Thursday, January 26, 2017

Top 10 Most Trendy Website Niche this 2017

Planning to get started with blogging?

Excellent!

There are tons of topics and blog niches waiting to be written and you might just be able to do a good break. But even if you don’t have any grand dreams of building thousands of followers or even monetizing your site, knowing the niches that are often visited by many readers will help. After all, why blog publicly if you don’t want your voice to be heard in the first place?

Here are ten niches you can explore to see if your plan blog falls in the popular and most in-demand ones.

Technology or Gadget

This is a top pick for tech-savvy online readers who are also fans of the latest mobile developments from their favorite brands. It can cover posts such as list post on the most popular apps, recent mobile model releases up to the most ground-breaking discoveries in the tech world.



Fashion

With the clothing industry now in a boom, it’s no surprise to see a drastic increase in consumers who buy new fashion clothes and accessories to perfect their getup. There are ‘fashionistas’ who go an extra mile and write something about their experience and thoughts on the latest clothing line they’ve tried. From dresses, casual attire to shoes and jewels, this niche has proven to gather one of the biggest subscriptions in the blogosphere.

Lifestyle

You must have tried reading something about health tips, diet hacks and productivity posts in the past. These topics are part of the lifestyle niche. They seek to provide helpful information for people around the world especially to adults about how to improve one’s life. You also often read real-life stories being featured in these posts.

Self-help

Whether it’s about time management, pursuing success, or developing a better building routine, self-help blogs can provide you both with real story information from actual people and research-backed data. In the busy lifestyle most people in the city have, self-help information are viewed with certain degree of importance by a number of people.

Writing or Blogging

You might be surprised by the amount of people who show interest in the act of blogging. A number of self-employed individuals and even startup entrepreneurs find help on popular blogging sites to get ideas on how to get started as well as the usual do’s and don’ts.



Food

We all have to agree that when it comes to food, everyone just seemed to have their own favorite. Blogs under this niche cover a variety of topics from the must-try local delicacies of a city up to the most exotic and delectable street foods anyone can try while on an overseas trip in a particular country.

Travel

Foods can be a sub-category for this niche, but this is in itself is a big area to explore. With the increased number of people who travel around various places, we see a significant increase in travel blogs too. From personal experience to budget breakdown, this niche might just be what you’re looking for when planning your own trip.

Marketing

This one’s popular among entrepreneurs though a lot of business students also show high interest in making reliable blogs as their regular reference for studying. Topics such as B2B marketing, professional etiquette up to case studies on the recent status of a digital marketing services in the Philippines, are covered by this category.

DIY and How-to

With the increase of high-priced goods, there is now a solid fanbase for personal blogs and websites that features DIY instructional guide on how to do something or How-to tips. It covers a variety of sub-categories too like interior designing, creative journaling, recycling and more.



Reviews (movies, books, cosmetics, etc.)

Last but not the least are those reviews you often encounter when searching for a definition or comment about a show, product and even books. Many people now want to hear what other buyers think about a product before making the purchase themselves and review blogs do a great deal of providing reliable information on this.


 Make a list of general things you want to write about. Focus on a niche, refer to our list and start blogging!  

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Building Authenticity on Your Online Marketing Strategy

Being authentic develops trust. Inauthentic efforts on the other hand evokes fear. This doesn’t just apply to your relationship with the people in your life but also in business. Customers don’t trust companies who do not feel real.

Even the slightest matter that could make you appear inauthentic is already a huge turnoff. If you have lots of competitors in the market, then it’s worse news. They can easily ride on your authenticity and establish their own trustworthiness by positioning their brand on the better end.



Industries such as SEO company in the Philippines need to be constantly in the loop for what is hit in business while at the same time staying true and ethical in their operations.

There are various means on how you can start cementing your authenticity, but it’s important to note that they are not necessarily easy. With the nu9mber of companies who are seeking the attention of your market, standing out may take more time than what you initially projected.


Responding to comments promptly


Skilled online marketers know that responding to comments is necessary to make your followers be aware of your brand’s authenticity. Surely, no one wants to drop a question without expecting for an answer.

When blogging or sharing on social media, for instance, there are times when readers leave their inquiries and clarification on the comments section rather than spend time dropping a private message on your contact details. There are some who go to your contact page, but more choose to go over the comments section.



Not responding or recognizing the issue of a commenter is already a form of response in itself. Remember that people are waiting for your response. And if they don’t hear from you soon, it may leave the impression of being unreliable or untrustworthy. In business, this is the last thing you want to have as an impression.

Another common thing you must observe are those negative reviews and comments made by other people about your post. You can’t impress everyone, and while you may receive lots of praise, it’s not a guarantee that everyone who encounters your content will agree with it.

