#this video production gets solved out is to put it up for educational and instructional purposes

[gothamphantomgoat]

[educationtimesblog]

CONTROL YOUR ANGER

Ms. Aanam Verma  | Head of Department | Asst. Professor Biological Sciences  |  CPSM College of Education | Gurugram

HOW TO CONTROL YOUR ANGER  | ANGER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES | TIPS TO OVERCOME ANGER

Most people get upset simply because they don't know what to do when they experience anger in their daily life. Sometimes aggressive behaviour may get their needs met in the short-term, but there are long term consequences. Your words might cause lasting damage to the relationship or even lead to its demise. So here by, I will like to share some simple tips how to tackle the ghost of ANGER.

When calm, express the anger

As soon as your thoughts are clear, express your frustration in an assertive but non-confrontational way. You must state your concern and needs in a direct and clear way, without hurting others or trying to control them.

Physical Activities

Physical activity like yoga, stretching, aerobic exercises reduces stress which is the cause root of your anger. Neck rolls and Shoulder rolls are good examples of nonstrenuous yoga like movements, which controls your body and harness your emotions. If you feel your anger escalating, go for a brisk walk or run, or do some enjoyable physical activities like cycling, hit a few golf ball, playing your favourite  game.

Relaxation Exercises

There are many relaxation exercises but the key is to find the one that works best for you. Breathing exercises and Progressive muscle relaxation are two common strategies for reducing tension. Your breathing becomes shallower and speeds up as you grow angry. Reverse that trend  by taking slow, deep breath from your nose and exhaling out of your mouth for several moments. In Progressive muscle relaxation, try to tense and relax slowly your different muscle groups in your body, one at a time, along with slow deliberate breathe. Eg. Closing tightly & relaxing your fist along with breathe in & out respectively. You can use kids small smiley ball too. Stress balls are also available in the market. Relaxation exercises take practice. At first, you might feel as they are not effective, but with practice, they will.

Warning signs

Be alert & aware of the emerging signs of anger like fast heart beat, red & hot face, clenching of fist, unable to think properly etc., so that you can take control and prevent it to reach the boiling point. 

 Identify Triggers

Take stock of things that trigger your anger like traffic jams, sarcastic comments, messy room, work not at time etc. You must structure your day differently and prevent the triggers to take place. 

Be aware of your feelings

Think critically what real emotions are lurking beneath your anger. Sometimes anger act as a mask to protect you from more painful emotions like embarrassment or disappointment. Acknowledging underlying right emotion can help you to get the root cause of problem. For an example, if someone cancels a plan on which you were so excited, chances are you rush in anger but underlying emotion is disappointment, so you can explain your feelings of disappointment instead of making the scene. Be honest with your feelings, then only you can resolve the issue. Responding in anger just push people away.

 Keep your mouth shut 

When you are provoked, you may speak rubbish, which will worse the situation rather than any positive result. So, in an argument tightly close your lips as they are pasted. This will help you to take time to collect your thoughts and respond in a mature way.

Repeat a mantra

                                                          When your temper flares, repeat a mantra or calming word or phrase, that will help you to calm down and refocus. Repeat that word again and again to yourself when you are upset. ‘Relax’, ‘take it easy’, ‘you will be o.k’ or ‘everything will be fine’ are good examples.

Picture a stop sign

 The universal symbol to stop can help you calm down when you are angry. It’s a quick way to help you visualise the need to halt yourself, your actions and walk away from the moment. You can put any symbol on your back of your hand which will remind you to STOP & control your anger.

Find a creative channel

You can turn your anger into a tangible production. Consider digital creativity, painting, writing poetry or journal when you feel upset. What you can't say,  perhaps you can write. Jot down what you are feeling and how you want to respond. Processing it through the written words can help you calm down and reassess the events, increases understanding and more possible solutions. Emotions are powerful muscles for creative individuals. Use yours to reduce anger.

Practice Imagination

                                                                                                                       Just step into a close room, close your eyes, and imagine yourself in a relaxing scene. Focus on the details of the imaginary scene. Colour of shedding leaves.... movement of water….brightness of the rising sun etc. This practice can give you calmness, peace, serenity and of course strength.

Keep a calm down kit

Make collection of objects which helps to engage all your senses. When you can see, hear, smell and touch the calming things you can change your emotional state. So, prepare a calm down kit which may include scented hand lotion, an image  of serene landscape or any relaxing scene, Audio- Video spiritual passage or quotes, a few pieces of your favourite candy. Just include all those things that you know will help you to remain calm. You can create a Portable calm down kit  that you can take anywhere. For example, calming music  and images, guided meditation or instructions for breathing exercises etc. to be stored in a special folder on your smartphone. Keep your bag loaded with hand lotion, perfumed wipes & candies.

Change the focus

The best way to calm down is to change the focus immediately on something else. It’s better to distract yourself with an activity. Do something that requires your focus and makes more challenging for negative thoughts to creep in. For an Example, organising the wardrobe, deep cleaning the kitchen, weeding the garden, sign a petition, write a note to an official etc. Pour your energy and emotions into something thats healthy and productive which keeps your mind occupied and won’t able to ruminate on the things upsetting you. 

Listen Music

Let the music carry you away from your frustrated feelings. Put on your earbuds, move to the park or drive the car and listen your favourite music, humming & bopping your anger away.

Countdown

Feeling angry, countdown up to 10. If your anger touching the peak, start slow backward count. By the time you count, your heart rate becomes slow, and your anger subsides slowly. 

Sharing with a friend

Instead of whirling in the episodes that made you angry, you must have a long talk with a friend who is trustful, understands you and your all perspectives and also help you to get rid of the problem. 

Write a letter or Email

Write a letter or email expressing all the events, even minute emotions which made you angry. After that, delete it. This will help you to release the suppressed emotions and make you at ease. 

Rehearse your response

Rehearse what & how you are going to say when the same type problem approaches you. This rehearsal period  gives you chance to role play all the  solutions coming to your mind.

Practice empathy

Fit in other persons shoes and see the situation from their angle. When you narrate a story according to their perspective, you may gain a new understanding and can overpower your anger. Think like a scientist, not a lawyer

Feel the anger but avoid action

In anger person loses judgement and problem solving skills which makes him rigid & blunt. Ambrose Bierce rightly said “speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret”. Anger drives us to aggress , confront,  take revenge and retaliate. It’s better to go to bed  angry, before sending angry email  keep it for few days, just walk away when fight arises.

Self reflection

Some person are proud of their anger. Even they achieved nothing, they experience a warm inner glow of self satisfaction .They believe they have accomplished something tough, powerful and righteous. But that's not.  One must see or hear himself in anger once in life. Tennis great  Roger Federer  who was a racket smashing brat in his junior years, was watching himself throwing tantrums on TV that put him off of it throughout the life. 

Take care of yourself 

Factors like alcohol, pain, fatigue, stress, sickness, unmet drives like hunger, thirst, lust, etc. act as a fuel to anger. Reduce these variables as much as possible. Take proper sleep, make routine timetable, take some time off, streamline your week, delegate, relax, and have nutrition rich diet. 

Stick with ”I”statements

Criticizm or blame game will always  increase tension. So, use ‘I’ statements while presenting the problem. Keep in mind to be specific and warm. Example say ‘I don’t feel good when you leave the table without keeping the plate in sink’ instead of saying ‘you never help in housework.

Take short breaks

Give self short breaks during stressful or overloaded days. A few moments of quiet time will help you feel better, focused and prepare you to handle what’s ahead without getting irritated or angry.

Work on solutions

Instead of focusing on what made you mad, work on resolving the issue at hand. Always remind yourself that anger won’t fix anything and might only make it worse.  

Forgiveness

Learn to Forgive. If your anger overpower your positive side, you find yourself dipped in bitter & poisonous fluid. But by forgiving someone who made you upset will make both of you to learn from the situation and strengthen your relationship. If it finds hard to forgive the person who has done wrong to you then imagine to forgive him. This way your anger slip away.

Evaluation of anger

Analyse  whether your anger is a friend or an enemy. If you see your right is being violated, you are suffering an unhealthy situation or emotionally abusive toxic relationship, then your anger can do justice. Here, you can change the situation rather than changing your emotional state. Anger gives you the strenghth & courage to take a stand and make the right  change. Another case, if your anger is enemy, it will destroy your healthy relationships and make you upset. So, evaluate your anger is positive or negative for you.

Humor, the best medicine

Lightening the situation can diffuse the tension. Humor can give you insight that what’s making you angry or having any unrealistic expectations. Avoid sarcastic comments, it only hurt the feelings and also make situation worse. Diffuse your anger by looking for ways to laugh, whether playing with your kids, watching  stand - up, or comedy movie. 

Gratitude

End of the day, always be thankful to life, what positive things it has given you, even under hard situations. Just ignore the negative part and enrich more with gratitude for right things in your life. Anger will get no attention & will try to eliminate automatically from your life.

Know when to seek help

Learning to control anger is a big challenge. Seek help or consult a psychologist if your anger seems out of control, causes you to do more harmful things you regret. 

Aanam Verma

[swifterm]

How to increase your Customer Lifetime Value

How to increase your Customer Lifetime Value. There are two ways to grow your business. The first is to acquire new customers, but that takes an acknowledged 6x greater expense. The second is to focus on retaining existing clients and increasing their lifetime value (CLV / CLTV).

Data shows that the second is a far more effective strategy for producing a steady, predictable increase in revenue.Despite this, sources disclose that 44% of companies spend more time and money on acquiring customers, whilst only 16% of businesses focus on reducing churn, putting up front the old wisdom that it’s cheaper to retain and delight an existing customer than to find a new one.

Don’t forget – the longer you can keep a customer, the greater is the provided value during their lifetime relationship with your brand. Here’s where the term customer lifetime value comes forward.

What Is Customer Lifetime Value?

Here’s the simplest customer lifetime value definition – it’s a metric that shows how much net profit your company can make of one customer over time.

So, a high CLV means each customer will bring in more revenue for your company. Since each client becomes more valuable, it means your company can afford to spend more to acquire new users and retain the existing ones.

Let’s say you run a classic, pure-play SaaS service with monthly billing. We’re going to be using a single customer as an example, one who stays with your business for 2 years, and who got a subscription plan priced at $100/month.

The average customer lifetime value of that client would be $2,400 ($100 times 24 – the number of months that person has been a customer). That number only gets higher as the client gets to pay more over time, the expansion revenue from existing customers exceeding the churn.

How to Increase Customer Lifetime Value?

Increasing your CLV can be as simple as switching your billing cycle from monthly to yearly, or as tough as overhauling your customer support process. Below, we’ve listed 12 proven tactics to increase your average CLV and generate more revenue from your existing customers.

Improve the Onboarding Process

When it comes to customer success, onboarding is the process you should spare no effort on in order to ensure sustainable business growth. It should be among the top priorities as poor onboarding occurs to be the leading cause of churn, 23% to be more specific.

It’s here that your customer really engages with your product and where you can make the greatest positive impact. This being said, it’s extremely important to put together a strategic onboarding process to encourage new users coming back for more, and thus increase their lifetime value to your company.

The process can be different, depending on the industry, customer needs or desired outcomes. However, there are a few key tips that most businesses use to engage their audience. First and foremost, one must make the onboarding as easy and fast as possible. This can be done by simplifying the process with walkthrough guides, interactive how-to videos, wrapped tutorials and other content that might help customers in fulfilling their goals.

Consider personalising the onboarding sequence by tailoring it to the buyer persona.

Focus on communicating the value of your offering right from the start. Test onboarding approaches and monitor the customer health score based on their behavior. Whatever option you go for, make sure it is straightforward enough to be understood and encourage engagement.

Provide Value-Packed Content That Keeps Customers Engaged

Email marketing is one of the best ways to retain customers, but many businesses go about it the wrong way. Instead of sending value-packed content, they run automated drip campaigns without offering any value.

The best type of emails to send to your customers are the ones that emphasise your product/service value:

If you provide pet food products, send a weekly or monthly email telling clients how much money you’ve helped them save that month;

If you provide fashion and apparel, send a monthly email to clients informing them the beautiful items they have bought;

If you sell cosmetics, email your customers to tell them how much less toxins they’ve produced removed from their selection.

Every product or service delivers value. The key to an effective message is to find that value and present it to your customers in a way that shows your contribution. An email that explains the benefits you bring in goes a lot further – from a CLV perspective – than another promotional email.

Another means to be taken up is educational content. This type of messages is based on the personalised sharing of knowledge. The key here is personalised. This is the moment when you need to get rid of sales pitches, look into specific customer needs, and suggest ways to solve their problems using your service/product.

Your main goal is to map the customer journey, identify the touch points, and, on this ground, send out highly targeted personalised campaigns so that to make yourself visible as a reliable source of knowledge. Be there for your customers, always ready to help, and they will reward you accordingly.

Offer High-End Customer Service

Quality customer service is a necessary investment to help your business grow and increase retention. If your service is below average, customers will defect to competitors even if your product is above average. Data reveals that one-third of consumers are likely to switch brands after a single instance of poor customer service.

As such, it’s important to get customer service right. Better customer service equals a better customer experience. In turn, that will make your existing customers more likely to become loyal long-term clients.

But how do you offer top-notch customer service that boosts customer retention and increases customer lifetime value? Well, here are a few recommendations you should consider:

Offer Omni-Channel Support

As a business, it’s important to be active on as many channels as possible. Most people own more than one device – in the US alone, 98% of people switch between devices on a regular basis. Not to mention that around 66% of customers use at least 3 different communication channels to contact support.

Ideally, you should look into which channels your clients use the most. Maybe they’re more active on Telegram and Twitter while you only offer email and phone support. Once you know, make sure your support team is properly trained in using all those channels, or – if money allows it – put together different teams responsible for each channel.

Provide 24/7 Support

It’s no secret that people (be they B2C or business buyers) expect a fast response to their questions and support requests. One of the best ways to offer that is through round-the-clock customer support. While it’s expensive, it’s also worth it. Yet, if you can’t provide 24/7 support, make sure your team can respond as fast as possible to customer requests.

And needless to say, if you are able to offer 24/7 support, you should still instruct your team to respond to customer tickets as fast as they can. Don’t forget – customers will be especially expecting that in this case.

Overall, you should make sure you have a well trained, responsive, and dedicated support team for the most traffic-heavy channels.

Monitor Social Media

When customers reach out on social media, be it to ask for support or leave a complaint, they’re doing it first and foremost because they expect a fast response.

As it stands, approximately 84% of customers expect a response within 24 hours.

if they post complaints on social media. On Twitter, things are even more tense, as 72% of people expect a response within the hour.

If they do not get a timely response, users will most likely share their dissatisfaction with your brand to friends on social media. Platforms like Facebook make it even easier for them to monitor your average response time.

Bearing in mind the risks, your team must have at least one employee focused on tracking and replying to social media comments. Prioritising those complaints would be a good start.

Offer Live Chat Support

Around 80% of business buyers want companies to respond and interact with them in real-time. The best way to offer them that is through live chat – client-company communications that take place in real time on the company’s website or app.

The statistics don’t lie – live chat is extremely useful for businesses. About 79% of customers say they prefer using live chat because it offers immediate responses. Also, website visitors who use live chat on your website are worth 4.5 times than the ones who don’t, so there’s plenty of room to increase conversions with them.

What’s more, live chat allows working remotely which makes it easier for your team to provide 24/7 support.

Maintain a Knowledge Base

A Knowledge Base is an important part of your support infrastructure where you must offer access to self-service articles, tutorials, video guides, and other supporting documentation. While putting one together will take some time, effort, and money, it will all be worth it.

According to research, around 91% of consumers would rather use a Knowledge Base if it is available, and 70% of them prefer to use a company’s website to solve their problems instead of using email or phone support. Plus there’s also a chance that by 2020, no human interactions will be involved in the client-company relationship.

Furthermore, a knowledge base will take some pressure of your support team. For instance, a customer can be automatically redirected to a relevant knowledge base article or tutorial when they submit a request (or even before they do it), using automated bots. This might keep said customer happy by offering them a quick solution or answer, while allowing your support team to work on other, potentially more urgent support tickets.

Build Relationships

Fostering good customer relationships is critical to the ongoing success of your business, weak relationships accounting for 16% of the average customer churn. Throughout the customer journey and during all your interactions with a client, it’s important to nurture a healthy bond. They key is to make them feel listened and appreciated, knowing they’re dealing with a proactive and professional team.

Get to know your audience and tap into their feelings and expectations. Surveying your customers would provide you with a handful of insights in this respect, helping you to better deliver on your promises. Be proactive and monitor customer health by connecting with your audience on a regular basis and not only when you have something to sell. Keeping a pulse on customer satisfaction will also allow you to take immediate action in case of a sudden decrease.

Pay proper attention to building relationships with the top segments of your customer base, key contacts, and executive staff. Conduct quarterly business reviews to make sure you are on the same page and ask for feedback on existing processes and on what’s coming next. Make them feel granted with the individual attention they deserve.

Offer Your Clients a Personalised Experience

Service, product, and experience personalisation are paramount nowadays if you want customers to be happy and spend more on your business in the long run. After all, 81% of consumers say they expect businesses to both understand them and know when the right time and moment to approach them is.

Also, around 77% of consumers have apparently spent more money on or recommended a brand that has offered a personalised service or experience.

B2B buyers definitely want a more personalised experience, and half of the US B2B marketers who tried website personalisation said it was effective.

Here are a couple of ways personalisation can help you enhance your customer lifetime value in the long run:

When it comes to B2B buyers, personalisation can help you deliver your messages through the right channel at the right time. Those things don’t just make or break a deal – they also determine whether or not a client becomes a repeat buyer.

By getting to know your customers better, you can significantly improve the onboarding process by making it feel much more “familiar” and welcoming to new customers.

Personalisation can help your product deliver a better customer experience with a more intuitive UI. And it’s no secret that 8 in 10 consumers are willing to pay more money for a better experience. Not to mention that an investment in UX/UI can return a decent ROI.

Personalised product selection software, using predictive analytics technologies like SwiftERM, identify consumer’s future behaviour, then rank every SKU by greatest likelihood of that individual consumer will purchase from all the SKUs you have listed, in order of greatest likely buying propensity. In other words, the ones they love best. CLV soars and RoR is all but eliminated. It out performs segmenting manyfold. But the art to it isn’t choosing one over the other, the seasoned marketer runs them both in tandem, to achieve maximum effect.

With a better understanding of what your customers want, how they feel, and who they are, it becomes easier to perform cross-selling and upselling.

Personalisation helps you deliver better and more meaningful customer support, which is vital if you want to increase customer value over time. It also makes it easier for clients to feel like they have an actual relationship with your brand, instead of just being a source of profit.

We hope you enjoyed this article, intended to help improve our client’s profitability. It reflects the care SwiftERM offer. If you haven’t already done so, then please enjoy a FREE month’s trial of our predictive personalisation software on your site, and let us know what you think.

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Other articles of interest below: (Index to all articles here)

[thephotostick01-blog]

What is ThePhotoStick and How it works?

Wedding event function, bday, holidays as well as other special events are pleasant. Nonetheless, there is a way to accept the anxiety from these occasions. Saving wonderful occasions with your mobile phone or DSLRs will make this second far more exclusive and multiple-colored.

It happens to be more fun and rewarding to honor any function with family, good friends as well as family and friends, plus your smartphone makes recording special periods easy and simple rapidly. But can you imagine if your younger kid accidentally spillages his minimal all on your own cell phone? Or if perhaps a energy boost is available about, and then you aren’t able to try to find the photos and video lessons? This can be aggravating and frustrating.

Should you really be technology-experienced, you are able to solve the issue. Nonetheless the recommended response might always work, which happens to be challenging on your part, specifically when your buddies inquire about some pictures from the wedding scenario. A help is definitely important, can you picture if you don’t have? The Photo Stick is here now to assist you to.

Precisely What Is Particularly a PhotoStick?

ThePhotoStick is actually a gizmo intended to support instructional videos, films, tunes, photos, along with other essential papers. It appears to be comparable to a regular USB or transportable memory stick but operates diversely. It makes use of an app to find folders to locate the video clips you misplaced. It is also created to get videos and papers and also company workplace papers. Unlike other support up alternate options available on the market, ThePhotoStick features quickly. You can easily use, rendering it well best for people who have limited encounter in addition to information and facts.

For quite a few years, facts break up has become a major problem that influences people, employees, and daily people regardless of period. Some get this issue to become meek and uncomplicated nonetheless, they are certainly not educated that it could almost be out of the question to gain access to files afterward. What happens if your job is film adjusting? What goes on in case your main cash flow is image getting? Visualize when your career can be a written content article blogger? It really is a dilemma to eliminate helpful significant reports you could possibly commit many time to conduct. You can keep them protect with the assistance of ThePhotoStick.

