Digital Disparity.

Covid19 expanded the digital divide. And shows the disparities within the society between the rural and urban, rich and poor. Lockdown compelled the shift to the virtual model. some of the students managed to receive an education without any obstacles. but many unprivileged students have been deprived of it. resulted in drop out of college and institutes due to the financial crisis of lockdown. Before the pandemic differences prevail in access to education but corona widened the gap. Rural areas have severe internet connectivity problems but Half of India’s population is living in rural parts of the country.

India is the second-largest populated country in the world. But it is a developing country. to maintain education for all during the lockdown when the schools are shut is quite challenging. the digital divide between the government and private institutes can be witnessed. Virtual learning wasn’t much challenging for private school students. Unlike the students of the government schools, who didn’t have access to the digital equipment. the Unprivileged children can’t afford access to quality internet and gadgets. Thus being deprived of education. The right to education is meaningless in the covid scenario. The government needs to bridge the digital divide to ensure students’ education. Some students are ahead of others. As many students drop out of school due to financial problems.

Access to the internet on their mobile phones is a matter of concern as well. The need of the time is to provide digital infrastructure and tools access to unprivileged ones to access online classes. The digital divide has led to incidences of student suicides. many students committed suicide after drop out. Even in urban areas, disparities prevail. those living in slumps and downtrodden areas can’t afford education.

The government needs to focus on technology and extending the vision of digital India.

Those who have access to education face many hurdles such as in assembling notes, in paying attention due to bad network coverage. Getting time to do self-study is also difficult. preparation of online tests is another problem. seeking notes from some of the online sources is also difficult because some websites charge for the subscription which is not possible for everyone. students have to sit in front of the computer screen for many hours and Practical knowledge is not possible during the pandemic because it is hard for the students to perform practical virtually. even for teachers, it is difficult to prepare presentations for the students.

pandemic hit increases our dependence on technology. The focus had always been on practical knowledge and skills. we are being actively tested for our knowledge without any proper structure of assessment. Most importantly, not all teachers are not good at technical stuff to manage classes or material distribution.

. COVID-19 also raised prominent questions about the need, significance, and value of virtual learning platforms. The majority of the students have been affected negatively and therefore the government should come up with such education policies that would benefit all the students. Common people also need to volunteer to lead a hand to needy people.

The complex paradigm of streams.

“Now what?”This question every student encounter in life after completing school. A career plan is the most significant and difficult question of life. Our whole life depends on this small question. Sometimes we choose our path and sometimes our society decides for us.

The question “What do I want to do in life?” is hard to answer.

It is tough for a school student to find their path at such a young age, because of the complicated model of ‘streams’. Studying science means you are limited to the medical and the engineering line. Studying commerce means being captured in chartered accountancy, banking, and finance and learning humanities imply that I must choose to become a lawyer or journalist.

The problem is the high competition within society The tragic fact is that we can never come back from this model of education, studies, and streams. we don’t have the right to choose subjects that are a combination of different streams. The reason streams are a challenge for us is that they directly affect our careers. Choosing a career is choosing life. As a career is related to financial independence. The question became more significant. every parent expects from there child to pursue a career that has the reputation, high earning prospect, and quite popular in society. Boys, in particular, are supposed to choose a career that can support their families financially one day. Today passion and happiness don’t matter when it comes to a career. The thing that matters for society is the reputation of the career. For society, boys should not go for teaching jobs, fashion designing and cooking are something that society doesn’t consider ideal jobs. some jobs are called ‘feminine jobs’ not meant for boys. Like cooking is related to females. Some jobs get undermined like fashion designing is compared to tailoring.

Students’ choices are also impacted badly by the stereotypes and repercussions. and they have to choose paths unwillingly as per society’s concern. Even though we are heading towards an impartial society, such differences prevail in our society. The ‘pay scale’ affects the choice of career. Women are still paid less and the gender pay gap continues to widen.

Lack of awareness of new opportunities is a major challenge that school students face. We are not aware of the options beyond the ‘visible careers’. Visible careers are those careers that we see in everyday life, such as doctors, teachers, engineers, journalists, politicians, and businessmen. We lack knowledge about other options we have. There is a world beyond these visible careers: such as being a therapist, an urban planner, a singer, a beautician, a blogger.

so many jobs are available now because of the internet. such jobs can provide a great opportunity to the newcomer. Like social media marketing, a YouTuber, a blogger, a digital marketer. But the problem is students don’t have access to and knowledge of this career.

Your career should be based on your strengths. The best choice of career comes from one’s passions and hobbies. Your career should inspire you and be the reason for your existence. It is you who can decide your career, not others. and being yourself and the following passion makes you happier.

Traditional education system how much effective?

Covid Pandemic left many Indians unemployed. While unemployment has always been a cause of attention for India. But mandatory experience and training made it more worse and challenging. the lack of practical skills holds us back. The recent unemployment numbers among educated youth show the drawback of India’s faulty education system and the lack of the right learning opportunities for young professionals.

The government of India wanted to create a workforce of skilled professionals but the coronavirus pandemic made the situation drastic and critical. There was a time when a degree could help a person getting a desired job. But with more competition., a degree is not sufficient itself. The biggest issue is practical knowledge with theoretical knowledge. Classroom learning is more focused on theory. When students step into the professional world, they find themselves not capable enough to handle the work because of the drawbacks of our education system. Our country has educated unemployed people. Shows the inadequacies in our education system.

companies want educated fellows with practical skills. That our education system is unable to give. Because it is limited to academics. Youth lack new-age skills that companies need from their employees. With limited online and offline courses for industry-specific training such as engineering, IT, etc., Most young professionals lack confidence while dealing with problems at their workplace. Moreover, since schools, colleges and universities are following the traditional system of education. it acts as a hurdle when professionals come to face real-life circumstances.

Students need to develop new skills. So that student can learn something above education and makes students ready to be professionals. India has the potential to be a preferred destination for global sourcing. Skill development can bring this to reality by instilling more confidence in young professionals. As their skill increases their employability will increase, and ultimately lead to the nation’s financial growth.

The government needs to assist India’s workforce informally trained. With immediate competition, we need to adopt better strategies too. we need to improve standards of education and adopt newer methods. The higher the standards of training and skill development, the better our workforce can be. The country National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) can also contribute to solving the problem by creating more awareness and come up with suitable programs that can help professionals.

Transformation can only come with the government. The education system, industries, and students collectively understand and recognized the significance of skill improvement.

A new version of Censorship.

As per the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITy), social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Instagram have to follow the new Guidelines of government failing which can lead to a ban. guidelines were issued in February 2021, and social media platforms had around 3 months to acquire these guidelines. The companies are yet to respond to the Intermediary Guidelines. The decision taken due to the fake headlines do nothing but spread fear among people.

According to the constitution, India is a democracy at least on pen and paper. However, certain powerful people in the Central Government, to strengthen power, are now trying to silence free speech on social media. Free speech is a right granted to all human beings globally. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) recognizes it as a fundamental right. India happens to be one having this right. This means, Indian citizens should have access to this right, and it’s the government’s responsibility to see that this right is being protected.

Yet, these powerful individuals within the Central Government, have time and again gone to unbelievable measures to control this right.

. The disappointed young people of today turn to social media to express their objections about everything they found mistaken or unsuitable. Be it a person of any class, culture, community, and religion. everyone turns to the internet. And the only way to check these critics would be by introducing “Agreement Officers”.That is exactly what the government has done through its intermediary guidelines to check who’s saying what on the internet.

If this guideline came into being. There exists no mechanism for the common mass to raise their voices. The only time when the masses get to raise their voice is during the elections. But then again, it’s the media that controls the elections these days. Unfortunately, reporting is done in such a way that we’re persuaded in support of a particular political party. This plan, if achieved, will badly affect the very foundation of our democracy.

Criticism makes democracy strong. But these guidelines go against it.

Maybe government believes that criticism isn’t important anymore and hence has concluded that the internet should be controlled. It’s dishonest of this country to say that other countries are trying to crush free speech.

The government needs to come into a discussion with the social media companies and the common people. But the government didn’t give a single thought to it. It is nothing but censorship in disguise.

live-In Relationships Illegal or not?

Denial of granting protection to a couple who are in a live-in relationship only because it is socially and morally unacceptable. is it justified on the part of Punjab and Haryana High Court? The boy and the girl had been in a living relationship that goes against the girl’s parents will.

The couple asked for protection from the court for their life and liberty after being frightened by their families. Unfortunately, they were denied protection. the denial of their right under Article 21, in this case, is inappropriate. The judgment by the court seizes their identity as per Article 21 as well as the right to “life or liberty”.Article 21 declares that every individual has the right to their life or personal liberty. Therefore to secure their right the couple moved before the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the protection under Article 21, which is dismissed by the court on the ground of social and moral unacceptability. while rejecting the petition, the high court interpreted that the term “person” means those who are recognized by law as being capable of having legal rights and being bound by legal duties, not a couple. After getting married, a man and woman are considered capable of having legal rights and duties known as rights in the institution of marriage. But only when the marriage has been done as per their respective marriage laws in force in India.

The denial of the right to life and liberty is completely inappropriate in the law. Since no law in India criminalizes pre-marriage, it would be more like legislation by the judiciary to hold pre-marriage illegal based on social morals. There is no force of law in an opinion that has been embraced by the conservative majoritarian masses of India who find it illegitimate. The decision rendered by the Punjab and Haryana High court erred in ascertaining the aforesaid point. In place of assistance, the couple became the subject of discrimination held by the conservative majoritarian masses.

Why Asbestos removal is vital ?

Asbestos is a natural mineral constituted of soft and flexible fibers that are resistant to heat, electricity, and corrosion. These characteristics make the mineral valuable, but also make its exposure highly toxic. Asbestos removal is indispensable because it causes severe health problems such as cancer. Also some fatal issues, including asbestosis, mesothelioma. The most critical part of it is that some don’t reveal immediately but remain in your system for a longer period, sometimes years later. If high levels of asbestos exist in the house then its inhaling can lead to severe health problems such as mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer that can cause respiratory problems, ranging from a simple cough, allergies, and pneumonia. If you breathe asbestos fibers, this can get trapped in your lungs and can damage your lungs very severely if not removed properly. It may not even be possible to breathe because it will make you cough. The dust is terrible too because it can enter your lungs and get trapped in them. Some cases have shown that asbestos particles can go up to the lungs.

Even if someone does not get lung cancer due to their exposure to it, they will still experience many other health hazards. Direct contact with asbestos materials can easily penetrate your skin or you could suffer from skin irritation. Asbestos is not easily noticeable, but it may be everywhere. A toxin that’s slowly wreaking havoc on your health. accompanying health problems, it can decrease your property value also. Chances are you could lose a potential buyer if asbestos is not properly removed from your house. Asbestos Poses Environmental Dangers as its materials are not easily separable and fibers are microscopic. its removal requires special equipment. With the smallest cracks or gaps in your walls or floors, you can easily be exposed to high quantities of asbestos. That makes quick treatment of asbestos even more indispensable.

importance of internship and training.

In today’s digital era, competitiveness rise seriously. To be effective as an employee we need practical assistance and training. The practical experience and training not only help us to be productive but helps in magnifying our skills. Every time we learn a new skill it added to our personality development. Now companies are looking for a well-groomed personality. Internships are good means to enhance our knowledge, skills and to learn something effectively and practically. For the right utilization of the spare time, Internships are good means. Also, it is added to our resume and curriculum vitae. which increases the possibilities of selection during the placement. Internship and training are of different varieties. Some are in the workplace and some are work from home. Both means are useful in their way. Through the workplace internship, you can get practical experience and more chances of interaction with new people. Possibly you will find a great mentor in that way for your career guidance. And through work from home, you can save your time and devote it to learning something else. Every year, Government invests a big chunk in the training of the students. Because training increases the productivity of human capital. That will help in the long run students. For professional courses such as business and management. It is advisable to have prior experience. So that you became proficient enough to answer the practical solution of the problems. When you involve in training and internship you learn how to manage the work at the basic level. That will enhance your problem-solving and analytical skills.

