Miley, Author at Daily Cup of Tech

All posts by Miley

Content Hub CSS Grid and More in New Web Design

Miley on September 12, 2018

It will be fair enough to say that there is hardly anything called a ‘new’ trend in web designing. It is merely the development and modifications of the existing patterns merely with the intent to make it more readable, appealing and conversational. In fact, it is the keystone that the designers focus on to make a long-running conversation more meaningful in web publishing. With all available tools for web designing, this facet has become more prominent in 2018 and will surely stay for many years to come.

The story and messages conveyed through websites these days literally takes you as close as it can. Any abstract or unreal issue or any complex topic is turned into smart content by designing a series of easily understandable paragraphs and implementing useful elements. The volume of the content or the number of components incorporated is not overwhelming anymore in websites these days.

Use of CMS

To make a website easy to understand and to absorb, the use of CMS in web design is crucial. All that is required for it is summarized as under:

You will need a little ingenuity
Deliver all the important aspects of the story in visuals
Use background images and videos more
Pay careful attention to the consistency of the stories while designing and developing and of course
Make the design and content model different from any standard design or blog posts.

If you want to engage long form in web design, you will have more diverse approaches irrespective of the fact that it is a broken grid or a standard column.

Content Hubs or Webooks

You can make cool web designs just like Tayloright choosing between webooks and content hub. Today demands to create beautiful and appealing content-focused websites, a trend that started in early 2017 and increased in 2018. You can expect to see more of these shorts in the future.

You will notice that several leading brands have ditched the traditional gated PDF approach and have taken on to webook distribution. This enables the users to embrace the potential of a website by publishing long-form contents that are also called “webooks.”

The CSS Grid

There has been a lot of change in the layout system and the first real layout is the CSS grid for any website. The purpose of this design is to organize contents in columns and rows and eventually give the developers absolute control of the screen.

Even the web flow will support CSS grid and help in managing the most common challenge in web design that involves diversity and inclusion of ideas as well as identities. It can be said as an appendage to this point that even the political climate plays a significant role in the inclusion and diversity in web design.

Gender Dropdowns Concerns

The web designers are also concerned about the gender dropdowns and its design choices and inclusion and options and even consider whether to include it at all in web design. Data validations and mechanics play a crucial role in the dynamics of computer interactions with a website. Since the wording of error message is very powerful, a filter in the advertising tools may have racist effects downright. It is important to uphold the existing relations and this is the primary thing that is considered by the web designers when it is upended. Therefore, the designers need to be diverse and inclusive in their design solutions like Tayloright.

Benefits of Virtuous Conversations

Gender bias has marginalizing and contradictory ways but it is required to make conversations mostly virtuous. This has specific benefits such as:

It provides proper feedback
It eliminates double standards
It offers an ideal and usable experience.

In other words, inclusion must be to the fullest to make sure it provides an optimal experience to the users.

Video as Publishing Medium

The video seems to be the swivel of modern web design that has brought in a polar difference in its effects, appeal and effectiveness. Publishers are clamouring for videos included in the design du jour and this switchover has provided better results. Now you can see it anywhere whether it is a news site or any other. Watching a video rather than reading the short form stories is more effective.

However, this popular trend is barely a neutral development as the outlook may not be suitable for the sites with this switch. Regardless, there is a positive note in such a switch. Video Cost Per Impressions is much better than display CPMs.

Blending Text and Video

The designers however never deviate from the inclusion of text in a website even if it has videos to explain things. The blend of the two rightly made enhances the strength of text. It makes the site a more creative and informational medium. Other features and benefits include:

It is comparatively easy and quick to produce
It is a cheap alternative inclusion
It is the primary format of almost all communications still.

Therefore, however ‘visuals first’ platform it may be, the text still plays and always will play a significant supporting role. Thus, texts are hard to go to the dinosaur way even though an image may be “worth a thousand words.” Pictures can never answer who, when, what, why, where, and how meaningfully with reference to the context.

Web Design Systematized

It can be said that web design is more systemized and has undoubtedly earned its place at the table. Conversations now are not restricted to simple assertions of values but it involves a more mature analysis. This has forced in more systematic web design to ensure that it is cohesive and scalable. It must provide the desired output of a brand across different and varied applications and environments.

The principle of design focuses on brand aesthetics translation, the functionality of modular components and to meet the unique need of the UI. The systemized language must simplify decision making. Therefore, the debate between content-first or design-first has resulted in more system oriented designs in modern times that is here to stay.

Author bio:

Maria Jones is a digital art fellow and multidisciplinary artist who is into design and development for the last ten years. She now specializes in the responsive design and used to write blogs and Tayloright about evolving graphics and web design concepts.

Insights Products

Facebook Advertising 101: How to Create Stellar Ads That Work

Miley on September 12, 2018

Image via Pixino

It’s no secret that Facebook is the premier online advertising tool for businesses. Rightfully so, Facebook’s advertising platform makes it simple for marketers to conduct granular searches for an ideal target audience. With this useful function, the task of creating beautiful ads is entirely left up to your prerogative and ability, or you can opt for some of the tools that can help you with dynamic creative.

Frankly, advertising on Facebook isn’t as convenient as it may initially seem. There is a wide range of obstacles modern advertisers face, even on Facebook’s advanced platform. One of the primary issues advertisers face is building ads that actually work. Now, how is the word “work” defined in this context?

