Tag Archives: around the web

Eight Great Free Original Content Creation Tools You Should Be Using

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Hosting

The post Eight Great Free Original Content Creation Tools You Should Be Using appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . The strength of content marketing is well demonstrated, but creating strong content takes innovation. This means enlisting the help of some simple but powerful tools that combine user engagement and attractive presentation to facilitate brand perception. Here’s a look at eight great resources you can use to take your content to the next level.   ThingLink If engagement is the key, then ThingLink is the tool for the job. Research shows that images  engage customers and resonate to a notable degree on social networks  and, for this reason, should be used extensively. But images embedded on web pages should offer more than a reiteration of the graphic that curried the visitor in the first place. ThingLink can be embedded on web pages and used to mark up static imagery with accompanying videos, social networking buttons, annotations, and more. In addition to making already engaging content more dynamic, each image that utilizes the service comes with attribution, so that users who view your creation over social channels know who’s responsible.   Skitch Collaborating on content is no small task. Creative ideas bounce back and forth and expressing visual concepts in verbal language always seems to fall just short. Enter Skitch. The brainchild of note-taking powerhouse Evernote, Skitch allows designers, content creators, and managers to add robust indicators, color coded text, and shapes to screen captures, uploaded images, PDFs, and data copied to the clipboard. In addition to making content commentary more attractive, the myriad options enable visual communication that a Skype call or email simply can’t touch.   Word2CleanHTML Writing copy requires an effective Word processor. While hardly groundbreaking information, the caveats of each copy-writing platform can cause headaches down the road. Solutions like Simplenote offer format-free writing but no formatting options, and Word offers extensive formatting but in its own anachronistic language. Converting copy to web content should be easy and Word2CleanHTML offers exactly that. The platform not only remedies some of Word’s more frustrating idiosyncrasies, but also replaces tabs, bold text, italics, and smart quotes with HTML friendly alternatives, which should greatly facilitate the transfer to your blog.   Google Fonts With design rising in the minds of consumers and mobile screens offering unique display challenges, typography is seeing more consideration as a factor in effective web design. Unfortunately, previous attempts at customizing text appearance required that users have the designated font installed on their machine, leaving out many attractive and superior options and replacing them with lesser alternatives. Google Fonts uses their straightforward API to allow you to embed fonts on a page so that your text is displayed as you intended. In addition, the site offers a gage that indicates how their inclusion will affect page-load times, optimizing both appearance and performance.   Canva Attractive content is replacing informative content as tired eyes judge items on a moment’s notice, but attractive, informative content is the end game. Canva provides this marriage by offering en vogue design resources and a user-friendly interface that makes creating aesthetically pleasing visual resources a snap. The service does provide premium content for $1, but even at this expenditure, the value delivered per dollar may far exceed that of private design help.   Infogram Infographics are a hot commodity these days and for good reason. Communicating interesting and valid information through facts provides authority while presenting them in a pleasing manner attracts viewers. But while most of us have information to share, few of us have the design acumen needed to create something worth its salt. Infogram helps shortcut the process with an engine that allows for data entry, expression, and arrangement, meaning high-quality infographics in a short time. The solution is no substitute for distinctive design work, but for firms on a shoestring budget, it’s a resource worth a look.   Haiku Deck The boring PowerPoints of old team meetings are becoming a thing of the past. The din of content and information is requiring that firms both internally and externally adapt to the nature of the human psyche, which requires a little more than plain text to hold attention. Haiku Deck, like the previously mentioned platforms, offers high-end design knowledge so that you can leverage it to improve content. Offering a gallery of templates, beautiful typographic options, and embed capabilities, delivering high-quality presentations has never been easier.   Storify The web revolves around communications. Sharing on sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter may seem frivolous the lion’s share of the time, but real news and real events unfold on these social channels. Storify recognizes this phenomenon and harnesses it to create more engaging content that’s driven by users. By embedding tweets, photos, videos, and more from a wide variety of sources, your blog’s content can carry the extra element of involvement by directly citing web media. In addition, the platform notifies sources that their information has been shared, opening conversations and connecting you with customers. Putting content on the Internet is a needed first step to attaining greater market share. Doing so optimally, leveraging the power of interactive media and attractive design, will turn your words into meaning and your viewers into customers. Utilize these simple tools to enhance your blog posts and videos and open the door for conversation between your organization and your customer base in dynamic new ways. Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com Continue reading →

