After facing criticism that it favours only Yadavs while in power, the Samajwadi Party (SP) is now attempting social engineering in Uttar Pradesh through a rainbow coalition of smaller backward and Dalit castes, to challenge the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.The support of the Bahujan Samaj Party proved decisive for the SP in winning the Gorakhpur and Phulpur seats in the recent Lok Sabha byelections.The two parties are yet to reach a full-fledged alliance, but the byelection win was the first victory for Mr. Akhilesh’s experiment in social engineering.A gambleIn Gorakhpur, the SP gambled on an outsider — Pravin Nishad, 29, son of Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad, who commands a considerable presence among the riverine Mallah caste (OBC) and its various sub-castes such as Nishad and Kewats in eastern U.P. The alliance in Gorakhpur was not a one-off though. The Nishad Party had, in December 2017, extended full support to the SP in the Sikandra Assembly byelection in Kanpur. The SP lost the seat but made huge gains in vote share. In the 2017 Assembly election, the Nishad Party managed to secure over 5.4 lakh votes in the 72 seats it contested, mostly in Purvanchal, and is capable of turning the results in favour of the SP.Another major caste the SP has been wooing is the Pasi community, the second largest Dalit caste in U.P. After roping in former BSP general secretary and Pasi face of the BSP Inderjeet Saroj last September, the SP soon inducted another prominent caste leader and BSP founder, R.K. Chaudhary, and former Minister Shyamlal Rawat. Their entry strengthens the SP in the Allahabad-Lucknow region.Mr. Akhilesh has confirmed the support of the Janwadi Party (Socialist) Party, which commands a presence among the Noniya Chauhan caste in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Another important OBC caste bloc on the SP’s radar is the Maurya (Kushwaha-Sakhya-Saini) community. Naval Kishore, son-in-law of Swami Prasad Maurya, State Minister and former OBC face of the BSP, joined the SP on Saturday.
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The Odisha government has asked all district collectors to take steps to uphold secular credential of all child care institutions (CCIs) in the State.The directive came in wake of observations of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) that certain CCIs were giving over emphasis on specific religion.“During various inspection visits to CCIs in various parts of the country, certain contrary yet significant trend came to notice of the commission. On one hand, children belonging to particular religion are being placed in homes managed by religious institution of the same faith was evident,” stated Priyank Kanoongo, NCPCR chairperson in a letter addressed to all chief secretaries.“Though this is done with the direction of Child Welfare Committees, it is not in consonance with the spirit of secular principles upheld in the Constitution of India,” noted Mr. Kanoongo.“On the one hand, it was observed during visits in the government as well as NGO-cum-CCIs that there is another set of homes where children are placed in CCIs irrespective of their religion, but religious texts pertaining to specific religion are being taught to all children. Bible was seen being taught in some CCIs during inspections,” said NCPCR chairperson.Observing that children who are in need of care and protection face multiple deprivations and are vulnerable to get influenced, he said according to United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Child, State parties undertake to respect the right of child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference.“In both cases, one of the most vulnerable groups of children is deprived of their basic rights as individuals and citizen of the country,” said Mr. Kanoongo.The NCPCR recommended that corrective measures be taken to uphold the right to identity of one of the most vulnerable group of children.Following the NCPCR missive, the Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti directed all collectors to be vigilant for maintaining a secular environment in the CCIs of their respective districts.
Test skipper Virat Kohli today said controlling sessions which don’t exactly go the team’s way is among the most crucial lessons he has learnt so far in his brief tenure at the helm.”One thing that stands out in the learning process is how to control a session which is not going your way,” Kohli said on the eve of the third and final Test against New Zealand in Indore. (Gautam Gambhir will play third Test, confirms captain Virat Kohli)”How to stop the runs and keep the pressure (on the opposition) when you are not taking wickets? That’s very important and something which I have experienced as captain. It’s a very important time in a Test match, not to go too negative while (at the same time) controlling the runs (of the opposition). It’s a thin line, and it’s important not to go one-dimensional when things are not going your way,” he said.India are 2-0 up in the series but Kohli said the team was not going to experiment with a makeshift opener and instead give Gautam Gambhir a chance to resurrect his career after two years.”That’s a natural change because of injury to Shikhar Dhawan, natural because he is the third opener in the team,” said Kohli on the chances of Gambhir opening the innings with Murali Vijay after being in the reserves in the second Test in Kolkata. (Virat Kohli’s India look to extend unbeaten run at home)Dhawan, also a left-handed opener from Delhi, got hit on his finger in the second innings of the second Test while batting and was subsequently ruled out of the final Test here. Kohli said that all those who have come in to fill in for the injured players have done well.advertisement”What happened to Shikhar was not a fitness issue, but a blow on the thumb. We have had injuries, but the good thing is we were able to recognise them early and given them rest. It’s a long season ahead and the good thing is others have stepped in and taking it as an opportunity (to do well).” (India recall Raina for first three ODIs vs NZ, Ashwin and Jadeja rested)Praising Mohammed Shami for his hard work after returning to the team following a long injury-induced rest, Kohli said the Bengal pacer was a very important cog in the Indian bowling attack.”Shami has come on well. He’s worked very hard on his fitness as well. In the five-six overs (spell) he runs in, gets bit of momentum. He can take wickets on any wicket.” (Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir’s return evokes nostalgia)”That’s the sort of skills he has. He is a strike bowler and whenever he comes on to bowl he makes something happen. As a captain he is a very important bowler for us,” insisted Kohli.”It’s very important to manage the work load, especially for the fast bowlers. For ODI matches, they have been given rest. It is a long Test season ahead and it gives opportunity to others to prove themselves,” added the Delhi batsman.Speaking about his own batting form, the skipper said he had stopped worrying about such things. “It’s not a concern. I don’t think over such things, focus on going on to field, make runs and help the team. I have stopped worrying about such things.”He described the track prepared for the game, the first ever Test at the Holkar Stadium, as a good wicket. “It’s the first Test in Indore. It’s a good stadium and the pitch looks good, it’s a normal Indore pitch. We can plan well.” (Captaining India helped me play even better, says Virat Kohli)”The weather is a bit doubtful (threats of rain), but we cannot control it. There will be good carry for bowlers and if they bowl well they will get wickets and batsmen can play strokes too. It’s a good Test match wicket,” he said.Asked about the mantra for the team’s successful run, Kohli said it had committed less number of mistakes.”We have made less number of mistakes and that’s why we have been winning matches. The weaknesses are discussed in house and it’s not fair to make them public. But we keep discussing them within the team on a regular basis,” Kohli added.
