Archives for December 2018

Creating a More Captivating Web Presence

December 11, 2018 by Mike McRitchie Leave a Comment

As the New Year approaches we all want to optimise our chances of success, and one of the most important for the majority of creative ventures is that of having a captivating web presence. Notice, the term “presence” rather than website, as in today’s world, the majority of the ways in which we interact are via social media rather than static websites.

Furthermore, with advances in aspects such as AI and gartner master data management, we are becoming more empowered to deliver tailored and automated services that are much more relevant to the individual user.

Whilst social media is huge, and ever expanding, your website acts as a positioning platform and the base of your digital triangle. Yes, you can use a variety of interesting platforms to tour your creative wares (e.g. Etsy) yet your website is the hub that everything links back to.

In this article, we’re therefore going to look at how to create a more captivating website:

SPEED

The back end of a website, meaning the technology and code that delivers the content and design onto a computer screen are of critical importance to the performance of your website, yet they are often overlooked. The key metric, when it comes down to the back end is that of speed and efficiency.

See, you can have the most beautifully crafted website, yet if it’s slow to load most people aren’t going to stick around to see it. In fact, research demonstrates that you have roughly three seconds for your entire site to load before people click off.

Of course, with the introduction of 5G coming in 2019, slow internet speeds are in the mostpart becoming a thing of the past, yet, there are still plenty of people in rural communities that don’t have access to lightning fast broadband.

It’s therefore worth considering how quickly your website loads, as speed will captivate a lot more users, on the basis they cannot engage with something that they have to wait to load.

CONTENT ARCHITECTURE

If we think of web design as akin to building a house, the architect draws up the plans to ensure your house is functional and convenient – for instance, they are likely to build a walk in wardrobe in the master bedroom rather than the downstairs toilet, as it just makes more sense.

Similarly, when it comes to content architecture you need to make sure that everything is laid out in a sensical way that makes it easy for users to find what they are looking for.

AESTHETICS

Staying with the metaphor of building a house, the design of your website extends beyond the paint and wallpaper you choose – it has to be functional just as much as it has to be attractive.

When it comes to your website, you want to ensure you don’t have a distracting design that detracts from your content. You want your content to be the primary focus where the design aspects around the content are there to compliment it.

Make Your Office Feel More Sophisticated And Productive

December 7, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

If you’re looking to make your office feel more sophisticated and productive, you’re probably wondering what’s the most time and cost efficient way to do so… indeed, you might even be questioning whether it’s truly worth the effort with regard to the return on effort.

In this article we’re going to look at some of the core principles in terms of making your office feel more sophisticated and productive. Of course, when it comes to sophistication, that’s a very subjective matter yet there are some core design principles to consider.

For instance, installing glass railings to ensure safety whilst maintaining a feeling of clean, cool, spacious and airy design would be one way to enhance sophistication. The challenge is, as with most things, design is constantly changing in terms of trends and tastes – what’s in one minute is out the next, so in this article we’re going to look at some of the core components that are likely to stand the test of time.

CREATE A BLANK CANVAS

If you value both sophistication and productivity, you can’t go wrong with thinking along the lines of an art gallery. Art galleries tend to have nice white walls that allow the statement artworks to stand out. The reason you want a blank canvas, and to keep it that way, is that it will bounce light around and lead to a feeling of calm rather than clutter.

2. ENSURE PLENTY OF LIGHT

One of the most important aspects of creating a more sophisticated and productive workplace is to ensure there is plenty of natural light entering the space, and if there isn’t to use tricks such as mirrors, or alternative sources of light to create a feeling of spaciousness and clarity. You just want to make sure they are energy efficient light sources.

In doing so, you will find that people are much more focused and energised, because when people work in a dark and dreary place they often feel drained and uninspired. The more natural light (presuming it doesn’t interfere with their ability to see the computer screen in front of them) the more focused and energetic your staff will be.

3. INCORPORATE NATURE

Whilst you don’t want to turn your office space into a jungle, it can be helpful to bring the outdoors indoors with regard to having some foliage around the place. It helps people feel more connected to nature and has a variety of health benefits.

4. MINIMALISM IS OFTEN BEST

Similarly to how a clean desk policy can help people feel more productive, and less cluttered in terms of their environment and their mind – keeping a minimalist space can be helpful in terms of keeping people feeling productive whilst creating an air of sophistication.

Of course, you don’t want to make things so minimalist that they feel austere, but clean, white walls, for instance can be a lot better than walls cluttered with certificates and art work.

5. KEEP IT COOL

If you’ve ever been on a hot stuffy train, or aeroplane, then you’ll know how agitated and drowsy this environment can make you. Yet, when it comes to office space, there are so many sources of heat (i.e. people and computers) that need to be accounted for in terms of keeping the temperature cool enough to focus.

You want your staff to remain energised throughout the day and one of the best ways to do this is to lower the temperature, as it has been shown in study after study that a cool working environment increases focus and attention span.