You guessed it. I am simply referring to the complexity of encouraging people to view, engage, and click on your ads. Otherwise, what’s the point of creating business ads in the first place?

So, how can you develop outstanding ads that capture the attention of your target audience? What are some creative and innovative ways you can design your ads to achieve optimal results? Overall, how can you get the most return for your advertising investment?

Read on to learn how you can create stellar ads that will actually work for your business.

Coordinate Your Ads with Your Campaign’s Landing Page

When you are creating your Facebook ads, it’s essential to coordinate your ads to the content of your campaign’s landing page for two primary reasons.

First, you’ll receive a substantially higher Ad Relevance rating, giving you the incentive to pay less per click. Facebook Ads are starting to become more competitive, and its CPC rates are steadily rising as a result.

Next, align your ads with your landing pages can boost your conversion rate. When interested buyers click on one of your ads to make a purchase, they expect to receive exactly what they were promised in the ad. If this happens, your brand and your website can gain credibility with your customers who will likely do business with you again.

With the number of online scams spreading throughout the internet, trust is a determining factor to influence prospective customers to provide you with their payment information. Besides, the alignment of your ads and landing pages can effectively decrease your shopping cart drop-off rates.

Constantly Conduct Rigorous Experiments

Needless to say, all businesses are different. Each business has their own target audience, voice, and messages that they want to convey. Hence, you will only waste your time if you rely on industry research and experiments conducted by other businesses that attempt to inform you of how you should run your ad campaigns.

Try conducting your own experiments to generate marketing data you can use to analyze the advertising techniques that work for your business and the ones that don’t. One popular method of accomplishing this is to simply split test your ads.

You can begin by taking your best ad, making copies of it, and changing the headlines of each ad. When you’re finished, you’ll now have multiple ads to experiment with. During your experiment, record important data and metrics such as likes, shares, views, and comments to determine which ad receives the best response.

Once your first experiment is finished, move on to another element such as descriptions and images. Make sure you are testing one element at a time to gain the information you need to construct the perfect ad.

Invest in Video Ads

If you are creating fruitless ads that aren’t performing well on Facebook, it may be time to implement an innovative strategy to boost your ROI and conversion rates.

Investing in video ads is a perfect method of capturing the attention of your audience, and this option gives you the best opportunity to present a timely message in a creative fashion. Facebook allows businesses to create stunning video ads with their custom software, but it can initially be difficult brainstorming quality video ideas that will make your audience bow down and worship your products or services.

If you are struggling with the concept of producing the perfect video ad, take a look at Nike’s video ads for inspiration.

Nike Facebook Ad Video Embed Code

Nike’s video ads carry a motivational tone that successfully inspires their customers to purchase their products. Although Nike has a variety of celebrities at their disposal to market their products in these ads, you can craft an exceptional video and by just following this simple marketing principle: keep all of your ads relevant to your niche.

If you are running a barista, it doesn’t make much sense to create a video ad that’s full of promotions and no substance. What do individuals in your niche crave? For a barista, this obviously would be coffee.

Therefore, if you are promoting a free tasting event at your local barista, create a video ad that displays people drinking and enjoying your coffee and include a call to action at the end of the video. If a single picture is worth a thousand words, then a video should give you unlimited potential to spread your message to your audience.

Nike does this by displaying their products and allowing viewers to make their own decision about continuing with a purchase at the end of the video. Overall, investing in video ads are extremely efficacious for reaching your target audience. Nonetheless, be mindful that your video ads should tell your story and subtly promote your products or services.

Use Facebook Targeting to Your Ad Copy’s Advantage

When it comes to advertising your products or services online, it can be tempting to write your ad copy like you’re giving a speech on a stage. Though, if you want to be effective, create well-written ads that are personable. This means writing ads copy as if you’re selling to one person, and one person only.

This single individual is the person that you’ll have to convince to purchase your goods. Just as if you were a salesperson, you need to prioritize this person’s needs. Of course, your content has to be universal if it’s displayed on your website. However, Facebook gives advertisers the ability to narrow down granular audiences.

For example, if you are selling sportswear but want to create a message just for women, you can target your ads to women who are under 35 that live in the United States and are interested in exercising and fitness. Once you have your specific target audience, you can develop an ad that speaks directly to them.

Ensure That Your Ad Copy Matches Your Visuals

Most smaller business, usually in the B2B section, typically don’t have access to a ton of visuals for their social media networks. Consequently, when it’s time to create an ad, these businesses often scramble to find a last-minute image to accompany their campaign.

This can lead to creating an ad that mismatched. If your ad copy doesn’t align with your image, your audience will have no idea of what you’re advertising and your ad will be wasted.

Starbucks regularly posts captivating visuals that complement their ads. In their signature #StarbucksDate campaign ad, the copy mentioned that anyone who attended the event will receive a French press Caffe Verona with a delicious chocolate brownie. Do you know what images the company used in this ad?

You’re correct. The ad contained images of the French press Caffe Verona with the delicious chocolate brownie. By including a perfect visual in this ad campaign, Starbucks reminded its audience of what they would obtain if they attended their event, resulting in an outstanding ad.