Is ThePhotoStick well worth the expense? Just how particularly accomplishes this device work? Are you aware the benefits this item of equipment offers? Proceed looking at to know a little bit more relating to this product.

Just How Does ThePhotoStick Performance?

The product resembles an ordinary storage adhere. In addition to layout and layout, the system features on diverse plug-ins on a cell phone, laptop pc, laptop or computer together with other gizmos. You can actually utilise all that you need to do is always to plug it in the slot quickly. You need to be certain your notebook personal computer does work first. Then, put the item through the harbour, plus it requires some secs prior to a house windows that turns up with your laptop’s exhibit. Your home window has one move you need to click the Go and permit it to gain access to the difficult push. After, the unit will easily have a look at and look your notebook computer laptop or computer and back-up videos, images, along with other papers retailers inside of.

Does ThePhotoStick Performs Effectively and Rapidly?

In different reviews, internet surfers and diversified experts state that ThePhotoStick provides a trustworthy and fast performance primarily because it just takes a couple of minutes to be effective plus work. Alternatively, how long it takes will be reliant on the amount of documents retailers about the product together with other tools. Regardless of whether this device will be able to get lose video guides and pictures, in addition, it actively intends music along with important documents. Precisely what is a lot more, it gives you the capacity to generate a backup of real information on another smart phone or laptop personal computer.

The best places to Use ThePhotoStick?

There are several screen forces available to choose from. You can get exhibit delivers which include a personalised design, even though many characteristic an aesthetic elegance like ThePhotoStick. It doesn’t issue should you be an individual or perhaps a worker you could possibly surely get yourself a flash drive in becoming helpful and beneficial. It is easy to use ThePhotoStick. Within just times, it is easy to file backup your documents. A lot of people feel if ThePhotoStick works together with a selection of Functioning-method or Operating system. You may be astounded to understand this technique works jointly with Google android, iOS, and also other techniques. Irrespective of what type of gizmo you make use of, ThePhotoStick will work ideally as a result. You may use ThePhotoStick with Home house windows 8, Vista, Windows XP, yet others. Must you work with a Mac pc, which performs across the system difference, ThePhotoStick is well suitable way too.

To Sum Up

ThePhotoStick is undoubtedly a helpful musical instrument that may be employed by almost anyone. Provided the idea that your particular method has a USB harbour, you are able to hook it and initiate assist up vital records. Will you like productivity, value and in addition basic safety within a small product or service? Then Photo Stick is a perfect musical instrument for your self. Using this gizmo, it liberates up area in your system safe-keeping. Also, it might assistance instructional videos, audio as well as other multi media data data files. There is absolutely no must manage your computer data just before shifting these people to many other devices. ThePhotoStick will do just fine as your agent. This may most likely assistance your forms and paperwork right away, therefore trying to keep special picture safe and sound. There is no should go on browsing in documents for video clips in addition to photographs in the laptop computer computer this item of equipment will do the position for yourself.

ThePhotoStick is fully wise and consumer-helpful, all you want do would be to place in it within the USB harbour, and that’s it, now you may begin support your data. This express-of-the-art gadget can merchant almost 60,000 video clip courses along with images. Wouldn’t each one of the occasions you devoted sorting out and coordinating details are actually much more helpful if you can’t employ them on other things? This stops shelling out much time on coordinating crucial information by using this piece of equipment. Aside from that, you might also avoid investing a bunch of money on cloud saving. This eliminates the month to month monthly subscription charge. You will need to shell out once after getting this part.

[reallookingfakebills]

Passport to Wealth

Have you ever 'failed' at Network Marketing, or any kind of home business? I admit that I have. I ended up sinking close to $10,000 into Herbalife...about half of that was getting started and buying $4000 worth of products for a 'Supervisor' order...and the rest, my coaches/upline dragooned me into buying into their ridiculously-overpriced advertising coop ($500 buy-in gets you 5 leads, and you were supposed to buy 3 or more of these 'wheel slots'!).

I might have had about $5000 in income come in...but I spent countless hours calling my overpriced leads, calling my downline's overpriced leads, and training my downline, most of whom disappeared because they weren't making any money.

So you need not feel embarrassed in my company, if you have ever been unsuccessful in network marketing.

What Does it Take to Achieve Success With My Internet Business?

The financial fiasco with Herbalife taught me that although there IS a ton of money to be made with internet business, I needed to find the RIGHT business opportunity, and more importantly, the right Mentoring Group within that business to join.

A preliminary Google search revealed the Top-Tier Internet Businesses. Darren Gaudry's Passport to Wealth caught my attention immediately because of the products, which included a comprehensive suite of internet marketing software and resources, and the compensation plan: it is an Australian '2-up' plan, which means each new member you sign up will 'pass up' their first two sales to you, their sponsor. Their third sale, they keep 100% of the $997 profit.

Meanwhile, the two sales they passed up to you? Guess what...they both will pass up their first two sales to you too!! Do you see what I mean, about how you could just make a few sales yourself and still have lots of money flooding in?

Thus I began to do some serious research into Passport to Wealth...I was NOT about to get scammed again. Well, technically I didn't get scammed by Herbalife...it IS an amazing product, but I did feel that my mentors ripped me off by selling me $4500 in 'wheel slots' that cost $500 a piece for a lousy 5 leads, who were little better than flipping through the phone book. Seriously, I had leads who thought they were applying for a job at a doctor's office...

So I searched every work-at-home forum and ranking site that I could find for details about Passport to Wealth. I was looking with a critical eye, for some little piece of negativity that would dissuade me from spending $997 to join.

I didn't find it. Instead, I found some incredible testimonials from real people who had been taught how to Earn Money Online by the Passport Mentors4U team.

I will now share with you the pros and cons of the Passport to Wealth business opportunity. Let's start with the cons.

Passport to Wealth Cons

a) $997 to invest --Although this isn't so much of a barrier now, with the $600-$1200 tax rebates on the way as a result of the Economic Stimulus Plan, in the past this investment requirement could make it difficult for many aspiring entrepreneurs.

b) 2 Sales to Qualify --With Passport to Wealth, you pass-up your first two sales to your sponsor. Although this isn't actually a 'cash' expense, that is still $2000 that you are passing up to get qualified. Of course, if you can get two sales, you can get more...it's not the money itself that has the value, but the skills that you gained in the PROCESS of getting those first two sales.

Passport to Wealth Pros

a) No Phone Calling Required Coming from Herbalife, where the modus operandi is to 'Call your leads 3-4 times per day', it is SUCH a relief that I don't have to talk to people on the phone anymore. You can either have Professional Sales Associates (PSAs) call your prospects for you (for a commission on the sale), or if you join the Passport Mentors4U Team, the leaders call your prospects for you for FREE, as a service to members.

b) You have an automated system which will sort, educate and close your prospects WITHOUT you...you just have to fill your marketing 'funnel' by driving traffic to your website, and the system will have sales dropping out the other end. This works through a Lead Capture page, where prospects leave their details and go on to view the 14-minute Passport to Wealth video presentation, and then receive a series of educational autoresponder emails that also include free gifts and digital products to help your prospect make the decision to start the business.

c) The compensation plan is structured such that once you are qualified, each sale puts $997 in your pocket right away . If your downline is serious and motivated to Earn Money Online, they will succeed and pass up their first two sales to you, for another $2000 of pure profit for you. If your downline are bums and don't do anything or follow the instructions, then you still made $997! This solves the problem of spending countless hours trying to train your downline in the hopes that someday they will make sales and recover your advertising costs that you spent to recruit them!

d) Free Trial You can actually sign up for a free trial with Passport to Wealth and see the back office, access some of the products and software, and kick the tires so you really *know* what you are getting yourself into! Most of the other top-tier Internet Businesses wouldn't even TELL you about the details or the products unless you first paid an application fee! So, there are the pros and cons of the Passport to Wealth business opportunity itself...and although that might SOUND excellent, Real Looking Fake Bills I tell you that it is still not enough. I had learned the hard way from Herbalife that even more important than WHAT business opportunity you join is WHO you join with! It doesn't do you any good to have a powerful automated marketing system that can make sales while you sleep...if you don't know how to get interested prospects to your website! So after diligently researching the business, I began researching the Passport to Wealth mentoring teams with equal diligence. I continued to dig, Google Search, and investigate. I felt that I had learned very little in terms of network marketing from Herbalife, so this time I was going to choose which team I joined. I interviewed three potential sponsors, from the Passport Mentors4U Team and the Passport Gold Team. The Passport Gold Team seemed to have LOTS of help for new people...but only until they made their first two sales. After that, you were removed from the rotator and on your own for marketing. This sounded like the exact OPPOSITE of what I wanted...I didn't want anyone making my first two sales for me and then leaving me, because it was the SKILLS to create the first two sales that I needed, 

Real Looking Fake Bills not the sales themselves! The Mentors4U team, lead by Megan Vaillancourt and Stephanie Sammour, built their business around that exact principle. These two stay-at-home moms make incomes that make my own executive salary from my day job seem like chump-change. The Passport Mentors4U build you a lead capture page free of charge, complete with killer ad copy and integration into an autoresponder that sends out a series of educational emails complete with the occasional free gift to your prospects. These sales letters do the sorting and educating for you, and when the prospect is ready to hear more, the Mentors call them FOR you and close the sale! Since I joined Passport to Wealth 2 weeks ago, under the Mentors4U team, I have learned the fine internet marketing arts of Blogging, Article Marketing, Press Releases, Squidoo, Ezines, Craigslist, and more. I don't want to brag or make silly claims of my income, but to give you an idea, go to Google and type in 'MyInternetBusiness', and click on the 'Groundbreaking News...' ad (right now it is number three on page 1). Imagine...two weeks into this business and my site is already on the FIRST PAGE of Google! I'll leave it to the reader to determine the kind of business that is generating for me now...and the kind of business that could generate for you, too, but only if you join with the RIGHT MENTORING TEAM. So, in summary, Passport to Wealth , and the Mentors4U Team in particular, is definitely NOT a scam, and is in fact an incredible internet business opportunity where you can make $997 per month, or per week, or even per DAY once you get your search engine rankings high enough! To learn more, you may visit the link in the resource box below.

I hope this review has been helpful and informative, and like yourself I am looking forward to a bright future with My Internet Business!

[onefunnelaway8-blog]

ONE FUNNEL AWAY CHALLENGE

One funnel away

The Just one Funnel Absent Challenge is actually a thirty (30) working day online video training sequence aimed at walking entrepreneurs as a result of developing and building their initially or following gross sales funnels. The teaching series is made up of movie guides (which can be produced every day),a workbook, no cost audio clips, and also a complimentary guidebook. This schooling collection is for on the net business enterprise entrepreneurs who want to construct the life they require.

one funnel away challenge

Firm At the rear of:

The One-Funnel Away Obstacle was created by income funnel qualified, Russell Brunson, founding father of ClickFunnels in September, 2018 and due on the enormous success pupils observed, he has because re-launched the collection better yet.

Russell is really a ideal offering author and founder of quite a few multi-million greenback organizations. He has offered a huge selection of many his books and it has been endorsed from the large promoting guys like Tony Robbins and Grand Cardone.

VERDICT:

With a scale of one to ten (one been the lowest), I’ll fee the A person Funnel Absent Challenge by using a nine. This series receives a brilliant higher score because of the value it provides and for the price at which you can get this value. So mainly, you can get a sequence of tailor-made movie training classes which will assist you commence and build your to start with or following sales funnel that generates earnings to your business enterprise while in the future 30 days.

Unlike other instruction sequence, the One-Funnel Away Obstacle is pretty actionable as a result making certain individuals really undergo these classes. In essence, it really is remarkably encouraged and completely worthy of the price.

Remember to note which the One-Funnel Absent Obstacle is at present in progress along with the upcoming start will begin within the twenty fifth of March, 2019. You can join it just before then. Registration closes three (3) days prior within the 22nd of March, 2019.

INTRODUCTION

Exactly what is the One-Funnel Away Challenge, what does it entail and the way helpful could it be?

The One particular Funnel Absent is usually a high quality 30-day on the internet challenge by product sales funnel pro, Russell Brunson that guides you and holds you by the hand as you endure the different levels of constructing, establishing and launching your extremely initially or your following on the internet rewarding revenue funnel. The coaching collection is full of benefit for both equally rookies who've by no means crafted any product sales funnel right before and also organization proprietors that have finished it prior to but desire to take it to the up coming amount. Brunson literally walks you through just about every and each step along the way.

The aim powering this teaching collection is not only to build a daily funnel but to make the daily life you have got generally desired to have. This aims at serving to you build that aspiration family you would like, the desire organization you'd like or that freedom you crave to possess. Russell’s One-Funnel Away Problem would get you from the hand when you start and attain these dreams (or ambitions).

Now, you may be wondering exactly what the One-Funnel Away Challenge may indicate to you in precise. Thing is; it will depend on YOU, who that you are and what you want. Think about it by doing this;

You may perhaps be in a job that sucks the hell from you and you dream each day about how you are going to escape this. For some of you, it might be that you just have now begun an internet based enterprise but points are merely not shifting the way they should to maneuver.

Your income is not rising, your customer base remains how it was months ago (despite the fact that you will need more), your consumers are merely not growing. Chances are you'll even already have a company however you wish to produce a new solution from scratch and provide it in existence but you’re undecided of how you can go about this.

At times you pressure your self to feel that no one will buy from you or your website traffic would not change into product sales, clientele and buyers.

Russell believes the answer to all these issues is just one Funnel Away! He is particular that the 1 issue you would like to solve your particular challenge can be a funnel. This concept brought about his flagship corporation, ClickFunnels.

Individually, I have employed product sales funnels to offer my services and products to my possible purchasers and I’m just one on the two Comma Club Customers Myself, meaning I created more than $1M in my own profits funnel.

Till right now, customers arrive by this medium even months just after putting with each other my funnel procedure. This protrudes that while using the right income funnel as part of your enterprise, you might simply just obtain that objective you’ve now dreamt of reaching. With the powerful profits funnel method, you might make a recurring every month earnings on your own month right after month for a long time, you could potentially escape that 9 to five job you despise a lot of, or else you could mature your existing enterprise and double your profits that's been trapped.

Now, this led to the development from the One-Funnel Absent Obstacle and in this evaluate, we're going to think about the functions, positive aspects, and pricing with the coaching sequence. Can it be really worth the penny or should you go about studying it all by you?

One-Funnel Absent Obstacle: Can it be Truly worth it?

What you GET After you Enroll:

After becoming a member of the funnel schooling obstacle, here is what you get. This is often 1 on the finest areas of this teaching sequence. Remaining to me, these are the points that established this obstacle aside from 100s of other troubles on the market.

On register, Russell would ship these to your doorstep. He calls it the One-Funnel Away Challenge Kit.

one. The 30-Days 550-Page Hardcover-Book: Prior to this education obstacle, Russell asked about 30 of his ClickFunnels prospects who may have gained around a hundreds of thousands pounds in profits (from their ClickFunnels profits funnels) how they might start off if they ended up to start again from scratch. No targeted traffic, no e-mail record, no impact, no popularity, just their promoting working experience. They’re actually rookies setting up from almost nothing in addition to their wide marketing expertise.

These funnel specialists laid down their finest procedures and the way they might put into practice them in 30 times whenever they had been to start out over again. They laid down everything they would do from day 1 to working day thirty. Each of your thirty authorities he emailed replied having a 30 day assault approach.

They spelled out anything perfectly, even a complete beginner would have an understanding of.

Every one of these expertise was compiled to the The 30 Times 550 Web site Hardcover E-book for you. If we've been been straightforward, this alone is value over the $100 you shell out to join the 1 Funnel Away Obstacle. Think $97!

2. A Actual physical Copy from the One-Funnel Absent Obstacle Workbook: Most on the web issues nowadays give on-line workbooks. Most barely or hardly ever even supply any bodily point to assist people for the duration of the obstacle.

Most instances, you might be sent the duplicate of your worksheet or workbook by using e mail then you definitely print it if you want. Russell does it distinctive!

When you sign up for the Just one Funnel Away Challenge, you have a free of charge 30 Days 550 Web page Hardcover e book delivered to the residence deal with that can help keep you up together with the each day responsibilities and assignment.

This training problem workbook arrives having a checklist of various day-to-day duties that you choose to need to finish everyday, in excess of plenty of writing and jotting room for putting down important factors and ideas you could get during the system in the problem, each day video coaching one-way links and some other resourceful inbound links which might be beneficial.

3. An Mp3 Participant with One-Funnel Absent Obstacle Live Recordings: A further awesome point you get in the One Funnel Absent Challenge kit can be an mp3 participant with dwell recordings from the stay periods from the past A single Funnel Absent Obstacle.

By way of example, when you register for the coming One Funnel Away Obstacle, you obtain a little mp3 player with the initial Just one Funnel Away Challenge recordings. This is certainly valued at $247.00!

Using this type of machine, you may pay attention to those education periods with your automobile, on the fitness center, if you are traveling or even in your bed prior to deciding to rest. This helps make the training less difficult to observe especially for the people functioning nine to five work opportunities. Basically, you may effortlessly multi-task and hear to classes speedier.

Entirely, you get about 50 instruction lesson recordings and about forty (40) several hours of training lessons.

four. 30 Days of Video-Missions from Russell Brunson: This is essentially the foremost material or price you will get from signing up for the One particular Funnel Absent Obstacle. Upon registering, you'll get a full 30 working day online video missions from Russell himself. These are definitely lessons and guides which will get you because of the hand and enable you to commence and create your first or upcoming profits funnel in 30 days.

If you have tried to start off an internet based business then you would know the way difficult it may be to start out a company, make the right merchandise as well as get men and women to truly invest in. It will take an entire whole lot of your time and strength.

A sales funnel can be a sequence of levels that a business designs which a customer (or possible purchaser) passes by means of to become a shopper. For instance, when a visitor lands on the squeeze web site (or landing site), he or she is then available an incentive to sign up to you e-mail lists exactly where they get tailor-made email content material qualified to having them acquire your merchandise.

The recently subscribed visitor will get specific e-mail articles that concentrates on setting up trust and romance wanted in advance of even promoting any product or solutions. The gross sales funnel program is there for just a pretty long time even ahead of the online market place was born.

Building a product sales funnel for your personal on line enterprise is often authentic difficulty specially when you really do not know where by to start. The trouble of creating individual landing pages, purchase webpages, thank you webpages, up-sell internet pages then connecting them all alongside one another is usually overwhelming. Most situations, entrepreneurs and business people end up supplying up.

Here is the detail;

Without the need of a web based profits funnel for your on the web business enterprise, you are able to not actually create a stable, passive income. You would probably not have the capacity to develop an internet based company that replaces your 9 to 5 task or give you the freedom you need. The reality about most on-line organization proprietors is that they wish to establish a steady regular profits without the need to trade all their time for it. Some on the web company homeowners come up with a good chunk of cash but are usually not truly pleased or free of charge because they trade their time for cash.

A revenue funnel is exactly what can clear up this problem. It requires out the trouble of having to trade your time and effort for dollars and genuinely create a passive revenue stream without having to strain by yourself.

Russell comprehended this and made a decision to start his corporation, ClickFunnels. A Saas business that helps small business proprietors sell extra without the need to trade time. Generally, it helps you create marketing revenue funnels from the simplest strategies possible. This tool has actually been proven to generally be the best revenue funnel creator in the world as entrepreneurs have used it to build sales funnels that have produced a lot of dollars each day.

In reality, 1 of Russell’s funnels crank out a minimum of $500,000 each individual thirty day period.

This idea at the rear of the Just one Funnel Away Obstacle is just to indicate small business homeowners that ClickFunnels can really enable them to grow their firms to the things they dream of it. With ClickFunnels, you may create a company and escape the 9 to 5 occupation trouble for good.

Russell’s movie lessons educate you ways to get started on from very little and establish a funnel that may mature your organization exponentially. These movie lessons will manual you through the methods you require to just take to go from $0 to 1000s of pounds in gross sales applying only one product sales funnel.

These classes tend not to only educate you but in addition provide you with just how you can do it in just 30 days. Pretty terrific is not it? You furthermore mght find out how ClickFunnels functions and the way for getting started off making use of the software.

5. 30 Days of Coaching from Stephen Larsen and Julie Stoian: For each and every on the internet instruction session marketers be part of, you can find generally a necessity for coaching sessions where by students get to talk to personalized thoughts and acquire responses from knowledgeable men and women. The One Funnel Absent Challenge is no distinct.

