Cryptocurrency and its Future Prospects

Introduction

The cryptocurrency (bitcoin) saga began in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis. When bank after another was collapsing on account of loans going bad, it was a tumultuous time that was accompanied by a lot of chaos. Amidst the chaos, came along a group of programmers or sometimes assumed to be a single individual called Satoshi Nakamoto who published a white paper on bitcoin mechanism and mailed it across to a cryptographic mailing list.

This never-before-seen technology was revolutionary in the way it transacted money or digital money to be precise. It bypassed the traditional means, as the need for the hard currency was completely done away with. The model of the transaction was entirely dependent on a peer-to-peer transaction without requiring a central bank or a credit card network. In fact, it did not elicit personal information (identity) to be disclosed and it did not extract a transaction fee which was unheard of. 

Underlying Technology

There was no parallel to this technology in the world of finance and it did shake the foundations of the financial world. Technically, the currency runs on a technology called “Blockchain”. It is a publically distributed ledger system that records each bitcoin transaction ever made on the block. When the block memory is full, it is added sequentially to a chain of blocks. These transactions are available on any computer on the bitcoin network that validates transactions, stores bitcoins and relays transactions to other computers. These computers on the network are called nodes. 

Since the database is stored on a network of computers (nodes) – hacking or stealing bitcoins’ data from computers is not an option. To hack or steal bitcoins, the crooks would have to simultaneously break into the majority of nodes. This makes the bitcoin a superbly secure digital currency safe from cybercriminals.

What the Future Holds?

It has been close to a decade when Bitcoins were first introduced and there were naysayers who predicted its doom from its inception. However, Bitcoin has weathered the storms and has stood the ground as a robust asset option. As we move into the next decade with deep uncertainties in the global financial system on account of a slowdown and the contagious COVID-19 bringing the world to its knees. Let’s look at what makes the digital currency a viable option in years to come.

·         Lower Transaction Cost with Decentralized Ledger – A decentralized ledger makes it immune to third party transaction costs. This makes for lower costs on remittances and other fund transfers. Presently, the remittance fees stand at 7% to 8% that can be significantly lowered to 1% to 2%. Besides, a decentralized ledger has little vulnerability compared to a centralized system. Since a single party no longer controls the record of previous transactions – a distributed ledger operation holds great promise.

A factor that hooks investors is the fact that Bitcoin does not erode in value with the passage of time. It is on record that only 21 million Bitcoins would be produced in all. Making it inflation-proof, with hard money inflation picks up when the Central Bank prints more currency to beat the recession.

·         Global Geo-Political Tensions & Uncertainties – US-China trade war, upcoming American elections, Corona aftermath are issues that hold great interest among investors and the rich alike. The anticipation behind such global events means heightened speculations among investors and the rich elite to park their funds in safe assets and bitcoin has become the de facto choice.

Bitcoin recently touched the $10k mark and analysts predict it was not on account of the global uncertainties rather it showed the maturity of the asset. Over the course of time, it has become less volatile and it would continue to rise in value. Both Iran-US tension and the COVID emergence have shown a negative correlation compared to traditional assets. When assets plunged across the board during the course of these events, the Bitcoin actually jumped in value. Some have gone overboard to predict that it is behaving in a manner similar to gold and should rightly be called “Digital Gold”.

Given the continuation of global uncertainties, Bitcoin is increasingly being seen as a safe bet to protect wealth through guaranteed returns.

·         Improved Technology – Earlier investors used to be highly sceptical about investing in Bitcoins. However, as technology has shifted gears with auto-trading platforms and readily available tech tools powered by artificial intelligence that can create a Bitcoin portfolio. These, when run through an array of rules and filters, ensure that a digital asset with a solid track record is chosen and kept to give to intended return on investment.

Most contemporary investors today speculate that traditional investments/ IPOs would become old school and Bitcoin is likely to take centre stage. It is quite obvious with the ease of registration, less paperwork with a quick and high return on investment. This along with 24/7 availability, improving market adoption rate through an increased number of exchanges & crypto ATMs have made the Bitcoin the darling among investors.

·         Facebook Joins the Race – It has come to focus that Facebook has joined the bandwagon of institutions that are developing their own Bitcoin called Libra. This is likely to influences others to rethink their crypto strategies in the coming future. This is a likely game-changer in “Crypto” scheme of things. Facebook has decided to create the coin from scratch and in times we might see other tech giants follow suit. The fact that Facebook has taken this bold step only validates its confidence in the underlying technology that makes cryptocurrency work.

·         Compatibility Aspect – The Bitcoin stands to be a compatible invention that requires the user to make very few adjustments in their daily routine to be adopted. For example: When the iPhone came into the markets, there were a variety of stand-alone gadgets that performed different functions. The iPhone happened to incorporate all these gadgets into one versatile-gadget that was accepted with open arms by Apple aficionados. Similarly for a user to deal in Bitcoin, all he/ she need is an iPhone and an internet connection. Such ease of adoption makes optimists believe that the user base of Bitcoin will swell in the coming future.

