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Five marketing trends for brand awareness in 2018

Marketing is changing rapidly as businesses try to keep up with consumers. There’s no longer any standardised formula that applies across board – companies have to be smart and specific about their marketing processes in order to increase their brand awareness.

With the rise of digital technologies and its influence on brand visibility and awareness, it is essential that marketing strategies adjust accordingly to capitalise on new opportunities.

As a modern business, it is equally vital for you to be updated on the latest developments in marketing. Consumers are becoming easily distracted and bored with the rapid nature of modern society, so keeping up with the trends is essential. Here are five marketing trends propelling brand awareness in 2018!

Establish your relevant market

It’s no longer effective to try and catch the most fish with your marketing content. As consumers are faced with an increasing number of advertisements and marketing messages, they are bored and desensitised by them.

This only becomes more prominent when they are constantly shown advertisements that have no relevance to their specific situation. The way to stand out is to connect your marketing messages with the right people – your target market.

Being connected with people who are actively seeking your product is extremely valuable. For these reasons, marketing tactics such as SEO or sponsorships with influencers are becoming increasingly popular.

Spread across platforms

To establish a good level of brand awareness, it’s no longer good enough to have prominence on a single platform. Spread your business’ message on multiple sites – it increases your reach and visibility.

Building up your business’ presence will help create a stronger brand awareness and image. It provides more ways to connect with your market and learn more about what your audience likes.

Marketing with a message

Consumers are looking to find authenticity more than ever in the things they are presented with. It’s no surprise – after decades of surface-level advertising, it’s no longer so simple to grab the attention of your audience.

People are used to being presented with advertisements that aren’t a true representation of the product featured. They’ve also heard about unethical practices that cause them to feel jaded about the current business industry.

Doing good and demonstrating that is one key way to differentiate your business from others. Marketing campaigns that have social value and a message behind them are proving to be more interesting than traditional advertisements.

Social media

Individuals are engaging with social media more than ever, and so are businesses. Business presence on social media sites is on the rise, and there’s a good reason for it. Through social media, companies can connect with their customers easily and at a fast speed.

Individuals are more engaged on social media platforms, so expanding company presence to such platforms can increase visibility and connection to their market. It also allows for a more interactive experience as compared to traditional websites.

Through social media, companies can gain feedback from their customer that helps informs future marketing decisions. It is also a great low-cost method for putting out content and catching the attention of individuals.

Author J.K. Dickinson On Harnessing Intuition For A Stronger Life

Respected mentor and lauded author J.K. Dickinson is on a mission to inform and educate people about the intrinsic nature of our connectedness of mind and body – and the vital importance of intuition and listening to our own dispositions.

Through her seminal title The Invisible Anatomy: Discovering the Intuition of the Human Body, J.K. Dickinson takes her readers on a journey through the brain stem and into the inner workings of the human sensory system. Through this connectivity of mind and body, the world becomes a much different place in the estimation of J.K. Dickinson, who utilizes real-world stories and case studies of people from all walks of life who showcase examples of the mind-body connectivity and the variable impacts that a life event can cause.

JK Dickinson The Invisible Anatomy CoverThe Invisible Anatomy: Discovering The Intuition Of The Human Body, can be purchased here.

The Vagus Nerve

The proponent that connects J.K. Dickinson’s stories and case studies is the vagus nerve, also known as the 10th cranial nerve. The vagus nerve is a continuously researched and central component in the parasympathetic nervous system. The system itself plays a massive role in a number of crucial bodily functions from mood regulation, immune response, heart rate, and digestion.

Its interconnectivity with vital organs and the brain stands to reason why awareness of the vagus nerve and its role in intuitive living is being illuminated by J.K. Dickinson, and many other leading researchers. The regulation and training in listening to the bodies response to change and stress gives the book an identity as one that will optimistically be seen as a reference for people who feel there is an inherent underlying tether between the life we lead, and the intuition we often cannot hear.

J.K. Dickinson’s Journey To Here

J.K. Dickinson has had a long and vibrant road in her research and development that lead to this book. Working for the last 30 years in providing insights and brandishing the positive changes that come with intuition and truly listening to the body and how it responds.

From corporate mentoring to diagnostic consultancy, J.K. Dickinson keeps the idea of a spirit residing in the body at the forefront of all of her work – and there is perhaps no better example of this than with her book.

A Handy Guide For Your Cryptocurrency Investment Journey

If you’re looking to break into the crypto market and don’t know where to start, have we got the article for you. After all, looking at TikTok and Reddit forums won’t always guarantee you the safest outlet of reliable information (although it has on occasion). To succeed in the crypto market, one must learn to study the intricacies that dictate market value and reach, viability, reliability, and value.