Russell has picked two (2) income funnel industry experts, Stephen Larsen and Julie Stoian for this. I really had Julie Stoian on my podcast not long ago and she shared an awesome strategy on ways to essentially provide your courses before you even develop them.

Pupils reach check with queries and get them answered by knowledgeable gurus. This fashion, studying is less complicated and overwhelm is minimized.

Here's the tutor breakdown;

Russell Brunson would be the mastermind powering the Just one Funnel Absent Problem and also the strategist. Russell will tutor you with day-to-day teaching videos that will help you create the right product sales funnel in your on the internet company. He'll put down the main groundwork there is to developing a product sales funnel, the basic principles of getting going and the way to scale your funnels.

Julie Stoian could be the transformer and would enable you to switch your thirty working day thoughts into a actual funnel that is constructed. Mainly, she’s an authority at turning mere small business thoughts from your desire stage into truth that really generates money. Aspect take note: I did have Julie Stoian as a visitor on my podcast and he or she practically rocked it.

Ultimately, Stephen Larsen could be the executioner and will mentor you day by day on stay group calls. Primarily, he receives all your questions answered and in addition offers an additional hand to those people who may possibly will need it.

Stephen is just one which makes certain learners execute their duties, assignments and actually establish their gross sales funnels.

THE Program BREAKDOWN:

Here’s a simple breakdown overview on the training course classes you get any time you sign-up and join the One particular Funnel Absent Obstacle.

7 days one: Pre-Training (State of mind)

Week 2: The Hook, Tale along with the Offer

Week 3: Create the Funnel

7 days 4: Targeted visitors and Efficient Advertising

Week 1: THE Frame of mind

The main week on the One Funnel Away Challenge mainly concentrates on having your mindset suitable. Before you decide to can actually make a internet marketing product sales funnel that could adjust your lifetime, you will need to have your frame of mind proper very first. While using the completely wrong mentality, there exists practically very little 1 can perform to achieve his goals and aims in everyday life.

Russell helps you correct your belief, obtain your way of thinking proper, discover your worst fears plus your strengths. The only strategy to escape from that 9 to five occupation will be to get all these suitable.

Think of it for a pre-training attitude that is definitely intended to acquire you suitable with the big deal. To get ready you for that big offer, Russell focuses on igniting some thing in you. He focuses on inspiring you and acquire the flames burning to have the ability to conquer whatever task or problem you could experience from the future thirty times.

These mainly assist you learn and believe in you in addition to have confidence in that you can achieve anything you established to to obtain. Can it be escaping the nine to 5 headache? This concentrates on acquiring you the mindset needed to strike this focus on within the following 30 times.

7 days 2: THE HOOK, Tale plus the Provide

To get a organization to really get folks to pay you in your products and solutions or providers you may need the hook, story and state of mind. This is often what sets your online business aside and truly receives individuals to have confidence in your merchandise or solutions.

There's a favorite stating that men and women buy the tale not the attributes. This part of the A single Funnel Away Challenge concentrates on location you up for this.

The hook is just that which you publish, say or communicate in your concentrate on audience to acquire them really psyched or pumped up regarding your company and also your solutions (or providers). The hook is always the main step within your income copy concept. It is actually a method that not just company homeowners leverage but in addition speakers, trainers or instructors.

The tale would be the meaty part of the duplicate. You require to find a novel and fascinating tale that appeals specially on your goal viewers or potential consumer. Russell Brunson is learn at this as every of his tale receives me.

His stories are often on point plus they usually capture and captivate his audience which gets them over excited to obtain his solutions or be part of his applications. Russell is often a learn at this!

At last, the Give is the place you truly current your products or services. The supply is what men and women pay for.

The supply is your item (or solutions) plus your products really should address a selected issue that your target viewers faces. Discover a unique angle that the competitiveness is lacking out and hit your goal viewers with it. The supply is totally useless and not using a great hook along with a charming story.

Like I discussed, Russell is really a learn at this and will stroll you thru ways to turn into a professional at it far too.

7 days three: Build THE FUNNEL

This module demonstrates you accurately ways to start off and develop your precise funnel. At this time, you bring out your thought into actuality. You deliver it out into an precise funnel that could begin making revenue instantly.

This module exhibits you the way ClickFunnels is effective and accurately how to get began utilizing the software.

Russell exhibits you around the shoulder video clips from the ClickFunnels software program and that means you can practically see how you can make squeeze pages, landing internet pages, thank you webpages as well as your upsell webpages easily. The ClickFunnels computer software was constructed for simplicity and relieve not simply for that business enterprise house owners and also the shoppers.

ClickFunnels aims at earning your consumer at ease and his obtaining encounter pleasurable and straightforward. In this way, your shoppers would often need to come back for additional.

With this particular software program application, company proprietors could setup substantial converting product sales funnels for their products and services inside of couple of minutes. In actual fact, I have viewed one of Russell’s video clips wherever two persons constructed a complete income funnel making use of the ClickFunnels in below an hour.

The A single Funnel Away Obstacle reveals you the way it is possible to do that in your enterprise far too.

Week 4: Traffic AND Successful Advertising

To put it simply, with no visitors and powerful marketing, every advertising and marketing profits funnel is ineffective in spite of how wonderful it is. Marketing and traffic would be the fuel of each gross sales funnel, squeeze or landing website page. Just about every on line enterprise needs ample traffic to endure, thrive and become in a position to grow.

There may be no business enterprise devoid of folks coming to it. Without visitors not one person would know your goods exists not to converse of purchasing them.

With this chapter, Russell concentrates on showing the top traffic technology procedures you could potentially use to generate 1000s of world-wide-web visitors into your gross sales funnels. These strategies consist of social media marketing, search engines like yahoo and paid out ads. As an example, Russell pays attention to facebook advertisements because he believes it is actually a person from the only tips on how to push folks for your product sales funnel immediately.

Using an expenditure of the number of bucks, you might push 1000s of people in your squeeze web site in which you sell to them and have back again your ROI (return on expense). Search at it this way;

You develop a $50 item and establish an efficient income funnel for it. You then invest $200 into facebook advertisements. This could drive 1000s of people for your income funnel and with only four income, you'd probably get better back again your facebook advertisements investment decision.

Value

To join the A single Funnel Absent Challenge, it fees only $100. With $100, you can get the many characteristics, trainings, bonuses and coaching classes there exists in this schooling series. It can be completely value every single penny. In fact, this system is valued at $3,126 however, you get all these for just $100 right now.

For that cost, I are unable to advocate this software additional. $100 to develop the aspiration enterprise you have got constantly wanted or maybe 100 bucks to flee the 9 to 5 stress.

Last Verdict

In conclusion, the One Funnel Away Problem is valuable expense you'd make. The material, bonuses and teachings you can get are top notch and they are much value a lot more than a $100 investment decision. No matter what business you're in: large ticket nearer, start-up, or currently at 7 figures, you will get a tone of price from this problem.

I remarkably advocate that you simply sign-up for that coming A person Funnel Away Obstacle currently and get ready to make the company you and your loved ones have earned.

[gothamphantomgoat]

[martysnyder]

Implementation

Culled from our shared Google doc:

Digital platform: “Pinterest for Careers” How will you build your solution? What does it look like?

Landing page Onboarding flow Explore pageCareer Detail pageHow it’s made

Career GeneratorFor Educators (FUTURE)

How does it serve the audience you have selected? How can you begin to iterate on your earlier ideas?

Value Proposition Time & Task  The Advocate

What’s our 1 minute elevator pitch for the product? 

Wireframes & Prototypes  Go to market strategy Problem Statement

How might we centralize resources and real-world advice to help high school students explore and discover career interests?

High school students will benefit from an engaging, centralized resource to discover opportunities with real-world perspectives in order to empower their career decisions.

Final Selection

A web application that aims to be the one-stop resource for all students exploring careers. It is built on the collaboration and input of companies and the online community of working professionals. It will provide written perspectives, engaging social media content, upvoted learning opportunities (books, online courses, etc…), and other features. It is feature-modular, meaning this platform can function with core features and then be extended later with others. It is tuned to help students, but can potentially equip educators with career exploration resources.

Feedback

What is the unique thing that we're offering? Is it the opportunity to step into the job and try it out?

There are many different features to this solution, so what is the one thing that you are known for as people start to expect an experience from this platform?

This is an aggregator and hub solution for information, is that what your audience is looking for/needs? It seems like students are already overwhelmed.

The data points/content we're sharing (that we create rather than partners), how do ensure that it's accurate and fair?

Mock up feedback

What is the relationship that we're communicating with our audience and How is that visualized in the brand assets?

Need a hierarchy of experience, not just graphic content

Prototype Documentation

Now that you have selected your solution; keep sketching and refining your concept. Document your activities in the digital platform.

Web platform (Jamstack)

Curate existing digital content (video format)

Provide curated, vetted, and community-approved career content

Figma mock ups

Drawing information from tik tok, glassdoor, instagram/IGTV, and others

Discuss features of the platform

Mission Statement

Address current problems of existing implementation

Address the importance of career exploration

Call-to-action that leads to Onboarding or Exploration page

An un-intimidating, and welcoming landing page

Instructs you to answer some basic questions about your demographic/intended use for the site

Don’t know what you’re interested in? Click a button to see some options.

Shows different hobbies, interests that users can select.

Already know what youre into? Enter them here.

Instructs you to type in any interests, hobbies, activities... then surfaces traits or characteristics of activity. Traits are clicked on and will lead to keyword results with corresponding career content.

A discovery engine with an engaging explore page

Students can search by keywords or hashtags through a library of content

Each piece of content is tagged (Industry, job, skills, etc.) 

The product emphasis is on exploration, while the content emphasis is on real world perspectives 

Students can save videos that pique their interest or spark inspiration

Students can refer back to their saved videos and interests on their profile

Incorporate machine learning to make recommendations for more video content 

While watching video, students can click on more detailed career pages

Roadmap of career

Salary ranges

Day-to-day tasks

Companies

YouTube channels

Slack communities

Reddit AMA's with students (calendar of upcoming people in the industry)

eLearning opportunities

Books & Articles

Hobbies that would go along well

Starter projects (ex: template Figma files)

Related careers

Internships

Partner with companies to showcase and explain what goes into making one of their products (Nike shoes, IKEA furniture, anything you can think of)

Interactive infographic or web animation of each job role that plays a part in making it a success

You can click on a role and then be redirected to the career detail page

Users can explore careers with minimum effort. Simply click a button to stumble upon a career at random. Uninterested? Click again and generate another. 

Allows high school students to explore traditional and non-traditional careers

Connects students with careers and interests through AI & ML

Acts as the definitive career encyclopedia by providing...

Community-vetted resources and information

Real-world perspectives

Indirect access to working professionals and companies

Tools and activities for counselors and teachers to interact and engage with students

Solves a problem that we discovered from the surveys, that current resources/website didn’t provide appealing or interesting career options 

Usability testing with real content examples

Get feedback from real users then adjust design decisions

Curated exploration, unheard of or unusual careers, paired with real perspectives (makes us unlike any other career search/discovery resource) 

Centralized platform (one-stop shop)

Career Equality - showcase both tradition and non-traditional careers as the professional world evolves

Nurtures discovery and exploration rather than forcing users to choose, or categorizing them into careers.

Methods & Techniques

Design user interface -> Wireframes 

User onboarding flow

Explore page experience 

User doing deeper research about a career they are interested in

Gather existing content to populate the platform 

What are the rules/steps for using videos from tiktok, instagram, youtube, etc.?

How many videos do we need to launch?

Is this a manual process done by the team or can we automate it? 

Do we develop criteria for videos making it on the site? If so, how? 

Build working prototypes

Find developers to bring it to life 

Usability testing

Create different onboarding flows for students and test 

We are creating a discovery engine for high school students to explore diverse careers and industries during these formative years. We plan to use primarily short form video content that provides real perspectives, insights, and advice in a snackable and GenZ appropriate format. Our vision for this product is a user-centric digital platform, allowing high school students to consume, save, and share this content.  

Explore page example: https://www.figma.com/file/1zHw9I9SIx0jF0TYhnCHKa/Discoverly-Wireframe?node-id=0%3A1

Overall Product:

https://www.figma.com/file/5sZXiojkXw6KDYjU2MG1Hl/Untitled?node-id=165%3A82

Ensure there is sufficient content on the site

Establish KPI’s (key performance indicators)

Launch a beta site (constrain network growth to a single school)

Invite focus groups/influencers to participate; Having influential students on the network quickly will increase the appeal of giraffe, making it a must-goto for students who want to learn about careers (and connect with potential advisors/mentors?)

Once website/systems are functioning as intended, focus on growth - registering as many new users as possible. 

Give 10 super users inviting 10 more users (network effect) 

Focus on organic, homepage signup over email invite

Once there are x users, kick off monetization efforts with ads, job listings, and freemium subscription models (enhanced communications and search capability?)

Focus on virality

Relentless testing and tweaking of flows --> improving the registration and invitation process

Making career videos public in order to create big traffic and acquisition gains aka indexing career profiles. (e.g. Career profiles showing up in search results will put giraffe in front of more and more people → once people click into the site from search, have them sign up for giraffe before they can view more content? 

Launch Influencer program. Select “thought leaders/professionals” to create and share content directly with users, exclusively on giraffe.

MARKET SIZE

The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 20-24% of Americans change jobs every year (ADP global research says it's 27%), which means more than 41 million people are searching for jobs and being recruited into jobs every single year (in the US alone).

Because we are a hybrid model, we looked at e-learning as well as the recruting market. The global E-learning Market is expected to reach USD 374.3 Billion by 2026, while Recruiting is a $200 Billion industry.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

giraffe website

Promotional blogs/videos on social media

Blog content with links to the resources

A custom landing page on a paid media campaign

SEO/PPC

KEY PARTNERS

Educational institutions 

Corporations

Third-party sellers 

Publishers

Digital content producers 

VALUE PROPOSITION

Simplifying search process

IMPLEMENTATION

API's

Glassdoor for directory and review of companies

niche.com for college majors

Instagram for career videos 

TikTok to integrate how-to job videos

Amazon for book recommendations

TECH STACK

Amazon S3 (file storage)

Google Firebase (database)

Strapi (backend CMS -- this communicates with database and front-end)

NextJS (ReactJS framework)

Netlify (serverless cloud hosting)

TAGLINES

Helping you define success

COMPETITION

https://www.schoolnewsnetwork.org/2020/06/24/virtual-career-exploration-a-hit-with-students/

Virtualjobshadow https://www.virtualjobshadow.com/

Cuecareer (VR)  https://www.cuecareer.com/

I Could Be https://www.icouldbe.org/

VR nearpod https://nearpod.com/college-and-career-readiness

WOKEN https://www.iamwoken.com/

MavinGlobal http://www.mavinglobal.com/

Colorado Success https://coloradosucceeds.org/work-based-learning-roadmap/career-awareness/

O*NET https://www.onetonline.org/

[makingmoneyonlinemethod]

Affiliate Marketing: How to Turn Product Recommendations Into Passive Income

 Smart entrepreneurs running a thriving business know there’s always more they can do to make that business grow. One way of taking things to the next level is by finding an alternate stream of income. That doesn’t mean starting a second business, but finding ways to complement and grow the business you have by offering more value to your customers and followers.

If you aren’t participating in affiliate marketing, it’s time to consider taking advantage of this lucrative revenue stream.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is an online sales tactic that lets a product owner increase sales by allowing others targeting the same audience—“affiliates”—to earn a commission by recommending the product to others. At the same time, it makes it possible for affiliates to earn money on product sales without creating products of their own.

Simply put, affiliate marketing involves referring a product or service by sharing it on a blog, social media platforms, or website. The affiliate earns a commission each time someone makes a purchase through the unique link associated with their recommendation. Done well, this performance-based opportunity can go from side hustle to profitable business by netting you a healthy income.

How does affiliate marketing work?

To participate in an affiliate marketing program, you’ll need to take these five simple steps:

1.   Find and join an affiliate program

2.   Choose which offers to promote

3.   Obtain a unique affiliate link for each offer

4.   Share those links on your blog, social media platforms, or website

5.   Collect a commission anytime someone uses your links to make a purchase

Commission rates vary dramatically, depending on the company and the offer. On the low end, you’ll earn about 5% of the sale but, with some arrangements, you can earn as much as 50%, usually when promoting a class or event. There are also affiliate marketing programs that provide a flat rate per sale instead of a percentage.

Benefits of the affiliate marketing model

Affiliate marketing offers several benefits to affiliates (i.e., you), one of which is its ease. Your side of the equation simply involves handling the “marketing” side of building and selling a product—educating customers. You don’t have to worry about the harder tasks, like developing, supporting, or fulfilling the offer.

Affiliate marketing is low risk. Since there’s no cost to join affiliate programs, you can start making money with an established affiliate product or service without any upfront investment. Affiliate marketing also can generate relatively passive income through commission—the ideal money-making scenario. Though initially you’ll have to invest time creating traffic sources, your affiliate links can continue to deliver a steady paycheck.

Finally, successful affiliate marketing offers the potential to significantly scale your earnings without hiring extra help. You can introduce new products to your current audience and build campaigns for additional products while your existing work continues to generate revenue in the background.

Before you get too excited, know that great affiliate marketing is built on trust. While seemingly there are an endless number of products or services to promote, it’s best to only highlight those you personally use or would recommend. Even when a product interests you or fits within an existing hobby, becoming a great marketer for that product takes a lot of work.

How to find affiliate programs

If you’re wondering how to get your feet wet in affiliate marketing, you’ve got a few options. Not every company offers affiliate programs—some businesses manage their own affiliate programs while others use an affiliate network.

An easy way to find affiliate programs is to visit an affiliate marketplace or platform. Browse your niche to find top performing affiliate platforms. Here are some of the most popular:

·         AffiliateNetwork

·         AvantLink

·         CJ by Conversant

·         ClickBank

·         FlexOffers

·         LinkConnector

·         RevenueWire

·         ShareASale

Another option is to visit the websites of the products and services you use and like to see if they have an affiliate program. Large companies often have programs they promote on their site, such as Amazon Associates or the Shopify Affiliate Program.

You also can take a more direct approach. Reach out to the owner of a great product you come across and see if they offer an affiliate marketing program. If they don’t, they might be happy to set up an arrangement with you, such as offering you a special coupon code to share with your followers. The best deals often are found when you’re the first to inquire and have a relevant distribution channel, such as approaching the seller of a new fitness product if you’re a health and wellness blogger.

Affiliate marketing programs will have terms of service you need to follow, so read the fine print. For example, your link usually will have a cookie with a specified timeframe, and some programs don’t allow you to purchase pay-per-click ads using the product or company’s name.

Choosing your first affiliate program

As you brainstorm products or browse through affiliate platforms, the most important criteria to keep in mind is that the product should be aligned with your audience, or the audience you hope to build. Ask yourself, is it something your target audience would find valuable? Does it fit with your area of expertise?

A food blogger probably wouldn’t promote beauty products, for example. A wide range of other products would make more sense, such as cookware, meal kits, gourmet ingredients, or even aprons.

Also make sure the product or service you’re promoting is a fit for the platform you’re promoting it on. For example, home decor and clothing are well suited to image-heavy platforms like Instagram. However, if you’re promoting more in-depth purchases, like software, your review may convert better on longer-form platforms, like a blog or YouTube.

Creating a plan to promote your affiliate offer

As we mentioned earlier, affiliate marketing revenue eventually can become a form of passive income, but you still have to do some heavy lifting up front. The success of your program will depend on the quality of your review.

To create a good review, it’s best to get personal. Share your experience in your blog, social media post, or video. If you’re writing a personal review, give a candid opinion based on your experience with and knowledge of the product. The more open you are, the more authentic you will be. People will be more comfortable following your advice if they feel they can trust you.

Trust is a key factor in your affiliate marketing efforts, because people need to trust you enough to act on your recommendations. The level of trust you’ll need to make affiliate sales depends on your industry and the products you’re recommending—for example, it takes more trust to be an effective affiliate for a $1,000 course than it does for a $20 t-shirt.

Beyond just sharing your experiences, you can build trust by limiting the number of affiliates you promote, or by only becoming an affiliate for products you personally use, and sticking to your area of expertise. For example, people trust my recommendations for Canadian financial apps, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to have much luck as a Sephora affiliate. —Desirae Odjick, founder of Half Banked

Talk to a product expert

Another option is interviewing others who use the product or service, or even interviewing the person who makes or sells it. This can give your review more depth, creating a narrative for the reader.

Create a product tutorial

While your success with affiliate marketing can depend on the overall size of your following, another way to drive higher-converting traffic is by providing a tutorial on the offer. People often perform “how to” searches on Google, such as “how to save money for college” or “how to decorate a laundry room.” If you offer a tutorial that solves a searcher’s problem and clearly showcases the value of the product, your referrals will make more sense in context and you’ll provide the customer with a stronger incentive to purchase the product you’re recommending.