Approximately one quarter of chronic rhinitis cases are not caused by allergies. Here’s how to know if you have non-allergic rhinitis, and the best way to go about treating it.When your nose is acting up but allergies have been ruled out as the cause, non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) is the diagnosis that usually follows. Typically, your eyes, nose, and throat won’t itch when allergies aren’t at play, but NAR can involve a runny nose, congestion, postnasal drip or sneezing. These discomforts can drag on and become a hindrance to your quality of life.The long list of possible triggers for NAR includes infection, temperature changes, cigarette smoke, chemical fumes, alcohol, stress, and a hormonal imbalance (often resulting from puberty, pregnancy, hormonal replacement therapy, or birth control). Even getting older can do it: a sub-type of NAR known as senile rhinitis appears to stem from an age-related dysfunction of the nerves inside the nose.Medications can also set off NAR, from beta-blockers and NSAIDs to decongestant nasal spray. The latter may reduce swelling and unclog your nose during a cold or an allergic reaction, but when taken for more than five to seven consecutive days, it can trigger new swelling. For some people, taking nasal decongestants to counter decongestant-related symptoms becomes a vicious cycle.Obviously, eliminating the root cause of NAR is the best way to rid yourself of the condition. However, for roughly half of NAR patients, there isn’t a clear cause. A recent study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that many of those sufferers could clear their symptoms by spraying with capsaicin, which happens to be the molecule that gives chili peppers their heat. The ingredient interacts with over-sensitive nasal nerves and has an effect that was first observed when patients from North America or Europe migrated to India, started eating spicy foods, and noticed their symptoms fading, says Dr. Peter Hellings, a professor of rhinology at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and the University of Amsterdam. Capsaicin isn’t sold as a drug, but some doctors or pharmacists may be able to order it and prepare the spray themselves.Other types of NAR can be treated pharmaceutically, as well; for instance, the age-related variant responds well to nasal sprays containing a drug called ipratropium bromide. Your doctor should be able to help you figure out if any medications make sense for your particular case. Source
Data Visualization Don’t forget to share this post! AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to Email AppEmail AppShare to LinkedInLinkedInShare to MessengerMessengerShare to SlackSlack Topics: Originally published Jun 28, 2013 12:30:00 PM, updated February 01 2017 If you were going to ask your CEO for more inbound marketing budget this year, which argument would be more convincing: “I ‘feel’ it’s the right thing to do,” or, “48% of marketers are increasing their inbound budgets this year, and it’s the third year in a row the industry is expanding at almost a 50% rate. We need to capitalize on this trend.”The second, right? It’s hard to dispute an argument when it’s rooted in facts.As marketers, we don’t just have to convince people to be on our side about an issue — we need to convince them to take action. Here’s where data-driven content comes in: it’s the rationale that makes people, particularly potential prospects and leads, sit up and pay attention.So to help you make the most of the data you have at your disposal, we wanted to explain why people love it and give a few tips for using it in your day-to-day marketing. Bonus: If you really love data, you can be part of our latest research project. Take our latest survey on website redesign here.Why People Like DataGoogle’s Chief Economist Hal Varian believes, “the sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians. Because now, we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complementary factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it.”While the jury’s still out on whether a data analyst’s job is “sexy,” Varian is right about the importance of data — your audience expects you to use it when marketing to them. And in order for you to properly use data in your marketing, you need to know why it’s so compelling to your audience in the first place. Here’s why people like data so much:It provides concrete details. Specific data points give context for your audience and allow people to better understand what you’re saying. Instead of trying to convince people with sweeping statements, including data makes your argument more interesting and credible to your audience. And it works in practice too: according to research by our resident social media scientist, Dan Zarrella, articles with digits in their titles are about 175% more likely to be shared than those without them.It can help predict the future. People always want to be on the cusp of the latest and greatest in their industry … and data can help them do that. Looking at trends gives you insight on where your industry has been and where it might go. Let’s use the common bell-curve graph as an example: If we noticed that a social media trend was flat, then increased exponentially to a peak, then started to level out, we might predict that that trend was about to be on it’s way out. You can use this insight to help your audience understand current and upcoming trends — and maybe even establish yourself as a thought leader in the process. It provides social proof. According to Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, people are much more likely to do something if they know someone else is doing it to. Data provides a benchmark for people to measure themselves against — and makes them conscious of what “everyone else” is doing.Moral of the story here: people eat up data. But you can’t just slap a few stats throughout your marketing and expect data to bring you improved results.How You Can Use Data in Your MarketingWith all this data out there in the universe means, we have terrific marketing opportunities at our fingertips. Why then, are so many data-driven reports and articles so boooorrrrriiinggg? There are few things worse than reading a long diatribe on data findings where every sentence is mired in academia-speak or when a speaker rattles off data points without any context.If you’re looking for some information on storytelling with data, check out this recent article by Harvard Business Review. But we’re going talk more about how data can help your marketing efforts overall. Here are some guidelines for using data in all of your marketing activities:Use the data to frame your story angle.In any good story, you’ll offer a thesis, establish proof, and then give a takeaway for the audience. Data can be used to support your angle — either as the introduction of your thesis or as proof for your initial statement. Keep in mind that the data point alone won’t prove your case for you. If your angle is your data point, make it easy to understand but unique — this is the one hook that makes your reader think and read on. For example, as the lead-in to a speaking engagement on the rise of mobile marketing, I started with the stat that there are more mobile phones on the planet than toothbrushes. That’s a much more interesting comparative statistic than just the number of mobile phones in the world. The key is to make people think.Use visual data as a jumping-off point for your presentations.In the modern business world, tons of people slap random stats into presentations, hoping to make you say “wow.” Remember, if pictures speak 1,000 words, data must speak 1,000,000 — so don’t overwhelm your audience by cramming a ton of stats on a slide. A better technique for using data in your presentations is to go simple: use one chart as the jumping-off point for a point in your talk. Using charts is visual, compelling, and allows your audience to focus on listening to your speech — not on reading the slides. If you’re interested in some charts to use in your presentations, you can download a deck of 86 shareable charts from the State of Inbound Marketing Report.Create content with the magic number seven in mind.If you have been in marketing at all, you have probably heard the idea that people like odd numbers, and that lists should include roughly seven data points. According to psychologist George Miller, our memory can only remember seven pieces of data (plus or minus two, depending on the individual and situation he or she is in) — so it’s best to create your content with that in mind. For what it’s worth, I’ve also personally seen this study hold true in real life landing page conversions.Increase landing page conversions by using specific numbers.As I mentioned earlier, people like specific details. From a conversion standpoint, countless A/B tests have proven that adding specific numbers to headlines and subject lines increases conversion rates. Specificity breeds trust and credibility, so think about adding clear data points to your content in your next A/B test and see how your audience likes it.Increase press mentions with original data.Are you trying to get your content noticed by the press? One of the best ways to do that is to launch new, interesting data. When developing articles, the press needs to answer one question with every article: why now? New data gives you the chance to answer it: data can be both the justification and the driver of urgency — as long as it’s truly interesting and relevant to what the reporter writes about.Even if you’re not a huge numbers fan, the era of big data and all the cool analytics reports you can run in digital marketing is the answer to your prayers. Data allows you to find a common thread in the universe to engage with people and maybe even have them buy your product. So rejoice in the change, and start getting down with data — your leads and customers will thank you for it.How do you use data in your marketing? Share your tips with us in the comments! Image credit: kenteegardin
Originally published Oct 17, 2014 8:00:00 AM, updated July 28 2017 To make sure your slide cover is readable, even with Facebook cropping, make sure all of your key information fits in the bounds of Facebook’s image dimensions.Text Should Be Readable at Small SizesYou don’t know how people will be viewing your cover. They may be clicking through the presentation in a tweet, or viewing it on their phones, or just looking at thumbnails on SlideShare’s homepage. You want your text to be readable in all of those situations, so opt for large, bold text on your cover.Use High Contrast Colors That Work for Colorblind AudiencesPart of getting people to notice your cover in the sea of other SlideShares is to use colors that pop. Make sure that you’ve choosen at least one vivid color in your color scheme to get your cover to be noticed.But when picking colors in your cover, you should also consider your colorblind audience’s needs. Make sure that your chosen colors have a high enough contrast (both in the brightness and in the hue) so that you’re not alienating a decent chunk of your audience. Be sure to check out this article for fabulous tips on designing for a colorblind audience.3) LengthAs far as how long SlideShares should be, there isn’t a ton of information out there on the exact length you should make it. Previous internal research we’ve done (albeit, it’s old) indicates that longer SlideShares are, the more views they’ll get.A little more recently, Demy’s SlideShare recommends keeping your length to about 60 slides. So I’d recommend using 60 slides as your starting point, and then testing for yourself to see what your audience likes.Now that we know the key elements to optimize within a presentation, let’s talk about the tactics you can implement to get people to convert on your SlideShare.How to Design Your Presentation to ConvertBefore you start sending people to your SlideShare, you need to make sure you’ve got it optimized for conversion — otherwise, all of that traffic will be a waste. Below are a few tips for getting your SlideShare primed to convert visitors. Keep in mind that these probably all shouldn’t be used simultaneously for every presentation you do — but they’re