Even our finance minister Nirmala Sitaram begin her work being a salesgirl. Ambani the leading and renounced groups come into existence after continuous years of hard work. Most intellectuals and psychologists recommend students to go for the internship because it will increase their knowledge, confidence to face the problem during work. Just as the college experience helps in dealing with the office environment. Similarly, internships help the student to identify the problems that they can deal with during work, with the identification of problem. students can look for the possible solution at the bottom level. Such experience helps students in the long run. So students should look for the internship. A career such as marketing, business, management is something that can be handled only when you exercise them on daily basis. So internship helps you in getting practical knowledge. In addition to it, things like content writing can be learned only by practice. For the practice, you can opt the internship. That will invest your time properly that you can waste here and there in other activities. Especially during summer vacations, you can utilize your time through involving in any internship.

Research shows that those students who indulge in internships are more productive and good at problem-solving than those who are much in academics. Academic knowledge is vital to understand the problem But if you want solutions, you should go for the practical experience that only training and internship can give you. In fact placement cells in the colleges also look for students who have practical experience. During the internship, you will learn some vital skills as well like confidence and body language. Internships and training also make your financial security. Some internship provides stipend also for the work. Also, expertise in work during the internship can lead you to get a permanent job. As some agencies provide regular or permanent jobs to their best employers during the work. Many students receive jobs while doing the internship. Especially look at the intens for hire. Therefore internship and training have a significant place in a student’s life. Even Doctors and Engineers have to go through technical training before beginning their work.

mental illness during pandemic

Mental Illness during Pandemic.
Covid19 pandemic hit the masses most severely mentally. The trauma from looking for the medicine, hospital beds to dealing with the mass of dead bodies, from being left jobless to mass migration and suffering. These all circumstances severely impacted our mental state. A tremendous number of people have lost their dear ones. And some are fighting for their life. While their loved ones and family are busy in the constant search of medicines and oxygen cylinders. Those who are safe are also suffering from mental illness by looking at their environment. Full of grief, devastation. This time is very hard. And financial crisis makes this problem. So many families especially of the lower class. Left without money and aid. Those who earn daily and labor are struggling a lot. These financial bottlenecks resulted in mental illness. Especially those students who are handling the digital divide. Faces stress and mental illness. All students couldn’t afford online education due to a lack of digital gadgets. That acts as a hindrance to the growth and education of unprivileged students. The cost of academic education and institution creates a financial burden for the students and the family. some can deal with it. But those who couldn’t eventually end up dropping out there college and institute. That leads to mental stress among the students. Recently, the cases of suicide by students increase manifold. That shows how mentally covid have impacted the students. Therefore cases of suicides are reported manifold. Students who are privilege enough. Also facing mental trauma. Online education also created an additional problem, technical glitches, electricity problems, access to devices, are major problems related to online education. That cause mental stress, headache as well as eyesight problems. This problem can be overcome through everyone’s participation. All need to contribute. By providing financial aid to the needy. And by including in the conversation as much as possible with our friends and family in this hard time. Chatting with each other acts as a medicine to cure the ailment of mental stress.

Students misery

The covid pandemic not only impacted adults but students also. At one place the children lost their childhood and on the other hand, students are concerned about their career, future that seem bleak to them due to covid devastating impact on the economy.

one of the most significant reasons is finance and the need for funds. Students are concerned because the global pandemic has created havoc in the employment sector. This resulted in many job losses in the informal sector. As the country is closed so those earning money daily and business have to suffer. The question of school, college, and tuition fees is another issue. This, in turn, has been magnified in the lives of the students and the youth of the country. The financial crisis within the family has bothered almost the majority of the population, especially the students.

The very first concern is the digital divide. Accessibility of digital gadgets especially among the lower economic classes. Eventually, which means withdrawing from school to some students. Being already distorted by financial emergencies, the necessity of digital devices acts as a hindrance in the way of student learning. leading to many students dropping out from formal courses and institutes. increasingly pitted against the highly competitive labor market with most being trapped in the vicious cycle of underpaid labor or disguised unemployment.

The government too is not in a position to solve this problem of digital devices because of treatment and aid expenses.

this economic crisis has an unfortunate effect on the mind of the students. The financial dependence on the family, often severe, mostly reduces them as isolated victims. It also hinders the access to academic opportunities of the student. . Many family members getting affected and the huge expense occurs on treatment, amidst the acute scarcity of oxygen cylinders and other medical pieces of equipment.

The students are facing the problem of academic costs at the same time when a lump sum amount is required for admission failing which the seat might get canceled.

Further, the debt trap will lead to a greater burden in the future for repayment with interest, leading to more psychological suffering. The hostility between maintaining academic costs as well as fending for health expenditure has had severe effects on the young minds, putting their future and aspirations at stake. In this situation, a and well-planned approach is needed to address the issue of financial crisis which can be aided by the government.

Is it a Happy New Year?

The Year 2021, this year seems like giant waves of oceans going down and down. Our country gets badly downtrodden due to the social, political, and economic issues that continue to prevail, due to an invisible enemy in the form of the deadly virus.

This virus shows no mercy to anyone doesn’t matter which class, culture, and religion person belongs to; it spares no one. As the cases went up, so did the false WhatsApp forwards, chaos, panic-buying, and fear among people. The increased cases and dilemma is frightful people. As people taking hurt over their mental health, too.

From the news of unknown viruses to fearing even a slight increase in body temperature, to look for medicines and oxygen cylinders, people have experienced it all. In the beginning. To ‘deal with a spontaneous and devastating situation the Indian government announced an out-and-out 40-day lockdown. Everything came to a standstill—except divisive journalism and discrimination.

While most people don’t have the privilege and luxury to stay home, quarantine isn’t a blessing for many. it lead rise in mental illness since the coronavirus outbreak. The level of stress and anxiety has heightened.

The apprehension about job security, draining of savings, or unavailability of basic things for survival, ambiguity. People who were already suffering from mental illnesses looked upon engaging themselves in outdoor activities and meeting their dear ones as the only coping mechanism. Now they have no option but to dive into the same misery they were battling. along with that crimes such as theft, murder, extortion, molestation, etc., are increasing at an unpredicted rate

COVID-19 is just not another death-dealing health hazard. It has more profound implications that society would have to bear post lockdown too.

Enlightenment as a mass betrayal

The radio, newspaper, and TV. All are mediums of communication. They all were invented to enlighten human beings. Every creation has its purpose So they have. It’s true that for daily information we depend on this medium but does this products assisting us. Or it’s just deception. The reality is they are a tool in hands of cooperation to earn profit. And increase their business. Providing information is just a business. we get only that much information that cooperates giants want. As half of the media is dominated by politicians and giant cooperates. That influences their credibility. Hard to believe but this is a bitter truth. this invention acts like a tool in those hand who have money. consumerism is created intentionally through media in the form of advertisement. Advertisement creates a desire in human beings. This desire resulted in more consumption thus adding profit to the big giants. That shows how people are betrayed. Today content is created in such a way that doesn’t make a person intellectual. But merely a passive consumer.
In this gamble and deception, along with corporate giants, politicians are also involved. They use the mediums to propagate their message. Thus people consider the propagated message as truth. Start believing it and thus there ideology and perspective got to change. These tactics can be a hindrance to the democracy and sovereignty of the country. The enlightenment that media promise somehow vanishes because of the huge enrollment of money. People themself need to enlighten. By becoming the active audience by actively analyzing, understanding every message. We can be saved from this mass deception through the mass medium. Just we need to be vigilant in our approach whenever we encounter a media product. we need to understand the hidden motive behind that content. We need to know who is the creator of the content. And what purpose the content fulfills for the creator. Thus content by media or medium of communication needs to be observed. To better understand them. To save ourselves from enlightenment as mass deception.

“Online Education and Digital Divide”

Recently our Union minister Prakash Javadekar said in the Lok Sabha, “No child was deprived of online education during the pandemic as the government had taken several steps in that direction.” Such a statement is nothing but a mere lie when we encounter reality.

A majority of Indian school students do not have the means or privilege for online education. Some face network and technical glitches. Some face electricity problem. The non-availability of gadgets is another problem. Accessible and compulsory education has always been a challenge in India. Right to education is something that is written merely on paper not exist in the real world. The pandemic broadened the pre-existing gap making online education a commodity of sheer privilege. During the lockdown, thousands of students have suffered due to the digital divide. Taking the example of the Indian state with the highest literacy rate, Kerala witnessed numerous cases where students took away their lives due to a lack of accessibility to digital tools. sometimes Internet accessibility act as a hindrance.

the obvious failure of the system and concerned authorities witnessed from the devastating act of suicide by the students. Not just that; for powering devices, access to electricity is crucial for digital education. Some states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have a severe problem with electricity.

In the rural area, the houses received electricity for less than 12 hours a day. most of India’s population lives in villages where only 15% of rural households have access to internet services. Whereas in urban areas, it’s 42%. Moreover, India witnessed a spike in unemployment during the lockdown affecting the livelihood of millions.

Especially compulsion of electronic gadgets for online education became a severe problem as in rural areas subsistence is very difficult. Not every rural person could afford expensive gadgets. In most households with a meager income, eating three meals a day was not guaranteed, purchasing costly internet plans or devices cost them a fortune. From mortgaging assets to cutting off on essential household expenses, families have done it all to make online education a possibility when the government schemes failed to reach the neediest.

Although several NGOs, social groups, and individuals rose to link this digital gap by sponsoring smartphones and laptops, the negligence by the authorities can’t be overlooked. An ordinary Indian citizen expects its government is to at least acknowledge the problem. After all, how will one solve the problem if one does not acknowledge it!

Nepotism in today’s Bollywood

we are living in a feudal society, but still, nepotism permeates everyone. however, the film industry is trapped in nepotism.
Nepotism can be defined as an act of using power or position in an unethical manner to get the dear ones in the same field. It not only exists in business but also in the Bollywood industry. this topic has been raised many times in the Bollywood industry and unfortunately having a negative impact rather than a positive impact on the lives of celebrities. Before the incident of Sushant Singh Rajput, this topic was not discussed seriously. But after his death, Bollywood was trapped in nepotism and many celebrities were interrogated. many celebrities talked about nepotism openly. Some talked positively and some in a negative manner.
Kangana Ranaut came into the industry in 2006 with the movie Gangster. She was the one to raise this topic negatively as she labelled filmmaker Karan Johar as the flag bearer of nepotism in the show Koffee with Karan. Due to this, she gained prominence. She also called Tapsee Panu and Swara Bhaser outsider. After Sushant Singh Rajput death many actors were trolled and questioned on nepotism . Because of this, many celebrities also lost fan following.
We often say that some star kids are excellent actors and done their work very well. But we said some not all because some star kids don’t take their work seriously and due to the lack of seriousness films get flopped. Nothing is wrong with exercising power based on one’s family background/star kids, but at least chance should be given to the newcomers or outsiders and even to those who don’t have any connections or godfather in Bollywood. So, they can make their names and show their talent to the public.

Real Happiness

Today in this consumerist world, the actual meaning and definition of happiness got changed. Earlier the happiness lies within the relations between the people. But growing industrialization and materialistic nature. Change the meaning of happiness for common people. today’s happiness is not the smile of the people. But the luxury became the source of joy and happiness. Social media and the internet managed to make human beings individualistic. Relation and ties among the masses are just a matter of messages. The real happiness now lies in materials and luxuries. Humans want more and more. The never-ending demand and grief of the human have wiped the concept of the real happiness. It changed its meaning. It alters its values. The early tradition, rituals, and get together don’t matter anymore. Today rituals are just a matter of fun. People don’t believe in meeting with each other. Humans today happy in the isolation. With all the materialistic objects and comfort. But if material and luxury are not happiness. Then what is happiness? It is something that we get after seeing someone happy. It is something we get after helping someone else. By looking after anyone else than yourself. It means keeping aside the greed and doing generous work. It means sidelining your sorrow, ego for someone else happiness. The sad fact is that today humans do not look after happiness. Now the happiness doesn’t matter to humans. Human is lost somewhere in the consumerist world. And so human happiness also lost.
The need of the time is to look for the real happiness. To realize that real happiness comes when you do something for someone else. Materialistic things can give you comfort and luxurious life. But it can’t give you that warmth that happiness that feeling that a real human being can give you. Human being need to understand his/her role as a human And need to look after other people to there dearest one. So that along with happiness ,humanity can be saved.