·         Improved Trialability – The Bitcoin has come a long way from the original Nakamoto paper. This refers to the options provided to first-time users to engage with new technology on a limited basis. The number of exchanges and crypto ATMs getting started over the course of time makes it easier for first-time users to trade in Bitcoins. These exchanges allow users to participate in small investments in Bitcoin sometimes even with a simple credit card.

Conclusion: Although we must understand that Bitcoin is a sophisticated piece of technology that is today understood by few people. But in times to come, we would see the adoption of this technology on a wide scale. This is being said with regard to the curious developments happening around the world around cryptocurrencies.  

·         Similar cryptocurrencies like the Bitcoin are entering the market

·         Attempts to regulate cryptocurrencies by governments

·         Impoverished countries looking for hard currency alternatives

All such scenarios make cryptocurrencies indispensable in the long-run. Lastly, it must be admired that Satoshi Nakamoto created a process which was way ahead of its time. The Bitcoin technology would not remain restricted to currency for long. But, would metamorphosize into various applications that would reduce bureaucracy & middlemen in both government and private institutions.  

(The reader must understand that Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency in the world market. There are other currencies like Ehtereum, Ripple, Litecoin and such. Technically all these are subsets of Bitcoins technically. Since they all use the same Blockchain technology. This article was written primarily to showcase the brief history of bitcoin and the advantages that it offers compared to traditional money. We chose bitcoin because it was the first to appear.)

---------Sujit Susheelan

Best Known Practices for Content Writers

Providing information about a product and creating content around it forms the crux of content writing. It is one of those effective marketing strategies, which is the cornerstone of digital marketing. Although spreading the message through words has been in use as far as one can think about advertising. It has turned a corner with the advent of the internet and online business. Companies are conscious of the importance of the web and are investing substantial resources to stay ahead in the game. Much of the action in terms of word-based content is centered around securing a good page rank on search engines.   

Search engines have become the all-powerful reason that can make or break a brand. And writing content in order to attain a good page rank is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO. The idea behind SEO is to optimize the content with words having high search volume. However, writers can get carried away by SEO and start writing only for search engines. This can be counter-productive as the resulting content would be lacking the necessary zeal to persuade users to read and engage. The alternative is to keep SEO in mind while keeping the reader’s interest alive during the course of writing. In this article, the effort is to bring out good writing for better marketing online.

Get the Target Audience in Place: There is a reason why it is important to have the target audience in place before the start of the writing process. Once you have an audience in place, it becomes easier to shape the message. To start with you have to dwell into the background and mould the content to the preference of the audience. Writing for different sets of demographics differs with the kind of vocabulary, content formats and the platforms on which they can be engaged in. When writing content you need to be one of your demographic and look at their problems with their perspective. This process would materialize content that is authentic and compelling.   

Set the Tone: Once you have envisioned your target audience. Your content needs to have tone for it to create an impact. Tone is defined as the author's attitude towards the subject and can be inferred through the use of descriptive words. It can be formal, informal, friendly, or playful and forms the fine nuances that give the edge to the content for it to stand out amongst competition. 

Your writing can appear bland and academic if your sole purpose is to appear knowledgeable and clever. This beats the purpose in the long-term. Rather, the writing should be akin to the way you speak. Your blog post needs to be written as if you are speaking to a single reader to bring the audience closer to you. 

Stick to an informal tone when creating content. Although, there is an audience that prefers a formal tone. In the long run, it has been seen that the content struggles to find new readers. Users do not consume content in order to appear clever. They need solutions to real-world problems and you need to welcome them with informative and relevant content.  

Write for the Single Reader: You can be misguided by the fact that we keep talking about an audience. However, when it comes to reading the content, it is only a single person in front of the screen. You have to visualize and write for this person in mind to connect to the larger audience. Writing in this manner resonates better with the audience as they will feel a personal connection to it. 

Blog writing is all about integrating certain words to personalize the experience for the readers. Usage of words like ‘you’ and ‘because’ only strengthens the tone. Overall, the readers do not care about you, and what you stand for, whether you are a success or a failure. All they care about is the value you deliver. It is when you start delivering value - they would share content, link to your content and recommend your products to other people. Start this by shifting your focus to ‘them’. It is ‘your’ blog but it is not for ‘you’. It is for your readers. Reduce the usage of ‘me’ and ‘I’ and your readers will notice how important ‘they’ are. 

Though following all the rules does not guarantee success for all the content that you create. The audience makes the choice and decides which content gets the most publicity. 