Keep Your Call to Action Very Clear

The most effective Facebook ads have a clear and concise objective. Are you trying to obtain a lead, sell a product, or increase your brand awareness? Without this, your audience will see your ad, but they won’t know what to do or how to engage it.

Society6 sells and advertises custom cell phone cases, and their ads show the perfect example of how a call to action should be displayed.

This ad is much more than a beautiful depiction of quality iPhone cases; the ad contains a simple call to action that’s succinct and easily accessible to Facebook users. Once the image catches the eye of a prospective user, the only thing they will have to do is click “shop now” and they can move forward with their purchase.

Focus on the Offer, Not the Copy

Let’s begin this section by observing a quote left to us by the late Gary Halbert, one of the most brilliant advertisers of the 20th century.

“Strong copy will not overcome a weak offer but…in many cases, a strong offer will succeed in spite of weak copy written by marketing morons.”

In the broadest sense, Halbert communicated that a good offer will succeed on its own. This isn’t to say that excellent copy isn’t integral to an ad’s success, but the offer should always be attractive to be truly effective.

Let’s take a look at some examples.

Offer #1

Offer #2

Both of these offers are great, but there is only one offer that truly stands out. Which is it? You would be correct at selecting the second offer, and here’s why.

Although the first offer promises 50% off a women hoodie, the second offer will obviously elicit a more emotional response from its audience. Hence, it’s a very bankable offer. If you’re a dog lover, you will likely purchase the shirt just to feed the shelter dogs without realizing you just bought a shirt.

This isn’t to say that you should begin your own dog shelter, but you’ll only maximize your ad’s potential if you can sweeten up your offer. The best method of doing so is to sell an item without your audience realizing you are.

The fundamental lesson in all of this is to create compelling ads that don’t directly sell your products. Allow your offer to speak for itself, you’ll successfully entice your audience to transform themselves into valuable leads for your business.

About the author:

Rolando Herrera

VP of Marketing for Insignia SEO (Co-Founder)

Business Website: https://insigniaseo.com/

Personal Website: http://rolandolherrera.com/

I’m a marketing executive and entrepreneur that enjoys helping people and businesses grow their concepts. I’ve worked in corporate for Disney, Boston Market, and many others and helped them deliver their brands to consumers. I’m currently a co-founder of a marketing agency, Insignia SEO, with business in over 50 cities in the US. My expertise is in Digital Marketing strategies that use Organic Marketing, Content Marketing, Paid Search Advertising, and Social Media as the delivery of information to the consumer. I have over 10 years of experience in the Tech and Digital Marketing space and I’m passionate about the fruition of a concept in the marketplace.

Insights Startups

Indispensable Things You Must Consider When Hiring Mobile Application Development Company

Miley on September 10, 2018

The business is depending on mobile as mobile application market has grown significantly and playing important role in any business. Technology has growing day by day and small to large business is required to having their mobile applications. Therefore, it is unacceptable to make mistakes while hiring an app developer. You should be sure and careful before hire any app developer as it will make and break situation for you.

We are showing some common mistakes that you should avoid while hiring a mobile app developer for your mobile application.

Confirm the credibility of mobile app developer

This is the most important step before hiring an app developer or mobile app development company. You should ensure their skill sets; their portfolios, their past clients and much other required stuff. Also, try to connect with their past clients and discuss their experience with them, so you get a better idea before hiring any app developer.

Schedule an interview with the developer

This is another important fact irrespective to the company you should take interview of the mobile app developer who will engage in your project. You can better understand the developer’s skills, thoughts and whether s/he enables to understand your requirement or not.

Source: Pixabay

Don’t choose price instead of skills

We agree that budget main constraint of any project while hiring app developer for small and medium size company but that doesn’t mean you should give priority to price over technical skills. You should ensure you hire best app developers who have the right skill for your project and quite affordable, as well.

Don’t be in a hurry to go live

Developing a mobile application is not an easy process. It is a teamwork of all the stakeholders, designers, developers and QA team. None of the developers can able to create an application in no time, so beware from app developers who are promising to complete your application in a few days.

Expert in niche

You should hire an app developer who has worked previously in your industry, as it will give you confidence that they will complete your project successfully. Less knowledge of your niche will give you bad results and you have pitiable mobile application.

Source: Pixabay

Not owning your intellectual property

While you hire mobile app development company or hire an app developer, you should do contract with them for rights of your ownership of source code as well as other properties those are used in your application. It will be useful if you want to upgrade or any changes with other company.

Don’t continue with the unfinished team

You should be in daily communication with the development team and check the daily progress. At a certain level, you might feel that they are behind from the actual time & products are also not up to the mark and will not be able to achieve the deadline. At that time, you should move away from them and hire professional app developers that can fulfill your requirements and complete your project on time.

Conclusion:

We have tried to cover a few common mistakes business owners should avoid while hiring app developer. The world is full of competition and if you desire to stay ahead of your competitors then you should hire app developers who are professional and dedicated to their work. Theunpluggedweb is one of the best mobile app development company in the USA with the team of dedicated developers who are always keen to provide an innovative application for your business. We have expertise in iOS, Android, iPad, and many other technologies.

Insights Martech

Four Tips to Increase Your Followers on Instragam

Miley on September 3, 2018

Who else thinks that since Mark Zuckerberg purchased Instagram, the photo-sharing app has transitioned from being an ordinary fun app? In fact, the number of active users monthly has been over 600 million with over 90 million photos shared and over 1.6 billion likes between them according to this infographic, now that’s amazing.