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Developing Your Mobile Strategy: 5 Questions to Address

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Hosting

The post Developing Your Mobile Strategy: 5 Questions to Address appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . With the digital landscape changing every day, incorporating new devices and means of accessing your products and content, understanding the dynamics of mobile is essential. The platform remains largely in its infancy so developing a strategy can be difficult, especially for those without the capabilities needed to perform comprehensive testing and customer research. Fortunately, the experts at Google have developed “ The Mobile Playbook “, which breaks down the process into five questions that will help guide your efforts and form your plan.   How does mobile change our value proposition? The success of your content efforts depends on understanding the value you deliver to your customers. For B2B firms, this likely takes the form of some body of industry knowledge. For B2C businesses, this stems from fulfillment of a lifestyle that resonates with your customer base. In either instance, the addition of mobile to the picture affects that proposition in dynamic ways. At the core of this change is the always-on, always-available accessibility enabled by mobile devices. This means that the functionality and information you provide to your customers is shaped by this new type of interaction. Online shopping is rising in prevalence, as are mobile applications and mobile-friendly web layouts that get useful articles into customer eyes. In a case study provided by Google’s resource, a local real estate agency creates a database of local information for home buyers and leverages the location services functionality of mobile devices to help drive relevance of information provided and document information reported. Online shopping is another deeply affected facet of the consumer experience thanks to mobile devices. According to the resource, as much as 29% of local search queries resulted in a prompt purchase, thus demonstrating the importance of making your wares and your location available to search engines and mobile applications. Location services can be used to provide in-store coupons when customers enter your business in order to increase sales conversion. In each way, the value proposition is reimagined and the value delivered incorporates mobile in effective ways.   How does mobile impact our digital destinations? But brick-and-mortar properties aren’t the only aspect of business being disrupted by mobile technologies. The form factor of devices and limitations of interface are playing a key role in evolving mobile web development solutions. The trend is not to be ignored either; as many as 57% of users say they wouldn’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site. This change in design requires a complete reassessment of what your site means to the mobile user. Shrinking your website or enabling mobile functionality without considering their circumstances can lead to misguided efforts and wasted money. The mobile browser is small, frequently viewed on-the-go with only fingers to navigate. With regards to browser dimensions, changing to a vertical layout and increasing text size in order to facilitate reading and navigation is essential. The quick visits and hurried schedules of mobile users viewing your site means load times will need to be optimal to avoid trying customer patience. Finally, fingers offer intuitive and innovative interface options for phones, but their clumsiness compared to mouse pointers means that “clickable” elements will need to be large and well-defined to facilitate a comfortable experience.   