Designing the Buyer Centric Funnel

In these industrial times, all the companies want to bait their customers, in fact for a much longer time than just one visit or purchase. This leads to continuous, relentless competition in the markets for the purpose of bagging more and more loyal customers. This is where the use of a Sales Funnel enters the talk. But is it possible to keep your customers devoted to your product without a well-designed, blockage-free funnel? The answer is ‘no’. A sales funnel signifies the path which is taken by a customer from being just an explorer of your product to being a loyal customer for a long time. Through this article, we will go into depths of a customer’s psychology and get some insights on how to design a “buyer centric-funnel”.

Understanding the Funnel

Why is this Funnel a requisite?

The requirement of an effective method for better sales of a company’s product cannot be dismissed, keeping in view of the increase in a feud for loyal customers in the market. Also, with the coming up of e-commerce sites, grabbing a customer’s attention will be the predominant field to work upon, for the sellers.

Breakdown of the steps of a Buyer Centric Funnel

Awareness- This is the key point that should be kept in mind while designing the funnel. Awareness does most of the work when it comes to putting the customer in a phase of scrutiny. To start with, we need to put forward a problem in front of the customer and provide a promising solution for the latter to build up the curiosity. At this stage, we wouldn’t mention our product to the customer.
Consideration- Here, we need our customer to get so intimate with the product that he/she starts knowing about it like the back of his/her hand. We need to give out demos, free trials, triggers and customer stories to the customer to build up their trust in our firm because, to sell to a customer, you have to barge into the thought process of a customer.
Purchase- Now you have to sell the product to your buyer and assure your product stands out from the products of all your competitors.

How to avoid Blockages in the Funnel?

Get into your buyer’s head- That’s where the whole concept of ‘Understanding the buyer’s psychology’ comes in. We need to ask ourselves questions like “What inspires them to buy our product?”, “How can our product be a solution to their problems?”, “How can we redesign our product to fit their needs?” and work on the answers to these questions.
Slogans- Through close study, we come to a conclusion that firms with good slogans are doing better off in the market. The slogans and advertisements of these firms draw customers by getting stuck inside their brains.
Quality Maintenance- The quality of your product and extended benefits to loyal customers also gives your firm a new standing among the competitors. We also need to carefully appraise the field where our product fails to deliver and redesign it with wit.

What is Flip the Funnel?

Flipping the Sales Funnel refers to the process of retaining the loyal customers of the firm to gain new customers. Some firms in the market tend to forget its old customers in search of a bigger reach and new customers which lead to the degradation of the firm’s reputation in the market.

To gain ground, we need to build new customers on top of the old ones which can be done by referrals of the consumers to one another. Referral and reputation go and hand in hand. In fact, referrals are the leading intermediary stage for building a good reputation for the firm. According to a survey, 92% of people trust referrals from people they know.

We also need to adapt to the new rules of the market and focus more on redesigning products according to the wants of our targets for our technique to be successful. Rewarding the everlasting customers will be a plus point to this.

CONCLUSION

The design of a proper sales funnel is the most crucial part for the firm and should be done with patience and sheer determination through proper study and fact consideration, for the firm to leave its mark in this market race.

“The best sales questions have your expertise wrapped into them.”
-Jill Konrat

Biden Rules begins

President Joe Biden has baited office in a country looking prominently different than it did on his forefather’s inauguration Day.Covid19 has killed more than 4,00,000 Americans, with a big part of socio-economic toll impute to federal Mismanagement, The US has also renounced its role as leader of the free world, squabbled with democratic allies while keeping authority populist’s everywhere, snicker at its post-truth misadventures. This month’s attack on the capital represented the domestic broadcast has poisoned the polity. In the short, the new administration has its work cut out invent correctives at multiple levels. It is a mighty challenge. But democracy is hypothetical on elections making a difference.

The promise of a new dawn is both powerful and credible. The diversity, temperance, and experience of the incoming cabinet strongly suggest that they have a good measure of the problems at hand, and the ambition to attempt solutions one clear aspirational target is 100 million doses of covid19 vaccines n the first 100 days. Then, Janet L Yellen, who will be the new treasury secretary and America’s top economic diplomat, has verbalized as priorities both addressing the economic damage of the pandemic at home and repairing relationships with various allies abroad to take on china’s (illegal, unfair and abusive practices) collectively.
After the vain of institutions and Clutter or flailing seen in the Trump years, it will indeed take solid international cooperation to revitalize the global rules-based order. The incoming secretary of state Antony Blinking has shown a welcome so be saying,(We’ll engage the world, not as it was, but as it is)Pragmatically speaking, rebukes on human rights issues for India may be part and parcel of Washington’ liberal festival alongside the many Indian and American in the Biden Team.

Women empowerment

Amongst covid-19 pandemic, 2021 budget has potential to increase women labor force participation up to 2 percent this year.

Nirmala Sitaraman, Minister of finance, the government of

India shared that budget 2021 has the potential to increase the employment of

women. COVID-19 pandemic had disproportionately impacted women

forcing them to drop out of the workforce. The women labor force participation according to the center comes down from 25 percent to 21 percent, due to job loss by women. In urban India only 12 out of every 100 still employed are women, a shocking

statistic, down from the already low 18. No doubt the covid 19 pandemics have resulted in many challenges such as pay disparities and expensive child care is an economic downturn that hit women workers measurably harder than men. Whenever the economy shrinks people lose jobs, then look for another job but women aren’t sitting it out so much as being pushed out by disproportionate job loss,

lack of child care, pay disparities, and lack of public policy to support working women. women with children are much more likely to report that working from home has hurt their productivity and affected their careers .there are three drivers of increased women labor force participation 1.Jobs that exist in locations where the woman has family support.2) Contemporary and new skilling (like digital marketing, for instance) that allows for marketability3) A government mandate that enables small businesses to be rewarded for hiring more women. The allowance of women to work in all shifts is a move towards reducing the gender divide brought in by COVID-19. This will help industries such as IT and BPO in Special Economic Zone’s, manufacturing companies in sectors such as Textiles, Pharma- as well as large organizations with a national presence. The textile industry, one of India’s ancient industries that employ the largest numbers of women has received a big stimulus with the announcement of seven Textile Parks. The third aspect which would allow small businesses to be rewarded for hiring women has not seen any pull in any of the budgets presented in the few last years. Large organizations in metropolitan cities have already bought the business case for both genders that led to women’s employment being enhanced. It is the 2 and 3 level metropolitan cities and towns that need the influence of involvement. And this is where there is a large population of women – educated, career-seeking, and yet unable to earn

reasonable money due to the non-availability of jobs matching their aspirations. As per data, young women in the age group of 20-24 across urban locales, are more interested in being employed than similar-aged women in rural India. As such, this is a very important talent pool, waiting to be engaged. The BPO and micro-enterprises in these locations will require a stimulus to engage women more proactively. Had the budget addressed this, by providing a bit small, yet encouraging a sum of money to employers of women, India would have seen a jump in women’s job creation to almost double-digit increases, which will have a multiplier effect on the economy.

WhatsApp’s new privacy policy.

Identifiable living individual and includes names, email Ids, ID
card numbers, physical and IP addresses. Data is the large
collection of information that is stored in a computer or on a
network. Data is collected and handled by entities called data
fiduciaries. The processing of this data has become an
important source of profits for big corporations. Companies,
governments, and political parties find it valuable because
they can use it to find the most convincing ways to advertise
online. The physical attributes of data where data is stored,
where it is sent, where it is turned into something useful are
called data flows.

WhatsApp’s decision to delay the update of its privacy policy,
following a backlash from its users, is an implicit
acknowledgement of the increasing role played by
perceptions about privacy in the continued well-being of a
popular service. Problems for the Facebook-owned app
started earlier this January when it announced an update to
its terms of service and privacy policy, according to which users would no longer be able to opt out of sharing data with
Facebook.

February 8 was kept as the deadline for the new terms to be
accepted. This triggered a mass withdrawal from WhatsApp,
the likes of which it has never encountered, not even in the
aftermath of the Cambridge Analytical scandal, which did
bring a lot of bad press to its parent, or when the messaging
app’s co-founders called it quits a few years ago. The
WhatsApp policy update has clearly spooked many users,
who, concerned about their privacy getting compromised,
have shifted to alternative platforms such as Signal and
Telegram. WhatsApp has asked for data which contains your account
information such as Phone number, the name attached to
the account, the profile photo you currently have for
WhatsApp, the device you are using, the time when you have
been online, all your contacts, all group names of which you
are a part of, the device type, the IP address, device build
number, device manufacturer, details of the web/desktop
version and the platform which is used for WhatsApp Web,
your Status.

It also has the exact time when you set the
current profile photo and the current status message. The list
includes all contacts with whom you would have chatted on
WhatsApp, and only the mobile phone numbers are
mentioned. It also has your settings for the app, including the
privacy settings for Last Seen, Profile Photo, About Privacy

and Status Privacy. It also includes a list of the all numbers
you have blocked and whether you have Read Receipt on or
off. The issue has once again raised questions about what
constitutes legitimate uses of data and how businesses,
governments and political parties can and cannot use data .A
White Paper produced by a government-appointed
committee, headed by retired judge B.N. Srikrishna , which is
formulating a national data protection law for India and its people to safeguard there interest.

FACEBOOK As A Digital Marketing Tool

Digital Marketing involves showcasing labor and products utilizing advanced innovations and computerized mediums. In this specific circumstance, it is appropriate to take note that with the coming of Web 2.0 or online media, advertisers currently get the opportunity to use the chances offered by computerized showcasing utilizing web-based media like Facebook. This article investigates the benefits and disservices of utilizing Facebook for computerized advertising and talks about the different issues encompassing this idea. Prior to dispatching into the conversation, it is advantageous to take note that the unmatched admittance to an enormous customer base managed by Facebook settles on it the ideal vehicle of decision for advertisers particularly those occupied with buyer merchandise and FMCG or Fast Moving Consumer Goods. This is on the grounds that Facebook has a consolidated client base of in excess of a billion group and arrives at almost one of every four grown-ups in the United States alone. Aside from this, the utilization of Facebook in the developing business sectors is significantly more inescapable with gauges recommending that out of the 80% of the absolute Facebook clients who are from outside of the United States, almost 50% of them are dynamic clients causing the medium a stage for brands to be seen in the “loud social media world”.

advantage of using facebook

Proceeding with the focuses made above, it is without a doubt the case that Facebook offers entrance and reach to advertisers particularly those working on careful financial plans, as they don’t need to spend a lot of cash on costly showcasing efforts. Also, dissimilar to customary media where the adequacy and viability of an advertising effort can’t be estimated straightforwardly and all things being equal, readership or viewership measurements are utilized, Facebook promoting can be estimated for its adequacy as navigate and transformation of eyeballs into buys is promptly accessible. Further, Facebook offers the exceptional possibility for advertisers to focus on a worldwide crowd and simultaneously, think about nearby factors. As such, this means advertisers can make crusades, which have a worldwide subject, and simultaneously can contact their neighborhood crowd also. The conflation of contacting a more extensive crowd without settling on the neighborhood clients implies that Facebook turns into the informal communication site of decision when contrasted with Twitter and Instagram that are more engaged in their compass. Further, the “death of distance” and the evacuation of the topographical imperatives imply that spatial and locational obstructions are nonexistent with Facebook Digital Marketing. As of now, organizations like Coca-Cola and Starbucks have utilized the force of Facebook to incorporate it with their advertising techniques for viable client outreach.

downsides of using facebook

Obviously, there are disadvantages to utilizing Facebook as a marketing tool and these incorporate the rate with which negative exposure can go all throughout the planet in a jiffy. For example, a desirous contender or a disappointed worker may post negative remarks or data about the brand or the item, and considering the manners by which such remarks can go “viral” very quickly and even minutes, the case advertisers and organizations must be consistently watching out for what is being said and remarked upon on their items. The highlight is noted here is that when, the advertiser, the organization delegate concocts a reply or the refuting of the negative remark or exposure, the harm would have been finished. Aside from this, utilizing Facebook as the computerized promoting medium implies that moment satisfaction is the standard as opposed to any supported commitment with the brand. This outcome in clients (who are generally of Generation Y) sizing up the brand in a shallow and shallow way which implies that little consideration is paid to more profound idea and nuanced advertising similar to the case with customary media.

other issues to be considered

We enjoy thinking about the benefits and burdens of utilizing Facebook for Digital Marketing. Aside from these, different issues include Facebook. For example, promoting on Facebook is simple and economical when contrasted with customary media as one should simply incorporate Facebook into the organization’s internet advertising procedure and make a fan page or a devoted page as well as accommodating designated messages pointed the engaged shopper portion. Further, promoting on Facebook can bring extra advantages as can be found in the organization’s new moves to be more forceful to the extent online business and m-Commerce are concerned. This has for quite some time been a staying point among Facebook and its corporate customers, as the last needed the previous to incorporate these perspectives more into the general technique.

