Author: Marcy Willis

Start Your 2022 Marketing and Advertising Planning Today

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The past two years have shaken up businesses across all industries. They have also changed the way owners and marketing professionals plan their strategies and activities for the year ahead. As 2022 promises to be a post-pandemic year, marketers need to get ready now for a fast-changing environment.

Successful marketing and advertising in 2022 demand an integrated approach that is focused on your customers. Understanding who they are and why they are buying your products and services is the key to effective marketing tactics. Here are some of the key elements to consider for the coming year.

Integrate SEO and SEM

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been a staple of digital marketing activities for years. As part of your marketing strategy, it drives organic traffic to your website. However, SEO is a long-term strategy. Depending on your budget and the keywords your business wants to rank for, it may take months before you see results.

If you are a startup that has just launched its first website, waiting for SEO to drive traffic to you may take too long. Consider adding search engine marketing to your marketing mix. SEM allows you to use keywords to secure a paid-for listing at the top of search engine results pages, above the organic results produced by SEO. Granted, organic results have more credibility. However, until your SEO takes off, SEM can help you be seen by prospective customers. Together, those two tools are most effective.

Create content for mobile devices

Are you planning to update your website or develop it further this year? If yes, make sure your content is mobile-friendly. More than half of all internet traffic comes from mobile phones, tablets and other mobile devices.

A few years ago, having mobile-responsive content was good enough. To stand out in 2022, consider creating mobile-first websites. You don’t need to reinvent web design. However, rather than checking responsiveness as an afterthought, once the design is nearly finalized, you start at the other end of the process. Develop the best possible user experience on the smallest possible screen.

Ensure navigation menus are easy to use and touchscreen-friendly. Structure your content in a way that is easy to digest on small screens. Your organization does not necessarily need to limit content but consider collapsing menus to create smaller chunks of text.

Images are an excellent way of bringing content to life and attracting interest from prospective customers. On the other hand, large images slow your website down. Slow loading speeds are detrimental in several ways: they are punished by search engine algorithms when it comes to your SEO ranking; they may also lead users to abort their attempt to look at your website altogether.

A fast-loading, mobile-first website is a great asset to any company. Plus, it is easier to adjust a mobile-friendly website for a big screen than going the other way.  

Related: Marketing Goes Mobile: The Secret To Successfully Connecting …

Streamline your omni-channel approach

Few businesses today use only one channel to approach their customers. The advantages of using various paths to reach their markets are well documented. They include increased turnover and better customer retention.

Customers choose the channel that is most convenient to them to contact you. This may not always be the same channel for the same customer, depending on their type of inquiry, location, time of day and many other factors. What remains the same is the high expectation customers have of your response.

According to business intelligence company Gartner, even large organizations continue to fail to deliver a unified customer experience. The authors of the research believe that one in two companies could do better when it comes to delivering a frictionless experience. This has become more important since the outbreak of the pandemic, which has led more customers to connect digitally with businesses.

As a small business, building a streamlined approach across all your channels may be easier as you are working with a smaller team and fewer channels. Small businesses may have an advantage over larger ones in this respect.

Related: Your Customers Are Using Multiple Devices. You Should Be, Too …

Focus your ecommerce activity on social commerce

The number of social media users continues to grow. This trend was amplified by the coronavirus pandemic. Even though we are expecting to come out of the pandemic in 2022, social media growth is likely to increase from 3.6 billion users in 2020 to 4.41 billion in 2025.

Facebook remains the biggest and most widely used platform in the U.S. but, depending on your product, you may want to consider other platforms. Instagram has been the leader in harnessing influencer marketing, which is a very effective way for businesses to tap into specific communities.

Another opportunity to consider is user-generated video content on one of the newest social media platforms, TikTok. Like influencer marketing, user-generated content benefits from a high level of trust.

While social commerce currently only accounts for a small share of the United States’ ecommerce revenue, experts expect this area to grow exponentially by 2025. If your business relies on online retail, this needs to be part of your 2022 strategy.