Is our organization adapting to mobile? With the speed and significance of the mobile revolution, organizational changes are a necessity to tackle the consequent challenges. With this particular question, Google’s team offers an explicit solution. Because of the unique considerations of mobile, the tech authority recommends creating a team designed to “champion” mobile use in all its forms. This specialization of knowledge prevents cross-over issues in implementation and defines responsibilities in an understandable and effective way. Furthermore, the specialization of this structure can help balance the needs of multiple business arms, adapting to business growth in the process. The provided case study on Sprint details a nascent mobile plan that was able to effectively accommodate marketing, web design, and new resources, resulting in a growth of mobile web traffic to 30% of total traffic. If your business already has a mobile plan, or your company lies on the larger end of the spectrum, Sprint’s story offers additional insight. The company dispersed specialists into different areas of the business and accelerated mobile efforts in the process.   How should our marketing adapt to mobile? With the introduction of new platforms, viewing conditions, user experiences, and business capabilities, evolving businesses are faced with the task of assessing their marketing materials in brand new contexts. In this realm, some interesting trends arise. According to Google’s data, mobile usage is spread evenly throughout the day and occurs across many more contexts. A Nielsen study actually revealed that 68% of mobile searches occur at home where other devices and larger screens are available. For your business, understanding how to adapt to these contexts is essential. According to the research from Nielsen, 3 out of 10 mobile searches result in “valuable business outcomes”, including in-store visits, phone calls, or mobile web purchases. What this demonstrates is that our understanding of conversions is shaped by mobile context. Simply looking at sales numbers may result in bleak ROI calculations. However, activities including calls, click-throughs, and app downloads, each with a calculated value, contribute to the conversion formula, thus painting a much more accurate picture of effectiveness. In addition, mobile contexts offer an opportunity for building your brand. A beautifully designed mobile website can curry sentiments of user-friendliness, engagement, and customer understanding. Mobile applications and web-based applications can create a dynamic and interactive experience that shapes perceptions. In each way, leveraging the unique mobile experience creates positive progress toward goals.   How can we connect with multi-screen audiences? The din of conversation, content, and advertising on the Internet is only part of the noise modern consumers experience. With tablets and smartphones on the rise, “multi-screening”, moving sequentially from device to device, is rising in step. According to the resource, 90% of consumers move between devices to complete their tasks, and 40% of users browse smartphones while watching TV. This creates a unique conundrum for marketers looking to capture that valuable attention. The solution is multi-channel integration. Customer attention divided between social networks, television, mobile web, and tablets requires a consistent experience throughout in order to make an impression. Advertisements on TV can reinforce mobile experiences, working in tandem with the consistent aesthetic of print advertising. This consistency not only unifies marketing efforts, but also delivers a strong impression despite willful and sometimes excessive division of attention between devices. The changing landscape of customer interaction created by mobile is not without its challenges, but understanding these five essential questions can help make a forest out of the trees. Adjusting your value proposition to incorporate mobile and adjusting mobile web design to facilitate delivery of this value can help breed favor with consumers. Creating mobile specialists in your organization and adapting marketing efforts to the platform can help streamline organizational efforts. Finally, integrating the myriad channels of distribution can leave a lasting impression with distracted users. By adjusting your business model to the changing times, you can ride a wave of innovation that will breed success and enthusiasm, both internally and in the marketplace. Register a cheap domain name at HostGator.com Continue reading →

