Beginner’s Guide: Which is the Best Computer Course to Opt For?

Beginner’s Guide: Which is the Best Computer Course to Opt For?

The technological field is an ever-changing loop. Every other day, new technology or a fresh advancement comes to the market. Computer courses are in high demand, making it essential for working professionals or beginners to learn these new technologies to keep up with the market standards.

With the changing world, the learning process has also changed. Online courses and online classes are in high demand as it saves much time and can be attended whenever the person wants.

These days, many computer courses are available online that anyone can easily take up. They have to choose the best one to suit their time, come within the budget and have a preferred curriculum.

However, selecting the right course and institution might consume a considerable amount of time. To ease it out, below is a blog that answers most of the questions people usually have while opting for a computer course.

What are the types of computer courses?

The education system has seen an incredible leap, and all teaching methods have changed now. With new progress, presently, it all depends on the person taking the course and their flexibilities. However, computer courses are in demand nowadays. Below are the major computer course types:

  • Long-term offline course: This is a complete course or degree of 3 or 4 years. It involves courses such as:
    • B.Tech or B.E. in computer science
    • BCA (Bachelor of Computer Application)
    • B.Sc. in computer science
    • B.Sc. in software technology
    • Diploma in computer science and engineering
    • Diploma in software engineering

These are entirely classroom courses, for which the person has to go to the institute to attend the classes. Apart from this, the course materials are usually provided by the institute or buy them.

  • Long-term online course: This course is more flexible and accessible. Online courses are a new form of education. Many universities are providing long-term courses online. Mostly these courses can extend up to a year or more. They extensively cover everything that is there in an ordinary long-term course.

The classes happen through video calls, on-set timings every week. All the course material related to it will be provided through PDFs. Similarly, the tests also happen online, avoiding the trouble of going to the center and attending the exam physically.

  • Short-term offline course: These courses are famous across the country. Usually, coaching institutes provide a short-term course that is majorly for 3-4 months. These classes happen for an hour or two on weekdays or weekends. It depends on the time selected by the person who is willing to take the course. At the end of the course, the person is provided with a certification that speaks about the course.
  • Short-term online course: This is similar to an offline course and lasts the same amount of months, but classes will be held online. The classes usually happen through videos (the student can attend the live class or check the recorded class), and materials are provided as PDFs. This is the best option among all the courses, as it is for less period.

A short-term course can be completed at any time, anywhere as per the convenience of the person.

What are basic computer courses?

There is a phase in every student’s life where they have to decide which course they want to opt for. There are many career options available, like, if one wants to be in the fashion industry, they can choose to be a fashion designer. If one wants to be in the sales field, they can select the respective sales field. Similarly, suppose a student wants to pursue his/her career in the computer or technology-related field. In that case, they should know about the basic computer courses that are mentioned below:

Web Design

It includes different aspects of website maintenance and production. This explains different work sectors such as website graphics, user interface design (U.I.), user experience design (UX). It also includes other standardized codes such as authoring, proprietary software, and SEO. Knowing web designing will help an individual to build a complete website.

VFX and animation

VFX or Visual Effects is a way of mixing real film shoots with animated or false images. The animation is a basic art-technology that makes the image and pictures move or do whatever the creator wants them to do. This is a fascinating and exciting computer technological field. It is basically for the people who want to do challenging and diverse work.

Cybersecurity

market forecast for global cybersecurity. 2017 to 2023

Above is the market forecast for global cybersecurity. This showcases how cybersecurity will increase and how companies will invest in it.
It is a practice that helps to protect computers, servers, mobile phones, electronic devices, and networks from any malicious attacks. Different sectors have varying cybersecurity methods, such as:

  • network security that helps to protect the network from unwanted users and attacks,
  • application security helps protect the apps by continually testing and updating them and ensuring that they are secure.

Similarly, there is information security, operational security, and disaster recovery to safeguard the device and data. Each of these security makes sure that there are no malicious attacks.

Software and programming language

It is a formal language that comprises instructions entered into the system to produce desired outputs. A programming language is used to implement algorithms. These are a set of instructions that are different from the standard general programming language. It is a language that only a computer understands.

With these programming languages, a computer can analyze large and complex swaths of information in minutes.

Digital marketing

Gone are the days when traditional marketing (such as billboards, pamphlets, and hoardings) was necessary to reach people. Digital marketing is the new way of advertising through online platforms such as search engines, websites, social media, emails, and applications.

Most industries, brands, and companies these days rely on the online platform to increase their reach and engagement.

What computer courses are in demand?

In the era where competition is very high in every field, if a person is in an I.T. or software field, it is better to upscale the knowledge from time to time. 

At the forefront of the job market, computer-related skills are vital for almost every industry. Especially when the Internet is evolving, IoT or the Internet of Things is the new way to technological advancement. Below mentioned are the top computer courses that are in demand and will be helpful to upskill one’s knowledge:

Data Science infographic

It is a technological field that uses all the scientific methods, statistics, algorithms, and processes to extract the required data and insights from structured and unstructured data. This includes data mining, machine learning, and big data. In short, it unifies the statistics and data analysis to understand what is going on with the vast amount of data available or what can be done with such massive data.

Data science has heavy demand in the market, not just in India; every company worldwide requires data scientists for the information floating around in their company. If a person wants to get into the software field but doesn’t know what he/ she should be doing, then going for data science is the best option.

Big data analytics

This is a process of analyzing giant sets of data, such as hidden patterns, market trends, unknown correlations, customer preferences, and other useful data. All these data are beneficial. It can help build effective marketing campaigns, discover new revenue growth ways, understand customer requirements, and more. Big data helps companies to make informed decisions, so they are always on a hunt for prominent data analysts.

