Cultivating an individual identity is more important than following guided rules on leadership

TV shows, movies, media and blogs all portray a certain kind of image of a good leader.

Yet the greatest leaders of all times are all different from one another. While they may have one or two similar qualities, each have their own individuality which sets them apart from the rest.

To be or not to be

Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest icons in football history is not just a phenomenal player but also an inspiring leader.

One of the greatest examples of his leadership came out in Euro 2016 when Joao Moutinho refused to take a penalty kick because of his previous experience of missing the penalty shot in 2012.

In an inspiring video that went viral on YouTube, his coach tried to convince the player to take the shot but he blatantly refused.

Then came Ronaldo who magically uttered a few words of motivation to the player after which he made the perfect shot landing Portugal to victory.

The few words Ronaldo had said were “Come. You hit them well! If we lose then f*** it! Be strong, come on, be strong. You hit them well, come on!, it’s in God’s hands now“

The player listened to his fellow teammate rather than the coach, what can be a greater example of his influence on his team.

There are many more examples of how Ronaldo has motivated his teammates to victory in many cases.

And yet, Ronaldo also stands to be known as one of the most hated players in football, due to his lack of humility.

Image Source: Carl Recine/Action Images via Reuters

On the other hand, there is Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest presidents of all time.

In his biography Team of Rivals by Dorothy Kearns, he is frequently regarded as a lover of poetry (his favourite being Mortality by William Knox) and a president who spent most of his days in melancholy.

As the title of the book suggests with his exceptional leadership skills he befriended the men who were supposed to be his enemies and together achieved freedom for all slaves throughout the nation creating history for generations to come, something that was thought of as an impossible feat.

His humility is evident when he appointed Stanton as Secretary of War, despite the man previously ridiculing him as a ‘long-armed ape’.

By putting his ego aside, he created such an incredible harmony between the people who were never supposed to be his friends and colleagues in the first place.

An extraordinarily inhuman feat.

President Lincoln was gentle, humble and extremely honourable and yet died as a result of assassination.

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Finally, there was the great Genghis Khan (translated as universal leader), one of the most notable successful military conquerors the world has ever known.

He rose from being the son of a chieftain (who was later killed) into becoming the ruler of the largest land empire in the world.

A leader who led his people to conquer more territories in 25 years than the Roman army could in 400 years. Not only was Genghis Khan known for his brutality, but he was also known for forging friendships and alliances.

Apart from his military conquests, he was also widely known for his style of leadership which favoured merit rather than status. So much that even today the Mongols disregard race, ethnicity, and class creating a society on meritocracy where individuals are rewarded based on their talents. This can also be traced back to when Khan established a legal system ‘Yassa’, a form of unified punishment created in order to build a combined society which abided by the same laws.

Khan was of a complex nature being obscenely clever, strong and believed in equality while also being extremely brutal and a sadist who was entertained when his enemies were stripped off of power.

The bottom line

There are thousands of books written on leadership, articles are written every day on the qualities of a good leader. And even as we close our eyes and think about the perfect leader, there is an image created by the mass of what a good leader should look like or be.

But the truth is there is no perfection to being the best leader because there are no right or wrong rules of being one.

Everyone is different and must find their own leadership style that is in harmony with their innermost qualities. There will always be downsides but at least there will be an individuality that will be established.

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Image Credit: Mahesh Patel

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The e-commerce trends change based on the way we shop, buy, and how we respond to products that are being marketed by businesses

In over last decade, a lot of new e-commerce trends have emerged to have a major influence on e-tailing businesses and their models of operation.

That’s why most of the business owner reach E-commerce development company to build their E-commerce site. With the biggest of global e-tailers such as Amazon have been adopting and reaping the rewards of these trends, we would like to sum up a few of these trends that will gain importance in 2019:

Speedy shipping and efficient delivery logistics

With Amazon offering one-hour delivery service with its ‘Amazon Now’ and the plans to expand the services further in the coming few years, the focus has been on drastically decreasing the time between the click and delivery.

Also Read: Five trends in crowdfunding to watch in 2019

The key competitive advantage the e-commerce businesses have been striving for. Leveraging the emerging technologies, including the driverless freight, the logistical improvements are set to take place this year.

AI and machine learning integration

The e-commerce businesses are bringing about the intelligent algorithm to deal with the key challenges to segment the customers and identify the patterns effectively based on their browsing history for enabling personalisation and automation.