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Online Photo and Video Sharing Is Expanding: What Does It Mean For Your Business

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Hosting

The post Online Photo and Video Sharing Is Expanding: What Does It Mean For Your Business appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . With burgeoning volumes of content on social networks and websites, content has reached a point where less user friendly, empathetic, and compelling fare will see a precipitous drop-off. The fact is, media-full users simply do not have time in their days to consume everything presented to them. For that reason, discerning viewers have developed attitudes toward media that allow them to quickly determine what matters to them and what does not. High on the list of “what matters” is visual media. The trend makes sense: in a world where time is media, quickly digested pictures and videos hold a special advantage over text in their ability to communicate meaning, emotion, and more without the “arduous” task of reading. So what does this mean for you? It means that video and photo is the “it” channel for conveying brand message, and any effort that can be made to accommodate this trend is well worth your time and energy.   What’s Behind the Trend? When one considers the ubiquity of cellphone cameras in today’s society, it is not hard to understand why photos and videos rose to the top. With the availability of recording tools, more adults than ever are uploading original photos and videos. In addition, high-resolution screens and readily available wireless Internet access have made viewing online photos and videos a breeze. The specific content of these items follow measurable trends. According to a  Pew Research Center study , the top three types of video consumed include humor, educational, and instructional, with music at a close fourth. Video created primarily includes everyday activities, people doing humorous things, and pets. According to another  study by the Pew Center , the demographics sharing and consuming this media include 18-29 year old, college-educated individuals. What fuels the consumption of content, however, is not simply the format itself. The rise of social networking, including platforms designed specifically for video and photo sharing, have hasted the spread of visual formats. According to the Pew study above, 66% of online adults use Facebook, 12% use Pinterest, and 12% use Instagram. Specifically, as many as 20% of women use Pinterest and 27% of 18-29 year olds use Instagram. The ease and penetration of these platforms have made video and photo sharing an easy and engaging endeavor.   Video While all this data is well and good, you’re probably wondering how this affects your business (after all, it was in the title of the article). First and foremost, understand that if you are not using video in your marketing, you should be. According to  a study by Reel SEO , 93% of marketers are using video in their campaigns with 82% reporting positive results from doing so. In addition to the hard numbers, video presents a real opportunity to enrich and engage your customers. As an institution of authority, tap into the how-to and educational crowd. Businesses would do well to introduce content that leans on their specific area of expertise and delivers valuable, informative content to viewers. Sites that sell shaving products can afford-ably create a web series about proper shaving technique.  Cooking ware companies can release videos detailing basic cooking techniques that use their products. Identify what expertise you possess and use it to engage your customers in a way that focuses on delivering value. Furthermore, avoid any pandering and know what your audience wants. Creating video for video sake is just as likely to appear desperate, as it is to help sales. Content should be genuine and enriching. Furthermore, know your audience, either through direct communication, polling, or surveys of comments on content, and base subsequent videos on the response.   Photos Images pose another opportunity altogether. Simplifying the content experience, photos can be readily shared and consumed by peers in a way that builds online identity. According to a study by the  Content Marketing Institute , images that possess characteristics with which viewers want to be identified are more likely to see shares on social networking and, in the process, build positive brand association. Know your goal when developing images. Infographics, for example, provide the same opportunity to deliver value that videos do, but in a way that is more digestible and less time consuming. Non-branded images incorporating your company’s products have shown to improve overall brand perception. Branded content based on memes and humor is likely to see shares, currying positive feelings toward your organization. In either instance, identify what you want to accomplish, and tailor your content on that basis.   Sharing Regardless of the content you produce, do not ignore the need to share. Unless you’ve invented the next Google or Facebook, it is unlikely that your site alone will draw enough visitors to maximize your content’s potential. Use the obvious channels, Twitter and Facebook, and don’t be afraid to embrace newer channels with demonstrated user-bases like Instagram and Pinterest. Your goal should be for a “> 1″ return on social media views: focus on shares and spreading content. In doing so, you give your brand the opportunity to become a part of the cultural zeitgeist, and that’s marketing no money can buy. With no signs of slowing down, video and photos have become a powerful component of any successful marketing strategy. Tap into your intellectual resources and share that asset with the community in videos. Base photography on brand goals and use social networking to its fullest potential. Check out the fast WordPress blog hosting by HostGator.com Continue reading →

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Mobile Websites: What Are Your Options?