Keyword Research: A lot has changed within the Google algorithm since the last time you checked. After the ‘Hummingbird’ update, it has been rephrased as Topic Research. Although, people still use both Keyword & Topic search interchangeably. The fact of the matter is that Google gives more weightage to the meaning behind the query than before. For example, if you search for ‘vacuum cleaner broken’, the search results would have links to ‘fix’ the appliance as compared to the past. Earlier, the query generated results with emphasis on words used in the query. Today, the stress is on decoding the meaning behind the words used for the query.

You could say that the Google algorithm is becoming more ‘intelligent’ by dwelling into the semantics behind the sentence. This makes it all the more important to choose the words wisely when doing analysis for keyword research. Also, particular attention should be paid to “People also searched for” at the bottom that gets generated during a search. It is a treasure trove of the right kind of words that can be included in the final list of words during keyword research.

Competitor Analysis: Rather than struggling alone to come up with innovative strategies to make your content competitive. You could always take inspiration from your competition. Look what they are doing right and what seems to be working well for them. What is getting them high SERP compared to you? 

• Analyse their SEO strategies. Avoid going for words that are working for them. Rather target words they haven’t still utilized or under-utilized.  
• Create content around their topics they haven’t touched yet and try to downplay their strengths. Effort should be to focus on topics, where they are currently weak in.
• Do not get sucked into copying your competition and trying to catch them on their own game.

Evergreen Content: The life-span of written content is limited. Content that remains relevant with the passage of time makes for evergreen content. It does not need updating with time and receives a consistent amount of traffic by beating news cycles. These factors make it the holy-grail among writers since it reduces the need to constantly churn out new ideas and content. Here’s how you go about

• Use a keyword tool to understand the search volume for a specific topic. Also, look at top-ranking pages in Google to check on the amount of traffic the topic receives.
• Tools like Google trends can help you gauge the popularity of the topic over time. Stay clear of topics that have seasonal upsurge and downturns.
• Search intent for the keyword needs to remain constant. If it changes over time or can be replaced by some other keyword, there is likely to be great volatility in rankings.
• Avoid usage of words that signify time in the content such as last year, yesterday & 201X. Usage of dates & year only serves to work for a while after which it stands to lose relevance.     

Go Long: It has been a known fact that Google prefers long-form content. This does not mean you start getting hung up on words and start filling pages that's going nowhere. Always return to the purpose and the solution to stay the course. Be confident about the value the content provides to convince a potential buyer through long-form copy. Some known facts include:

• 1,890 words are the average needed to rank number one on SERP
• 2,500 words are the average required to receive maximum links
• Most socially shared content is in long-form

The effort need to be on taking the reader on a journey through storytelling and not sticking words together. Through storytelling, the human angle emerges and even boring data can be made attractive when executed with finesse.  Overall, the reader needs to be entertained and informed through in-depth and engaging content that guarantees credibility.

Final Thoughts: There are many parameters such as punctuation & grammar, statistics, formatting, images and compelling headline that can add to the merit of the article. Our effort has been to bring forth elements that amount to enhanced marketability of the written content. Creating content is just the beginning and a lot goes into making it available to masses out there. Understanding the market, putting out content on a regularly with consistency and going all out to promote it makes for a successful writer in the crowded marketplace.

-------Sujit Susheelan

Planning a Website in a Nutshell

A website is your digital address in cyberspace and it has to be done right for the process to bear results. Before you embark on building a website, it is highly suggested that you plan the entire process and include all elements to be dealt with. The attempt here is to touch upon all aspects when you seek to have a website of your own. It is meant for someone who has no coding or design or technical skills. 

To give you some idea, you need to have knowledge about colour theory, human interaction pattern with websites, the primary idea of coding languages (HTML & CSS), basic programming skills in Javascript, grasp of Content Management Systems (CMS). You may not need expertise on these subjects but an overall awareness. You would then understand the process and the difficulties coders and designers encounter while creating websites. This makes your life easy since you understand what is going on. The article will play out as a rough guide to building a website:

Be Prepared to Repeat: Creating the website is not the end of the story. You have to find the sweet spot between what is the most efficient and practical.  If anything does not work, it has to be replaced and nothing is to remain sacred. There are bugs to be fixed, change parts that don't fit the overall scheme and remain updated to emerging trends. All these have to be done if you have to have a standard website that doesn’t disappoint. Running a website is an iterative process - you look after, update, maintain, and repeat all over. You never stop learning is the key to staying relevant.

Content Does Matter: Website creation need not start with graphics and this tendency has its demerits. Content creation needs to take priority, this means text, photos and contact info. Designers are happy to fill the website with dummy text to give the ‘feel’ of what it would look like with content. Giving weightage to content in the planning stage makes for good content. Eventually, your audience is drawn to the content with design complimenting it and not the other way around. This approach helps deal with issues of space on the website and is seen as a pragmatic approach in preventing bugs.  

You have to understand that the internet is mostly text unless the purpose of the website is to promote visual elements. Text is involved in each of these aspects whether it is descriptions, arguments, reviews or testimonials. This makes text pivotal to the aesthetics of the website, choosing the right typography helps in keeping the website neat & readable. 