best practices you should try out.1) Include clickable CTAs throughout your presentations.One thing many marketers overlook on SlideShare is the ability to place clickable hyperlinks in your presentations. It’s super simple to do (here are some easy instructions to follow to set them up), but there are three very important rules to follow when placing them in your presentations:Don’t place them in the first three slides.SlideShare disables links in the first three slides of every presentation to discourage people from spamming the site with light presentations filled with links. So if you’re going to add in clickable links, know that you can only do it after slide three.Only place links in the middle of the slide.On every SlideShare, there are areas on slides that you can click to advance to the next slide or return to the previous one. If you put links in these areas, they won’t work. The sections are highlighted in red below: Lead Generation Place important CTAs early on in the presentation.In our own SlideShare presentations, we’ve seen way more conversion come from CTAs that are placed earlier in the presentation.Even if you can hook someone with a great story, compelling copy, and fluid design … they may not want to stick around. By placing the CTA early in the deck, you can get more people to see it — and maybe convert on it, too.I’d suggest putting your first CTA right after your slides’ introduction. That way, people have enough time to understand why the presentation was created in the first place, and they can choose to convert if they’re bored.2) Make a CTA the last step of the story.You’ve already mastered this SlideShare storytelling thing — why not make that story work harder for you? Set up properly, you can actually use your story to entice people to download the CTA. Usually, people will publish a story with a set number of steps or tips. At the end, they’ll tack on a slide with a relatively random CTA to their website.HubSpot’s Sidekick team ran a test to see if making the last CTA in the SlideShare as the final step in the story increased conversions. Below, you can see the last three slides of our presentation. We finished up our story, provided a metric on our users, and ended by making it clear that readers could be among those already succeeding with Sidekick by clicking the blue “Just click here” button. (Hint: That was our CTA.)This last slide is responsible for nearly half of all clicks from this presentation’s refferals to our website. 3) Disable SlideShare’s PDF download and create a specific CTA within the presentation to download a high-resolution version of the presentation.Every SlideShare presentation has a built-in option for users to download the presentation. The only problem is that they don’t have to fill out a form to do that — they can just click “download” at the top of a SlideShare presentation. So if you’re using SlideShare as a lead generation tool, this could be hindering your efforts.One way to give the people what they want (free download!) while giving you what you want (leads!) is to disable your presentation’s downloads via SlideShare and add a slide to your deck with a CTA to download the slides via your site.The Sidekick team tried this tactic, too. Previously, .4% of all visitors on our best SlideShare downloaded the PDF from SlideShare. Then, in late September, Sidekick Growth Marketer Anum Hussain added in Slide 9, which is a CTA to download the SlideShare as a PDF:Out of the next batch of views the presentation received with this new slide, 2% of all visitors downloaded from the landing page — a 400% increase.The great part about this tactic is that once you get people to your landing page, you can serve them targeted smart content to make their conversion process even easier — and your lead volume increase.You can do this by swapping out your form with a “Pay With a Tweet” option for the people who are currently leads. That way, they don’t have to give you information you already have — instead, they can access the content just by sharing the landing page URL with their network. And who knows, maybe other people will spot that link, click on it, and convert. More new leads for you, much less work for your leads. (If you want to learn how to set this up, click here.)Bonus: If you’re a PRO user, use the lead capture forms.All of the other tips above can be used by any SlideShare user. This one is only available to current PRO users. Because of SlideShare’s new account structure, you can’t sign up for a PRO account at the moment — and that’s the only way to access their lead capture forms.If you do have the lead capture feature, you should try enabling it. You can make it pop up either after slide 10, or at the very end of the presentation. After you’ve collected leads, it’s easy to download a CSV and upload it into your contacts database.This is definitely one that should be a “bonus” for your SlideShare lead generation activities — not something to worry too much about at the moment. SlideShare is in the process of restructuring how you pay for the lead capture feature, and should release something in 2015. When that happens, you should take a look to see if it’d be worth it for your company to purchase.How to Get People to View Your Presentation So They Can ConvertOkay, so your presentations are in tip-top conversion optimization shape. Congrats! For your presentations to actually generate leads, you’re going to need to ramp up their traffic, too. Below are a few pro tips for doing just that.1) Optimize it for search engines.The great thing about SlideShare is that it’s a very high-ranking domain — so the content you put there has a good chance of ranking highly if you optimize it properly.Optimizing your SlideShares is very similar to optimizing your blog posts — make sure you’ve keyword optimized your titles and descriptions. The only other thing you should know about is that SlideShare automatically transcribes your presentation — so if possible, make sure your presentation has been properly optimized with keywords, too. (That is, without overstuffing.)2) Embed your presentation on your blog and include a blog post link in the description of your SlideShare.One of the easiest ways to promote your SlideShare is to embed it on your blog. Not only will this help you get leads via the SlideShare itself (more on that below), but the blog post itself should have a CTA on it, too — giving you more opportunities to convert someone into a lead. If you want some ideas for picking the right blog post to promote your SlideShare, check out this blog post.Once that blog post is published, make sure you’ve included its link in the description of your SlideShare, too — just another opportunity to get people on SlideShare to visit your website (and hopefully convert).3) Share the link on social networks.Promoting content on social networks is probably one of the first things you would have done anyway, but there are a few tips and tricks for making your social posts even better for SlideShare promotion.FacebookWe’ve already talked about Facebook a bit. Outside of optimizing your cover to be shared on Facebook, there’s not much more you should do for the network.TwitterTwitter, on the other hand, should be handled differently. Now, Twitter embeds SlideShares in tweets, so people can view your presentation without clicking through to SlideShare.net. Pretty cool, huh?To ensure that happens, you just need to share a link to your SlideShare directly — not the blog post hosting your SlideShare. This link can be shortened though — the presentation will still appear within your stream.LinkedInJust like Twitter, LinkedIn also allows people to click through SlideShares without leaving their news feeds. The only difference you need to know is that it won’t embed the presentation if the URL is shortened.Instead, grab the full URL with tracking tokens attached (so you aren’t losing out on analytics), and then paste that into your LinkedIn status update window. Voila — SlideShare can be clicked on and you still get the data you need.4) Add prominent “Share This Presentation” CTAs within the deck.Let your current SlideShare viewers generate more traffic for you by prominently including “share this presentation” CTAs throughout the deck.These types of CTAs only work when they’re prominent. (We’ve seen that just including the Twitter bird logo to signify that you can tweet something on a slide doesn’t drive a lot of results for us. And because you don’t want to be overly spammy, you’ll only want a slide or two of these prominent “share this presentation” CTAs — preferably one close to the beginning and one close to the end.5) Notify interested customers and leads via email.It seems counterintuitive to send a piece of content to people in your database if you want new people in there, but it’s worked wonders for us at HubSpot. The key is to make your email about two things, and two things only: 1) Viewing the presentation, and 2) Sharing the presentation with others if they like it.If you’re curious about how to set this all up, check out this post for a full tutorial on getting your existing contacts to market your content for you.6) Targeted outreach to industry blogs.After your SlideShare has accumulated some views (thanks to your above promotions), you’ll want to reach out to a few industry blogs to see if they’ll want to cover it.Remember to make your pitches super targeted — don’t blast out your SlideShare to anyone who’ll listen. If you’re sending it to a few blogs who are very relevant to your SlideShare and their audience has already shown an interest in topics and formats like your SlideShare covers, you should have a much easier time getting noticed.Measure, Iterate, and RepeatNow’s the part where you can sit back and let the leads roll in.But don’t sit back for too long. Take time to celebrate, but there are still things you can (and should) do to squeeze more lead generation juice out of your SlideShares.Find the weak links in your conversion path.When you’re analyzing your success with SlideShare, don’t forget to look beyond views, clicks, and leads. Those are obviously the most important if your goal is to generate leads, but I’d suggest looking at the entire funnel to see the effectiveness.The results may surprise you — you could find that while SlideShares don’t convert particularly well for you in terms of raw leads, they do convert faster, or they’re higher quality leads, or the customers bring in more revenue. And since those are all metrics your CMO and the rest of the C-Suite care about, you might still want to continue with SlideShare creations even if the raw number of leads aren’t there.Of course, to measure all of this, you need closed-loop marketing software. (HubSpot customers, you’re covered.)Tweak your presentation to fix your conversion path, and reupload.After you’ve analyzed your first few lead generation SlideShare presentations, you’ll probably want to tweak the presentation to improve your conversion rates.One of the best things about SlideShare is that to tweak your presentation, you just need to reupload an updated version — no need to start from scratch every time you need to make a change. All of the important information stays the same (URL, title, meta description) — the presentation itself just appears as the newest version.Run future experiments on high-performing SlideShare presentations.As you can tell, this SlideShare optimization process is iterative — you make a brand new presentation, run some analyses on it, make some smaller changes to optimize it further, analyze those changes, and so on and so forth.Once you have several presentations that get a lot of traffic, you can use them to run smaller experiments too — no need to launch a brand new SlideShare every time you want to try some other conversion test.And that’s basically it folks: a comprehensive guide to generating leads with SlideShare. These are all based on examples and data we’ve found, but we could be missing some ideas. For instance, LinkedIn has written the Sophisticated Marketer’s Guide to LinkedIn, outlining some best practices for integrating your SlideShare presentations with your LinkedIn profiles. What other tips do you have for generating leads through SlideShare?