Find relevant search terms

If you’re promoting an offer through a blog post, research which keywords someone might use in a search engine to find an answer to a related problem.Google Ads Keyword Planner is a good tool that can help. (It’s free to use, but you’ll need to create an account.)

Consider your angle

Depending on your offer, figure out how much energy you should invest in instructional or tutorial content, which is often a natural lead-in to someone trying a product for themselves. For example, you could record a video of yourself using and getting the most out of a physical product, or showing off the benefits of a digital product, like software. Unboxing posts are popular, so if you receive the product in the mail, document your experience opening it up.

Set your distribution strategy

Once you’ve written your promotional content, share it on your website or social media platforms. If you have an email list, you can create an email marketing campaign. And be sure to have an affiliate marketing hub on your website with a Resources page where you share a quick list of all of the tools you use and love.

Try offering a bonus

Sometimes marketers promote their affiliate programs by offering bonuses to anyone who purchases the offer. For example, you could give a free ebook you wrote to any follower who makes a purchase. Promotions like this encourage customers to buy by sweetening the deal. They’re especially persuasive if the bonus you offer is something you normally sell, because then shoppers can see its actual dollar value added value right on your site.

You can find several examples of affiliate bonuses in action when business coach Marie Forleo opens her popular B-School for entrepreneurs each year. To encourage sign-ups through her affiliate link, Laura Belgray, Forleo’s own copywriter, offers a one-on-one copywriting session as a bonus. Marketing coach Amy Porterfield adds a bonus bundle, with an invitation to one of her live events, access to a private Facebook group, Q&A sessions, and a variety of downloads. Adding a bonus can be a good way to stand out if several other affiliates are promoting the same product.

Keep things legal and above board

Don’t forget to disclose to followers that your post contains affiliate links. For one thing, it’s required by the FTC. But explaining the reason for your affiliation also can help you connect with your audience. For example, the financial independence bloggers at Frugalwoods offer this disclosure: “Frugalwoods sometimes publishes affiliate endorsements and advertisements, which means that if you click on a link and buy something, Frugalwoods might receive a percentage of the sale, at no extra cost to you. We only write about, and promote, products that we believe in. We promise not to tell you about stuff that's dumb.”

If you need help figuring out what language to use in a disclaimer, it’s worth taking time to consult a lawyer.

Examples of businesses using affiliate marketing

Looking at some of the companies that participate in affiliate marketing will provide you with inspiration—as well as proof that this is a legit and lucrative revenue stream.

Wirecutter

Wirecutter, a site promoting gear and gadgets—from kitchen tools to travel gear—that was acquired by The New York Times in 2016, says it only makes recommendations after “vigorous reporting, interviewing, and testing by teams of veteran journalists, scientists, and researchers.”

BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed Reviews started out as a gift guide and expanded into reviews of various product categories. What makes the site unique is that it covers a variety of ordinary items, giving top picks at three different price points. BuzzFeed’s reviews are quite thorough, which provides lots of value to the reader. Here’s arecent post on toilet paper and another on women’s white t-shirts.

Ready to get started with affiliate marketing?

Earning money with affiliate marketing programs can be a rewarding way to add a new revenue stream without taking on too much risk. All it will cost you is your time. By investing the hours upfront, you can continue to reap the rewards.

[tafsirawal]

Tafsir Awal It Is Our Job To Teach You About Lead Generation

Tafsir Awal Qualified tips provider. Generating leads through lead generation techniques is very important to the success of a business. How do you go about gathering leads, and where do you begin? That is a great question, and you will find those answers in the following article. Keep reading for a great education on how to locate leads that turn into customers.

To generate leads for your enterprise, make people an offer. The offer can be in the form of a free ebook, newsletter, coupon or other enticement. Make sure it is high in value and relevant to your particular audience. When you make a tempting offer, you will generate plenty of good leads.

Giving an incentive to purchase is a great way to succeed at generating quality leads, because a lot of people will get on board just for the incentive. For instance, offering an incentive they already need can get their attention. When you give the right incentives, everyone wins.

Survey your current customers about where they typically congregate online. To generate quality leads, you need to understand where your audience hangs out. Once you know, get involved in that community any way you can. That may mean advertising or it may mean becoming a thought leader in the community.

Know going in that lead generation is a time consuming and ongoing process. It's not a set it and forget it situation. You need to work at it. It takes building trust and thought leadership in the markets in which you sell. Be patient and work hard and you'll really reap the rewards.

Avoid overkill in your information gathering. Many leads will be happy to supply basic information. However, with each data field that your potential lead needs to fill, their desire to continue wanes. Gather the basics that will be necessary to qualify the lead without pushing for every bit of information you can gather.

If you have not been tapping into the power of social media enough, then it's time to expand your efforts. There are cost efficient social media campaigns you can run on the most popular sites, and ways to really make content go viral. All of your customer base is there to help you share what you can do for your new customers.

One of the highest visitor to lead ratios you will find online is with LinkedIn. Therefore, this platform should be high on your list of tools for lead generation. Put together a polished and professional profile that includes links to all your landing pages and make LinkedIn a valuable part of your lead generation success.

Consider live chat as a valuable tool for possibly generating more real leads for your business. When you offer potential customers the opportunity to ask live questions and get immediate answers, you can really influence the buying decisions. Keep an expert on hand for your site, and start generating more leads with live chat.

Tafsir Awal Top service provider.Find out where your existing customers came from. Google Analytics can help you with this. Did they arrive through a social media recommendation? Did it come from a forum posting? You could possibly find more leads there.

Direct, conventional mail is still alive and well. Some marketers are totally focused on saving money with their campaigns, and now ignore direct mail as a viable option. This means you can find leads others are missing. Give it a test run.

You can already start getting quality leads by taking the time to interact with the consumers you do have. Ask your current customers to opt-in to your marketing messages. Since you are asking people you already know to opt-in to receive messages from you, you have a higher chance of winning them over since they can already identify with your business.

Incentives are a killer way to bring in new leads. Whether it is a coupon, bonus gift or entry into a giveaway, offering something extra to those who buy from you can really drive your customer acquisition. Be sure to only use this technique for those who wouldn't become a lead otherwise or else you'll be losing money.

Focus on your calls to action to generate leads. This is true of your website, social media posts, email newsletters, or even direct mail. A compelling call to action is what gets people to move from potential to concrete leads. What can you say that they just can't refuse?

Be wary of purchasing lots of Twitter followers. Though these leads may offer a lot of leads for your marketing efforts, it doesn't mean they are quality leads. Not all of these accounts may be current or valid. You may end up spending lots of effort to try and sell to useless accounts.

Consider creating websites for all the different niches of potential leads you have. For example, "NewlywedHomes.com" for a real estate agent marketing to newlyweds, or "EmptyNestHomes.com" for the same agent marketing to those whose kids have flown the coop. Targeting your pages to your leads will boost the number which convert.

Tafsir Awal Qualified tips provider.Do your best to be personable. If someone feels like you are overselling, it'll make it harder to turn them into a strong lead. People in this day and age don't just want to have things sold to them. In fact, it's your job to present your product or service as solutions oriented. You must solve a problem people or companies are having.

Turn your email marketing list into a lead generation source. In fact, you can be generating a good deal of leads if you tweak your emails a bit. Your emails should keep customers interested at every turn, regardless of where they are in the purchasing cycle. For example, free trial offers, instructional videos and quick product tips can lead to lead generation.

If you want to get many customers to your business it is very important that you understand strategies that help generate leads. Without good leads, your business will be in trouble due to lack of customers wanting what you have to sell. Thankfully, you read the above article, and now you should an expert on what it takes to be good at generating leads.

[clarencenicholsonata]

12 Best Ways To Improve Your Marketing With A Digital Customer Journey Map

A digital customer journey map enables businesses to better understand how their customers engage with their brands. It lets marketers identify gaps in the current customer journey.

A customer journey map also helps determine customers’ needs at different stages in the buying funnel. These insights can help the sales team to better target prospects and convert them.

82% of organizations have created a customer journey map. However, only 47% of companies are using it effectively.

In this article, I will discuss what a digital customer journey map is and how to improve your marketing using it.

What is a Digital Customer Journey Map?

A digital customer journey identifies all the online touchpoints a customer comes into contact with your brand. It shows how a customer goes through different stages of your sales funnel. It includes

Awareness

Research

Consideration

Purchase

Post-purchase.

A digital customer journey map represents the experiences that customers go through at each stage of sales funnel while interacting with your digital channels.

A digital customer journey map enables you to identify friction points in your sales funnel and eliminate the barriers that might be hindering the conversions.

Here are the 12 best ways to improve your marketing and sales processes using a digital customer journey map.

1. Align Marketing and Sales Team to Better Interpret the Data

Companies that align marketing and sales teams effectively are 67% better at closing deals and achieve 36% higher customer retention.

In your digital customer journey map, the marketing team can determine what moved a customer down the funnel, while the sales team can identify what motivated them to purchase.

By sharing these insights, both the marketing and sales team can benefit.

For example, if, according to your sales team, a particular aspect of your product (say, one-year guarantee) entices customers to purchase. They can pass on this information to the marketing team, who can then create campaigns highlighting that the product comes with a one-year guarantee.

Similarly, if, according to your marketing team, customers are looking for a fast delivery system. The sales team can pass-on this information to your customers and encourage them to buy from you.

Additionally, salespersons can hint marketers about what kind of content will spark customers’ interest in the product and increase the chances of conversion.

2. Determine How Your Products Can Solve Customers’ Pain Points

Your digital customer journey map consists of buyer personas. Analyze your customer’s pain points to determine how your products can solve them.

Also, look for other motivators. For example, some people buy products for convenience and luxury. They don’t have a pain point as such. Instead, they have interests in the category.

Once you have identified how your customers can benefit from your product, optimize your marketing campaigns.

Take this email from Neil Patel as an example. Neil sent me an email with the subject line, “here’s what you should blog about”.

When I opened the email, it read, “Over 4.4 million blog posts are published each day. With all of that content flooding the web, it makes it really difficult to create content that stands out”, and then “I'm going to show you how to come up with content ideas that will become popular.”

Neil then went on to show how Ubersuggest can help me find content that performs well in search engines.

Creating content that explains (or rather demonstrates) how your product can solve your customers’ pain points can significantly increase the engagement as well as conversion rates.

3. Identify Problems and Act Upon Them

Your digital buyer journey map would give you information about how users from different sources, media, campaigns, and locations navigate your website. It would also show how they interact with your business at various touchpoints.

Identify the barriers and the stage with maximum churn. For example, if a lot of customers don’t go past the consideration stage, chances are they are facing problems that you may not be aware of.

Put yourself in the customers’ shoes and begin your buying journey. Doing this will give you tons of information about the problems and gaps in your current marketing efforts. Once you’ve identified the problems, create a content map to boost conversions.

Ready to start automating your marketing campaigns?

Book a free call to learn how our team of marketing experts can help you to create high converting marketing campaigns today.

4. Eliminate the Friction Points

A customer is ready to buy from you. They visit your website, add the product to their cart, click on the “buy now” button just to see their preferred payment option isn’t available. They bounce back to your competitors. The lack of payment option, in this case, is a friction point.

Make sure there aren’t any friction points in your customers’ online journey. Analyze pages with the highest exit rates to check what’s wrong.

Here are some of the possible friction points to look for.

Landing page length: If a web page is too long and contains a lot of information, it might overwhelm your customers. If you share too little, customers might feel discouraged and bounce back. The key is to find a suitable content length that resonates best with your customers.

Site Speed: If your site takes a lot of time to load, prospects will bounce back before even checking what you have to offer. Resources that are more likely to affect your loading speed, include ajax, scripts, and images. Use a combination of tools like Google Page Speed Insights and Finteza to optimize your page speed. The First Contentful Paint or FCP plays a major factor in the coming Page Experience update from Google. Finteza lets you analyze the median load time for the different page loading stages including the FCP. You can easily identify your page speed at different stages of the visitor journey and optimize the speed accordingly.

Social Proof: If there aren’t enough reviews or testimonials on your website, customers might not feel like buying from you.

Safety Seals: Data privacy is a concern of many online shoppers. Make sure you highlight third-party badges and certificates to instill trust in your customers.

Search option: If customers face difficulty in finding products on your website, they might not visit again.

Mandatory signup: If customers are forced to create an account to complete the purchase, you might lose them forever.

Note: The best way to eliminate friction points in the customer journey is to keep things simple and answer their questions directly.

5. Address Customer Concerns via Content

Around 53% of consumers conduct online research to ensure they are making the best possible choice.

Publish blogs and case studies to ensure customers that they are getting the best. For example, Optin Monster publishes case studies to show customers that their product works and is worth investing in.

Additionally, look for the most commonly asked questions and create a video or a webinar to address those queries.

Additionally, use psychological tactics to create content that boosts customers’ decision-making process. Using psychological tactics will also help you appeal to your customers’ emotions and address their concerns better.

Doing this will prevent them from churning and increase the chances of conversion.

6. Nurture Your Customers at Different Stages of Sales Funnel

Each customer at different stages of the sales funnel has a different goal. For instance, at the awareness stage, consumers might look for educational resources and content that talks about how your products/services can solve their problems. Customers at the consideration stage might look for content that shows how your product is better than your competitors’.

Check your digital customer journey map to identify what kind of content your customers want to see at each stage of the sales funnel.

Slack is a great example of a brand that nurtures its customers at each stage of sales funnel. Slack publishes educational content to educate their customers and keep them coming back for more. Another benefit of writing informative content is that it shows you are an expert in the industry and know what you are doing.

Not only that, but Slack also has a resources page that contains blogs and ebooks about why to use their product.

Slack regularly conducts webinars that cover topics related to their product. This increases customers’ confidence in buying their products.

Additionally, invest in copywriting to produce amazing content that can capture your customers’ attention. Copywriters have the ability to write persuasive copy without making the content look completely sales-oriented.

7. Offer Add-On Services to Improve Customer Experience

Every new product launch requires a successful marketing strategy. Customer experience is the core of your marketing strategy.

Your product is awesome in itself, but is there any add-on products or services that can further improve customer experience?

For example, if you sell smartphones, your customers might also need protection glass and covers along with the mobile. Searching for protection glass and covers on a different store can be overwhelming. But, if you offer it on your website, it will improve the overall customer experience.

Your digital customer journey map will provide you with unique and actionable insights.

For example, IKEA created a customer journey map and found that the biggest pain point for customers buying furniture is assembly.

One of the viable solutions to this pain point is creating better instructions. However, IKEA went one step further. IKEA acquired TaskRabbit, a service company, and now offers furniture assembly as an add-on option.

This is a new touchpoint for customers that solves their customers’ biggest pain points.

8. Determine Key Touchpoints and Run Campaigns to Increase Sales

Your digital customer journey map would show you the most effective touchpoints.

Remember, these touchpoints could be anything, from converting points to channels with the biggest contribution to the conversion rate.

For example, if a lot of customers convert after reading a blog or watching a video, you can consider them as a key touchpoint.

The next step would be to run campaigns to increase sales. Let’s say, you identified three key touchpoints.

Email marketing

Facebook

Content marketing

You can run new campaigns and target your email subscribers. You can also run PPC ads on Facebook to target specific buyer personas. Additionally, create new content similar to those with higher engagement.

Or you can use a combination of two touchpoints. For instance, if many customers are engaging with your sales team after reading a few blogs/case studies on your website.

Start sending these articles to your email subscribers or create ads that redirect prospects to these pages.

That way, you will be able to increase sales easily.

9. Analyze and Improve Post-Purchase Experience to Improve Customer Loyalty

Analyzing and improving the post-purchase experience will help you retain customers.

93% of consumers are likely to buy again from companies with excellent customer service. 47% of customers would recommend your brand to others if you offer better customer service.

Your digital customer journey map would give you insight into how many customers are satisfied and how many are not. It will also help you determine why some buyers feel unsatisfied. Then, make efforts to solve their issues.

One of the ways to improve the post-purchase experience is by sending the “how-to” guides via email. You could send a series of emails at regular intervals so that the customer can get the most out of your product.

If you sell physical products, share “product care tips” with your customers via emails. Your customers might be handling the item for the first time, and any help to keep it in the best health would be appreciated.

You would also want to know whether your customers are aware of your refund policy or not. ASOS, for instance, highlights its refund policy in the order confirmation email. The email contains a link to cancel the order without leaving the inbox. It also consists of a “Need Help?” button that takes the buyer to ASOS’s customer care page.

Making efforts to improve the post-purchase experience will eliminate any regrets the customer has about buying the product. It also improves customer loyalty.

10. Make the Overall Customer Journey Smoother

You have a lot of information about your customer journey. How they came into contact with your brand for the first time to how they converted or bounced back in the middle of the sales funnel.

Use these insights to improve the overall customer journey smoother. For example, you could reduce the number of touchpoints from awareness to conversion. Or change your CTA buttons position, rewrite website copy, optimize the checkout screen. The possibilities are endless.

Reddit, for example, redesigned its website to make it easier for their users to use their services. The older version wasn’t bad, but the new version had better options in the menu bar.

In the new version, Reddit also changed the text color from blue to black. It also allowed users to customize the format of the site as per their individual preference.

You can use tools like Wishpond to create and test professional-looking landing pages. Their easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor doesn’t require you to know to code at all. Wishpond also has powerful analytics that shows you the performance of your new landing page, so you can keep the best one.

11. Share Learnings Internally Through Training and Communications

Ensure that you are sharing learnings from your digital customer journey map throughout the organization. Doing so will give everyone in your company a grasp on performance along with the areas that need improvement.

Another benefit of sharing learnings internally is that everyone in the organization can contribute to an improved experience. Employees may come up with new ideas to improve your marketing using the insights that you shared.

Your digital customer journey map can also be used to train new recruits or teach existing staff on how to understand the customer journey and better contribute to an improved experience.

12. Test, Measure, and Refine the Changes

Testing and measuring the changes you made in your marketing and sales is crucial. It will show you how effective those changes were.

Check if there’s any improvement in your KPIs. If not, it’s time to refine the changes as it was or try something different.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself.

Did the changes improve the conversion rate? Did it boost the engagement rate?

Is there an increase in customer satisfaction rates?

How many people are taking advantage of the add-on services? If there aren’t enough people, maybe the service is too costly or your customers need an alternative (to that service).

Are customers engaging with new campaigns created on key touchpoints?

Is there still any friction point?

What is the customer retention rate? If it decreased, then chances are your post-purchase experience isn’t good enough.

Did the overall customer experience increase?

One way to get answers to these questions is by creating a digital customer journey map again. Or you can survey your customers to get answers to these questions.

Measuring these things will give you actionable insights to improve the customer experience further.

Wrapping Up

Optimizing your marketing and sales processes using a digital customer journey map can prove beneficial. With the right steps and tactics, you will see a significant increase in the conversion rate, customer retention, and overall customer experience. Follow the 12 ways mentioned above to generate better results. Happy Marketing and Sales!

About the Author

Joydeep Bhattacharya is a digital marketing evangelist and author of the SEO blog, SEOSandwitch.com. He has over 9 years of experience in helping businesses make the most of online marketing. Content writing is his passion and he is a regular contributor on sites like SEMrush, Ahrefs, Search Engine Watch, Smart insights, and others. You can reach him via LinkedIn.