Such intelligent strategies have resulted in visible sales conversions and gains and are therefore going to be widely adopted with the integration of AI and machine learning

Augmented Reality inches closer to the mainstream market

With major brands such as Apple and Google introducing tools to enable product visualisation with the help of augmented reality, this trend is highly likely to catch on in 2019 with the use of AR/VR enabled sensible devices

Mobile checkout and IoT growth

Mobile payment is witnessing dramatic innovations enabling the people who shop frequently and more conveniently.

Also Read: 4 hottest HR trends to watch out in 2019

With many different mobile payment platforms available today the mobile payment market has been growing and with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.and the proprietary offerings from banks such as Chase and Softbank, the new trend in 2019 is set to move us further away from cash and closer to mobile payment systems.

The growing popularity of ROPO

In line with the growing shopping habit of a typical consumer, that of ‘Research Online, Purchase Offline’ (ROPO), which is driven mainly by the thrifty and bargain-seeking consumers, 2019 is going to be a year of the e-commerce options and business models that more enable and support the ROPO trend.

The world of e-commerce around us is ever-changing and can solely grow more considerably in 2019. All the latest technologies have been enabling these emerging trends to evolve and get adapted at a wider level with ease.

 

As an e-commerce business owner, you need to identify and embrace the trends that best suit your specific business needs and goals, enabling you to provide consumers with the best value possible.

The key is to understand that the better the user experience you offer, the better will be your sales.

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Bitkub founders want to build a blockchain ecosystem that provides a one-stop service for retail investors and enterprises in Thailand

With the objective to bridge the gap between blockchain, cryptocurrency services and non-tech users Biktub wants to be the most trusted and easy-to-use cryptocurrency exchange in Thailand.

They have successfully closed an additional THB50 million (US$ 1.67 million) pre-series A round at THB750m (US$25m) valuation from an undisclosed investor.

The funds were used for maintenance of high-end services as they are a customer-centric, and easing use, transaction speed and convenience are their top priorities.

Biktub’s cryptocurrency exchange platform provides multi-cryptocurrency wallets, user-friendly technical analysis tools, and alternative cash-out options for businesses willing to improve their payment processing systems.

One of their main goals is to accelerate cryptocurrency adoption in Thailand and the pre-series A round was used to develop infrastructures and applications, compliance program (AML/KYC), automation of workflows as well as the acquisition of additional necessary licenses. A proportion of the funds was allocated to strengthen product knowledge and talent.

Also read: How Thailand is making strides to mold Bangkok into a global startup destination

Co-founded by Topp Jirayut Srupsrisop– Thailand’s leading crypto expert, ex-Goldman employee Atichanan Pulges, and owner of Thailand’s largest bitcoin club– Sakolkorn Sakavee; Biktub currently has about 25,000 users per day want to raise an A round to expand globally.

Bitkub Capital Group Holdings Co., Ltd. consists of four main business units –Bitkub Online for the digital asset exchange platform, Bitkub Blockchain provides ICO advisory services, Bitkub Blockchain Academy works for blockchain education and Bitkub Capital acting as a venture capital firm taking care of investments.

The founders said they want to build a blockchain ecosystem that provides a one-stop service for retail investors as well as enterprises to learn, invest, and integrate blockchain technologies into their own infrastructure. They envision a tokenised world that will create an unprecedented level of financial access, privacy, and security. All these will be made viable with Bitkub acting as a thought leader in financial innovation.

Ever since their SEC license in January, they have joined hands with other blockchain and cryptocurrency entities in Asia such as Asia Blockchain Review, Finansia, and OKex to reach out more crypto enthusiasts. They also have a trading platform for Thais and partnered with Swaple to pay for products with the Dragon Siam in Bangkok.

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In Tokyo, it already offers selected local experience to Taiwanese visitors and also introduces an instant booking application for entertainment to local people

FunNow, an instant booking app for entertainment and leisure activities in Taiwan, has raised an undisclosed sum in Series A+ funding from CSV Venture Fund II.

CSV Venture Fund is managed jointly by Japan’s NEC Capital Solutions and Venture Labo Investment. 

This is CSV’s first investment in Taiwan.

The new round comes just over a year after FunNow secured US$5 million in Series A led by Alibaba Entrepreneur Fund.

“We are very honoured to have been recognised by NEC. We also think highly of the entertainment industry in Japan,” says Mic Hsieh, General Manager of FunNow Japan.

“More than 1,000 overseas merchants are now working with us to provide city entertainments for the locals in Tokyo, Okinawa, Hong Kong, and Kuala Lumpur,” said FunNow CEO TK Chen. 