Topics: If you’re reading this post, chances are you already have the SlideShare basics under your belt. You’ve uploaded a few presentations. You know you need a compelling story, beautiful design, enticing call-to-action, and solid promotion plan — and you’re comfortable executing on all of that in your slides.Click here to download our templates for killer SlideShare presentations.But you feel like there’s still more you could be doing with the platform. You want better copy, and better design, and better promotions, and better CTAs, and better results (usually in the form of leads). Unfortunately, the recommendations you’ve found so far have been fairly surface-level. If this sounds like you, I’d recommend you keep on reading. We’ve compiled an in-depth guide to generating leads with SlideShare, showing you how to design, optimize, and promote your presentations to get more traffic and leads. Check it out below — and if you have any other tips you’d like to add, let us know in the comments. Note: If you want to get up to speed on the basics of SlideShare, here are instructions on how to get started, tips for making your slides even better, and several different presentation templates (download one here, and another here).The Key Elements to Optimize in Your SlideShare PresentationsGreat SlideShare presentations aren’t great because of just one thing — they often have some combination of a great story, copy, design, and promotion that’s difficult to codify and replicate. That being said, if you’re trying to take your presentation from good to great, there are a few components you should be optimizing. 1) TitleTitles are arguably the most important part your SlideShare — it’s the only part of the presentation most people will see before they decide to view it, particularly in social media and the SERPs, so you better make sure it’s a good one. Headlines often feel subjective — and truthfully, they are — but there are some formats you should try out to boost your traffic:Go NegativeBeing a Debbie Downer can come in handy with your titles. According to a recent study by Outbrain, the average clickthrough rate on headlines in their distribution network with negative superlatives was 69% higher than that of their positive counterparts.So in your next SlideShare, try opting for the “worst” angle instead of the “best” — it could give you a boost in clicks.Include NumbersAccording to a headline analysis by Conductor, the most preferred headline format by surveyed individuals was numbered headlines:So instead of framing your SlideShare as “How to Double Your SlideShare Traffic” (we’re going to go meta here), you should trying positioning the title as “15 Little Ways to Double Your SlideShare Traffic.” Keep Your Title to ~55 CharactersYou already know how important search is to getting people to find your presentation. If your title is too long, your SERP CTR could plummet.Though there’s no magic number to make your title length, Moz research indicates that you should keep your titles to 55 characters or so to avoid having your headline cut off in search. Bonus: Moz even created a preview tool to help you test out what your headline looks like in search. Before deciding on your next SlideShare title, test it out in their tool.2) Cover The next most important aspect of your presentation to optimize is your cover — on certain social networks and on SlideShare itself, it’s visible to users prior to clicking on your presentation. Cover optimization is less about using red instead of green or choosing Helvetica over Impact, and much more about making your presentation readable (and enticing) no matter who you are or what technology you’re using to view it. Here are a few tips to keep in mind.Create Covers With Facebook Cropping in MindRight now, SlideShare doesn’t allow you to select a preview image for social networks. So if you haven’t optimized your cover properly, Facebook may crop your cover thumbnail is a weird, unreadable way. You can see what this looks like in this slide from Nick Demey: Don’t forget to share this post! AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to Email AppEmail AppShare to LinkedInLinkedInShare to MessengerMessengerShare to SlackSlack
Australia legend Jeff Thompson picked India as the favourites to win the four-match Test series against an Australian team without former captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner.Considered to be one of the fastest and greatest bowler to play tha game, Thomson said that the home side’s batting without the banned duo of Smith and Warner is just average and the Indian bowling line-up should fancy their chances.”You (India) have a solid team, a very good fast bowling unit and you should win if you play hard in the upcoming series. There is no reason why you should not steamroll Australia which will be without Smith and Warner. Without these two, the Australian batting line-up is very average,” said the 68-year-old Thomson during a discussion at the Ekamra Sports Literary Festival in Bhubaneswar.”You see the footwork of the Australians during the series against Pakistan (in the UAE which they lost 0-1). They lack technique, they just want to smack the ball out of the park, which is due to playing too many T20 and ODI matches,” added Thomson, who took 200 wickets in 51 Tests between 1973-1985.Also read – Australia need Steve Smith and David Warner to return desperately: Shane WarneThe four-match Test series starts on December 6 at Adelaide.Thompson also said that handing the duo a 12-month ban for their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal earlier in the year in Cape Town is ridiculous.”Banning them for such a long period of 12 months is ridiculous. I heard that the ban was to be for six months but one person (the Australian Prime Minister) who has no business in the issue called up and it was changed to 12 months,” he said.advertisement Virat Kohli is currently the No.1 batsman in ODIs and Test cricket (AP Photo)The Australian pace-bowling legend also spoke about the comparisons between Indian captain Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.Also read – Steve Smith, David Warner banned for 1 year each, Cameron Bancroft out for 9 months”I feel Virat Kohli is emerging as a great player but he might have played differently in an earlier time. These days, a batsman will not score for two overs and then score a boundary with a stupid shot. At times, not getting out is the mindset of a batsmen,” he said.”I think other team members (than Kohli) should play tough cricket like he plays. When he is out, other members should show the fighting spirit. If you score 300-350 you should win (in Australia),” he added.Also read – Peter Siddle feels Smith, Warner and Bancroft should serve out ball-tampering bansHe said he must have clocked 110 miles/hr in his playing days if the measurement was done similar to the current practice.”During my time, the speed was measured at the impact of the ball with the bat and now it is done when the ball leaves the hand. I think I must have clocked 175 km/hr in the current measurement system,” he said.”Many a times when I bowled at the WACA, the ball used to bounce past the batsman to hit the side screen.”Asked if he remembers an incident when Sri Lankan Duleep Mendis was offered to lodge police complaint after being hit by his delivery, Thomson said: “I don’t know about that but I am happy that I retired without inflicting any serious injury to anybody.”At that time, there were no helmets, pitches were different and no limitation of bouncers but still no major injury occurred from my bowling.”On the playing conditions now-a-days, he said, “It is heavily tilted towards batsmen. The balls are a problem, pitches have changed and have become flat, boundaries are smaller, bats are heavier and miss hits can go to boundaries.”Asked to name the five best batsmen in the world he has bowled to during his career, he mentioned Brian Lara, Vivian Richards, Sunil Gavaskar, Greg Chappell and Barry Richards.Lara though started playing after his retirement.”I have not played against Don Bradman and Gary Sobers and so they are not in my choices,” he said.(With inputs from PTI)
Roger Federer produced a masterclass against Croatia’s Borna Coric on Friday as he eased into the final of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a 6-2, 6-2 win, and will meet his Australian Open conqueror Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday. Tsitsipas had defeated Federer 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 in the fourth round of the Australian Open earlier this year and in Dubai, there is a revenge match on the cards.Federer is looking for his eighth title in Dubai Championships and his 100th ATP title while Tsitsipas will be aiming for his maiden title victory in Dubai.Federer was not troubled at all by an exhausted Coric and absolutely blew him away with some masterful tennis to please the crowd in the stadium. Federer had not been at his best in Dubai till Friday but against Coric, Federer the maestro turned his gears and floored his much-younger opponent.One Win Away From@rogerfederer cruises past Borna Coric 6-2, 6-2 and will meet Stefanos Tsitsipas in the @DDFTennis final. pic.twitter.com/Q0N7AhJlioATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) March 1, 2019Federer now leads Coric 3-2 in their head-to-head career record.Federer came into the match with purpose and right from the start, his strategy was to move Coric and tire him as the Croatian had played extremely long matches throughout the week.Some delictable shots and ethereal drop shots, Federer made Coric suffer. Coric tried to fight as much as he could but Federer earned a double break in both the sets and raced off to victory.advertisementDROP everything you are doing and watch thisUnreal from @rogerfedererWatch the @DDFTennis on @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/pns1LT9EyPATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) March 1, 2019Earlier, StefanosTsitsipas came from behind to beat France’s Gael Monfils 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(4) to enter the final in Dubai. Tsitsipas was playing his very first semi-final in Dubai but played some excellent tennis in pressure situations to down Monfils.Monfils’s ability to run across the court is unquestionable and Tsitsipas had his troubles with that but the 20-year-old managed to rise above those troubles and showed his courage and fearless tennis in crucial moments to take the victory.The match point moment for @StefTsitsipasNext up – the @DDFTennis finalWatch the tournament on @TennisTV pic.twitter.com/tfPXuIzXqzATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) March 1, 2019With the victory in the semi-final, Tsitsipas made sure that when the new ATP rankings come out next week, he will be in the top 10 of the world.Also Read | Nick Kyrgios shrugs off Rafael Nadal criticism after Acapulco encounterAlso Read | Not my last clay-court season: Roger Federer hoping to enjoy action on red dirt