Artificial intelligence (A.I.)

It is the simulation of human intelligence in machines. The machines are programmed so that the devices can mimic every way that a human wants. These machines can also be able to exhibit traits similar to a human such as learning and problem-solving. The best example of A.I. is the Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri.
Below is the graphical representation of increased demand for Artificial intelligence.

asia pacific artificial intelligence market size

For people interested in creating such machines or going out of the box and building a unique device or machine, Artificial Intelligence is their thing.

SEO or Search engine optimization

When people search for something in the search engine, they might see some ads at the top, images, videos, or specific sites. All of this is achieved because of SEO.

Search engine optimization improves a website’s quality by enhancing the traffic and engaging people to the website. It targets traffic in different ways by using images, videos, content, links, and social media. SEO’s primary work is to look at the search engine’s algorithm, figure out how it works, and gain traffic.

This is mainly for someone interested in marketing and the ever-changing technology and its advancement.

Why should you go for a computer course?

Technological growth will always be there around the world. This makes, clear that having computer knowledge these days is very important. Below mentioned are few reasons for considering to take up computer courses:

  • Market growth: Being the second populated country globally, people and their technology needs are increasing. This gives rise to market growth and increased demand for technologically apt candidates for the related job roles.

I.T. companies are gaining much popularity. It is even expected that the I.T. sector in India will make profits worth $225 billion in the coming years. Thus, making the field more demandable in the crowd.

  • Increased scope: According to reports, India has the most talented I.T. candidates, and at least 30% of the staff of most of the I.T. companies are Indians. Most of the top I.T. industries contain Indians as their Vice presidents, CEOs, CMOs, and other high-profile positions.

This showcases the increased scope and requirement of learned I.T. people in the companies.

  • Job security: Learning computer courses always comes in handy. As the job market is vast, similarly, the talents out there are immense, creating heavy competition. To cut through the competition and stand in the market, it is essential to be at par with the industry and standards.

With considerable knowledge and grasp over highly demandable subjects, one will make sure that their job is secured. Increased qualification and expertise are always helpful to keep oneself intact with the industry.

Which computer classes should be taken in high school?

Suppose a student wants to pursue their career in the software field from the beginning. In such a case, it is always better to start immediately as it is already decided. High school is the perfect place to build a foundation for the desired career of the student. Following are the few computer courses that any high school student can take up:

  • Basics of programming languages such as C, C++, and Java
  • Computer literacy
  • Basics of Data structure
  • Basic of web and graphic designing

Which computer course is best to get a high salary?

Every day new technological advancement comes to market. To keep up with the demand, it is better to upskill with the latest computer courses. Not just the computer courses, these courses will even help in getting a high salary job. These courses might help to get a salary hike from 50% to 80%. Mentioned below are the few professional courses that will help upskill the knowledge and get a higher salary package.

  1. Data science: According to Glassdoor, the entry-level salary for a data scientist is somewhat starting from 6 Lakhs per annum. With growing experience and expertise in the field, it might go up to 18 lakhs per annum and even more.
  2. Big data analysis: A big data analyst is also paid a lot. The average package of a big data analyst in India starts from 6.5lakh per annum and can go up to 15lakh per annum. If the person has more data analysis expertise, the package can even go above 15lakhs per annum.

Big data analysis

  1. VFX training and character animation: A VFX artist or an animator also gets a competitive salary package in India. For any entry-level designers, it might start from 5 lakhs per annum. It can go to 10 lakhs per annum with increased experience.
  2. Computer hardware engineering and networking: Here, for an entry-level engineer, the salary offered might start from 4.5 lakhs per annum. It gradually with increasing experience it can go beyond ten lakhs per annum.

Which computer course is best for banking?

Yes, even people interested in going into the banking sector require to have particular basic computer knowledge. This computer course is essential for those who want to apply for clerical jobs. A computer course in a related field will help enhance one’s place in the banking sector. Below are the courses that will help in any banking job:

  • Computer Awareness and office automation
  • Oracle
  • SQL
  • Tally
  • Advanced excel

Which institutes offer these computer courses?

Now a person doesn’t have to go physically to any tutorial or course. Opting for these advanced and excellent courses can be done quickly by sitting at home. Many options are available in marketing that can be utilized effectively, starting from introductory courses to advanced ones. All one has to do is check for the courses, opt for them, and take the classes online. Below are the few institutes that provide advanced computer courses:

  • Upgrad: This is an online education-providing institution. These people are experts with structured programs for Data Science, Machine Learning, and Software Technology (full-stack, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.) They provide certification for every course that has been opted for, which is helpful during any job interview.
  • Udemy: This is a perfect platform. It provides all the major software courses starting from A to Z that are too reasonable. Like designing, marketing, I.T. and software, and photography, it provides all the courses in trending in the market. Udemy offers many other such courses that are descriptive and knowledgeable.
  • Simplilearn: It offers post-graduate programs in Digital Marketing, Data Science, Business Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning. Simplilearn provides these certifications with collaboration with some top universities, making learning easy and worthwhile through online classes.
  • White hat juniors: This is one of the sites that help kids get interested in coding or software courses. White hat junior provides beginner level or entry-level programming courses for kids between the age of 10 to 18. It helps build a foundation for coding for those interested and who want to pursue the same career.
  • Coursera: This is one of the sites providing online courses. It offers a wide range of courses prevailing from different fields. The courses start from bachelor’s degree, go till master’s degree and even provide a global MBA. It has courses related to Machine Learning, Digital Marketing, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Data Science, and many more. Learn more about Coursera here.

