Category: Insights

Phone Apps for Fitness

Miley on June 17, 2020

Over the past few years, fitness apps have become popular, especially among the younger generation. One of the biggest reasons for the surge is the convenience they provide. Using an app, a person can work out at any time, from anywhere.

The Demand for Apps

Apps are a part of nearly every adult’s life. People use them for things like finding food, entertainment, retail supplies, and for social media. The new technology lets you access almost anything with a push of a button.

Apps for Exercising

Maintaining physical fitness is important. Until recently, you needed to go to a gym or fitness center in order to attend classes. Nowadays, all you need to do is select an app and your workout begins. Smart TVs and iPhones make it easier than ever to have a virtual instructor directly in front of you, allowing you to mimic the movements and keep in time. You can find Pilates and yoga classes, floor exercise sessions, and dance routines and apps for performing on workout bikes and cross-trainers. Of course, you will need to have the equipment as necessary on hand to take part.

Apps to Track Weight Loss

A big part of achieving your fitness goals is maintaining a healthy weight. Thankfully, along with workout apps, there are apps that allow you to monitor your calorie intake daily versus the number of calories required to sustain your desired weight. This lets you slowly reduce your intake of calories while also developing better eating habits and smaller portions. Nutrition apps can help you remain motivated to achieve goals.

Fitness tracking Apps

Ever wonder if you are working out too often or not enough? Today, you can remove the guesswork with an app that tracks fitness. Some of the features on these apps include a count of steps, the number of stairs you climb, and how long you run. Many of them also have the ability to save daily results as well as your routines for convenient monitoring of your progress. Devices that you wear often work in conjunction with the apps. One such app, the Runkeeper, lets users track activities, monitor progress, and offer training tips prior to an event.

Benefits of Fitness Apps

Not everyone has time to attend the local gym two to three times each week. With fitness apps, you can get in an extreme workout while at home or on vacation. Fitness apps will help you burn more calories, target areas of the body that need improvement, build lean muscles, and achieve a fit physique. Nutrition apps help you learn the right foods to eat, the number of calories you consume, and the recommended number of calories you need to consume to sustain your desired weight.

Getting the Most Out of Your Fitness App

Of course, if you don’t use the app, you won’t reap its benefits. Just like having a gym membership, you have to go and workout in order to lose weight and tone your body. The good news is that they are convenient, so accessing it when you have free time is easy. The key to your success is to remain motivated. It’s also beneficial to switch up workouts. For instance, one day do aerobics and the next session does cardio dance. This way your workouts will remain invigorating instead of stale, keeping you interested, and performing at your best.

Maintaining a healthy body is something that’s easier than ever to achieve. There are hundreds of fitness apps available. Select a few that provide the features you want, and then see which ones work best for you.

Development Insights Martech SaaS

8 Reasons Social Media Can Help a Small Business Grow Better and Faster

Miley on June 17, 2020

Are you still not convinced of the power of social media? What benefits does it bring to your small business?

Social media has approximately 2 billion users worldwide, and chances are, most of your target users are already there. That’s what makes it a crucial part of the marketing strategy of your brand.

So, while your business should be on social media, sometimes, this is easier said than done.

In this post, we’ll walk you through the eight reasons how social media can help you grow business.

1. Social media is the most cost-effective way

Social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to put your brand out there. Signing up and creating a business account on major social media platforms is easy. Now, if you decide to tap into paid marketing, you can start small, to get a better idea of what to expect.

Being cost-effective with your business is important, as it helps you have a greater ROI (return on investment) and make you have a bigger budget for your other marketing initiatives.

By investing a little money and time in it, you can increase your conversions and eventually get the return of investment on the money that you’ve invested.

2. It helps in promoting your business

When using advanced options like targeting and remarketing, it easier to address your message to your audience that is interested in your products and services.

In social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, paid advertising here is relatively cheap, and with a solid social media strategy, all your efforts will eventually pay off.

3. It helps in driving website traffic

A strong social media presence is vital in attracting traffic to your site. Not only this helps drive traffic to your page but it enhances your search engine rankings as well. That’s how important social media for small businesses.

As you’re probably aware by now, SEO is an enduring process that lets you stay on top of Google’s search results.

The total number of visits, keywords you’ve chosen, external links, and your website content has a significant impact on how you’ll measure up against your competitors on search engines. It would also help to know key social media data like the number of Twitter users to help with current campaigns.