Optimize for Different Screens: Today, there is a range of devices with access to the web. This makes it necessary to have your website cater to all distinct screen sizes. It is definitely not easy but is worth since increased accessibility translates to higher traffic and more transactions. 

Most smartphones today offer touchscreen interface and the buttons for navigation has to be created with practicalities in mind. The links and buttons should be designed for easy navigation and a simple tap by the fingers should do the job. The gist of the argument is that user experience with the website will vary and you need to be prepared for it. 

Skills Required: If you remember, the article speaks about different skills that are required for building websites. Here we will look into those skills in brief:

• User Experience (UX) Design: This is about a user’s individual experience when it comes to interacting with a desktop, website or an app.“Does this website give me value? Is it easy to use? Does it offer a pleasant experience?”. Questions like these guides a UX designer when building a website. This is about knowing how people use websites and using that knowledge for a superior site design. It is based on putting yourself in the user’s shoes and making sense of what works best. Easy of use, perceived value of the website, utility, efficiency in performance are some of the drivers of UX design. Websites today are complex and feature-rich and making them easy and pleasant to use make them stand out.

• Aesthetic Skills: The picture that you prefer might be a turn-off for others. Aesthetics is a tricky affair and is quite subjective. However, knowing the basics about aesthetics will help you make good decisions on design. You would make cohesive content choices to create a functional and appealing website that will be engaging.

• Typography: The internet is text-based, it is all about words. Typography is not just about picking up the right font for the website. Rather it is about usability. You have to choose the right font types and the right font sizes to make your website readable to the majority of people. There needs to be the accurate font size for titles and headings to create a visual hierarchy for the website to appeal to a large number of people. 

• Colour theory: The gist of this theory is the interaction between colours. It is the art and science of using colour. It explains the visual effects of how colours mix, match or contrast with each other. In the long-term, people choose and reject products based on colour. The same can be said about website when there isn’t a coherent usage of colours. Colour theory helps demystify the proper usage of colours. In the long-term, this knowledge help in taking decisions pertaining to the branding and marketing of your website. 

• Programming Languages: There might be a few, who after learning programming might set out to design their own websites. However for the majority who might not be conversant in programming an understanding of how programming works would serve them better. 

1. Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) - It that tells the browser whether it is looking at a text, image, a link or a video. You browser than translates it into what you see on screen
2. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) - It helps make the web-page look pretty. In deals with colours, layout and fonts. Basically how the layout would look and the size of the buttons etc.
3. Javascript: It helps manipulate the content on your website in ways HTML and CSS cannot. Helps build fancy slide shows and improves website usability.

Content Architecture: Once you have decided on your content, you have to decide how it is going to be organized. What would go on the home page? What is to go on other pages? How to interlink these pages? This organising structure is important and will dictate much of your design and organization of files. 

Testing: Once the website is in place, start testing on different browsers and you would encounter bugs. Do not go after small inconsistencies, ensure users have access to all information. The goal is to have good visibility and remain readable, which is in line with the eventual goal to inform, engage and drive people to take action based on what they have seen.

Get Feedback: You cannot improve unless you have made mistakes. Ask the ones familiar with web-design, what works and what does not. Get critical feedback on the website you have helped create, it will help you improve - if you are open to receiving unbiased constructive feedback. 

Final Thoughts: Designing and building a website requires quite a number of skills. By having knowledge of all the above-mentioned elements you would have an understanding of the complexity involved. By being amidst the process of creation, your knowledge of the process would further evolve to give you better insights into making the website better. By repeating this pattern, you would have a better judgement on things and would even anticipate an emerging problem before it actually materializes. This is the process that has created self-made entrepreneurs in due course. 

-------Sujit Susheelan

Keys to Branding in the Digital World

We are living in times when traditional branding alone is no longer considered effective. With the advent of online business, companies have become more serious about their marketing efforts online. The emphasis today is on digital branding as customers are becoming conscious of online research before a purchase. Such a scenario creates a situation where companies can no longer ignore their online reputation. 

In short, digital branding refers to the promotion of a product or service through the creation of digital assets to attract prospects or customers. Here in this space, we would shed light on doing productive digital branding to meet business goals. 

What is Branding?
Branding is more of about positioning of a product in the market and describes a set of promises to the customer about the overall experience. This makes it a unique proposition in the marketplace. The crux is to keep the customer satisfied in order to remain competitive.  

There are three things to be conscious of - brand, branding and brand identity. 

• Brand - refers to the way your customers perceive your company
• Branding - the process of designing & creating a lasting impact
• Brand Identity - elements like the logo, website, social media presence

How to Go About?