Originally published Jul 14, 2015 8:00:00 AM, updated August 26 2017 “Comic Sans is the best joke I ever told,” tweets the font’s creator, Vincent Connaré.Between websites like BanComicSans.com and an online petition against the typeface with over 5,000 signatures, it’s clear that people don’t just hate Comic Sans … they really hate Comic Sans. But why?Download 195+ visual marketing design templates to use for social media posts, infographics, and more. Often times, typography speaks louder than words. The style we choose to present a message has a lot to do with what we are trying to convey. And when it comes to visual language, it’s hard to find an appropriate application — outside of maybe a lemonade stand sign — for Comic Sans’ casual, naive arrangement. While this typeface has become the punch line of most designer jokes, there are a handful of other fonts out there that are equally as offensive. So to help you avoid a design crime, we’ve outlined a list of 10 other fonts to steer clear of. 10 Fonts That Might Be Worse Than Comic Sans1) PapyrusEvery font has its day … and for Papyrus, it’s over. It’s been over.Over the years, this font has been used on everything from movie posters to bad rustic Italian restaurant menus. So unless you want your business to blend into a sea of sameness, avoid it. 2) CurlzAh, Curlz. (We love the “z” at the end, don’t you? Gives it a little zing.) Back in the day, this font was reserved for Clip-Art-inspired birthday invitations I made on my desktop computer. Enough said. 3) Bleeding CowboysIs it just us, or does this font scream “bad tattoo”?We were so distracted by the lasso-esque wisps and the crackled texture that we almost didn’t realize how off-putting the name actually is. 4) Emilys CandySure, dotting your “i”s with hearts was cute when you were writing a note to your crush in middle school, but it’s hard to take this sweet style seriously. Not to mention, the designer blatantly ignored the need for an apostrophe when naming this font. Yikes.5) CreepsterOutside of a movie poster for a horror movie or a Halloween sale at Party City, we’re not quite sure where you’d find an appropriate place to use this font. It’s just … creepy. 6) Kristen ITCKristen ITC is like Comic Sans’ sassier, younger sister. Like Comic Sans and Curlz, this font gives off a childlike feel, making it hard to find a legitimate use for it. 7) Times New RomanTechnically speaking, there’s really nothing wrong with this font. It’s clean, it’s clear, and it’s legible. But it’s really hard not to associate this with long, over-caffeinated nights spent trying to write and format a college paper hours before it’s due. It’s a good idea to steer clear of a font with so much emotional baggage.8) Rock Show WhiplashAnd we thought dotting your “i”s with hearts was bad …I’m 99% certain that I had a t-shirt with this font on it when I was going through my “alternative” phase in high school. It’s safe to say that this font and that phase were both a bad idea. 9) ImpactLike Times New Roman, this font isn’t really offensive — in fact, it’s a pretty solid, bold font. But if we’re being honest, it reminds us a lot of the text you’ve grown used to seeing on LOLcatz memes. And while we love a good meme, it may not be the connotation you’re looking for when trying to market your business. 10) Bradley HandThis font used to be really popular … in the AIM profiles of teenage girls. Our advice? There are plenty of other great handwriting-style fonts out there, so opt for something a little less dated. What font do you love to hate? Let us know in the comment section below. Topics: Font Selection Don’t forget to share this post! AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to Email AppEmail AppShare to LinkedInLinkedInShare to MessengerMessengerShare to SlackSlack
Topics: Marketing constantly adjusts and reacts to changes in technology and attitudes. While digital marketing has undergone a substantial transformation in the last few years, the technology that incited the changes is growing at a faster pace than most brands can keep up with.So, what does this mean for competitive marketers that are already strategizing for 2016? Brands need to look beyond the usual channels to stay ahead rather than simply jump on the bandwagon.Unlock tips, systems & recommended resources to stay ahead of the tech curve.Here, we’ll discuss those trends that are changing the face of marketing (yet again) and give you an eye-opening look at what marketers should be leveraging in 2016.1) Relationship MarketingAs smartphone adoption continues to rise with an estimated 2 billion consumers worldwide expected to own a smartphone by 2016, the opportunity for brands to be connected with their customers and prospects is set to be closer than ever. Enter relationship marketing.The goal of relationship marketing is to focus on building stronger loyalty and long-term customer engagement rather than on quick, short-term customer acquisition and individual sales. This helps companies develop strong, emotional customer connections to their brands that drive word-of-mouth promotions and lead generation.Through meaningful customer relationships and conversations, companies create loyalists and brand advocates. Companies that do relationship marketing well set the bar high for other brands vying for more meaningful connections.So, how can companies develop community and personalize their outreach efforts? Data. We now have data in easily accessible and interpretable formats through which we can develop strong relationship-marketing plans. In 2016 and beyond, personalized, data-driven marketing will become increasingly important.Intrusive, mass-target approaches to marketing will slowly dwindle as marketers who focus on relationships grow their businesses. All solid relationships are built on trust. Transparency between customers and brands is essential, so companies must keep this in mind when mapping relationship marketing tactics.2) Marketing AutomationAs marketers today are spending at least 50 percent of their time on content, companies are coming up with more ways to automate marketing. Marketing automation alone is worth $5.5 Billion and is leading the way in lead generation and prospect nurturing.Using a marketing automation platform makes it easier to schedule emails, segment contacts, automate social media posting, manage your content, and track the lifecycle of customers in your marketing funnel. This automation trend also highlights the growth of convergence, which allows you to stay lean, focused, and as profitable as possible without compromising on quality.With even more focus on marketing to deliver results, marketing managers and CMOs should be taking stock of their team’s skills, noting the gaps and defining a robust automation strategy to help sales through engaging prospects, qualifying leads, and shortening the overall sales cycle.3) Location-Based Marketing TechnologyHow can event professionals and marketers create an interactive experience? They must target users at the point of engagement. Location-based marketing technology, like iBeacons and RFIDs, helps make this possible. iBeacons are small, inexpensive transmitters that use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to detect nearby devices that can be housed in retail stores, point of sale displays, and merchandising areas.iBeacons can also help event attendees make the most of conferences through sign up and engagement in talks and sessions. Furthermore, Linkedin integration offers the opportunity to connect with attendees and send messages (including push notifications) about the latest news, reducing the need for delayed email communication.A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a small electronic device that contains a chip and an antenna, providing a unique identifier for that tag. RFID wristbands, cards, and apps enable event attendees to interact in new and engaging ways. Event organizers can let visitors easily share their experience with their friends online. Brands can increase shares and likes with a simple photo and tap of the wristband to share across social media.It’s all about location – and the marketer’s ability to make the most of it, in real time.4) Virtual Reality Virtual reality technology, like Oculus Rift, will inevitably have a huge impact on the way that marketers engage consumers in 2016. One of the biggest keys to marketing, especially to Millennials, is personalization. With the ability to literally tell 360-degree stories, companies will be able to engage like never before.Companies who don’t supply a virtual experience for prospective customers, such as retailers, could see a drop in sales. Adoption of VR in 2016 and beyond will undoubtedly cause some kind of shift in marketing ideology. It’s best to hop on the VR train now to get a first look at what these new eyes will show us.5) Ephemeral MarketingSnapchat is already moving into the space of a “standard marketing platform.” In the upcoming year, marketers will come to understand that Snapchat isn’t just a tool for fun marketing experiments; it’s a platform that users are flocking to in order to digest social media in real time.In order to deliver integrated campaigns that make constituents feel connected, especially the younger generation of consumers (read: Millennials) you need to be offering exclusive content that has an expiration date. This “less is more,” or ephemeral, marketing is all about communication that’s shorter and more to the point. In a world where people have less and less time, this model works.Snapchat is the ultimate platform for making consumers feel connected and at the same time, unique. Brands such as ESPN, Vice, and Comedy Central already use it to push their messages to voracious consumers of media. With Snapchat, the advertisement becomes the product – something that competitors won’t be able to ignore. Take advantage of this huge opportunity to connect uniquely using just a small window of your audience’s time. Be organic, speak their language, and just cut to the chase.6) Search Past Search EnginesWith Facebook already working on tests for its own search engine, it seems inevitable that search capabilities will go far beyond Google, Bing, and Yahoo. As search capabilities improve within social media, brands will get an automatic boost. In addition, when buy buttons and payment messaging appear on social in 2016, an all-in-one-type platform will manifest (more convergence).With advanced search capabilities, integrated payment methods, and the social impact that empowers sites like Facebook and Twitter, consumers will be able to make purchases, chat with their friends about what they bought, and post the social proof of their new purchase. Advanced search will bring a more integrated social experience that expands to the e-commerce realm. If you cater your marketing efforts to this all-in-one, buy-and-share social media search, it’s clear that your brand will realize returns. Make the buying process easier, but also make it an experience.7) The Internet of Things (IoT)Wearable technology will see a user adoption rate of 28 percent by 2016 – even more data for marketers to mine. So, will this data be derived from people’s day-to-day habits? It looks that way. Every year from now until the foreseeable future, we’ll see the IoT become a bigger tool that marketers can use to engage with customers.Maybe this means that ads will soon have the ability target people based on their every move. For marketers, this means that your data will have to become more behavior-driven and, although the power of devices may seem unsettling, you’ll be right on target. At the end of the day, people will what they want.These 7 game-changing trends should be essential elements in your 2016 marketing plans. By 2017, we’ll have a whole new bag of tricks to share with you – but for now, get ahead, keep thinking ahead, and see how things evolve from there!If you’ve got a tough decision to make for the upcoming year – like deciding whether to hire an in-house marketer or outsource a team of specialists – look no further. This free comparative white paper will help you weigh the pros and cons and ultimately determine which is your ideal route. Marketing Trends Originally published Sep 25, 2015 11:00:00 AM, updated July 28 2017 Don’t forget to share this post! AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to Email AppEmail AppShare to LinkedInLinkedInShare to MessengerMessengerShare to SlackSlack
Implementing an Inbound Marketing campaign is not always an easy process.Sure, you may be aware of the individual components that Inbound marketing campaigns need. But putting those pieces together can be hard. It’s easy to go wrong, make mistakes, and end up with results that are wildly different from your goals.Campaign mistakes can dramatically hinder lead generation and ROI performance. So to help you avoid error in your strategy planning, here are the most common mistakes that Inbound campaigns encounter – and how to fix them. Topics: Originally published Jun 24, 2016 1:30:00 PM, updated February 01 2017 Inbound Marketing Don’t forget to share this post! AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to Email AppEmail AppShare to LinkedInLinkedInShare to MessengerMessengerShare to SlackSlack
Originally published Jul 26, 2019 4:58:00 PM, updated October 29 2019 How to Get Free Advertising Advertising Use Google My Business to optimize for local search.Check out Yext.Write guest posts for other blogs.Answer Quora questions.Publish content on LinkedIn.Offer to do interviews on other business’ podcasts.Promote your website on your email signature.Send email newsletters.Network at in-person events.Speak at an event.Do a free product giveaway or contest.Put up brochures or flyers.Create YouTube videos.Take advantage of your partnerships.Post on social media.Experiment with photo and video platforms.Encourage happy customers to give online reviews. Don’t forget to share this post!
