In my previous article, I talked about some of the facts that you need to understand when it comes to email security for users. In this article, I want to talk about some of the facts that you need to understand when it comes to some of the great cautions for email attachments. Follow me as we are going to look at that together in this article.
Email attachments are one of the major email security threats as they offer attackers some of the easiest and most powerful ways to attack PC.
An email has become one of the powerful tools of communication among marketers and non-marketers alike. With the coming of mobile phones, it has become so easy for people to carry their email along anywhere they go.
That is why it has become prey in the hand of hackers. They know that people will always want to read their emails. The unfortunate part of it is that not everyone knows how to handle secure email communication among other skills. That is why I will be focusing on that in this article.
How it works
Email also known as electronic email is a method of exchanging digital messages from a sender to one or more recipients at a given time. There are also some organisations that offer free email services such as AOL, Microsoft, and Google among others.
Please note that email accounts can be accessed from any browser or a standalone email client such as Microsoft Outlook, or Mozilla Thunderbird among others.
To start with, here are some of the facts to know about email security…
There are many online consumers that have been told that it is not secure to enter your card online. Because of this vital information, many of us are looking for means of making online purchases without entering our card information or using our card details. In this article, I want to show you some of the means of securing online transactions. Follow me as we are going to be looking at that in this article.
Here are the alternatives…
#1 Store Value Cards
Store Value Cards are plastic cards with a monetary value encoded in the magnetic strip. They are an effective replacement for cash and can be used for lower-value retail purchases.
These cards are not associated with the name of the user, hence they do not reveal any information about the customer. Even if lost, the consumer tends to lose only the value that is still unused.
#2 Smart cards
Smart cards are the same size as credit cards. They have a microprocessor in them, which differentiates them from a credit card, which also has a magnetic strip.
The data on the magnetic stripe can be read, deleted or even changed. Also, a smart card can be used with a smart card reader attached to a personal computer to authenticate a user.
#3 Digital Cash
Digital cash is a method of purchasing cash credit in a small amount. Also, cash credit can be stored on your computer and spent when making electronic purchases on the Internet. The consumer can buy the credits from a financial institution.
Digital cash is associated with a serial number that can be used for online transactions. Please note that sending the serial does not give out your personal information.
#4 E-Wallets
An E-Wallet is a software program used for online transactions. Once the software is installed, personal information can be filled out in the E-Wallet and stored safely. When the user orders something, the order form can be automatically completed using the wallet. This help prevents the theft of personal information. By default, electronic wallet software will always request users to enter a password before completing the form.
When using an online payment service, the user should transfer money to an account associated with the online payment service.
All these purchases and transactions can be carried out through this account. This way, the customer does not reveal credit card information or other personal details to the merchants.
In my previous article, I talked about some of the reasons why many people embrace online payment platforms. In this article, I want to discuss ways of choosing a secured online payment service. Follow me as we are going to look at that together in this article. Here are some of the things you have to look out for when you are making online payments generally.
Make sure that the payment service is legitimate and registered.
Check the reviews of these services at websites such as epinions.com or bizrate.com
Look at the payment service’s website for a seal of approval from TRUSTe, VeriSign, or Better Business Bureau Online (BBBOnline).
Ensure that the website uses encryption technology to help protect your information.
SSL and Padlock Symbol
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) is the standard security technology for creating an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. The link ensures that all information transmitted between the web server and the browser is secured. The padlock symbol is an indicator that the session is protected by SSL encryption.
What the SSL Shows…
The domain name of the company
Details of the certification company that issued the SSL
One of the ways that your devices can be hacked is when you continue to visit an unsecured website. You need to ensure that you always stay on the side of caution and only visit a healthy website. That is why you need to know some signs that you must see in order to determine whether a site is secured or not. Those are the signs that I want to show you in this article. Let me show you some of the signs in this article.
You have to note some of the following:
A secured site always begins with the prefix https://
The padlock symbol appears either at the bottom right in the browser beside the URL
The certificate used to encrypt the connection also contains information about the identity of the website owner or the organization.
The user can click the lock to view the identity of the website.
Clicking the padlock symbol reveals the website information
Click the View certificate to View the authenticity of the certificate.
Untrusted websites are generally referred to the user through an email sent from someone unknown.
The website presents objectionable content, such as pornography or illegal content.
The website offer schemes that seem too good to be true, indicating a possible scam.
When the user is asked for credit card information without any proof that the transaction has been secured.
In my previous article, I have talked about some of the email security procedures that you have to consider when you need to secure your email from attacks. In this article, I want to delve into some of the practical ways of securing your email accounts, Follow me as we are going to be looking at that together in this article,
Here are some of the steps…
#1 Creating Strong Passwords
I have talked about some of the reasons why you need to create strong passwords in my previous articles. You need strong passwords because they are very difficult to crack or guess. Just like I said in one of my articles that there is no password that cannot be cracked but when you are using a strong password, it will take a while before your account can be hacked.
A strong password can be created by using combinations of numbers (0-9), letters in upper and lower case (a-z, A-Z) and special characters (!@#$%%^). You have to make sure that you create a strong password and make sure that you do not share it or write it anywhere.
#2 Alternate Email Address
An alternate email address is the additional email address required to sign up for most of the free email services such as Gmail and Yahoo as well. This is used by the service provider to identify the email creator’s identity.
An alternate email address is also used for password recovery in case you forgot the password that you used when you created the account.
#3 Remember Me
Most of the popular email clients have the keep me signed in or remember me option. Checking this option will allow the email client to fetch the email inbox of the user without him/her having to fill in the login details again. This might also allow other users on the same device to have access to your email. Users should check that this option is not selected when accessing email addresses from a personal computer.
#4 Using HTTPS
Also, webmails such as Gmail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail, and AOL Mail among others have an option of choosing the communication protocol for browser connection. You need to change thebrowser connection settings to receive email using HTTPS. (HTTP Secured).
#5 Last Account Activity
You need to always check the last email account activity if the feature is available with the email service, Last account activity includes information such as access type (browser, mobile, POP3 among others), location (IP Address), and date/time of account activities. To check account activity in Gmail, scroll to the bottom, scroll to the bottom of the page and then click Details.
#6 Scanning email attachment
You have to be cautious when you are opening any email attachments. You need to save all the email attachments and scan them properly for malware using an anti-virus before opening an email attachment, You need to enable the anti-virus to automatically scan all the emails and downloads.