Social media helps you improve these factors, not only with the direct traffic that you’re getting but with shared links as well through the social media profiles of other users.

4. It helps generate more conversion

With increases visibility on social media, this will provide your business more opportunities for conversion.

Every video, image, blog post, or comment will lead more viewers to your site and boost your traffic. Social media helps your business create a more positive impression because it humanizes your brand.

When you share content, comment, or post updates on social media it helps personify your brand. The thing is, a lot of people would want to do business with other people, and not just companies or organizations.

So, taking the time to develop relationships on social media helps bring positive results on your conversion, and overall sales. The better impression you’re creating for visitors, the more they’ll think of your business when the need for a particular product or service arises.

5. Social media induces loyalty

According to a report, brands that regularly engage with their audience on social media has increased brand loyalty.

When your brand is visible and active on social media sites, you tend to be more approachable and credible in the eyes of your customers.

So, if you can build on creating more personal and genuine relationships with your customers, customers are likely to switch to other brands or with your competitors.

Showing them that you’re human will make you feel more approachable and friendly, rather than just another business that sells goods, and is easily replaceable. It’s because it’s easier to switch to another brand or company, but it’s hard to dump something that is already close to you.

6. It helps improve your sales

A good and solid social media strategy requires a lot of investment. Your return on investment (ROI) needs to be considered. An excellent social media strategy can have a positive impact on your sales, as it helps boost your brand exposure, allows more people to talk about your brand or service, and exposes your business to a much wider audience.

The end goal here, of course, is to convert users into a paying customer and boost your sales. When you interact with your customers, you can form a certain degree of trust in them, and which could translate to more sales in the future.

7. It boosts your business’s search engine visibility

Now, let’s talk more about SEO. Search engine optimization, or SEO, helps boost your brand’s visibility organically. More often than not, SEO plays a key role in your current marketing plan. After all, the majority of search traffic falls on the first page of search engines.

So, if you’re not on the first page, the majority of your buyers wouldn’t come across your page. What they’ll find- is your competitors instead.

Now, that’s where social media comes in. It isn’t just your presence on social media that would help you rank better on search engines. The better the content you share on these platforms, the more linking relationships are created as users share and engage with your posts.

That could be a huge boost in your business on organic search results. That’s precisely why you couldn’t afford to forget all about social media, for SEO purposes.

8. It helps you track your competition

Social media allows you to keep your finger on the pulse, not just for the sake of marketing practices, but also with the strategies used by your competitors.

You can always learn a lot from your competition. What their strengths and weaknesses are, and how you can apply it to your own strategy and improve on it.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you’ll have a better understanding of how social media could help your small business. Test the types of content and strategies that work on you, learn from it, and constantly make improvements.

Development Insights Startups

Optimizing Your Small Business Office

Miley on June 16, 2020

Implementing minor changes in the office can boost your output levels. Focus on the office environment and its effect on your workers. What can you do to make them comfortable and more productive?

Just use the following techniques:

1. Technology Upgrades

Why should your employees continue to use old outdated computers when there are better versions in the market? You might think that you’re minimizing costs by using older equipment, but you’re actually losing a lot of money due to inefficiencies. Today’s typical worker bee workload requires computers with high processing power. With this in mind, it’s imperative for small business owners to use new technology to their advantage. Doing so boosts productivity, improves employee performance, and minimizes the hassles associated with using outdated tech.

2. Change the Décor

The office can inspire or demotivate your workers. If there are things everywhere, it will just seem too crowded and unnerving. While it’s best to hire someone with knowledge and experience in workplace interior decoration, there are several things small business owners can do themselves. Remove clutter from the office space. Put all files in the organizer. Add plants to the workplace to purify the air and bring nature inside. Plants can also motivate your employees because they have a calming effect. As a result, your workers will be more relaxed and productive. You should also move the desks closer to the windows since looking outside and being exposed to natural light can reduce stress.Finally, removing clutter from the office space is a very effective tool for increasing productivity, so why not learn more about the options for hiring a dumpster for a few days to clear out all the stuff you no longer need.

3. Provide Healthy Snacks

A healthy and nutritious breakfast in the morning can leave you satisfied for the rest of the day. Have an assortment of fresh fruit and other healthy foods ready in the morning and for meetings. That way, workers get a healthy start to their day and a mental boost during otherwise difficult to follow meetings. Your workers get up early in the morning to get to the office and serve customers. Some of them don’t have time for breakfast. The least you can do is provide them with healthy snacks that will give them the energy to serve your customers well.

