everything it can to ensure staff safety will go a long way.

Job Security Communication

Financial fear drives everyone. Some individuals deal with financial fear better than others. Nonetheless, it is a tough topic that must be discussed. 

As many authors have already pointed out, if you have to layoff staff members, do it fast and all at once. Do not draw the process out. Be transparent about the layoffs, what the plan is, and why you are executing the plan. The individuals that were laid off will be hurt, but you will be able to calm the remaining staff.

If you were successful with the payroll protection program, inform the staff. Letting them know you have two and a half months of secured payroll is comforting news. Be upfront with the financial aspect of the healthcare organization. In most cases, organizations will want to do the opposite. But during this time, staff members are more concerned about maintaining their employment rather than getting a raise.

Just like staff, customers share the same fears. Sending communication to address both of these concerns will comfort your customers. Communicating about safety and finances can be done in the following ways:

1. Email campaigns
2. Social media posts
3. Cold calling

Getting the message out, regarding the positive message of safety and any help you are offering financially, will hit home with your customer base. Also, consider using a mobile app to communicate with your customer base. Just about every type of healthcare organization, from mental health specialists to sober living home operations, can benefit from a mobile app.

In every environment, adapting to change is necessary. How organizations operate during COVID-19 might become the new norm. A virtual workforce might replace the downtown office space. Healthcare organizations that embrace this change will thrive on the other side. Communicate with the intention of looking forward. 

If you remember Southwestern Bell, they were a telephone company several decades ago. During the technology change, they were still hyper-focused on laying telephone lines when cell phones were becoming the norm. AT&T, on the other hand, began building cell phone towers. You can guess what happened with Southwestern Bell.

Embrace the current environment and begin communicating with the future in mind. How a healthcare organization used to communicate might be like the old telephone lines.

Personal finances are a part of life that everyone has to deal with. Whether it’s paying your credit card, trying to save money, figuring out how much money to invest, or trying to minimize the amount you spend, personal finances are an important part of life, and if done right, can set you up for the future. It’s a struggle and something that takes time to get good at, like everything else, but will have a real impact on your life and your lifestyle.

The most important part of personal finances are the foundational fundamentals you have. These are the things you believe in, the practices you follow, and the agenda you’re trying to achieve. A lot of the way we handle finances is learned either through our parents, our own habits, or what we believe is the right thing to do. The foundation of a house is what holds everything together and gives it the support it needs to stay around no matter the conditions.

A lot of what the foundational fundamentals when it comes to money are all about the basics.

Revenue – Expenses = Profit or Free Cash Flow

The formula behind most of finance is revenue minus expenses equals profit or free cash flow.

Revenue is the amount of money you’re able to make or earn, it’s at the top of the line. The amount of revenue you earn or make is dependent upon the job you have, the salary you earn, the bonuses you receive, and the state of the economy or marketplace you’re operating in.

The amount of money you spend, or the amount of your expenses are taken out of the amount you earn. This deducts or reduces the amount of money you’re able to have for yourself, or that’s going to be leftover. This can be rent, taxes, insurance, spending money, food, vacations, or anything else you might find yourself spending on.

A lot of the expenses you have is determined by the lifestyle or the life you live. Depending on the type of apartment or house you rent, the type of car you drive, whether you eat out a lot or eat home, the type of clothes you wear, all will be major factors when it comes to your expenses. The more expensive, or the more luxurious type of things you go for, the more it’s going to cost you. The more something costs and the more you spend, that means less amount of free cash flow you’ll be able to choose to do whatever you want with.

The amount of cash or money you have leftover after your expenses will determine what you’re able to do, and what you aren’t able to do. This means if you have more money, you’ll be able to do the things that require more money. Things like buying a house, building a strong stock portfolio, creating a business, all require lots of money or capital. If you aren’t able to have a lot of free cash flow left over, then you’ll end up having less money to do the things you want to do, or less money to achieve the goals you want to achieve. And if you have less money, there will be things that cost money that you won’t be able to do. Which is totally ok, and fine, it all just depends on what you’re trying to achieve, and the life you’re trying to live.

Saving vs. Spending

Finding the balance between spending the money you make and saving the money you make is a crucial element of anyone’s personal finances.

Everyone wants to spend their money, experience the excitement or the exhilarating feelings that come with it. Whether that means going out to dinners, shopping, buying things you want, or the vacation you’ve really wanted to go on. All of these things cost money and take away from the amount of money you’re able to save. It’s important to enjoy, and not play on the extremes, because they are a dangerous place, so you want to do both, spend and save.