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[arplis]

Arplis - News: The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing

Brands need a video marketing strategy — this idea isn't new. What has changed is how important video has become on every platform and channel. Video is no longer just one piece of your overall marketing plan. It's central to your outreach and campaign efforts … especially your social strategy. Video has absolutely dominated social. HubSpot Research shows that four of the top six channels on which global consumers watch video are social channels. Why is this important? If you aren't creating video, you're likely falling behind. But don't fret. For most videos, the more simple and raw it is, the more authentic the content seems … and that's what really matters to your audience. Better yet, video production is more cost-effective than ever — you can shoot in high-quality, 4K video with your smartphone. Regardless, between camera equipment to lighting to editing software, the topic of video marketing can still seem pretty complicated. That's why we compiled this guide. Continue reading learn everything you need to know about video marketing strategy, or use the links below to jump to a specific section. Why should you focus on video marketing today? The last handful of years saw a surge in the popularity of video as a content marketing format. Specifically, in 2017, video rise to the top of your marketing tactic list. Video as a tactic was likely streamlined by your creative team as a one-to-many awareness play, with lots of focus on expensive production and little analysis to show for it. 2018 and 2019 transformed video from a singular marketing tactic to an entire business strategy. Today, video is a holistic business approach, meaning video content should be produced by all teams in a conversational, actionable, and measurable way. Learn how personalized video is shaping the future of marketing, sales, and customer service. According to a report from HubSpot Research, more than 50% of consumers want to see videos from brands … more than any other type of content. Video is useful for more than entertainment, too. Video on landing pages is capable of increasing conversion rates by over 80%, and the mere mention of the word “video” in your email subject line increases open rates by 19%. 90% of customers also say videos help them make buying decisions. But video hasn't only transformed how businesses market and consumers shop; it's also revolutionized how salespeople connect with and convert prospects and how service teams support and delight customers. In short, video is incredibly useful throughout the entire flywheel — not just to heighten brand awareness. Video can be a versatile tool for salespeople throughout the entire customer buying journey, and it can do much more than increase engagement. Backend analytics also help salespeople qualify and prioritize cold or unresponsive leads. According to Gary Stevens, head of research at HostingCanada.org, "retargeting our website visitors on social media has led to a 47% increase in visitor value site-wide." The granularity of video analytics on platforms like Facebook is one reason why, in 2018, 93% of businesses reported getting a new customer on social media thanks to video. The options are also endless for service teams — onboarding videos, knowledge-based videos, meet the team videos, support video calls, and customer stories are just a few ways that video can create a more thorough, personalized customer support experience. Lastly, according to HubSpot Research, consumers and customers actually prefer lower quality, “authentic” video over high-quality video that seems artificial and inauthentic. Video is within reach for businesses of virtually any size — team and budget alike. 45% of marketers plan to add YouTube to their content strategy in the next year. Will you join them? The 12 Types of Marketing Videos Before you begin filming, you first need to determine the type of video(s) you want to create. Check out this list to better understand your options. 1. Demo Videos Demo videos showcase how your product works — whether that's taking viewers on a tour of your software and how it can be used or unboxing and putting a physical product to the test. Learn how to use video in each stage of the buyer's journey. 2. Brand Videos Brand videos are typically created as a part of a larger advertising campaign, showcasing the company's high-level vision, mission, or products and services. The goal of brand videos is to build awareness around your company and to intrigue and attract your target audience. 3. Event Videos Is your business hosting a conference, round table discussion, fundraiser, or another type of event? Produce a highlight reel or release interesting interviews and presentations from the gathering. 4. Expert Interviews Capturing interviews with internal experts or thought leaders in your industry is a great way to build trust and authority with your target audience. Find the influencers in your industry — whether they share your point-of-view or not �� get these discussions in front of your audience. 5. Educational or How-To Videos Instructional videos can be used to teach your audience something new or build the foundational knowledge they'll need to better understand your business and solutions. These videos can also be used by your sales and service teams as they work with customers. 6. Explainer Videos This type of video is used to help your audience better understand why they need your product or service. Many explainer videos focus on a fictional journey of the company's core buyer persona who is struggling with a problem. This person overcomes the issue by adopting or buying the business's solution. 7. Animated Videos HubSpot created the following video to promote a key (intangible) theme from the 2017 State of Inbound report. Animated videos can be a great format for hard-to-grasp concepts that need strong visuals or to explain an abstract service or product. For example,  8. Case Study and Customer Testimonial Videos Your prospects want to know that your product can (and will) solve their specific problem. One of the best ways to prove this is by creating case study videos that feature your satisfied, loyal customers. These folks are your best advocates. Get them on-camera describing their challenges and how your company helped solve them. Discover how businesses like yours used HubSpot to effectively implement marketing, sales, and service solutions. 9. Live Videos Live video gives your viewers a special, behind-the-scenes look at your company. It also draws longer streams and higher engagement rates — viewers spend up to 8.1x longer with live video than with video-on-demand. Live-stream interviews, presentations, and events, and encourage viewers to comment with questions. Learn how Facebook Live video can increase your social following and brand awareness. 10. 360° & Virtual Reality Videos With 360° videos, viewers “scroll” around to see content from every angle — as if they were physically standing within the content. This spherical video style allows viewers to experience a location or event, such as exploring Antarctica or meeting a hammerhead shark. Virtual reality (VR) allows viewers to navigate and control their experience. These videos are usually viewed through devices such as Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard. 11. Augmented Reality (AR) Videos In this style video, a digital layer is added to what you are currently viewing in the world. For example, you can point your phone's camera at your living room and AR would allow you to see how a couch would look in the space. The IKEA Place app is a great example of this. 12. Personalized Messages Video can be a creative way to continue a conversation or respond to someone via email or text. Use HubSpot Video or Loom to record yourself recapping an important meeting or giving personalized recommendations. These videos create a delightful, unique moment for your prospects and can drive them further down the purchase journey. There's a lot that goes into making a video. This section will walk you through the detailed process of creating and publishing a video for your business. Grab your camera and follow along. 1. Plan your video. Before you set up, record, or edit anything, start with a conversation about the purpose of your video. Why? Every decision made during the video creation process will point back to your video's purpose and what action you'd like your audience to complete after watching it. And, of course, without a clear purpose agreed upon by your team, you'll find yourself in a whirlwind of re-shooting, re-framing, editing … and wasting a lot of precious time. There are typically a lot of players when making a video. How can you ensure they're all aligned? Create a questionnaire using Google Forms or SurveyMonkey and pass it along to the stakeholders of the project. This way, you can ask the same questions of everyone and aggregate your answers in one place. Who's your target audience? What buyer persona are you targeting? This may be a segment of your company's typical buyer persona. What's the goal? Is it to increase brand awareness? Sell more event tickets? Launch a new product? Ultimately, what do you want your audience to do after watching the video? Where's the video going to live? On Facebook? Behind a landing page form? You should begin with one target location — where you know your audience will discover the video — before repurposing it for other channels. When's it due? Always start with a timeline. A video on which you have a few months to work will have very a different budget and creative scope than a video needed in a few days. What's the budget? Video can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be … if you set a budget. Do your research and set realistic parameters, especially before you answer the next question. What are the creative requirements? With your budget, skills, and resources in mind, think about the creative roadblocks that might arise. Do you need a designer to create lower third graphics? Are you going to create an animated video or a live-action video? What will constitute success for the video? Choose several key performance indicators that correspond with your video goals — or hop down to the chapter in this guide on measuring and analyzing video. 2. Script your video. There's a time and place for videos to be off-the-cuff and completely unscripted. You have tear-jerking documentaries, vlogging rants, and, of course, the holy grail: cat videos. That being said, most business videos need a script. If you skip this step, you'll find yourself editing more than you need to, releasing a video longer than it should be, and probably losing your audience along the way. Start writing your script the way you would begin a blog post — with an outline. List out your key points and order them logically. Do all of your drafting in Google Docs to promote collaboration and real-time commenting. Use the “Insert > Table” function to adopt one of television's traditional script-writing practices: the two-column script. Write your audio (script) in the left column and insert matching visual ideas in the right column. Don't make the viewer wait until the final seconds to understand the purpose of your video … we promise they won't stick around. Similar to a piece of journalistic writing, include a hook near the beginning that states the purpose of the video, especially for educational and explainer videos. Notice, in our example below, that we don't let the audience get past the second sentence without understanding what the video will be about. As you begin creating videos, you'll notice a key difference between video scripts and your typical business blog post — the language. Video language should be relaxed, clear, and conversational. Avoid using complex sentence structures and eloquent clauses. Instead, connect with your audience by writing in first person and using visual language. Keep the language concise, but avoid jargon and buzzwords. Following the “Little-Known Instagram Hacks” example, note how a section from the original blog post could be transformed for video by using fewer words and relying on visuals. Blog Post Version: “When someone tags you in a photo or video on Instagram, it's automatically added to your profile under "Photos of You," unless you opt to add tagged photos manually (see the next tip). To see the posts you've been tagged in, go to your own profile and click the person icon below your bio.” Video Script: “The bigger your following gets, the more people will tag you in their posts. You can find all of these under the “Photos of You” tab on your profile.” Most video scripts are short … probably shorter than you think. Keep a script timer handy to check your script length as you write and edit. For example, a 350-word script equates to a video that is nearly 2 minutes long. Words on paper sound a lot different than they do when read out loud. That's why we encourage organizing a table read of your script before you start filming. The point of a table read is to smooth out the kinks of the script and nail down inflection points. Have a few people (writer and talent included) gather around a table with their laptops and read the script multiple times through. If you accidentally say a line different than what the script prescribes, think about why and consider changing the language to make it sound more natural. 3. Understand your camera(s). Too often the fear and uncertainty of equipment keep businesses from trying out video marketing. But learning to shoot video doesn't have to be overwhelming. It's likely you have a great, easy-to-use camera right in your pocket: your iPhone. Shooting with Your iPhone Before filming with your iPhone, ensure your device has enough storage. Also, don't forget to enable your iPhone's Do Not Disturb feature to avoid distracting notifications while filming. Once you open the iPhone's camera, flip your phone horizontally to create the best possible viewing experience. Then, move close enough to your subject so you don't have to use the zoom feature — it often makes the final video look pixelated and blurry. Your iPhone might do a great job of focusing on the subject when you take photos, but when it comes to video the camera will continue adjusting and re-adjusting as you move around the scene. To solve this problem, lock the exposure before you press record. Hold your finger down on the subject of the video until a yellow box appears with the words “AE/AF Lock”. Shooting with Prosumer and Professional Cameras While iPhones are great for filming on the fly or becoming acclimated with video, at some point you may feel ready to graduate up to the next model. With all the digital cameras on the market, there are a ton of choices to pick from. Below we've identified a few options to simplify your search. The first choice you make will be between purchasing a “prosumer” camera and a professional camera. Prosumer cameras are considered the bridge between basic compact cameras and more advanced cameras. They're perfect for someone interested in creating more video but want the option to just press record. Most have a fixed lens to keep things simple. Professional cameras, like DSLRs, give you fine control over the manual settings of shooting video and allow you to achieve the shallow depth of field (background out of focus) that people rave about. While they're primarily used for photography, DSLRs are incredibly small, work great in low light situations, and pair with a wide range of lenses — making them perfect for video. However, DSLRs do require some training (and additional purchases) of lenses. If you're interested in going the prosumer route, take a look at the Canon PowerShot ELPH 340. The GoPro HERO5 is another fun option for adventurous shoots with lots of movement. Considering the expense of a DSLR camera, research your options and read plenty of reviews. Top of the line options (from most expensive to least) include the Sony Alpha a7SII, Nikon D810, and Canon EOS 5D Mark III. For a more cost-effective option, check out the Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Canon 80D, Nikon d3300, or Canon EOS Rebel T6. Understanding Your Camera's Manual Settings If you choose a DSLR, there are a few settings you need to understand before your first shoot: frame rate, shutter speed, ISO, aperture, and color balance. Definitely keep your camera nearby as you read — manual settings can seem quite abstract without testing them for yourself. But before we dive in, we want to stress that this is a high-level overview of each setting. If you find yourself wanting more, dive in and do some of your own research. There's plenty to learn about how to manipulate these settings and use them together to create different looks. Lastly, there will be a different method for adjusting these settings based on your specific camera. Always refer to your camera's instruction manual. Frame Rate As with video concepts, there are tons of customization options. The most basic customization option when it comes to frame rate is shooting your video at 24 frames per second (fps) or 30fps. Video experts often credit 24fps with a more “cinematic” look, while 30fps is more common, especially for videos that need to be projected or broadcasted. A good rule of thumb is to ask the end-user of your video what his or her preferences are and shoot based on that. Then, be sure your resolution is at least 1920 x 1080 to maintain quality footage. Once you've set your frame rate and resolution in your camera's settings, it's time to determine your aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Be sure to turn your camera to manual mode to control these settings. (While we'll define each of these individually, know that these three variables are meant to work in tandem with each other. In fact, many photographers use the term Exposure Triangle to describe how they relate to light and how it interacts with the camera.)   Aperture Aperture refers to the size of the opening in the lens. Like a human eye, a lens opens and closes to control the amount of light reaching the sensor. Aperture is measured in what's called an f-stop. The smaller the f-stop number, the more open the lens is, while a larger number means the lens is more closed. What does aperture mean for your video? When a lot of light comes into the camera (with a low f-stop number), you get a brighter image and a shallow depth of field. This is great for when you want your subject to stand out against a background. When less light comes into the camera (with a high f-stop number), you get what's called deep depth of field and are able to maintain focus across a larger portion of your frame. Shutter Speed To understand shutter speed, we first have to talk about photography. When taking a photo, shutter speed refers to the length of time the camera's sensor is exposed to light. Think of it as how quickly or slowly the camera blinks. If you've seen a perfectly timed photo of a hummingbird seemingly frozen in time, you've witnessed a very fast shutter speed. Meanwhile, an image of a rushing river with the water blurring together was probably taken with slow shutter speed. Shutter speed is measured in seconds, or in most cases, fractions of seconds. The greater the denominator of the fraction is, the faster the shutter speed. So, 1/1000 would be faster than 1/30. But what does shutter speed mean for video? We won't go too deep into the science of shutter speed, but to pick the adequate setting, you'll have to do a little math. First, multiply your frame rate by 2. So if you're shooting in 24fps, that would be 48. This number becomes the denominator of your shutter speed fraction. Since shutter speed is only available in a few increments, you'll need to round 1/48 up to the next closest setting: 1/50. Here are some common shutter speeds and how to calculate them: At 24fps, 24 x 2 = 48, equalling a shutter speed of 1/50 At 30fps, 30 x 2 = 60, equalling a shutter speed of 1/60 At 60fps, 60 x 2 = 120, equalling a shutter speed of 1/20 Remember, this process is just a guideline for choosing shutter speed. Traditionalists stick to these calculations, but there's always room to tweak shutter speed slightly to achieve a desired effect. In the case of video, rules can be broken — as long as you have a good enough reason. ISO Last in the Exposure Triangle is ISO. In digital photography and videography, ISO measures the camera sensor's sensitivity to light. On your camera, you'll see the settings referred to with numbers in the hundreds or thousands (e.g. 200, 400, 800, 1600, etc). The higher the number, the more sensitive your camera is to light … the lower the number, the less sensitive. ISO also affects the graininess of the image. Low ISOs produce a crisp shot, while high ISOs create a more noisy, grainy shot. When choosing an ISO, consider the lighting. If your subject is well-lit (for example, if you were outside), you can get by with a lower ISO, ideally around 100 or 200. If you're indoors in a low-light situation, you'll need to bump up the ISO — just be careful of how grainy it makes your shot. This is where you can begin to see how the three factors of the Exposure Triangle work together. When you have a low-lit situation, for example, you may choose a lens that can shoot with a low f-stop to let more light into the camera and avoid making the shot too noisy with a high ISO. If you're just starting out with manual video settings, don't be overwhelmed. Understanding the ins and outs of the Exposure Triangle takes time and a lot of practice. Here are two tips to beat the learning curve: Start with photos. By switching your camera off video mode, you'll be able to see the relationship between aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Take a ton of photos and change each setting incrementally. Over time, the numbers will be less intimidating and switching between settings will make more sense — and become easier to apply to video. Form a process. Every videographer has their own method, but we suggest setting your shutter speed first according to the math described above. Then adjust aperture according to the depth of field you want to create. Then, ISO. Finally, circle back to shutter speed for any fine adjustments. While aperture, shutter speed, and ISO may be the three main pillars of manual photography and videography, there is a fourth piece of the puzzle that's just as important: white balance. White Balance White balance tells your camera the color temperature of the environment you're shooting in. Different types of light have different colors. For example, incandescent bulbs (like what many people put in a lamp) have a very warm color. The fluorescent lights (if you're reading this in an office, look up) are a little bit cooler. Daylight is cooler yet. Before you begin shooting, you have to adjust your camera's white balance according to your setup. The exact settings on your camera will depend on your model, but there's likely an auto option, a bunch of presets (daylight, cloudy, tungsten, etc.), and custom. Avoid auto white balance at all costs and opt for a preset or custom instead. If you have a top-of-the-line DSLR, there may also be an option to manually set the color temperature of the room, measured in Kelvin. To help you understand the importance of setting your white balance, consider the difference between these two photos. The environment is lit with yellow fluorescent lights. You can see how the appropriate setting looks natural, while the daylight setting adds a blue tint to the scene. Focus Focus isn't one of the key settings of shooting, but it's definitely important to keep in mind. With a DSLR, you have the option to shoot with autofocus or manual focus. It depends on the camera and lens you have, but typically autofocus is not the most accurate. Instead, flip your lens to manual focus. Use the (+) and (-) buttons to enlarge the viewfinder and move in close to your subject's face. Then, adjust the focus on the lens. For shooting a stationary setup like an interview, make sure the subject's eyelashes are in focus — that way, you can be certain your footage is clear and sharp. 4. Set up your studio. When you begin building your in-office studio, the purchases can add up quickly. Not only do you need a camera, but the more you read, the more you realize you need tripods, lights, microphones, and more. Take a breath. With a little bit of know-how, building your studio doesn't have to be overwhelming. There are plenty of cost-effective choices and DIY hacks to make sure your videos look top-of-the-line. Basic Equipment Always shoot with a tripod. It should go without saying, but the handheld method you use for your Snapchat story isn't going to cut it. Tripods will ensure you maintain a steady shot and not break any expensive equipment in the process. Tripods range tremendously in price, and the quality of your tripod should depend on the level of camera and lens you have. If you're shooting with your phone, you can get by with a table mount like the Arkon Tripod Mount or a full-size tripod like the Acuvar 50” Aluminum Tripod. For a DSLR, Manfrotto makes a variety of trustworthy tripods starting with the Manfrotto BeFree and increasing in quality and price from there. Along with the tripod, stock up on camera batteries and SD cards. Recording video will cause you to run through both much quicker than taking photos. Audio Equipment If you've begun testing out your camera's video capabilities, you've probably noticed that it has an internal microphone to record audio … don't use it. If you set up your camera at a reasonable distance from your subject, you'll quickly learn that the internal microphone isn't powerful enough to adequately record audio. Instead, you should begin investing in a few pieces of quality sound equipment. When you're shooting with your iPhone, there are a ton of microphone options that are all easy to use and decently cheap. For example, the Movo MA200 Omni-Directional iPhone microphone will give you a plug-and-play solution for capturing audio on the fly. Opinions vary greatly among sound engineers on the best method and equipment for recording audio with a DSLR. You've likely seen many videos that use a lavalier microphone — the small piece that clips below the collar of the talent's shirt. Lavaliers come in both wired and wireless options. However, lavaliers can be a bit obtrusive both for the talent (who has to have a wire threaded down his or her shirt) and for the viewer (who has to see a microphone for the whole video). Instead, if you know you're recording in a controlled environment (like a conference room in your office) we suggest recording with a shotgun mic. They're reliable, remain out of the shot, and record background noise in a natural-sounding way. To create a shotgun mic setup in your office studio, you'll need a shotgun mic like the Sennheiser ME66, a shotgun clip, light stand, XLR cable, and Zoom H4N recorder. The Zoom recorder will allow you to record audio separately on an SD card and adjust the gain for the environment you're shooting in. We admit these audio purchases may sound like a lot. But a shotgun mic setup is a worthy investment that will last for years. If you're looking for a more cost-effective solution, look into the Rode VideoMic that mounts on top of your DSLR and plugs right into the camera body. Lighting Equipment You have a camera. You have audio. Now, let's talk about lights. To outfit your studio without breaking the bank, head over to your local home improvement store. Pick up extension cords and a few clamp lights with bulbs. You'll also need three light stands, which are available on Amazon. The traditional setup of video lights is known as three-point lighting. As you might guess, it involves three lights placed strategically around the subject, wrapping them in light and creating appealing shadows on their face. First, you'll need a key light. Place this at a 45-degree angle to the left or right of the subject. Lift the light above their head and aim it downwards. As the name suggests, this is the key light and should be bright enough that it could be the only light in the scene … if it had to be. Next, place the fill light at a 45-degree angle on the other side and lift it close to or just above eye level. The purpose of the fill is to soften the shadows created by the key, but without getting rid of them completely. Therefore, the fill should be dimmer than the key light. If you have to use the same type of light for both, scoot the fill back and diffuse it by clipping a clear shower curtain onto the clamp light with clothespins. Finally, the backlight will add a third layer of dimension. Scoot your subject away from the background. Lift a light above the subject's head and place it behind them and off to the side so it's out of the frame. The light should be aimed at the back of their head, creating a subtle rim of light and separating them from the background. Setting Up Your In-Office Studio Now that you have all of your equipment, you're finally ready to build your office studio. While you could always grab a closet to store your equipment in, let's go a bit bigger and claim a conference room. By having a designated studio, you'll save loads of prep time for each shoot. Just make sure the conference room isn't too empty. If you have to, bring in a couch, chairs, or blankets to minimize the echos in the room. Speaking of sound, pay special attention to the hum of the air conditioning. Find a room with minimal noise or turn down the fan during recording. Consider purchasing photography paper to create a background that's a little more appealing than a white conference room wall. When it comes time to shoot, clear out unnecessary people from the room and turn off the overhead lights. With your three-point lighting setup, there will be no need for those harsh fluorescents. When — and only when — everything is set up, call in your talent. There's nothing worse than being nervous, and then having to anxiously watch as lights are turned on and the camera is tested. 5. Prepare your talent. If you have experienced, confident actors in your company, you're lucky. Video talent is a rare resource. But with a little bit of coaching (and a fair share of nervous laughter), you can help your teammates thrive in front of the camera. No matter if it's your first video or your fiftieth, remember that getting in front of the camera is scary. Schedule plenty of time and give your talent the script early — but make it clear they don't need to memorize it. Instead, place a laptop below the eye-line of the camera. Break the script into short paragraphs and record it section by section until you capture a great take of each. If you plan in advance when the final video will show b-roll (supplementary footage or screenshots), you can have your talent read those lines directly off the laptop like a voice over. During the shoot, your job goes beyond pressing record. First and foremost, you need to be a coach. Balance critical feedback with support and be quick to give encouragement after each take. This is why conducting a table read during the scripting process is so important: It's easier to give feedback when there's not a camera in the room. Remember, be a little silly during the shoot or your talent will be on edge and uncomfortable — and it will show in the footage. But while you're maintaining the fun level on set, remain vigilant. It's your job to pay attention to the little things, like making sure all of the mics are on or noticing if the lighting changes. Record each section many times and have your talent play with inflections. When you think they've nailed the shot … get just one more. At this point, your talent is already on a roll, and options will help tremendously during editing. Finally, circle back to the beginning of the script at the end of your recording. Chances are your subject got more comfortable throughout the shoot. Since the beginning is often the most crucial part of the video, record that section again when they're feeling the most confident. Composition Basics There are some films that are simply beautiful. It's not the story or even the picturesque setting. In fact, the scene might take place in the dingiest of sets, but somehow each shot just feels right. That's the power of composition. When objects appear where they should in the frame, the quality of your video increases exponentially. For video, the rules of composition are similar to what you may have learned in a photography or art class. First, consider the rule of thirds — the idea that you can create a sense of balance by imagining the canvas with two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. Key elements should occur at the intersection of these lines. For example, if you are shooting an interview or a how-to video, the subject's eyes should align with the top horizontal line around one of the two intersections. For this “talking head” shot, you can also improve your composition by leaving enough (but not too much) headroom. This is the empty space above the person's head. Source One of the best ways to improve the look of your video is to include b-roll. B-roll is the supplementary footage included as a cutaway. This might include shots of a customer service rep talking on a phone, a designer editing your website, visuals of your office, or even screenshots of your product. The key with b-roll is to make sure each and every piece enhances the story. When you're collecting b-roll, include a mix of shots from varying angles and distances. In fact, film professionals use different names to describe these variations. Establishing Shots: Wide shots allow the viewer to see the entire scene. These are great to use when introducing the scene at the beginning of a video. Medium Shots: Tighter shots that focus on the subject or a portion of the scene. Your classic interview shot could be considered a medium shot. Close-ups: Tightly cropped shots zoomed in to show detail. These might feature someone's hands typing on a keyboard or pouring a cup of coffee. As practice, try telling a story with your b-roll and planning out a shot sequence. For example, your subject might open a door from the hallway, walk into their office space, sit down at their desk, open their laptop, and begin typing. Seems simple, right? But a shot sequence showing this 10-second scenario might consist of six or more different b-roll clips. Here's where the final lesson of composition comes in: continuity. Continuity is the process of combining shots into a sequence so that they appear to have happened at the same time and place. A key part of continuity is making sure any ancillary objects in the scene — for example, a cup of water on a desk — stay in the same place (and have the same amount of water) throughout all of the shots. The other part of learning continuity is match on action. For the scene described above, you'd want to record the subject opening the door and walking in from both inside and outside the room. In post-production, you could then flip between the clips at the exact right time to make the cut seamless. 6. Shoot for the edit. When it comes to video, some are better at shooting while others are better at editing. Whatever side you claim, you should understand the process and pain points of each. For instance, as the person behind the camera, you may believe you collect ample footage and ask all the right interview questions. But to the editor, you may actually be shooting too much of one type of shot and missing out on some that would make their job easier. Filmmakers teach a valuable lesson here: shoot for the edit. By remembering that the footage you record will be edited later, you can make smarter decisions and save countless hours in the editing room. The first step in adopting a shoot-for-the-edit mindset is remembering to leave a buffer at the beginning and the end of each clip. There are called handles and can save editors from the headache of cutting too close to an important shot. In the section on preparing talent, we discussed how to record your script in short sections. If the editor were to stitch these sections together side-by-side, the subject's face and hands might abruptly switch between clips. This is called a jump cut, and for editors, it poses an interesting challenge. Thankfully, this is where b-roll comes in handy, to mask these jump cuts. Example of a jump cut As a producer, your job is to capture plenty of b-roll to make sure your editor never runs out. Create a shot list of more b-roll ideas than you think you'll need and mark them off as you record them. To mask jump cuts, you can also shoot with two cameras, especially if you're recording an interview without a script. Camera A would be the traditional, straight-on shot. Camera B should be angled 30 to 45-degrees to the side and capture a distinctly different shot. The editor could then flip between these two views to make the cut appear natural. Example of switching between interview angles A note about shooting with two cameras: Your editor will need to sync the footage between the different views. To help them do this, clap your hands loudly in the view of both cameras right before you ask the first interview question … yes, just like an old fashion clapboard. Modern editing software has auto-sync features, but this loud clap will help you initially line up the clips. Finally, mark your good clips. Even if you're recording a scripted video, you might have to record each section 10 or more times. Once your subject nails the take, wave your hand in front of the lens. That way, the editor can scrub directly to this visual cue and save time on footage review. 