Pitch a Unique Perspective: There is a staggering number of companies present online and there are new additions to the list each day. Besides, there are multiple online channels vying for user attention. This makes it difficult for companies to cut through the clutter and remain visible. The most viable strategy is to remain true to your roots and tell your story. Tell the audience about 

• How did you start out? - your entrepreneurial journey
• What made you create the product? - The passion behind 
• What gets you started each day? The motivation that makes you tick
• What makes you the individual you are? Strengths & Weakness 
• What are your thoughts on life? Belief system

When all these ingredients come together, you would unfold a unique story to the audience. If the story finds resonance among readers, it is the most welcome sign that your brand is sure to make a distinct impression stand out among the competition. 

Make a Connect: Companies today are present on the same online channels on which people communicate with their friends and relatives. The conversations on these channels are friendly and personal. This is the tone companies should adopt when communicating with their audience online. Initiate conversations that are direct and yet meaningful. Such communication when done correctly will make the user feel not being treated as customers but as family. This translates into enriched brand awareness and long-term customer loyalty. The customer no longer feels they are compelled to buy the brand rather they feel they are fulfilling their needs through a chosen relationship.

Improve Visibility: Online branding is not sticking to one channel and doing it well. Rather, it is about juggling many balls at the same time. Your online visibility is established through touch-points such as website, search results, social media networks, digital advertising and review sites. 

• Website: A company website should be your digital address in the cyberspace. All your digital marketing activities need to stem from your website.   
• Digital Advertising (organic/ paid): This exercise contributes to your visibility. A well-planned and focused campaign can bring in the intended results. 
• SEO: Practicing good SEO techniques will ensure a high page rank. This also signals to the fact that you are aware of needs and their search behaviour of the audience. Besides, good page rank is considered synonymous with a credible brand image. 
• Review Sites: This touch-point is completely based on your product performance and is within the user’s control. Company is not expected to invest any resources. If your brand falls short or fails to deliver, it is certain that your brand will take a hit. 

Implement Content Marketing: This kind of marketing is known to influence every stage of the marketing funnel. From creating awareness to consideration and to eventual conversion to a customer can be driven by smart content marketing. Today, it is a well-known fact that 70% of users read a blog or an article before making a purchase decision. Making it essential for business owners to bring out quality and engaging content on a consistent basis. This is one of those branding mechanisms by which even smaller players can beat established companies. Therefore, content marketing needs to be learned and used well. Here are some tips to good content:

• Provide relevant content that has value along with the necessary information.
• The content needs to target the problems of a segmented audience.
• Create content showcasing the brand characteristics
• Engage in storytelling to leave a lasting impact 

Leverage E-mail Marketing: There are a number of fancy digital tools to extend the reach of the brand. But, there is nothing that beats the good old email. It is a known tool that reaches the audience who do not use social media. Email marketing when done correctly can boost the reputation of your brand.

• Start by collecting emails through sign-ups on paid advertisements or through website newsletter sign-ups on the landing page. 
• Before sending the mails, there should be clear goals on what you hope to achieve - Increased engagement? Nurture business relationships? Or New Product Announcement! 
• Write the email in a confident tone in a manner that is more business-like. Send customized emails to different audience segments. 
• Schedule the mail carefully to avoid sending back-to-back emails that will only end up in the spam folder. 

Influencer Marketing: This is one of those methods that help extend your brand reputation. This mechanism utilises online fame of an individual to leverage brand outreach. Companies get in touch with bloggers and social media stars and enter into a monetary agreement with them to promote the brand through select channels. Having built an audience over a period of time, influencers are trusted by most of their followers. And does infuse a sense of relatability and trust towards the brand. Besides influencers produce their own content. Hence sponsored posts of the brand will align with the pre-existing content on their pages. Getting in touch with them is easy with the emergence of various online platforms that support micro-influencers these are: Upfluence, Tribe Group, Mavrck etc.

Conduct A/B Testing: The brand is purely based on its extended outreach through online channels and campaigns. Testing becomes important as it helps in steering away from campaigns & channels that do not deliver on intended results. This gets your optimal resources invested best performing channels and campaigns. Companies can easily zero-in on campaigns that deliver maximum ROI with the luxury to tweak them when necessary.  Some tips to testing:

• Carry out a qualitative test to understand the exact needs of the audience
• Avoid conducting various variables in a single test.
• Ensure to test CTA copy, CTA placement & Ad copy

Final Thoughts: Branding is not only about selling a product or service but more about actively engaging with the audience to create an enduring relationship. Keeping the message honest, articulate and fresh helps to deliver on the brand promises. When messaging and engagement are kept in check, there are endless possibilities for a brand to succeed. 