Wrapping up!

These are some of the major courses that any student, beginner, or expert can take to upskill their knowledge. Upskilling the skills always helps to keep oneself on the edge of the ever-changing technological advancements.

If you have issues, questions, or queries related to the computer courses, please ask us in the comments section or by contacting us.

 

How Can TikTok Advertising Boost Sales In Small And Medium enterprises?

How Can TikTok Advertising Boost Sales In Small And Medium enterprises?

The world around us in the 21st century is competitive, specifically in advertising. People won’t notice a product unless it’s a brand or connects with consumers by using innovative techniques. Therefore marketing your product through TikTok advertising will appeal to a large number of young consumers in a matter of seconds. 

It is a useful tool for advertisers from small & medium enterprises who want to target a large number of young customers. So if you’re going to use this medium, then start working on the ideas that you want to convey in a short video message that will work in your favor. 

Otherwise approaching teenagers in a traditional way is really not going to work anymore. 

Several new-age business entrepreneurs are going to gain a lot by tapping the potential of this app by advertising on TikTok. Now before moving to that part, let’s have some brief introduction about it:

What Is TikTok? 

TikTok is a video sharing platform used for creating short time mobile videos on smartphones. It went online in 2017 for international users of iOS & Android smartphones.

By the end of 2018, Bytedance (the TikTok owner) acquired & merged ‘Musical.ly‘ with it and converted it into a single app. Users can create & share vertical looping videos with a time limit of 15 to 60 seconds with the help of this app.

Users are free to use the extensive editing tool-kits of this app. It contains a wide array of filters & effects along with a massive music library to tune & score their video contents on this app.

Who Uses TikTok The Most?

TikTok is popular among teenagers. Here are some of the demographics taken from the recent surveys are as follows:-

41% of its users are in the age group of 16 to 24 years old.

41% of users around the world are teenagers, according to the data of the Global Web Index

Moreover, it also encourages users to make and post their original content related to comedy, dance, drama, or songs after following trending videos of other users. 

This app is an excellent platform for lots of youngsters who want to show their talent to the world. Such an app is a great confidence booster plus a one-way ticket to get recognized for millions. 

There are 500 million active users worldwide today.

That’s correct! The app is top-rated only because of its innovativeness. According to the survey conducted by Datareportal, 2019, for TikTok advertisement 2019, it has found that around 500 million active users are using this app globally.

 Hence, it is also one of the few places where advertisers can target and convey their marketing messages to a large number of users by deploying various types of creative techniques.   

 It is also an excellent platform for people from the film & entertainment industry who are looking for fresh faces for auditions for acting & dancing.

Globally, 56% of TikTok users are male & 44% are female.

The demographics shown in the pie chart above suggest that 56% of TikTok users are male & 44% are female. Youngsters from both the genders are active on this app. Both male & female users use this app daily to get loads of fun & entertainment. 

Besides that, they also make videos to entertain others as well as showcase their talent to garner instant fame. This app helps them to enhance their performance on a larger scale for gathering more views & followers.  

Here, there is a good chance for advertisers to approach all such talented TikTok stars to convey their brand’s message via innovative videos.

In 2019, Indians Nearly 5.5 billion hours on TikTok.

Growth in hours spent in TikTok outside of china

Source: App Annie

 

Compared to all other parts of Asia, companies are specifically targeting India. The message of a particular brand has a better chance to reach out to millions of Indians through this app. 

Netizens from India spend more time on this app than any other social platform. In this app, contents have more fun-filled activities combined with the scope of making your original videos.    

According to a survey conducted by App Annie, marketers can find not only teens but also adults to influence who can take the message of the advertisers. 

This app surpasses 1.5 billion downloads 

Until now, branded companies have targeted all kinds of customers by using regular channels of communications such as TV, Print, and social platforms like Facebook.

As this app is new & famous in the market, brands can reach and display their ads to all kinds of young users on this app because it has already hit the 1.5 billion mark in global downloads, as per reports of Sensortower.

Yes, you heard it right. This app has outsmarted even Facebook & Instagram in the downloads race. It is one of the best apps of the century that can be a good target for marketing purposes.

In India, TikTok has 119.3 million users.    

TikTok has penetrated more than 150 countries and currently available in 75 different languages that prove its capacity for global dominance in a short period, especially in a place like India. 

There is a massive market for advertisers from different parts of the world to tap their market growth in India via this app. Hence, the list of these demographics shown by Statista & Priori Data states that India leads all other countries with 119.3 million users. 

The count of users has surpassed even the United States that is far bigger than India. Hence the business of advertising has more scope in India than anywhere else. 

TikTok Advertising In US & UK

As a result of the rising craze of this app, TikTok is looking for new ways to sell its services.  

Inputs from various sources state that TikTok has outlined four types of ads in the testing phase in the US and UK.

If everything goes well as planned, then creators can start advertising for famous brands.

These ads are:-

  • brand takeovers
  • in-feed native videos
  • branded hashtag challenges, 
  • branded Snapchat style lenses.

What are the TikTok ads?

Tiktok-Ads

Source: Medium.com

TikTok ads are short-form video ads, and here are some of the ways they work. You can follow each one of them given below:-

Launch Screen Ad Type Or Format

Your message, products, or services will get displayed as a full-screen ad. It can be either in static, animated, or video form.

In-Feed Ad Type Or Format

This type of ad can create autoplay for the user when he/she is looking at the “For You” feed on their smartphone. It works like the launch screen ad.