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Hosting

The post Mobile Websites: What Are Your Options? appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Mobile Internet has desktop usage in its crosshairs. According to  Smart Insights , mobile Internet will surpass desktop usage in 2014. This is good news for Apple and Android, but bad news for all those hard-working web developers who painstakingly created a desktop website worth its salt. But let’s be honest, in an age when innovation moves at light-speed, no one expects a silver bullet solution to last very long. The unique characteristics of mobile devices require special considerations all their own. Smaller screen resolutions and unique interfaces present challenges to the typical 1280 by 720 click-and-type model. Because of smaller resolutions and tactile, gesture-based controls, navigations, layouts, and content need to be simplified for proper viewing. To further complicate matters, the diversity of mobile devices means that a single resolution or interface solution may not display correctly on other devices or platforms. Fortunately, there are options, each one with its own challenges and assets, to help solve this truly complicated puzzle.   Mobile Specific Websites The first potential solution is a bit of an antique at this point, but has its benefits. The mobile specific website builds a dedicated set of code and assets around the unique context of mobile web. This option can allow for coding of mobile specific capabilities and features, but ultimately the cons largely outweigh the pros. The first issue is load times. The mobile Internet is fast and responsive. The mobile only website is not. Because the mobile specific code is necessarily housed under a separate URL, a series of redirects based on the detected platform are needed to point phone browsers in the right direction. This dramatically increases load times and, should any of the redirects fail, unnecessary and unappreciated pain in access. The next problem is consistency. Updating code on one version of the site requires updating of code on the other site, and failure to do so can lead to embarrassing and glaring issues in format and content. In addition, successful execution of two separate code bases complicates the already arduous design process in the case of implementation of additional features. This is without mentioning the manpower needed to police both versions and maintain a coherent web experience. The final problem is search engine optimization. Because of the separate URLs of the two sites, the indexing and search rank of one does not benefit the other. For this reason, mobile users may not even be able to find your mobile site should they look for it. The short story is: don’t use a separate mobile site. At one time, Google  actually recommended them  before responsive web design practices became prevalent. Save yourself the headache and consider more flexible, intuitive, and convenient options.   Device Specific HTML Device specific HTML represents one of these intuitive solutions. The backbone of this approach is the  Vary HTTP header . In its implementation, the Vary command signals to Internet Service Providers to consider the encoding preferences of the user when determining which format to serve. In doing so, two sets of HTML code can be utilized with some common assets and displayed based on the needs of the user. In addition, the shared URL of the two versions has positive search implications. Common indexation and search rank of both versions means that the appropriate format will be readily accessible through regular search channels, thus alleviating the confusion presented by a stand-alone solution. Furthermore, the Vary header helps Google more easily crawl both formats by indicating which Googlebot to use. The end result is faster crawl and site discovery.   Responsive Web Design With myriad platforms and devices, even device specific HTML is no guarantee that site presentation will be consistent. For that reason, web designers have adopted a solution entitled “ responsive web design “. The method adopts a doctrine referred to as “device agnosticism”, which aspires to create a homogeneous experience regardless of the specific viewing context. On a coding level, a series of queries enable websites to actively adapt to different device circumstances. Javascript media checks apply assets and layouts on the basis of screen resolution and can therefore be used to simply rearrange page content and navigation without the hassle of separate HTML. By relying on viewing characteristics instead of operating systems or devices, HTML can be rendered accurately in spite of changes in software or hardware. On a practical level, this means a more coherent experience for viewers and less frustration for web developers. By utilizing common assets, fonts, and layouts, platform agnosticism permits cross-platform branding and design that plays a strong part in developing brand association. By applying catchall code, updating one asset updates the asset across all contexts, thus saving manpower and embarrassing inconsistencies. Between these options, you should have be able to make an informed decision regarding what is best for your businesses specific needs. Consider your available manpower and aspirin when accepting the headaches of each method and employ the best advantages of each when constructing your web experience. In time, your users will appreciate your mobile accommodations and your mobile site will become as much a part of your identity as your sterling reputation and charming demeanor. Check out the fast WordPress blog hosting by HostGator.com Continue reading →