With thousands of variations of coins on the market, it can be difficult to think logically and peruse through them all, no one is asking you to spend the entire night researching SHIBA or DOGE to determine their market feasibility in the future and understand the intricacies and their projected earnings over the foreseeable.

This will teach you to look beyond the dollar signs next to the price, and instead study the fundamentals of the coin, the community, and the way that hype works in the modern world.

Research The Projects They Come From

Cryptocurrency guide

One of the weirdest ways we’ve seen people decide on a coin to invest in is by laughing at the name of it and buying it immediately, only to find to their surprise that it tanks months later. These meme coins are the bane of an investors existence as you scratch an inch below the surface and find nothing but sand holding it up.

Essentially, stable coins are stable because they come from projects or are part of projects that are solid and in demand. Looking at ADA for instance, this coin is part of a number of frameworks for web 3 development, and therefore has a little more credence for consideration.

DOGE on the other hand, is purely and simply a meme of itself – which is why it had such a remarkable crash.

Lesson: Do your research and find projects you want to invest in! Simple as that

Look At The Market Cap & Trading History

Always keep an eye on the trading history of a coin, relatively new ones will take time to stabilize so bear that in mind. The market cap will also tell you the inherent prospects of an increase in value over the long term.

Centuro Global Guides International Expansion Through Community

When one thinks of community, images of individuals united in a common cause spring to mind. While current perceptions are more tightly linked to profitability, margins, and market domination than cooperation, it is difficult to argue that the origins of commerce lie with the humble latter. Without companies, there would simply be individual tradespeople awkwardly skirting around the edges of contract law to negotiate the best bargain. For businesses to truly grow in size, scale, and prosperity, they must almost always place their trust in people and provide those employees with the kind of gratification and reward worthy of their contribution to the company’s growth.

Yet the notion of community in business appears to have been lost as globalization grips hold of the global economy. Put simply, if a proposition does not seem to elevate a company’s bottom line directly, shareholders are becoming increasingly unlikely to take bold decisions. International expansion, long the domain of law and accounting giants, arguably suffers from this utilitarianism greatly, as trailblazing leadership is often left in the dust of vast transition costs and potential liabilities. Ultimately, the problem trickles down the food chain to smaller businesses, which may have a viable plan for growth stunted by the professional services monopoly. @centuroglobal, and its CEO Zain Ali, believe in reinstating community into business expansion, once again empowering people to make the best decisions for their company’s prospects.

Principally, community forms a fundamental aspect of the Centuro platform through how it enables teams to coordinate their expansion plans together in a compliant way. Providing an extensive knowledge base as to the likes of taxation requirements and local regulations, Centuro enables business owners to assess international markets and plot a course for their new place of commerce. The platform can then be accessed by various individuals spanning a company’s operations, which allows employees with specific skills and insight to work on relevant preparation. Centuro’s centralized solution is geared towards avoiding bureaucratic delays that could threaten contracts and put a roadblock between a business and its growth.

Centuro Global’s CEO has clear evidence of the effectiveness of his platform in the positive precedents it has already set with users. “A client’s HR team came to us for immigration assistance when they needed to move workers into Ghana to complete a project,” Ali outlines. “Upon realization that an entity set up by a large international firm did not allow for the client’s ex-pat workers, we were able to work with our Ghanaian service provider members and the government to enable them to be brought in.”

One of the most significant benefits of Centuro’s widespread adoption is the disruption that it could cause to last-generation solutions. Corporate professional services have been the sole point of call for international expansion for a generation, but Zain Ali and the Centuro team believe the drawbacks of their expensive, drawn-out processes combined with the advantages of 21st Century technology make the case for a new solution as compelling as ever. Reports drawn up by the likes of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms are arguably inaccessible to regular business people and consume too much time to be considered an efficient, modern solution. Using dynamic technology as a workaround can be a game-changer for a multitude of previously disenfranchised entrepreneurs.

Practicability of a proposed expansion is an immediate upside to using Centuro and thus the prospects of a growing business, but the issue of cost is one close to Zain Ali’s central ethos when developing the platform. Leveling the playing field is a recurring objective in Centuro’s proponents’ minds. By lowering the financial barriers to entry that businesses without the capital for comprehensive professional advice face, it is hoped that access to foreign markets will open up to a much wider pool of companies. In doing so, there lies the potential that global competition could become more democratic and mobile, resulting in better products and greater entrepreneurial prospects.