However, since Instagram has changed a lot since its conception and release, it has also become more difficult to get followers now than ever before. Now, to get Instagram followers some fresh strategies and methods of approach are required. These methods have been used repeatedly by Instagram professionals and celebrities and have been proven to work effectively. In this article, we would be explaining five of them.

Here are four important ways to increase your followers on Instagram:

1. Have a complete Instagram profile

Nowadays, to get many Instagram followers, you must pay attention to what your Instagram page looks like. This includes having a picture, name, short bio and URL on your bio. This is very important if you want to get Instagram followers as it is the first chance you have to create that first impression and compel people to hit the “follow” button when they land on your page.

Your Instagram profile is now like your homepage, and it has become increasingly important to modify it and arrange it in the best way suitable as customers now look to Instagram to find new business.

2. Follow suggested users

One of the key methods of getting more followers is by actually following more people. One of the ways to do this is by going to the “Explore” section and start following some suggested users. About one-third of the people you follow will follow back if they like your Instagram profile. However, do not overdo this step as you don’t want to have more people you’re following than people following you. If you’re wanting to try and increase the number of followers you have, you can look at different avenues you could go down, such as using different Instagram growth services such as this one you can read about in these Kicksta reviews or others alike.

3. Create awesome visual content

Getting people to view your page is half the job most of the time. When you get them to your page, the quality of your profile and more importantly, content will propel them to hit the follow button without thinking twice. To achieve this, ensure that your pictures are clear enough with good back up captions relating to those pictures. Videos are also important to pass clear messages.

You should also check this list of tools for the easiest Instagram post scheduling.

4. Use Hashtags

Ensure you use hashtags that are related to your posts. For example, use hashtags like #WhiteHouse #DonaldTrump if you take a picture with the President in the White House. You can also use hashtags that are not totally related to your post to expose you to a wider audience.

Getting many Instagram followers in this day is the start of something big and important in your business and brand, so be sure to take the measures listed above accurately to achieve this step.

Products Startups

Online Videos; Why Are They So Successful?

Miley on September 3, 2018

If you’re a regular Internet user, you’ve probably seen more than one online video and more than two in the last few weeks. Don’t you find it much more comfortable to see the information you were looking for in a video, with images and a voice that explains it to you?

Online videos have become one of the most used tools by app development companies. It facilitates the promotion of their offers and services and reaches different sectors of the population. Although different individuals have different interests, they share a common interest: the use of the Internet.

We all know that the internet is available to any person, regardless of his/her location.

Advantages of online videos

However, online videos have many other advantages. Keep reading, and I’ll tell you the most relevant ones:

Low production cost

The ease offered by technological advances to be able to record on portable media such as mobile phones has made it possible for online videos to be possible not only for big companies with large capital. Online videos can be used by small businesses and even local businesses. It is not necessary to make online videos that rival the Hollywood blockbusters. However, you should not publish videos that offer a bad image of your business.

If you are a large company that has television ads, you always have the option of linking your online video with the advertising spot, creating synergies. Also, since the Internet allows you to measure the interaction of online video with the user, this will allow you to improve the effectiveness of television advertisements.

Do online videos impact on a company’s image?

It refers to catching the attention of the receiver. Online videos are important given its high attractiveness, which also allows certain brands or products to be remembered more easily.

Another important aspect of online videos is that it improves the differentiation of your business against competitors. It allows you to connect with the receiver through the images and emotions that you can awaken in him. All this translates into an increase in user confidence. It is necessary to note the need for creativity as a decisive factor for a video to trend or not. If you are successful, it is likely that your online video will be shared by the different social networks (the famous and sought after viral effect). This will increase your visibility and boost your sales increase.

Improve the permanence time of your web page

What is that? So simple: it refers to the time in which a user is on certain pages. Statistics have shown that users spend more time on websites that have online and explanatory videos than on those that does not.

It also improves SEO

It is also important to note how online videos improve the SEO positioning of your website. It is known that Google loves videos. So, if you add some videos to your website, you will improve your ranking position on Google search.

Do not let them copy you

A common and quite penalized practice by Google is the copying of content from other websites. However, copying an online advertising video is much more difficult. Therefore, in addition to enjoying greater security that you will not be plagiarized, you make sure that this one will be unique.

Do you want to make online videos to boost your business?

It is important to make online videos that will promote the image of your company. You should meet with top web development companies to hire WordPress developers to help you create websites where you can easily use online videos.

Do you want to make online videos?

Follow these steps when creating your website.

The first step is planning.

It is essential to determine, before its development, what are the objectives you want to achieve with your online video. You also have to know your target audience and be able to direct your video towards them.

The second step focuses on the recording of the online video itself.

It is important to clarify the importance of short videos, which provide more advantages than long videos. This is due to several reasons. In the first place, users do not usually watch long videos. It is also easier and faster for companies to create several short videos than a long one. Finally, the editing phase of these online videos is much simpler. It is also necessary to take into an account that there are many users who watch videos on portable platforms, whose reproduction is faster if those videos are short.

The next step is the editing of your online video.