Construction Companies: Outshine Your Competitors

December 6, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

As the owner of a construction company, you know very well that the competition can be rather tough. Arguably, it’s even more so than in many other industries as you tend to be up against the ones that are in your area exclusively – and you will all be competing for the same customers in the surrounding area.

Construction companies how to outshine your competitors

Luckily, there are a few ways to make sure that you put them far behind you even if you are a new construction business. Here is a handful of ways to get a head start and ensure that those customers are coming to you for their project needs rather than the other companies. It just makes it a bit easier to grow and thrive as a business should.

First: Spy on them with social media

You’re not going to be able to get that head start unless you know exactly what you’re up against. While pretending to be one of their customers is a tried-and-tested method of spying, it’s rather old-fashioned these days; head online instead and save yourself the expenses.

With social media, you’ll be able to gain an insight to a lot more reviews as well and will get a much more comprehensive overview of their business than by just pretending to be in need of their services. Use it to understand how many customers they have, the kind of work that their network is happy with – and the kind of work they’re unhappy with.

That way, your business will be able to pinpoint all of its strengths and weaknesses in order to outshine them and make sure that you’re delivering up to their standard and far beyond it.

Next: Focus on quality

One of your best ways of marketing your business is going to be through happy customers and word-of-mouth. Undeniably, this is the kind of marketing you’re much less in control of as you won’t always be able to know exactly what they’re saying about your business.

You can make sure that every project is delivered to the highest standard, though, and focus on quality above everything else. This means that you should spend some time on going over your equipment, find an even better supplier for grout packers and all of your other construction needs – as well as seeing to that your employees have sufficient training.

Remember your employees

The last part is particularly important as your company is only as good as its employees. With construction work and its high focus on delivering quality, your employees should work on not just perfecting their work skills but also their people skills.

The friendlier your team is, the likelier it is that the customer will enjoy having them around and associate your company with their friendly service. Talk about this with your employees and show them that you care about them too – that way, they will be much more willing to go that extra mile for your company.

How Does Social Trading Work and Is It a Good Idea for You?

December 5, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

Social trading is one of the biggest trends in Forex, but a surprising number of people don’t know what it is or why others are doing it. Social trading can be a great option for new investors and it is one everyone who’s just getting started with trading should consider. But how does social trading work? And is it a good idea for you? In this article, we’ll explain exactly what social trading is, why it is so popular, and how to know if it is a good idea for you.

What Exactly Is Social Trading?

Social trading combines social networking with investing platforms. You aren’t paying for an investing newsletter and trying to figure out how to set up trades per the guru’s advice. You won’t need to follow a bunch of financial experts on social media and rush to your trading platform to implement a buy recommendation. Instead, you’re able to network with other traders on social networking sites specifically for that purpose.

How Does Social Trading Work?

Social trading is more than a social networking site for traders. Social trading lets you copy successful traders’ trades just like you’re forwarding a social media post. You can replicate their trades in real time, though this is affected by the amount you have invested. If they buy a particular item, you can set up your account to replicate it as soon as they open a position. You can benefit from their expertise in market trading without having to read a newsletter or figure out how to use that information. Or you can set up your own trades. You’re in control.

The Benefits of Social Trading

Social training has tons of benefits which makes it a great option for new traders. For one, these sites are very transparent. You can often see the stats for each trader and verify that they are as successful as they say they are. This allows you to know for certain they are earning a set profit margin and that the gains they say they’re earning are not the result of a one-time fluke. You can see their open trades, their profits, their maximum drawdowns, and other relevant statistics.

But the biggest benefit of social trading is that you can ride on successful traders’ coat-tails without having to invest massive amounts of time learning their system. This is far cheaper than hiring a financial advisor who may or may not generate the returns they’ve promised. You also have the option of switching methods as soon as you find something better. In all cases, you will earn while you learn. There are also tons of different platforms you can choose from, all with their specificities and distinct communities. Sites like InvestinGoal.com have teams of social trading experts who review various social trading platforms and also provide useful trading advice. They also have a variety of social trading tools you can choose from as well.

Another great thing about social trading is that you can develop a successful trading strategy yourself and sell your strategy to others to make money on these sites. It is akin to selling your advice, but you don’t have to craft a brand as a trading guru. That can be an extra source of income for successful traders, and it generates passive income for the copiers who follow them.

Another clear point in favor of social trading is that you can join these sites and start benefiting from the wisdom of others when you have a small account. You can tap into the expertise of the experts who might otherwise just send a generic newsletter or charge a fortune to manage your account. However, social trading creates a space where the successful traders can share their opinions and issue their forecasts.

Traders can talk to other traders about market conditions and share ideas. However, your social media feed isn’t cluttered with pictures of other people’s lunches and pets. Instead, the conversation focuses on the market, strategies, and results.

How to Know If Social Trading Is Right for You

Social trading does bring risk, especially if you copy the strategy of someone who isn’t doing well or has such a low-profit margin that you don’t earn money after the commission you pay. If you want to try novel trading strategies, social trading isn’t right for you. Social trading doesn’t require you to be a social butterfly, connecting and chatting with lots of people since you can simply connect with a successful trader and copy their trades. However, those who are constantly reading about the market will benefit most from social trading.

