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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 13, 2015 3:21 AM
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While building and maintaining a web presence has become easier than ever, it can be a laborious and expensive process. That’s where The Grid comes in. The San Francisco startup, currently in beta, provides a URL, hosting services and a dead-simple app -- not a complicated content management system -- on which to build a website.
All users do is move text, video and photos into The Grid’s program. Once the content is loaded, The Grid’s artificial intelligence arranges it into a sleek layout based on best practices for user-interface architecture and SEO. It knows, for instance, if it’s building an e-commerce page and will create boxes beneath the images for descriptive copy. Prices are automatically turned into click-through buttons that lead to the checkout page.
More impressive, The Grid’s AI makes thematic suggestions to improve the overall vibe of the site and its effectiveness, analyzing colors, photographs and text so it understands the subject matter....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 13, 2015 3:02 AM
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Everyone’s been raving about the popularity of web video this year, but a less talked-about form of visual content—interactive websites—can be way more engaging. These sites draw the viewer inside rich stories with stunning photography, videos, words, and interactive elements that create a stimulating personal experience.
These are some of the best and brightest stars in a constellation of excellent interactive websites (we’re spending a lot of time in the dark this time of year—apologies for using a ridiculous metaphor). Anyway, these are some of the things we think a really good interactive experience should do: - Make massive amounts of data accessible and relatable - Inform or entertainUse interactivity to create a distinct experience for each viewer - Create an emotional connection that static content wouldn’t have
Here are 24 of our favorites, as nominated by the folks around the Visually office. This includes a mix of interactives from news media, brands, geopolitical organizations, and designers who are just doing it for fun. If you really want to dig deep, you can also check out a complete list of our staff picks from the Visually Community....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 13, 2015 2:24 AM
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Consider not using multiple sliders – or possibly a single call to action could be displayed using slightly different slide backgrounds. It’s easy to do and a plugin like Smart Slider 3 will allow you to use a single slide with all kinds of animations – there is no disputing the fact that done right, slides are capable of improving the visual appearance of your website.
Smart Slider 3 a great plugin that is available in both free and premium versions. This post is going to be a bit of a combination – Covering an overview of the plugins features, and also a basic tutorial that demonstrates how easy it is to set up a slider and have it published to your website in a very short period of time....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 13, 2015 1:31 AM
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Visual Content really matters. Unlike in previous years, people nowadays make split decisions on whether to read through your article based on the images you provide with your content. That’s why the selection of the different visuals you will use must be as carefully planned as the actual content.
Good thing though that technology is really evolving. It gives you all sorts of apps and tools that you can use to create wonderful visual content that will make your readers take notice.
Yes, raw pictures are still okay but you can enhance them in such a way that you can make them look like world class photographers took the picture. You can even create graphics that will help you explain your entire article with just one image. Below are 5 tools that will help you create the most engaging visual content...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 11:41 PM
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There are a number of indicators that point to the fact that consumers are self-educating now more than ever. With the wealth of information available online, it has become easy for people to educate themselves on pretty much any topic, and purchase products and services that help improve their lives.
Blending Brand Loyalty
I recently made a decision to improve my diet. After doing some research online, I learned that adding nutritious smoothies to my morning routine could improve my health and increase my alertness throughout the day (selfishly helping me close more sales). The information I was reading was easy to find, and backed by several doctor’s recommendations.
It turns out the information I was consuming was published by a blender company. This piqued my interest. The blender was expensive, but it would play an instrumental role in helping me achieve my personal goals, so it was a no-brainer to execute the purchase. At no point in this process did I ever speak with a broker or direct sales person at the blender company. I went online (after doing some price comparisons) and purchased the blender on a popular e-commerce site....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 11:19 PM
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In an attempt to modernize the retail experience for sellers, four Nest alums are launching b8ta, a software-driven brick-and-mortar store in Palo Alto, to sell Internet of Things gadgets and products on Friday. The entire b8ta experience is technology-driven — from the way companies get their products into b8ta to the way customers interact with the products.
With b8ta, the goal is to get innovative products like the Gi Flybike, a folding electric bicycle, and Thync, a wearable for achieving mindfulness and boosting energy, into physical stores and enable customers to have real, tactile experiences with them....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 11:00 PM
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The Internet of Things will be made up of many things that are constantly on the move.