#7 Turn Off Preview Feature
Also, email clients have the option to show a preview of the email. You need to turn off this feature in the email clients. Turning on this feature may execute script code without you explicitly opening the message. To turn off the preview feature in Microsoft Outlook, Go to:
Go to the View menu and select Reading Page
Click the Off Option.
To Turn Off the preview feature in Mozilla Thunderbird
Go to the View Menuand select Layout
Uncheck the option Message Pane
#8 Email Filtering
Email filtering is the process of organizing emails according to specified criteria. They are generally used to identify and categorize spam emails. Therefore, in order to avoid unwanted email in Microsoft Outlook, go to Delete Group on the Home Tab, click Junk and Junk Email Options, and On the Blocked Sender tab, Click Add. Enter the email address or Domain name and click OK.
#9 Digitally Sign Your Emails
Digital Signatures are used to authenticate the sender of a message or the signer of a document. They can also be used to ensure that the original content of the message is not changed. Also, you need to note that the user requires an email certificate to digitally sign emails. You can always obtain Digital signatures from certification authorities such as Verisign, Comodo, Thwate among others.
A Local Area Network is a network infrastructure that spans a small geographical area. LANs have specific characteristics:
LANs interconnect end devices in a limited area such as a home, school, office building, or campus.
A LAN is usually administered by a single organization or individual. Administrative control is enforced at the network level and governs the security and access control policies.
LANs provide high-speed bandwidth to internal end devices and intermediary devices, as shown in the figure.
The diagram is an illustration of a LAN. At the centre of the diagram is a switch. There are four Ethernet connections on the switch. At the top left is a connection to a PC. Below that is a connection to the computer at the desk of a worker.
Below that is another connection to the computer at the desk of a worker. At the bottom left is a connection to an IP phone. To the right of the switch is a connection to a server. The text under the figure reads: a network serving a home, small building, or a small campus is considered a LAN.
A network serving a home, small building, or a small campus is considered a LAN.
WANs
The figure shows a WAN which interconnects two LANs. A WAN is a network infrastructure that spans a wide geographical area. WANs are typically managed by service providers (SPs) or Internet Service Providers (ISPs). WANs have specific characteristics:
WANs interconnect LANs over wide geographical areas such as between cities, states, provinces, countries, or continents.
WANs are usually administered by multiple service providers.
WANs typically provide slower speed links between LANs.
The figure shows two branch LANs connected via a WAN link. Both LANs are highlighted in a light yellow box and consist of a central switch connected to three PCs, an IP phone, a server, and a router. The two routers are connected via a red WAN link. On the left is the branch 1 LAN and on the right is branch 2 LAN.
Zone-Based Policy Firewall
Zone-based policy firewalls (ZPFs) use the concept of zones to provide additional flexibility. A zone is a group of one or more interfaces that have similar functions or features. Zones help you specify where a Cisco IOS firewall rule or policy should be applied.
In the figure, security policies for LAN 1 and LAN 2 are similar and can be grouped into a zone for firewall configurations. By default, the traffic between interfaces in the same zone is not subject to any policy and passes freely. However, all zone-to-zone traffic is blocked. In order to permit traffic between zones, a policy allowing or inspecting traffic must be configured.
The only exception to this default deny any policy is the router self zone. The self zone is the router itself and includes all the router interface IP addresses. Policy configurations that include the self zone would apply to traffic destined to and sourced from the router. By default, there is no policy for this type of traffic. Traffic that should be considered when designing a policy for the self zone includes management plane and control plane traffic, such as SSH, SNMP, and routing protocols.
Common Security Architectures
Firewall design is primarily about device interfaces permitting or denying traffic based on the source, the destination, and the type of traffic. Some designs are as simple as designating an outside network and inside network, which are determined by two interfaces on a firewall. Here are three common firewall designs.
Private and Public
Demilitarized Zone
Zone-Based Policy Firewalls
As shown in the figure, the public network (or outside network) is untrusted, and the private network (or inside network) is trusted. Typically, a firewall with two interfaces is configured as follows:
Traffic originating from the private network is permitted and inspected as it travels toward the public network. Inspected traffic returning from the public network and associated with traffic that originated from the private network is permitted.
Traffic originating from the public network and travelling to the private network is generally blocked.
The private and public figure shows a cloud within a circle labelled public (untrusted). The cloud connects to a firewall via s 0 / 0 / 0. The g 0 / 0 firewall port connects to a circled labelled VLAN 1 private (trusted) that has a server and two pc’s on it. There is an arrow going from the private circle to the public circle with h t t p, SMTP, and d n s on it. There is another arrow going from the public circle to the private circle with the words no access.
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The campus wired LAN uses a hierarchical design model to separate the network topology into modular groups or layers. Separating the design into layers allows each layer to implement specific functions, which simplifies the network design. This also simplifies the deployment and management of the network.
The campus wired LAN enables communications between devices in a building or group of buildings, as well as interconnection to the WAN and Internet edge at the network core. A hierarchical LAN design includes the access, distribution, and core layers as shown in the figure.
The figure shows two internet clouds at the top. Each cloud connects to two routers, one on the left and one on the right. Below the routers are two layers 3 switches within a box labelled core layer. Each router connects to each of the switches.
The switches also have multiple lines between them with a circle around the lines. Below these two switches are two more switches within a box labelled distribution layer. Each of the top switches connects to each of the two switches below them.
Below the distribution layer switches are three-layer 2 switches and two access points within a box labelled access layer. Each access layer switch has a connection to each of the distribution layer switches. Each access point connects to just one of the access layer switches.
Below the access, layer box are two wireless tablets. Each wireless tablet connects wirelessly to a wireless a p. Also below the access layer box are four IP phones. Each phone has a p c attached. One phone connects to the left access layer switch, two phones connect to the middle access layer switch, and the last phone connects to the last access layer switch.
Hierarchical Design Model
Each layer is designed to meet specific functions. The access layer provides endpoints and users direct access to the network. The distribution layer aggregates access layers and provides connectivity to services. Finally, the core layer provides connectivity between distribution layers for large LAN environments.
User traffic is initiated at the access layer and passes through the other layers if the functionality of those layers is required.
Even though the hierarchical model has three layers, some smaller enterprise networks may implement a two-tier hierarchical design. In a two-tier hierarchical design, the core and distribution layers are collapsed into one layer, reducing cost and complexity.
The figure shows two internet clouds at the top. Each cloud connects to two routers, one on the left and one on the right. Below the routers are two layer 3 switches within a box labeled collapsed core. Each router connects to each of the switches. Below the collapsed core box are three layer 2 switches and two access points.