-------Sujit Susheelan

Going About Doing Good Web Design

In the present times, having just a website does not mean you have established presence online. It takes a lot of behind-the-scenes effort to come up with a website that makes your business click. Prioritizing website design then becomes the most practical step for a business owner. It has to be remembered that all your web activities stem from your website. Getting a well-executed website in place makes you ready to embark on your digital marketing efforts. Here we will look into design aspects that make for good website design. Purpose of the Website: The fundamental reason to build a website reaching out to your target audience. However, what you offer in terms of outreach can vary. It can be about explaining expertise, building a reputation, creating leads, sales and customer care. Your purpose can vary, but the website has to clearly spell out the reason behind its creation. This applies to all web-pages on the website. If there is ambiguity, the chances of retaining audience and attracting new users will not materialize. The Overall Look: While ideating to build a new website, it has to be remembered that a simple design has the best shot to succeed in the long-term. Simplicity in design is steered by three aspects:

• Colour: The colours used on a website helps better communication and can trigger emotions among users. Being consistent with specific colours helps create a lasting impression and can influence user behaviour. Choose complementary colours and pleasing colour combinations to sustain user engagement.

• Typeface or Fonts: Stick to a maximum of 3-fonts on a website to reduce the clutter that comes along with multiple typefaces. The typefaces are utilized to interpret the brand messaging and wrong choices can be detrimental to the brand. The most favoured fonts happen to be Arial and Verdana among major websites. Stylish fonts enhance aesthetics but do not compensate for poor readability.

• Imagery: The first impressions on a website are conveyed through imagery. It has to represent the brand and capture the principles of the company. This includes pictures, illustration, video and graphics. To project qualities of professionalism and credibility use high-quality imagery, anything less tends to offset all efforts.

Navigation Experience: Rule of thumb for good navigation is governed by three words - simple, intuitive and consistent. If your website comes-up short on these, it means there are bottlenecks to finding relevant information. Include logical page hierarchy, bread crumbs and clickable buttons to improve navigation. Stick to the “three-click” rule that limits the number of clicks to 3 for finding any information on the website. Retaining users with low bounce rates need to be the utmost criteria while designing navigation on a website.

“F” Shaped Content: Studies have shown that users on a website read from the top and proceed from left to right. Most users that come on the website ‘scan’ rather than read while searching for relevant text or specific information. This form an F-shaped pattern and mimics our reading pattern when it comes to English. Website designers who understand this provide instant gratification by delivering on user expectations. This translates to lesser cognitive load and more aligned with the intuition of the user. Designers who are attuned to such scientific principles
Effective Content: A good website would be an ideal combination of content and imagery. Make use of compelling writing to attract regular visitors, who in turn would become paying customers. Engage with the audience in a professional manner by not being pompous about what you have to offer. It needs to be a transactional engagement, where a solution is being offered to an existing problem. Instead, if you indulge in clever lines and load the content with jargon & technical writing, you would make no impact whatsoever. Intelligent writing involves scripting the message around the audience to persuade them to take action. Grid-Based Layout: The end goal of a web designer is to have all elements on the final product to look neat and visually appealing. One of the ways to do this is to adopt a grid-based layout to arrange content into columns and sections that line-up elements geometrically and keeps it clean. When there is a range of elements that need to be accommodated on the web-page this tried and tested approach takes care of the aesthetics. Aim for Simplicity: Visitors to a website are not there to appreciate the content nor are they enamoured by the design of the website. Their goal is to search for relevant information that matters to them. In the larger scheme of things - keeping it simple and avoiding design complexities is a primary guideline that can be adhered to. Always remember the 80-20 rule of sticking to 20% elements on the website to deliver 80% of the usefulness. This would take care of all the distracting elements that might alienate the audience. Embrace the White Space: Do not underestimate the importance of white space on a web page. Not only does it reduce the cognitive load, but also reduces the monotony of heavy text. The important aspect to understand here is that white space helps the audience to break information into digestible bits that make for easy assimilation. If the information is complex and requires a sizable amount of text. Whitespace makes for the best option. Besides visual hierarchy in your design framework through white space would help reduce inherent complexities within the content. Limit to Conventions: Sticking with a conventional design will save your users time and effort and figuring out the way a website has been set up. The conventional layout of a website aligns with user expectations and builds on trust, reliability and credibility. This can be synonymous with data arrangement on computers or product placement in supermarket aisles. There is a certain order to the arrangement which makes it easy for the user. Breaking the norm works when there is a better idea that improves efficiency. Otherwise, taking advantage of established conventions seems wiser. Test Before Use: Usability tests on a website provides crucial insights into problems related to the layout of a website. Testing is not a one-off process rather it is an ongoing process that can be accomplished in cycles with each round revealing a different aspect to be fixed. In addition, it is ideal if the designer himself does not test, rather hands it over to someone outside the team to bring in a fresh perspective. Although testing is appreciated as a good practice, it is not followed in principle. By correcting the bug in the coding stage is inexpensive compared to fixing it after making the website live. Conclusion: Lastly, remember the primary reason for having a website is to attract prospects and customers. Your website is the linchpin around which your digital marketing ideas get created and launched. Accordingly, it becomes essential to not forget the big picture while dealing with the fine details of a website. An ideal situation is where you are aware of the macro-view while you pay attention to the micro-view and vice-versa. This kind of vision would shape the website into an indispensable tool fulfilling your business goals. -------Sujit Susheelan

Overview of Social Media Marketing

Social Media today is not restricted to just people showing their personal lives on an online public platform. Rather it has become a powerful medium for businesses to reach out to their customers effectively. If you are not one of them, chances are that you are missing out on a lot of user-connect opportunities mainly on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Intelligent marketing on social media can bring about a lot of positive results including increased brand awareness, loyalty along with potential leads and customers. 