It’s important to keep in mind that each person is different. Everyone has different priorities, they have different goals, and they have different things they want to achieve. Depending on the person you are, the live you want to live, and the things you want to do, will determine how much money you’ll need to save in order to do the things you want to do.

But what the goal is, is to find the things you truly enjoy or appreciate and spend on them, while the things you can live without, or don’t value as much you can refrain from spending on. A lot of people have heard the term, a dollar saved is a dollar earned. What goes behind this saying, is by saving or keeping the money you make, you’re essentially earning it and keeping it.

Once money is spent, then it’s gone, all you have is the experience or the goods/services you purchased. The act of spending it feels good, but how do you feel after you’ve spent it? It’s a battle that everyone fights, and everyone struggles with. You want to enjoy the fruits of your labor, but you also want to prepare yourself for the future. Ultimately, you want to do both, have the best of both worlds, which you can.

The way to do it is by doing a little of each. Doing it slowly. Try and save a little amount of money consistently and try to spend a little of the money you have consistently. By moving slowly, and doing both, you’re able to get the best of both worlds. This you can be working your way to getting prepared for whatever might come your way and enjoying the time along the way. There will be times you’ll have to say or hold yourself from doing something, but that’s part of having both, the saving and spending aspects.

However you want to analyze it, whether it’s from an accounting vs finance perspective, something is going to have to give. Whether it’s the things you do, the things you buy, or the places you go, if you want to have the flexibility and ability to do things you want to in the future, or be prepared for whatever comes you’re way, odds are you’re going to have to save parts of the money you make, not spend it all.

Conclusion

The basics of finance are what things really come down to. The things that everyone has heard about and has heard a hundred times are the things that really have the most impact and meaning on people’s personal finances.

The simple formula behind all businesses is revenue minus expenses equals profit or free cash flow. This formula applies to you too. The more money you’re able to make, the more money you’ll be able to spend. And the more money you have leftover at the end of all your earnings and expenses, the more money you’ll be able to choose what you want to do with. The amount of expenses you have, or the lifestyle you choose to live will have a lot to do with the amount of money that you’ll have left over.

Finding the balance between saving and spending is what everyone is trying to do, each and every day. You ultimately want to do both. A mix of both saving for the future and spending to enjoy the present. Playing on the extremes of doing one or the other isn’t the best idea, because you start to gravitate towards one or the other, and it’s important to have both. Making the right decisions and deciding when to spend or when to save comes with time, and experience, and is something everyone, at every age has to constantly battle with.

 

Marketing has become an important part of online business. Email marketing for eCommerce business has become essential as without email marketing strategy it is impossible to build better relations with customers and achieve better growth with Ecommerce mobile app development. There are various ways in which the company can achieve better results, below are some of the best practices that the company or business can follow to connect with new customers and retain existing customers.  

Welcome Email 

When new subscribers sign-up for the Ecommerce newsletter, they always look forward to hearing from the company or business. Hence, the best time to reach customers is as soon as they sign-up and this is the time when they wait for the email from the company. 

Regardless of the way such as website or Ecommerce mobile app development, it is always better to send a welcome email to new subscribers to let them know more about Ecommerce websites. With welcome email, companies can also set expectations and also segment customers based on their likes to improve future communication with the customers.  

Personalization for Target Segments

There is always more than one target audience that the company aims to reach. It’s common for service or product to appeal to different segments of the population. But it is also possible that a company is not able to reach the entire audience with just a single message, this is where personalization can play an important role. Personalization can improve clicks, rates, and engagement and also reduce unsubscribe, spams and bounces. 

Moreover, sending personalized emails with content for each segment is one of the best ways to keep subscribers engaged and happy. Personalization can play an important role in Ecommerce email marketing. 

Offering Discounts to Loyal Customers

Keeping the most loyal customers coming back on the ecommerce website is possible with the loyalty program. Companies are also offering discounts with the Ecommerce mobile app development to retain existing customers. Offering coupons and exclusive discounts is one of the easiest and quickest ways to build loyal and committed customers. Some messages should be special for loyal customers so that they can feel more connected with the Ecommerce website. By letting loyal customers know their special status, Ecommerce sites can build strong relationships with existing customers. 

