Featured image from Jonathan Rolande on Flickr

The mobile age has been with us for a little more than a decade now. Mobile devices have become a standard—even a dominant—form of internet access.

So prevalent is this form of integration that more than half of all video streaming now comes from mobile devices. In fact, mobile media consumption has increased 504% since 2011.

Just as profound as mobile’s effects on media are its ramifications for online business engagement. Furthermore, refusing to adapt to this new reality can be costly to your business. So what do modern business owners and managers need to keep in mind?

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Updating Websites to Modern HTML5 for the Mobile Age

Traditionally, small to medium-sized businesses approached functionality first on their websites. When they achieved that, they tended to allow those websites to stagnate, apparently assuming they would remain useful. But their customers’ enthusiastic shift toward the mobile age now challenges this notion.

Today, getting the most of a business website means utilizing modern HTML5 and related technologies. Businesses must build sites that are scalable to underpowered and smaller mobile devices to a cutting-edge folding systems and the vast array between those two extremes. In other word, modern business websites must be able to automatically adapt to a wide variety of mobile systems. This can require investing in a complete redesign in extreme cases. However, in refusing to adapt, businesses face a long-term cost that is often much greater.

Utilizing Traffic and Data Analysis Tools

Updating websites and computer systems can make them infinitely more functional and attractive for the mobile age. Nonetheless, complexity can come at a cost. The more moving parts a computer system offers, the greater its odds of failure. To address this risk, businesses that host their own servers need to seriously consider management and analysis tools to ensure smooth operation.

A popular example of these tools can be found with IP management systems. This is a complex topic. However, you can read All About IP Address Conflicts Guide + Recommended Tool usage directly from professional digital services.

In basic terms, these systems can detect when two or more devices on a network share the same IP address. This is a common issue, but it can cause considerable complications with business networks. Moreover, this issue can be difficult to diagnose and address without the right tools.

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Staying Current with Social Media in the Mobile Age

Constantly monitoring social media can be tedious, especially now that we’re in the mobile age. However, it’s also an element of modern business that can’t be ignored.

With so many customers turning to social media for business inquiries, proper social media engagement can pay off hugely in terms of finding and maintaining a customer base. At the very least, businesses should consider spending half an hour a day on the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Whether interfacing with clients or just removing spam, work in social media can have a cumulative and positive effect.

Thanks to howtostartablogonline.net on Flickr for the image

Navigating the Mobile Age with Ease

As mystifying as the first few steps can be in taking the above approaches, the same can be said of any unfamiliar aspect of running a business. Stick with it, and what was at first alienating will eventually become second nature. Given that the advantages of the mobile age are too great to ignore and the risks inherent in avoiding it so profound, the above options are worth seriously considering if you are at all interested in leveraging the opportunities of the mobile age.

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Are you looking for a way to up your marketing game and give your business the extra push it needs to get to the top? A micro landing page could be just what you need.

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It is not enough to have an excellent social media marketing campaign. You also need to think about what happens after your followers click on the links you share. This is where a micro landing page comes into play.

A landing page is where you send your audience when they click on your links. Having one can mean a whole lot to your marketing and advertising campaigns.

Let’s find out what a micro landing page is and learn about the many benefits your business can enjoy from setting one up.

What Is a Micro Landing Page?

A micro landing page or social media landing page is the destination you create to receive your followers when they click on a link you share during your social media campaign. Whether it is a paid or an organic campaign, you can make use of one of this kind of landing page.

These kinds of pages are different from your regular business websites. They tend to have a very simple layout that encourages your audience to promptly take specific actions concerning the growth of your business. You can tailor each of your landing pages to your individual marketing campaigns. The results can range from excellent brand awareness to amazing engagement and conversions.

However, even though these micro landing pages are designed for social media campaigns, they are not pages that exist on any social platform like Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Instead, they are often hosted on a third-party site.

How Will a Micro Landing Page Benefit Your Business?

#1: It’s Perfect for Building Brand Awareness

When customers land on your Instagram page, your posts should tell them a lot about your brand. But what happens when your customer is looking to get the latest news about your product or read your new blog posts?

Instead of directing your audience to your homepage through a link you added in your Instagram bio, send them to a micro landing page. This will do the job much better. You can create one of these landing pages that includes different posts with unique designated links.