Each switch has a connection to each of the switches within the collapsed core box. Each access point connects to just one of the access layer switches. Below the collapsed core box are two wireless tablets. Each wireless tablet connects wirelessly to a wireless a p. Also below the collapsed core box are four IP phones.
Each phone has a p c attached. One phone connects to the left access layer switch, two phones connect to the middle access layer switch, and the last phone connects to the last access layer switch.
In flat or meshed network architectures, changes tend to affect a large number of systems. Hierarchical design helps constrain operational changes to a subset of the network, which makes it easy to manage as well as improve resiliency. Modular structuring of the network into small, easy-to-understand elements also facilitates resiliency through improved fault isolation.
Firewalls
Typically, a firewall with two interfaces is configured as follows:
Traffic originating from the private network is permitted and inspected as it travels toward the public network. Inspected traffic returning from the public network and associated with traffic that originated from the private network is permitted.
A demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a firewall design where there is typically one inside interface connected to the private network, one outside interface connected to the public network, and one DMZ interface, as shown in the figure.
Traffic originating from the private network is inspected as it travels toward the public or DMZ network. This traffic is permitted with little or no restriction. Inspected traffic returning from the DMZ or public network to the private network is permitted.
Traffic originating from the DMZ network and traveling to the private network is usually blocked.
Traffic originating from the DMZ network and traveling to the public network is selectively permitted based on service requirements.
Traffic originating from the public network and traveling toward the DMZ is selectively permitted and inspected. This type of traffic is typically email, DNS, HTTP, or HTTPS traffic. Return traffic from the DMZ to the public network is dynamically permitted.
Traffic originating from the public network and traveling to the private network is blocked.
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Worms share similar characteristics. They all exploit an enabling vulnerability, have a way to propagate themselves, and they all contain a payload.
Worm Components
Despite the mitigation techniques that have emerged over the years, worms have continued to evolve and pose a persistent threat. Worms have become more sophisticated over time, but they still tend to be based on exploiting weaknesses in software applications.
The animation shows the 3 components of a worm attack; enabling vulnerability, propagation mechanism, and payload.
Common Worm Pattern
vulnerability
Propagation mechanism
Payload
Most worm attacks consist of three components, as listed in the animation above.
Enabling vulnerability – A worm installs itself using an exploit mechanism, such as an email attachment, an executable file, or a Trojan horse, on a vulnerable system.
Propagation mechanism – After gaining access to a device, the worm replicates itself and locates new targets.
Payload – Any malicious code that results in some action is a payload. Most often this is used to create a backdoor that allows a threat actor access to the infected host or to create a DoS attack.
Worms are self-contained programs that attack a system to exploit a known vulnerability. Upon successful exploitation, the worm copies itself from the attacking host to the newly exploited system and the cycle begins again. Their propagation mechanisms are commonly deployed in a way that is difficult to detect.
Code Red Worm Propagation
Propagate for 19 days.Launch DoS attack for next 7 days.Stop and go dormant for a few days.Repeat the cycle.
Note: Worms never really stop spreading on the internet. After they are released, worms continue to propagate until all possible sources of infection are properly patched.
Ransomware
Threat actors have used viruses, worms, and Trojan horses to carry their payloads and for other malicious reasons. However, malware continues to evolve.
Currently, the most dominating malware is ransomware. Ransomware is malware that denies access to the infected computer system or its data. The cybercriminals then demand payment to release the computer system.
Ransomware has evolved to become the most profitable malware type in history. In the first half of 2016, ransomware campaigns targeting both individual and enterprise users became more widespread and potent.
There are dozens of ransomware variants. Ransomware frequently uses an encryption algorithm to encrypt system files and data.
The majority of known ransomware encryption algorithms cannot be easily decrypted, leaving victims with little option but to pay the asking price. Payments are typically paid in Bitcoin because users of bitcoin can remain anonymous. Bitcoin is an open-source, digital currency that nobody owns or controls.
Email and malicious advertising, also known as malvertising, are vectors for ransomware campaigns. Social engineering is also used when cybercriminals who identify themselves as security technicians call homes and persuade users to connect to a website that downloads the ransomware to the user’s computer.
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The term Trojan horse originated from Greek mythology. Greek warriors offered the people of Troy (the Trojans) a giant hollow horse as a gift. The Trojans brought the giant horse into their walled city, unaware that it contained many Greek warriors.
At night, after most Trojans were asleep, the warriors burst out of the horse, opened the city gates, and allowed a sizeable force to enter and take over the city.
Trojan horse malware is software that appears to be legitimate, but it contains malicious code which exploits the privileges of the user that runs it. Often, Trojans are found attached to online games.
Users are commonly tricked into loading and executing the Trojan horse on their systems. While playing the game, the user will not notice a problem. In the background, the Trojan horse has been installed on the user’s system. The malicious code from the Trojan horse continues operating even after the game has been closed.
The Trojan horse concept is flexible. It can cause immediate damage, provide remote access to the system, or access through a back door. It can also perform actions as instructed remotely, such as “send me the password file once per week.” This tendency of malware to send data back to the cybercriminal highlights the need to monitor outbound traffic for attack indicators.
Custom-written Trojan horses, such as those with a specific target, are difficult to detect.
In my previous articles, I have talked about some of the means of generating leads for your businesses. In this article, I want to talk about some of the ways of generating leads through Influencers. Follow me as we are going to look at that together in this article.
Generating leads through Influencers or what we sometimes refer to as Influencer Marketing is the main aim of bringing Influencers to talk about your business so as to boost sales and increase brand recognition. Some of these influencers already have great followership. They can use that to influence their ardent followers to start using your products and services.
Also, it is very possible that these influencers are musicians, writers, bloggers, analysts, journalists, and other opinion people that can connect products to brands.
Influencers are also internet users who write stories and share experiences about a product and a brand. They are always trying to influence the opinion and decisions of their users in order to make them start using particular products or services.
How to identify Influencers…. When it comes to influencer marketing, as a brand or Digital Marketer, you need to make sure that you identify the right type of influencers for your product or service. Your inability to identify the right influencers that the same aspiration can ruin your brand’s digital marketing strategy. Here are some of the things that you should have at the back of your mind when you are trying to recognize the needed influencers for your brand.
#1 The impact In order to choose the right type of influencer for your brand, you need to know the impact of that influencer on your followers. You must know what he has the capability of doing and his level of influence on his followers. Understanding this will enable you to know whether such an influencer can help you to achieve your goal or not.