Sending Promotional Sales Emails

The Ecommerce company should focus on promotional sales that can help to bring in new subscribers. Holiday and seasonal-themed sales email campaigns is one of the best ways to attract subscribers who have not yet moved from window-shopping to buying the product. Ecommerce websites can also provide coupon codes that can be applied to the cart to easily avail discounts. 

Creating Well-Designed and Responsive Emails

All the emails by Ecommerce websites should be well-designed and responsive, right from welcome emails, to discounts and promotional emails, as well as transactional emails. Well-designed and responsive emails need to be visually appealing, easy to understand, should look good on mobile with Ecommerce mobile app development, and text should capture readers’ interest. 

Testing Email Marketing Campaigns 

Split testing email is one of the best ways of testing email marketing campaigns. Split testing emails include taking the original version of the email and testing it with another version of the email by changing the single element in the email such as subject line, Call-to-Action, or any part of the design or some line in the email. 

Sending Abandoned Cart Email

Many shoppers abandon carts, however, this doesn’t mean that these sales are gone. If the Ecommerce site is collecting the email address and tracking the usage of the site, then the next step is to send abandoned cart emails in case shoppers leave without completing the purchase. Here the Ecommerce site and Ecommerce mobile app development can also use constant contact email marketing automation features along with the integration of other services to get the best results possible.  

Getting Reviews from Engaged Customers

Reviews can act as the specific form of proof on how the ecommerce site is performing. When there are engaged customers who are buying from the site and also clicking on the emails, then the ecommerce site can reach them and ask for a review. With the reviews, the site can also make some changes based on the needs of the customers. 

Growing the Email List

Every year, the subscribers list declines by some percent both in the website and in Ecommerce mobile app development, this means that it is important to keep getting new subscribers and continue the growth of email lists. There are many places to provide options to grow email lists such as headers, sidebars, footers, etc. Besides these, there are some other places to capture leads such as catching customer attention during the checkout process by asking customers to subscribe to your newsletters or promotions, another way is to ask customers to sign-up during transactional email.

Referral Program

Word-of-mouth is one of the oldest forms of powerful methods of marketing. Hence, referral programs can be an excellent addition in the marketing toolbox. With the help of referral programs, leads to the Ecommerce website come through someone in their own network whom they trust. Moreover, some research studies have also found that people trust recommendations from the people they know more than advertisers. 

Sending Notifications About Wishlist or in-Stock Items

It is a great idea to let the shoppers or customers sign-up and be notified about the product upon the availability of the product which is currently not in the stock. Allowing shoppers to make a wishlist can also help the ecommerce website to send emails to customers about availability or discount on the same product and other updates on the product. 

Email Marketing Automation to Follow-up With Leads

Email marketing automation is one of the best ways to keep email marketing consistent and scalable. The ecommerce website can set email automation to perform various tasks such as sending welcome emails, notifying customers about the products they were looking for and left in the cart, sending special offers on birthdays and anniversary to shoppers, promoting webinars or events, sharing content, and other such tasks. 

The aforementioned email marketing tips can help the Ecommerce business to boost their sales and build better relations with customers. Along with this, tracking the results is also important to create a successful Ecommerce business and also make any changes if necessary. Email marketing can help both ecommerce website and Ecommerce mobile app development to enhance customer experience and serve in a better way. 

Author’s Bio:

Ritesh Patil is the co-founder of Mobisoft Infotech that helps startups and enterprises in mobile technology. He loves technology, especially mobile technology. He’s an avid blogger and writes on the mobile application. He works in a leading mobile app development company with skilled iOS and Android app developers that have developed innovative mobile applications across various fields such as Finance, Insurance, Health, Entertainment, Productivity, Social Causes, Education and many more and has bagged numerous awards for the same.

In this age of the digital world, technology keeps on updating itself and every other day you will find a new product or service introduced in the market. If you are a tech lover, you must always feel curious about the latest happenings in the technological world. But is it easy to stay updated? Yes, it is when you have access to the most informative and updated tech websites. Their main job is to keep you up-to-date with the latest inventions in the world of technology such as gadgets, computers, email services, smartphones, and the internet.

If you will Google the information, you may or may not get the reliable information or a trustworthy source from where you can acquire the information about newest releases, reviews of products, etc. that is why we have come up with our list of top 10 tech websites to remove the hassle of searching all over the internet and get it with just a few clicks.