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Why Brand Voice Matters

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Hosting

The post Why Brand Voice Matters appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . 2014 is set to be the year that two truths bear themselves. The first is that Internet users are tired, bombarded with content and desperate to separate the chaff from the wheat. The second is that old methods of marketing simply are not effective anymore. This combination has lead to the rise of engaging content and emphasis on a relationship with customers, regardless of the specific market you find yourself in. The verdict is in, and people are saying that they want quality, value, and creativity. They want information, media, and brands that enrich their lives in tangible ways, in conjunction with their values and belief structures. If you’re keeping score, you can imagine that reaching such lofty heights through iPad giveaways and banal taglines is a near impossible task.   Making a Connection The reason old marketing tactics are no longer working begins with the fact that they do not connect with customers. Discerning consumers are no longer swayed by catchy phrases or theme songs. Inundated with media and cheap ploys for sales, they have begun to demand more sincere, legitimate content and engagement that recognizes them as more than simply another sales lead. This is where voice plays a part. Voice gives a face to your organization, which is exactly what consumers want to see. Too many people have waded through phone menus and automated replies. Now those same people want to know that there is a person on the other end of the line. Voice forges that precious connection that new, smarter, more discerning customers are looking for. At its core, the importance of voice demonstrates prevailing attitudes toward large organizations. We’ve entered an era in which people talk to other people every day through social media, and, for that reason, expect the same personal level of attention and interaction from businesses. But while a human touch encourages positive association with brands, it is not enough to create the sort of image and perception that brands hope to accomplish. Thankfully, voice solves this problem too.   Telling a Story Voice connects with customers on a deeper level; a connection ingrained in us for thousands of years. Namely, voice tells a story. Since the dawn of man, humans have been hard-wired to interact, convey messages, emotions, and concepts, and build community around stories. Developing a unique voice for your organization takes more than putting a nametag on a customer service response. It takes an emphasis on this millennia old practice. Good content marketing achieves exactly this; leaning on your expertise and providing engaging information that your audience wants. By constructing a narrative of your knowledge and sharing it with individuals, you build a shared perception that establishes a valuable brand image. Furthermore, you do so in an efficient, understandable, and effective manner. Searching for a better method of communication than storytelling would be a fruitless endeavor indeed. The reason for this more profound impact stems from the involvement of something universal in all of us: emotion. Bullet points, tips, tricks, and instructional videos can help brands seem knowledgeable, but in order to gain the sort of emotional and psychological association you are looking for, you need to dig past hard numbers and slideshows. A good narrative that connects on a human level creates a sort of dynamic partnership that not only helps brand image, but establishes channels for communication that aid both the customer and the organization. And these are not empty platitudes.  Uri Hasson from Princeton  has observed that the brains of individuals reading or listening to the same story actually synchronize. Narratives that call upon particular emotions or experiences actually  engage the same parts of our brain  that would see utilization in those situations in real life. The conclusion is unavoidable: stories are effective, we are hard-wired to consume them, and the emotional impact of stories is greater than facts can achieve.   Time for a Change In this context, it is time for brands to recognize the power of voice. An  infographic by HubSpot  documents the fall of social media and marketing tactics from the days of increased engagement to a time of senseless spouting. As stated, customers have noticed this, and it’s time for a change. Gone are the days when yelling “hashtag our company name!” at Twitter followers got any semblance of response, but savvy marketers can harness this change and use their powers for good. Begin with your social media strategy. Are you throwing promotional materials at the wall or are you using these tools for their intended purpose: engagement? According to the aforementioned infographic, customers expect prompt responses to comments on social media. Use this opportunity to reconnect with your customer base and provide personalized, prompt service. Leverage your knowledge and re-shape your content. Know your strengths and ask your readers what they want to hear. Use that expertise to give the people what they want. Take advantage of the ubiquity of communication in our modern day and construct a narrative that builds positive brand association through real, tangible value. Know that your customers are not stupid; they expect smart content tailored to their needs. The good news is, you can give it to them. Brands are no longer monolithic emblems blazing in the city sky. Savvy customers expect brands to be respectful, personal, and intelligent. Your voice, your story, and your human assets can deliver this in spades, to the benefit of your bottom line. These days, brands without voice are little but logos. Do not miss the opportunity to be people: let your voice be heard and become a part of the conversation. Check out the fast WordPress blog hosting by HostGator.com Continue reading →

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