4. Marketing Analysis

Your business cannot make money if you don’t market yourself. You don’t have to spend big. You can use paid advertising and word of mouth. Interestingly, not all of your marketing efforts will be successful. There are some that will lead to more sales than others. But how do you know them? It’s simple. Use the analysis tools provided by the search engine. Find out how customers find your business. Is it through social media or organic search? How can you improve the website layout to increase inquiries and sales? Which SEO optimization tools should you be focusing on?

5. Better Financial Management Techniques

Don’t assume that you can keep track of all the business finances because you’re a startup. Hire a professional bookkeeper from the beginning. If they’re too expensive, hire a freelancer because they are more affordable. When you keep proper records, you avoid cash flow problems. You should also keep up with the latest news in financial management because you could learn something new that could help your business.

Since your employees are still working from home, you can use this time to reorganize the office and implement the suggestions mentioned above. For example, if you take a better look at your finances, you’ll find the loopholes that make you lose money. You can optimize your business and increase your earnings by avoiding risky and wasteful financial behaviors.

Development Insights Martech

How to Create ROI in PR and Marketing in 2020

Miley on June 12, 2020

For the layman, ROI (Return on investment) is a way to measure and evaluate the efficiency of an investment. However, it is not used to measure any form on investment on a small scale, it is looking at an investment’s and company’s long-term gains. It can be difficult to calculate ROI on that scale, so this guide will show the best ways to measure it and how to use it in your digital PR strategy.

What is ROI in PR?

It is important to understand that ROI is generally split into two categories; monetary gains like sales revenue increases and earned media gains that increase a startup’s reputation and credibility. Businesses are quite familiar with a company’s monetary gains because it has existed before social media and technology. However, nowadays it is important not to neglect earned media gains if you want your startup to be successful. If you want to achieve an accurate ROI for your PR strategy, it is important to understand both.

ROI for PR today

What is a press release and what’s its purpose?

In order to understand press releases, you can take a look at the Media Coverage press kit to get a detailed understanding and step-by-step guide to write a press release. Basically, the goal of a press release is to gain media coverage by sending it to media outlets. It is one of the main components to a well-balanced PR and media strategy. Take a more detailed look by looking at “How to pitch to journalists”.

ROI’s can be a bit difficult to measure and while impressions and media mentions can provide a sense of efficiency in a PR campaign. However, they can be meaningless if you can’t contextualize the numbers around well-defined strategy goals.

It is important to understand that you need to constantly be checking your metrics because things are constantly changing whether in a negative or positive way. Just judging and analyzing your initial PR gains can be a big mistake if you are only considering site sessions or publication appearances. Metrics could lead you to believe that the PR campaign is going better or worse than it actually is.

If your site creates content designed to build social proof, looking at the metrics and amount of content impressions would be pointless because there would be another way to measure its industry credibility by lead conversion rates.

In order to correctly use metric, you would need to give the data obtained a framework that describes your PR strategies’ purpose. Here are some that you may use to measure the ROI of your PR campaigns:

Page Impressions – Every time a page on your site appears on a Google ad or SERP.
Page Views – Every time a page on your site is clicked on a Google ad or SERP.
Page Click Through Rate – The ratio of page impressions to page views
Social Media Likes/Shares – The amount of interactions visitors have with one of your social media posts.
Bounce Rate – The ratio of single-page sessions on your site to multiple page sessions.
Average Page View Duration – The average time visitors spent on a particular page.
Goal Conversions – The number of measurable goals completed, such as scheduled calls.

USE S.M.A.R.T GOALS!

How to measure PR ROI

At the moment, there are two strategies to measure ROI in PR

Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles

The Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles has shown the importance of measurable goals and places emphasis on achievements and it does it without letting go of the less attainable metrics because there are many components of success.

It also takes into account new technology such as social media and understands its role in ROI PR and it deserves the same attention as any type of monetary ROI for PR strategy.

However, what the principles lack is that they do not make perfect and concrete steps towards a framework for ROI calculations

In spite of their clear support for quantifying returns on PR in a meaningful way, the principles don’t enable startups with a mathematical formula to draw objective conclusions from their PR efforts.

Advertising Value Equivalency (AVE)

A more simple way to measuring all ROI activity, it multiplies the amount of ad space or “seconds” mentioned on a broadcast network by a medium’s advertising rate.