So to keep you informed about the latest activities in the tech world, the following tech websites are going to help you the most:

The reason for it being at the first spot is its date of commencement. It was there in the market for nearly two decades and the publication is owned by Conde Nast. This website is a great place for both hobbyists as well as tech professionals. You will find a wide range of news and editorials, legal outcomes, security, and other interests. The users can interact with each other through the forums on topics like operation systems, hardware modifications, gaming, and software.

On number two, it is none other than TechCrunch that has more than 50,000 active contributors. The website covers information on tech innovations, covering major acquisitions, funding sources as well as new launches. If you need news related to a particular brand such as Google, Apple or Twitter, you can look for that too. It has its own CrunchBase where you will find a huge database of technology companies and startups. 

Get Assist has grabbed its position at 3rd spot owing to its informational tech blogs and articles. You name it and you will find it. Their motive is to cover the vast area of technical troubleshooting and make the users self-reliable to fix their everyday issues. Moreover, you can even look for reviews of the latest launches, the latest tech news, and whatnot. The different categories available on the home page make it easy to look for a particular product or service or you can simply search the box available there.

A great multilingual resource, Engadget has been helping people in their tech-purchases since 2004. If you are looking for any sort of tech-related information, it is the one-stop platform. It has completely covered the technology and the cutting edge devices it has given rise to are unmatched. So if you are confused about buying a gadget or tech device, you can rely upon them for the information they offer and make your decision accordingly.

There is no surprise that the Next Web is next on the list as it has more than 6.5 million monthly visitors. The site keeps its readers updated about the latest gadgets, web apps, updates, and other services. If you are new to the tech world and need something to keep you updated, you will never get disappointed with The Next Web. They will always keep you up-to-date with the newly launched products and the latest news in the technological world. 

Once purchased by Conde Nast Publishing, the website got separated from Wired Magazine in 1990. You will get information about everything from entertainment, business, security news, opinion and news related to all kinds of electronics. The website offers engaging as well as easy to understand articles for tech freaks. If you want to experience an old-school paper and ink, you can still get a copy of the wired magazine.

It is another trustworthy website that has found its position at seventh place on our list. Since 1996, it has been helping people with projects. You even get the ‘build your own’ section where you can learn how to create your computer. Tom’s Hardware always provides you proper advice on computer parts, motherboards and others. If you are finding it difficult to replace a computer’s part, this website is all you need. Bookmark it now and give yourself a treasure of technical resources. 

Next, we have CNET because it is loved and preferred by its users due to its huge library of freeware and software reviews that can be easily checked through the CNET download section. It has been competing since 1994 and has been owned by The CBS Corporation since 2008. You will find the majority of reviews available there that will assist you in deciding about hardware, software, and other tech services. The website is full of eye-catching and educational articles for all your tech buys. 

This website was discovered only a decade ago and from that time it has proved how strong an impact crowdsourced information and blogging can have. All the blogs available on the website are powered by Kinja that allows them to contribute to the discussion with their blogs and articles. This is why you will see more and more bloggers making their contribution to the news feed. So if you have Gadget to research, Gizmodo is always there to help. 

Way Binary is on the tenth spot as it has some of the most finely written troubleshooting articles and blogs. You will even find reviews of the latest technological equipment such as printers, laptops, smartphones, etc., introduced in the market. Moreover, you will find a ‘Top 10’ section that has been entirely dedicated to some of the top innovations in the technology world to make your purchase decision easy. The ‘How to’ section is enough to improvise your hidden technical know-how and will make you self-reliable.

As informed investors, we are continually looking for ways to stay updated on the happenings in the market. A lot of us also aim to improve our existing knowledge so that we can invest better.

While there are many ways to do this – you can either opt for a personal financial manager course or gain your knowledge through books and blogs. However, a unique way to do it is through television shows.

TV news shows are the perfect balance between news and education, and they always keep us engaged with real-life examples and unique formats like debates and Q&As.

Here are the top five TV shows that can teach you about finance in an engaging manner – 

Hosted by Jim Cramer on CNBC, Mad Money covers everything under the sun when it comes to the various aspects of finance. With his show, Cramer aims to help you have a smooth journey of investing and dealing with money in general. 

Even though he doesn’t provide direct buy-sell advice for stocks, he offers meaningful insights into Wall Street and the various industries which control and influence it. 

His insights on major industrial events can teach you how to interpret events in the market and make wise investment decisions accordingly.