Topics: 1. Use Google My Business to optimize for local search.One of the most powerful free ways to advertise your business is through Google My Business, which enables companies to manage their presence on Google Search and Google Maps. The tool can bolster your rankings in local search results.Ranking high in local search shows you’re a legitimate and relevant company: you wouldn’t rank #1 in Google for “pizza places near me” if you’d closed down six months ago. Plus, if you rank high in local search, more consumers will choose your business over a competitor’s. In today’s fast-paced world, convenience is key.Click here or scroll to the bottom of this post to learn how to advertise on Google for free and find out more about this process.2. Check out YextThe more places your business is listed online, the better your chances of showing up in search results, and the easier it is for potential customers to find you. To ensure great local SEO, the details of your listings on every website and online directory need to match up.For instance, if your website lists your company’s new phone number, but Yelp lists your old one, this inconsistency could hurt your SEO. Yext scans the web to find every place your business is listed, so you can tweak your listings to guarantee accuracy.3. Write guest posts for other blogsThere are a few major advantages to guest posting for a well-established blog. You can benefit from connecting to that blog’s audience, and you can also start establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry.Since guest posting on a popular blog allows you access to an established audience and high domain authority, this practice can sometimes be more beneficial than posting to your own blog. Plus, you can link back to your own website from your article, giving you an inbound link that boosts your domain authority and can increase your own website’s ranking in search engines.4. Answer Quora questions.Writing content for Quora can expose your business to a large audience: TechCrunch reported that some of Quora’s active contributors receive more than 30,000 monthly views.Besides the large built-in audience, your business can answer direct questions from prospective customers. This lets you interact with high-quality potential leads and establish yourself as an expert in the subjects that matter most in your industry.5. Publish content on LinkedIn.LinkedIn is an platform to connect with professionals, which is why it’s also a great place to share business-related content. LinkedIn’s blogging platform lets you demonstrate your expertise within your industry.Your connections and other LinkedIn members will engage with your posts and share them, doing the free promotion for you. With almost half of all social media traffic coming to B2B company sites from LinkedIn, it’s a missed opportunity if you don’t publish and promote content on LinkedIn.6. Offer to do interviews on other business’ podcasts.To figure out which platforms your team should priortize, it’s important to diversify your promotion platforms to discover where your audience is already consuming content. Some of your audience might prefer listening to podcasts over reading articles. To reach those people, contact a few businesses with podcasts and pitch interview ideas.7. Promote your website on your email signature.With all the emails you send every day, it’s a shame if you aren’t taking advantage of the promotional potential of your email signature. Your email signature can also be unexpected property to promote a sale, contest, event, or even a new blog post. Add a link to your business’ website on your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profiles, as well.8. Send email newsletters.An email newsletter can be a useful vehicle to promote content, share business-related news, and build deeper relationships with both potential and existing customers. There are plenty of free tools out there that assist you in designing, sending, and optimizing your newsletter.With the right time investment, an email newsletter can be the perfect place to share quality content with leads and potential consumers, establishing your brand as helpful and informative.9. Network at in-person events.Connecting with fellow professionals at industry networking events is a great opportunity to meet potential consumers in a place where they are eager to discuss your business. The niche topics of networking events ensures you’re meeting high-qualified leads. For example, a “Best Technology Startups of 2018” event will primarily be filled with participants who are interested in technology and startups.Particularly for small businesses looking to make their first connections, networking is a chance to get your name out there, meet potential partners, and find opportunities for growth. Plus, it’ll keep you up-to-date on trends in your industry.10. Speak at an event.Similar to networking, speaking at an event about a topic related to your industry is another way to exhibit your expertise. Giving a thought-provoking and powerful speech will draw attention to you and, by association, your business, which can increase brand awareness and prove your business is qualified to tackle consumer’s challenges.To start, brainstorm different topics and volunteer at various upcoming networking events and trade association conventions. If you’re afraid of public speaking (don’t worry, a lot of us are), you could enroll in a local Toastmasters chapter to improve your game.11. Do a free product giveaway or contestA product giveaway or contest is an easy way to incentivize new viewers to check out and subscribe to your social media channels or website. Plus, handing out inexpensive branded products like t-shirts or mugs is a good way to spread your brand name. Word of mouth is alive and well — and a little swag can go a long way.12. Put up brochures or flyers.Putting up brochures or flyers in local libraries, coffee shops, and businesses is a unique way to market to offline locations where people spend a good deal of their time.You can create free brochures and flyers on PowerPoint. Depending on your industry, it might even help you reach an ideal clientele: if you’re a physical therapist, for example, perhaps you could hand out brochures to local gyms or nearby hospitals.13. Create YouTube videos.YouTube has more than a billion active users, which accounts for almost one-third of everyone on the internet. Plus, 59% of executives — i.e. decision makers — go to videos before written content.Creating engaging and informative YouTube videos is one of the most efficient ways to sell your brand. If done right, your YouTube videos will entertain viewers enough to seek out your website.14. Take advantage of your partnerships.Partnerships are an opportunity to offer supplementary services that you don’t provide. For example, a web design company and a copywriting agency might choose to partner together, so when a client requires written content for her web pages, the web design company can offer copywriting services from their partner.This increases consumer satisfaction, and it also provides exceptional advertising opportunities. When your partner’s consumers need your services, your partner will point them in your direction.15. Post on social media.Nowadays, social media is crucial to most marketing strategies. Luckily, most types of social media platforms and posts are free — even to businesses. While many platforms will let you advertise, you can still post or tweet for no cost if you’re on a budget.Pick the platforms that best suit your audience. Then, post links, photos, videos, or text posts about your company, product launches, or any other occurrence that you’d like to promote. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are a suitable place to start for most businesses. They all offer a way to share video, text, photo, and link-based posts and have large user bases. To learn more about other forms of social media, check out this post.16. Experiment with photo and video platforms.While Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn could be great platforms to start on, expanding to platforms like Instagram or Pinterest will give you more opportunities to show product shots or embrace the heavily-visual strategy of influencer marketing.Aside from spreading awareness with free images of your product or service, most social platforms, including Facebook, offer live video and story features which can allow you to create video promotion related to your products. For example, you might use Instagram Stories or Facebook Live as an outlet to publish tutorials of how to use your products.Because these videos and photos are on social, you can also boost their shareability by hashtagging them, creating interesting captions, and encouraging fans to react with actions like “likes” or comments.17. Encourage happy customers to give online reviews.Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to market your product. Consumers trust the opinions of other consumers, especially when there are many great testimonies.If you have happy customers, encourage them to write a review about their experience on popular review platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp. If you want great reviews on Facebook, be sure to create a Facebook Business page if you don’t have one already.How to Advertise on Google for FreeAs mentioned above, you can create a free page on Google My Business which can help you rank higher or first in search results. Here’s how it works.Create Your Google My Business AccountFirst, you’ll want to create a GMail account for your business. Then you’ll want to register for Google My Business with that account.Google will first ask you to enter the name of your business. Then, you’ll be asked to select a “Delivery Area.” In this form, note the mileage and area where your target audience lives.Optimizing Your Business PageAfter your setup process is complete, you’ll be able to fill out your profile. As you do this, you ideally want to fill out all the information Google requests for the best search optimization. A few key things you’ll want to include will be:Your addressA phone number, email address, and other contact information.Your websiteHours of operationPhotos of your business and productsA detailed description on what your business offersPricing or menu informationThe year your company openedOther business attributes such as “free Wi-Fi.”The above items are things locals might search specifically for. For example, if someone searches for a “cheap Mexican restaurant open after 8 p.m.”, Google will examine your business profile’s details and prioritize your restaurant if it seems like a great match. Here’s an example of what it looks like when a Google business fills out all their information:Verify and Monitor Your Business PageOnce you’ve created your Google My Business profile, be sure to verify your listing so Google knows it’s a real, legitimate business. There are a few ways to do this including email, postcard, and phone verification.You can also download the GMB app to monitor how your business is doing on a smartphone. This post walks you through the different verification processes. Don’t Forget About SEOAlong with Google My Business, taking advantage of free SEO strategies can also help your website rise higher in search results. These tactics can be simple and easy to work into blogging, web design, or other processes. Here’s a template that can help you plan your SEO strategy this year. When you work at a small business with a limited budget, it’s not really possible to shell out $340,000 for a 30-second TV commercial, or $10,000 for an email marketing campaign.It can be frustrating when your budget dictates how many people your business can reach.Surprisingly, there are a lot of free ways to supplement your paid advertising efforts. By incorporating free advertising tactics into your strategy, you can remove some nonessential costs and dedicate your budget to deeper, more longterm plays.In fact, we suggest some of these methods regardless of your budget.To help you spread the word about your business without breaking the bank, we’ve compiled 14 ways to get advertising for free.Download Now: Free Ad Campaign Planning Kit