The only problem is that it can be considered to be an outdated system of measuring ROI

How are we measuring PR ROI?

Here are some of the factors that people use to measure ROI in their PR campaigns, You can also get a detail look at this at “The Ultimate Guide to Paid, Earned, and Owned Media” where I discuss the important types of media and how using the combined PESO model to create a successful PR campaign.

Social Media Posts

Social media PR is key when it comes to creating a buzz around your startup.

In addition to being key to any PR campaign, social media platforms give startups:

Increased organic visibility
Improved traffic to the website
Heightened brand awareness
Faster and easier communication

For a more detailed look at how social media can be a great help, make sure to check out “The Ultimate Guide to Social Media PR” where I discuss how important it is and how to measure it through earned media.

How do we measure social media posts’ ROI?

If you’re posting to encourage people to sign up to a newsletter or webinar, then consider the following metrics your key indicators of success:

Signup conversions
Impression of signup conversion rate

If your posts are more focused around increasing your site’s reach and increasing your brand awareness:

Impressions
Click-through rate
Estimated Reach
Social Media Mentions

How to track PR ROI long term?

There are individual measures of ROI in your PR strategy, but how does it work in the long run?

There are three fields that can indicate real ROI in a PR campaign:

Brand awareness and loyalty

A continuous look at metrics like traffic and social media shares can show long-term increases and improvements in new business opportunities. It also shows the possibility of securing additional business.

It can also see the sales activities like blog posts, guest articles, social media interactions, and other forms of media outreach through the process of site engagement, becoming leads, and converting.

Industry credibility

You need to be seen as somewhat of an industry expert so that consumers of your startup believe that you are reliable and trustworthy. Trying winning earned media because it will build social proof and attract new business.

Increasingly positive reputation

Increasing your positive reputation relies on good customer experience and how that’s transmitted to the world. Getting good feedback from existing customers, for example.

You might make some short-term gains in traffic and bringing in leads, but this doesn’t necessarily convert into long-term startup prosperity.

In terms of PR ROI, we look at the social media shares/likes on positive customer experience stories and audience engagement in press release announcements regarding customer milestones.

Conclusion

It is important to see the ROI of your startup frequently so that you know where your company stands. Whether you are using the 2 strategies listed above or using social media and earned media, monitoring your business not only shows that you know what you are doing, but that you are interested to see what the future holds for your business.

We at Pressfarm pride ourselves in having the ability to create an effective PR strategy and provide people with additional knowledge of the world of PR. If you are interested in having one of our PR professionals create something that can get you business visibility, check out our pricing and packages to take the headache out of something great.

Insights

Online Exam System Versus Traditional Exam Practices

Miley on June 12, 2020

As we all know that today most of the work is going on with the help of the new technology supported by the internet connection. In just a few months the working style of all most all the sectors have been changed even the educational sector is also affected by this pandemic. This has led to the shifting of all the educational practices through the internet. No doubt the educational institutes were dependent on the online services but partially or very less. But now they have to completely depend on the technology for taking exams, lectures, study material exam. For taking exams the universities are setting up the secure exam browser which will help them in taking the exams with full control over all the malpractices that can happen during the exam. This is the only way to save the time of the student from not getting wasted at all.

Let’s have a look at the process of how the online exams are being conducted through online exam software.

Set up exam: the very first step in conducting the exam is to set up the questionnaire regarding the exam in the system. This online platform supports different question formats. The teacher needs to set up the exam accordingly and can upload it is in the software.
Invite the test takers: after setting up the question paper the examiner needs to select the time slot in which the exam will be conducted. The decision of the time slot can be according to the convenience of both students and the teachers. After that on the day of the exam the invitation is being sent through emails to the students who are required to appear for the exam.
Authorize and proctor tests: before starting the test, the students need to provide them with some ID proof so that the chances of impersonation can be reduced. The server has the ID authentication that assesses the students’ credentials. After that while, in the exam the online proctoring keeps a continuous check on the pool of the students appearing for the exam and instantly averts if it finds anything wrong. This online exam also records the test and saves it as proof in case there is any requirement in any special case.
Real-time updates: this online examination system provides the student with the real-time results, as the results are displayed with no time and are shared with the students in the pdf form that are sent them through emails. This way within no time the actual results are displayed and the candidates can work upon that way only.
Group level analytics: the online examination system analysis the data of a large number of students within some time. The analysis can be customized according to the requirement of the university. It has lowered down the burden of teachers of checking and updating the results.