#2 Use the right toolIn order to identify the right type of influencers for your brand, you need to make sure that you are using the right tools that can help you to identify the right type of influencers for your brand. Inability to use the right tool might make you choose the wrong type of Influencer for your brand. I am going to list some of these tools later in this article.
#3 Combined effort You also need to know that choosing and identifying the right type of influencers for your brand is one of the assignments, you need to make sure that your marketers and the influencers work together in order to achieve your marketing goals at the end of the day. All effort must be geared towards closing the gap between you and your influencers. This becomes necessary because some of your influencers might not have adequate knowledge to run sales campaigns on their own.
In my previous article, I discussed some of the factors that you need to consider when it comes to planning an e-commerce website. In this article, I want to look at some of the steps to follow when planning an e-commerce website. Follow me as we are going to look at that in this article.
#1 Define your objective
The very first thing you need to do when it comes to planning your website is to define your website objective.
Before you even contract the Developer that will even design your website, you need to know the reasons why you are creating that website.
Some of the examples of your objectives can include: generating income from the website, creating a national and global market for your product, increasing customer engagement, promoting good quality and valued customers as well as supporting socio-economic causes through the website.
#2 Define and segment your target audience
As part of the steps that you need to take when you are planning your website, you need to define and segment your target audience.
There is a need for you to know the kind of audience that you are expecting on your website. When you have now analysed the specific type of audience that you are expecting on your website, you need to now segment them so that you can now divide the audience based on what your audience has in common.
Here are some of the criteria for segmenting your audience such as Demographics, Age, gender, income groups, professional status, education, psychographics, brand consciousness, shopaholics, cosmopolitan, conservative spender, and values quality among others criteria.
#3 Do a competitive analysis
As part of your efforts towards planning your website, you need to do a competitive analysis of the audience on your website.
You have to know what they lacked that you can leverage. What are they doing that you can easily do better? This will help you to develop and target an audience from that perspective.
There is a need for you to understand your market in order for you to function well in your marketplace.
You have to understand methods that they are using that you can leverage. This will help you to plan how you can also drive key audiences to your website.
#4 Perform Situational Analysis Also, as part of your key strategies toward driving a key audience to your website, you need to perform a situational analysis of your key audience.
This will allow you to know the method for selling your product. You need to identify your best products that can create wonders in the marketplace.
What are the key products and offers that you have that your major audience will likely be interested in?
You also need to identify your advertising and promotional opportunities.
What methods can you adopt in order to ensure that you send words out about products and services that you have to offer?
This will ensure that you are using the right platform to promote your products and services.
Also, as you are identifying some of your products that can create wonders in the marketplace, you also need to identify some of your products that need attention.
This will allow you to create a blueprint on how you can repackage such products in order to make them more acceptable to your target audience.
#5 Create Budget Definitely, the next major step that you need to do is to create a budget for the entire project.
There is a need for you to allocate your budget for building the entire website. You also need to distribute your budget along with different areas such as search engine optimization, promoting and designing of the website, and applicable technologies among others.
You can also find pricing of freelancing services offered on the internet as well as decide on whether the website will be created in-house or through freelancing services.
#6 Create Content Marketing Strategies
There are many people that start an online business but they are not paying much attention to content creation.
If you have a website or a blog, there is no way you can succeed if you do not have effective content marketing strategies.
You need to make sure that you align your content marketing strategies so that everything can work as a whole. You need to support your owned media with paid and earned media in order to make sense of your content marketing strategies.
You also need to create a business profile for all your social media platforms. When you are doing this, you have to make sure that all the strategies are aligned to work as one.
For example, if you are creating a social media profile, you have to use a common name so that it will be easily recognizable to your target audience. They will be able to recall the names without any hindrances.
#7 Hire your team
Also, the job of managing a website is always multi-disciplinary in nature. You need to make sure that you gather an excellent team that can manage different aspects of the website.
You have to make sure that you also outsource skills that you know that your internal team will not be able to effectively handle.
Also, you need to define the roles and responsibilities of each of your team members.
The main reason for doing that is to ensure that there is no duplication of efforts as far as the roles that members of your team are expected to play is concerned.
The roles should not only include the skill sets that you need to create, it should also cover skills that are needed to maintain the site as well.
#8 Define metrics for evaluating results
There is a need for you to also define some of the metrics that you will use in evaluating your results. This will help you to determine whether your business strategy is succeeding or not.
It will also allow you to make necessary amendments so that you can improve on what you have achieved already.
Here are some of the metrics that you need to consider which include: website traffic, customer engagement, conversion rates, as well as customer loyalty among others.
#9 Create e-commerce requirements
There is a need for you to also create e-commerce requirements specifications for different tasks
. You need to define user and functional requirements, search and content requirements, technical requirements, as well as SEO requirements among others.
This will define what must be achieved for every assignment that has been defined for your project. This can also the management to define what should be achieved as the project moves from one stage of achievement to another stage.
Action Point
PS: I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you could drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.
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In order to help you achieve your marketing goals, the Digital Marketing Institute has developed 3i principles to focus on when planning your digital marketing strategy.
The goal is to get you thinking about the end-to-end digital process your organization needs to go through in order to adopt your strategy:
#1 Initiate
The initiation process is about going back to basics, by focusing on what the customer wants from the digital journey you are setting up.
You want to start with what the customer is actually doing and work backwards towards your strategy. What are the key pillars that you need to think about?
What will add value to your organisation and customer experience? This is expressed through the use of customer research; to understand how your customer would like to be talked to.
You can use consumer research, past data collected from your campaigns and dedicated research ordered specifically for your company. Research the key roadblock your strategy needs to overcome in order to efficiently reach the audience.
By starting with the customer and translating customer view and insights into a tangible digital strategy you increase your chance of achieving your goals.
#2 Iterate
The iteration process is about how to iterate that strategy your created and pilot it in order to confirm it efficiency.
The iteration phase is focused on developing your strategy by proceeding to in-market testing.
You can then take this information to get a real life understanding on how the audience would respond to the actual campaigns you are about to push.
The benefits of the iteration phase is that, by testing on small groups of representative individuals, you can interrupt and optimize your strategy based on success and failure.
This is expressed through beta testing your new content platforms or A/B testing your campaigns creatives and content by targeting small sets of your audience.
You can conduct focus groups around your strategy and assets to get real time feedback and understand the sentiments towards your message choice.
This applies across time, as you can use your learning throughout and after each campaigns to continually get insights from your online engagement with your customers and acting upon the results.
#3 Integrate
The integration process is focused on involving and integrating other digital channels coherently.
Once you have tested the strength of your message and creatives, it is time to spread it across all your digital assets.