Though he missed the Headingly Test after a concussion but Steve Smith returned to 4th Ashes Test in a rather destructive form and as world’s best Test batsman to once again torment the English bowlers.Smith showed extraordinary determination at Old Trafford on Thursday as he converted his overnight fifty into a double hundred to power Australia to 497 for 8 before the visitors decided to declare. It was Smith’s third triple-digit score of the series from four innings, and his third double-century overall.However, with Australia having a massive advantage and England having lost a wicket already before Stumps on Day 2, Jonny Bairstow remains to be hopeful to pull another Headingley like victory at Old Trafford.After Ben Stokes’s heroic hundred and 10th-wicket partnership of 76 with Jack Leach, England had the Ashes stolen from under the vistors’ noses to keep the series alive.”There are three innings and three days of cricket left,” Jonny Bairstow said in a press conference at the end of Day 2.”If we can go out and apply ourselves tomorrow, bat for a long period of time like we did at Headingley, there is no reason why not.”Let’s look at the next day, let’s look at the next session and see where we get to. I don’t think looking too far ahead, we’ve had two contrasting days with the weather, we’ll see how the pitch changes over a period of time.”Smith is now also the first Australian since Allan Border in 1981-85 to score more than 500 runs in consecutive Ashes series and only the third player – after Don Bradman and Jack Hobbs – to post that number in three Ashes series.advertisementAustralia captain Tim Paine was dropped twice – on 9 and 49 – in his innings of 58, while Smith was given an unlikely reprieve after he nicked spinner Jack Leach to slip when on 118. Smith was on his way back to the pavilion, berating himself, only for replays to show that Leach had overstepped.Also Read | Ashes 2019 4th Test: Magnificent Steve Smith puts Australia in command on day 2Also Read | Steve Smith recreating Don Bradman for those who haven’t seen the legend batAlso See
The first 64MP camera smartphone in India is here. It is the Realme XT. The Realme XT is launched in India with a starting price of Rs 15,999 and that goes up to Rs 18,999 for the top-end model. At the launch, Realme stressed on the fact that they are the first smartphone brand to bring a 64MP camera smartphone and to get their hands on the device consumers needn’t wait for months. With this Realme takes on the likes of Xiaomi and the delayed launch of the Redmi Note 8 Pro in India.There still time for the Redmi Note 8 Pro India launch. The Redmi Note 8 series launched in China last month and soon after that Xiaomi India MD and Global VP said that the India launch of Redmi Note 8 and the Redmi Note 8 Pro will take time, the reason being certification process. On August-end Jain said, certification process takes around 8 weeks and so we expect the Redmi Note 8 Pro to hit the Indian shores by end of October. The question now is will the upcoming Redmi Note 8 Pro with 64MP camera able to take on the likes of the Realme XT?Let’s compare the two smartphones and find out.Realme XT vs Redmi Note 8 Pro specs compared–Both the Redmi Note 8 Pro and the Realme XT are premium looking smartphones. Both the phones include Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the back and that adds to the overall aesthetic of the smartphone. The Redmi Note 8 Pro, as well as, the Realme XT includes four cameras on the back panel. The camera module on the Redmi phones sits on the middle of the back panel while on the Realme XT the camera setup sits on the extreme left side. Design of both the Realme XT as well as the Redmi Note 8 Pro is clean and premium.advertisement–Coming to the screen used on both the phones. The Realme XT comes with a 6.4-inch FHD+ (1080×2340) Super AMOLED Dewdrop display with a screen-to-body ratio of 92 per cent. In comparison the Redmi Note 8 Pro comes with a 6.53-inch FHD+ display and it offers 91.94 per cent screen-to-body ratio. Similar to the Realme XT the Note 8 Pro also includes Dot drop notch.–On the hardware front the Realme XT is powered by a 2.3GHz octa-core Snapdragon 712 chipset paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. There’s microSD card support that expands the storage to up to 256GB of storage. In comparison, Xiaomi chooses MediaTek for the Note 8 Pro. The Redmi Note 8 Pro is powered by Helio G90T processor paired with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage.–Coming to the camera now. As said both the Redmi Note 8 Pro and the Realme XT come with four camera setup on the back where camera users 64MP Samsung GW1 sensor. The Realme XT includes a main 64-megapixel GW1 sensor, second is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, third is a 2-megapixel macro lens, and fourth is a 2-megapixel depth sensor. In comparison, the Redmi Note 8 Pro includes a primary 64MP Samsung GW1 sensor with f/1.7 aperture that is capable of clicking big 9248×6936 images, 2MP depth sensor, 8MP Ultra Wide lens, and 2MP macro lens.–On the front, the Realme XT includes a 16-megapixel Sony IMX471 selfie camera. In comparison the Redmi Note 8 Pro sports a 20MP front shooter for selfies. Both the phones come with lots of AI camera features.–On the software front the Realme XT includes a 4,000mAh battery and supports 2OW VOOC 3.0 fast charging. In comparison, Redmi Note 8 Pro is backed by a 4500mAh battery that comes with support for 18W fast charging.–The Redmi Note 8 Pro runs MIUI 10 based on Android 9 Pie software while the Realme XT runs on ColorOS 6 based on Android 9 Pie.Realme XT vs Redmi Note 8 Pro price comparedNotably, India is the first country to get the Realme XT while China is the first one to get the Redmi Note 8 Pro. In India, the Realme XT comes in three configurations base model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage with price of Rs 15,999, 6GB + 64GB storage with price of Rs 16,999 and 8GB + 128GB storage variant of the phone comes with a price of Rs 18,999. The first sale of the Realme XT will be on September 16 at 12 noon on Flipkart and Realme.com, the company has announced, and during the sale only 64 thousand Realme XT units will be sold.In comparisons, the Redmi Note 8 Pro comes with a starting price of 1399 Yuan, translates to Rs 14,000, in China. In the company’s home market the Redmi Note 8 Pro comes in three variants — 6GB RAM + 64GB storage with a price of 1399 Yuan (translates to Rs 14,000), 6GB + 128GB with price of 1599 Yuan (translates to Rs 16,000) and 8GB RAM + 128GB with price of 1799 Yuan (translates to Rs 18,000). Ahead of the India launch consumers are already predicting the price of Redmi Note 8 Pro in India. They believe the starting price of the Redmi Note 8 Pro will be the same as the launch price of the Note 7 Pro, i.e Rs 13,999.advertisementALSO READ | Redmi Note 8 Pro vs Redmi Note 7 Pro: All that’s different between two Pros from XiaomiALSO READ | Realme XT review: Stands out from the crowd with a 64MP quad cameraALSO READ | Xiaomi says Android 10 update coming to all Redmi K20 Pro users in October
Out of favour Indian opener KL Rahul, who is currently playing for Karnataka in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy, couldn’t stop himself from praising his friend and state teammate Mayank Agarwal on the latter scoring a Test double hundred (215) vs South Africa on Thursday.After watching his teammate’s solid performance, Rahul couldn’t stop raving about his Karnataka teammate, who has grown into the opening role as Rahul’s stock fell over the past one year or so. With Rahul not finding a place in the current Indian Test squad, he has responded well by scoring tons of runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. But Thursday was all about Mayank and Rahul acknowledged it in full measure.”Congratulations my brother, so proud of you… this is just the beginning@mayankcricket”: wrote Rahul on Twitter.Earlier, Agarwal hit his maiden double hundred in Test cricket as India continued to dominate South Africa in the first Test of the 3-match series in Vizag on Thursday. Agarwal made his debut in Australia last year and made an immediate impact Down Under.After a solitary half-century on the tour of West Indies, Mayank Agarwal walked in to open with Rohit Sharma and the pair became only the third in Indian cricket history to add 300 for the opening wicket of a Test innings.After Rohit Sharma fell for 176, Mayank Agarwal stayed strong and became the 23rd Indian to score a double century in Test cricket.Mayank had played his first Test in Australia at the MCG and began his career with a gutsy 76 and a fluent 42 as India won by 137 runs.advertisementAgarwal followed those scores up with another fine 77 in the next in Sydney before scores of 5, 16, 55 and 4 in the 2-Test series against the West Indies.Playing his first Test in India, Mayank Agarwal gave a good account of himself. He first added a record 317 for the opening wicket with Rohit Sharma before he saw Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli depart for scores of 6 and 17 respectively.Only 2 other Indians in the current Test set-up have scored double hundreds: Pujara and Kohli. Mayank Agarwal joined the list in only his 8th innings in Test cricket.In fact, after Virat Kohli’s twin double centuries against Sri Lanka in 2017, Mayank Agarwal became the first Indian batsman to achieve the feat.Also Read | India vs South Africa: Mayank Agarwal hits Test double hundred in only his 8th inningsAlso Read | Watch: When the giant screen helped South Africa to locate lost ball during Test against India
Former running backs coach Jemal Singleton left Stillwater last year, but was well entrenched in Stillwater after being an assistant on staff for three years. He knows all about the culture in Stillwater.On Monday, he celebrated his 40th birthday, and some young gun poked the bear, which lead to this hilarious tweet:@The3rdRawleigh “I’m a man, I’m 40″— Jemal Singleton (@CoachSings) December 7, 2015Singleton is now the special teams coordinator and running backs coach at the University of Arkansas.AdChoices广告 While you’re here, we’d like you to consider subscribing to Pistols Firing and becoming a PFB+ member. It’s a big ask from us to you, but it also comes with a load of benefits like ad-free browsing (ads stink!), access to our premium room in The Chamber and monthly giveaways.The other thing it does is help stabilize our business into the future. As it turns out, sending folks on the road to cover games and provide 24/7 Pokes coverage like the excellent article you just read costs money. Because of our subscribers, we’ve been able to improve our work and provide the best OSU news and community anywhere online. Help us keep that up.