What You Should Know Before You Start with Social Trading

Before you start with social trading, you should know what your goals are first. You first have to know if you either want to strictly copy other’s trades, trade socially or be copied by other traders.

While copy trading and social trading do have their similarities, they aren’t 100% identical. With social trading, you’re basically pooling from the community’s knowledge and use this knowledge to make trades. You could also use the community to gauge market sentiment for a particular currency pair or stock. This is particularly good if you already have some experience with trading and want to supplement this experience with expertise and/or data from other members of the community.

With copy trading, on the other hand, you choose certain traders you feel have the same trading philosophy as yours or are consistently making profits, and entirely copy their trades. This allows you to follow a winning strategy without having to understand the markets per se. This is a great option for those who don’t have a lot of experience or don’t have the time necessary to conduct in-depth analysis of different stocks, currencies or commodities.

But if you’re already a seasoned vet and would like to make a little bit of extra money on the side by benefiting the community and sharing your trades, you can do so as well. You’ll get paid a commission based on how popular and successful you are.

Knowing what your intentions are before you start is essential when choosing which broker and platform you’re going to go wwith th, so don’t take this step lightly.

Conclusion

Social trading combines social networking with market trading. It is increasingly popular because of the benefits it brings to all parties involved.

How You Can Use The Internet To Help Accelerate Your Business

December 5, 2018 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

In this day and age, if you want to get yourself seen or heard, the internet is the fastest and most convenient way of doing exactly that. The same principal works for your business too, as the internet can take your enterprise from a small time business to a global phenomenon in a matter of hours. That’s why, if you haven’t already, it’s time to take to the world wide web with your business so that you can begin accelerating your growth more than ever. Here are a few tips and tricks to get yourself noticed and expand your company more than you could have ever imagined.

Leveraging the internet in your business

Utilise social media

With approximately 39 million people now on social media, it’s no wonder that businesses are signing themselves up to grab a piece of the action. As you may already be aware, social media is one of the fastest ways of making something go viral and putting it in the spotlight, so use these techniques on your social media accounts to help accelerate your business:

Make sure that you’re signed up to every social media platform. While some are indeed, more popular than others, don’t fool yourself into thinking that the less popular platforms won’t have any effect.
Posting regularly on social media is key to getting yourself noticed. Due to the millions of social media posts that are created each day, it’s easy for your one post per day to become lost in the abyss of other uploads. The more often you post, the more you will get yourself noticed. However, it’s important to establish the difference between posting regularly and simply spamming, as this could lead to you losing followers rather than gaining them.
Give people a reason to follow you on you social media accounts. Unless you’re a big company like KFC, it’s unlikely that people will follow you just for the sake of it. Running competitions and giveaways using your social media accounts will have people clicking, liking, sharing and more importantly, following.
Take time to learn the algorithms of each platform. Some of them have different peak times for posting and different ways of making your content go further. However, one thing that most platforms have in common is the good old hashtag. Use relevant and popular hashtags to ensure that your posts are seen.
Taking care of social media accounts is very time consuming, and it’s understandable that you have many other important things to be getting on with. However, you can now amalgamate all of your posts into one handy place and use a social media scheduler to free up your time but also make sure you’re still posting regularly. As your business grows bigger, it might be a good idea to hire a social media manager.

Vamp up your marketing knowledge and techniques

Using the internet to market your business is another very useful way of promoting your business. However, it’s important to understand that the trends in business are forever changing, and so will the techniques you need to use for marketing. Luckily, there’s a fantastic way of putting yourself ahead of the game, so check out Walsh University’s MBA in Marketing Online to see if this kind of training and knowledge could benefit the way you market your business online.

A few things to remember with marketing are:

You need to stand out from the crowd, so think outside of the box.
Bright and colourful is always going to be favoured over dull colours.
A jingle really can help sell your business.
Don’t be scared to break the boundaries of ‘normal’.

Create a useful website

Having a website for your business whether you’re going to be using it to sell products or not is essential. Think about when you want to find out more information about a business or product you’re interested in investing in – you look for their website right? Not having a website in this day and age could lose you a lot of valuable customers, so check out these tips on how to create a useful website that will reflect on your business:

Make sure that on pretty much every page of your website your audience is able to see a way of getting in contact with you. Many businesses make the mistake of not having it displayed clearly enough, and this can lead to a loss of custom.
Your website needs to be easy to navigate around. A website that’s hard to find what you came to it for will be clicked off just as quickly as it was found.
Speaking of finding websites, make sure that your SEO is on point so that your website has a higher chance of ranking higher in search engine results.
Making your website attractive should also be a main priority. It’s a sad but true fact that pretty much everything these days is judged by how aesthetically pleasing it is.
Much alike social media posts, you need to make sure that the content you’re uploading is useful to your target audience. So, for example, if you’re a company selling DIY materials, posts and information on DIY will benefit your audience and keep them coming back for more.

As you can see, using the internet to accelerate your business isn’t as hard as you might have thought. Pop these tips and tricks into play and you’ll soon notice the growth in your business!