Many of the connected objects will be stationary, of course, and a lot of those already are being put in place.
There are the obvious smart objects, such as connected thermostats at home and beacons in stores.
And then there are some that are not so obvious, such as the 100 Los Angeles street lights with Wi-Fi built in and the small cells inside manhole covers in Zurich that are linked to the landline infrastructure....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 4:15 AM
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As we approach a new year, we wonder what 2016 holds in store for online marketers.In 1993, web publisher Global Network Navigator sold the first online ad to a law firm in Silicon Valley. Since then, the online marketing trends have evolved year after year, introducing new functionality and fresh strategies to meet the ever-changing demand. As we approach a new year, we wonder what 2016 holds in store for online marketers....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 2:32 AM
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DIVE BRIEF: Some 40% of all adults “always” or “most of the time” search Amazon, compared to 10% who say they never do, according to the latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey.
And half of Americans searching Amazon also make a purchase there, compared to the paltry 3% that retailers on average see search turn to purchase, the survey found.
The phenomenon is an all ages affair. While most consumers searching Amazon are in general younger, wealthier, better educated, and more likely to live on the West or East coasts, Amazon also snags 41% of American consumers 65 years old or older for search on its site, and almost half of them also buy....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 2:16 AM
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While similarities exist across all age groups, some key differences emerge immediately. First the similarities: Most U.S. adults intend to spend the same amount or more while shopping online during this season as compared to a year ago. 85% of U.S. Adults 18 and older plan to do so, ranging from 86% of 18-54 year olds to 83% of those 55 and older. Additionally, most consumers across all age groups plan to spend at least as much as they did last year on the top retail categories of Clothing and Electronics. Roughly three-quarters of U.S. adults plan to spend at least as much this season as they did last year on Clothing and Shoes and roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults plan to spend the same or more on Electronics. However, Clothing and Electronics spending plans do vary by age group with younger shoppers more likely than older consumers to spend the same or more on Electronics (75% of A18-34 vs. 57% of A65+) and Clothing (82% of A18-34 vs. 71% of A65+ on Children’s Clothing, 78% of A18-34 vs. 63% of A65+ on Shoes).
Beyond spending plans, younger consumers are more prone to being influenced by digital and mobile media than older shoppers are in their Clothing purchases. Overall, 1 in 4 U.S. adults report that they are influenced by Email Ads and 1 in 5 by Internet Ads in their Clothing purchases. More U.S. adults are influenced by Email (26%) than Broadcast TV (21%) and more by Internet Ads (19%) than Cable TV (13%) in their Clothing purchases. Digital influence is more pronounced among 18-34 year olds shopping for Clothing: 1 in 3 are Influenced by Email Ads, 1 in 4 by Internet Ads and 1 in 5 by Social Media. This younger demo is also twice as likely as the general adult population to be influenced by Mobile Video, Blogs or Web Radio. 35-54 year olds parallel the general adult population in digital media influence on Clothing purchases and 55-64 year olds are a bit less influenced by these media. Fewer clothing shoppers 65 and older are influenced by any media but twice as many of them are influenced by Internet Ads (10%) than Cable TV (5%)....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 10, 2015 11:53 AM
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A new Xerox ‘State of Customer Service in 2015’ survey reveals that almost half (49%) of consumers believe that they will not have to pay for their media services by 2025 – regardless if they prefer traditional media (48%) such as film, TV, music, radio, news and sports outlets established in the pre-Internet age or new digital media (47%), such as social media, which exists exclusively online.
Today, 43% of consumers pay to access their favorite media outlets. Two thirds (66%) of these high-value, paid subscription media consumers disagree that the quality media they have become accustomed to will be available for free in the coming 10 years.
The report asked 6,000 media consumers in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States to reveal the status of media in their lives, finding that dependency on the channel through which most of today’s media is consumed, the Internet, is not set to waver in the next decade. In fact, over two thirds (69%) of consumers predict that access to the Internet will become a basic human right in a decade’s time....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 9, 2015 11:29 PM
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Web design has a big influence on internet presence, affecting things like how traffic interacts with a website (bounce- and conversion-rates) to how effective the site is in the context of SEO and branding. While content is obviously crucial to any site, the aesthetic presentation of that content is equally important. To get a feel for good web design and visually arresting content, here are 20 of the most beautiful websites in 2015.