These links should give your audience all the information they need about your brand. That’s no doubt an amazing way to promote brand awareness for your business across multiple platforms.

#2: Use a Micro Landing Page to Promote Your Events and Webinars

Hosting a virtual event is a great way of using social media to expand your customer base. You only need to creatively design a micro landing page for your event and watch the event become the talk of the town. Include key details about the event and process attendees in a single place—on your micro landing page.

#3: Use It to Offer Discounts and Coupons to Your Followers

Giving out coupons and discounts can be a great way of attracting new customers on social media. But it may not be ideal to share your discount codes freely on your profile. Instead, give them in exchange for email signups. In this way, you can pump up your email list.

Then, with a micro landing page, you can direct your followers to a destination where you request their contact information. Also, you could give a discount to new members when they subscribe to your newsletter.

#4: It’s Great for Promoting Online Shopping

If you run an e-commerce site, you will need to leverage the power of social media to make some great sales. Social media can provide potential customers a glimpse into your products. But what if a customer wants to make a purchase instantly without having to visit your site?

With a well-designed micro landing page, you can help your customers purchase your products with just a few clicks. And you won’t have to risk losing them if they were to get overwhelmed by your traditional website.

#5: Use It to Offer a Peek into Your Product via Product Trials and Demos

This is especially true for a company that produces software and other complex products. These are the types of companies that need to offer their customers a free trial or demo of what the product can do. With a micro landing page, you can easily send prospects from your social media page to a place they can sign up and get started right away.

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Now that you know what a micro landing page is and why you may need one, let’s talk about some useful tips for creating one.

Use a Reliable Micro Landing Page Builder

This is an important tip to note when you’re looking to create a micro landing page for your brand. While there are many landing page builders out there, you want to be sure you choose one you can trust to provide both quality and simplicity. After all, what is the point of finding an affordable builder if it is too complex to use?

Instead, choose a reliable and easy-to-use micro landing page builder for your brand. One we recommend is the Onlypult Builder. This tool is easy to use and delivers on every promise its developers make. In less than three minutes, you will already have your page up and running, ready to receive your followers.

The built-in analytic tool that comes with Onlypult also makes it a go-to landing page builder for many. You can try it out, too.

Start with a Simple Layout

You don’t have to make things overwhelming when you’re starting out. Just focus on making your page as simple as possible. Skip the sidebars for now. Also, leave out the website menus, social buttons, and other elements that can clutter your page.

Be Sure to Add Branding

No matter what type of design you choose for your micro landing page, make sure you leave room for branding. For example, remember to include your brand logo at the top of the page. This will mean a lot to your customers when they land on your page, as it will help build trust and reassure them that they are dealing with the right company after they have clicked away from your social media page.

Keep Your Message Consistent

After clicking your link and landing on your micro landing page, your customers want to see that you can still meet their need for clicking the link in the first place. So make sure your message is consistent from your social media page to your landing page. Let them know some of the benefits of getting your products or using your services. Highlight some features and make your offer as clear as possible.

Give Your Micro Landing Page a Persuasive Headline

With a micro landing page, you don’t have the luxury of space to impress your customers. So get their attention right away. The first thing they should notice when they arrive at your page is a really persuasive headline. Don’t forget to let your audience know how they will benefit, so they will be encouraged to take the action you want them to take.

Use Eye-Catching Visuals

When it comes to marketing and making sales, graphics are extremely important. So add high-quality and captivating photos, videos, and graphics to your landing page. However, make sure any visual content you add is relevant to your offers.

Take Time to Craft a Compelling Call-to-Action

Your call-to-action (CTA) is what tells your customers exactly what you want them to do next. Your CTA can be something like “Get Started,” “Sign Up Free,” or something similar.

Test and Optimize

Once you have created your micro landing page this doesn’t mean you should go and sit with your hands folded. Instead, test your page. Look for how you can optimize it to generate better results and performance.

If you are using Onlypult builder, the tool’s built-in analytics will provide useful insights into how your page is doing. You can use that information to further optimize your page and get even better results.

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One Last Thing…

A great promotion or advertising campaign should come equipped with an amazing landing page to receive your prospects. In this post, we have shown you a few ways you can leverage micro landing pages to promote your business. So get to work now, and let your business thank you later for having taken this step.