You can watch his show on CNBC, Mondays to Fridays at 6 pm Eastern Time. You can also check out his latest insights and content on the CNBC site.

Squawk Box works as a “pre-market” morning news program, which you can watch to keep yourself updated on all the essential news you need to know to begin your day in the stock market.

Whether you are a trader or a long-time investor, this show is one of the best ways to catch up on everything that has happened to the markets while you were sleeping the night before, which can influence your portfolio.

You can watch this show on CNBC, Mondays to Fridays at 6 am Eastern Time. You can also check out its latest content and watch it online on its official website.

This show is in the form of an interview and hosted by Becky Quick, who also co-hosts the Squawk Box. In this show, Quick interviews CEOs, entrepreneurs, and investors to provide viewers with expert insights and guidance.

Some of the famous people that Quick has interviewed in On the Money include Warren Buffett, Mary Barra, who became the first female CEO of a major automobile maker, General Motors, and comedian Bill Murray.

This show is hosted on CNBC, and you can click here to check out its timings and latest content.

Hosted at the Bloomberg network, this show focuses on discussing the latest news in finance and economics all over the world.

The show is unique because it calls in experts who focus on influential markets in the world to share insights that can help investors make informed decisions.

The show is hosted in London and New York, and you can watch it on Bloomberg Television, weekdays from 5-7 am Eastern Time. You can also check out their latest content on their official site.

This show, hosted on the CNBC network, is made to assist traders and investors focusing on the Asian markets.

Hosted by Hadley Gamble and Matthew Taylor, the show brings into focus the major news events from the world, which can influence significant stocks and indices in the Asian markets.

The show is aired in multiple locations due to its specialized content, and you can watch the latest clips from the show and check its broadcast schedule here.

Just like these shows, there are numerous shows on major news networks that focus on providing the best intel to informed investors. Moreover, it all also teaches you to make smart financial decisions which helps in saving for retirement, emergencies, wedding etc.  These shows are a great way to keep track of the world economies so that you can make the best decisions for your portfolio.

In this digital era, mobile has attained the status of necessity. The day begins with the mobile and ends with it, so it becomes almost impossible to survive without the mobile application. From food applications and time clock apps to cab apps, mobile apps have changed our lives. It seems mobile apps have conquered every domain of our life and business as it has dramatically changed our lifestyle. The significant portion of our lives depends on the mobile phone. A big thanks to the advancement of technologies that have made communication and shopping possible at the fingertips. Digital Marketing Innovations has taken business strategy to next levels. Let us understand how mobile application is changing the way of business.

What is the value of application for businesses?

Earlier, mobile apps were limited to big brands like American Express, Walmart, and many other old players. This misconception was shattered when startups like Uber and Airbnb took the center stage of the mobile screen. The triumph of Airbnb and Uber encourage small startups to leap mobile app development. Gone are the days when mobile apps were reserved for the giant players. Based on your target audience you can ask for cross platform mobile app development company to develop the best app based on the preferred platform.  

Let’s delve the benefits of a mobile application for your business

1. Improves accessibility

The best thing about the mobile is that it is very much accessible to its users. Customers should be able to feel safe to purchase goods and services in a mobile environment. If your customers get satisfied and happy with the app then there would be chances of recommendation to other people getting higher, this recommendation gives a mileage to remain ahead of the competitors. 

2. Improves visibility of the brand and gain recognition

 An app can contribute to building your brand and recognition. 

Brand: Consider a mobile app a blank billboard sign. It’s up to you whether you want to give a stylish look or not, you can make it informative, shocking, or functional. But whatever is your choice, the app should have all the features that make users happy and satisfied.    

Recognition: There are a plethora of apps available in the app store, so, how will you create a great impression about your brand in the audience’s mind? The answer is an effective frequency which means hearing or seeing the brand at the maximum time to give an actual impression. And do you know on average an adult uses mobile for 2 hours and 55 minutes? So you can imagine how much recognition your brand can get through the app. 

3. Cultivate customers loyalty

With so many ads running in social media platforms, it compels customers with amazing offers and as a result, it becomes easy to lose the customers. With the immense amount of ads, email marketing, discount coupons, flyers, it becomes so easy to lose the customer. To prevent this loss, loyalty can only help. 