Hashtag Challenge Ad Format 

This format is a full-screen ad that is quite innovative. This type of advertisement aims to tell users to create content based on the hashtag you create or select.

Can You Advertise On TikTok?

Yes, you can advertise on this app. To do so, you have to take care of certain things that will make your promotion campaign hassle-free.

To use TikTok for advertising, you must fulfill the following requirements.  

Here are some of the factors below use this platform for your business, are as follows:-

  • Type Of Target Audience

The success of any form of advertisement depends on the type of audience you need for marketing. 

This platform is not suitable for selling financial services. Otherwise, a business that deals with younger audiences will be able to hit a chord.

  • Quality Oriented Visual Marketing Skills & Content

To become successful as a brand, you must have excellent visual marketing skills. Your business must create high-quality videos that can represent your brand. 

As TikTok is a video sharing platform, every user shares several types of content videos.

So, if you want to popularize your brand, then you must create content that stands out from the rest. Thus, don’t hesitate & start now. 

  • Budget For Making Ads

Only some advertisers such as Disney & Grubhub have considerable resources to conduct such ads.  

To create demand for this feature, more brands must have to visit, apply & create their ads.  

Small-time businesses have to wait while preparing for the TikTok advertising budget.

The Cost Of Advertising On Tiktok

Currently, the TikTok advertising cost is more expensive compared to any other platform. 

The price starts at an estimated worth of $10 per CPM(cost per mille) & can go up to $300,000 as the ad campaign gets larger.

Besides, the cost of the ad is small compared to all the positive results & recognition.   

How To Promote TikTok Videos?

You can promote your ads on this video sharing site because all TikTok ads can ensure visibility.

Now here are some of the following ways that will tell you how to advertise on TikTok:

  • Get Free Advertising From Your Followers

The hashtag challenges encourage thousands of followers to promote brands for free. 

To become famous, users will accept any hashtag challenge of TikTok app advertising.

Once your followers post the videos of your challenge, others will be able to see them and your brand name as well.

You will get lots of free advertising from your followers who will pick up the challenge and get it viral.

  • No Need Of Purchasing Niche Ads.

The best part of this video app is that it shows videos straight away without having to follow its makers.

Hence, your ads will be visible to different types of people without you having to buy niche ads.   

Your ads will target the audience with both screen ads & the regular ones after placing them in the videos.

  • Avoid Having A Marketing Fatigue

The average attention span of a user is eight or less than eight seconds currently. It is less than four seconds compared to the time that was in 2000.

It is the ratio before smartphones became very popular among youngsters. With such short attention spans, the era of minute-long videos is over.    

Hence, make sure that all the users watching your video don’t have any marketing fatigue.

TikTok will place your ads between thousands of videos in a way that viewers will not get irritated.

TikTok Advertising In India

 

TikTok Advertising In India

Source : TikTok

This app has penetrated all the countries, including India, due to a large user base along with 43 % new users.  

Thus, all the big brands marketing their products in India can be able to do so by using TikTok for advertising

One of the main reasons for doing business here because India is a massive market with a lot of users.

Hence, by creating suitable ads, you can attract lots of youngsters to get associated with your brand.

Almost anyone from any part of the country can post videos for gaining instant name & fame.

TikTok Advertising Campaign For Influencing People.

Until now, most of the ad campaigns used to influence people in traditional ways. Now, after the arrival, many social media apps in the age of the internet affecting people are a bit tough. 

Campaigns must increase brand awareness among the young public on TikTok. Hence, here are some of the advertising strategies that can do the job for your brand, are as follows:-

  • Using Hashtags

Using Hashtags

Source : TikTok

Always use your unique hashtag because the algorithm of this platform will place your videos in a section where people will view videos made up of similar hashtags.

Use hashtags on the bottom of the screen; otherwise, it will destroy the value of the video that you have posted.

Always use niche hashtags that will increase the chances of your videos shown to the right audience that you want to target.

  • Try Imitating Relevant Trends

Try Imitating Relevant Trends

Source : TikTok

 

Like new trends rule the fashion market, and youngsters start imitating them. You can also do the same on TikTok by replicating popular videos.

Whenever you are remaking a popular video, always add a unique new flavor to it so that people will watch your video with more interest.

For example, In case you are replicating a popular comical video, try to use your styles, gimmicks, and humorous acts to make the video new & exciting for the viewers.

  • Add Musical Flavor To Your Videos

 

Add Musical Flavor To Your Videos

Source : TikTok

To make your videos more attractive, enjoyable & entertaining, you can add some musical flavor to it. It will increase the chances of getting spotted by promoters & marketers. 

You can take the help of lots of musical tracks available in the TikTok music library for making your videos.

Noticing your videos will not be a problem for members who search for videos using musical tracks.

  • Using A Popular Personality

Using A Popular Personality

Source : TikTok

For attracting viewers more, you can use the services of familiar personalities who are famous on TikTok or in the world of media.

You can create content-oriented videos around an influential personality on this app that can provide the ability for your brand to engage a more extensive range of audiences.

Hence, engage influencers who are quite famous among teens, such as TikTok stars known for their charm, beauty, acting, singing, or dancing skills.

For example, Charlie D’ Amelio, Addison Rae, Dixie D’ Amelio, and many more who are popular among teens under the age of 20 on this trending app.

  • Use The “Effects” Tab To Your Advantage

There is an “Effects” tab given in this popular app for a reason. With the help of this tab, you can discover new & trending effects for differentiating videos. 

All these effects have different categories that include Trending, New, Interactive, Editing, Beauty, Funny, World & Animal.