Prior to concluding this article, one should consider the way that news voyages quickly in the online world and ventures promptly in the web-based media world. Thusly, this can be a power for great and simultaneously, can yield capricious outcomes. In addition, incorporating Facebook into an organization’s general promoting methodology should be done solely after due ingenuity is done as the money-saving advantage investigation turns out distinctively for various organizations in the various areas. Taking everything into account, Facebook is a distinct advantage for advertisers and the arising patterns show that it would be utilized more by the advertisers as they look for all the more value for the money as far as the profits per dollar spent on showcasing and promoting.

Media mere puppet for politicians and giant corporations.

Media, the fourth pillar of democracy act like a puppet in front of politicians lately. With many toolkits, cases highlight. Excessive paid news reporting during Election. Exhibits how media is governed by political parties. Today massive advertisement by the political parties shows the nexus between media and political parties. Showcase their close economic connections. Media also alleged for running agenda and propaganda for their allied politician during elections. Which hampered the credibility of the media. Many journalists appear to favor their alleged political parties openly in their text, report, and debate. Even the questions asked in interviews are biased one sustaining only one side or party. Its been observed during elections, this funding increase manifold. To dominate media investment partnership, toolkit, gifts, privileges are some tactics that political parties used without coming into suspicion. Such malpractice is performed by political parties to bribe the Media. To use it as a weapon during election campaigns. witnessed in the way media seems divided in their message. They showcase only the positive side of their party, their positive work shaping the idea and ideology of the common people. Media runs agenda and propaganda to deviate audience from the basic problem of the society and shift towards the direction their funders want. media propagates only those messages there supportive parties want. Maximum paid news reports are linked with political parties. Many politician leaders names are highlighted and summoned by the election campaign. But lack of proof and unwillingness lead to no fruitful result. And no severe action was taken place. Now media listen and write only what there investor wants. The incomplete, partial and biased information shared by the news channel became a hindrance for the sovereignty of the country. Severe actions and identification of the political parties became the necessity of time. the large number of manipulation on the part of the media shows that it has lost the credibility and trust that people have in them prior. Passive audience are consuming the biased or manufactured message that can hamper the autonomy and sovereignty of the country. Nowadays, Beside politicians many private institutions and cooperate giants seem to invest their large chunks in the media .For example, Mukesh Ambani, his family and friends owned INX Media recently. That show media became a puppet now.

Instagram As A Digital Marketing Tool

Social media has changed the manner in which we speak with one another, incorporating how organizations speak with their intended interest group. The prominence of these stages has quickly made social media when all is said in done, a fundamental instrument for advertisers across ventures. In any case, one social media stage has totally changed the universe of computerized showcasing due to its impact on the two clients and brands: Instagram.

Over the most recent couple of years, Instagram has made new sub-classes, professions, and organizations and changed the manner in which individuals see organizations. Instagram is a solid power that advertisers can’t easily overlook any longer. Following are a portion of the numerous ways Instagram has affected the scene of showcasing and current client conduct.

Increasing visual marketing efforts

Because of the force of Instagram, organizations are progressively putting resources into visual advertising. All things considered, there are 500 million every day dynamic clients on Instagram. After a preliminary attempt, advertisers rapidly acknowledge how much likely lies in the stage and are resolved to execute it in their promoting techniques. On Instagram, a message’s visual effect is a lot more grounded than some other sense. Consequently, organizations are creating their own visuals to draw in their devotees, from photographs of their representatives to pictures of their items in various circumstances. Because of Instagram, organizations are getting more inventive with their way to deal with the visual promotion.

Creating more video content

As a feature of their expanding center around visual substance, advertisers are making more recordings. Instagram’s generally new video highlight is as yet developing in prominence with individual and business clients. Organizations are delivering spellbinding and shareable recordings they make for the most part in-house. This isn’t at all astonishing, as video and online media are two of the advertising apparatuses that bring the best outcomes. At the point when you join them, you have another approach to draw the consideration of your clients and prospects and construct dependable, significant associations with them.

Generating feedback is increasingly important

Feedback has consistently been significant for advertisers, yet with an online media stage like Instagram, criticism is essential. Your crowd’s response to your substance is apparent to everybody and, in this manner, can fundamentally affect your online standing. From the number of preferences, your Instagram profile needs to the number of individuals who like and remark on your photographs or recordings, everything matters to your crowd. That is the reason a few organizations are purchasing Instagram likes to expand their numbers and contact a more extensive crowd. The greater your crowd, the higher your odds of changing over more supporters into clients.

Increasing interaction with your target audience

Instagram urges organizations to connect all the more intimately with their intended interest group. On the off chance that you don’t become acquainted with your crowd and comprehend their requirements, wants, and torments, it will be more enthusiastically for you to understand what items they need. That is the reason communicating with clients and possibilities has consistently been significant for brands, however, Instagram makes it simpler and more effective. For instance, numerous organizations run photograph challenges that urge clients to share photographs of the items, arrange Q and As, etc. These strategies assist organizations in withdrawing from their intended interest group, increment brand mindfulness, and start new client ventures.

Changing content consumption

Not just have Instagram and other online media changed the kinds of substance clients and items devour, however they’ve additionally adjusted the manner in which they burn through the substance you make for them. Since web-based media stages make sharing substance simple, clients are overpowered with the huge volume of posts from individuals and organizations they know and don’t have the foggiest idea. To slice through the clamor, organizations are making scaled down (or “snackable”) substances to hang out in the feed. The present clients don’t need a hefty substance that requires an hour to devour; they need something fascinating that will engage them briefly. Giving that can have unlimited advantages for your organization.

Concluding by saying, Instagram will keep on forming marketing. All things considered, that is the place where pretty much every client and prospect is, and connecting with them at this stage is critical to accomplishing incredible computerized promoting results. Focus on how different brands in your industry are utilizing Instagram, and track down your own specific manner to associate with your crowd and urge them to buy your items or administrations.

The Modern Age Of Activism

With the advancement of technology and the passage of time, the field of “Social Media” and its influence has expanded and flourished. What began as a place for people to express themselves, share their experiences, and meet new people from all over the world has evolved into an increasingly important forum for addressing socially and politically relevant issues that affect the lives of people all over the world. The claws of social media are so powerful that it is now thought that, because of its inherent strength, it has helped bring the world closer to us, right at our fingertips. Contrary to common opinion, and in light of current events, we must increasingly doubt the influence of social media.

The growth of social media has been measured not only in terms of the number of users worldwide, but also in terms of the number of channels and features available. It has also become a forum through which millions of people can access and obtain information about social and political issues and movements as a result of its development. As a result, the form of contemporary political movements and demonstrations has been formed. The #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements are archetypal examples of how modern-day protests are organized on social media, demonstrating the amount of political participation and interest that can be generated on the platform. Given that thousands of people post their social and political views every day, such a knowledge overload creates a great deal of uncertainty, which in turn influences the perceptions of millions of people who read these posts. Hence, a query arises, ‘Can you blindly accept any news that is shared on social media? ‘Because what we think of as facts or news could just be a piece of someone else’s opinion on a given topic.’

The terms “momentarily” and “fad” can be used interchangeably to describe modern-day social media movements. While it is simple to raise awareness about a significant social issue, both of these movements follow the ‘bell curve.’ When the ‘Black Lives Matter’ (BLM) campaign erupted on social media, for example, it caused an instant uproar and drew everyone’s attention. People were not only vocal about their views on racism, but they were also supportive of the campaign. But, after #BlackoutTuesday, what happened? People resumed posting memes and other standard material. Within a few days, the movement that had gotten so much coverage overnight had faded from users’ feeds. When Black Lives Matter became popular, people began using it as a motif for photoshoots, makeup inspiration, and creating ‘Tiktoks.’ The movement’s objective was totally changed, and it was relegated to being a “feature of the month.” When these factors are considered, the feasibility and viability of using social media to raise political and social problems is called into question. Although it empowers millions of citizens and highlights sensitive issues, we now see that it often disempowers people and reduces the sensitivity of the issues it represents.

When it comes to demographics, ‘Millennials’ and ‘Generation-Z’ are the most active users of social media. It has become a hotspot for them to express themselves without filters. The only issue with this culture’s promotion is that it has started to incite a lot of hatred among people. Previously, we had incidents where social media saved the lives of people who needed saving, and now we have incidents where it takes the lives of people due to the amount of hatred it can generate in a split second. While there is no mention of a second chance on social media, there are plenty of unsolicited opinions. Let’s take the case of someone who hasn’t been exposed to bigotry and has an uninformed view about it. On a social media website, the person posts something about his personal opinion. After receiving criticism from others, the same person chooses to reflect and reconsider his position. The individual recognizes their lack of sensitivity and re-posts. People on social media will call it hypocrisy outright, and there would be no space for a normalized response to a shift of perception that may occur as a result of new facts and realizations. This same scenario plays out on different social media sites on a daily basis, and it can have a significant impact on an individual’s mental health.

While social media has many advantages, such as bringing the world closer together in multiple ways, we cannot overlook the differences it has generated among communities and people. The term “socializing” has taken on a new meaning in today’s world, and the days of people meeting up and interacting are long gone. Social media has rapidly transformed activism into ‘slacktivism,’ and this fact makes us doubt its viability as a forum for discussing social or political movements, because, while we may think we are making a difference, we are ultimately supporting the ‘clickbait’ mentality, in which anything is viewed as a passing fad.

5 PART-TIME JOBS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Education is very important but experience holds equal importance in life. It is not important that you complete your studies and then gain work experience. You can study and earn not only experience but also money. In your free time, there are many jobs that college students can do. Some can be done from home whereas you might need to step out for some.

It has three benefits:

You gain work experience,
You earn and therefore learn what financial independence is.
You learn how the real world works and how you can survive it.

Here’s a list of 5 simple jobs that college students can do. These are easy to do and do not require many skills or any prior experience.

Baby-sitting:

Babysitting is the most flexible job for students because you can work when you have free time. It’s even better if you love kids. The tasks you need to do in this job may include.

Homework help for school going kids
Basic household work
Meal preparation
Attending to the child’s health
School pick up and drop

It is one of the easiest jobs. There’s no set income for this job and depends on the parents of the kid and you.

Call centre representatives:

Call centres require a large workforce. There are a variety of people working at call centres. Students also happen to be in large numbers. You need to have good command over language and must be well-spoken. The salary may vary company to company and time dedicated towards the job. The work of a call centre representative includes:

Managing calls
Reading pre-determined script
Selling products or asking for donations
Input customer data
Researching customer data

Pet-sitter:

This is probably the most fun job on the list especially for people who love pets. You can search for this job yourselves or use apps like Rover. They connect you to the pet owner who needs a sitter. The income through this job also depends on the employer.