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 9, 2015 11:13 PM
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The key to a successful Twitter marketing strategy involves frequently studying the data you have on hand to inform your strategy moving forward. It’s easy to guess what kind of content will perform well if you know what has worked in the past. One of the best ways to dig into the data you have is to perform your own Twitter audit.
Though the term audit may jog unpleasant thoughts of the IRS, you can leave your W2s in the shoebox under your bed. Instead, this article shows you how to pull, visualize and make sense of your Twitter data so that you can make informed decisions about your future strategy....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 13, 2015 3:08 AM
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In this post i will be giving you more actionable insights from my post of yesterday where i promised to give you a two-part series of what to expect in Social Pay Per Click (PPC) and Targeting in 2016 and how you can use it to attract more customers and revenue to you business.
In case you missed the first segment, you can read it here.
Still sticking with Nativedge’s Techsuccess interview with Larry Kim, I be elaborating to insights that you should really pay close attention to if you want to gain competitive advantage in 2016 and beyond . In the interview, he cites two things namely: Rise of Mobile & Identity based targeting.
That will be the focus of this article on the need for you to pay close attention to the rise of mobile and identity based targeting. Below is an excerpt form our interview:...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 13, 2015 2:46 AM
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What should You Expect From a Landing Page Builder Plugin?
Unless you’re comfortable building your landing page from scratch, including HTML and CSS, drag and drop functionality is critical. Most of the plugin options included below let allow you to create beautiful landing pages using a user-friendly interface and drag and drop functionality.
Split testing should also be supported – the only way you can improve your landing page results is by testing multiple versions and implementing the most effective elements.It goes without saying that responsive design is a must-have feature. On average, over 50% of traffic comes from mobile devices and mobile responsiveness is vital presenting to a good user experience.
What Are Some of The Most Popular Options?
These are several popular options when it comes time to pick a landing page plugin. Let’s take a quick look at 10 possible options...
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 13, 2015 2:04 AM
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Not a web designer or developer? You may prefer free tools for creating infographics.
As author, data journalist and information designer David McCandless said in his TED talk: “By visualizing information, we turn it into a landscape that you can explore with your eyes, a sort of information map. And when you’re lost in information, an information map is kind of useful.”
There are many different ways of telling a story, but everything starts with an idea. So to help you get started we’ve rounded up some of the most awesome data visualization tools available on the web....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 12, 2015 10:54 AM
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Each year, we see new trends surfacing in the world of presentation design. From passing fads to design standards that will endure beyond 2016, these trends will continue to shape the way presentations are created and delivered before boardrooms, classrooms or even TED audiences across the globe.
While some of them may exist only for the sake of aesthetics, others have actually been adopted to suit the needs and preferences of modern-day consumers. For example, the use of flat design, many experts say, is more than just the latest craze; it responds to the fact that realist elements are very hard to incorporate into responsive systems designed for screens of all sizes.
To keep you up to date with the latest design techniques, we’ve compiled a list of presentation design techniques that will help you create a presentation that looks fresh and contemporary–just like the content you will hopefully deliver to your audiences....
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Rescooped by
Jeff Domansky
from MarketingHits
December 11, 2015 11:32 PM
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Great infoSocial media is an ever-changing beast. You almost can’t have a business in this day and age without a presence in the online world and specifically, at least, one of the big eight social media sites. Gone are the days where only teens frequented MySpace to chat with friends. Social media is here to stay, and people are looking online for your business so you’d better present your best.
Via Brian Yanish - MarketingHits.com
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 11:09 PM
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The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a phenomenon and an entity. It refers to the way Internet connectivity has expanded to include everyday objects and to how those everyday objects interoperate with our daily lives.
No longer do we “access” the Internet. The Internet is ever-present. It operates as an automated entity that can carry out functions that reflect and affect the physical world. We conduct business, live our lives, and dictate our affairs in its presence and based on its rules. Anything from your refrigerator to your key fob could be connected.
Forbes contributor Jacob Morgan wrote,
"If it has an on and off switch then chances are it can be a part of the IoT."
Increasingly, however, IoT devices may not even have an on/off switch.
In the wake of this ubiquity, massive implications exist for policy, safety, government, regulation, privacy, provision, and technology....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 10:52 PM
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It has been said that designing a blog is easy, a-no brainer. Pick a template from the myriads out there all readily available on any platform and you’ll be good to go, right?