It means that you can recreate many popular videos on TikTok by using the in-built effects tab inside the app.

  • Keep On Posting

To create brand awareness among your followers on this app, you have to post videos because the number of videos will have a direct impact on the speed of the account growth.

Post your videos using various types of features, and content like hashtags, musical tracks & effects will make it easier for it to get discovered.

For example, companies like Flighthouse & Sports Association, Like NBA, can generate massive numbers of followers because of posting a large cache of videos using the avenues mentioned above. 

  • Add Comments & Generate Comments For Your Videos 

Comments get a rank on TikTok based on likes that they receive for the videos posted. Moreover, displaying a liked comment on this popular app will draw immense attention from the members.

  • Adding A Crispy Description For Your Video

Solid video description helps the algorithm of this platform in ascertaining the category of the video and the type of audience viewing it.

To make it easy, add a copy to describe what the video is all about & encourage people to reply. While typing a description, also keep it short & simple.

How TikTok Advertising on Snapchat Will Work?

TikTok has recently launched an audience network for making more money through advertising that appears in other apps such as Snapchat.

Due to this specialized audience network, an advertiser buying ad spots on TikTok can also buy ad spots on other platforms at the same time, and Snapchat is one of them.

Currently, this network is available in Japan, and as far as the reports suggest, it is in the testing phase in East Asia, including China.

The network for advertising on Snapchat, along with TikTok, will be rolling out to other markets soon.

How To Change Your Account Into A TikTok Pro Account?  

TikTok Pro account is similar to that of a standard profile. The Pro Account helps users in getting & going through the analytics data for the past 1-4 weeks after posting a video.  

With a pro account in hand, a user can see video views, trending videos & statistics of his own & other users as well. Moreover, he can also follow growth, gender age & top areas.

Most importantly, the Pro account is free. Here are some of the steps to get your own Pro Account. 

TikTok Pro Account

Source : TikTok

 

Step 1. First, go to the profile page & tap on the Privacy & Settings tab.

Step 2. Now tap on ‘Manage My Account.’

Step 3. Press’ Switch to Pro Account’ and then Press continue.

Step 4. Choose a category for your customized analytics.

Step 5. Then press ‘OK’ on the popped up page, and your ‘Pro Account is all set.  

Is it Possible To Make Money On TikTok?

This app doesn’t offer this platform to make money, as it is still working on that arena. You can generate awareness for your brand by posting TikTok advertising videos. 

But any creator can secure sponsorship & brand deals for individual video posts. Here, the catch is that he has to achieve those deals without any help from TikTok.

What Are TikTok Ad Formats?

On this platform, you can select the format of your choice that is suitable for your ad campaign.

Six different ad formats will help you in conducting your ad campaign:- 

  • In-Feed Video Format

It is a simple ad format that uses the immersive short-form video style seen in TikTok user videos. 

Ads made under this format are 15 seconds of video spots that appear when users survey through the posted content. 

In-feed video advertising helps in gaining exposure & also call users to action.

Brands can use in-feed video ads to redirect their audience towards its website page or take part in the hashtag challenge. 

  • Hashtag Challenge Format

TikTok HandWash Challenge

Source : TikTok

This format allows brands to engage with all the online users of this app & take part in them.

With this type of ad-format, any brand can create a video followed with a song, dance, or stunt and then encourage members of the app to add a touch to the challenge by creating their videos.

All such hashtag challenges create user engagement by fusing brand messaging with user creativity. 

This format also helps brands to leverage influencers or celebrities of this platform for generating buzz around the challenge of the brand.

For getting more exposure, brands can also sponsor all such hashtag challenges & feature them on the discovery page. 

Just watch in the above page, how Dettol encourages its followers not only for a social cause but also for picking a challenge. 

  • Brand Takeover

This kind of ad format usually is one of the most expensive ad purchasing options for a brand.

The specialty of this format is that its full-screen ad appears whenever a user opens TikTok for the very first time.

A brand takeover ad can be a three to five-second GIF image or three-second video conveying its message.

The designing of the ad-format helps in linking back to the brand’s profile or hashtag challenge.

  • Branded Lens

The branded lens of TikTok is an ad format that brings 3D objects, face filters & many more such features for brands to design their ads before posting.

It also helps in bringing a profound level of user engagement as well as assisting users in selecting from a variety of branded lenses to enhance their ad content. 

By integrating a branded lens into a hashtag challenge, a brand can create a stronger bond for promoting its products.

  • Custom Influencers

Like in any other social media platform, TikTok also has its share of celebrities with a massive number of fan followers. As these influencers are very powerful, they can inspire their fans in many ways.

When a brand partners with the stars of this platform, a brand gains more exposure & also reaches out to a target audience more. 

Hence, the brand must work with an influencer whose goal aligns with your vision.

It is also worth noting that at some selected locations, you need to organize influencer partnerships on this platform for promoting your brand. 

  • Top View

It is another version of a brand takeover ad that fades into an in-feed video ad.

Buyers of this 15 seconds ad format can enjoy category exclusivity. It means that a brand can top the charts of his category on this platform.

Throw Some Light on TikTok Advertising Opportunities

This popular social platform has opened self-serve advertising for the first time but limited to direct advertisers in some countries only.

This platform is also working with partners in other countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, and India. 

Likewise, there are many others to explore the prospects and new ways of advertising that is compatible with their region. For advertisers, 5-15 second video ad slots are available with external links or to an in-app hashtag challenge. 

These ads go through optimization to target users for converting them into prospective customers. These ads target age, location, language, operating system & interest. Even’ audience lookalikes’ group option is also available for dispensing ads.