You might need to perform the following tasks:

Dog walking
Cleaning the pet
Taking care of medications
Vet visits
Pet transport

Online tutor:

If you are academically strong and can teach other students. Online tutoring is the best job. You can hold classes yourselves or can join an institute as a teacher. This job will pay you good money.

As an educator, you will have to do the following things:

Prepare study material
Clear doubts of the students
Check academic progress
Dedicate at least an hour to teach

Social media manager:

This is one of the most rapidly growing jobs in today’s time. Social media has become a part of our lives. Businesses use it to promote their business. For this, they hire social media managers. This job is also well-paying and you can work according to your schedule. But make sure to meet the deadlines.

Your job as a social media manager will include:

Promoting business through social media
Handling social media accounts
Posting regularly
Increasing engagement
Holding online events

There are jobs as well which you can do as a college student. Some of them are:

Sales associates
Content writers
Translator
Web designer

All these jobs mostly require very basic skills. But if you specialize in something then it’s even better. Like not everyone can do web designing. Only people you have learned it can do it.

You can search for these jobs locally where you live or can surf the internet. There are many apps as well that connect students to employers who are looking to hire people.

In the end, all you need is the determination to do something and keep learning.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?

Social Media Marketing is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. Earlier, e-marketing and digital marketing were in vogue . But today, the term Social Media Marketing is gaining recognition. It connects you with your audience and helps in building your brand, increases sales and drives website traffic. It allows brands to establish their social media “tone” and “culture” and manage marketing campaign.

The major social media platforms used are: Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.

Through Social Media Marketing, companies keep in touch with individual followers. This helps instil loyalty into followers and potential customers. The use of new semantic analysis technology helps marketers detect buying signals. This includes content shared by people and questions posted.

Below is a step by step guide you can use to enhance you social media presence:

SETTING GOALS:

You should know what you want out of social media. Some may use social media for brand awareness whereas some may use it to drive website traffic. You should set realistic social media goals. To begin with, you should set small and achievable goals for yourself. This will scale your social media efforts and will be reasonable and affordable.

You should pick out the social media platforms where your target audience is more. After creating a good social media presence on some platforms, you can expand it on other platforms as well.

Your current social media marketing plan doesn’t have to be your plan forever. You can bring changes to it according to how your posts perform.

PLANNING AND PUBLISHING:

Close to three billion people use the internet daily. In the initial stages, your main aim is being consistent on social media. All you’ve got to do is post pictures, videos or a blog post daily. This will bring you brand in the eyes of future customers. You need to plan your content beforehand and publish it at the right time. Also, being aware of your target audience is a must. Also, where does your target audience resides. A variety of social media scheduling tools allow you to publish your content on your preferred time.This saves your time and allows you to reach your audience when they engage with your content.

ENGAGEMENT:

Engagement means that customers and stakeholders are active participants rather than passive. Engagement on social media can be divided into two parts: proactive and reactive conversations. Proactive means regularly posting content like photos and videos. Reactive conversations involve commenting and engaging. People might talk about your brand without your knowledge. So you will want to track conversations about your brand. But it is impossible to check all the notifications. Instead you can use a social media listening and engagement tool. It allows you to see all the mentions and messages throughout different platforms. It also enables you to see the posts that didn’t tag your business’s social media profile.

ANALYTICS:

You will want to know how well your posts are doing in promoting and reaching out to people. You need to analyse the performance of your one post over the other. This will help you to fine tune your content for more engagement. Tracking the metrics of your content in real time will enable you to make small changes. It will save you from sweeping your entire strategy for a new one. You can be reactive in the short term to get the most out of your running campaign. Later, proactively use these takeaways to inform your next major strategy.

ADVERTISING:

Promotion through social media ads is one way to promote your brand. It helps you reach greater audiences, even the people who don’t follow you. You can create ads according to your target audience. You can also specify the demographics, interests, etc. Social media advertising tools enable you to make bulk changes, automate processes and optimise ads.

Social media platforms are evolving everyday. You see some update almost everyday on the platforms you use. This means that social media marketing is also evolving everyday. Going with the current trends is one way of improving your content. People like to follow brands which post content with reference to the current trends. Because most of the users of social media consists of GenZs and millennials, it’s best to target them as your audience.

WordPress developer said Apple wouldn’t allow updates to the free app until it added in-app purchases — letting Apple collect a 30% cut

WordPress is adding in-app purchases to its previously free iOS app after claiming Apple prevented it from making updates until the change was made, The Verge reported Friday.
WordPress’ founding developer said in a tweet Friday that Apple cut off developers from making updates to the app unless they started letting users buy domain names within the app — a service the app doesn’t currently include.
The Verge reported that WordPress agreed, meaning Apple effectively pressured a free app into monetizing itself, allowing it to take a 30% commission on future purchases.
Apple’s App Store policies, particularly its requirement that app developers use Apple’s payment systems and give the company a 30% cut, has frustrated developers for years — and recently, lawmakers who say it’s monopolistic behavior.

a close up of a wire fence: WordPress developer said Apple wouldn't allow updates to the free app until it added in-app purchases — letting Apple collect a 30% cut

Apple’s battle with app developers heated up again Friday after WordPress founding developer Matt Mullenweg claimed that the company locked developers out from making updates until it added in-app purchases to the free iOS app, The Verge reported.

“Heads up on why @WordPress iOS updates have been absent… we were locked by App Store. To be able to ship updates and bug fixes again we had to commit to support in-app purchases for .com plans,” Mullenweg tweeted Friday.

“I know why this is problematic, open to suggestions,” he added.

Mullenweg’s tweet referenced Apple’s policy requiring app developers to utilize the company’s own payment systems for any purchases made on iOS apps, of which Apple then takes a 30% commission.

The policy has drawn the ire of developers for years, but the crackdown on the WordPress app is even more controversial because the app doesn’t currently offer any purchases at all, and there’s not a good reason why it would.

WordPress, the hugely popular website builder that powers around a third of the internet, is open-source, meaning people don’t pay to create websites using it. WordPress.com, on the other hand, is a commercial entity that helps users create sites built on that open-source software, and it makes money by selling domain names and other paid website hosting and management services.

WordPress.com also develops the “WordPress” iOS app (that Apple took action against on Friday), which lets users create and manage WordPress-based sites for free — whether or not they pay WordPress.com for a premium domain name.

But because the app is developed by the commercial entity, Apple decided that WordPress.com needed to offer an option to purchase those premium domain names through the app — a 30% cut of those purchases would then go to Apple.

An Apple spokesperson told Business Insider that, per App Store policies, apps — including WordPress — operating across multiple platforms can let users access a service on their iOS app that they paid for on a different platform (such as a website), but the developers then have to offer the ability to purchase that service in the app, too.

That reasoning has angered the open-source community because the app itself is associated by users with the open-source WordPress project — not the paid services offered by WordPress.com — so they see it as unfair to force the developers to monetize a free app that isn’t designed to make money in the first place.

As Stratechery’s Ben Thompson put it in a tweet: “I am admittedly puzzled as to why Apple is denying me updates to the open source app for my open source web site because one user of that app happens to sell domains.”

Mullenweg told The Verge that WordPress has already agreed to comply with Apple’s demands and within 30 days will add in-app purchase options for the paid services offered by WordPress.com. Apple’s spokesperson told Business Insider the company approved WordPress’ latest update while they work on bringing the app into compliance.

Apple’s actions against WordPress come barely a week after Epic Games, the maker of the popular video game “Fortnite,” launched lawsuits against Apple and Google over the same in-app purchase policy (Google also collects 30% on purchases). The lawsuits have rallied several major app developers behind Epic, including Facebook, Spotify, and Match Group (which owns dating apps such as Tinder, Hinge, Match, and OkCupid).

The legal challenges thrust both Apple and Google back into the antitrust spotlight just weeks after their CEOs were grilled during a congressional hearing by lawmakers who argued the companies were unfairly using their size and market power to stifle competition and asked Apple CEO Tim Cook specific questions about how Apple treats developers.

Apple took just 2 years to add a trillion dollar to its market cap, but the next one won’t come easy

Apple Inc. has done it again. On Wednesday, just two years after becoming the first U.S. company to boast a trillion-dollar market valuation, it became the first to top $2 trillion. Getting to the next trillion may not be such a breeze. With its shares up roughly 60% this year, Apple is among the Big Tech winners that have benefited from a “safety premium.” Investors have piled in to the iPhone maker’s shares as well as those of other technology darlings – including Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. – betting their business models, robust balance sheets and large cash balances would make them more resilient amid the economic fallout from the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Indeed, Apple did post impressive June quarter financial results last month on the back of strong sales, a perfectly timed lower-cost iPhone launch and a boost from government stimulus. But it faces a more uncertain road ahead. First, Apple’s valuation now embeds elevated future expectations. To illustrate, Wall Street’s current consensus for Apple’s fiscal 2020 sales ending this September is just 3% higher than its revenue two years ago. And yet, the stock price has more than doubled in that time frame, resulting in a heady valuation of about 33 times the next four quarters’ earnings.

Apple’s lofty valuation leaves little room for disappointment, but the success of its upcoming slate of products isn’t a sure thing. In contrast to the cheaper iPhone SE model that boosted its June quarter, the company is going to have to convince consumers to buy higher-priced $1,000 iPhones when it launches new 5G-enabled models this fall. And these more expensive phones may be a tough proposition with tens of millions of Americans facing job insecurity. Further, I’m still skeptical there will be new apps anytime soon that will need the faster fifth-generation wireless speeds, making phone upgrades less compelling. Finally, according to a Bloomberg News report last week, it doesn’t look like there will be much innovation coming from Apple on the services front either – just a new virtual fitness-class subscription and some modest subscription bundles.

On top of all this, Apple is facing increased regulatory scrutiny over its dominant position in the smartphone market. In June, the European Union announced it had opened two formal antitrust investigations into Apple, with one of the probes specifically looking into the requirement guidelines of its in-app purchase system. Last month, CEO Tim Cook also had to defend the company’s App Store policies and high fee structure before a landmark House antitrust hearing as well. Obviously, if either of these global regulators clamp down on Apple’s business practices, it could negatively impact its profitability.

There is no doubt Apple’s stunning ascent to $2 trillion is impressive. The climb to $3 trillion may be even more so, because it will be that much harder.

How to Handle URL parameters for SEO?

URL parameters can be problematic for SEO as combinations of parameters can create
thousands of URL variations out of one piece of content. However, URL parameters play a crucial role in the website’s user experience. Therefore, it is important to know how to use them in an SEO-friendly manner. First, let’s know what parameters are.
Parameters follow the question mark in the part of a URL. It also has other names: query strings, URL parameters, and URL variables. It includes a key and a value pair, separated by an equal sign. Multiple URL parameters can be added to a single webpage using the ampersand.

SEO problems caused by URL parameters
URL parameters cause several issues, including:
 Waste crawl budget
 Create duplicate content
 Make URLs less clickable
 Split page ranking signals

Assess the level of the URL Parameter Problem
It’s necessary to find out which parameters are used on your website. Few steps will help in understanding which parameters need handling, what is the scope of the problem, how search engines crawl, and to know the value it brings to users.
 Run a crawler to find any instance of a question mark in the URL.
 Take the help of Google Search Console URL Parameters Tool to find if Google has auto-added any query strings.
 Review the logged files and see if Google bot is crawling parameter-based URLs.
 Search using the site: URL: advanced operations to find how Google is indexing the parameters.
 Check Google Analytics All Pages report to search for question marks and how they are used by users. Also, ensure that URL query parameters are not excluded in the view setting.

All this information can help one decide how to handle the website’s parameters in a better way and address any SEO related problems.

Solutions
Few solutions to handle URL parameters for SEO:

 Rel=” canonical” link attribute can be used to find out if a page has the same content on another page, encourage search engines to merge ranking signals to the URL specified as authorized. Although this technique is not the best option when the parameter page content is not similar, it does have some benefits. That includes the ability to safeguard against the duplicate content and the consolidation of ranking signals to the canonical URL.

 Meta robots Noindex tag
This allows us to set a no index directive for any parameter page that adds little or no SEO value. Meta robots Noindex tag lets you stop search engines from indexing the page. It also has other advantages like the ability to safeguard against duplicate content, easy technical implementation, and removal of existing parameter-based URLs from the index.