There are only a few weeks left in 2021, so now is the time to start planning your marketing strategy for 2022. Small businesses and startups can benefit from cost-effective digital marketing strategies by integrating organic and paid-for search engine activities and shifting ecommerce spending towards social media networks. Focusing on mobile-friendly content and delivering a seamless customer experience across all marketing channels will put you ahead of your competitors this coming year.

Related: Best Practices for Marketing During and After COVID-19

U.S. Army Needs New Technology For Projected Role In The Pacific

Armies are always preparing to fight the last war. Indeed, the U.S. Army is well equipped to fight a counterinsurgency, as it did in the Global War on Terror. However, with the current state of the world, this next war will likely be different. New threats are emerging, with many seeing China as the next American adversary. Last week, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth outlined the role of the U.S. Army in a war with China. The Army would build and defend forward bases in the Pacific, provide command and control for the total force, and maintain the logistical supply lines.

These roles are defensive in nature, where the U.S. Army would be protecting bases, communication nodes, and supply lines. Not only are these roles different from those in the Global War on Terror, the U.S. Army’s adversary would be much more advanced as well. The Chinese military has several weapon systems that match or exceed American capabilities. As such, the U.S. Army needs new capabilities to counter these weapon systems to be successful in this war scenario.

Drones are expected to play a key role in future conflicts. Although the U.S. Army has counter-drone technology, the systems are designed to handle the weaponized commercial drones used by insurgent groups. The drones used by China are substantially more advanced, have a higher degree of autonomy, and can produce more damaging effects. This past summer, the Chinese military even demonstrated a “suicide drone swarm” consisting of 1,000 quadcopters. Such a system would be difficult to counter with traditional air-defense systems. The U.S. Army is funding numerous counter-drone research efforts, including systems recently demonstrated by Aurora Flight Sciences, ELTA North America, and XTEND. However, these systems, and similar ones under development, would likely be inadequate for dealing with the systems under development by China, which could use them to target US military bases in the Pacific.

Another weapon in the Chinese arsenal is hypersonic weapons. China has developed hypersonic weapons that can deliver nuclear and conventional payloads while moving at speeds and altitudes that allow them to be undetectable by current anti-missile systems. These weapons could readily destroy a forward deployed base and disrupt supply lines, preventing the U.S. Army from carrying out its missions. As such, the U.S. Army needs air-defense assets that can counter these weapons. The U.S. has made tremendous progress on its own hypersonic weapons; however, the systems for countering these weapons are lagging. The current plan involves the use of the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, being developed by Northrop Grumman

NOC
, to detect and track hypersonic weapons through a constellation of satellites. The prototype satellite is expected to launch in 2023, with other satellites and interceptors to follow thereafter. Even if there are no development delays, global coverage will not be available until 2026.

Several military wargaming exercises have predicted that in the event of a war, China would attack the American communication networks to disrupt operations. The current U.S. military doctrine (“Multi-Domain Operations”) is based on synchronizing efforts from different units to create devastating effects; this synchronization requires dependable communication. Unfortunately, China has significant cyber and electronic warfare capabilities that can degrade, disrupt, or deny U.S. military communication. Moreover, even without an adversarial attack, the US military communication networks are not reliable, somewhat disjointed, and require modernization. 

Currently, the U.S. Department of Defense is developing the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) System which is built over a revolutionary, resilient network. Further, JADC2 uses automation and artificial intelligence, cloud environments, and new communications methods.  Even after JADC2 becomes operational, the communication space will likely still be contested.

Along with its communication networks, another large vulnerability are the U.S. military supply lines. During every major conflict, supply lines are a critical target that adversaries attack. This issue will be amplified by the increased dependence on technology, much of which rely on spare parts and fuel that must be shipped from the U.S. As such, the U.S. Army must be able to provide “edge-sustainment” where they produce their supplies locally, reducing their need for supply lines. For example, new additive manufacturing technologies will allow for the development of spare parts. Meanwhile, fuel can be locally sourced and/or produced on the bases from carbon-based material. A movement away from traditional supply lines is critical for ensuring sustained operations.