If a customer is loyal towards a brand, he won’t go anywhere as he believes that the brand will always serve him the best. Mobile apps can help to build this bondage of trust and sincere connection. With the right marketing technique and a mobile app, you can build a strong and loyal clientele base.  You must accept technology and mobile application is changing the way of business.

4. It saves the customer’s valuable time

Mobile apps are faster when compared to web browsing as the user needs to open a web browser and then, enter the website URL after which they have to wait for a few seconds to launch. On the other hand, mobile applications are faster to launch, and some applications can be used offline like most of the information is stored in the mobile app itself. 

5. Transforming the retail experience

Transform the customer’s retail experience into a beautiful and easy to handle experience with a mobile app. Do you know some businesses are built broadly on mobile applications? Mobile apps can help you to drive the digital process which would cut down the overhead and other store costs. 

6. Take a stand out of the competition

To prevail in your business into a great and successful business, it would be advisable to go for the mobile app. What if you are into a small business? Even today mobile apps for small businesses have very small percentages, but by offering a mobile app for your business you can give ease to the customers and this will make you stand out and ahead of the crowd. Ask today only about the different Java development services at your development company to provide the best and affordable app solution for your business needs.  

7. Human-friendly app

Mobile apps help to build an additional channel for customer services, with an increased chance to boost the clientele base. The app allows us to resolve the customers’ queries, allowing discounts, introducing new sales offers, and developing a platform where customers can directly interact with the brand. You can ask your React Native Development company to develop an engaging app for the best UX.   

8. Strong customer engagement

One of the most advantageous aspects of mobile apps for business is strong customer engagement. It creates a direct marketing channel between customers and business where business can send personalized offers, seasonal discounts, notifications, and other relevant information. This way by sharing important and useful information with the customers, brands can increase engagement. So are you ready to create strong customer engagement? You must inquire about the java mobile application to your development company to understand why it is an ideal platform.                       

9. Build a database of clients

Whenever a client downloads your business app or makes a purchase, it gives the leverage to the brand to collect information about the client. However, it becomes necessary for the permission from the customer to collect the information. Once permitted you can make the best use of this collected data to present ads and recommendations to clients for targeting the audience. 

Invest in mobile app

We hope that after knowing the benefits of a mobile app for business, you will surely think about it to expand your clientele base and expand the business geographical limits. This is how mobile application is changing the way of business in the recent times. It doesn’t matter whether you have a giant business or a small business, an app is a must for all. You can take help of eCommerce Consulting Small businesses that want to make a remarkable presence in a highly competitive market, investment in a mobile application is a must. Make sure your app is compatible with different platforms like iOS, Android, and many others.   

Everyone wants to experience financial independence. We all want to have enough time for ourselves and our family and earn enough money to live a good and comfortable life with our loved ones until we retire. One way to achieve this dream is to invest in stocks or start a business.

Of course, everything in life needs careful decision-making, as well. So before you take the plunge, read and learn what factors to consider in investing or starting a business. Once you are decided, you can finally look into investment options and business ideas.

In terms of business ideas, not all are created equal. Some are profitable, while some are not. So, it helps to pick the best business concepts if you want to be your own boss. To help you jumpstart your company, below are hot new business ideas to try in one of the most profitable continents in the world—Asia: 

1. Solve every other business needs through online freelancing services.

For big companies, the Internet is a huge place to find individuals with exemplary skill sets that they need for their company. Finding those people, however, can be tedious, because they require time, money, and effort. So as one of your business ideas, why not consider helping these companies with their dilemma? Create a business with online freelancing services, like editorial, designing, writing, and more. With this business idea, make sure to provide low-cost yet quality services and offer full-time, part-time, and project positions for your staff.

2. Give people cheap yet fashionable OOTD (Outfit of the Day) options with thrift stores.

In most Asian countries, cheap yet good quality is what people usually search for. This is especially true when it comes to outfits, where affordable but fashionable pieces are a must. This is why a thrift shop is one of the big business ideas in the Philippines and its nearby countries. Thrift shops offer used and unique clothing that came from other countries and at very cheap prices. Keep in mind to include accessories, shoes, and bags to your thrift shop to add more variety to your store. 

3. Sell the best items online through e-commerce services.

These days, it’s easy to sell items online. You can simply log in to your social media account and post details about the item that you want to sell. If you have many bulky items to sell, however, managing all the potential orders and items can get difficult. 