For beginners, Social Media Marketing (SMM) is about creating and sharing content on social media to achieve marketing and branding goals at times through paid advertising. This includes posting text, pictures and video content on various social websites to engage the audience. Now let’s delve into how to go about doing SMM

Start with a Plan: In order to execute a marketing objective, it is important that a roadmap is in place that decides the start and ends with tangible results. These include 

• Define Results: From the onset, it has to be clear what you seek to achieve at the end of the campaign. This helps avert the chances of digressing from the main goals. 
• Define target audience: Once you know your target audience. It becomes easy to plan and focus the campaign on a specific demographic. 
• Choose social platforms: With multiple social channels in place, it is essential to identify social media platforms with consistent engagement from your target audience. Else, there is the danger of spreading too thin. 
• Preserve tone of messaging: At all times stick to a tone that speaks the language of your audience to maintain consistent engagement. This prevents the dilution of campaign messaging.

Plan Ahead for Content: Once the initial framework is in place, two key elements - keyword search and brainstorming will help crystallize the kind of content that would work with your target audience. Search within and outside your domain on what success stories can inspire your campaign to give it a positive thrust. 

Produce Useful Content: Just like other facets of digital marketing, it is important to remember that content reigns supreme when it comes to SMM. Posting on a regular basis with persistent messaging and only producing content with usage value helps sustain your campaign. Keeping the audience interested can be a challenge, but remaining consistent on this front improves the chance of finding a regular audience for your content. 

Retain your Core Identity: There are multiple social media channels with its own set environment and voice. Your brand message has to follow certain criteria to remain in tune with your core brand identity. The erosion of your brand identity can be a pressing reality when the brand is not discrete about the realities of adapting to the mood of a social platform. This is seen when brands try to emulate “accidental” successes of a few brands.  

Sincere Content Promotion: Once the content has been produced, it should be considered the beginning as your aim should be to reach the maximum people in your target audience. The immediate goal here is to build a loyal following and ensure your content reaches them regularly without a miss. Great content and slight persuasion will lead the way in making the audience enable mechanisms (notification, email etc) to turn them from visitors to regular customers. These very customers would turn your brand advocates in the future. 

Keep an Eye on Competition: Your competitors can be your guides’ uncovering “what works” and “what does not”. Keeping an eye on the competition will help you uncover insights into consumer behaviour and elements to be done away with during the course of the campaign. A failed campaign can unravel themes to be skipped altogether. On the other hand, a successful one helps you find new themes that can be replicated with better strategy and vision. A formula for success is rather elusive but finding inspiration among your competitors is about hedging the risk with a known idea. 

Embrace Curated Links: SMM is about creating new and original content and garnering followers who in turn become regular consumers of content. However, in the course of time, you would come across brands producing great content within and outside your domain. If you are always on the lookout for interesting and engaging content for your followers by no means you should restrict yourself from showcasing other’s content on your site. In the long-term linking to outside sources improve trust and reliability and you could earn backlinks in return.  

Measure Success with Analytics: After creation and marketing, it becomes essential to gauge the result of the campaign. Digital campaigns, unlike traditional marketing, can be quantified and measured. There are tracking processes available within the campaign to measure progress from start to finish. Analytics helps you determine the triumph of a marketing technique and strategies to be avoided altogether. All social media platforms have their own set of tools for analytics, make use of them to know insights into your audience behaviour. These tools help uncover immediate opportunities and chances to fine-tune content for improved results. 

Always Be Prepared: The chances of failure outweigh success in SMM and it is not necessary that all things would go smooth as per plan. The team handling the campaign need to be well aware of this and need to be ready to go back to the drawing board. After re-assessing the plan, the process should be about going over the fundamentals and the framework of the campaign to determine where it went off-track. If the team does not see the blind-spots, seek outside help from a consultant to bring in a fresh perspective.

-------Sujit Susheelan

Digital Trends Shaping 2020

The world of technology is moving at a fast pace and you need to be prepared to pivot at the right time to get hold of the most suited technology for your business, The year 2020 is going to be no different and evolving technologies are bound shape-up and shake-up the business landscape like never before. In a world where technology is fast becoming an essential need for business to function seamlessly, here are some of the top trends that are going to dominate the headlines this year.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): This is a technology that has the potential to become all-pervasive in the coming times. Already it touches our lives in various forms in terms of Google search and Netflix recommendations, which are offshoots of AI technology. Today, companies are focused on extracting data from varied sources and analyse emerging patterns. AI is playing a crucial role in understanding consumer behaviour for informed marketing and sales decisions. This apart the economic impact of AI will be a substantial 14% addition to the global GDP by 2030.