A good tip is to insert the link to your web page in the video. In this way, if the user is interested, he can access your website to get more information. Another important thing is to include the logo or title that identifies and shows what the video is about. This will make it easier for the user to know what they are going to see. And, finally, you cannot stop making “a call to action” by encouraging the recipient to use or buy what offers.

Now that you have your online video upload it to YouTube.

Do not worry if you have no idea how to do it; it’s the easiest thing to do. First, you have to create a YouTube channel for free. Then you only have to upload the video by adding the relevant information. I recommend that you do not forget this last one since fields like the title or the description make it easier for the user to know what they are seeing.

Approve!

If you want to increase the visibility of your online video, you only have to upload it to other social platforms, such as Twitter or Facebook. This will multiply the number of visits and the possibilities of sale.

Do you want to know the success of your online video? Well, go to the number of reproductions and statistics that the video shows you and thus measure your results.

Author Bio:

Kenneth Evans is a Content Marketing Strategist for Top App Development Companies, a research platform for top app development companies in USA, UK, India, UAE, Australia and around the world. He has been contributing to various blogging platforms and Forums.

Martech

The Importance of Marketing in Dental Industry

Miley on September 1, 2018

In the previous decades, dentists relied on the word of the mouth, if you pardon the pun, and community reputation to build their practices and business. However, today dental health practitioners need to adopt digital marketing in building their new image. By the year 2021, the total global revenue for the dental industry is projected to reach $36.8 billion, with strong indicators that the driving force behind such a revenue surge is going to be the shift towards digital marketing. If you’re not really sure about how to market your dental business, let’s take a look at the most promising trends.

The current situation

According to the American Dental Association (ADA) reports, in 2016 there were more than 196,000 licensed dental practitioners in the country, including those in special fields like orthodontists and oral surgeons. The Australian Dental Workforce In Numbers Report published by the Australian Dental Industry Association (ADIA) shows that the number of dentists in Australia grows by 2% annually, increasing to 16,781 in the twelve months to December 2016. Such figures have prompted dentists, like many other businesses, to look for new ways to differentiate their practices from the clinics down the road.

High population mobility

According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, about 12% of people move to a new location every year. To take Australia for comparison, the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that 350,000 people have moved between states and territories in 2015. When it comes to overseas migration, Australia is the only country that received more historic migration from the US than the US received from it. The ABS data shows, however, that Americans in Australia aren’t overwhelmingly retirees, but largely people in pursuit of work and schooling, motivated by the stout economic growth and shared language. So why are these migrations important for the dental industry?

Marketing based on location

Because with each person or family moving to a new community, there’s the issue of finding a new dental provider. The increase in mobile usage has driven more marketing strategies to optimize local marketing approaches. Optimizing your local SEO is an important move for staying ahead of the competition. One way of doing it is utilizing local keywords in your SEO strategy, or for example, if the client is browsing for the best Chatswood orthodontist, they can use a simple Google search or a specialized service finding social media.

Smart content leads to value

One of the ways that the digital world is changing the dental industry is, by the way, people value and choose a dentist. While in the past it used to be the respect and authority that win the industry and community, today it’s no longer the case. So, when you’re marketing your dental business, you need to appeal to a new mindset, which is more interested in what value you can add to their lives than 20 years of great service and experience that stand behind you. In 2018 and onwards, the dental industry is expected to make a strong turn towards providing value-based content, focused primarily on the customer, rather than on your dental business. A website that provides valuable information to the clients on their landing page is going to get a much higher response than content that only highlights your experience and success in helping clients with gum problems.

Optimize for mobile

Mobile optimization today is no longer an option, it’s a necessity. Since more people use mobile devices than desktop and laptop computers for their daily searches, your site and SEO need to be optimized to reach them. This means replacing boxy lengths of text with a captivating homepage and an easy contact icon. Mobile users also love videos, so if you have one, your page is guaranteed to see a surge in visits. Finally, include the same-day appointment option and the appointment schedule calendar on your landing page.
These simple digital marketing strategies will ensure that years of your dental practitioner experience find their way to the new clients, who are always looking for the best value for their money but much quicker to make an appointment if your local SEO is done right.

Development Insights Products

Tech Trends To Help You Save Money This Fall

Miley on August 30, 2018

Why not start the fall off with some of the latest gadgets that will help you save energy in your home? Many of these appliances come with remote controls or an app for your phone that will help you keep track of exactly what amount of electricity is being used in your home and when. Follow this guide to stay up to date on the latest technology trends.

Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats are the next big thing for your home because they offer you complete control over your home’s central air which is good for the homeowner who wants to use the least amount of energy possible. They have tracking features that follow your heating and cooling patterns and they respond to your lifestyle in order to maximize efficiency and save you money. Smart thermostats can be programmed to run only when you’re actually at home and can often be connected to Wi-Fi and controlled remotely from your phone. Just remember if you are going to purchase a smart thermostat then investing in a home warranty plan can help you to safeguard the systems and appliances in your home. Home warranty plans are surprisingly affordable nowadays and can be purchased in most states, so if you live in Missouri you can find plenty of helpful home warranty resources on the First American website here: https://homewarranty.firstam.com/homeowner/home-warranty/missouri

Tankless Water Heaters

Water heating accounts for a significant amount of your total heating costs so why not upgrade your heating tank to the most efficient technology possible? The newest environmentally friendly trend is a tankless water heater that takes up only a small amount of space because there is no storage tank. Some units only turn on when your use your faucets which could save you hundreds of dollars a year.