This is the way how the online exam software works. These are much more efficient than traditional exam-taking practices. Let’s have a look at the major difference between these two practices.

Distance education: the online exam software has enabled the universities to carry out distance education practices. In many big and renowned universities students from different places study there and because of the problem of COVID-19 the universities were closed. And there is no scope of them to reopen. So this has online exam software along with the proctoring services that have made it possible to take exams of the students even when they are at home. All this is happening because of modern technology and it cannot be done if the traditional exam-taking practices are continued.
Flexibility: in the traditional way of taking an exam, the students were provided with the fixed dates on which they have to appear for the exam, and they don’t have the choice for it. Even the invigilators were made available on that particular day to take the exam. But nothing like this happens if the educational institutes take the help of the online exam centers. The schedule of the exams is being with the convenience of both teacher and the student. Even in some high-end exams the students are provided with the exam window within which they have to appear for the exam. This way the students can give exams according to their comfort and convenience.
Lowers the cost: after the universities get the online exam system installed, they need not do any other investment in conducting the exam. As the majority of the work is being done by the system. There is no arrangement of papers on which the questions are to be printed and the answer sheets like it are done in the traditional way of taking the exam. there is no need to make arrangements for the invigilators and the test centers where the exam will be conducted. All these things are done by the system. Even the results are being made by this software with very little time and setup.

So, these are the ways by which the modern way of taking the exam is much more different from the traditional techniques. It has replaced the long hours of hard work of writing exams with the smart work that is done on the computers via the internet. Now this is the time to change our education system with this modern technique. No doubt the pandemic is affecting the lifestyle of the people to a greater extent. But the effects of this will help in the advancement of working styles. Now it has become very important for everyone to be in touch with the internet the reason for this can be any, it can be education or work. Looking at the good side of it all this is making people aware of all the modern technologies in the market. Get yourself available you all these new technologies and avail yourself of the benefits. And, surely, these new pieces of technologies will not let you down in any case.

Insights Products

Dropped Your Mac Book Accidentally? Basic Steps for Troubleshoot Check

Miley on June 3, 2020

You just invested your entire month’s pocket money in purchasing a new Mac Book. You are excited about using it. You chat with your friends online and accidentally you drop it down! Mac books are delicate systems and so they can easily get damaged.

The external body may not be completely shockproof, and so these systems are generally not tested for the drop test. Attempting to test your best Mac book on your own, may never be advisable. You can search for MacBook repair in Auckland experts to get more familiar with drop test features on your own.

Professional Mac book repair services will never advise you to take the drop test for your new Mac book on your own.

So in case, you dropped your Mac Book accidentally, then here is what you should be doing next. Just follow the basic instructions provided by our expert team.

Avoid dropping very often

The drop test for your Mac Book can be considered as a type of death sentence for it. Even if done accidentally, still there are chances that it could get damaged permanently. The screen may need immediate replacement or the outer body could crack easily.

This is why most experts always suggest that it is wise to handle your Mac Book with the utmost care when using it outdoors or indoors.

Always inform the experts

The most important thing that you need to keep in mind is that DIY experiments should be avoided in all circumstances. If you are not a technical person, then don’t try to repair it on your own. Try and approach the registered company service center to get it verified for internal and external damages.

Be aware that certain damages may not be visible immediately after the failed drop test.

Check the screen first

In most cases, the screen will easily get damaged even if you drop it from a lower height. Besides if you have dropped it in a bucket of water, then don’t even try to switch it on the back on your own. If you see any visible marks or scratches on the screen, then contact the service experts immediately.

Mac Book may be working well even if the screen is damaged internally. So before you switch on, it is advisable to check.

Avoid plugging in power immediately

The moment you find that the Mac Book is not working you should avoid plugging it directly to a PowerPoint. There are chances that the PowerPoint could get damaged and needs to be replaced immediately.

If the battery charging point is damaged then it could easily damage the power socket as well. If the Mac Book is not working then you should try and press the power button for a few seconds. It is better to rush immediately to a Mac Book expert.

Development Insights

AI for Recruitment Process: Pros, Cons and Key Use Cases

Miley on May 31, 2020

For some years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used by recruiters and HR professionals around the world. The kind of potential is shown to us, and AI is going to be a mainstay technology for the years to come. A large number of companies have embraced AI-based automation for recruitment and talent acquisition.