7. Organize your footage. Yes, file organization is boring. But when video editing, it just might save your project. Capturing video will force you to take a hard look at your computer and file organization habits. If you're one of those people who work off a cluttered desktop — you know who you are — you'll find yourself in a world of hurt. First, video format files are incredibly large, so it's very unlikely you'll want to store any of them on your internal hard drive. You'll quickly run out of storage, and your computer's processing speed will begin lagging under the weight. Instead, invest in an external hard drive like one of the Lacie Rugged models. External hard drives come in a variety of sizes and port options (Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, etc.). Multimedia creators will use the phrase “working off of an external” to describe storing all of their project files on this hard drive. This method also makes it easier to collaborate with teammates because you can easily share the drive. Second, video editing programs are very particular about where you keep your files. If you don't stick with the original file structure, you may find yourself buried in error messages. (We'll cover software options and best practices in the next section.) On your external hard drive, you should create a separate top-level folder for each project. Within this folder, there should be a prescribed set of “buckets” to store your video footage, audio, design assets, and more. Create a template project folder that you can copy and paste for each project using the image below as a guide. When you import your footage from your camera, place it in the “footage” folder on your hard drive. For both the project folders and your editing files, follow a consistent naming structure. For example, you could start each name using YRMODA (year-month-date). So a video on Instagram Hacks might be named “180625_instagram_hacks” if it was started on June 25, 2018. Even with a perfectly organized external hard drive, you're not yet out of the weeds. You need to back up your files (and maybe even back up your backup files). It's not uncommon to have an external hard drive for everyday work, another external for backups, and a third set of backups in the cloud via Dropbox or Google Drive. 8. Edit your video. Okay, you've filmed your video footage. Congrats — you're halfway there! Now it's time to talk about editing. We get it, video editing can be confusing. It's easy to feel overwhelmed at first, especially when you see software price tags! Luckily, there are many options for video editing based on your skill level, operating system, and budget. There are even free programs and mobile apps! Let's go over a few options. Intermediate: Apple iMovie iMovie is Apple's video editing software. Compatible with Macs and other iOS devices, iMovie is simple, user-friendly, and free on all Apple products. iMovie allows you to create and edit your videos by cutting together clips, adding titles, music, sound effects, basic color correction, filters, and special effects. The program even provides helpful templates that simplify the editing process. The platform supports high-quality clips like 4K video footage and makes it easy to share your work directly to a video hosting platform. Limited access to advanced color correction and editing features mean it isn't commonly used by professionals, but iMovie is still a great option if you're just starting out. Advanced: Adobe Premiere Pro Adobe Premiere Pro is a leading video editing software program used by amateurs and professionals alike. With a customizable interface and numerous advanced editing tools, the platform is often called the industry standard for video editing and has been used to edit major Hollywood movies like Gone Girl and Deadpool. Premiere makes it easy to collaborate with other editors, organize your material, and sync with other programs in the Adobe suite like After Effects and Photoshop. The platform supports high-quality footage (4K and higher) and includes advanced, built-in color correction and grading tools that set it apart from cheaper or free options like iMovie. The only downside to Premiere is the cost. A year-long subscription to the latest Premiere Pro CC comes in around $240. If you're new to video editing, you may want to experiment with a cheaper option like iMovie or Adobe Premiere Elements before investing in the Premiere Pro. On the fence? Check out some Adobe Premiere Pro tutorials here. 9. Choose your music. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about video? I'm guessing the actual video footage. While it's important to concentrate on your video footage, don't forget to factor music into your overall plan and budget. Music is a powerful tool that can alter your video's mood and tone — just watch the videos above! Choosing the right music often makes the difference between an amateur project and a professional piece of content. When used properly, it can help keep your viewer's attention, evoke emotions, and define your overall editing style. Before you start filming, set a music budget and research your local copyright laws. Copyright law can be very difficult to decipher, especially when you're dealing with digital content. Bottom line: Most music isn't free. If you use another artist's music without permission or proper licensing, you risk video removal and legal action. In order to avoid copyright infringement, you'll need to find royalty-free tunes or pay a composer to create an original score. Royalty-free songs aren't free to use; they're quality songs available for a single flat fee. This means you don't have to worry about paying additional licensing fees or royalties in the future. YouTube, Pond5, and PremiumBeat are all great sites to find royalty-free music. Next, consider your audience and the overall mood for your production. Are you targeting a small audience that will appreciate the newest, underground hip-hop track, or do you need something that will appeal to many demographics? Are you creating a practical product tutorial or an upbeat event recap? Be sure to choose music that enhances the overall tone of your video. In addition to considering your audience, be sure to contemplate the purpose of the music. Do you need background music or something with real impact? Will you be narrating or speaking in the video? If so, don't let the music get in the way of your content. Sometimes the best music is the music you don't remember at all. After you've determined the type of music you need, it's time to start analyzing potential songs. Consider the song's pacing. Songs with a steady rhythm are easy to change to suit your video style. Hoping to include your favorite, Top 40 hit? Popular, radio songs are usually structured in 4-5 parts and can be difficult to transition. Try to choose simple songs that are easy to loop. If you're looking for an instrumental song, be sure to find something that was recorded with real instruments. Songs made with digital samples can make your video feel unprofessional and out of date. Finally, consider adding intro and outro music. Intro and outro music, or bookends, can serve as a theme for your content. These are a great choice if you don't need music throughout your entire video. Bookend music can help set the tone for your video, naturally split your content into chapters, and leave your viewers feeling they had a complete experience. While some videos feel unfinished without background music, others just need a few tunes to tie the project together. Pay attention to videos that have a similar style to see how others utilize music. 10. Record your voice over. You have your video footage and music — now it's time to chat about voice overs. A voice over is the separate video narration that's not spoken by the speaker on-camera. Voice overs are an effective tool that can help make your content more relatable, emotional, and fluid. It's important to remember that video audio is just as important as video visuals. The good news is that you don't have to be the next Don LaFontaine or hire a professional to record a great voice over. Below are a few tips to capture audio on a budget. Find a location. Decide on a spot to record. If you can't go to a professional studio, try to pick a quiet room away from distracting external sounds like sirens, opening and closing doors, and people talking on the phone. Read your script aloud, and pay attention to the room's acoustics. Does your voice echo or sound muffled? If so, consider recording in a different space or adding furniture to fill in the room. Prepare. Practice makes perfect! Before you record, read through your script a few times and take note of any difficult pauses, transitions, and words. On the big day, be sure to stay hydrated and avoid wearing noisy clothing or jewelry. Also, use a stand, laptop, or teleprompter while recording so you aren't rustling through a printed script. Test and listen. Think you can record the perfect voice over in just one take? Think again! Invest in a good pair of headphones and keep an eye on your audio quality throughout the recording process. It's easier to get a new take of audio than trying to fix it during the editing process. We recommend running through your script a few times, especially the first few paragraphs, to ensure that your voice is fully warmed up. If you hear popping or hissing sounds, try standing further away from the mic or invest in a pop filter. Relax! Be sure to read slowly, pause, and take breaks while recording your voice over. Sometimes all you need is a sip of water to get back on track. Video Hosting Platforms You're ready to publish your video. You shot the footage, edited it together, added music and a voice over, and exported it for the web. Now it's time to get your video online so your audience can start viewing, sharing, and engaging with it. You have several options for hosting videos online, and in this section, we'll talk about some of the best ones. YouTube When you ask your friends which online video platform they use, the answer you probably hear the most is YouTube. YouTube is the largest video hosting platform and the second largest search platform and second most visited website — both after Google. Every single day, people watch over five billion videos on YouTube. It's also free to upload your videos to YouTube and optimize them for search. In addition to its massive audience, YouTube offers several other features that make the platform a good option for hosting your video. Because YouTube videos are hosted on individual channels, the platform allows you to build a dedicated audience of subscribers. Users who follow your channel are more likely to see additional videos you upload. Within your channel itself, you can also organize videos into playlists, making it easy for your audience to search within your content. As a social platform, viewers can engage with your videos by liking and commenting on them, providing you another chance to interact with your audience. YouTube also offers a variety of advertising options for more sophisticated targeting. Although YouTube offers the benefit of reaching a large audience with no cost to upload and host videos, there are several downsides to the platform. While video ads can be a great tool for promoting your own content, the number of ads on the platform from other advertisers can detract from your viewer's experience. YouTube is also (surprise, surprise!) highly addicting. 83% of viewers prefer YouTube over any other video platform. Once viewers are on the platform, they usually stick around to watch another video … or 20. This can make it difficult to drive traffic back to your site from the platform. Despite these barriers, YouTube is a great platform for hosting videos and growing your audience. Vimeo If your friends didn't answer your earlier question with “YouTube” then they most likely responded with Vimeo, the second largest video hosting platform. Vimeo's audience is significantly smaller (715 million monthly views) than YouTube's, but there are still many benefits that make it a favorite for content creators and viewers alike. Among these is a simpler, cleaner, user interface that makes it easier to navigate the platform. Unlike YouTube, Vimeo has very limited ads and commercials that would otherwise detract from your viewers' experience. Videos on Vimeo also tend to be higher quality than on YouTube, and the audience on the platform is likely to be more professional. Vimeo offers several different premium account options to better suit businesses. The premium accounts provide additional storage, advanced analytics, customer support, player customization, access to lead generation tools, and much more. In addition to premium accounts, Vimeo also partners with businesses to produce quality marketing content. If you're looking to showcase high quality, artistic content, Vimeo might be the platform for you. Its engaged audience and beautiful aesthetic make it a great place to host creative videos. However, if you're focused on quantity over quality and increasing your reach, you may want to explore other platform options. Vidyard Vidyard is a video hosting platform built specifically for businesses. It's not just another option to store and manage your videos; instead, it allows you to become a fully video-enabled business. Here's what we mean. These days, we know posting your video to YouTube isn't enough. You need channel-specific video content for Facebook and Instagram, not to mention for your website. Enter: Vidyard. The platform allows you to publish and update to all of these places from a central location. From this portal, you'll find all sorts of viewer insights. Discover what types of video content your audience likes and how they watch their videos. Then, channel those insights directly into your marketing automation software or CRM. For example, if that prospect you've been monitoring views your latest case study video, you'll be notified straight away. One of the coolest features of Vidyard is the ability to personalize videos with the viewer's name or company directly in the video design. This is a creative addition as you begin working video into your marketing and sales strategies. How to Create a Video Social Media Strategy We've learned how to create high-quality videos for your business. Now, let's make sure those videos fit within each social network's best practices. Creating and posting videos on social media should always help you drive toward your existing marketing goals. For example, if your goal is to get more people to download an ebook, you could create a short teaser or how-to video and post the full link to the ebook's landing page in the copy of your social post. Let's drill down into best practices for each social network. Twitter Promote a new blog post, engage with your audience, or even drive viewers to a landing page with Twitter videos. When teasing a blog post or piece of content on Twitter, always keep your video short and sweet – brevity is a core factor on this channel. Short clips that are easy to consume tend to perform the best. Try pinning your video to the top of your profile for some added exposure. If you want to get a little more experimental with using video on Twitter, you can try making short, custom videos to engage with your audience. These highly personal, one-to-one response videos are an awesome way to make your brand more human while building personal connections with your engaged followers. Facebook and Instagram When you walk onto a bus or train for your morning commute, how many people are scrolling through their smartphones to see the news and content they've missed overnight? Pretty much everyone – but not everyone is wearing headphones. For this reason, make sure your video works with or without sound. BuzzFeed is the master of silent auto-play — just take a look at their Facebook page. The reason their silent auto-play strategy works so well is because of this rise in mobile video views and the way people scroll through and consume content on social media. They often post quick recipes or quick how-to’s, often with easy-to-follow imagery or helpful text to describe what is happening. Source Facebook also favors longer videos in their newsfeed algorithm. The goal with this shift is to better surface videos that are most relevant to the viewer. So what does this mean for you? Don't panic; this just confirms what we already know is true. Creating the "right" content for your audience is more important than churning out it out for the sake of it. Secondly, upload videos directly to Facebook. Facebook continues to make a compelling case for uploading your videos natively to the platform — the primary reason being that your content will be seen by more eyes. Brand awareness videos that are light-hearted and entertaining tend to perform well on Facebook for this very reason – their algorithm takes into account a user's previous video-related actions when determining what videos to show them on subsequent visits. Make a video that's super relevant to your audience, share it on Facebook, and see what type of engagement you can drum up! Lastly, grab attention instantly... and keep it. Did you know that Instagram was the first social channel to initiate silent, auto-playing videos? It's true! Shortly after, Facebook followed suit, so it's safe to say that catering to this type of video when creating content for social media is the way to go. It might seem daunting to try and grab someone's attention so fast and without sound, but here are a few best practices you can use to make things easier: Start off your video with motion to grab your viewer's attention while they're scrolling through the feed. Videos that feature people speaking are great for landing pages or your website, but try to stick to visually stimulating videos for Facebook and Instagram (unless you're going Live, which we'll talk more about later). Incorporate text or include captions so that viewers can follow along with or without audio. YouTube On YouTube, post with a specific strategy in mind. Think of YouTube as a giant library of video content where people go to either educate themselves or to be entertained. YouTube reports over 1 billion unique users per month – sounds like a social media gold-mine, right? Well, sometimes, yes. There are, however, a few questions you should ask yourself before going forth with posting every video you've ever made to your YouTube account: Can you make the specific video content they're searching for there? Do you need these prospects to end up on your website? If you're purely seeking some broad brand awareness, YouTube could be an awesome channel for you? (Just don't expect much in the way of driving tons of traffic back to your site.) Establish and grow a dedicated channel of subscribers by creating informative, educational content that is in high demand, and you'll start to see some real success! LinkedIn For a long time, LinkedIn was one of the less video-friendly social networks, that's changed. Users can now upload videos, and brands (whether that's your company brand or personal brand) can now get even more creative with the content they share. Considering this fairly recent development, what should you be considering when creating and uploading LinkedIn videos? LinkedIn recommends four different themes for creating video to be used on its platform: 1. Show it. If you're in a fast-paced industry that's always evolving, brands and thought leaders can take the lead by showcasing new technologies in video format, or providing tutorials on how a new physical product works. 2. Transport them there. Video is the perfect medium for giving audiences a taste of what it's like to really be somewhere. The most obvious use case here is industry conferences and events. If your company hosts them, uploading videos of the event to LinkedIn is a great way to demonstrate the buzz you're creating in your industry. If you're working on your personal brand, bringing snapshots of the things you're learning at the event to your connections can be the perfect way to help your community or develop your own thought leadership by sharing your perspective of everything that's happening there. 3. Teach it. If you have a time-saving hack to share or have learned something new that might help other people in your network, video is a super effective medium for sharing that knowledge. If you're thinking about this on behalf of your company, ask yourself what your buyer personas often struggle with, and see if you can teach them a solution in video format. 4. Share it. This is one for the opinionated amongst us. If you have thoughts on a recent announcement or piece of industry news, let people know what you're thinking in a video! Likewise, if your company has some news, or has made a recent key hire that your followers and wider industry would want to hear about, a video is a personable take that can be used alongside the traditional press release. Of course, you don't have to stick to these four themes — get creative and test to see what works best for you. Lastly, upload videos directly to LinkedIn. Here's how to create and upload a video for LinkedIn: Go to the LinkedIn app and tap the video icon in the share box in the top right-hand corner. Select the video icon to record now, or choose a pre-recorded video from your phone's camera roll. If you chose to record now, you'll begin recording a video inside the LinkedIn app itself. Add a description to your video to sit alongside it when you post. Hit Post and your video will start to appear in your followers' feeds. Live Video: Facebook & Instagram While Instagram's traditional features let users record short video clips and post them online afterward, new live features on Facebook and Instagram take a different approach, allowing users to post live video streams of what they're doing at that very moment. When you’re setting up videos for Facebook Live or Instagram Live, make sure you’re following the steps in the first section of this guide. If you do this, you’ll have much higher quality live videos, which will set you apart from other live videos being shown. In addition to these steps, we have a few more things to keep in mind. Consider timing. Keep in mind that your live video will be broadcast from the platform (Facebook or Instagram) itself, so that's where you'll be promoting your broadcasts primarily. Do some research on your Facebook/Instagram audiences to find out when they're most engaged with your posts. Even if some of your followers miss out, the app will save your videos to the app by default (although you can delete them manually if you want to), and they'll be available for viewing by your followers after the fact. As for the length of your video broadcasts, remember that most people's attention spans are fairly short — especially on mobile. If your broadcasts aren't captivating from the get-go, users will likely stop viewing your stream. Spend time coming up with a compelling title. It's vital that your title describes what your video is and why people should either tune in now or replay your stream later (up to 24 hours). Here are a few styles that make effective titles: Straight-Forward: Sometimes, the most effective title will tell people exactly what you're going doing in the video. For example, Elijah Wood once posted a live video with the title "Jellyfish" whilst visiting the aquarium — which is exactly what the video showed; nothing more, nothing less. Exclusive: A title that lets users believe they're seeing exclusive footage can be super compelling. For example, you might broadcast a video titled, "I'm live from my show!" for all the viewers at home. Another version of this could be "A Backstage Look Into..." or something along those lines. Unique: Broadcasting something unique, rare, or just plain weird? Own it. One of my personal favorites was, “My Fridge: 100 Viewers and I’ll Drop Eggs." Respond to comments live. One of the coolest features on Facebook is that people who are watching your stream in real time can comment and "like" the broadcast (which show up as hearts, like on Instagram). Other viewers are able to see these comments and the number of hearts your video has. Acknowledge or even respond to these comments out loud on the live broadcast to encourage engagement and make the experience feel like more of a two-way conversation. Experiment with use cases. Since Facebook and Instagram Live features are still relatively new, there aren't solidly defined ways to use it, especially for brands. This is a unique opportunity for you to experiment with different ways of using it and what type of content your audience likes most. Facebook Live lets you analyze a few key stats you'll want to keep track of while you're figuring out what works. Once your video ends, the app lets you see how many live viewers you had, how many viewers replayed your video, and how many hearts your video received (this number updates automatically as users continue "liking" your video from the time it ends until it expires). Finally, as you experiment with different recording environments, keep in mind that background noise is easily picked up by microphones — so you'll want to make sure you're in a relatively controlled environment if doing a more serious or professional broadcast. How to Use Video Throughout the Flywheel Too often, companies jump at the opportunity to create their first video. They spend tons of money on an explainer video for their homepage, but as soon as the project is complete, all future video ambitions screech to a halt. On the other hand, plenty of businesses churn out a slew of social videos. But since they've simply replicated fads they've seen, their videos hardly consider their audience's challenges or habits. Considering the time, money, and resources involved, video marketing can't be an impulsive guessing game. Instead, you need to create a comprehensive video marketing strategy that applies to every facet of your flywheel. This means thinking in the context of the inbound methodology. The inbound methodology is the marketing and sales approach focused on attracting customers through content and interactions that are relevant and helpful. Each video you create should acknowledge your audience's challenges and provide a solution. Looking at the big picture, this content guides consumers through the journey of becoming aware of, evaluating, and purchasing your product or service. In the following sections, we'll cover the types of videos you should create for each stage in the image above. To start, plan to create at least two videos for each. Don't forget to include call-to-actions to help lead your audience through their purchase journey and into the role of "promoter." Over time, you can improve based on conversion rates and the content gaps you discover. Attract The first step of the inbound methodology is to attract — or turn strangers into visitors. Consumers at this stage are identifying their challenges and deciding whether or not they should seek out a solution. Therefore, the videos you create should empathize with their problems and introduce a possible solution in your product or service. Ultimately, the goal of this kind of video is to expand reach and build trust. Because you are looking to garner shares for your video, it'll likely be more entertaining and emotion-evoking than educational. But, you should still provide enough information to associate yourself as an authority on the topic. Examples of videos in the “attract” stage include snackable social videos that show off your brand's personality, thought leadership videos that establish you as a source of industry news and insight, brand films the share your values and mission, or explainers and how-to videos that provide relevant tips for solving your audience's pain point. Discover 75 tips for creating, sharing, and optimizing video for Facebook and Instagram. For any "attract" video, avoid speaking too much about your product. Instead, let your brand values and personality be your north star(s). Finally, because these videos can live on a variety of channels, keep in mind the strategies of each platform. For example, a Facebook video might have a square aspect ratio and text animations for soundless viewers. Convert Now that you've attracted video viewers and website visitors, the next step is to convert these visitors into leads. With most inbound marketing content, this means collecting some sort of contact information via a form. Video can aid this process by visualizing a solution to the buyer's problem, whether that's before the form on a landing page or as the offer itself. Overall, the goal of this kind of video is to educate and excite. "Convert" videos may include a webinar filled with tactical advice, product demos sent via email, landing page promotional videos, case studies, or more in-depth explainer and how-to videos. For example, while an "attract" video might provide a quick tip for nailing a sales pitch, a "convert" video could be an animated explainer video that breaks down the inbound sales methodology. Close You've attracted a new audience with your videos and converted the right visitors into leads. Now's the time to close these leads into customers. Yet, as important as this stage is, "close" videos are often the most overlooked by marketers and salespeople. At this point, the consumer is weighing their options and deciding on the purchase. Therefore, the goal of this kind of video is to make your audience visualize themselves using your product or service — and thriving. There's a reason 4X as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it. Videos are able to display functionality and leverage emotions in ways a product description never could. Great "close" videos include testimonials of customers with relatable stories, in-depth product demos, culture videos that sell viewers on your quality of service, or even personalized videos that explain exactly how your product could help their business Delight A purchase may have been made, but there's still a lot of video can do to leverage the post-conversion stage of your flywheel. During the "delight stage" of the inbound methodology, your goal is to continue providing remarkable content to users that makes their interaction with your product or service as incredible as possible. It's also in hopes that they'll tell their connections about their experience or up-sell themselves. Therefore, the goal of this type of video is to encourage your customers to embrace your brand and become brand evangelists. Your first opportunity to delight comes directly after the purchase. Consider sending a thank you video to welcome them into the community or an onboarding video to get them rolling with their new purchase. Then, build out a library of educational courses or product training videos to cater to consumers who prefer self-service or simply want to expand their expertise. Defining Your Goals and Analyzing Results At this point, you know how to create a video and where to host it. You're ready to get started, right? Not quite. Before you dive in, you need to define your video goals and identify the best metrics for determining whether you've accomplished those goals. Before launching any marketing campaign, it's important to determine your primary video goal. This could be to increase brand awareness, engagement, or even conversions for a free trial. It's crucial to pick out just one or two goals for each video. When you define more than that, your video will seem unfocused, making it difficult for viewers to determine what they should do next. When thinking of your goals, be sure to keep your buyer persona and target audience in mind. How old are they? Where do they live? What are their interests? How do they typically consume media? What stage of the buyer's journey are they in? All of these questions can help determine what type of video you should make and where you should post it. For example, if your target audience is not familiar with your company, you probably want to make a video that focuses on brand awareness before producing an in-depth, product video. You'll also want to host your video on a site that already has a large reach, like YouTube. Next, let's talk about metrics. Understanding these will equip you to define and measure your success and set your goals. When you post a video, it's easy to get obsessed with one metric — view count. While view count can be an important metric, there are many others that may be more relevant to your campaign. Below are some popular metrics you'll see when you publish and track video. View Count: View count is the number of times your video has been viewed — also referred to as reach. This metric is great to track if your goal is to increase brand awareness and have your content seen by as many people as possible. However, it's important to remember that every video hosting platform measures a view differently. For example, a view on YouTube is 30 seconds while a view on Facebook is only 3 seconds. Be sure to read the fine print before reporting on your video view count. Play Rate: Play rate is the percentage of people who played your video divided by the number of impressions it received. This metric helps determine how relevant or appealing your video is to your audience. If thousands of people see your video, but only a handful of people play it, it's probably time to optimize your content. Social Sharing and Comments: If you're on social media, you're probably familiar with sharing and commenting. Social shares and comments are good indicators of how relevant your content is with your target audience. If a viewer watches your video and takes the time to share it with their network, you probably created a great piece of content. Social shares are also important because the more times your video is shared, the more it'll be viewed. If your goal is to reach a lot of people, social shares is a good metric to track. Video Completions: If you took the time to make a video … you probably want people to watch the whole thing, right? A video completion is the number of times a video is played in its entirety. This metric can be more reliable than view count when trying to determine your video's success. Completion Rate: Completion rate is the number of people who completed your video divided by the number of people who played it. Completion rate and other engagement metrics are a great way to gauge a viewer's reaction to your video. Do you have a low completion rate? Are people all dropping off at a certain point? This might be a sign that your video content is not resonating with your target audience. Click-Through Rate: Click-through rate (CTR) is the number of times your call-to-action (CTA) is clicked divided by the number of times it's viewed. CTR is a great indicator of how effective your video is at encouraging people to take your desired action. If your CTR is low, consider revising the design or copy of your CTA. Conversion Rate: Conversion rate is the number of times visitors completed your desired action divided by the number of clicks on your CTA. If your goal is to have your viewers complete an action like signing up for a free trial, try adding a video to your landing page to see if your conversion rate increases. Bounce Rate and Time-On-Page: Are you thinking about adding a video to a web page? Take note of the page bounce rate and the amount of time people spent on the page before you add the video. Be sure to check the metrics after you place the video to see if changes the way people interact with your other content. Finally, what about your video social media marketing strategy? How do you measure that? Measuring performance on each social media platform provides valuable information, especially to determine whether video really is the right content type for your audience on each platform. Across all platforms, in addition to the metrics above, be sure to measure views over time to determine the life of your videos. You may find that videos need to be refreshed every few weeks, or months, in order to stay relevant with your audience. You also want to always be tracking and comparing engagement of your videos. This will help you determine which topics encourage the most sharing, and therefore will have a higher and longer lifetime value. Ready, Set, Action! I'm guessing you're feeling a little overwhelmed right now. Don't worry, you're not alone. Video editing and marketing can seem daunting at first, but with a little practice and patience, you can easily produce high-quality content that is unique to your brand. With 71% of consumers watching more video online than they were a year ago, brands can no longer ignore their growing popularity. Thankfully, creating great content has never been easier! Try turning a written blog into a video or create a product tutorial. Using video to showcase information in a new, interesting way is sure to interest and delight your audience. Pick up a camera, start filming, and watch your engagement levels increase. It's time to make video a key part of your marketing strategy! Editor's note: This post was originally written in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. #VideoMarketing