 Robots.txt disallow
Robots.txt file is a great solution to block crawler access to all parameter-based URLs. It has a very easy technical implementation. This avoids duplicate content issues, allows crawl budget to be used more efficiently, and is suitable for all parameter types.

So now that you have gone through the possible solutions use the one that works best for you. Unfortunately, you can’t use all of them at one time as these SEO solutions can conflict with each other and cause unnecessary complexity.

Marketing Keywords

Hey Readers! Hope you are doing well. Here are some terms related to the field of “Marketing” that are not much popular but everyone should be aware of them. Let’s try to know about them in a simplified manner.

Bottom of the funnel

The funnel approach determines the customer journey with the company. It begins from awareness when customers start knowing about the product or service and then move to other stages and finally making a purchase. At the bottom stage, the leads are finally ready to try the product/service.

Business-to-Business (B2B)

B2B is a transaction between businesses where both parties are involved in some agreement for benefiting each other and fuel the business growth of their company with the deal.

Business-to-Customer (B2C)

B2C, as the name suggest, involves transaction and communications that take place between a company and an individual (customer).

Churn Rate

Sometimes, individuals leave the usage of product or service in the middle and churn rate measures the number of such individuals who stop subscribing to a service or a product in a specific time duration.

Cold Calling

This term is quite common and used a lot when it comes to sales department. The main objective if any business is that their product or service should reach out to the masses and for that the concept of cold calling comes into picture. It means reaching out to potential customers who have never been contacted before and telling them about the product or service.

Comparative Advertising

Some days before, I wrote a blog on “reverse comparative marketing”. Comparative Advertising is one of the advertising method where companies make direct comparison with their competitors.

Corporate Identity

Just like your identity is defined by various parameters, a company has its own logo, vision, mission, symbols etc. that form the “corporate identity”.

Dark

Well, now that “Dark” has taken the internet by storm and people are loving the series, “dark” in case of marketing refers to the person who is not more responding to notifications and has left probably due to his/her own reasons.

Demographics

This term is also used in various circumstances to get the basic information about the person such as their age, gender, occupation, income, family class etc. In the field of marketing, demographics help in segmenting people into various groups that can be used for strategizing and implementing innovative campaigns.

Discovery Call

This refers to the first call that the person makes to any prospect in order to get information about the person, “to discover about them”.

Engagement

After people have joined the service, it is very important to design campaigns to maintain their interest and keep them “engaged”. Social media is a boon and helps in customer engagement with various activities such as comments, asking questions, creating a poll, live streaming about something, resharing the content, viral marketing and real time advertisements etc.

Forecasting

It refers to the process of predicting the future with past data and other analyses and help in getting more insights of marketing and sales trends.

I am now making a prediction that you will have gone through these keywords and must have learnt something new. Don’t go in the “dark” as there will be more articles coming with more such interesting keywords.

Till then, keep reading, liking and sharing.

Performance Marketing

Hello Readers! Let’s understand the concept of “Performance Marketing” in this article in a simplified manner.

Think about how you used to get marks in your school time. The better you write in your exam sheets, the better you scored. The grades are based on your “performance”. From junior school to college to the corporate, people have been judged and have reaped the benefit according to their efforts. In the era of digitization, the concept of “performance based marketing” follows the same pattern.

The world is interconnected and though red market exist for most of the businesses as well as industries, it has become crucial to keep aside the competitiveness and mutually benefit each other. For instance, a website is no more about just themselves but contains various videos, links, advertisements and images for other businesses as well. One way to increase the traffic is about creating back-links and posting the content of another page/site to own page.

Now, here comes the concept of “Performance Marketing” which can be defined as the comprehensive term that refers to online marketing and advertising programs in which advertisers (a.k.a., “retailers” or “merchants”) pay marketing companies (a.k.a, “affiliates” or “publishers”) when a specific action is completed; such as a sale, lead or click. (https://thepma.org/)

The business environment is a very dynamic one and to keep up with the pace, performance marketing helps retailers and affiliates to sustain and grow. It creates a win-win situation for both parties involved: retailers as well as affiliates. You might have come across a page with too many advertisements running along the page. And I am sure you know why it is important for websites to do so.

The performance in this case can be an array of executed desired results, such a completed lead, sale, booking or download. Some believe in “clicks” as the more number of prospects click on the advertisement, the more the affiliate are benefited. There are multiple strategies one follows while designing the affiliate program according to the business. In this data driven marketing world, performance marketing campaigns give one the ability to measure everything from brand reach to conversion rate down to a single ad.

Benefits of running this campaign:

Easy to track performance
ROI
Innovative
Increase brand visibility
Networking
Low Risk
Scalability

Limitation:

Some marketing tools need investments to run and analyse about any campaign
Goals setting must be very specific from the beginning
Catering to the masses

Performance marketing has evolved over time thanks to new technology and changing consumer behaviors. In today’s performance-driven world, digital marketing is all about “hitting the right people on the right device at the right time.” (utbrain) With performance marketing, only the successful transactions are considered and paid accordingly which reduces the chances of investing and paying for useless campaigns that have no or minimum ROI.

With a great vision, good team and marketing tools, a company can go ahead with launching various performance marketing campaigns and increase their web presence by collaborating with others in the market.

Reverse Comparative Advertisements

Pandemic has led to “CHANGE”. Change in how people used to live their normal lives, communicate, attend function, travel places, meet people as well as their behaviour towards anything significant. Considering the business perspective, it has changed the way brands used to advertise and strategize. It has somewhere led to an inclusive environment where brands are not focussing on “them” or “us” but are going with the specific keyword “we”. They want to depict the fact that we are in this together and the sense of accomplishment can also be done without being competitive, at least from outside.

The coronavirus has reached India some time back and the cases are increasing at a much higher rate. The novel coronavirus has inadvertently lent a premise to various brands to advertise their goods and services. Many brands are using this as an opportunity to establish their effectiveness and value over their counterparts with respect to the outbreak. Initially, when the virus was on the rise, Indians started looking for health care measures for preventing themselves from the virus and there was a surge in the sales of hand wash, face masks and sanitizers.

The best example for this is the “Lifebuoy Ad” where they didn’t use the concept of comparative advertisement where one brand is shown inferior to others. Instead, they chose the other strategy of inclusiveness to create awareness among the masses. In the advertisement, they asked people to use any liquid or any soap that they fight convenient and hence gained popularity by not attacking any rival brand.

In India, people are going for year-old traditional food, dishes and drinks to boost their immune systems. The use of “kaada”, a warm drink made up of various healthy ingredients to cure cold and cough has become a household entity and people are using it on a daily basis.

Businesses have to keep a level of competitiveness to increase their presence but sometimes it is also possible to keep aside the differences and come out together to fight a battle. Coronavirus has changed and is still changing the way we as a human think, believe, expect and follow up. Reimagining the core benefits and core values to the customers that combines usefulness and interactivity is needed. This can help in strengthening of a brand’s innate immunity through this crisis.

Brands need to change their focus that was traditionally aimed at increasing their ‘Share of Voice’ to increase ‘Share of Empathy.’ They will need to create few micro experiential campaigns on social media and other platforms where people will feel more inclusive towards the brands as well as human race as a whole. With social solidarity and a sense of community growing, consumers will naturally look to brands that embrace such values and stand for a higher purpose. Together, everyone is fighting their own battles and it is not the right time to focus on profit, though that will always be the first priority for any businesses but it is time to couple it with empathy and strategize accordingly.

Every brand should keep in mind that: “We are in this together”

Job is lost, not the mastership!

You’ve lost your job but you are still in the possession of your skills.

“Unemployed, what to do now?”
“From where to start?”
“I can’t find anything else to do!”
It’s better to ponder over the strategies to get a job instead of spoiling the mood following such qualms.
Stop worrying, start learning something new. Because it’s just the scepticisms talking!

Many fundamental tasks at home must have been hung back, caused by unemployment. But it does not mean that all the portals are closed.
You have got time to think something raw, something fresh and to do something new as well. Then why not to do the enhancement of your skills?
First and foremost, start making a plan to control the expenditures and start executing it at your earliest convenience.
You can do anything you want to do. Just think ahead about what to do.

Think of ahead, what do you want to do

It happens many times that we stay in a job despite the fact that it is bearing no interest. Or say that we never really wanted to do.

Co-founder of a career assessment – ‘Map My Talent’, Rohit Sehgal says, “About 80% of employees believe that they are stuck in their jobs which actually is not for them.”

So you seek such a job that interests you.
For that, if you need to do any course or get enrolled in any program of two or three months, just go for it.
Can do work from home or would like to start something of your own, considering all these aspects, search for a new job.

“Don’t Worry About Job Burn-Out. Worry About Job Boredom.” -Darius Foroux

Learn something new

HR consultant, Nirmala Menon says, “You’ve to remember one thing that whether the company has fired you or you’ve left the job, no matter what’s the case with you, your skills are still lodging in there!”
Instead of being disappointed, think about the ways in which you can reinforce your skills.
Due to lockdown, you’ve got enough time to train yourself to be a multitasker. If you want to learn something new, then choose the hi-tech way! Choose your desired online course from a list of choices and join online programs. (‘Modern problems require modern solutions!’)

Networking is constructive

A survey of Yale University claims that 70% of jobs are available through the networks only.
So you need to find a new networking strategy.
You need to be active on social media platforms. Keep your revamped profile on job providers or search engines, particularly for jobs like LinkedIn and other job sites.
If you are looking for a job in marketing, then you can join the space of global marketing and communication professionals on LinkedIn.
Stay connected to your seniors and ex-colleagues. Discuss and swap viewpoints, seek pieces of advice.
Thrive the flexibility of decision-making as per the requirement of time.
Don’t think twice about challenging yourself otherwise you’d stop evolving.

Brand Awareness

Can you recognize the brand from the following pictures? Can you identify the food product in one go? I am quite sure most of you know these pictures and the brand I am talking about.

Well, that is the impact of the name that they have created in the industry. McDonald’s blurry billboards demonstrate just how instantly recognizable the fast food chain’s offerings are, as this innovative campaign has taken a global approach. The campaign that was titled as ‘Say No More’ featured multiple print and billboard images, all of which feature a blurred image of a popular McDonald’s menu item. “Brand awareness” is a challenge for every company, specially for a new company and marketers look for innovative and out-of-the box strategies to create visibility and awareness.

What exactly is Brand Awareness?

Brand awareness is a marketing term that describes the degree of consumer recognition of a product by its name. Creating brand awareness is a key step in promoting a new product or reviving an older brand. Ideally, awareness of the brand may include the qualities that distinguish the product from its competition. (Investopedia)

The products and services that are popular among the masses are mostly the ones due to brand recognition. For instance, if one remove the labels and packaging of soft drinks bottles, many of them will become indistinguishable. To reach out to the masses, the giants in the industry such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi rely on brand awareness to make their brands famous. Over the years, these companies have employed advertising and marketing strategies that have increased brand awareness among consumers, and that has directly translated into higher sales.

The term and the concept is extensively used by Facebook for its Brand Awareness Advertisement. Though it is a challenging task to predict how many people remember the ad, there are few algorithms for the same.

If we talk about the advertisement field, traditionally, it has been using various “ad recall surveys” to measure whether people remember their ads. Now with big data, machine learning is used for the same. For example: Facebook choose target audience on the basis of:

Behaviour: measure more than a thousand signals including the existing relationship that someone has with your Page, their likelihood of interacting with the ad and demographic characteristics.
Polling: constantly calibrating our predictions by running thousands of polls on a random sample of campaigns each day that ask people if they recall an ad.

Now, with the advent of technology and rise in the smartphone users, social media has become a relevant platform for companies to create brand awareness. As social media allows one to share experiences, opinions and views, brands are anticipating the attitude of online users and creating strategies to reach out to the masses.