Hence, providing e-commerce services to online sellers like these can prove to be a profitable business idea in 2020. For this business, offer services such as managing their social media accounts to brainstorming advertisement concepts for successful product promotion. 

4. Let people experience alternative medicine.

Asian countries, like Japan and South Korea, are big fans of acupuncture and massage therapies. These alternative medical treatments can alleviate bodily aches and other medical conditions in the body. These make them a huge hit in Asia. Naturally, this also makes alternative medicine business one of the hot new business ideas venture into Asia. To make this service more profitable, apply for an alternative medicine certification. 

5. Provide memorable events through an event planning business.

Events such as weddings and birthdays are fun, but they also take a lot of planning which can stress out the celebrants. These celebrants need to get their wedding, birthday, or any other party done without turning event planning into a disaster. This is why an event planning business may be one of the great business ideas that you should explore. From the invitations down to the event’s giveaways, make the best preparations to satisfy the celebrants of these once-in-a-lifetime events. 

6. Make staycations fun through an AirBnb service.

In Asia, vacations need not be expensive nor far. It can be as simple as vacationers sharing food and stories with their friends and loved ones at home. This is the reason why a staycation is a favorite past-time among Asians. Take advantage of this favorite bonding activity by listing it as one of your business ideas that are worth a try. Set up rooms or houses as AirBnBs with different and fun themes, like minimalist or Bohemia-inspired decors. Don’t forget to add other features such as free home-cooked meals. 

7. Ensure productivity for companies through a work management business.

Because of the Internet, there are many companies that offer work-at-home jobs. The dilemma is without any real supervision from their bosses, most individuals working at home may lack discipline. 

In this digital age, a work management service is a good business for millennials to consider. This kind of business will help provide a virtual boss for different online companies and ensure productivity in their operations. To level up your business, consider adding online rewards or other notification alerts to your services. 

8. Tidy up any shop with a good cleaning service.

Cleaning is a skill that might be overlooked as a good business venture. Apparently, establishments need cleaning services from almost everything. It can be as simple as having a clean and spotless floor or as complex as getting their air conditioners maintained monthly. For millennials, a good cleaning service can be one of the most profitable business ideas in 2020. Just remember to take note of other possible cleaning services that you can offer such as house cleaning, bathroom cleaning, waste management, and more.

9. Build a student’s skills with a tutoring business.

Not all students are smart. One way or another, they would need help to do well at school. While this may be a weakness to these students, you can help them improve these skills and see it as one of your best business ideas. 

A tutoring business is a huge hit in Asian countries because parents want their children to be academically equipped. Make sure to provide tutoring in different subjects, like Math and Science, and even language tutorials, like English or Korean.

10. Strengthen other people’s financial goals through a financial service.

In this fast-paced world, people would want to grow their finances. Many people in Asian countries hope to be knowledgeable in investments and business ventures. You can help them achieve their financial goals by opening a financial business as one of your business ideas. Widen the scope of your financial services and extend these to people of all ages, from people in their 20s to people in their 60s and beyond. 

All of these are good business ideas, but nothing beats your willingness to try these business ventures yourself. Pick a business that you’re actually interested in. After all, it would be difficult to push through the ups and downs if you got yourself into a business that you’re not interested in.

One of the things that are incredibly important for you to understand is that free marketing will only get you so far. In order to really get the top spot on search engines, you need to start sponsoring some of your pages, as well as invest in creating much better content. Perth SEO Company Safari, have informed us that even with the standard SEO strategy, you need to pay for premium versions of specialized tools, due to the fact that this is the best way to provide yourself with a sizable competitive edge. All in all, search engine optimization tends to cost quite a bit. So, with all of this in mind, how do you set and define your budget for search engine optimization? Let’s find out!

Setting the budget

The first thing you need to do when setting a search engine optimization budget is to understand that it’s merely a part of your total digital marketing campaign. The rule of thumb is that you need to set about 10 per cent of your average annual revenue for your digital marketing budget. If the field is particularly competitive and the overhead is low (like for an online business), the budget can be anywhere between 20 and 50 per cent. Once you have your digital marketing budget, you can start making a priority list and try to figure out where SEO fits on this list.

Setting priorities straight

Another thing you need to understand is the fact that not all search engines and social media platforms are made equal. Sure, Yahoo and Bing can be quite important, however, they’re clearly not as big as Google or YouTube. Your spending needs to be proportionate to that. As for social media, you need to keep in mind that your audience has their own preferences based on the demographics that they belong to. Therefore, you can make data-based decisions after doing a proper analysis of your target market. For instance, a younger audience may be more present on Snapchat and TikTok than on Facebook or even Instagram, nowadays.