“With the Series A+ round funding, we are going to expand our team and merchant supplies and continue our efforts into connecting life circles in different East Asian cities. At the same time, we are aiming to serve travellers to Tokyo for 2020 Tokyo Olympic,” Chen added.

Also Read: The perfect leader in an imperfect world: how these leaders embraced their unusual traits to lead

Launched in November 2015, FunNow allows people to book entertainment activities instantly. Its search engine and algorithm of real-time availability calculation, combined with the geolocation technology, allows customers to get a glance of all the available slots within their perimeter almost instantly. Through a few clicks, a user can make a reservation for activities such as body massage, bars or fun experiences, or a short getaway to the neighbouring cities without planning.

As of today, FunNow has around one million users and 3,000 merchants. The team has grown from 25 people in 2018 to approximately 70 this year. 

FunNow has around 1,000 merchant partners in overseas markets and continues to expand its territory to build East Asia entertainment ecosystem.

Having gained the experience from its success in Taiwan in the last four years, FunNow is expanding the business to other markets, setting foot in Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur. 

In Tokyo where it launched in July, it offers selected local experience to Taiwanese visitors to the city and also introduces an instant booking application for entertainment to residents. So far, FunNow has partnered with 300 merchants in Tokyo and Okinawa, and the number is expected to reach 500 by the end of 2019.

Kuala Lumpur is another focus for FunNow in its great entertainment ecosystem blueprint. Following the Malaysian government’s Digital Economy policies, FunNow has assisted 200-plus local massage merchants, including the largest massage chain in the nation, Healthland, to digitize their reservation process. 

Along with the expansion, the company is establishing partnerships with other brands. “This year, we also partnered with different brands, including Michelin and GQ, to hold different campaigns and try to offer diverse fun activities to our users,” said Szu-Chi Lee, CMO of FunNow. 

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Image Credit: FunNow

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3 tips to turbo-charge your SEO campaign, and what else you’ll need to know to bolster your digital presence in the modern age

Search engine optimisation has grown to become one of the most important facets of the modern economy; if your business doesn’t have a robust web presence which can easily attract new viewers, you’ll likely struggle to drum up enough income to keep the lights on.

Despite the fact that SEO campaigns have taken on new importance in most industries, many small business owners and seasoned corporate professionals have little to no experience with SEO. Rather than relying on your gut instincts, it’s imperative to learn how to master SEO for your commercial purposes.

Here are 3 tips to turbo-charge your SEO campaign, and what else you’ll need to know to bolster your digital presence in the modern age.

Know how to conduct market research properly

Launching a successful SEO campaign isn’t easy, and every company demands a unique approach to SEO if they want to achieve the best results possible. However, one universal factor which cannot be ignored is that proper market research is essential towards successful SEO campaigns.

No matter who you are or what industry you’re located in, proper market research will elucidate your target audience and the most effective means of reaching it. Without that crucial information, the rest of your SEO efforts will be in vain, so be sure to spare no time and expense when it comes to SEO market research.

Also Read: How online data is transforming market research

Research may be important, but that doesn’t mean you automatically know how to do it. Furthermore, many people who have been conducting market research for years are now sorely unfit to do so in the modern digital environment, which demands a tech-savvy approach to market research if you want to drum up interesting and actionable results.

The first step is to find out who your competitors are while determining which keywords are the most effective in your niche industry.

When conducting this kind of competitive analysis, you’ll want to review some useful SEO tools which may expedite the process.

No professional can make prudent business decisions solely on the basis of their instincts, so remember that leveraging tools to bolster your research efforts could be the deciding factor which determines the ultimate success of your SEO campaign. Fantastic SEO campaigns often rely on paid professionals, too, so don’t be afraid to solicit outside expertise if you lack the human capital you need to achieve your goals in-house.

Understand the importance of stellar content

All the market research in the world will be useless to you if you fail to recognise the importance of stellar content when it comes to a successful SEO campaign. Firms conduct market research for a reason – it teaches them about the local lay of the land and who they need to reach out to turn a profit.

These crucial insights are utterly worthless; however unless you can act upon them, which necessarily entails generating tantalising content which will leave viewers hungry for more.

Failing to make high-quality content the defining factor of your SEO campaign is the easiest way to ensure that your SEO marketing funds are spent in vain.

Many of the hardworking professionals you hire may be excellent in their respective fields but useless when it comes to writing SEO-friendly content, so be sure to familiarise yourself with the tips and tools of the trade required to churn out good work that your audience will appreciate.