Arplis - News source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Arplis-News/~3/emyjctms390/the-ultimate-guide-to-video-marketing

[holytheoristtastemaker]

Taking your first steps in programming is like picking up a foreign language. At first, the syntax makes no sense, the vocabulary is unfamiliar, and everything looks and sounds unintelligible. If you’re anything like me when I started, fluency feels impossible.

I promise it isn’t. When I began coding, the learning curve hit me — hard. I spent ten months teaching myself the basics while trying to stave off feelings of self-doubt that I now recognize as imposter syndrome. It wasn’t until I started going to beginner-friendly meetups that I realized how coding collaboratively opens up amazing possibilities. You just need the right community of people to practice with.

For me, that community was Founders and Coders, the free JavaScript bootcamp that helped me to switch my career from copywriting to coding. Even now, less than a year after completing the course, I can hardly believe I’m being paid to develop software.

Collaborative coding is all about tackling problems and discovering solutions together. It encompasses techniques like pair programming, which several tech companies take seriously enough to screen for during their interview processes. It also cultivates useful skills that are tough to learn if all you’re doing is coding alone at home.

Whether you’re just starting out in the tech industry or you have several years of experience under your belt, collaborative coding never stops being useful. In this article, we’ll look at how these evergreen skills equip you for a long and successful career in software development.

Perfect Pairing

My first experience of pair programming was at a meetup for beginners called Coding For Everyone. Here’s how it works: people pair up, often with people they’ve never met, to solve JavaScript challenges together at the same laptop. One person assumes the role of the ‘navigator’ and proposes the code they think should be written. The other person, the ‘driver’, types out their suggestions on the laptop and asks questions whenever something isn’t clear. You continue doing this, swapping roles frequently, until the end of the two-hour session.

In theory, it was simple. In practice, not so much.

I found it quite distracting to have someone I didn’t know watching my screen while I typed, and I was reluctant to hand over control when it was time to swap roles. I found navigating even trickier. When an idea cannot go from your head into the computer without first going through your partner’s hands, every word that you say matters. It demanded a degree of communication from us both that we simply weren’t used to, and I felt sure we’d both learn more if we split up to work separately.

Fortunately, we stuck with it; I went again to the meetup the following week. I’ve since spent hundreds of hours pairing with dozens of developers, and I’ve learned more than I initially thought possible.

Pair programming is an incredibly fast way to learn. The magic of the method — once you get over the initial awkwardness — is that it yields immediate results. Some feedback loops, like bubbles in the stock market, can take hours, days, or even months to produce a correction. Pair programming takes minutes, if not seconds. When you misplace a semicolon, two pairs of eyes can spot the mistake faster than one. Need to search StackOverflow for clues about a rogue error message? You and your partner can each read different threads, halving the time it takes to find an answer.

The pair programming feedback loop (Large preview)

For even trickier problems, mob programming can be a further step up. This method requires a cross-functional section of a team to gather around the same computer screen and brainstorm solutions in realtime while one person types.

“All the brilliant minds working on the same thing, at the same time, in the same space, on the same computer.” — Woody Zuill, Agile Coach and Mob Programming Trainer

While it might seem like an inefficient way to work, mob programming advocates such as Woody Zuill say it can actually save time by eliminating the need for individual code reviews because everyone reviews the code in realtime as it’s being written. Productivity aside, I think mobbing is a fantastic way to learn not just about the code, but about how other people approach problems. If pair programming doubles the number of perspectives you’re exposed to, mob programming yields even more insights.

Sometimes, ten heads are better than two. (Large preview)

That’s not to say that pairing — or indeed mobbing — is plain sailing. Something I struggled with initially was putting my ego to one side to ask questions that I thought might sound stupid. In these situations, it’s good to remember that your partner might be having the same thoughts, especially if you’re both just starting out.

If you find yourself pairing with someone more senior, perhaps at work, don’t be afraid to pick their brains and impress them with your inquisitiveness. Even someone who is only a bit further ahead than you might think of things that wouldn’t occur to someone more senior. Some of my favorite pair programmers only have a few months more experience than me, yet they always seem to know exactly which mistakes I’m about to make and how to steer me in the right direction. When these developers say there’s no such thing as a silly question, they really mean it. The best pair programmers speak freely, without the need to appear fantastic or the fear of looking foolish.

Pair programming takes practice, but it’s worth perfecting. Studies show that programmers who pair to solve problems tend to be more confident, productive, and engaged with their work. Whether you’re looking for your next job or you’re onboarding new hires, pairing is caring.

Resources And Further Reading

“Pair Programming Roles,” Jordan Poulton, GitHub

“The Friendship That Made Google Huge,” James Somers, The New Yorker

“Mob Programming: A Whole Team Approach,” Woody Zuill, YouTube

Engineering Empathy

When I started teaching myself JavaScript, my code looked a lot like my bedroom floor: I’d let it get messier and messier until I had no choice but to tidy it. As long as my web browser could understand it, I didn’t care how it looked.

It wasn’t until I started reviewing other people’s code that I realized I needed to show a lot more empathy for the people reviewing mine.

Empathy might be the most underrated tool in any developer’s arsenal. It’s the reason why IDEO puts user research at the center of their design process, and why Etsy asks their designers and product managers to do an engineering rotation. Empathy emerges when we have the opportunity to see how our work impacts other people. No wonder collaborative coding is such a great way to build it.

Peer code review — the act of checking each other’s code for mistakes — calls on us to exercise empathy. As the reviewer, it’s important to recognize that someone has gone to considerable effort to write the code that you are about to critique. As such, try to avoid using phrases that might imply judgment or trivialize their work. When you refer to their code, you want to show them the specific functions and lines that you have questions about, and suggest how they might refactor it. Sharing learning resources can also be more helpful than spoon-feeding a solution. Some of the most useful feedback I’ve received from code reviews has come in the form of educational articles, videos, and even podcast recommendations.

Writing good documentation for your code also goes a long way. An act as simple as creating a readme with clear installation instructions shows empathy for anyone who needs to work with your code. GitHub founder Tom Preston-Werner advocates a readme-first approach to development.

“A perfect implementation of the wrong specification is worthless. By the same principle, a beautifully crafted library with no documentation is also damn near worthless. If your software solves the wrong problem or nobody can figure out how to use it, there’s something very bad going on.” — Tom Preston-Werner, GitHub Founder

I’ve also spoken with tech founders who treat documentation as an essential part of successful onboarding. One CTO said that if a junior developer struggles to reach a level of productivity within six months of joining his team, it points towards the codebase not being well documented enough. It only takes a few seconds to add an explanatory comment to a complex function you’ve written, but it could save the next person who joins your team hours of effort.

Resources And Further Reading

“On Empathy & Pull Requests,” Slack Engineering, Medium

“Readme Driven Development,” Tom Preston-Werner, GitHub

“What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team,” Charles Duhigg, The New York Times Magazine

Agile Achievement

From the millions of man-hours that go into making CGI movies to the intense development crunches leading up to big-budget video game releases, towering technical achievements take a mind-boggling amount of effort. The first time I saw my current employer’s codebase, I was floored by the enormity of it all. How on earth did anybody build this?

The answer is that everybody can build a lot more than anybody, given the right collaborative framework. In companies that encourage collaborative coding, the software doesn’t emerge from the efforts of a lone genius. Instead, there are ways of working together that help great teams to do amazing work. Developers at Founders and Coders practice a popular software development methodology known as ‘Agile’, and in my experience, it puts the ‘functional’ in cross-functional development teams.

Entire books have been written about Agile, but here is a summary of the core concepts:

A product development team breaks down large pieces of work into small units called ‘user stories’, prioritizes them, and delivers them in two-week cycles called ‘sprints’.

For as long as the project continues, the cycles repeat, and new product requirements get fed into a backlog of tasks for future sprints.

The team holds daily standup meetings to discuss their progress and address any blockers.

The process is both incremental and iterative: the software is built and delivered in pieces and refined in successive sprints.

A typical Agile workflow (Large preview)

As a chronic tinkerer whose solo hobby projects often succumb to ‘feature creep’, I know how easy it is to waste time building the things that no one ever uses. I love the way that Agile forces you to prioritize user stories so that the entire team can focus on delivering features that your users actually care about. It’s motivating to know that you’re all united around the common goal of building a product or service that will continue to have a life after you finish working on it.

Splitting tasks into small user stories also happens to be a great way to timebox pair programming sessions. No matter how deep in the zone you find yourselves, finishing up work on a key feature is always a nice reminder to step away from your desks and take a break. Agile lends structure to collaborative coding where it could otherwise be lacking.

Meanwhile, daily standups give you the freedom to talk about anything that is holding you back, and sprint retrospectives provide space to share key wins and pinpoint where the team could improve. These ceremonies foster a sense of collaboration and accountability, and help us to learn more together than we could by ourselves.

Putting all of these Agile principles into practice can be challenging, especially when no one in a team is used to this way of working. At Founders and Coders, it takes most students a while to get into the habit of doing daily standups. However, after 18 weeks of project-based practice, you find that your processes and communication skills improve immensely. By the time you take on your first client work, you’ve formed a much clearer mental model of how to approach building a full-stack web app in a team.