Consider the broader context

The next thing worth taking into consideration is the broader context of things. For instance, is your business B2B or B2C oriented? Are you selling a product or a service? Is your goal to make people buy, have them subscribe or something else entirely? Where are you on the search engine ranking list at the moment? How segmented your industry is and is your competition spending much on marketing themselves? These are just some of the questions that will help you see the bigger picture.

Other than this, you also need to know the industry averages regarding various metrics. For instance, websites offering legal services, on average, have a much higher conversion rate than e-commerce websites. So, being disappointed because your e-store doesn’t have as good of a conversion rate as its counterpart from another industry can lead you down the wrong path. Knowing where you are at the moment, what the industry averages are and where you want your website to be in a month, six months or a year are crucial for determining your budget. More ambitious goals require a bigger investment.

Try shopping around

One of the biggest problems, when it comes to figuring out the appropriate budget for your SEO project, lies in the fact that you may lack basic awareness of how much various services cost, to begin with. After all, as a layman and a newcomer to the industry, average figures might be completely obscure to you. For starters, you need to look for the top-dogs of your local SEO industry and see what they have in offer. Then, you need to shop around some more. At the end of the line, you will have a decent idea of what the averages are and which offers are acceptable.

Local SEO is worth the investment

One thing that makes local SEO worth the investment even if you’re running a local, brick and mortar enterprise is the fact that local SEO increases your offline sales. In fact, about 78 per cent of all local mobile searches eventually become offline sales. Needless to say, the best way to achieve this is to make a sizable investment towards enhancing your local SEO efforts. Finding SEO experts to help you out with this effort is definitely a smart move and the sooner you consult them, the better.

Outsourcing or internal SEO

Technically speaking, it would be possible to hire a full-time SEO specialist to tend to your business, however, how much would such a thing cost? What kind of coverage do you get for it and would it be better to outsource to an agency instead? Due to the fact that more and more SEO agencies are practising the so-called white label SEO, the services that they provide are far more comprehensive and holistic. In other words, unless you need the simplest, most basic SEO services, it might be better to just outsource. Needless to say, this is a scalable option, which means that you won’t have to deviate from the path when the situation changes.

Is DIY SEO an option?

One question that a lot of people will ask on this topic is whether it is a good idea to try your hand at DIY SEO. Sure, technical knowledge of basic SEO shouldn’t be too hard to master with the right research, adequate resources and a couple of well-chosen online courses. However, this takes an investment of time, effort and money that you may not possess. Second, as a business owner, chances are that you will already be otherwise occupied. In other words, the answer to this question is quite similar to the one we gave in the previous paragraph. If you are running a small enterprise and need only basic services, DIY SEO might be an option. If not, it’s better to look for professional assistance.

What are the basics?

When it comes to prioritizing SEO tasks, there are several things that are a top priority. For instance, you need to do some on-site optimization of your website, which means that you probably want to hire a skilled web designer or SEO expert. Second, you need to do your keyword research, which usually involves tools like keyword planners or keyword explorers. Finally, you need to set aside some money for your off-site optimization like link building and influencer marketing. Overall, these are the very minimum that you should invest in.

How much money should go to PPC?

One good thing about PPC is the fact that you’re always getting your money’s worth. After all, you’re paying for every click, which means that if the link is clicked upon, then it’s doing its purpose. If not, well, it doesn’t cost you a thing. You see, John Wannamaker once said that even though half of the money he spends on marketing is wasted, he can never know which half. With PPC, it is exactly the opposite and this is perhaps the most appealing side of the method in question. As for the exact percentage, there are those who agree that you can feel free to set aside as much as 70 per cent of your SEO budget and spend the rest on social media activity and website optimization.

In conclusion

One last thing worth mentioning is the fact that while it can be quite easy to figure out the appropriate budget for as long as it gives you an adequate ROI. The problem, nonetheless, lies in the fact that there will not always be an ROI (in a traditional sense). Even non-profit organizations are investing in ROI and they’re not likely to see their money back. So, instead of asking how much money you should invest in order to see a profit, you need to ask how much money you should invest in order to see an improvement in some relevant metrics. In other words, you need to adopt the right mindset.