Perhaps the largest liability of the U.S. Army is the time it requires to develop and field new systems. The Chinese military will naturally adapt their tactics and technologies as the war progresses, and the U.S. Army may not be able to respond quickly enough.  In theory, the Army should be able to rapidly innovate solutions, since innovation occurs when people from diverse backgrounds come together to solve a problem. However, current acquisition processes require substantial time and tend to hinder innovation. If the U.S. Army adopted processes that encouraged and fostered innovation, they would be better posed to adapt on the battlefield.

Fortunately for the U.S. Army, this war is not imminent. As such, they have time to develop these systems and capabilities. However, without proper investment in these areas, the U.S. Army could be showing up with the proverbial knife to a gunfight.

3 Reasons Why You Must Hire an Experienced SEO Expert For Your Business

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As a small business owner, you might be tempted to take matters into your own hands when it comes to increasing your website’s organic reach. It may seem like finding the right keywords using some popular tools and stuffing your pages with loads of content because “content is king”. 

However, the game of SEO extends over keyword research and content creation. It is an extensive and full-time job that can be best left for an expert to handle. 

Still not convinced? Here are three main reasons why you must consider SEO consultant service for your website’s growth.

Take a look. 

Off-Site SEO & Content Marketing Strategy

If you speak with one of the SEO experts, you’ll realize that it’s more than just optimizing your site. The most effective SEO practices employ a comprehensive approach and offer a wide range of solutions to boost your website’s visibility.

What is the significance of this?

Numerous things should occur “off-page” to boost your SEO. This includes strategic link building and building citations. It would be helpful to have other trustworthy websites that could link back to your website as authoritative votes (hence the word “backlink “).

A skilled SEO consultant will ensure that your Google My Business account is authentic and optimized for search. It is particularly beneficial to find a consultant who has a deep understanding of the local market and the latest trends. For instance, an SEO company that is specialized in Silicon Valley businesses.

Free up Your Time & Money

If you’re beginning to feel overwhelmed by the plethora of talk of SEO, it’s normal. SEO can be fun; however, make no mistake: SEO is a full-time job. Trying to tackle it yourself can only distract you from the essential aspects of running your business.

SEO is a constant process that requires hours of testing, failures and research. It can consume time for working business people. In the worst case, you’ll be spinning your wheels with outdated methods which won’t benefit (or might even hurt) the SEO of your business.

When you weigh in all these reasons, hiring an experienced SEO consultant will make sense. They’re experts and know the ins and outs of their field, leaving you free to concentrate on your work.

What happens to the money you invest in SEO services? You’ll more than get the money back with a high ROI. Organic search (the core purpose of SEO) generates 51{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} of the web traffic – over five times the money spent on other advertising methods.

An expert can bring fresh insight to your marketing and website initiatives. Their prior experience coupled with an outsider’s viewpoint of your company can result in exciting and lucrative fresh marketing strategies.

Bring in the Right Kind of Website Visitors

Bettering your SEO efforts involves more than just bringing more visitors to your site. For instance, if you’re trying to attract customers within or around South Carolina, it won’t help draw customers from Miami or New York.

SEO experts concentrate on bringing suitable visitors to your website rather than just increasing the number of people who visit your site. This requires extensive analysis to find out what users are looking for and then altering your web content to satisfy those who have that requirement.

A part of this is identifying the appropriate intention-based keywords that you can use for your website. This can help drive visitors to your website looking for the exact type of product or services and are often eager to buy and not only people who are just browsing to gather data.

They also know (and can utilize) the analytics on your site to find out what is working and what’s not. By constantly updating your website’s content and marketing activities, an SEO consultant can increase your sales, not just your visitors.

Final Word

Learning SEO is a full-time task and one that you might lack the energy or the desire to devote yourself to. It would be beneficial to concentrate on running your primary business and let an experienced SEO expert handle your website’s organic growth.