Understanding the importance of stellar content necessitates that you understand good work comes with a cost. If you try to cut back on your marketing budget by minimising how much you spend on good content, the overall success of your SEO campaign will be imperilled, so be willing to spend the needed amount of money to make your SEO content sparkle.

Be aware of common mistakes

The final tip for turbocharging your SEO campaign is aware of the common mistakes which have caused countless other marketing initiatives to flounder and fail. If you do some cursory research on SEO without being well-versed in its particulars, for instance, you could end up leveraging some useful-sounding advice that’s ultimately outdated or irrelevant.

Everybody familiar with SEO can tell you the importance of keywords, for instance, yet keyword stuffing is still rife and liable to harm your SEO efforts. Jamming too many keywords into too narrow of space can backfire, as can a myriad of other “tried and true” SEO strategies that will ultimately produce lacklustre results and let you down.

Also Read: Asia’s beauty lies in its complexity: 3 strategies to do well in an Asian market

Something as simple as reading up on the common SEO mistakes which are worth avoiding could help you avoid a marketing disaster which could set your company back months.

Most of these errors can be avoided in the first place if you hire talented, well-qualified experts with a history of success, too, so don’t think that you’re inevitably going to make a mistake when you can rely on an expert.

Keeping these tips in mind, proceed with caution and soon your SEO campaigns will be performing better in no time.

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PT Visionet Internasional, widely known through its OVO platform, announces the new hire to succeed Adrian Suherman

PT Visionet Internasional (OVO), an Indonesia-based digital, rewards, and financial services platform, has appointed Karaniya Dharmasaputra as President Director. Dharmasaputra will succeed Adrian Suherman, who led OVO for three years.

Before officially announces the hiring, the company just made it official that it is the country’s fifth unicorn.

Karaniya Dharmasaputra is co-founder and CEO of Bareksa, an integrated online mutual fund marketplace in Indonesia and the Co-Founder and Chairman of Indonesia Fintech Association (Aftech).

Dharmasaputra’s previous stints include positions in local leading media companies such as KOMPAS TV, KapanLagi Youniverse, Liputan6.com, The Jakarta Post, VIVA, and Tempo.

“This trust is a mandate for me to sharpen OVO’s perspective, becoming more than a fintech company into a strategic partner for the Indonesian government in accelerating financial inclusion and digital economic growth. As more and more people adopt digital payments, we should also put a stronger focus on educating the community, enabling them to fully enjoy the benefits of the digital economy,” Dharmasaputra said.

Also Read: OVO expands to P2P lending service by acquiring Taralite

OVO first launched its mobile wallet in September 2017 and has since established itself as the fastest-growing payment platform in Indonesia.

It facilitates access to payments, transfers, top-up, withdrawals, as well as asset and investment management.

OVO claimed itself to be the most accepted platform in Indonesia, across offline retail stores, O2O platform, and e-commerce with 500,000 merchants, including 300,000 MSME merchants.

In the past year, it is extending into financial services to meet the needs of Indonesians, increase the rate of financial inclusion through a suite of capabilities. To date, OVO said it has presences in across 354 cities in Indonesia.

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Picture Credit: OVO

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Always make sure you review your infrastructure from time to time, especially when there’s a change to your business

 

Getting your startup off the ground is a process that’s both exciting and terrifying. As we now live in a tech-driven society, there’s much to consider when it comes to your tech infrastructure. Although all businesses have their unique needs, following these essential steps can give you a headstart.

Choose your hardware carefully

Always start with your hardware and make sure you think further ahead than simply choosing between Apple and Windows. Your business is likely to need a good server, and if you’re not sure what size you need, it’s time to start talking to the professionals.

If you’re planning on using computer workstations and smartphones for each of your staff members, make sure you choose a number that matches that of the team you’re planning to hire.

Alternatively, you could focus on buying a small number and then implement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy. In addition to keeping your costs low, BYOD helps you scale your business with a flexibility that avoids wasting money.
Should using a BYOD policy appeal to you, decide who’s going to take control of your employees’ data usage and consider SIM Only Plans with unlimited data to avoid additional costs.

Consider various mobile platforms

One of the most significant advantages of creating a startup in the modern world is that remote working is now the norm. Your employees can tweak projects while they’re on the move, stay in touch while they’re away at conferences, and they can work from home if you need them to.

Also Read: With infrastructure and branding advantage, UberEats is on its way to be the world leader in online food delivery

If you’re going to take a flexible approach to the way your employees work, you need to consider the mobile platforms available. Are you going to make sure they all have the same type of smartphone?