The benefits of new water heaters outweigh the initial cost because installing one could help you qualify for rebates for energy efficient homes and using one will drastically reduce your energy bill because you’ll be using less energy to heat water. There are lots of options, so be sure to do your research into the best tankless water heater reviews to see which unit will be the best fit for your home.

Energy Saving Power Strip

Did you know that your phone charger still uses power even when your phone isn’t plugged into it? Smart power strips are beneficial to any home because they eliminate wasted energy by ensuring that your appliances aren’t running while you’re not at home and they help reduce cord clutter around outlets. Many of the newer models can be controlled by a remote or by an application on your phone so there is no need to waste any more energy when you leave appliances plugged in.

Smart Lighting Solutions Make Life Easier

Turning the lights off when you leave a room can save you a lot of money on your energy bill but it’s easy to forget to do. Many people are switching to responsive lightbulbs that are activated by motion sensors so their lights will only turn on once you’re in the room. Others are using smart LED bulbs that are designed to respond to an app on your phone that allows you to control the lights all over your house by timing them and dimming them to suit your mood. You can even get lights that change colours.

Fall is a great time to update the gear in your home. Not only will these gadgets help you reduce the amount of energy used in your home in order to save you money, they’ll help you show your friends that you’re on top of your game.

Insights

Why Your Pixel Is An Essential Addition To Halloween

Miley on August 30, 2018

Whether you’re planning a Halloween party for your friends or you’re a parent looking forward to taking their kid trick-or-treating, you’ll want to check out this list. From practical apps to stylish accessories, these tips will make sure your Halloween’s a scream this year.

Find inspiration

If you’re finding it hard to come up with a unique costume idea or the perfect cocktail for your soiree, consider downloading the POPSUGAR Halloween app. It’s a convenient one-stop-shop for all things Halloween. You can use it to find DIY costume ideas and makeup tutorials to make sure your children’s outfits put the other kids’ attempts to shame. Of course, there’s no age limit to Halloween, so you’ll find a helpful section for adult’s singles and couples costumes ideas. It’s also a great resource for those planning on hosting a Halloween party for any age, with spooky cocktail suggestions, recipes, and decoration how-tos just a tap away.

Dress it up

As the official day of dressing up, it only makes sense your handset does the same. The Pixel skin is like a costume for your phone but without the dollar store makeup or Party City accessories. They’re a year-round accessory that fits around your Pixel with the utmost precision when you shop from a skin designer like dbrand. You can choose from a catalogue of true colours and organic textures to find a design that matches your Halloween look, or you can create a purple and orange carbon fibre Pixel skin that goes with everything.

The high-quality skins from dbrand are more than just spooky accessories for your Halloween. They’re made with authentic 3M vinyl to deliver the highest grade materials that protect your handset from scratches, grime, and sticky leftovers from a Halloween haul. It also adds traction to an otherwise slippery device, reducing the chances of someone dropping your Pixel to the floor, where it could break. There’s a 45 percent increase in claims filed for damaged phones on Halloween, so it’s one of the most dangerous days for your handset. Adding one in time for the 31st could save you a lot of grief on the big day.

Take the best photos

What’s the point of dressing up if people aren’t going to see your amazing costume? If you plan on taking as many selfies as possible, download the free Ghost Lens app. This simple editing tool helps you take the creepiest photos and videos possible. It helps you create a delightfully eerie photography by overlaying backgrounds and filters to your shot. You can add special effects, like the app’s clone ghost photo video editor, to make it seem like you’ve captured a ghost or two.

Use a tracker to find your lost phone

It’s not unusual to hear a ghost story or two in the lead-up to Halloween, but the scariest story you’ll hear this October is about how easy it is to lose your phone. You’ll be following your kids all over the neighbourhood. It’s easy to lose track of your phone when you’re constantly pulling it out to take pictures of your little gremlins. If you’re the one dressing up, it’s rare to find a costume with enough pockets. Unless the costume hinges on a pair of khakis, you’re probably going to have to carry your Pixel in your hand. You could set it down and forget it somewhere.

To prevent this horror story from becoming a true-life anecdote of your Halloween, it’s important you care for your Pixel carefully wherever the holiday takes you. When trick-or-treating, keep your pixel in a secure pocket of your jacket or bag to make sure it doesn’t accidentally fall out along the way. As a back-up, sync a Tile tracking device to your Pixel before you head out for the evening. While most commonly used to find things like keys and wallets, the Tile device can help find a lost phone.

Hopefully, you won’t have to use the Tile, but it’s better to be prepared than the opposite. Add a tile tracker to your Halloween checklist, as well as the other apps and accessories listed here today. They can help all the ghosts and ghouls celebrating the holiday have their best Halloween yet.

Development Insights

Do You Want to Improve Your Website Ranking? Seven Useful Tactics to Implement

Miley on August 29, 2018

Are you planning your content marketing strategy? If yes, SEO is the primary objective. Expert marketers work in a way that’s something like this –they have an SEO plan, a list of premium keywords, they start to blog actively and have the website optimized. There’s also a plan for on and off page SEO. The majority of marketers don’t find this to be a problem.