You want to make sure you have the buy in of your organization to move on with your strategy.
The integration stage is focused on two parts: selling your strategy and getting approval from the business organization to move forward, and then integrate your findings and strategy across the different channels.
In order to achieve the first part, you can rely on the data uncovered during the initiation phase and apply the findings to relate to the broader business goals and challenges by showcasing how your strategy solves for the business.
Additionally, if you plan on using new channels or testing new digital marketing software you want to think about how these integrate into the existing processes and organization of your team.
When thinking through your digital marketing strategy, beyond the message and the creative, you need to know where they will live.
Research can help you make informed decision about what channels should be prioritized, especially working within the limit of a budget, marketers need to chose the channels that will cost effectively help reach the set objectives.
The most common digital channels are the following and will be developed more in-depth in the coming slides:
Email & Marketing Automation
Website Optimization
Social Media Marketing
Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
Organic Search
Display Advertising
Content marketing
When considering channels or touch points (as they can be called), there are three inputs that should come to mind:
1.Data: Data driven decisions can be valuable for performance marketing involving precise performance goals such as conversion, lead generation or click through rate (CTR).
The more robust and stable the data that is based on a large panel, past campaigns and independent research, the more credible the channel will be.
2.ConsumerInsights: Consumer driven decision focuses on the actual consumer adoption of specific channels, receptivity and general media usage to meet the audience where they actually are and what channels resonate most with them.
A channel might not perform in terms of ROI but can be heavily adopted by the audience, ensuring visibility as opposed to conversion.
3.CommunicationNeeds: This decision model is based on what each channel’s role in the buyer’s journey is.
Deciding for channels also means selecting the correct channels that are likely to reach the target audience at a specific stage of the funnel and move them to the next.
Each media can have an impact on the buyer’s journey and these should be taken in consideration when developing the marketing strategy.
Depending on the need of the campaign, one of these considerations should inform the channels choice by providing the most relevant impact to the campaign.
Action Point
PS: I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you could drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.
Fact Check Policy
CRMNuggets is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith
LESSON INTRODUCTION
The five-letter “trust” occurs in 139 verses in the Bible (KJV). While there are various root words translated ” trust”, in this context, it means reliance on the integrity, strength, or ability of a person or thing. Trust can be dependent or relational. Dependent trust is between man and God in which an individual completely trusts God while relational trust deals with human relationships and signifies the trust one reposes in another person. We shall focus on the attribute of a trustworthy person and how to be one.
LESSON OUTLINE
ATTRIBUTES OF A TRUSTWORTHY PERSON
BEING TRUSTWORTHY
1. ATTRIBUTES OF A TRUSTWORTHY PERSON
Trustworthy people are:
Tenacious: Trustworthy people are stubbornly unyielding to untruthfulness (Dan. 1:8).
Resolute: This means they are unwavering (Ruth 1:16).
Unbendable: They are always determined to do the right thing (Esth. 3:2).
Steady: They are straightforward (2Chr. 24:11-12).
Tested: They have proved their trustworthiness through thick and thin (1Sam. 12:3).
Accountable: They are always answerable for whatever task they engage in (Neh. 13:13).
Wholistic: They can be wholly trusted with time, money, the opposite sex, work, etc.
Reliable: They have your back and do not betray a trust or leak a secret for any reason (Prov. 14:23).
Weighty: Trust is weighty but not burdensome as a result; the carrier is conscious of carrying something important and does not misbehave (Gen. 39:9).
Solid: They are always firm (Job 17:9).
2. BEING TRUSTWORTHY
Being trustworthy is a deliberate and purposeful resolve an individual makes (Dan. 5:17). Trust is earned (Prov. 31:12) trust is not entrusted to anyone; it is consciously earned by an individual. There is a price tag of sacrifices to be paid by anyone who chooses to be trustworthy (Gen. 39:10). We need to ask God for help as we take time to study and obey His words because trust is the bedrock of a lasting relationship.
Some of the rewards of being trustworthy are peace of mind, boldness, a crown of honour, and an asset while the consequences of distrust include: shame, dishonour, and loss of opportunities.
CONCLUSION
Trust is significant and essential to any relationship we may build because it is this trust in one another that forms the foundation of a strong relationship.
Question
Mention four (4) attribute of a trustworthy person.
How can one be trustworthy?
Action Point PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on individual and corporate level, I will be very glad to do that I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained includes staffs of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, New Horizons Nigeria among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.
I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.
Fact Check Policy
CRMNUGGETS is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.
OPENING PRAYER: Father, help me to build a healthy and trustworthy relationship in Jesus‘ name. (Scroll down for RCCG Sunday School 23 April 2023 HYMN).
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE: Students should recall what they learned through the lesson on financial intelligence and mention how the lesson has impacted them.
MEMORY VERSE: “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.” – Proverbs 31:11 (KJV)
BIBLE PASSAGE: ACTS 6:2-7 (King James Version)
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.
3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
LESSON INTRODUCTION: The five-letter “trust” occurs in 139 verses in the Bible (KJV). While there are various root words translated ” trust”, in this context, it means reliance on the integrity, strength, or ability of a person or thing. Trust can be dependent or relational.
Dependent trust is between man and God in which an individual completely trusts God while relational trust deals with with human relationships and signifies the trust one reposes in another person. We shall focus on the attribute of a trustworthy person and how to be one.
TEXT REVIEW: ACTS 6:2-7
From the above Bible Passage, the teacher should identify:
a. There requirements of the disciples who were appointed to serve the table. i. ii. ………….. iii ……………
b. Two focal points of the duties of the apostles. Vs.4 i. …………… ii. …………..
c. Seven names of the ministers to serve at the table vs.5 i. ………. ii. ……… iii. ……… iv. ……… v. ……….. vi. ………. vii. ……….
LESSON OUTLINE
ATTRIBUTES OF A TRUSTWORTHY PERSON
BEING TRUSTWORTHY
1. ATTRIBUTES OF A TRUSTWORTHY PERSON
Teacher should explain the 10 attributes of a trustworthy person as stated below: i. Tenacious: Trustworthy people are stubbornly unyielding to untruthfulness (Dan. 1:8). ii. Resolute: This means they are unwavering (Ruth 1:16). iii. Unbendable: They are always determined to do the right thing (Esth. 3:2). iv. Steady: They are straightforward (2Chr. 24:11-12). v. Tested: They have proved their trustworthiness through thick and thin (1Sam. 12:3). vi. Accountable: They are always answerable for whatever task they engage in (Neh. 13:13). vii. Wholistic: They can be wholly trusted with time, money, the opposite sex, work, etc. viii. Reliable: They have your back and do not betray a trust or leak a secret for any reason (Prov. 14:23). ix. Weighty: Trust is weighty but not burdensome as a result; the carrier is conscious of carrying something important and does not misbehave (Gen. 39:9). x. Solid: They are always firm (Job 17:9).