But popping images and text into an existing template will likely translate into another generic looking blog. And in today’s growing blogging industry, being just another sheep in the herd won’t do much for your traffic. Differentiating your blog from others in the same niche by creating a blog designed with a bit more character will turn you into the sheep they’ll remember.
Creating a stunning blog does not necessarily mean building your own layout from scratch. You can take advantage of a template, let it do most of the heavy lifting, and pair it with a thoughtfully designed header to start engaging your target audience. Use them to set the mood and visually communicate what your blog is all about. They don’t have to be terribly complex, just tailored to fit your blog beautifully. Below, we showcase 50 awesome blogs with headers that make great first impressions and feature great content....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 2:40 AM
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Coined by the fearless leader and editor of “The Robin Report,” Robin Lewis, “The race to the bottom” is now the perfect catchall phrase for the dynamic we see at play now. (Full disclosure: I have valued Robin’s work for over 25 years, and think he is a complete visionary.)
The phrase not only refers to a price proposition, but also to the value proposition that I call “emotional gross margin” or EGM. EGM is the intangible value when you appeal to a consumer in ways beyond the product value. When you dilute your EGM, all you have left is a commodity. And everyone has commodities. The reality today is that we have created an experience for the consumer that is contributing to the dilution of an emotional gross margin. The diminishment of this so-important value proposition is creating an unending cycle that feeds on itself, further diluting the emotional connection.
You can now buy clothing for less than you pay for pizza at Dominos. The commoditization of apparel has finally hit its stride. Clothing is now the new fast food. And we digest it just as fast, or even faster.
At the same time, the consumer is smart enough to know that the price tag on a garment is simply a placeholder for an inevitable discount. By price promoting in this way, we have created an environment that has no end game and is jeopardizing our customers’ trust in our brands, it’s a game of chicken and we always blink....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 2:24 AM
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The report highlights three key predictions addressing the use of facial recognition as a marketing tool in 2016.
The first is that marketers will use facial recognition software to attract more subscribers to visit retail stores, enticing customers with so-called “deals at the door.”Additionally, brands can use these deals delivered via facial recognition software to motivate consumers to return to retail stores to make a purchase.
Second, marketers will use facial recognition software to provide consumers with more personalized deals, promotions and product suggestions. As consumers enter the store, the combined use of cameras and facial recognition software are able to collect a handful of metrics, including height, weight, gender and approximate age.
Third, marketers will use facial recognition software to learn more about a customer’s buying habits over time to ultimately develop long-term customer relationships....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 11, 2015 2:04 AM
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User reviews are a proven sales driver, a survey has revealed, so what are people really searching for and what decisions does this lead to?
Well, this infographic from PeopleClaim explains exactly how user reviews affect consumers’ decision-making when buying a product.
This infographic shows: - If an issue is handled quickly, 95% of customers will return - 70% consult reviews before purchase - Reviews drive higher loyalty and purchase satisfaction....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 9, 2015 11:35 PM
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So you’ve heeded Google’s warning, you’ve got your website mobile friendly, but is your content optimised for mobile users too?
A paragraph of text on a large screen can seem like an essay on a mobile device. Take the time to break your content up into easy to follow slices in order to provide mobile visitors with the best possible user experience.
Vertical Leap share some great tips to help you achieve this in the infographic below....
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Scooped by
Jeff Domansky
December 9, 2015 11:22 PM
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Instagram is by far the sexiest social platform on the mainstream market. Its entire design behind its existence is to expose content in its purest form with simplicity and consistency. Until just recently was it virtually free of sponsored ads, but even now that the floodgates have opened for brands to promote, the experience hasn't been rattled.
Sure, it has its bumps and bruises. Some seemingly intentional, others just plain frustrating (come on multiple account login and multiple hashtag search). But overall, Instagram has totally proven to be the purest social platform, especially for us visual learners.
As we've learned with being successful on social media, with great product comes great demand. And with great demand comes high competition. As the platform grows, the harder it is to be heard on it. And even if you do generate tons of followers, if you're a brand, the next question is, how do I convert and actually get a return on the time I'm investing in building this account? So, instead of giving up hope, thinking you'll never have an Instavoice, here are 7 steps to producing a stunning Instagram account that actually converts....
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Now, websites are as easy as drag-and-drop. Impressive! Recommended viewing. 9/10