Here through the length of this post, we are going to explain the pros, cons, and some of the critical instances of AI implementation for recruitment.

Pros of AI-based Recruitment

The use of AI-based tools and software solutions for the recruitment process has become extremely popular because of the array of advantages they offer. Let us briefly see some of the key benefits of AI-based recruitment.

Process Automation: Automation in the recruitment process results in optimum efficiency, faster processing, and resource-saving. AI-based automation tools and chatbots used in the recruitment process can free a lot of time for the company’s manpower.

Boosts Engagement: AI implemented through a chatbot, or virtual assistant solutions can boost engagement of the prospective candidates throughout the recruitment process. An automated process can easily keep the employees updated and help to stay tuned to the process requirements from time to time.

Minimizing Human Bias: In any recruitment process, human bias is quite common that prevents optimum efficiency in spotting the right talents and required skills. This is where AI-powered automation tools can help. AI-based automation can help hire professionals purely based on skill and merit and keep any bias or discrimination scope at bay.

Cons of AI-Based Recruitment

Despite several key benefits of AI in the recruitment process, there is an equal share of disadvantages as well. The future of AI largely depends on how these shortcomings are dealt with. Let us have a brief look at some of the cons of AI in recruitment.

Inaccuracy: Despite the vast capabilities that AI-based tools offer, there are still a lot of inaccuracies that make the output of AI tools suffer. Many AI tools still suffer from the less reliable output because of the incomplete or non-optimized training data that does not accurately represent the applicants or the domain.

Missing Human Judgment: Since a machine is only capable of handling data, it fails to notice some crucial human traits and qualities, such as personality, personal interests, individual character, and work ethics.

The Key Use Cases of AI in the Recruitment Process

Over the years, AI has been successfully used in the recruitment process for many tasks. Some of the use cases of AI-based recruitment truly boasts of efficiency and performance optimization in a never before way. Let us have a look at the key use cases of AI in recruitment.

AI-based Recruitment Apps

Some recruitment and hiring companies now have their own mobile apps equipped with tools and all relevant UI/UX attributes. These apps equipped with intelligent AI-powered chatbots can communicate with the prospective candidates while helping with the process of screening. You can hire app developers in India who are experienced in building recruitment and Human Resource apps to optimize mobile communication and screening candidates.

Talent Hunting and Acquisition

For most businesses, talent acquisition remains a crucial challenge to win over the market competition. AI can help sourcing candidates automatically by digging into the resume databases. AI-based tools can also screen the candidates efficiently in the early stage of the process.

Screening the Recruits

AI-powered automated recruitment tools can quickly screen vast numbers of resumes and can shortlist potential candidates who are fit for the job position. Thanks to the absence of human error and bias in assessment, AI-based screening tools can sort out the right talents more efficiently.

AI Chatbots for Communication

AI-powered assistants or intelligent chatbots are playing a significant role in handling various recruitment and human resource-oriented tasks. Besides cutting short, much lengthy communication and corresponding resources, chatbots can help an organization respond faster and reduce employee hiring time.

AI for Relationships Development

These days, to attract the best talents, any organization treats prospective candidates as their customers and so focuses on building relationships through the recruitment process. AI-based automation tools in this respect can play a highly effective and efficient role.

Creating Attention-Grabbing Job Advert

Since talent acquisition is a very competitive field, you cannot leave anything to chance. The same goes for the case of job adverts for your recruitment needs. Since the job adverts make the first impression on candidates’ minds, you need to be creative and meticulous about it. By utilizing the right data and predictive analytics, an AI-powered tool can help you create the job adverts that quickly grab attention and look convincing at first sight.

The Future of AI in Recruitment

The advantages of using AI-powered recruiting tools are too many. AI, along with machine learning and predictive tools, can help organizations in everything related to recruitment and talent acquisition. The use of smart AI-powered interviewing tools helped organizations to improve the output of the HR team in terms of time-saving, quality of recruits, and better attrition rate.

At the same time, it must be admitted that the AI-powered recruitment tools are new, and they are not being used for a long time by the HR professionals around the world. So, these tools need to evolve for some time before they prove to be more efficient. It is just the early stage of AI solutions being used for recruitment, and we can expect that they will be more mature and tuned to the specific recruitment needs of organizations.