Or perhaps there’s a tablet you prefer? Whatever the answer is, start considering whether you want to use 4G or if you’d like to turn to 5G. As many smartphone manufacturers are focusing on support for 5G, choosing the latter means you’re ready for whatever the future throws at you. 

Focus on cloud storage options

Using cloud storage is an absolute must for most businesses. Hardware failures do happen, and when they’re so severe that you can no longer recover the content, you risk losing a lot of business. 

One way to safeguard yourself against hardware failures is to use cloud storage. Adding essential business data to the cloud means you can access it during adverse weather events too. With easy access, you don’t need to worry about your startup losing out on money or clients, as all the information you need is ready for you to access.

Using cloud storage also makes it easier for your team to work together when they’re not in the same location. But as you may have guessed, the cloud comes with security risks.

As a result, you need to decide which type of staff will enjoy various types of access and create a cybersecurity defence plan. Make sure you set a date for reviewing your defence plan too, as it will need to evolve alongside your business.

Outline how you’ll communicate

Excellent communication is the cornerstone of any business. In addition to knowing who they should report to, your employees need to know how to do so. If you’re dealing with confidential information, they may also need to know where they can talk about some issues. Doing this is essential for remaining legally compliant too.

Take a look at all your options. This could include encrypted emails for anything sensitive, Whatsapp groups for certain projects, and apps such as Slack for collaborative work.

If you’re going to rely on conference calls, decide what type of software you’ll use.

When choosing between different software packages, look at where they’re usable. Always make sure you think outside of PCs and laptops, as your employees and clients may be expecting to use their phones too.

Also Read: Underdeveloped payment infrastructure holding e-commerce in Indonesia&

If you’re using a service provider, ask them when their customer service centres are open. Additionally, ask what their response times are. It’s essential that you pick an organisation that’s readily available when you need its assistance. Otherwise, you may find that you’re left without your usual mode of communication, which then results in business downtime. 

Decide who can access what

During the earlier phases of establishing your startup, you may not need to create an information access plan. As time goes on and roles in your business become more defined, it’s necessary to decide who can access what.

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether a particular type of employee needs to be able to access confidential information in order to do their job well. Additionally, you could ask whether they can use that information to their advantage in the workplace. If the answer to either of those questions is ‘no’, you need to find a company that can help you restrict access.

Restricting access to information isn’t about creating a hierarchy. It is about reducing the likelihood of data breaches and helping you comply with your state’s legislation. Over time, it’s also an assurance for your clients who may look at confidentiality as a way of choosing between you and a competitor. 

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Many startup founders treat their venture like an egg: if this one fails, they’ll go hatch another

There are many challenges in translating technology into business. These include uncertainty in demand from the market, finding right people to deal with, getting your first client (most potential clients are reluctant to be a guinea pig), and finding enough of a business incentive to justify the risk.

There’s also often a lack of hard data (or track record) to prove the benefit of a new solution. And for customers, its benefit should exceed its transfer cost from whatever existing platform or technology they are using currently.

We need only look at “successful” technology businesses that have good technology but are still bleeding money to see the challenges inherent: Uber, Amazon, and a handful of other tech wunderkinds.

Biggest nightmare: doubting founder commitment

The founder’s uncertainty around technology and commercialization is often a problem, but as an investor there’s something else that keeps me up at night.

Whenever I meet with new technologies or new types of business, I am not sure whether these founders are fully committed to its execution, success and vision. This comes back to point two from above: lack of commitment.

Also read: Meet the VC: Marvelstone CEO Joel Ko on why every founder should experience failure

Many startup founders seem to be treating their venture like just one of many possible eggs: if this one fails, they’ll go hatch another. (Or maybe they’re even working on more than one startup at once. Unless they’re Jack Dorsey, they should probably not be doing this.)

Another risk I see all too often is a glaring lack of information about competing technologies and alternatives on the part of the founding team. Not knowing your market and competitors inside out when raising money from investors is not going to inspire confidence. You should be committed to knowing your customer and competitors of your technology.

All of these factors and more must be considered if a new technology business wants to have a chance at overcoming challenges and risks inherent in bringing a new solution to the market. But, without doubt, commitment is the most important.

Don’t try to change his or her mindset

There are a few key mindset shifts required for successful venture creation – for both founders and investors. It’s very difficult to change key mindsets required for successful venture creation.

Founders and investors are coming to the table from different perspectives. Nevertheless, the first starting point will be to enhance their understanding of each other, with the working assumption that I cannot change him or her.