 

How 5G technology could change the future of music

“Artists can now build entire digital worlds by using the same technology that’s used to create video games to bring their creative vision to life,” said Andrew Zarick, Head of Partnership Activations at Verizon 5G Labs. “This completely changes the way artists engage with fans now and in the future.”

With the program’s help, rapper and singer TheHxliday designed a 360-degree virtual world that morphed from a desert landscape with bouncing moons to a lush forest with butterflies for his 20-minute performance of “The Most Beautiful Disaster.” With 5G, Verizon was able to record and stream the performance in a way that nearly eliminated the side effects of image compression that are visible to the naked eye.

Artist Asiahn used the tools at the 5G Labs to create an augmented reality experience for fans. The team at the lab used volumetric capture to create a holographic video performance of Asiahn dancing. When you play the music video, the app overlays Asiahn into your own living room, bringing the artist to your personal space. Switch modes and you see a northern-lights display with lyrics flying by as you play the song. In director’s cut mode, she’s in the room with you, talking about the video and the story behind it.

“That extension of this digital 2D video into your physical 3D world is indicative of what we think the table stakes will be going forward when you think about content,” said Zarick. “It’s not just lean back. It’s interactive, it’s immersive. And it begins to shift entertainment from a single platform experience to a multiplatform experience, reaching fans wherever they are.”

Collaborating across continents

Technology, paired with a need for distanced connections created by the COVID-19 pandemic, is also spurring increased online music collaboration through platforms such as BandLab and Kompoz.

Musicians from all over the world are meeting together remotely. The Veltrons, whose members are from London, upstate New York, Vancouver and San Francisco, met on the Endless music collaboration app and have produced two albums, despite having never met in person.

While this kind of online music collaboration is already happening, the high performance of 5G networks should make it more seamless—meaning fans could see more exciting collaborations in the future.

Empowering everyone to create

While bands backed by big labels already have the resources to create amazing high-tech experiences for fans, 5G will help make music tech more accessible to everyone, Zarick said. We are already partway there.

“If you have an iPhone®, you’re a moviemaker,” Zarick said. “So you can make your music video, you can post to TikTok®, you can find a way to build your audience. And by the way, that phone in your hand is starting to come with new and amazing features like being able to do 3D scanning.”

“These tools no longer just sit within the scope of folks that have dollars and access,” he said. And that could make a difference in what kind of music we all experience in the future.

“This really starts to bring about a new wave of creators with new forms of creative expression,” Zarick said, “and begins to unlock new sustainable ways to monetize their work.”

Verizon 5G’s role in music innovations

Since a 2019 concert with the Chainsmokers, Verizon has been exploring what 5G can do for music. Whether through collaborations like the Emerging Artists program, 5G build-outs in stadiums and venues across the country, or other new and exciting applications, Verizon will continue to push the future of music technology.

Find out more about how the Verizon 5G Labs are helping artists, innovators and others put the power of 5G to use.

1emarketer.com/content/how-5g-will-change-media-entertainment-and-marketing

2 Samantha Hissong, “5G Could Be the Future of Concerts. No, Really.” Rolling Stone, May 18, 2021.

Google releases its list of favourite Chrome Extensions of 2021

As we near the end of this year, Google has shared its list of hand-picked Chrome extensions which are said to allow users to “virtually stay connected, get things done, and have some fun along the way”. Google has categorised the extensions into four different categories, on the basis of what they offer. These include; Communicate and collaborate, Stay productive, Learn virtually, and Make (and save) some change.

Here is everything you should know about Google’s list of favourite extensions for Chrome in 2021.

Communicate and collaborate

As part of this category, Google has chosen three Chrome extensions. Loom which is aimed at making the process of capturing and sharing videos with others, easier. The extension will allow users to record their screen, voice, and face in videos that can be shared.

Mote which will allow users to give quick feedback via voice. Users can use the extension to add voice comments and audio to shared documents, assignments, emails, and forms.

The company also listed Wordtune as one of its favorite picks of 2021. The extension can be used to communicate with ease, as it rephrases sentences and typo errors in emails and documents.