Conclusion

The presence of AI-powered tools across human resource departments across companies is extremely becoming common as AI tools are doing great in saving time and money while helping with high-quality talent acquisition. The future of recruitment seems to be inseparable with AI tools.

Development Insights Martech

Maximizing Your Impact Through Digital Advertising

Miley on May 31, 2020

It goes without saying that the Internet has become essential to modern life. Ever since its widespread use began in the 1990s, the Internet has become woven into the very fabric of our daily lives. According to Internet World Stats, there are over 4.5 billion people who use the Internet as of December 2019 – over half the world’s population. And as Internet use has become more widespread, so too have the tools we use to access it. TechJury reports that there are 3.5 billion smartphone users in the world, a number that is quickly growing as smartphones become cheaper and more accessible.

This new digital culture has impacted business in several ways, but perhaps most notably when it comes to marketing. Only a few years ago, advertising was associated with print media, billboards, and television commercials, as it has been for decades. But with the advent of the online world, that’s quickly changed. Now, it’s become faster and easier for you to learn about new brands through digital advertising and social media.

To say that marketers shouldn’t underestimate the impact of digital advertising might be a bit of an understatement. Nearly every company has begun the shift into digital marketing, and those who haven’t are quickly changing gears. Compared with traditional routes, digital advertising is more cost-efficient, and in many cases can reach a wider number of people.

However, although digital marketing has become increasingly popular, getting your campaign to rise above the crowd isn’t that easy. Competition can be fierce, and many companies may find that their investments in digital marketing aren’t getting the return that they want. If you’re looking at how to make the most of the digital sphere in your marketing efforts, then here are a few tips for maximizing your impact below.

Test, Test, Test

With digital advertising being so affordable and with much of your potential market spending their time online, it can be tempting to cobble together a digital campaign and send it into the wild as quickly as possible. After all, digital is cheap, and it can’t be that hard to do, right? Well, not exactly. Like traditional marketing strategies, digital marketing has its strengths and weaknesses, and companies will have to learn how to maximize these strengths while minimizing weaknesses.

One of the methods of doing this is through a simple, but often neglected strategy: testing before launching. A simple A/B test can be the key to determining whether you’re getting the most out of your campaign or not. Digital Marketing Magazine describes A/B testing as a test that determines whether subtle changes in your campaign might influence consumer behavior. Many companies, in their rush, to get their marketing off the ground, end up forgetting this, but executing a quick test to see whether your new website or newsletter works could be the difference between success or failure for your campaign.

Maximize Impressions

Companies who make use of digital marketing are often told their campaigns should maximize their impressions, but finding the best way to do this can often be difficult. After all, with such a diversity of content and approaches, find the sweet spot of effectiveness for your digital marketing campaign is easier said than done. For many companies, it can be tempting to invest in only one or two tools. However, with digital marketing, a multiplicity of methods is better than one.

Marketing solutions company Triadex Services describes several ways that companies can trace and maximize their impressions through their mobile marketing campaigns. These methods include ensuring ads are smartphone-friendly, using tools like search engine optimization and geofencing, and researching current trends. Digital marketing requires careful investment and planning in order to be effective, and companies who put in that time and effort quickly find that those efforts pay off.

Tap into Video

If there’s one thing that’s begun to stand out in the last couple of years — even in a landscape that’s as information-rich as the Internet — it’s video. Advertisers are familiar with video in a more traditional sense, such as in a television commercial or infomercial, but it’s quickly becoming the newest plaything on the digital advertising front. Video marketing is quickly becoming popular, keeping potential customers’ attention for longer and increasing brand recognition and recall.

Forbes writes that video marketing is increasing in importance, thanks to the ability to customize content and personify brands, as well as its high ROI. Video offers companies the ability to track their results, engage with customers, and become easily visible and recognizable. If you haven’t thought about using video in your materials, now might be the best time to start.

Development Insights

10 Amazing Benefits of Online Learning (Infographic)

Miley on May 22, 2020

Thanks to rapid advancement in technology over the last few decades, online learning has been growing exponentially. It is now possible to become an expert in any subject without ever leaving your own home. Whether you wish to further your career with training, complete a degree, or learn for fun. Distance learning has multiple advantages over traditional education methods. Online tuition provider Tutorful outline some of the positives associated with e-learning including flexibility and value for money!