Labeling in Marketing

A yellow packet depicting “2-minute noodles” will lead to customer attention and brand recognition within seconds. I am sure you, as a reader must have guessed what I am talking about. Yes, it is the packaging through which a brand like Nestlé has created its name so much so that people know about the product more than the brand. Today, we are talking about the importance of labeling in branding.

Labeling is used for packaging the product. In marketing, a marketer can also use a sticker inedible products to impart knowledge of the ingredients of the food items. This helps to spread awareness among the customers about the item they are consuming and labeling also helps to mention ingredients. It enables product identification.

Packaging is the process of enclosing the product in a way that is remains safe and secure for its distribution, sale, storage and use.

Types of Labeling

There are different types of labels:

Brand label: It is very essential when it comes to labeling as it gives information about the brand. It can be removable or non-removable.
Descriptive label: It specifies product usage.
Grade label: It describes the aspect and features of the product.

Functions of Labeling

The multiple functions of labeling are as follows:

Defines the product and its contents: A label is very informative in nature and is used to know about the details of the products, its specifications, usage and caution to be taken while using the product. Example, Green tea depicts various health benefits of consuming it.
Recognition of product: Labeling assists in the identification of the product. Example, we talked about Maggi in the beginning of the article.

Classification of products: It means classification or grading of products according to different categories in the market. Example, soaps are classified as child care, one for dry/oily skin etc.
Help in promoting the product and increase brand visibility.

Standard Requirements for Labelling

As per a Notification issued by the Ministry of Commerce on November 24, 2000, all pre-packaged commodities (intended for direct retail sale only) imported into India must carry the following declarations on the label:
All units of weight or measurements must be metric.
If the net quantity of the imported package is given in any other unit, its equivalent of standard units must be declared by the importer.
Month and year of packing in which the commodity is manufactured, packed or imported, and the maximum retail sales price (MRP) at which the commodity in packaged form may be sold to the end consumer.
The MRP includes all taxes, local or otherwise, freight, transport charges, commission payable to dealers and all charges towards advertising, delivery, packing, forwarding, and any other relevant charges.
Note: Pre-packaged food products meant for institutional use do not require the MRP, but a ‘Not for Retail Sale’ declaration on the label is required.

Labeling is an important factor in the sale of a product. It helps businesses to get customer attention via the packaging. Attractive graphics are used to appeal to the masses to buy the product and similarly visuals are targeted.

Big Data and IoT Explained

How Big Data Influences Your IoT Solution

Technology has been advancing and lives are getting improved everyday now. Businesses are doing everything to exceed the expectations of their customers and IoT is the next promising step towards the same. Internet of Things, IoT in short, is a platform that collects and analyses data from our regular use appliances with the aid of the internet and gives out information to both the manufacturer and user. This information could be about the servicing that is required or a part that has become dysfunctional and needs to be replaced. The huge amount of data that is generated by these sensor equipped machines is called the Big Data (no surprise there, hopefully).

Big Data has always been present but in earlier times, it was simple and could be easily recorded on Excel spreadsheets and analysed as such. The type of data wasn’t as complex back then and it could be easily filled into the cells of spreadsheets. Now, however, the format of data that is being transmitted is not very fixed and it could be in forms like audio, video and pictures. This data cannot be collected and analysed by traditional programs. New softwares (Cloud) are getting developed that can help separate the valuable information and recognise the trends or patterns if there are any. Examples of the same can be seen in apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime when they give you recommendations on the basis of your previous watch.

The big data is characterised by 4 Vs: volume, velocity, variety and veracity. The volume of data could be trillions of gigabytes and has to be stored at multiple locations. The velocity of transmission and collection of data currently, is unprecedented. ‘Variety’ refers to the format of data that can be both structured and unstructured but equally important. Veracity or the accuracy of the set of data that has been generated by a source and needs to be verified in case of redundancy or just to check if the data is suitable for analysis by a particular software. The role of data analyst becomes important with this discussion and it will be the most sought after profession eventually.

IoT and Big Data are very similar but yet very distinct at the same time. IoT seeks to analyse the data when it is transmitted and the data then contributes to the Big Data. A company can use both the technologies at the same time. For example, a sensor in a car could emit a signal that the car is in need of servicing and the owner might get a notification reminder for the same. The data of the times all the cars of the same company required servicing can be stored and used for predictive analysis for newly manufactured cars.

The integration of the two technologies can help the both consumer and seller in the long run. The businesses will make more profits as they will become more efficient in catering to the needs of their customer and the overall costs will get reduced as well. The customer might be hesitant at first, for the idea of their appliances tracking their usage behavior seems like invasion of privacy, but it will save their time and money in maintenance and replacement.

Coronavirus: How fashion and lifestyle influencers are rethinking their content strategy

Amidst the lockdown to curb coronavirus, fashion and lifestyle influencers are trying to creatively reform their content strategies to stay relevant.

The lockdown has had a range of implications, and all of us are trying to make through in the best way possible. It has altered how we go about our work and personal lives. Following suit, fashion and lifestyle influencers can be seen creatively reforming their content strategies.

These are people who give us a piece of the enviable, designer lives set behind perfect lighting and breathtaking locations. But, fashion and lifestyle content meets a slight amount of inconvenience when there is a nationwide lockdown.

Fashion and lifestyle influencers are now social distancing at home, dressing up for no one but themselves, spending their time not in exotic locations, but on their couches. This has pushed many of them to restructure their content during work from home.

Fresh, alternate mediums for videography

Fashion influencers are deprived of professional photographers. Hence, fashion content is currently experiencing the epitome of creativity as far as content creation goes. One can see many of them brushing up their skills, trying to master video techniques. They can be seen making the most of their smartphones. Many influencers are now exploring non-conventional resources like Skype, Facetime, etc. This not only helps you to create Instagram-worthy content by themselves, but it also helps to create relatable content. How? Such content displayed in the format of everyday applications uses images in the content, which thus helps them to reach out to a bigger audience.

New genres of content

As technology and skill affect the glamour and finesse of fashion and lifestyle content, the lockdown has also reformed their content typology. Many influencer accounts can be seen creating relatable content at home. Since you cannot travel to exotic locations, or for that matter even the local cafe, during the lockdown, it might be a good idea to engage with your audience beyond your professional conduct. They are opening up online, bringing forward their informal side while they share their talents, hobbies, recipes etc.

Influencers are also extending their online presence to TikTok, which is now a growing trend. These are just a few of the ways to help your followers know the real you, which will again help you garner their trust and engage better with them.

Use your platform responsibly

It is refreshing to see how many lifestyle influencers are creating sensitive and responsible content that is helping people get through this time. As an influencer, you have a following, and the power of influencing them. Hence, there are a number of ways you can respond to this pandemic. Go all out by sharing the latest news and local resources that could help those affected harshly by the lockdown, or try to share the troubles and stress of your audience with a bit of humour.

A few examples can be light-hearted humour about having to stay at home, informative content to stay safe, etc. Many popular lifestyle bloggers can be seen occasionally opening up about stay-at-home struggles that all of us are facing while we try to stay safe.

Branded content with a twist

With the tsunami of sponsored, branded content, social media was flooded with similar-looking content, especially in the fashion content industry. But now each influencer is coming up with raw and creative ways to respond to branded content – live sessions, new video formats, and innovative photoshoots.

With the lockdown affecting the whole of the industry, many brands are now open to innovative, raw, and personal ways of content creation. Even the Vogue magazine had a work from home edition! Use your creative cells and create meaningful and fun branded content with whatever you have at hand.

Once the lockdown relaxes, maybe the raw and honest elements from influencer content will also go away. But, they are currently going deeper than they usually would, to engage with their followers. This might bring a shift towards betterment in influencer marketing trends, making it more curated and engaging.

The New Watchdog

Mainstream media to new media- how has the shift affected political reporting

Politics is undoubtedly a game for supremacy solely played in the name of the people for evoking national interest. Fred Fedler was right then he said “journalism is built on reporting government”. The idea of ‘the watchdog’ means that the journalist, as an independent observer without any vested interest in any side of the controversy, can inform the public about what is going on, particularly if the government is corrupt or even incompetent. However, the political journalists do not play this role flawlessly.

There is a paucity of good political reporting in India- reporting with an insight, reporting that captures in action the trouper of the political field, reporting that exposes the petty politics and the never ending hypocrisies of political parties and the conspiracies of those in power.

The grave situation that the Indian democracy is in, is that it is they who guide and shape the destiny of some 135 crore people. Lacking ideas, bereft of intelligence and character, they exploit religion and caste to stay in power.

Most political commentators and reporters on traditional medias like mainstream news channels and newspapers have glorified politicians and never truthfully presented their failures as much as their achievements. Programmes of political parties are rarely critically evaluated by reporters of most traditional media and their flaws are never commented upon so that the people are carried away by their rhetoric or patriotic postures. The Inadequate political coverage, not judged by the quantity of the news brought in or reported but by the quality of it, brings down the credibility of the traditional media.

The mediatization of the political news necessitates that media content is governed by media logic rather than political logic, and can be indicated by media interventionism where the journalists are in control of news making. (Esser, 2008, Strömbäck and Dimitrova, 2011, Zeh and Hopmann, 2013).

The way we use social media today impacts what we read and how we read or listen to news. Consider politics for that matter- Political parties bank on news channels, such as ZEE News or NDTV to get their updates on how the election campaign is going. Unbeknownst to many, both of these news outlets are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. If you tune into Zee News, you will get a completely different view of any candidate than you would on NDTV and viseversa. This type of controlling what people read and hear causes a lot of misinterpretation. This is where political reporting in new media comes into, where you not just read what the journalist has to say but also what others think about it and more importantly why they think the way they do. Unlike the traditional media, you don’t hear one side of the story, on new media platforms you can view multitude versions of the same story. With the advent of political reporting via social media and news portals, journalists who act like the watchdogs are now backed up, not only by their organisation, but also by their viewers, readers and followers who make an informed choice.

At the same time, the new media has initiated trends time and again. exposed how the traditional political reporters undercut the ideal aims of a free democratic press. The watchdog role is now played by the new media which had previously only been performed by trained political journalists who even under the worst of circumstances focused on uncovering the facts surrounding serious political wrongdoings.

Is social media same as digital marketing?

Hello Readers! When it comes to marketing, there are few terminologies that are used interchangeably, and one of them is the new buzz words “digital marketing and social media marketing”. Let’s try to decipher the thin line between these terminologies.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital Marketing in simple words can be defined as the process of making a brand visible and create brand awareness with the formulation of marketing strategies. It includes both online as well as offline means of reaching customer base.

The online means include web, email marketing, use of SEOs, backlinks, video, audio, social media marketing etc.
The offline means include print media, television ads, radio advertisements, newsletter and posters, billboards etc.

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is making an online presence of the organization using various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Quora etc. These platforms have changed the way human used to interact with each other. They have given a platform where one can share their views, comment about the same, share the content and has helped businesses to come a bit closer to knowing the attitude of people.

Social media marketing helps businesses to cater the demands of customers by exploring their interest online. The real time nature of social media allows businesses to know the current trends based on which diverse marketing strategies are designed. For instance, real-time marketing is now-a-days used a lot where the existing situation and occasion is considered and the Advertisement is created. This is an interesting concept and is now used by various brands across the globe. Amul, one of the amazing brand when it comes to marketing, has been creating such ads from a long time and its little girl is portrayed playing various characters.

What is the major difference between the two terms?

Social media marketing is a part of digital marketing online channel of transferring information and messages across the globe. It mainly includes the platform that the masses use to communicate, share and acknowledge about concepts, events, products and services. With smartphone users increasingly at an exponential rate, social media is becoming more popular and hence it has become extremely important to strategize marketing process considering social media platforms.

The world is coming closer and coupled with one another as technology is rising. Millions of users have the habit of checking their phone after they get up and before going to sleep. Marketing is itself a challenge as every other business wants to stand out from the crowd and make a differential impact on human mind for a longer duration. Catchy slogans, captions, doodles, pictures, gifs and videos are used to attract customer attention. The quality of service and product is still of utmost importance but to increase their reach, even traditional companies that had no social presence are now stepping up and creating their online presence by designing innovative campaigns. Such is the reach and power of digital marketing.