If you cannot sense the commitment, in the beginning, it is unlikely to come later. Mutual agreement and beneficial policy between parties are vital. Relentless persistence to succeed and patience during the hard times is key.

While it mostly fails to translate technology into viable businesses (just look at the scientist Nikola Tesla, who died in 1943 almost penniless), it’s easier to have a chance at succeeding if you know how to reduce the downside (risks such as lack of commitment) and maximise upside (mutual understanding, patience, etc.).

As an investor, these are some of the challenges I see. Of course, it’s always wonderful when a breakthrough happens and a new technology goes hand-in-hand with a solid business and a committed founder.

More time is usually required than expected or planned for in the completion and commercialization of new technology. So we should be patient. If you can do all of that and filter potential investments for high commitment levels, I’m sure we will enjoy many more restful nights as investors.

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Internet marketing impacts a business in several important ways, and the right use of it can get your business at the top

 

Internet marketing refers to the process of promoting your business or brand and the products or services using different marketing activities that are conducted online.

Nowadays, the importance of internet marketing services is rapidly increasing around the world. Businesses are now shifting from mass marketing to internet marketing as they want a more personalised, effective and low-communication with their targeted audiences.

There is a huge number of benefits of internet marketing advantages so that people who want to start an online business can get a clearer image of what they are getting into.

Reach potential customers globally

To reach potential customers around the world is the primary and foremost benefit of internet marketing, you can deliver your products and services with the help of it.

With proper use of SEO techniques, you can reach the maximum number of people and engage them on your website.

Honestly, I think that there are many internet marketing benefits, but this particular one acts as a medium with which you can secure the regions beyond your physical reach, securing customers and increasing engagement from all across the world.

Build a long-lasting relationship with your customers

In my opinion internet marketing allows a business to establish long term relationships with the customers. As long as a business has an online presence, they will remain in touch with their customers, and their customers can easily approach them whenever they want to.

Internet marketing benefits them in a way that whenever a business has some new information that it wants to convey to the customers, it can easily do so by just emailing them. Old marketing techniques suggested to distribute pamphlets and visiting cards to the customers, but usually, a customer misplaces them during the event. He or she might not even remember your business until they want to make another purchase.

Honestly, internet marketing has changed, you can collect the e-mail addresses of your customers and you can contact them easily. You can easily convey them the new information or the new packages and offers you have in store. The good news is to build a long-lasting and a more engaging relationship with your customers.

Ease of communication

Communicating with the customers was never much easy as it is today. Right? There are now several ways through which a firm having an online presence can communicate with its customers quite easily.

To be very honest the most straightforward way of communicating with anyone is through the internet, no matter where the other person is, you can easily contact them. This is one of the internet marketing benefits which have made the lives of businesses way easier and simpler than before.

Also Read: Specific digital marketing strategy considerations for Hong Kong

There are firms that provide small business marketing services and local business marketing services to firms that do not have a big budget but still want to communicate their message to customers all over the world.

Use of social media in internet marketing

Social media is a huge part of internet marketing, right? Well, yes. People now are providing marketing services through this particular medium. Internet marketing has not only created ease for business but has also created business opportunities for people even on social media.

There are many firms that want to promote themselves and even have the budget to do so, but they don’t know how to. You can now provide local and small businesses with local business marketing services and small business marketing services by just realising them the importance of internet marketing.

All you need to do is to build up an audience on social media, which is not difficult these days. Creating a page with numerous likes or an account with millions of followers is not a big deal if you know how to capture the audience. Providing businesses with internet marketing services are the next big thing that is now possible with social media.

Internet marketing is cost-effective

Making sure that your marketing campaigns don’t cost you a fortune is significant. Well, with the increase in the competition, you have to make sure that you reach a maximum number of potential customers within the limited budget you have.

There are numerous advantages of Internet marketing which are awesome out of which one is that it is cost-effective and is way cheaper than television ads or print media ads. Internet marketing has a wider reach than other advertising mediums, you can reach your customer in no time, without worrying about any additional cost or hassle.

People are introducing latest internet marketing services to know that this particular medium is very much affordable and less time consuming than other possible mediums. Let’s say that you want to advertise your latest product or service and want a maximum number of people to know about it.

Also Read:  10 digital marketing strategies for startups

For this you might have to print out brochures or would have to send out emails, this would not take out a lot of your time but also a considerable amount from your marketing budget. You’d have to print them out, deliver them and then make sure that they reach the respective people on time.