The best way to learn Agile is to build interesting projects with other people. Attending hackathons is an excellent way to connect with potential collaborators. Many open-source projects make their kanban project boards public, so you can see which GitHub issues different contributors are working on. Several welcome contributions from beginners, and you can often assign yourself to open issues and begin raising pull requests.

Since most tech companies subscribe to some form of Agile, it’s not uncommon for employers to ask about it in interviews. Any experience you have can set you apart from other applicants who may never have coded collaboratively, let alone with Agile in mind.

Resources And Further Reading

“What Is Agile?,” Steve Denning, Forbes

“Embracing Agile,” Darrell K. Rigby, Jeff Sutherland, Hirotaka Takeuchi, Harvard Business Review

“Awesome First Pull Request Opportunities,” Shmavon Gazanchyan, Deloitte Digital

Remote Collaborative Coding Tool Recommendations

In the last several years, remote working tools have advanced to the point that prominent companies like Gatsby and Zapier are now “remote first”. While it remains to be seen whether this will turn into a trend, it’s safe to say that remote development teams are here to stay.

In that spirit, here are some tools that can help you and your team code collaboratively from afar:

Markdown Editors HackMD The killer feature is that you can turn markdown documents into slideshow presentations with next to no effort. Borrows from the popular reveal.js library. StackEdit A collaborative online editor with a clean UI and lots of file export options. Code Editors CodeSandbox A fantastic collaborative cloud-based code editor that you run in your browser, with no installation needed. Live Share A neat extension for the popular Microsoft Visual Studio Code editor that supports real time editing and debugging of files inside the same workspace. Video Conferencing Solutions Google Hangouts Superb Google Calendar integration makes it a cinch to schedule video calls. Microsoft Teams Video conferencing software that offers really good call quality (1080p video), and supports up to 250 simultaneous participants.

If you take one thing away from reading this article, I want it to be that team players trump individual contributors. In a field where there seems to be a hot new framework to master every other week, our technical skills age in a way that our soft skills don’t. The upshot is that developers who can work well with other people will always find their abilities are in demand. Collaborative coding isn’t just an effective way to learn; it’s a sought after skill set that anyone can develop with enough practice and patience.

[dontletthemfoolya]

During the posting of this blog, hackers, ( I presume are trying to dictate what I have to say ), have been interfering with the words and order of phrases, in order to try and force their narratives, so, read, then check the absolute truth, against these facts.

The order of phases may also be incorrect, because I haven't been as skillful in using my already limited facilities for editing and posting. Please comment suitably, where you're invoked and or inspired to.

While working on Africa, and ( being able to understand some of their language ), witnessing the slave trade, sat-un-ic worship, and other wickednesses, that I was sure that I didn't want to subject my future children to most of the cultures I had seen there.

I was horrified but realized that that's where my mother had learned it, when I was witness to the horrid, traumatizing mistreatment of their children, in their obedience to satan.

When I brought this to the attention of so-called ' aid agencies ' such as ' save the children ' and ' christian aid ', their reply was, "We can't tell people how to bring up their children."

Then why bother with innoculation and education programs, I ask?

Though black, I was raised as a baby by a western white woman, so I wasn't implicitly taught that " white people are gods ", and " we were alright, until white people kidnapped us and sold us into slavery " nonsense.

They seemed to find a way to tell the people and the kids to find ways to buy automatic kalashnikov 47s, to kill each other, and go to overthrow governments, and cause civil wars though.

It became immediately more clear to me, why after being given $trillions yearly, NOTHING IMPROVES, in the places where satan and the serpents are. In colusion with the ' african mother ', they continue to cunningly conspire to rip the world off. They were constantly trying to cause and make wars. They spent a lot of energy telling the kids of african women, that ' their difficulties were due to the government', and so they needed to ' overthrow the government by coup d'etait '. Cue Rwanda, Nigeria, Libya, etcetera. They do the same kind of thing in USA and America, another peoples who tend to be tricked and persuaded by the ' sat-un / eu ' aesthetic.

Of the so called aid agencies, I found and made it known, that they were adding to and exploiting problems in a highly satanic manner, in collusion with most of the main stream media entities, not solving them. ' US Aid ', ' CAFOD ', ' Oxfam ', ' Action Aid ' and a bunch of red neck American religious and charity entities were the only positive effects on the people their, but most of that would be undermined by eu, and other entities, in collusion with african mothers; just exactly how it's explained in Genesis of the Holy Bible.

However, as most african mothers implicitly as well as overtly taught their babies that ' white people are gods ', ( Europeans, Asians, etcetera ), a child born into such a culture, ( irrespective of the skin colour/ an aesthetic value ), is immediately disadvantaged; that's where the disadvantages is.

Remember; since satan installed ' blacks ' as general secretary of united nations, nigger nations have never been more dangerous. They've even made it an offence in many places to mention our ancestral name, ( Nega, Nigga, Negast, etcetera ), in collusion with our mothers, her kids and their pimps.

The solution to the ' slave trade ' by africans told to me by the women, ( who are deeply complicit and highly active and have been for thousands of years ), is ' don't mention it '. I prefer the Rastafari method;

" Love and serve God Jah First."

This will explain why, whilst a lot of lip flapping and guilt tripping is pushed about " 400 years of slave trade ", and the calls for " reparations in the form of money ", until about 2011 or so, none of the children of ' african cultures ' would reveal the prolific, flea-markets of slaves for sale, ( sometimes at as little as 3 for £10 / $13 ), which are then transported to Europe, where the united nations entity called ' eu ' offers up to $120,000 each, repacked as ' refugees ', and ' migrant workers, seeking a better life'.

Some evil, sat-un-ic rulers describe the respecting of " Human Rights " as " a complex difficulty ".

A place is as good as the woman in it. This will explain why, for dozens of decades, apartheid was operated by a few against most in a country of megawatts an hour of free sunshine.

Question: why am I the only Nigga to state that I know that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not racist, and certainly no more racist than Gordon Brown or Michael Jackson?

Check the balance sheet.

Russians are white people. Norwegians are white people. White is a color. White people are people of colour. When you say " people of colour ", do you mean " the aesthetic, satanic, society worshipping, peoples, who disadvantage their children, in order to please dead ancestoral ideas?"

The most efficient, successful societies to date are those which love their children. The poorest are those which disadvantage their children, in order to practice some horrid rituals, in worship of aesthetics and possessions.

Micromanagment and using fake news to distract is and has been the way of satan for millenias.

Check the balance sheet.

As written in Genesis of Holy Bible, due to the love of aesthetics and disobeying the Most High God Jah , " our people were put into 400 years of slavery..,". Only Jamaicans have enough love and truth to acknowledge this. The " mother " you choose to subject your children to is a bigger responsibility than the aid agencies and religions allow you to see.

The first love of aid agencies and most religions is their love of money. Their quote is something in the order of " we'll always have poor people to exploit ". By keeping people poor, and using mantras, practices and products to do so, the ' aid agency ', ' main stream media ' and or religion bosses will always be fed by their exploitations.

When in February in Africa we made knee high rains during dry season in 1994, the reaction of the war monger united nations entities amongst each other was, " well, if we don't have any more droughts, how are we going to continue to get governments to fund us?"

Shocked at what I was hearing and seeing them at, I was silent. One of the eu female aid workers suggested that they develop a case to fund a new narrative. The serpent and satan ( main stream media and united nations ) entities conspire and collude to trick ' Eve ' and her children, to be exploited and devoured between them. That's how nine eleven happened.

Mr Gaddafi complied, and sat-un still trashes Libya, Egypt, etcetera for kicks. He should've voted for Me, instead of try to " confirm the divide and rule, family breakdown narratives " put out by sat-un, and its serpents.

I admire His Highness Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who after our conversations and discussions, a couple of years ago, saw through into the Holy Scriptures from our ancestors, the Most High God Jah Servants, the Prophets, and, ( in spite of the pagan and infidel entities of sat-un, eu, msm media, and such ), almost instantly began to change to the godly commands, and as such, removing the oppression of women in Saud Arabia. During one of our conversations, eu east European persons overheard our chat, and were indignant that this fair treatment towards women, ( as instructed by the Most High God Jah ), should be proposed and developed.

I thank the Most High God Jah, I thank you, your Highness, and Iam so proud of you. I was able to briefly see a video of one of the lady Saudi Arabian racing drivers, and I was impressed by her skills in her handling and manoeuvring of the racing cars. In God Jah we trust, or in your language, cousin, " Allah huakbah." Please excuse my mispronunciation, but I can just about speak English, and that was the first language I learned to speak! 🤣😂😁

My sincere greetings to you all in the Royal Family, and to Presaud, ( I think that's how my daddy, late BBB pronounced it ), and a goody goody goody to you all from me.

[elyserollston]

10 ways to boost ecommerce this holiday season

The holidays are not a reason to take a break when it comes to ecommerce, but rather an occasion to make adjustments to increase sales. Here are ten ways to help boost ecommerce this holiday season:

1.Customer Appreciation 

There are a number of ways to transform a casual customer into a repeat loyal one. It can be as simple as demonstrating how important they are:

Acknowledge birthdays and other holidays with the help of email, instant messengers or SMS

Provide individual exclusive discounts

Offer loyalty cards

For example, Intuit offers to use its free finance-management app to educate its customers on how to improve their financial situations by accurately distributing their budget. 

Source: The Street

Buyers return only when they like your store. Do not neglect the opportunity to supplement your main competitive advantages with additional reasons to return for new purchases such as loyalty programs and special offers.

2.IGTV 

IGTV is a relatively new medium for communication with your subscribers in Instagram using live video. Today, images are not enough to attract users, and the growing popularity of video formats confirms this.

The growing number of people watching videos is not the only thing that is changing. Users also consume video format in a completely different way. With the increasing use of mobile devices, people are increasingly watching videos vertically, and IGTV uses this trend.

Since IGTV was launched in June 2018, a form of Instagram video is gaining popularity. Accordingly, more and more users are launching their IGTV channels to communicate with the audience. In February 2019, Instagram added a preview function, and after that, views on IGTV videos increased by 300-1000%. 

How to get the most out of this trend?

First, analyze competitors and determine what videos are appealing to the brand’s audience

Share videos with instructions on how to best use your products

Preserve the authenticity and demonstrate the human side of the business to increase brand confidence and loyalty

For example, the brand Warby Parker uses IGTV to interview influencers and increase engagement. 

Source: Skillslab

3.Facebook Ads (for B2C Segment)

Facebook’s advertising network provides an impressive reach for users around the world. If you have a website or landing page on which you collect leads, more than 15 different formats, and many ways to optimize advertising campaigns are available to you.

If there is no landing page, then there are other ways to collect potential customer contacts. For example, use the form of leads or send them to instant messengers.

If you have an online store, create a product feed, and run dynamic remarketing.

To solve the problems of increasing awareness, it is possible to buy traffic with a price per impression and place video ads.

The main reason why should you use this way to support sales on holidays is the fact that 2.1 billion of people are using Facebook every day. This is a great opportunity to stay connected regardless of the season, holidays and other factors. 

4. Refresh Product Offering

According to the empirical law of Pareto, only 20% of efforts bring 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% form only 20% of success. How does this principle apply to online shopping and increase sales?

Replace the goods that are firmly stuck in the warehouse with other items that are more popular. Think about what positions of the 80% of inefficient inventories can be “put on sale” to make room for new offers. Demand is unstable, you cannot control its rise and fall. So, the business owner will have to show maximum flexibility, adjust the range, and satisfy the wishes of customers. See how can you present your product in the feature-focused, image-focused or universal way. Come up with A/B testing to find out what approach suits your store best. 

5. Banners

This method does not mean the filling of the site with bright pictures and flashing elements. No need to go to extremes, and repeat the experience of these quite bad examples. Just add some prominent banners with the right design in terms of marketing psychology and a personalized offer for each visitor.

6. Site Usability

Many people may not understand how this contributes to the task to increase sales. However, the usability factor directly affects conversion. The usability of your website is the main indicator of positive shopping experience, so make sure to check the following parameters:

the presence of 404 pages

the site’s speed

the simplicity of registration and filling in the order form

the bounce rate that will directly tell you whether you need to improve the usability

Therefore, an online store with good usability will generate a decent profit even with a small amount of traffic. Analyze the following examples of good and poor usability embodied on the websites of some brands and draw your own conclusions.

7. SEO

SEO is the long-run investment that will bring you new customers in the long-term perspective. This is achieved by choosing the right keywords, choosing the most effective advertising channels and other methods that help increase sales. All of this must be based on a clear understanding of your target audience and ways to attract its attention. For example, learn how Old Guys Rule are making 500% ROI using Storeya’s traffic booster. 

8. Seasonality of Demand 

In one form or another, practically all types of business are subject to seasonal factors. At first glance, this is a minus, but, on the other hand, it can be turned into a plus. To do this, you just need to be well prepared for the seasonal growth in demand, both in terms of website promotion and advertising and regarding the organization of the online store.

If during the onset of the season you can take the top lines of the search for targeted queries and process all orders, then a good profit is ensured.

As an example, let’s consider such a holiday as the New Year. It is necessary to prepare for it from the beginning of September-October. In this case, use for this both SEO and content marketing.

You need to develop a separate content marketing strategy to be implemented during holiday season. For example, if you sell dishes, then during the holidays you can write interesting content about what is better to cook these days and how beautifully to set the table, with the relevant keywords, of course. 

9. Provide More Specifics

Examine your content in which your products or services are mentioned. You need to eliminate any incomprehensible and vague phrases and provide your customers with information so that they no longer have any additional questions.

To increase sales, you need to specify the benefits of your product. Understand that this is much more important for the buyer than the stories about how much joy he or she will get by purchasing this product. For example, see how Nike tells about their products. 

Source: Nike

10. Customer Service

It is very important to constantly analyze the reasons why transactions do not reach their logical conclusion. Why did the order fail? Why is the shopping cart abandoned? Determine at what stage customers are faced with problems and make every effort to correct the situation. For example, Zappos responds to every email received personally.

Source: Help Scout

Try to implement one of the following tips weekly and then analyze the result. To increase ecommerce sales, it is not necessary to invest huge budgets and completely redo the entire site. Small improvements in processes and on the technical side are capable of providing an increase in revenue. 

The post 10 ways to boost ecommerce this holiday season appeared first on Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog.

10 ways to boost ecommerce this holiday season published first on https://getyourcoupon.tumblr.com/

[lancecarr]

How to Make A Thousand Training Videos for YouTube FAST (Customer Story)

At a glance

Avaya, a global provider of business collaboration and communications software and services, created a video library of resources for customers and employees.

Using Camtasia and Blue Yeti microphones, they produced 995 videos in the first 20 months and more since then.

Avaya’s video articles receive significantly more page views than their text-based articles.

About Avaya

Avaya is a global provider of business collaboration and communications software and services, providing unified communications, contact centers, networking, and related services to companies of all sizes around the world.

The Problem

Back in 2011, Carl Knerr was the Services Director at Avaya. He was tasked with creating and implementing a library of training videos for Avaya products and services. 

The problem was that he was tasked with creating training videos and video tutorials in a very short amount of time. And he wasn’t a professional content creator or videographer. 

Knerr was inspired by Khan Academy, the non-profit website with thousands of different types of videos for learning and education, but he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to pull off that sort of accomplishment.

Knerr and his team found themselves asking, “Wouldn’t Avaya employees and customers benefit from the company’s own Khan Academy?”

And Knerr’s challenge was bigger than making videos. He was challenged to make Avaya a successful organization that could create a buzz.

Avaya wanted to take the lead, and creating instructional videos for their customers and employees was how they were going to do it.

Using YouTube for training

Knerr then decided to put together a series of videos geared toward Avaya products and services. He limited the scope to basic how-to videos designed to help those that install, maintain, and support Avaya products, whether they were customers, partners, or Avaya employees.

These types of video lessons are traditionally created by instructional designers and can require a dedicated learning management system and special authoring tools. 

Knerr proposed that unlike Avaya’s existing knowledge base, which is only available to Avaya customers with a maintenance agreement, the vast majority of videos would be available for free on YouTube’s video platform.

 “PERHAPS THE MOST INTERESTING METRIC IS THAT WE ARE SEEING SIGNIFICANTLY MORE VIEWS PER [VIDEO] ARTICLE THAN AVAYA’S TEXT-BASED ARTICLES,”

Carl Knerr

This would allow search engines like Google would be aware of the content, making it much easier for someone to find the answer to an Avaya-related question.

This is an important step to think about as you create your online training content. Because if someone can’t find your video, it can’t be helpful.

Tips for creating “findable” videos

The following tips will help you optimize your YouTube videos and make sure your users can easily find the right content.

Write a clear video title: Your title should clearly state the problem that your video is solving, how it is presented, and the product it applies to.

Create a detailed description: Craft a description that carefully outlines the content and key learning points of your video.

Conduct keyword research: Incorporate alternative terms and wordings into your description and video tags. 

Tag your video: Pick your target keyword as a tag, and then choose other tags related to your primary keyword. 

Add captions: Captions will make your content more accessible, and they are additionally used by video sites like YouTube for content-indexing to improve search results. 

Avaya used Camtasia and Blue Yeti microphones to create their Youtube training videos.

How Avaya makes training videos for YouTube

Knerr’s team evaluated a number of video production software suites and settled on Camtasia, the screen-recording and video editing tool from TechSmith. With Camtasia, the team could use templates, splice in video and audio, as well as special editing features to highlight or zoom to certain parts of the screen. The team also purchased high-quality microphones called the Blue Yeti.

Knerr felt it was important to maintain a common look and feel to the videos, so the team built a template for Camtasia with legal and branding-approved intros and outros while standardizing other aspects like transitions and video length.

Once the team started creating consistent, high-quality content, the Avaya branding team gave Knerr the freedom to publish to YouTube without further oversight.

How Avaya maintained quality control and scaled their videos

To reduce the number of errors made by video authors, Knerr frequently shared a list of common problems he encountered during a review. 

Common errors included background noise or odd transitions within videos. While this was often a pain, viewers noticed and complimented Knerr’s team on the quality of their videos. 

After six months, Knerr transferred the approval process to one of the team’s top video authors, Bhavya Reddy.

After a year of approving videos within the team, Knerr and Reddy transitioned the approval process to the company’s formal knowledge management team where it could be better integrated into the other knowledge management processes. 

This also ensured that any videos the team published to YouTube would also be available in the standard knowledge database at support.avaya.com.

Customers, employees, and partners watched more than 1,200 hours of Avaya Mentor videos per month, which equates to about 11 full-time support employees.

How Avaya spread the word about their content

“Building a knowledge base, or any tools, is pointless if you can’t get user adoption,” said Knerr. “I felt it important to delay the initial announcement until we had the first 100 videos published. I was concerned if someone came to the site and only saw 5 videos, they might never return.”

Once the team reached 100 videos, Knerr had the President of Services announce the program internally, followed by similar announcements in external communications to Avaya partners and customers. 

To reinforce this in a more detailed way, Knerr wrote a blog post for the Avaya corporate site and created a Twitter account for Avaya Mentor, allowing people to receive tweets when new videos are uploaded.

At the next International Avaya Users Group Conference (IAUG), Knerr and his team passed out materials to all the customers and partners they met. The IAUG even helped with advertising on all the plasma screens throughout the conference center. 

Knerr has also partnered with the Avaya product documentation teams to include references to the Avaya Mentor program directly in the user documentation.

The Results

After 20 months, Knerr and his team published nearly 1,000 videos on YouTube which were watched more than 350,000 times.

While the U.S. provides the largest set of viewers, Knerr happily notes that the Avaya Mentor program reaches 196 distinct geographies. Additionally, customers, employees, and partners watched more than 1,200 hours of Avaya Mentor videos per month, which equates to about 11 full-time support employees.

“Perhaps the most interesting metric is that we are seeing significantly more views per article than Avaya’s text-based articles,” said Knerr. “This is not an apples-to-apples comparison given that we used some of the company’s most knowledgeable resources and posted our content publicly. However, I still think it is clear that video-enabled content is much more compelling than text alone.”

Since 2011, Avaya has created over 1000 videos and the Avaya Mentor channel has built up over 12,000 subscribers and has had over 3 million views. 

Want to make instructional videos for YouTube?

If you’re interested in learning more about creating your own videos for YouTube, we have two helpful guides that will walk you through the entire process.

The Ultimate Guide to Easily Make Instructional Videos 

How to Make a YouTube Video: The Definitive Guide

If you’re ready to dive and try to make a video, you can also download a completely free trial of Camtasia, and give it a shot for yourself. 

If you ever need help along the way you can always find us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

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