Community is therefore generated by inclusivity. A world is created where innovators and leaders can arise from almost anywhere based on truly universal business ideas. These pioneers are not only informed but guided by the Centuro platform. Users are provided with a dedicated account manager to track an expansion’s progress and address any queries. The ultimate aim is to populate Centuro with professionals with expertise in many areas. Specialists, therefore, have the potential to be freed from conventional corporate careers and are empowered to assist growing companies on a one-to-one level.

By establishing the foundations, Centuro Global has aspirations for developing a new organic ecosystem consisting of key players who can improve the efficiency of professional services.

Payday Loans- Scary or Safe?

Life is expensive. With rent, utility bills, groceries, petrol and any other day to day costs its amazing that people are managing to stay afloat. So, its no surprise that businesses started to pop up to exploit this. We’ve all seen ads around the place for quick cash loans (also known as payday loans); the ones that claim you can apply online and get approved straight away. In the moment, it may seem like a good idea… but is it actually?

 

What is a payday loan? Well, it’s a small loan – generally between $100 to $2,000-  the length of the loan will usually range from 16 days to a year. The point of these loans is to tide you over until you next get paid, with the aim to repay the loan over as short a time as possible. As with any loan, the terms differ depending on how much you are trying to get and over what length of time you have opted to pay it off. The terms of payday loans often line up with your payment schedule, so if you get paid fortnightly your repayments would be on a fortnightly basis, and if you get paid monthly the repayment would be taken out of your account on a monthly basis.

 

What interest is charged? Everyone is told to watch out for quick cash loans because of the high interest rate, but here is a breakdown of how it actually works. What you may not know is that the Australian government has put regulations in place for payday loans. This is in the form of a fee cap; lenders are only able to charge certain fees. These are as follows:

  • A one off set up fee of 20% of the amount loaned
  • A monthly fee of 4% of the initial loan amount
  • Any relevant government charges
  • Fees if a payment is missed

As shown above, payday loan providers are only able to charge fees that are a percentage of the amount borrowed. These fees are capped at 24%, but remember it is charged over a short space of time, so it’s easy for this to accumulate.

 

What about my credit score? When you apply for a loan through a bank, they will always do a credit check, and if your credit score is bad, you will most likely be declined. Most quick cash loan providers are less strict about your credit score, so people with bad credit are often able to get a loan providing there is proof they can make the required payments. Instead, these types of lenders will focus on the income of the applicant and the financial activity over the past three months.

 

If you choose the right lender, payday loans don’t have to be as scary or as dodgy as they are made out to be. They can be a real life saver.

5 Retail Market Trends for 2020

The Australian retail market has been on the rise over the past few years, and is now considered as one of the top competitive markets in the world. These retailers are providing services to increase customer loyalty and attract new customers. However, the retail market is constantly evolving, so it has become do or die for many brands. So how does the Australian market keep up? Here are five of the most prominent trends for 2018.

 

  1. A few years ago the focus was on getting the most or the best item for the lowest price, but recently we have seen changes in buyer behaviour. Today, people are placing emphasis on environmentally friendly, vegan and sustainable goods. There is more focus surrounding how the goods were made and sourced, with shoppers willing to pay a premium for items that meet that criteria. To combat this, many brands are changing the materials they use and how they make their products in order to meet consumer demand.

 

  1. Millennials are often criticised for wanting things immediately, this means retailers need to keep up. With online shopping still being the preferred method, online stores are trying to cut down delivery time further. Online shops like The Iconic have set the bar high by offering next day delivery for most items, and even same day delivery for some. The speed of delivery is clearly important, so we will see lots of other retailers improving their delivery times in order to stay competitive.

 

  1. Although shopping can be enjoyable, there is some shopping that no one wants to do- the weekly food shop for example. The goal is to make this type of shopping quicker and easier. One way retailers are trying to achieve this is by creating subscription services, and offering auto-renewals. This takes all the thinking out of essentials shopping and will mean that you only have to adjust or change if your lifestyle needs change.

 

  1. Personalisation has been a growing trend over the past couple of years, and its not going away for the foreseeable future. Brands like MonPurse have been paving the way for other personalised goods. Consumers want complete control over their purchases and are willing to pay extra to receive these touches. However, personalisation has evolved from having your name engraved on something, shoppers now want the ability to choose the colour, fabric and size of items. This is something you will be seeing many more businesses incorporating.

 

  1. Cash is old news, most people choose to use card now, but what happens if you forget your card? It appears that debit cards may also be on the way out. Most smartphones now offer features like ApplePay and AndroidPay. We can expect to see many more shops accepting this form of payment. The convince of having everything accessible from your phone is appealing to many people, so to keep up the shops will have to make this a service they offer.

 

The main thing when it comes to the retail market is versatility. Brands need to change in order to survive.