On the contrary, you’d just have to send out e-mails carrying the same information and they can even be personalized, or you can post the information on social media and save yourself from all the efforts of printing and posting.

A personalised platform for advertising and communication

Personalisation is another benefit of internet marketing. It can boost up your sales and can retain your existing customers.

Through this platform, you can advertise your products on a more personalised level, keeping in mind the target audiences. You can also personalise the communication between you and your customers.

Capture audiences demographically

To be very honest mass marketing is the reason due to which 90 per cent of the customers that visit your site do not become your regular customers. Through internet marketing service or internet marketing business, you can easily target an audience demographically.

It is creating a more developed strategy to acquire more valuable clients. It is proven with research that you can get eight times more customers if you advertise on custom-based strategies.

In other words, internet marketing allows you to target your customers specifically, whom you think is more likely to make a purchase. Rather than focusing on the mass itself, internet marketing lets you focus on more suitable or potential customers.

Businesses can now multitask with internet marketing

Having an online presence is very important for businesses nowadays, not because they have to but because if they don’t, they’ll miss out on a lot of benefits it comes along with.

Multitasking is yet another benefit of internet marketing which is awesome; you can deal now with numerous customers simultaneously. It works if you have a well-designed user-friendly website, a website designed so finely that it can run on any device.

Even with a large of transactions taking place from all over the world, you can still make sure that your other clients are being provided with the best services. This will not only provide a satisfactory service to the customers but will also give them the best shopping experience.

Internet marketing provides measurable results for future changes

Providing small business marketing services or even local business marketing services is of no use if you cannot even measure the results of your activities.

This is where one realises the importance of internet marketing, and you can now easily measure the number of customers you have gained or even engaged. This aspect of having the ability to measure and track results is rarely found in any traditional marketing technique.

There are different tools available online which can perform this task for you; these tools can easily track the results of the marketing activities which were done.

Tracking results is a way you get to know that ho effective your marketing campaign was or to what extent it worked. If you don’t know the results, you’ll never be able to make changes and have better results. These benefits of tracking and measuring results are for every business that wants to make their marketing activities more effective.

Internet marketing is more valuable, faster and engaging

Internet marketing is more valuable, faster and engaging than anything else to make customers buy your products and services. For this, you can create ads using social media, which are not only promoting the product but is also entertaining. Anything can go viral these days as long as people like it, you need to develop such ads for your campaigns which are innovative.

People have different options on social media from liking the post, to commenting on it or sharing it. You can communicate your message through this medium faster and engage more valuable customers through it. Out of many advantages of internet marketing, this is for the ones who are innovative and creative.

Data can be easily collected without any hassle

Collecting data from traditional marketing techniques was very difficult. Engaging the customers in long talks was boring as well as time taking.

Basically, transactions through the internet allow you to collect data from the customer, which is pretty good.  Mostly, like age, gender, how they got to your site, what sites they visited after closing your site. This information is very important for a business as it can help them in analysing the behaviour of the customer. There are different tools online that can also do the job. Amazing, right?

Most businesses use this information to personalise the ads or promotions viewed by those customers. So that they can grab their attention in a better and more effective way. Top Marketing Companies provide small business marketing services or local business marketing services nowadays.

24/7 Marketing is now possible through the internet

you can advertise your business for 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Moreover, you won’t have to worry about giving wages for extra shifts of the staff or about spending extra time on the store.

Firms proving local business marketing services charge them a lot for just marketing in the local region, while now you won’t have to worry about it. Out of many internet marketing benefits, one is that you don’t have to worry about time variations across the world, no matter where your customer is, they can easily make a purchase with worrying about closing hours of the store.

Whenever one might open their computer, there is a high chance of them seeing your marketing campaign online. The importance of internet marketing is a lot for businesses these days and can make your business reach the top.

Automate your marketing tasks

We have discussed many advantages of internet marketing; automated marketing tasks is the last one on our list of benefits. Internet marketing introduced automated marketing, which just a click away from the user.

Also Read: 7 valuable ways to attract new investors through a digital medium

You can automate the e-mails being sent to your customers, or you can use AdRoll for aggressively targeting your existing customer base. Basically, with the help of internet marketing and the use of the right tools, you can automate your marketing campaigns.

These benefits are discussed for businesses that have a limited budget, time, labour or physical existence. They can improve not only workplace performance but also peace of mind.

Final thought

If you have an offline business, you should consider moving it online as internet marketing can take it to the next level.

For this, you must have a grip on digital marketing and should know about the advantages.