Note:-Audience Lookalike means the algorithmically-assembled group of social network members who resemble another group of members in a social networking app. 

Go Through Some Finest TikTok Case Studies

Due to the popularity of this app, there are some most exceptional case studies for the brands to learn & plan their advertising strategies, are as follows:-

  • Song Promotion

Brands such as famous music labels can use this app and its influencers on it to promote a new song of any nature to popularise it.

As a marketing strategy, you can use this app to reach a vast number of users in a couple of days.

Apart from brands, even independent artists can turn into overnight stars by creating global hits & sensations by using this app.

One of the best examples is none other than Auckland based Benee for her viral dance video ‘Glitter.’

  • Educational Platform

Some brands, such as Educational insights with their innovative marketing campaign, used TikTok to educate customers about their product known as ‘Playfoam Puffle.’

With the help of this app, they were able to generate a considerable number of followers with millions of views, likes, and comments.  

Conclusion

Given these points above, earning through TikTok paid advertising will take some time for now as it is still experimenting on setting up a formal profit-sharing system for its clients.

Until then, you can popularize your brand through posting lots of videos and garner an unlimited number of likes, comments, replies, and followers.

Most of the young followers following your brand’s videos will grow a liking for your company & will turn into your customers.  

It will take some time for your brand, but you will master all the skills needed for promoting your brand among teenagers by connecting with them on a social level via this app.

To know more about paid advertising strategies on TikTok, please do write to us & we will come back with more answers.

How to Cut the Operational Costs of Your E-commerce Business

How to Cut the Operational Costs of Your E-commerce Business

Although you may not operate from a physical store, there are still just as many costs involved with running an e-commerce business. Everyone wants their business to be successful, and that success depends on making money. As product and operational costs continue to rise, it’s essential that you keep not only your prices competitive but that you also find ways in which to increase your profits. The first strategy that comes to mind would be to find ways to boost sales or grow revenue. Although cutting operational costs is another critical way, you can put money back in your pocket. 

Won’t reducing operational spending put strains on your business? Not if done strategically and practically. Costs can get out of control if not monitored. Here are some great strategies for cutting the operational costs of your e-commerce business.

1. Contract your staff 

The top way in which you can reduce your operating costs is by contracting your team. While hiring a full-time employee may be necessary for certain aspects of your business, it probably isn’t for the majority of them. By contracting an employee, you can cut all sorts of costs. Firstly, you will have less to pay for wages. You can pay for exactly how many hours you require the employee to work. Beyond that, you will not have to pay benefits or holiday pay. 

Tasks such as web design, admin, and social media management do not take 40 hours a week. Having a salaried employee for these areas will end up costing you way more than is necessary for these tasks. An admin assistant can jump on 30 minutes a day to answer emails. A social media manager can put in an hour a day to schedule posts and engage with your social communities. 

High-salaried employees, such as those in your IT department, are huge budget suckers. While it’s nice to have someone on hand to fix inevitable tech problems, many companies contract out IT support. Companies such as Capstone IT Services handle any technical issues that you may have, at whatever time you need them. 

2. Make strategic and quality investments from the beginning

While it may be tempting to take the cheap route when setting up your business, it may lead to financial losses in the long run. Investing in quality options from the beginning will mean that you won’t need to keep paying for constant updates. 

When it comes to your website design, an investment in a high-quality web designer is worth it. The site is the virtual storefront and, therefore, the most important investment that you can make as an e-commerce business. Investing in quality design from the beginning will mean that you’ll have a great foundation to work from. Web design can get quite costly if you need constant updates and revisions. Start with an excellent base from which you can make small changes as required. 

Your branding is another area that is worth the initial investment. Continually changing your logo and brand identity will only act as a deterrent for potential clients. Take the time to develop a well-thought-out brand identity that you are confident about and can stick with going forward. 

Always choose quality over a cheap price tag, because in the end, it will end up costing your business more. Try to avoid opting for an inexpensive designer and instead hire experienced, trusted professionals with a proven track record. 

3. Know the market

The more products you offer, the more it’s going to cost you. If all your products are flying off the shelves, then that’s great, but this is not usually the case. You need to know the market and understand what your target consumer is looking for. Stocking products that don’t sell is a waste of resources and the physical space that it takes up in your storeroom. Stay updated with current trends in your industry. What’s the competition like? What products are selling the most? You’re better off offering a smaller range of high-demand products than a massive range of items that don’t sell. 

The same goes for if you are selling a service. If you offer tons of services, but only a few are selling, then focus on them. While they may not take up physical space, you’re probably wasting valuable marketing budget and your time promoting them. Know when to offer discounts or coupons to help clear out stock that isn’t selling.

Focusing your efforts on the products and services that the market wants will save you tons of money on storage, marketing, production, and more. 

4. Limit your payment methods

While it can be tempting to offer as many payment methods as possible, it can cost a lot of money. Payment processing fees will add up very quickly, and the more options you provide, the more expenses you’ll pay. Identify the most popular payment options among your consumers and stick to them. Since the majority of people have more than one payment type, it shouldn’t limit you from converting sales. 

5. Choose the most effective marketing channels 

Spending on marketing is significant for the growth and success of your business. That said, if you are spending in the wrong channels, you may as well be throwing money into the wind. Marketing costs can be high, so the key is identifying which channels deliver the highest ROI. It will vary for each e-commerce business, depending on their specific industry. The most effective way to find out where you should be allocating budget is through web analytics

Web analytics will show you exactly where all your website traffic is generating. It will let you know which of your marketing efforts is paying off the most. Maybe you’ll notice high traffic from link-building via relevant blogs, or perhaps it’s from Facebook ads. Regardless of how your visitors get to your website, you will be able to identify which channels aren’t converting and discontinue those campaigns.