CLASS ACTIVITY 1 Students should rate themselves based on the scale below. They should allow Holy Spirit to guide them as this exercise would serve as self-appraisal and should lead to prayers.
S/N ATTRIBUTES |5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 _______|||||_
Tenacious | | | | |
Resolute. | | | | |
Unbendable. | | | | |
Steady. | | | | |
Tested. | |
Accountable |
Wholistic |
Reliable. |
Weight |
Solid |
2. BEING TRUSTWORTHY
The teacher should explain the following elements of being trustworthy.
i. Being trustworthy is an intentional, planned, and purposeful resolve that an individual makes (Dan. 5:17). ii. Trust is consciously earned(Prov. 31:12). It is not entrusted to an individual iii. There is a price tag of sacrifices to be paid by anyone who chooses to be trustworthy (Gen. 39:10). iv. We need to ask God for help to be trustworthy v. Trust is the bedrock of a lasting relationship. vi. Some of the rewards of being trustworthy are peace of mind, boldness, a crown of honour etc. vii. Some of the consequences of distrust are: shame, dishonour, and loss of opportunities. Etc.
CLASS ACTIVITY 2 Give examples or illustrations on how to earn a trust.
SUMMARY A Christian must be trustworthy
CONCLUSION Trust is significant and essential to any relationship we may build because it is this trust in one another that forms the foundation of a strong relationship.
CLOSING PRAYER Almighty Father, help me not to fail the confidence reposed in me in the of Jesus.
ASSIGNMENT Identify five(5) reasons for lack of trust among brethren today (2×5=10Marks).
RCCG Sunday School HYMN
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day, O how I love Thee well, I am happy, it makes me glad To rejoice at Thy birth.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day, Thy friendship suits me well, Both young and old will sing Thy song, We long for Sunday School.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day, Christ was Thy first teacher, The Holy Spirit, great teacher, Does manifest in thee.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day, This testimony is sure, That God, the Father Almighty, Poured His blessing on Thee.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day, Though the sun be so bright, Or if the clouds black with rain, I’ll be in Sunday School.
O Sunday School, on the Lord’s day, I rejoice to see Thee, Will thou pass over me today? Without my being blest.
Action Point
PS: I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you could drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.
Fact Check Policy
CRMNuggets is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.
In my previous article, I talked about some of the ways that you can generate leads through Influencers. In this article, I want to look at some of the ways that you can convert leads to sales. Follow me as we are going to look at that together in this article.
How to increase leads and boost your sales….
#1 Calculate
The very first thing you need to do is to find the lead close to the ratio for a period of at least eight months. You also need to calculate the total leads to closed sales during those eight months in percentage. You need to divide the number of leads by the number of closed sales that you have. You also need to turn that number into a percentage out of 100 to estimate just how many leads you need to close sales.
There is a need for you to also invest in CRM such as Salesforce.com to organize all your work. CRM does not allow you to lose a lead, it will track every sale and every moment in the sales process. You need to set automated responses to the queries sent through email by your prospects.
#4 Delegate
There is a need for you to segregate the responsibilities among the sales teams such as replying to online queries, emails, and phone calls among others. You need to put effort and money into the sources that yield you better results. The CRM system can also help in finding sources that give you more sales.
Converting leads to sales…
#1 Determine your personae
First and foremost, in order to make more sales and convert leads for your organization, you need to identify the type of people that are using your products and services. Having this understanding will assist you to package your product in such a way that it will attract the interest of your desired audience.
For developing your buyer personae, you should know the ideal buyer, your customer needs, how to fix problems and your unique selling proposition among others.
You need to get your current sales and customers to interact with each other to find out buyer personae who can turn into your prospects, leads, and customer.
#2 Content mapping
When it comes to content marketing and lead conversion, you need to know where a prospect is on the ladder. The reason is that the content that works for someone at the top of the funnel will not work for someone at the bottom of the funnel.
Top of the funnel
These are visitors who are unaware of your products and services. They may likely be prospects who have started researching your products or services.
Middle of the funnel
These are customers who are interested in your products and services but they do not necessarily want to buy from you.
Bottom of the funnel
These are prospects or customers who are ready to buy your products and believe that you have every solution to their problem. The content mapping chart will help your sales and your marketing team to understand the right type of content to introduce to each type of prospect that you have in your sales funnel.
You have to develop the chart and understand the type of content that you can introduce to each prospect on the sales funnel.
#3 Segment lead nurturing campaigns
As part of your effort to nurture your leads, you need to segment your campaigns and your leads based on the characteristics that the leads have in common. Some of the characteristics that can be used in segmenting leads include geographical location, area of interest in contents, industry and roles and brand advocates as well as customer behaviour among others.
#4 Make use of workflows
You also have to make use of workflows when you are trying to nurture your leads and convert leads to customers. You need to make use of email workflow which will help you to send emails to a specified group of users at a particular time.
Some of the specified email workflow used by you include:
Event workflow allows visitors to register or attend the webinars
Lifecycle workflows, welcoming new customers to a new business
Upsell workflow, based on purchases made by customers in the past.
#5 Enforce Lead Scoring Methodology
Segregating is one of the best means of separating a good lead from a bad lead. This process always gives points based on information that you already have about the lead. This will allow you to determine whether a particular lead is profitable or not.
It helps in increasing sales efficiency and effectiveness, increasing marketing effectiveness, and tightening marketing and sales alignment for the organization.
It also helps the sales team to avoid spending their time on bad leads and to concentrate on leads that are ready for sale.
Action Point PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be happy to do because I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained include the staff of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, and New Horizons Nigeria among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.
I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.
Fact Check Policy
CRMNUGGETS is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.
Getting to the number 1 spot of Google’s organic search results is an uphill battle. But just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean you can’t win. In this article I want to talk about how to Optimise post for Google Featured Snippets.
Even if you’re not occupying position 1, you can outrank it. How? Is that even possible? Yes, that is possible – by claiming a featured snippet.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss what have featured snippets, what are their benefits for SEO, and how to optimize for them. Let’s get started.
What are featured snippets?
A featured snippet shows up as a block that contains the exact answer to your query. It is found right above the first organic search results, which is why it’s also called “position 0.”