Stay productive

Google has stated that as part of this category, it has chosen extensions that will offer new ways to stay focused and efficient. Forest, which is an extension that can be used to motivate users and enhance productivity, using virtual tree planting and rewards.

The company has also listed Dark Reader to be one of its favorite Chrome extensions. Dark Reader is meant to protect your eyes and reduce strain, by applying a dark theme to the websites you visit on Chrome. Users can also tweak settings such as brightness, contrast, sepia filter, dark mode, and more.

There’s also Tab Manager Plus extension which will allow users to view all active tabs in one view.

Users who are interested in getting a tool for clicking screenshots and recording their screen can have a look at Nimbus Screenshot and Screen Video Recorder. The extension will allow you to capture screenshots and record on-screen content.

Learn virtually

As part of the ‘Learn Virtually’ category, Google has mentioned extensions that will provide users with access to helpful virtual classroom tools. The top picks include Kami, which aids users in creating an interactive online learning space. The tool will allow teachers and students to collaborate in real-time.

Users can also make use of the InsertLearning extension on Chrome, to easily take notes. The tool can even be integrated with Google Classroom. Toucan is said to make the process of the same “fun and immersive”.

The last extension as part of this category includes Rememberry. The extension can be used to organise vocabulary words into flashcard decks for quick studying.

Make (and save) some change

If you wish to ad a personal touch to your browsing experience, you can download Stylus. Using the extension, you will be able to build and install custom themes and skins for the websites you love to visit often.

Google has also listed the Rakuten extension as part of this category. The tool can be used to automatically search for deals and find coupons across the Web while shopping online.

7 important elements that will make your web design standout

Do you know that it only takes 15 minutes for a common person to read the content on your site? But the tricky part is that 66{4224f0a76978c4d6828175c7edfc499fc862aa95a2f708cd5006c57745b2aaca} of them would like to see something creative and attractive. They would not want to see the plain or simple design with no quality images and color schemes. It is all about aesthetics now that is making your customers stay on your site. 

So, you need to understand the importance of web design for your brand’s visual presence. A lot of businesses hire website development services in Canada for professional results. You do not need to make a website, you need to create a quality and professional site that will get you closer towards your clients. 

Important elements of web design that are a must know:

  1. Efficient and effective navigation:

When your customers visit your site, it is important that they can easily access the information. If you want to create new leads, you need to create solid navigation that will keep your audience engaged. If they find it difficult to understand where the pages are leading, they will leave your site. So, it is important to make sure you work properly on the navigation because the customers won’t stay long. 

  1. Responsive design:

People can now easily access everything from their smartphones. So, now you have to make sure you are creating a responsive design that will not only operate on their laptop screen but their smartphone as well. A person getting in touch with you through his/her phone is also a lead and you cannot let them go. Here, you can take the help of reliable and professional website development services in Canada. 

You have to make sure they have a positive experience on your site and the information they find is helpful for them. Moreover, the more responsive design, the longer they will stay on your site. 

  1. Style guide:

A style guide is a technique in which you decide the way your website will look. Now, we all understand that web design matters but you cannot rush making your site. You have to create an outlook that will help you engage people with just one look. 

  1. Impressive visuals:

In your website design, you use a lot of visuals. The visuals should be highly purposeful and of good pixels. There can be a video or plenty of images that give a proper message of what the content or website means. 

  1. Quality content:

The customers are on your site for information and you give it through your content. So, you need to make sure that your content is original, unique, and creative the answers the customer’s question or concerns in an effective way. 

  1. CTA:

A lot of people do not put call-to-action on their websites and that is not right if you want leads. Call-to-action helps to proceed the traffic to the next page or steps. Like they can contact you for a quote or any queries. 

  1. Speed of your website:

Lastly, speed is one of the most important parts of your website. If your site is too slow or even working on a medium level, no customer has the time to waste on it. Even if they are your potential customers, soon they will get tired of it. So, make sure you work on the efficiency of your website before getting it online.