You can dramatically cut costs on your marketing by basing your campaigns on your web analytics. 

6. Customer retention

Converting sales from current customers costs seven times less than converting new customers. Retaining the customers that you already have will save you a lot of money on marketing. Not to mention, loyal customers exponentially increase your reach through referrals. It’s free marketing at its finest. By engaging with your customer base, offering loyalty programs, and using email marketing to stay relevant, you can encourage your consumers to keep buying.  

Conclusion

The quality of your e-commerce business does not need to suffer for you to reduce your operational costs. You can still employ expert, qualified staff who will help your business to run efficiently and productively for a fraction of the cost. Your website design can make an impact and create a brand identity that will help you to stand out against the competition, helping you to form a loyal customer base. By running strategic and analyzed marketing campaigns, you can minimize your budget and convert more sales than ever before. 

By making some small tweaks in your current processes and choosing investments wisely, you can cut your operating costs and increase profit in your e-commerce business. 

Develop Ecommerce Consumer Involvement in 2020

Develop Ecommerce Consumer Involvement in 2020

As e-commerce involves majorly on the consumer, the relationship between the two should be well-built. It is one of the critical building blocks that you will have to add in your online business 2020. You have to understand how crucial a customer’s feedback can turn out to be. They help you shape up your business flaws, which works like constructive criticism. A simple thing like highlighting your loyal customers monthly on the company’s social media can be a big win.

Areas to Involve the Consumer

One of the areas that are still a challenge for online businesses is safety. As the opportunities to go global arises, assuring consumer’s safety while paying with their credit card is an issue that needs solving. Only then can you take its full advantage. Know the tools that you can use to protect your website. Luckily, you can find a WordPress website design company to have anti-spam tools added to your site. 

Now the internet is way easier to access. People can find and hack your information online. Help your customers to transact through the electronic marketplace comfortably.

Build Partnership

It is an important area, although overlooked. Usually, it costs nothing to offer excellent service to your customers but earns you big. When you delight them, they refer others to your company. Whenever you have an oncoming sale, let them know ahead of time. They feel valued.

Give them coupon vouchers that they can redeem in your store. For your existing customers, you can offer them loyalty cards that will earn them points that can later accumulate into substantial cash, which they can use and save money.

Based on the aggregate of referrals they have brought to your store, you can offer them some discount to encourage them to do so. The whole essence of saving your client’s acquisition is what will retain them. Transparency also plays a significant role in involving clients in your business in 2020.

Make Use of Common Platforms

When you are operating in e-commerce, it is paramount to find out where your clients spend more time for you to reach out. It is so apparent that you will find most of them on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Use them to interact with your clients. If there are questions that need answers, don’t take long to answer them. Clarify when required, and create a meaningful personal connection.

By taking full advantage of the platforms, you can create a community and start a conversation by seeking customer’s insights. Weigh in some exciting trends that will engage as many people as possible. To keep the fire burning, have an open dialogue.

Customers’ Reviews 

What kind of analysis are your customers giving? If you offer commendable service to your clients, then you don’t need to worry about the reports that you will find on your site. New customers will take a view of what previous ones had to say regarding their purchases and overall experience in your brand.

Remember, testimonies can give more weight to your brand, and the majority of people will only buy from you after watching videos of customer testimonials. To emphasize this, you can offer small incentives to your clients to participate in it.

Offer Exclusive Deals

Everyone loves deals. Especially when you mention that it is exclusive. Show a sneak peek of some unique content that you will release at a later date in your blog, to have your clients hooked. You can keep updating it on your site, or even send an email reminder, so your customers don’t miss out.

If you get a WordPress website design company to work on your site, these are things that can get sorted. Provide your email subscribers and those who have a premium membership a 5 to 10% coupon so that they can use it to purchase your products and probably spend more.

Be an Inspiration

We understand you are in business, but a little inspiration goes well with it. Develop a marketing initiative that draws people closer to your brand because it shows that you care for them. Some companies will advertise, “for every purchase, a dollar goes to help the needy.” While those in fashion will say something similar, “buying a pair of shoes from them will warrant one to a poor child.”

Your brand shows that you care and play a significant role in helping the marginalized.

Sharing your vision to the world also can inspire many customers out there. Assuming it carries a relevant message that depicts your care.

Do a Follow-up

customer followup

Most people do a fantastic job of bringing in a customer, and finally converting leads. Little do they realize that one of the other essential business deals of closing the loop is doing a client follow up. Call and check if your customers’ merchandise was according to their needs.

How was the service experience? Not only will this grow your clientele base, but it will bring back the customer for more. Orange Mud CEO Josh Sprague, suggests; “Remember to organize tasks of customer’s follow-up with an intent of executing.”

Since not everyone will appreciate a follow-up call, learn your customer’s behavior. When you do so, it will be way easier to understand their preferred means of communication. Most importantly, the right time to give them a call. If a customer says a call is a bother, it’s good to respect their request unless there is an urgent situation.

Take Them for a Tour

Since you cannot invite everyone to your company, select only the loyal ones. Take them on a tour guide as you explain more about your products. You should be more knowledgeable about your company, and everything that you have there. It is an efficient way of reaching out and involving clients about a brand that they love.

For the sake of those who did not make it, you can record the tour on video and place it on YouTube and all your active social media avenues. These are places that you are likely to attract a lot of views. Remember, there are companies like Animoto that have enabled you to turn your amateur video into a more professional type.