Let’s say we do a Google search on “why is grass green”. Below is a screenshot of a featured snippet for this query:
Most of the time, Google includes an image in a featured snippet. The image source can be different than the source of the answer.
Featured snippets make people’s online search easier since they can see the answer they’re looking for at a glance. Google programmatically picks the best answer from a third-party website and features it in a snippet.
If Google chooses to display your content as a featured snippet, imagine the exposure and leads you could get.
Types of featured snippets
There are three common types of featured snippets:
Paragraph – This snippet shows paragraph-type answers to questions like how, who, why, when, and what. The screenshot above is an example of a paragraph featured snippet. Paragraph snippets are the most popular type.
List – Answers that are presented in numbered lists or bulleted lists fall under this snippet type. List snippets apply mostly to posts about step-by-step instructions and recipes.
Table – Often you’ll see table snippets show up for posts that contain comparisons charts. Google values well-structured content with prices, rates, years, and other numerical data.
Benefits of featured snippets
Featured snippets have been around since 2014, and yet it seems that marketers aren’t taking advantage of them.
The fact that Google aims to provide a great user experience by showing people the best search results is enough reason to rank for position 0.
But for the sake of knowing exactly why, here are some benefits of featured snippets:
#1 Steals traffic from the first result
Ahrefs studied 2 million featured snippets and what they discovered was astonishing: A featured snippet doesn’t get more clicks than the page ranking #1 for the search query.
However, it steals some clicks from the first result. So if there is a featured snippet for a phrase, it will be beneficial for you to be featured in it…well, in most cases.
January 2020 Update
In January 2020, Google announced that they will no longer repeat the result on the first SERP if a web page result is already shown in a featured snippet. Instead, the result may appear at the beginning of the second page.
This means that having a featured snippet may not always be a win, especially if your page would rank #1 without the featured snippet (given that the featured snippet has lower CTR that the 1st SERP result).
The decision sparked a backlash in the SEO community:
All of this has led to a discussion of whether there are cases when it is better to get rid of a featured snippet. If you want to find out more, check out our quick guide on how to remove a featured snippet.
You can also appear in the featured snippet if you rank on the 2nd, 3rd or even 5th position. Quite a simple way to jump ahead of your competitors!
#2 Optimizes for voice search
If you think that voice search is a fad, think again. Come 2020, 50% of searches will be conducted using voice-controlled personal assistants. For example, Siri, Cortana, and Google Assistant.
People are tuning in to voice search via their mobile devices. Because we naturally ask questions when doing voice search and featured snippets show up for question-type queries, it makes sense to rank for these snippets.
#3 You become a trusted expert
Let’s face it: Trying to position yourself as an authority in your niche is hard. Let alone that many businesses are competing for your audience’s attention.
From a potential customer’s perspective, you become more desirable by being in a featured snippet. As a source of reliable information per Google’s recommendation, you become the go-to website when people in your niche want advice.
After all, websites with the most featured snippets are well-known giants like Wikipedia, Quora, Amazon, Dictionary or Mayoclinic – people are used to reliable sources in the featured snippets.
How to optimize for featured snippets
Whether you ought to gain a traffic boost or reap other benefits of increased visibility, here are 9 useful tips on how to appear in a featured snippet.
#1 Do keyword research and aim for question-type search queries
Keyword research is an indispensable tool for a successful piece of content, especially content that ranks for a featured snippet.
Make sure to answer questions that most of your customers and target audience ask.
There are many keyword research tools to help you with this. If you use KWFinder, you can simply type in a seed keyword and click the tab “Questions”.
#2 Look at the results in the “People also ask” box
While researching keywords is extremely helpful, don’t forget to check out the “People also ask” section. A lot of times you’ll find this section beneath a featured snippet.
If you click on a question, more and more questions appear:
Consider this a goldmine for it offers you more opportunities to expand on a topic. You’ll be able to answer as many questions as possible in a single blog post.
#3 Strive to rank on the first page of Google search results
Getting on page 1 gives you a chance to be featured in a snippet. Nearly all featured snippets are found on the first page of Google SERPs.
This only goes to show that increasing your organic rankings remains to be a solid practice. Revisit strategies on how to improve your on-page SEO while providing great user experience:
Diagnose SEO problems and fix any penalties
Make your website easy to navigate and crawl
Practice internal linking and ink to quality external sources
Target your content with a search intent and keep it fresh
Optimize your images
Make your page readable and user-friendly
4. Write using the inverted pyramid style
The Inverted (or Inverse) Pyramid is a concept in journalism that teaches us how information should be structured. Start off by giving the answer “the most awaited part” and then proceed with the supporting details for the rest of your content.
5. Use words that are likely to generate featured snippets
Now here’s something that’ll get you pumped… In the process of researching Google snippets, I came across a study by the STAT Search Analytics team: The Best Words and Themes to Generate Featured Snippets. Their study revealed queries (grouped based on common themes) that returned snippets more often:
Queries with high featured snippet occurrence
Time
General questions
Transition
Status
often
do
forming
is
years
dose
become
be
deadline
cause
becoming
was
last
causes
removing
another
when
define
closing
an
age
definition
improve
are
mean
develop
meaning
getting
made
creating
In the same study, results also revealed words that were less likely to rank in the snippets. You might consider steering clear of them or minimizing their usage:
Queries with low featured snippet occurrence
Subjective queries
Info/help
free
template
rankings
source
comparison
diagram
review
course
reviews
programs
good
courses
best
forms
templates
sample
guide
tutorial
6. Pay attention to formatting
Earlier, we discussed that a featured snippet can come in different formats. Structure your content depending on the snippet format you want to show up for. So if you’re after a table, put your answers in a table. If you’re targeting a list snippet, make sure the items are well-structured in a list of headings.
Here’s how to format your blog post for snippets:
Write descriptive headers and use header tags like h1, h2, h3, etc.
Use short and punchy sentences that provide direct answers.
Use numbered lists, bullet-pointed lists, tables, or graphs.
Add a relevant image along with the snippet query you’re answering.
Basically, think about the usefulness, skimmability, and overall experience of your readers.
7. Follow the optimal word count
SEMrush analyzed over 10 million keywords and 1 million domains and had a useful discovery: Most featured snippets have a length of 40-50 words. Hubspot mentions up to 58 words.
Stay on the safe side by keeping your answers brief and straight to the point. They should be no more than 58 words.
8. Add a Q&A page to your website
Q&A pages are beneficial to site owners who offer products or services. These pages demonstrate your expertise by addressing concerns. Most importantly, they offer more opportunities for showing up in a snippet.