Programmatic Advertising: In simple words, it is the process of buying and selling advertising online and it has changed the way advertising is done traditionally. This trend is going to remain strong in the coming future since the ROI is quite visible and measurable along with better outreach. More companies are going to adopt this model as their advertising medium of choice. 

Chatbots: Customer service is one of those elements in business that can prove detrimental to a business if not taken care properly. However, employing full-time customer service and even outsourcing the exercise tends to be expensive for small and medium-sized companies. This has made chatbots a seemingly “hot” technology proposition for companies with the minimal human resources at its disposal. According to estimates, the sector is growing at a 30% rate on a year-to-year basis. 

Conversational Marketing: The stress here is on receiving feedback and listening to the opinion of the customers and incorporating them into your marketing strategy. It is about regular engagement, increased loyalty and inevitable revenue increase. With multiple channels and devices available, this process has assumed considerable importance. Companies today are talking about developing their conversational strategy to stand out as a brand and even encourage more customers to engage with the brand. This marketing practice is set to evolve more as our accessibility to the brand is on the rise. 

Personalization: The amount of data collected by companies today pales in comparison with companies from the past. The huge quantum of data is being studied closely by companies to target the customers at the right time on a specific occasion. This has meant personalization has become a great deal for companies that transact their business online. Even brick and mortar companies are enhancing their digital presence in the cyberspace to join the bandwagon. We are only going to see more upsurge on this front in future.

Video Marketing: Improving technologies have meant accessing videos have become easier and has made Youtube global brand and one of the most visited sites, People consume more videos than ever before and there is definitely more inclination. This makes video-marketing the desired choice to build a brand by increasing awareness, and engaging customers consistently. Today’s companies create how-to’s, video testimonials, live-stream events and content that entertains to push their brands. This has meant we shall see more companies producing videos and doing marketing intelligently. 

Influencer Marketing: The multitude of channels today we have for entertainment has meant that there are more people chasing fame. And some of them have found success to become influencers on their channels. Today there are a range of influencers starting from movie-stars, cricketers, youtube stars and the list continues. Companies already knew on how to leverage fame for brand communications, with the advent of new stars - it has meant a niche audience and focussed targeting. This trend is likely to continue as smaller companies are engaging micro-influencers to channelise their brand on social media within their budgetary constraints. We are still seeing an emerging phenomenon and there is a lot more to follow.  

Social Messaging Apps: Considering its popularity among its users. It is not hard to understand companies utilising Social Messaging to directly communicate with their prospects and customers. The process starts by attracting new leads with content. This list is nurtured through regular engaging content and answering their concerns and finally making them paying customers. This trend is here to stay as this simple & easy one-on-one conversation helps reaps rich dividends when done right.  

Visual Search: The exercise is about matching an image with the same multiple options available on the website. The technology utilizes neural networks which use machine learning technology. The underlying idea is to teach machines to match patterns and shapes with similar-looking objects. The technology has great scope when it comes to search and online shopping. Already online shopping companies are using the technology to allow customers to make exact choices according to colour and design. The trend is still developing and might become a permanent fixture among online users. 

Voice Search: The technology is really convenient and with the advent of smart speakers it has become more common across homes. It removes the hassle of typing and is faster. With continued improvement in voice recognition technology, it would become fairly common for users to depend more on voice search. Companies are increasingly adopting a voice-centric approach because they can provide valuable insights about users leading to more personalized messaging and increased customer satisfaction. Seen as an emergent technology it has the scope to become favoured means of communication to improve customer retention and loyalty. 

Social Media Stories: The stories are ephemeral and only lasts for 24 hrs. This is a great way to engage with users and share their in-the-moment experiences to the rest of the world. All you need is a creative bent of mind and a smartphone. Even production values don’t matter as this gives the story an intimate and realistic feel. Started by Snapchat, the story-medium has been adopted by all major social channels presently. Companies are leveraging the power of this medium to better engage with the customers. Some of the known benefits include cost-effective engagement, increased brand awareness and growing traffic to the website. We are certain that we would see more innovative and fanciful content from users in times to come. 

Long-form Content: Page rank has become the benchmark on which brands base their performance online. And Google has repeatedly emphasized its liking for the long-form copy. More content equals more effectiveness to influence search engines. Besides, if you are serious about content marketing and want to turn your prospects into paying customers. It becomes all the more important that long-form copy engages more with users. Today’s customers believe in research before making a purchase decision and exhaustive content helps in remedying nagging worries of the customers about a product or service. We would see more on this as we progress through the year as Google does bring in updates in favour of good engaging content from time to time.  

-------Sujit Susheelan