Time, however, is a concern. Also, the weekly tracking often makes you guess, cross your fingers, pray and also consult informative blogs to learn about the advanced SEO trends and tricks. Maximizing leads and high-end website visits are essential. Hence, your content marketing plan requires some help. Also, if you get to see that your competitors and other market players are ranking above you, then there’s work that you need to do.

One thing that you should also consider is going through an audit – you can even use a free SEO audit tool. That will help to keep you on the right track during this process.

So, do you want to improve your website ranking and outshine your competitors? If yes, you can refer to the seven useful SEO tips discussed below.

1. Carry out a competitor analysis

The strongest SEO tactics to increase your website ranks is conducting extensive competitor analysis and research. The first step is to recognize the principal competitors, either through geography, industry, keywords or any other essential aspects. An in-depth analysis will enable you to discern areas where your competitor is doing better than you. It will help you know your weakness. Any competitor analysis that you conduct should include the following activities:

Keyword analysis
Content analysis
Link building analysis

Additionally, tools such as Ahrefs, SpyFu, and SEMrush are useful in website optimization.

2. Evaluate your back-links

Back-links are an essential aspect of a sound SEO strategy. But not every back-link is equally created. Few links will naturally perform better than the rest. Hence, managing performance is essential. It is useful in narrowing down on many other kinds of back-links that are important. Alternatively, you can also understand the websites that are essential for generating high-end traffic.

Are there a few links that are not adding value to the search ranks? If yes, then it is essential to do away with these links. You can use tools such as Aherfs and Majestic that are useful in conducting an in-depth back-link analysis for the website. Want to get professional assistance on this? You can reach out to names like LA SEO Kotton Grammer if you are in Los Angeles and others, to have access to expert guidance.

3. Mobile optimization

The mobile search market is expanding rapidly. Also, marketers have been anticipating for long that mobile might become more impactful than desktops. Back in 2017, mobile took the lead. Today, it records for over a half of global web traffic.

There have been several criterions for mobile development. It is not just essential for websites to look decent. Sites also need to load quickly; else the online visitors will bounce off to other websites. Opting for a stripped-down version of HTML, Google asserts that the AMP optimized web pages generally load 85% faster. Hence, if your site is not optimized for mobile, it’s crucial that you do it today.

4. Make use of a safe HTTP

When you shift to Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) for encryption, you automatically witness many advantages. Some of them are listed below:

Privacy and security: By securing communications between servers and users, the scopes for third party damage or interference reduce significantly. The outcome is high trust from both web browsers and users. And you get to see the warning signs when you browse through the non-HTTPS sites.
Enhanced rankings: With the growing trustworthiness, the majority of websites that have shifted to HTTPS will witness an increase in their search ranks. You can also expect to see a vast number of traffic and referrals gradually. Google recommends secure sites more than the others.

According to statistic, after mid-2017 about 31% of web domain has shifted to HTTPS. And this number has been increasing ever since. It is because secure communication protocols are becoming significant around the globe. Right after you shift to HTTPS, there might be a dip in the search result performance and site rank. It is because of the modifications you make to the URL base. It is for a short span of time, and you’ll witness increased website ranks soon.

5. Optimize the web page speed

The internet speed has increased. Hence, there are high expectations concerning the website performance from all the mainstream users. Based on a study by Adobe, about 40% of the users are going to move away from a website if it takes excess time to load.

Want to boost the website loading time? There’s a lot you can do for the same for example choosing the fastest web hosting provider out there so that your server-side related loading speeds are top notch. And the majority of this is easy to implement. For instance, resort to high-compression for your pictures to minimize the load time. You might also want to make use of a Content Delivery Network (CDN), which enables your global users to have access to your web content.

6. Voice search optimization

As you attempt to optimize mobile devices, incorporating a better voice search functionality is a smart call. The primary objective of the same is to concentrate on the voice search that is the source for “Featured Snippet” as Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa that will read out data from the sources.

7. Making use of structured data

The website crawlers have gotten more advanced and gained expertise over the years. However, what is apparent to a human user is entirely vague to a machine. The outcome is, occasionally, the site crawlers might make mistakes or overlook a data when your website is indexed. The solution, therefore, is to make use of structured data.

Making use of structured data is formatting your site code to an identical layout. When the search engine crawlers index your website, they will be able to gather precious information. It is because it got designed in the expected format.

The online market space is getting flooded with new companies and brands every day. Every company wants their brand to outshine the other market players. Everyone wants to experience increased website ranks. And to be able to witness this consistently needs serious work. You can opt-in for the above-discussed SEO tactics that are tried and tested and are meant to enhance the website rankings.

Development Insights Martech

Video Marketing – Tips To Succeed With Your Online Videos

Miley on August 21, 2018

Video marketing is a sales strategy in which audiovisual pieces are used to promote a product or service, mainly online. In short, it is about adding videos to your online marketing strategy, through different platforms.

Here, you will see the different reasons why you should use video marketing in your online strategy to improve your communication to your target audience, as well as a series of tips and the different channels that you can use to broadcast your audiovisual messages.

This type of marketing is booming in our society; you have to take a look at the data of recent months, which reveal that nine out of ten people see the videos of the brands they like. And more than 65% of these people visit the website of the brand in question after viewing the video.