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Do you already have an editorial calendar for your content marketing strategy?

The creation of content requires planning based on objectives. Therefore it is vital that your business has a document in which you have developed the path that you will follow.

If you still think that you do not need an editorial calendar, or do not know its relevance to your business, I will make you comprehend why you should think otherwise.

The editorial calendar is the skeleton and one of the most relevant steps of the content marketing strategy that you can use for your business.

Why your business should have a publishing calendar

Surely you think that you want more, that this is not enough to convince you. Here are some strong reasons why your company needs to have an editorial calendar.

1. Keeps you informed of what you are publishing

An editorial calendar allows you to know at all times the topics that publish every day.

It will help you maintain balance and quality in all your posts and publications, whether in a blog or on social networks.

If you have a well-organised and defined calendar, you will improve and simplify your resources. All this means that the people in charge of creating the content can work with more foresight and which can result in the higher quality of the content.

2. Avoid publishing at the wrong time

Before making the editorial calendar, you must recognise those important dates and times to publish.

Knowing the time when there is a more significant impact on your business will allow you to avoid posts that receive few interactions and remain in oblivion. You must bear in mind that not every day or the same hours work the same for all businesses.

Once you identify those important dates, place the content in advance in the editorial calendar. Working with margin time will be a great help. Once the vital moment arrives, you will have a resource of great scope and quality.

3. Find the balance

With a publishing calendar, you will know which platform to use the most. The different networks have different policies, and you should adapt to this while making your posts.

Establish the channels for which you are going to publish each content. For example, some platforms prefer text, while others prefer images and videos much better.

4. It facilitates corrections and adjustments

A well-designed editorial calendar will not allow low-quality content to be released. Having a forecast of all your publications includes enough time for review. This leads to an error or unfit element being removed or reformed in time.

5. Proper targeting

If there is one thing that you can achieve with your editorial calendar, it is to order to which each post is directed to specific people. If you do not have a plan for your content marketing strategy, it is easy to end up talking about similar topics and therefore not being able to diversify your content. This may cause part of your audience to end up abandoning you.

Surely, you are now convinced of the importance of having an editorial calendar for your business; a tool that allows you to think in the long term through the organization.

What data should you include in your editorial calendar?

I just told you about the benefits that an editorial calendar can bring to your company. Maybe now you ask yourself: What should I include in it? I do not want you to have any doubts. Therefore I will talk to you about what you should indicate in this document:

Frequency of publication

The best way to structure everything you are going to communicate is to add the contents you are going to publish for weeks. It includes each one of the social networks or blogs, as well as the time and day in which you are going to do it. The pace of publication in social networks is not the same in all, so it is important that you adapt your content to each of them.

Remember that the better you study everything you put on your calendar, the greater the scope and impact it will have. Therefore, before choosing hours or dates at random, you must perform an analysis of the activity of your target audience. This will tell you during which slots you can get the most impact on your audience.

Author

In most cases, different people are responsible for publishing posts or using social networks. Indicates who will do each content and also in what network or blog will be published. It will benefit not only your business but also the publishers themselves and the quality of what is published.

Social networks

Specifies in which social network or blog each content will be published. Remember that not on all platforms will you be able or will it be convenient to make the same post. It may even be convenient to change the format of one network to another.

As a tip, I will tell you that not all social networks work the same for the same business. Do not think that being in all possible social networks is synonymous with success.

Choose and observe well which are better suited to what you want to communicate and, above all, through which you better meet the needs of your audience. If you have a presence on different social networks, some applications can make your life easier when publishing contents.

Titles

The headline of any publication is the most important and what encourages the reader to continue reading. That is why many times, it can be a headache to choose the most appropriate title. Remember that you must put a lot of effort into creating a title that becomes viral and with which you get more visits and visibility.

Keywords

For a content strategy to be successful, a vital factor is knowing the keywords with which your business is identified. In the case of each content you post, it happens the same. Find those words that will serve to position and give greater visibility to any of your publications. Also, this will guide you once the moment of creation arrives.

Call to action

Any text that you include in a blog or social network must have memorable phrases. I’m talking about those “call to action” elements that will cause your followers to interact more easily with your content.

Audiovisual contents

Today the power of images and videos is huge. Include in your document everything you want besides the text: banners, video clips, infographics, ebooks, podcasts, etc.

Now you have enough reasons why your business should have an editorial calendar, and you also know what you should include in it.

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Editor’s note: e27 publishes relevant guest contributions from the community. Share your honest opinions and expert knowledge by submitting your content here.

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