Featured image by rupixen.com on Unsplash

The global economy is becoming increasingly cashless and online banking is on the rise. What’s more, consumers expect highly personalized solutions with flawless user experience. This means digital technologies are now in the spotlight.

Moreover, the global pandemic has spurred their adoption. Therefore, banks that want to stay competitive must provide quick, secure, and convenient access to online banking.

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The demand for digital retail banking solutions is growing. Consumers are looking for convenient alternatives to conventional services. If your company is considering launching such a platform, stay abreast of the latest developments in the industry. Here are the top five features to integrate in an online banking service.

1. Fast and Convenient Account Opening

Let your customers open an online bank account from any location and at any time. For example, implement self-onboarding processes that simplify access and make customers’ lives easier. These include gathering and verification of personal data, validation of documents, and due diligence to guarantee compliance with laws and regulations. Additionally, remote ID verification services and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) automate verification. Therefore, the entire process often takes less than five minutes.

2. P2P Payments and Online Banking

Payments between accounts let individuals transfer money instantly in a few taps. In other words, they can make transfers to friends or family members using just one internet-connected device. What’s more, your customers will not have to wait for days or hours. A P2P feature will also let you keep them within your ecosystem.

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3. Intuitive Applications for Online Banking Services

To ensure high conversion rates for your financial products, allow online applications for banking services in a few taps or clicks. Make the process effortless, so customers can open an account or get a credit card in minutes. Moreover, if these processes are part of the core system, users will not have to enter their data again.

4. Digital Card Management

Give every online banking customer an opportunity to set up their own spending limits and block cards instantly within the app or platform. Let them activate and deactivate near field communication (NFC), check their in-depth history, and personalize their settings. Comprehensive control is also invaluable for the detection of suspicious activity.

5. Reliable Security

Online banking platforms store a massive amount of data. Therefore, they require multi-layer protection. To this end, keep your customers’ information secure with innovative technologies. Next generation systems must comply with regulatory data requirements. They must also embrace best practices such as biometric authentications, card tokenization, location-based security, and so on.

6. Up-to-Date Notifications

Notify your online banking customers about any changes to their accounts instantly. For example, provide information about new transactions, warnings about low balance, and overdraft. In-app notifications and alerts will help them stay on top of their finances.

Choose a White Label Online Banking Platform

To stay competitive, banks need cutting-edge applications and platforms that ensure instant access around the clock every day of the year. But designing an online banking system from scratch is not necessary. To save time and resources, you may opt for a white-label solution. In other words, choose a ready-made platform that will be customized to your needs.

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Featured image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay 

The holidays are just around the corner. While everyone is preparing to buy gifts for their loved ones, savvy small business owners have been preparing well in advance for the season.

If you haven’t started prepping yet, this is a good time to get started. We’ve put together some tips to get your small business ready for a successful holiday season. Let’s dive in!

Set Sales Goals

You’re unlikely to drive up sales during the holidays if you have no goals in place to give you something to reach for. Set up a meeting with members of your team to brainstorm. With them, define what the goals should be by the end of the year. Figure out what you want to achieve, including targets for financial, customer relations, and social media.

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Create a Marketing Strategy

In order to achieve your sales goals, you will want to make sure your marketing team is well in the loop about what those goals are. These are the people who will help to craft effective messaging, holiday-themed promotions, and know how to implement multiple strategies through your various channels.

Don’t be afraid to publicize the fact that you are a small operation in your marketing strategy. People love to support small businesses, especially during the holiday season, so go ahead and capitalize on that.

Prep Your Holiday Season Logistics

Think carefully about the logistics for every department and what they might need in order to be successful in getting the firm toward your goals. This includes prepping your website, stocking up on extra inventory, and investing in additional software. You want your team to be prepared for success, and that will only be possible if they have the necessary tools and resources to do so.

Image by Anton Belitskiy from Pexels

Show Appreciation for Your Employees at the Holidays

It’s more important now than any other time of year to acknowledge and appreciate your workers. They might have to labor longer hours or expend additional mental stamina in order to achieve your sales goals during the next few hectic months. Make sure you show your appreciation for their hard work by throwing a holiday party.

This will be a great opportunity for the members of your team to re-connect while they celebrate all the hard work they have been putting in. The party doesn’t have to be something elaborate that strains your finances. You might consider a potluck where you encourage each employee to contribute one of his or her own treasured cultural traditions.