A bit of data

The online audiovisual content has a significant consideration today. It has become a key player among the population. An average user watches 66 minutes of online video per day. The audiovisual content already exceeds 70% of the entire volume of the network, estimating that it will reach 84% by the end of 2018 according to a study carried out by Accenture.

The so-called Generation Y or “Millennial” (young people between 18 and 34 years old) is having a significant weight. They are modifying the way to receive advertising. This generation has changed television hours by watching online video. These viewers watch 20 hours per week of video on the internet, compared to 8 hours of television (Adweek data). This means that television campaigns are less seen by this young public. It is therefore imperative that companies adapt and seek new ways to reach this part of the population.

Why you should use video marketing

The reasons for using video marketing are innumerable. These are some of them:

Message: A message transmitted audiovisually is much more effective, precise and comprehensible to the general public. One minute transmits the same information as 1.8 million words. A video allows you to express a message with many more resources, getting a more creative and emotional message. Also, when reaching the user through several senses, 80% of consumers remember the brand better if they have seen an audiovisual content about it.
Leisure: Watching videos does not require any effort on the part of the viewer, and they are associated with leisure. Therefore, it is easier to capture and maintain the user’s attention than with a written text.
Virality: Audiovisual material is the most susceptible format to be shared and therefore to be a viral content. 90% of shared videos appeal to emotional and humorous content. The important thing is to know what the audience is looking for so that more people share the content.
Purchase: The audiovisual content of a page helps the decision of online buyers. 85% of users say that they are willing to buy pages with videos about the product, as it makes it more attractive and provides extra information about its content or operation.
SEO: The videos help the positioning of your web page. Specifically, there are 50 times more chances to appear on the first page of Google. Thanks to audiovisual content, users spend more time on the website for its reproduction. Also, the more you share the video, the more visits your web portal will have.

Types of Video Marketing

To know what is best suited to your company, we will differentiate between different types of video marketing:

Advertisers: They are classic television spots, which can also be distributed by online media.

Corporate: Those that show the functions and values of the company. It is the presentation of the entity in an audiovisual way.

Portfolio: They show the different professional jobs of the company so that the client sees their best work.

Demonstrative: They are the ones that show the operation, characteristics and advantages of a product or service. Highlighting its value and importance, and thus encouraging its sales.

Tutorials: Explanatory pieces that offer training on one of the company’s products, positioning themselves as experts in the sector.

Testimonials: They reflect the experiences and opinions of real customers about products and services of the company.

Events: They show the presence of the company in important events of the sector, increasing its value and leadership in the guild.

Broadcast channels for Video Marketing

For a video marketing campaign to be a success, the distribution platform must be chosen correctly. The most successful channels are the following:

Email marketing: Thanks to the video marketing implanted in the mail, you ensure the attention of the viewer from the first moment you open the mail since the video will be played immediately, thanks to tools such as Autoplay. The success of this method is explained in that it is the user who has asked to receive information about the company and will pay much more attention and interest to a video than to a written text. Also, we will avoid distractions from the traditional advertising of e-mail providers.

Youtube: It is the largest and most important platform for videos on the internet. In a month, more than 5,000 million hours of audiovisual content are displayed, uploaded by the users of the platform.

There are different ways to use YouTube. The first is to use free video marketing. It consists of uploading videos of the brand to its official channel, which can be viewed through a link on the company’s website, or on the Youtube platform. The second is to use tools like Trueview. With the payment of a fee, the video of your brand will appear at the beginning of the video that the user wants to see, as an advertisement. Videos of less than three minutes are the most successful. Short form video content doesn’t require the viewer to concentrate for very long, so you need to focus on making your videos engaging and high impact in the shorter run-time.

If you feel this is your strong suit, you might benefit from directing your marketing efforts to a platform like TikTok, which is highly popular with the younger generation. This can be a lucrative market to target, especially if you were utilise online resources, such as this site which can be your complete guide to buying TikTok followers and other similar platforms. Using social media growth services can give your account the social proof required to get potential customers on-board with your business, having a large amount of followers gives the perception that you’re well established and trustworthy. Combining this with high quality content can help you to organically grow in no time.

Other broadcast channels for video marketing are Vimeo and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Tips to succeed in video marketing

Finally, here are some tips to help you succeed with your video marketing campaign:

Starts strong: The first seconds of your video marketing is the most important. You must capture the viewer’s attention from the start.

Pass a message: Your video should convey valuable information about the product or service that is promoted, convincing the viewer that yours is the best in the competition.

Be consistent: If you make videos promoting your brand frequently, the viewer will know it better and will tend to consider it as the main one in case you need a product.

Feelings: Videos that use humour or emotions are the most persuasive when it comes to selling a brand. Try to provoke an emotional response. This way, the viewer will remember the brand much better.

Brevity: A video marketing should last less than two minutes. The less, the better, to avoid taking the time of the users and having a bad image of the brand.

Action: Your video should end with a call to action. A web page or purchase link is enough. This serves so that the spectator becomes a client.

Author Bio:

Melissa Crooks is a Content Writer who writes for Hyperlink Infosystem, one of the leading app development companies in New York, USA & India that holds the best team of skilled and expert app developers. She is a versatile tech writer and loves exploring the latest technology trends, entrepreneur and startup column.