In conclusion, when you develop a strong business relationship with your customers, you are headed to the top. Customers love to be treated special and appreciated. They value responsiveness. Ensure to have a mobile integration to nail this effectively. There are varieties of tools that you can get from the WordPress website design company that can be added to your site to involve customer interaction.

 

How to Use Quora to Promote your Business?

How to Use Quora to Promote your Business?

Quora has gained immense popularity over the past few years, both among businesses and the masses. It is easy to navigate and intuitive the Q&A platform. When I first started using Quora in 2014, it was still popular but nothing compared to what it is today. With over 300 million monthly users, Quora has evolved far beyond a simple Q&A platform.

It is a place where people tell stories and brands share their products and services. Users share their experience of using products or services. In the user’s behavior, Quora finds a place in the same category as other social media websites. A large number of Quora users spend hours on the platform. So naturally, businesses have to develop a marketing strategy for Quora. 

The leads generated through Quora is of better quality and offers more conversions, sign-ups, and reduced bounce rate compared to popular social media sites such as Facebook and even SEO. The reason behind this is people who visit a question on Quora are genuinely looking for an answer.

For example, I was recently promoting a VPN service on Quora. We posted about ten answers for relevant questions, and within a few days, the traffic to the website skyrocketed from Quora. The conversions increased, and the client was having a difficult time handling customer queries. It happened because people who visited the questions wanted to purchase a VPN, and after reading the answer, it motivated them to visit the site, which led to sales.

The benefits of marketing on Quora are immense. One advantage is the long-term traffic that Quora offers. How to drive traffic from Quora, you ask? It’s simple, respond to questions related to your industry and leave a link to your website. The answer and the link will remain on the platform forever. Whenever users look at the response, they can follow it to your site. Marc Hoag was able to drive 82.10 % of traffic from Quora to his business website. The example of Marc Hoag is just one of the many success stories of Quora marketing.

Using Quora to Assist your Digital Marketing Effort

In my opinion, large corporations and multinationals do not require Quora for advertising. Nevertheless, they need Quora for a whole range of other reasons, from customer feedback, interaction, introducing new products and services to reputation management.

It’s the small guys, the startups, SMEs, self-employed, freelancers, and others who stand to gain the most from Quora marketing. Here are some benefits that Quora can bring to a business.

1.     Inbound marketing through Quora

The internet has become a confusing place with an extensive amount of content on any subject. It has also become highly untrustworthy. People want answers to questions from someone they can trust. The co-founders of Quora and current CEO Adam D’Angelo understand this and have developed the perfect platform with a voting mechanism that allows users to recognize high-quality answers. The upvote, which is similar to like button on other social media platforms, also plays an essential role in Quora. It is also a ranking factor for answers. Users are flocking this platform because they obtain genuine answers and reviews of products and services on Quora. As a business, you can share your expertise on a subject and provide resolution to user questions about your offerings.

2.     Quora Content Appears in Search Engine Results Page

Popular search engines such as Bing and Google crawl the content on Quora. As a result, more and more question-based queries on search engines are displaying Quora answers. By responding to such questions, you have a chance of driving traffic from the SERP. Ranking for a particular keyword is tough as you have to compete with highly reputed websites. However, with Quora, you have the opportunity to expose your brand to visitors without all the SEO hard work.

Here is an example of how Quora can attract visitors to my website without competition with Inc.com, which is nearly impossible.

How to promote business on quora.

The unemployed pot-smoking brother of the search world – Bing – recently announced it would be including Quora questions and answers to their Social Sidebar. The search engine is using the Quora platform to provide better resolution to questions asked on their search engine.

The search engine is using the Quora platform to provide better resolution to questions asked on their search engine.

If Bing is not something you care about, it should interest you that Google has been crawling the content on Quora for a long time now. And their algorithm is super advanced in Quora integration. Based on their algorithm, they can choose a particular answer for a question, and it does not have to be the top answer on Quora and display it on the SERP.

3.     Industry Research and Competitor Analysis

The benefits of marketing on Quora extend further than traffic and conversion; it can help you understand your industry and competitors better. Watch what your competitors are doing on Quora. How people value your products in comparison to your competitors. What are they offering with their products and services that are not present in your offering? What are your pros and cons in comparison to the competition? Where it is appropriate, respond in the form of an answer. Carefully observe user queries, and you may even discover the next product idea or improvement that could make your product the best version by far. Overall, Quora is ideal for research and to find out the necessary enhancement in your product and what people think about your offerings.

4.     A Goldmine for Content Marketing Ideas

Small websites often run out of blog ideas. Quora is a great place to find content ideas and generate high-quality content. You can find questions with a high following and form a blog post answering the query; quality content that answers user’s queries is a great inbound marketing strategy. Finding out genuine problems of clients and customers is never an easy task, which Quora addresses successfully. Go to your niche and read what queries people are following the most.

5.     Quora can Assist with Online Reputation

When you monitor the activity of the competition on Quora, you can do the same for your business. By setting up a Google alert for your business with Quora added to it, you will be notified of any post about your brand.

Here is how you can do it.

Simply visit Google.com/alerts and type your ‘business name + Quora’ and create an alert.   

Using the Google alert, you can monitor just about anything on the web and Quora. Utilizing this technique, you can immediately respond to negative feedback about your brand.

Conclusion

Quora with, its new milestone of 300 million monthly active visitors, is the ideal destination to promote your brand. From traffic, reputation management, content marketing to competitor analysis, Quora offers it all. So, do not fear the Q&A platform, be a part of it, and see exponential growth in your business.