When creating a Q&A page, show the facts that most people in your niche yearn to know. Provide complete answers in short paragraphs and keep them straightforward. If creating this page is not applicable to your niche, use the earlier techniques we discussed.
Conclusion
If you want to get better traffic and improve your site’s SEO, you should know that occupying the first position of Google search results isn’t the only solution. Ranking in featured snippets gives you a second chance. Here’s a quick recap of the strategies:
Do keyword research and target question keywords
Check Google’s “People Also Ask” for relevant questions
Aim for the first page of Google SERPs
Use the inverted pyramid style when writing content
Include words that are likely to generate featured snippets
Format your blog post based on your target snippet
Stick to a length of 40-58 words
Structure your blog post well
Add a Q&A page to your website
Thank you for reading and I hope this guide helps!
Best Social Media Tools For Affiliate Marketer (+Examples)
Social networks are another channel you will probably use for promotion. Even if you do not promote affiliate links directly through social media, you will still share content that contains affiliate links. You will need to get acquainted with social media strategies you can use. Some of these tools could be helpful along the way:
#1 Buffer
Use this tool to schedule posts, track performance, and manage all your social media accounts from a single platform. The individual plan allows one social profile and up to 10 scheduled posts, and it is free, while paid plans enable you to unlock more features and add more social accounts to manage.
#2 Sprout Social
If you are looking for an alternative when it comes to social media management and automation, here is another tool you could consider. It is a paid tool offering some amazing advanced features such as various types of reports, advanced keyword listening, and custom URL tracking.
#3 Social Mentions
Searching specific keywords with this tool provides insights into top keywords associated with the subject, as well as other helpful data such as top users, reach, etc. It basically allows you to find out what is trending, which is helpful if you are looking for content ideas.
#4 Woobox
This tool enables creation of marketing campaigns such as contests, giveaways, etc. The campaigns can be hosted on a website, blogs, social media, in popups or as landing pages, which means that you can maximize the reach of such campaigns using all of the distribution channels.
#5 Snappa
Snappa is a graphic design tool which is pretty user-friendly, with lots of drag & drop options. You can choose from hundreds of pre-made templates or create your own custom images using the elements provided. When you connect Facebook and Twitter accounts, the tool allows you to share the images instantly on social media. Buffer integration is also available.
Lead generation includes collecting email addresses of the online users who are most likely to become your customers, based on specific conditions they fulfill, such as being from a certain location, within a certain age group, having bought a similar product before, having visited a page on your blog, etc. Leads are also often called potential sales contacts.
Unlike regular subscribers, leads hold more value for a business, because they are more likely to be converted. It is possible to segment your mailing list to separate regular subscribers from leads. In this article, I will be talking about relationship between blogging and Lead Generation.
What blogging helps you do is collect leads. Blogging helps you create content of high quality that will attract relevant visitors. When you achieve this task, when you have visitors on your blog page, the next goal will be to generate the leads through the usage of lead magnets.
Lead magnets are offers that require visitors to leave their email address to get something in return. They could get some downloadable material, templates, resources, access to a restricted area, coupons, an ebook, etc. The offer has to include something they will find value in, to encourage clicks. The offer also has to be related to the content of the blog page that features the lead magnet. For example, if you have a page about social media marketing, the relevant offer could include a report with social media statistics, an ebook guide for optimizing social media updates, etc.
Blogging contributes to lead generation with its success. The more visits the blog pages have, the more leads can they generate.
Blogging to improve your business
When you explore all of these aspects of online marketing, and how those and blogging mutually complement, this gives you a possibility to maximize your success. Being a blogger is not about being a writer only. You need this basic knowledge of online marketing because it helps you enhance the performance of your blog. It helps you build influence and turn blogging into a profitable career.
Your main goal is to consider blogging a part of online marketing, and to explore how different segments can help you create better-performing content. Explore social media performance and see what kind of posts go viral. Use an online SEO checker to see if content optimization is really working out for you or you need to consider improvements. For a business striving to succeed in the world of online marketing, blogging is so much more than a collection of nicely-written articles.
A blog is a resource that helps you generate traffic,visits, leads and eventually sales. It helps you promote your business and persuade people to become your customers through the credibility and trust you gain as a blogger.
For individual bloggers, online marketing is also necessary for their blogging endeavor because it can significantly improve the potential blogging, on its own, has.
This segment of online marketing includes business promotion through social networks. It starts with creating social media profiles, and then it includes many social media marketing techniques, such as content promotion and engagement, hosting competitions and giveaways, interaction with the social media users, social media advertising, etc.
Blogging is sometimes defined as a part of social media marketing. The reason for this statement relies on the fact that blogging provides more dynamic content than website pages. It also encourages the interaction between the author and the readers.
Both of these, regular updates and online interaction are the characteristics of social networking websites. Hence the reasoning that considers blogging as additional channel used for social media marketing.
In terms of social media marketing, blogging is a strategy that creates content to be used for social promotion. While a lot of content shared on social networks will be created for the specific social network, a certain part of content shared will include blog links. There are several reasons why companies do so:
#1 Diversify content shared on social networks
Sharing blog content provides more material for the users, offering a variety of content the users would find helpful. Unlike social media status updates, blog content is longer and more elaborate, so the online users can find more information about the topic they are interested in.
#2 Improve content distribution
Without social media reach, blogging would mostly depend on organic traffic and inbound links. However, employing social networks for content distribution helps with delivering your blog content to the audience following you on social networks. This increases the reach and visibility of your blog content among the online users.
#3 Increase visibility
Sharing on social networks increases the visibility of blog content as you have all those social media users that you can potentially reach. Furthermore, the influence of social networks on search engine visibility has been a topic of many debates among marketers. There is no clear data on how the search engines see social media links, but there is a common belief that search engines do see these links in some way. Additionally, social media links are often featured in the search engine result pages, which means that it is possible to increase visibility, especially for branded keywords.
#4 Get traffic
Social networks help you bring traffic to your blog. The amount of that traffic can range anywhere from a couple of clicks to thousands of social media visits, but what it mainly depends on is the how popular your social media accounts are and how viral your post is.
#5 Interact with social media users
Growing popularity and adoption of social networks among the people worldwide have led to more opportunities to interact with them through these platforms. For a business, this represents a chance to improve the business-to-customer relationship, to provide customer support and to ask for reviews. For people, social networks represent a convenient way to follow the news about the business they are interested in (including promotions, new product releases, etc.), as well as an opportunity to get their questions answered, to provide feedback, etc.