5 Ways to Stay Fit During Quarantine

Now that you are spending less or no time outside your homes, it’s more important than ever to prioritize your physical health. Staying active can boost your mood and even reduce stress. How can you stay on top of fitness game without going to your local gym, doing weights and following your fitness instructors? Online challenges and videos, home fitness apps, creative at home swaps and the use of the safe outdoors, if available, can help.

Here are some ways to stay active while also staying home:

Switch up your running/walking routines

Whether you’re a runner, jogger or a walker, try and keep your routine fun by setting a schedule and small goals. If you’re a walker, map out a different route of your house for each week of exercise or just stay in one place. If you’re a runner and have access to a terrace or a garden, select a goal such as run a 4 KM and set up a training schedule to achieve your goals, and with time you can increase up a notch and challenge yourself.

Check out this 1 Mile walk at home- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njeZ29umqVE

Try a bodyweight workout

You don’t have to grab weights to achieve a good workout. You can still feel the burn if you do a low impact cardio, bodyweight strength or a high intensity interval training circuit.

Check out this 30-minute body weight workout from Greatist- https://greatist.com/fitness/no-gym-bodyweight-workout-infographic#1

Try a fitness challenge on YouTube

Want to build core strength? Tone your abs? Tone your arms? Find a fitness challenge on YouTube that targets the zone you want to work on. You’ll be surprised by how much stronger you can become in a week or more.

Check out these videos out

7 day workout challenge by Carly Rowena: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ixZnsKTErE
6 minute arm workout by The Uma Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpLA1tPwjXA

20 Min Total Core Workout (Equipment Free Ab Workout): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b2lNLq3EaA

Try a Fitness Website

Active.com offers 30-day fitness challenges including push-up challenges, ab challenges and more.

Greatist offers many detailed work out blogs- from workout plans for beginners to expert routines. For a start, check these out-

https://greatist.com/health/back-workouts-at-home

https://greatist.com/health/calisthenics

https://greatist.com/fitness/chest-workout-at-home

Follow along with a studio

Many studios offer video easy to follow tutorials, try Zumba tutorials for high energy workouts or go with cardio dance workouts. You can also try free tutorials with simple, at-home equipment swaps like bags of flour or books instead of weights. Although these workouts will be different than the gym sessions that you’re used to, it’s an interesting way to break a sweat and re-connect with your own body.

Check out Keaira LaShae’s dance workouts-

10 Minute Cardio Dance Abs Workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTH5saFBDqA

Cardio Fitness Party Workout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhUP6FQj3t4

Check out the link to read more on at-home equipment swaps-

8 Household Items That Double as Workout Equipment for Your Makeshift Home Gym: https://www.realsimple.com/health/fitness-exercise/fitness-equipment-alternatives-home

Digital Marketing – A new chapter in the Book of Marketing

With the percentage of internet users growing at an astonishing speed, most businesses are focusing their attention from offline to online marketing strategies along with their marketing spend. Digital marketing is developing at a phenomenal rate globally because of this reason. So if an enterprise is looking to expand in this climate, it needs to develop an online presence by focusing on internet penetration and interaction with users. Digital marketing is a high intensity advertising tool in this new era of digitization, capable of reaching a large audience anywhere and anywhere.

It actually allows a brand to be prevalent in a given context because the internet isn’t geographically bound and constrained. All the traditional advertising rules were tossed out the window and the power structure shaken to the core when the realization dawned on marketers how potent a digital marketing tool would be. The web has transformed the entire advertising and marketing system, to put it succinctly. In India, the digital advertising sector is experiencing a boom like never before. Until the current situation, Internet access was a privilege of sorts, the internet was used mainly by a small percentage of the population.

Create Your Digital Marketing Strategy For 2020 - Marketing in the ...

But a silent coup began in the form of changing the populace’s lifestyle. The internet went from being such a luxury service enjoyed by a few to a commodity meant for the public all attributable to technological advancements such as smartphones , laptops , tablets, etc. A classic example of this transition is e-commerce growth that has been helped by digital marketing miracles. Today, 35 percent of India’s population is using the internet and this number is expected to increase to 57 percent or more in the coming years. On this fact alone one can say that India’s Golden Age of digital marketing is on the verge of beginning.

The primary objective of any company is to prosper and if it does not expand, at one point it is set to fail. A company needs to further its business and expand market share to grow. In a highly dynamic business environment it simply cannot afford to rely on outdated marketing tools to achieve that goal. That’s where Google has been a resource for companies trying to expand and market themselves online. Google has developed so many valuable marketing resources for consumers that one can’t help but be tempted to go virtual.

Apart from that, most businesses have ventured into social media marketing to get a massive advantage and grow the company as it provides great platforms for creating a product and meeting potential clients. This is the main reason why on popular social media websites such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Facebook , Twitter , Instagram, YouTube and other social media networks one gets to see so many renowned businesses. Advertising was once a pretty common thing to understand. The corporation with the highest marketing budget generally prevailed. Therefore they could reach a wider audience they were more likely to attain the progress they wanted. Not quite so now.

The digital revolution had meant free advertising was everywhere for a time. Social networking networks, led by Facebook, brought back the pay-for-play concept. In other words, you’ve got to commit a small budget to reaching people through social media.

That is not necessarily a bad thing though. On the flip side, it means you can start competing as an advertising company based on your skills as opposed to simply spamming lots of posts, which had been the case before.

The digital age has regarded an era where anyone will enter the advertisement dogfight. Okay, those with large budgets still have an edge, but it’s no longer the deciding edge of before. Even the smaller businesses have good reason to play. Over the past few years, digital marketing has seen a massive upswing; every day, social media and search engines receive billions of messages. However, the aggressive complexity of online advertisement leads to a substantial decline in advertisement campaigns’ ROI. The through efficacy of obsolete tactics has paved the way for cutting-edge marketing innovations such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual.

As of now, digital marketing is growing and in the future it will only get better with steady technological advancements. There are only few instances of augmented reality being introduced digitally and the possibilities are likely to become endless with machine learning slowly making its way to the forefront of the digital world.And to end up making the most of that, businesses around the world should be prepared to keep up with changing conditions. If they want to establish a brighter future for themselves they must be ready and able to constantly upgrade. Exhilarating times are coming and for all those associated with digital marketing this will be a great ride.

Knock knock. Who’s there? Democracy. Democracy who?

Democracy in layman terms is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Media is being considered as the fourth pillar of democratic society after executive, legislature, and judiciary. One of the crowning glories of the democratic system is the freedom of expression and the space that is provided to views from different sections of the society. The last few years witnessed an enhanced interface between the media and the common man, thanks to social media

The role of Social Networking Sites in Indian politics has risen tremendously in recent years. Different Indian political parties have their websites and some of them also use other social mediums to interact with people. With every party having its website and leaders being active on different media it makes the citizens feel that they are within their reach. It feels like the leaders are a touch away. Mr. Shashi Tharoor of Congress Party was one of the first politicians to start tweeting and has a separate fan base for his tweets now. Through social media, politicians now constantly display their message through endless campaigns, see direct responses to their actions via Facebook or Twitter, and connect with the public. One of the most recent example is Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders, where an auto-generated response was sent to all those who tweeted to the PM, giving the illusion that they were contributing to something large.

It is important to note that political engagement through social media is not limited to adults, but young potential voters increasingly use social media for online political participation. Especially younger people are using social networking platforms such as Twitter to develop an individualised form of activism that they connect to most. Unlike Mainstream media where narratives are indirectly controlled, influenced and favoured by the business houses and political parties that are funding the channel, Social media is comparatively a less regulated space.

Ravish Kumar on his Prime Time show on NDTV urged everyone to stop watching television back in March 2019. Why would someone who earns his living through mainstream television media tell you to do that? This shows how grave the situation was and still is. Public issues have disappeared from the channels, when Indian states were reeling under floods, the channels were still flooded by anti- Pakistan narratives, tukde-tukde gang narratives and the never-ending glorification of the honourable PM. Is TRP more important than highlighting important issues? Is selling news more important than upholding the fourth pillar? If we see the current media scenario then the answer to the latter question seems too easy.

Wouldn’t you agree if I said that the watchdog, or in other words the press and the media have a significant influence on society? Then is it fair to have corporate houses and political parties with vested interests invest in the media?

India News is owned by Karthikeya Sharma, son of a Congress leader. News 24 is controlled by Rajeev Shukla, a Congress leader and his wife Anuradha Prasad who is the sister of BJP leader, Ravi Shankar Prasad. Times Group is owned by Bennet & Coleman. The Italian, Robertio Mindo who has a share in the group is a close relative of Sonia Gandhi. CNN- News 18 is owned by Mukesh Ambani. Republic TV is owned by ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd and one of its biggest investors is Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a BJP leader- These are just a few examples out of the many news channels.

Editors are pulled up for putting their opinion, journalists are asked to toe the line, and media houses align themselves with different political ideologies and the interests of the owners and sponsors. Is it really possible to have a free and a fair media with this direct hold?

‘Freedom of the press is not just important to democracy, it is democracy.’
Walter Cronkite

India is the world’s largest democracy, and the media mustn’t be controlled by any political party, big corporate houses or any other sector. The Press and the media is the voice of the voiceless and should promote the rights of not just the majority but also the minority; it is the duty of the press of any country to ensure that the government is functioning properly and no section of the society is left behind.

Sources-

Role of media in Indian democracy https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/203650/11/11_chapter5.pdf
https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/critic-inside-ravish-kumar-speaks-tnm-state-indian-journalism-109378
Participatory Politics: New Media and Youth Political Action- University of Chicago
Who owns your media?- https://www.newslaundry.com/2014/02/05/who-owns-your-media-4 https://cablequest.org/index.php/news/channels-owned-by-polticians

4 Simple Steps to Begin Building an International Brand

If you are an entrepreneur, you are probably wondering what the best strategies to build an international brand are. Now that your business has made it at the local level, it will still succeed at the international level if you have a perfect approach. According to experienced business people, it is as simple as doing it all over again, but now in a different market setup overseas. But to make it clear for you, we will take you through the four important steps to help you succeed in building an international brand. Read on to learn more.

Look for a Market

The first step to succeeding in creating an international brand is to look for an appropriate market. The world is too small now that businesses can penetrate every corner, but one must identify the right market for their goods and services. What would be the point of rolling out an international brand that has no buyer? Market research is therefore crucial, especially when conducted by experts who understand international business in a better way. You can also focus on doing your own research online to identify this.

Prepare Your Product

You have no option other than to have a superior product that can compete with many others. Global businesses are numerous, and they’re more innovative than ever before. An excellent production team is what you need, whether you hire them locally or internationally. This means consistent product development research by talking to your consumers and checking what your competitors are offering. It is also crucial to consult experts so that they can give their opinion. In this case, speak to reliable consultants like those found on https://www.grsconsultants.com/. They will come in handy when preparing a product package for your market.

Create an Identity

Most companies and organizations already have a brand identity. Any person who sees the name of such an organization will instantly know what product they have on offer. Before hitting the global market, you can create a local identity through a website that is visible, providing superior products, and communicating with all of your customers. Customers like a differentiated product which will make them come back again and again. Being active in social activities in society will further make your identity clearer like Pen2Print, Eduindex and EduPub.

Market the Product

Marketing your products and brand name both locally and internationally is easy nowadays. All you need is to embrace digital marketing by starting a website and social media pages. The platform has no borders, which makes any business get noticed far and wide. You can customize SEO efforts to focus more on your targeted global market to increase your chances of visibility. With better marketing, your products will get buyers in the global market within no time.

Summary

Finally, I wish to mention that global brands are easy to create by following these four strategies. They have been tested by experts and are proven to work well for many businesses. You too can start implementing them today and make changes where necessary to suit your needs.

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Understanding the Funnel

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advantage of using facebook

downsides of using facebook

other issues to be considered

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Increasing visual marketing efforts

Creating more video content

Generating feedback is increasingly important

Increasing interaction with your target audience

Changing content consumption

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Mainstream media to new media- how has the shift affected political reporting

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