Infographic on 10 benefits of online learning

Development Insights Martech

How Content Marketing Can Get Your Startup Off the Ground

Miley on May 22, 2020

If you’re getting a business up and running, you know how many tasks are involved. You have to secure funding, create a reliable system to track revenue and expenses, hire good talent, and line up help with software development (see https://www.bairesdev.com/insights/python-development-services).

At the same time, you need to immediately start building brand awareness to stand out from the competition. One of the most powerful and cost-effective ways to accomplish this task is to use content marketing.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing involves publishing valuable, high-quality content pieces, like blog posts, videos, and podcasts, that offer solutions to your target audience’s problems. Unlike traditional marketing plan, this method doesn’t focus on selling products or services to customers, but instead builds brand awareness and develops trust, which can result in loyal customers.

This cost-effective approach can work well for many types of business but is especially useful for startups. While it costs 62% less than traditional marketing methods, it can yield three times the leads per dollar spent. It can also help attract and retain good talent.

You Need a Content Marketing Strategy

Before you start producing content, you need to develop a solid strategy using the following steps:

1. Research target audience

Identify and learn about your target audience, since you will build content around how you can help them:

What are their demographics (age, gender, location, income)?
What are their interests and hobbies?
What are the problems they face that your products or services can solve?

2. Determine content type

Use surveys, interviews, and analytics to discover what types of content your target audience prefers to consume. If they like to read about solutions, focus on creating blog posts, articles, newsletters, and case study reports. If your audience is more visually oriented, consider infographics, videos, and images. For those who want to listen to information, there are webinars and podcasts. Keep in mind that the best choice for your audience might be a combination of different types.

3. Develop objectives

It’s essential to know up front what you want to accomplish. Your objectives should be specific, measurable, and realistic and relate directly to your general business goals.

Some common content marketing objectives include:

Brand awareness, which can be measured by assessing changes in website traffic
Customer education and engagement, revealed by the number of shares and comments on social media
Brand loyalty, which shows up in the form of repeat purchases and referrals

Build a Content Marketing Plan

Once you know your objectives, you need a plan for how to achieve them. The following are possible plan components:

Keyword research

Identify a set of terms that your target audience is searching for. Aim for three to five core keywords, along with a longer secondary list. You’ll expand these keywords into topics to cover in your content pieces.

Make sure to include relevant SEO terms so your audience can find your content through organic search. Ideally, the keywords should be high traffic and low competition.

Content calendar

Scheduling content helps maintain consistency in quantity and quality, which is key to good results. Use a tool, such as Google Calendar or a project management app, to create and manage a content calendar. Ideally, you should plan out content for the coming year, but even a few months at a time can be helpful.

Assign each content piece a target keyword, topic and title, creator, completion deadline, publishing date, and where it will be published.

Where to publish

Where you publish content should be based on where your target audience goes for information. Some options include:

Your website, perhaps in a special content section
Relevant social media platforms and groups
Email newsletters with exclusive content for subscribers
YouTube, where users perform 50 million searches a day and there is less competition for keywords than on the Google search engine
Third-party sites relevant for your niche and audience

Gather Resources to Create Content

Someone will need to create your content pieces. While you can try to do it yourself, you’ll likely need to outsource some or all of it or build a dedicated in-house team. Typical roles you’ll need, depending on the type of content, include writer, editor, graphic designer, and videographer.

Develop guidelines for your creators to follow, including a chronological checklist with specific deadlines, design standards to promote a consistent look, and an editorial process.

Some affordable content production tools can help, including Google Docs for collaborating, Google Keyword Planner to find the best keywords, Mail Chimp for targeted emails and newsletters, and Grammarly to correct errors.

Measure Your Success

To accurately measure success, you’ll need key performance indicators (KPIs) based on your objectives. Make sure to include incremental milestones to assess progress along the way. You can create a “scorecard” with performance benchmarks for each content piece.

Examples of KPIs include:

Lead generation
Traffic to website
Increase in money spent per sale
Social media follower growth and engagement
Search engine rankings

Check regularly how your content performs related to the KPIs, then promote what does well and adjust what doesn’t. You can use your best performing topics for new posts by creating a different type of content (such as making an instructional video based on a successful blog post topic).

Periodically review your overall strategy to make sure you’re still using the right message in the right places to reach the right audience.

In Summary

Content marketing is a smart approach for startups who want to build visibility and promote brand awareness on a limited budget. Successful content marketing is a slow and steady process, but if you maintain consistency and quality, you’ll see success over time.