While you’re here, we’d like you to consider subscribing to Pistols Firing and becoming a PFB+ member. It’s a big ask from us to you, but it also comes with a load of benefits like ad-free browsing (ads stink!), access to our premium room in The Chamber and monthly giveaways.The other thing it does is help stabilize our business into the future. As it turns out, sending folks on the road to cover games and provide 24/7 Pokes coverage like the excellent article you just read costs money. Because of our subscribers, we’ve been able to improve our work and provide the best OSU news and community anywhere online. Help us keep that up. Bob Stoops weighed in on the mullet in the Big 12 teleconference earlier in the day.“It’s growing on me through the season,” Stoops said on the media call. “Maybe I wasn’t such a fan early on, but I’ve come to really like it.”He also talked more seriously about his relationship with the head coach in Stillwater.“He’s done an awesome job. His teams are always disciplined and fundamentally sound. Mike has done a great job. I’ve always felt that way. He’s done it the right way. We always communicate well and have a lot to talk about when we’re at coaching meetings. I think a lot of Mike as a person and a coach.”I hope the mullet is flowing around in front of Stoops as Gundy does laps on his field to celebrate his second Big 12 title in six seasons. Mike Gundy said on Monday that he has not washed his hair in three days and he’s not sure what to do with his mullet after this season is over.“We had Thanksgiving then I was deer hunting,” so I hadn’t washed my hair in like three days. I noticed it looked a little different then so I went ahead and washed it this morning … it’s not really curly, but it’s a mullet now. It’s definitely hit the mullet stage. At some point I’m going to have to decide what to do with it.”Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy on deer hunting over Thanksgiving with a mullet: pic.twitter.com/JFXqrwRaVl— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 28, 2016
While you’re here, we’d like you to consider subscribing to Pistols Firing and becoming a PFB+ member. It’s a big ask from us to you, but it also comes with a load of benefits like ad-free browsing (ads stink!), access to our premium room in The Chamber and monthly giveaways.The other thing it does is help stabilize our business into the future. As it turns out, sending folks on the road to cover games and provide 24/7 Pokes coverage like the excellent article you just read costs money. Because of our subscribers, we’ve been able to improve our work and provide the best OSU news and community anywhere online. Help us keep that up. Kyle Boone and Hayden Barber were in Stillwater on Friday for Oklahoma State’s last media availability before the first game of the season next week against Tulsa. Zach Crabtree, Justice Hill and Tre Flowers were among the players made available so they talked to all three as well as Mike Yurcich.Hope you guys enjoy the videos.AdChoices广告
OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau is condemning the fatal shootings at two mosques in New Zealand, saying attacking people during prayers is “absolutely appalling.”In a brief statement on Twitter this morning, the prime minister said Canadians join New Zealanders and Muslim communities around the world in grieving.At least 49 people were killed at mosques full of worshippers attending Friday prayers in Christchurch.Attacking people during prayers is absolutely appalling, and Canada strongly condemns today’s shootings in New Zealand. Our thoughts and hearts go out to the victims and their families, and we join New Zealanders and Muslim communities around the world in grieving.— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) March 15, 2019One man was arrested and charged with murder in what appeared to be a carefully planned racist attack.There are unconfirmed reports that the shooter was influenced by Alexandre Bissonnette, the Laval University student convicted of killing six people at a mosque in Quebec City in January 2017.A now-deleted Twitter account that is believed to be linked to the accused shooter shows what appears to be three assault-rifle magazines, one of which has Bissonnette’s name on it.The Quebec City mosque attacked by Bissonnette posted the following brief message: “We are following with worry the terrorist attack that occurred against two mosques in New Zealand.” The Canadian Press
Labour studies professor Kendra Coulter has carved an academic niche studying retail work and workers in Canada.When Kendra Coulter quit her job selling accessories in university, she thought she was finished with life in retail.Not so. The labour studies professor has been busy in the years since carving out an academic niche by studying the people selling us everything from tomatoes to capri pants.“Retail workers are the largest group of workers in Canada, yet they’re not well understood, so there’s a real need to better understand the sector,” said Coulter, who joined Brock University this summer.Her work is particularly timely, given some of the recent headlines about retail workers in Canada holding votes for union certification at H&M and Future Shop stores, Remco Warehouse and other retail workplaces.Employees at T & T Supermarket, an Asian grocer owned by Loblaw Companies Ltd., also filed to join the United Food and Commercial Workers union in an effort to seek better pay and benefits this summer. Meanwhile, workers at another Weston-owned store, Holt Renfrew, held a union vote but ultimately decided against organizing.And with U.S. retail giant Target setting up shop in Canada and the upscale Nordstrom clothing stores eyeing retail real estate north of the border, there’s no shortage of research fodder for Coulter, whose work has taken her to Sweden and New York City to study organizing and policies protecting retail workers.In Sweden, Coulter said there is strong public policy combined with sectoral collective agreements that protect retail workers, ensuring paid vacation and sick days, overtime pay for evening and weekend work, universal childcare and parental leave.In South Africa, Coulter said retail workers unionized during apartheid, fighting for workers’ rights and human rights. They still have energetic “days of action” to help the cause for workers and bolster their lobbying efforts.Now it may be Canada’s turn to have the masses mobilized. Only 13 per cent of Canadian retail workers are unionized.Many in the sector find their jobs monotonous and stressful with unreliable schedules, disrespectful customers and few benefits. Coulter often hears their stories through her website, Revolutionizing Retail. But there are also those who take pride in providing good customer service, have a genuine interest in fashion or have little choice but to make the best of their circumstances.Those pushing to unionize aren’t just doing it for better wages and conditions. They also want to be respected, she noted.“We’re increasingly becoming a nation of retail workers,” she said. “If more and more people are working in the sector, it’s in everyone’s interest for retail workers to be paid better, to have better working conditions, and to have a stronger, collective voice. That’s why it’s heartening to see diverse and increasing political action now.”For those who don’t unionize, Coulter said public policy needs to change to include living wages, paid sick days and vacation for workers, among other benefits.“When I left retail, I never wanted to think about it again,” Coulter said. “But I am interested in social change, and this has brought me back to the world of retail work. There’s a lot of activity, a lot of innovative organizing in retail right now. It’s exciting, and very important for the future of work in Canada and around the world.”