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Acknowledge Your Network This Holiday Season

When you’re a small business owner, you understand the importance of networking. But it isn’t all just about starting new relationships. There’s also the importance of maintaining them.

Especially at the holidays, how your appreciation for the business relationships you have worked so hard to build. Think about gifts for new business owners. Or consider what the eager and busy entrepreneur might need.

What would make your partners’ lives and jobs easier? Perhaps they mentioned something in one of your previous conversations that you could use to add a personalized touch to your gift. Make them feel heard and valued, rather than mailing a generic holiday card.

Hire Seasonal Employees

Depending on what type of business you run and what your sales goals are, you may want to consider hiring a team of seasonal employees. Give yourself enough time to onboard and train them, of course.

Even though you know these individuals will not be permanent staff members, you won’t want to slack on the training. The better you train them, the higher the quality of customer service your customers will receive during the holidays.

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Start Prepping Now for a Less Stressful Holiday Season

The holidays can be stressful, but if you start preparing now, you will be well equipped to handle whatever might come your way. Let the season be a time for appreciation and creativity in your communications.

Allow sufficient time to learn more about your audience and customers’ needs by listening to them. Remember, the holidays are less about you and more about how you can serve others.

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Human resources (HR) management is a crucial part of running a business. Whether you have a midsize or large operation or you manage a small but growing venture, there are multiple HR terms you’re going to hear and need to understand over the years.

Regardless of whether you have an in-house HR person or team or outsource some of these functions, as a business leader, you still need to understand the jargon. Here are some of the critical terms to wrap your head around.

Outplacement

Workforce change and business restructuring are a standard part of business these days, and many employees will find themselves laid off as a result. When this happens, some companies provide their let-go workers with access to outplacement services. This HR term describes the support individuals can receive in transitioning their careers and finding new jobs.

Outplacement services can include things like career strategy and planning, assistance with writing and updating job application documents, networking help, interview coaching, and contract negotiation for those who land a new role through using outplacement. Firms that invest in such support show that they care about their workforce and their business brand.

Performance Review

A performance review is often an annual or quarterly discussion between an employee and their manager. During this meeting, the leader evaluates and documents the employee’s job performance over the previous period. The pair talk about goals for the future, areas to work on, the employee’s achievements, and more.

This performance review can help make personnel feel more engaged in the company and more focused. For managers, it provides information on where workers hope to go within the company. It also gives them insights on areas in which support might be lacking.

Employee Onboarding

Employee onboarding is one of those HR terms that is fairly straightforward. It is the process of bringing on a new employee in an organization through training. It sets them up in ways that help them be successful in their role. Onboarding can include a variety of tasks, such as doing a background check and filling out employment paperwork. Properly conducted, it also includes introducing people to their coworkers, setting them up in the internal email or intranet system, and showing them the ropes.

Onboarding is important for ensuring new staff members function effectively in their roles. It can also make them feel welcome and part of the team.

Photo by Alex Green from Pexels

Overtime

Overtime is one of the HR terms that people frequently misinterpret. It refers to any hours an employee works that exceed their typical working hours, based on their regular schedule. In the HR world, though, the term is more about the remunerations of this additional work. Some employees are exempt from overtime because of the way their employment contract is structured. If they’re not, they need to receive an overtime pay rate for any hours above their standard.

For many employees, this is 40 hours, but it does vary. The rates of pay depend on what’s set up in their contract. They also depend according to the time of the work, too, with some people getting time and a half or double time pay.

Engagement

Engagement is an important HR term. It refers to how dedicated, productive, interested, and happy people are within their jobs. You need to understand this because you want your employees to like coming to work. You want them to be engaged enough to keep working for the company long term.

The more engaged staff members are, the more effective they are at their jobs, typically. Moreover, the less likely they are to miss days of work. Engaged employees have plenty of energy, commitment, dedication, and flow with their work. They can also help inspire and motivate their colleagues.

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Employee Turnover and Retention

The higher engagement is within a workforce, the lower the employee turnover rate will be. Employee turnover basically refers to how often personnel leave a business. The other side of this coin is employee retention. This is a term that describes how well a company keeps its skilled, productive employees within the organization.

You want your turnover rate to be as low as possible and your retention rate as high as possible. In this way, you don’t have to continually find, train, and integrate new team members. Leaders can achieve this by listening to staff, providing a positive corporate culture, giving out excellent perks and benefits, enabling workers to keep growing and developing, and providing other support.