Yet there are content marketers who choose to delete these negative comments, afraid that they may discourage other buyers from buying their goods. The thing is, instead of doing good for their company’s cause, this may only create a negative image for your brand especially if the commenter decides to spread the word and claim how you deleted his or her comment.

Competent online marketers know the importance of respecting freedom of expression in public commenting, and therefore refrains from removing these negative comments. Rather, they make sure the negatives are being addressed immediately through prompt replies online.

Showing transparency for mistakes


No business is entirely perfect. Even the most established names at present had their own deal of misfortunes in the past. These failures did not stop them from making things better, thus the current popularity the enjoy.



All small and startup companies can learn a thing or two from these companies. Every time you commit mistakes, honesty is imperative. While it’s the communication department’s role to control the flow of information, it wouldn’t hurt to admit one’s mistake to make sure that current and potential clients have a clear view on your side.

Bottom line


Trust is fragile. It is something earned. Staying authentic to your branding by building rapport with your customers is an excellent way to ensure that you keep their trust. However, keeping this is a challenge considering the tough market competition and the dynamic changes happening in the industry. Still, there is no substitute to authenticity in marketing.

If you want to have a long-lasting professional relationship with your buyers, better work on establishing an authentic presence first.



Sunday, January 15, 2017

Advantages of Google + Hashtags in Content Marketing

Ever since Twitter made a popular breakthrough on using hashtags in streamlining information, other social media platforms started to incorporate the strategy in their own metrics. Now, you can use hashtags to skim through posts in Facebook posts using the same word or terms.

Instagram also has made it easier for users to categorize their posts and search for relevant images with the least hassle. But compared to its other social counterpart, Google’s social wing, Google +, seemed to be falling behind when it comes to incorporating hashtags. In fact, there are a number of skeptics who think that the platform’s idea to use the hashtag advantage is just a direct copy of what Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms are doing.

But contrary to what many believe, hashtags on Google + actually have more advantage than we thought.

In fact, for content marketers, extending their effors to Google + might just be the best way to enhance their visibility to their target market. Below are some highlight advantage that will tell you why it’s worth it.

It’s algorithm automatically helps your content be visible to relevant searches


Even if you’re not using the actual hashtag on your post, viewers who search for relevant topics will still have a chance to see it.


For instance, if you are sharing a list post about homemade recipes using #personalhomemaderecipes, there is still a good chance that Google + users who search for #foods, #personalrecipes and even #cuisines or #cooking could find your post.

With its relevant search feature, you increase your opportunity to gain attention from prospect market. s

Automatic hashtag generation


Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to have automatic hashtags appearing on your posts? This is what Google + metrics does for you. So if you’re confused what hashtags to use that would surely reach your audience, might as well trust Google to do it on your behalf.



Of course, for those who want to create their personalized tags, all you need to do is to go to your settings and uncheck Google’s automatic hashtag feature.

Auto-suggest function


If you have an idea what to use but can’t put the most popular word on it, then this feature would come in handy. It uses its advanced search function to present hashtags that are used worldwide by different industries. You just need to type ‘#’ and automatically see relevant suggestions to choose from.



This makes it easier to weed out those terms that has nothing to do with whatever you are promoting.

How do you maximize all of these advantages?


First off, it’s important to understand that while using hashtags on Google + could significantly help in publicizing your product message, it’s not something that works successfully on its own. As part of your marketing plan, it needs to work accordingly with your campaign, making sure that the hashtags you use would embody the message you wish to share.

If your main market are frequent users of Google +, then there is no reason why you would not use the same platform to forward your campaign.

Bottom line


Google has cemented its reputation for bringing us some of the best service performance particularly in emailing. Now, it has made efforts to make your social media experience more effective, engaging and beneficial for your marketing or business goals.

Industries such as the web design company in the Philippines who offer services both for local and international companies need to promote their services well in order to stay above the competition. Same can be said for any ventures regardless if they are veteran ones or just starting up.

If you haven’t tried extending your social reach in Google +, now might already be the right time.


Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Proliferation of Live Video Content and What it Means for Marketing

We're long past the time when information takes so much time to spread or be delivered around the globe. Now, anyone who have access to the internet could literally view what's going on from the opposite side of the planet, real-time.

The ease of information dissemination has evolved from writing those written blog posts and journals to sharing images and just lately, live videos.



Decades ago, creating videos take time and money, which is exactly why they don't often fall on the first options of startup and small businesses. But social media drastically changed it.

Now, anyone can go live on Facebook or Twitter free of charge! You don't even need to spend too much time doing edits just to become a hit in social media. We've seen its effect on the viral videos that are spreading like wildfire across the web.

Timeliness and relevance has now become a priority in video production. The more timely is your content, the higher the chances of attracting the attention of your target market.