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Exit Interview

An exit interview is the conversation managers have with personnel who are about to leave the organization. During this meeting, the idea is to learn about the employee’s reasons for leaving and get an idea of their experiences with the firm while working there.

Exit interviews enable exiting team members to have their say. The chats also give business owners, HR heads, and other leaders the ability to pick up on insightful data about what does and doesn’t work about the corporate culture.

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Understanding HR Terms Will Make You a More Effective Leader

These are some of the leading HR terms you need to know. But keep a lookout for others, too. The more you understand key concepts and how they apply to your business, the more effectively you can manage your team.

Featured image by Buffik from Pixabay 

We all understand how hectic the life of a business owner can be. Believe it or not, though, there are some simple things you can do to help your company thrive. To this end, here are some accounting tips that can help.

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Keep Your Personal and Business Finances Separate

Instead of your personal funds being put into a personal account, becoming a business owner means that some business-based finances will be combined with your personal funds. The last thing anybody wants to do is sit down and go through every single shopping list or personal transaction in order to locate that one crucial piece of company information.

To keep things simple, create a new bank account for all of your company expenses.

Follow this accounting tip and keep your personal funds separate from your business finances. Then you will no longer need to waste time sifting through endless transactions.

Make Sure Your Records Stay Organized

Some people prefer a little chaos in their lives, while others find it difficult to concentrate if their papers are unorganized and untidy. That may be okay in your personal life, but when it comes to your books, try to maintain them properly so that you don’t waste time looking for them when they’re all over the place.

Follow this tip and keep your accounting records properly organized. This will save you time searching and allow you to spend more time doing what your business needs from you.

Then, when tax deadlines approach, you’ll be glad you took the time all year to make sure your papers were neat, tidy, and more organized.

Photo by Arren Mills on Unsplash

Stick to Tax Deadlines

Whatever it takes to help you remember that tax deadlines are rapidly approaching, do it. Anything from phone reminders to a countdown will suffice. A looming tax deadline might be anxiety-inducing, especially if you’re rushing because you forgot. You’re more like to make mistakes in this frame of mind. Any errors you could make take even longer to process.

It’s a very simple procedure. Follow this tip in your accounting practices and take note of the tax deadline. Then set a reminder ahead of time so you have adequate time to fill out your taxes accurately without making any mistakes. The rest is straightforward. Your records will be correct and you can concentrate on other things until the following deadline.

Keep Receipts

We’re not suggesting you keep and file every single receipt after each transaction, but you should retain any business-related purchase receipts so that you may claim for any business costs. It all depends on the sort of company you run. If you work from home in the UK, for example, you can claim certain household expenses such as stationery and postage. In the US, the rules are somewhat more complex, so be sure to consult a tax professional for advice.

Keep any business-related purchases or expenditures and file them away in organized records. This is one of many accounting tips that can save you time, hassle, and money.

Photo by Michael Walter on Unsplash

Budget for Taxes

Even if you or your company are making substantial profits, you should pay attention to this accounting tip. Every business needs to budget to pay some of their profit in taxes. Start by putting aside money for this in your budget as you go. This way, you won’t be blindsided at the end of the year.

Use a savings account to set aside a portion of your income to pay your tax bill without difficulty and benefit in other ways from the remainder of your money.

Understand Tax Rules

When it comes to taxes, you should understand which ones pertain to you and your company so that you know which sorts of taxes you’ll have to pay. Income tax, National Insurance, Corporation Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), and business rates – do your homework on all of them so you know what you owe.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Create Profit and Loss Statements

GGM Accountancy defines profit and loss statements as “a financial statement that summarizes the revenues, costs, and expenses incurred during a given period, which is usually a fiscal quarter or year. The profit and loss statement is the same as the income statement.” These records show a company’s capacity or inability to generate profit by increasing revenue, lowering expenses, or both. This accounting tip will help you better manage your business.

Balance Sheet

One of the duties of company directors is to maintain a balance sheet. A balance sheet is a comprehensive record of a firm’s financial assets. It’s critical to know what you should record on a balance sheet and how you should fill it in.

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These Accounting Tips Will Lead to a More Profitable Business

The tips we offer here will help you to better manage the accounting side of your business. And when you can do that, everything else about your company will flow more smoothly, too.

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