Increase usage of Facebook Live and Periscope

Before, producing video ads need a long time of planning and a greater degree of editing before one decides to upload the final product on Youtube. Now, anyone can simply use Facebook Live of Periscope on Twitter to go live and show the current event they are holding.



With these platform's wide viewership, companies and private individuals now have better chances of getting noticed. For marketers, this does not only mean pre-scheduling post at regular intervals but being live when relevant activities happen.

Shift to video type of blog posts

Written content will continue to thrive. It's basically the foundation of all other content types. However, experts see a drastic increase of vlogs that replace the normally long posts to make it more concise in spoken format.

Videos are now seen as more relevant because people are shifting their choice of content to something they can see. It's no longer enough to write a very compelling article without matching images or videos in between.

Plus, with more people browsing online content while on-the-go, watching and listening to videos becomes more convenient than reading plain text.

Concise and spot on messaging fit for a typical 30-second video

One common assumption by new digital marketers is that, since videos have shorter lengths, they are also easier and faster to create. Experience has taught a lot of online marketers that this isn't the case.



With the short duration of its presentation comes the bigger challenge in making sure that the information presented every second solidifies the branding or message you wish to convey to your viewers.

From the animation, transition and even text insertions in between, everything needs to be planned out carefully. Otherwise, you won't be able to maximize the advantage of fast, accurate and engaging messaging that videos are meant for.

Better storytelling

Same as with the tight messaging, creating videos demands crafty storytelling. People relate better to posts that tell a story rather than those hardcore selling ads intended to put a product or service in the spotlight.

However, stories put on videos will only have more impact when they are presented well. This is where messaging and planning comes into play. The better the story, the bigger the chances of tugging into the emotions of the viewers.


Putting out a live feed of your company events or product launching is an efficient way to grab the attention of your target market. But make sure you put out a captivating message to accompany the animation and videos. Should you need to ask the help of professionals, those working for digital marketing services in the Philippines have you covered.


Be timely, stay connected and engage with your viewers more effectively!



Monday, January 9, 2017

Indoor Office Activities You Can do to Invite Creativity!

Ah, creativity – that elusive genius a lot of people wish to have, but something that seems to be mutable and hard to find.

For creative industries such as a web design company in the Philippines, the need to be on top of their game by keeping the motivation and creative ideas up is a must. Unfortunately, there are times when few feel stuck in a rut and just don't have the necessary push to make a brilliant output.

If you find yourself in such situation, do take time to step back and do any of the following.

Stretching or indoor walking

Our brain needs oxygen to fully function so it's only imperative that you make sure you breathe enough oxygen to make your mentality strong and focused all throughout the day. Good thing is, you don't have to go outside every time you want to have a short walk or keep your body warmed up by moving.



Even while staying inside your office, you could do some basic stretching to reduce the tension you feel on your shoulders, waste, legs and upper back. If you have enough space, you could walk around while stretching your fingers too!

Grabbing a cup of coffee, a snack or bottled water from your cafeteria could also help the blood running in your system and will help you breathe better.

Sketching or doodling

One doesn't have to be skilled in drawing for him to doodle. All you need is a blank sheet and pen or pencil to start sketching. If you want, you could also listen to music while randomly doodling anything.

If you're particularly skilled in drawing, then creating artworks on paper as means to relax is a good way to go. Putting images on blank sheets is not only an efficient way to free your mind but is also a good way to inspire creativity. Who knows, your random doodle or sketch might just give you the next best idea you need for the project you're working on.

Listening to inspirational podcasts or videos

This is perhaps one of the favorite go-to indoor activity by many office workers who are often hunched in front of their desks , facing the computer. If you feel your creativity leaving you, then a good way to pull it back would be to listen to inspirational talks online.



Today, you can already find podcasts, vlogs and even websites specifically featuring talks by authority personnel on different fields.

TED Talks, for instance, is a very good example. Search for topics you wish to hear online and see what is available.

Redesigning your office's 'Idea Board'

Not all offices have this, but if yours do, then redesigning it might be an effective way to boost your creativity. Idea boards are usually the place where you pin important notices, announcements and even task designation per team member.

A good way to go about with the redesign is to add colors on the board. You can rearrange the notices per category or transfer short notes on colored post-its. If you have a colleague who is not doing anything, you can also invite him or her to help you out.

Brainstorming with colleagues

Last but not the least, spend some time brainstorming with your coworkers. One of the reasons why a lot of people in a typical working space end up not burn out and uninspired on what they are doing is the lack of communication.



A good way to get ideas is to talk to people in the same industry. And who else can you tap but your teammate who is on the same project as you. While chatting at work might be discouraged by a lot of companies, it wouldn't hurt if you spend 5 to 10 minutes of break asking your colleague about his or her input on a certain topic.

Creativity is, indeed, elusive. But there are ways on how you could call upon it. Try some of the methods we have here one of these days and see how well it works!