4 great investments to enhance your home security

The security of your home and the family that occupies it is naturally a top priority for any home owner. Sometimes it’s not enough just to have a lock on your front door as today’s criminals are determined to break through rudimentary home security measures, meaning that you’ll need something more advanced to keep your home safe.

Luckily, home security systems are constantly being improved to counterattack the new ways intruders attempt to break in. Many tried and true home security systems are still valuable today while other new technologies further enhance the safety of your home.

Let’s take a look at 4 of the best investments to enhance your home security.

1: Smart cameras

A great new technology for home security is smart cameras. Smart cameras only activate when they detect movement inside or outside of the home. The camera then records what it sees so that you can watch it in real time or on playback from your tablet or smartphone.

While it might be frightening to watch someone break into your home in real time, smart camera will give you undeniable visual evidence that you can then use to report the crime to police. When you capture the criminal on camera it’s much easier for the police to track them down should they flee.

Smart cameras are a great deterrent to would-be criminals if you disclaim their presence with a poster outside your front door. Something like “smile for the cameras” is always a good way to let people know they won’t get away with trying to break into your property.

2: Video doorbell

A video doorbell is another great home security investment. It’s essentially just a camera installed onto a doorbell so that it records the face of whoever rings.

While you might think it strange that an intruder would ring the doorbell, it’s actually a common tactic to check if anyone is at home. If an intruder rings to doorbell and then enters your home, you’ll have clear visual proof of who it was.

3: Smart lights

Smart light systems allow you to control the lights in your home while you’re on holiday or gone for extended periods. They are a great way to make your home seem like it is being occupied when no one is really there, deterring potential intruders.

For example, you could program your porch lights to turn on at certain times of night or set lights to activate when they detect motion.

4: Security windows and doors

Security windows and doors are essentially just really tough alternatives that make it a significant chore for intruders to try and force their way in. Trying to break through these obstacles takes time and makes a lot of noise, often making it not worth the risk of being caught for the intruder.

A combination of the above security measures means that any potential intruders will either be deterred from attempting to break in or will have a hard time pulling it off and an even harder time getting away with it.

The Technological Boom Of Freelancing Gigs

Freelancing has become a well-respected field in the last few years. It has shot up in popularity thanks to the technological advances being made on internet platforms and providers – effectively cutting out the middleman and allowing creators and creatives to work together for the betterment of both sides!

The reason is simple enough, technology has allowed websites like Fiverr and Upwork to flourish, allowing more freelancers to land a gig much, much easier. Thanks to increased internet capacities, faster hardware and software capabilities in laptops and mobile devices, and a genuine rise in curiosity – freelancing work has never been easier.

This article is going to explore two of the most popular websites out there for freelancers looking to make a living.

Fiverr

Fiverr freelancing

The big kahuna. Fiverr started off with the humblest of beginnings, establishing itself as a place where people could post jobs to be completed for $5.00 (hence the name). This didn’t stay around for too long however as more people began flocking to the website and with the increased demand for diversity of charging options and thus the modern Fiverr was born.

Now freelance work is available with anything from copywriting to programming. The platform has evolved to allow freelancers to put up their profiles as well, a lot of experienced journalists, bloggers, programmers, voice actors, even videographers have sold their wares on the platform and begun making a real living from it.

Upwork

The main competitor of Fiverr is undeniably Upwork. Going on a similar rhetoric as Fiverr, Upwork is a little more refined and reflective of the changing job market. They have a decent split of marketable freelancing categories for companies to choose from and come highly recommended! The main differential between the two sites (besides the talent pool) is the focus of Upwork on longer term contracts. Fiverr has a more distinct focus on burn and churn and singular gigs.

There’s never been a better time to be a freelancer, thanks to the platforming capabilities of modern technologies – the sky is certainly the limit.

Bank Accounts: A Beginners Guide

There are endless options when it comes to banks and the range of different accounts they offer. Unless you really know what to look for it can be a challenge to work out which account best suits your needs. So to help you out if you’re trying to set up your first adult bank account, or if you’re considering changing accounts, below is a beginners guide to finding the best bank account for your needs.

 

Types of Bank Accounts

In Australia there are two main types of accounts; everyday transaction accounts and saving accounts. Transaction accounts are the accounts that you would use on a daily basis, this is the account you would most likely have a card for. With this type of account, you’ll also have access to internet banking, ATM transactions and BPAY. Savings accounts are for, well, saving. Usually, they give higher interest rates in comparison to transaction accounts. Some savings accounts also make it harder for you to withdraw money by putting restrictions on the account. This will be beneficial for helping you save. Most people will have one transaction account and one savings account- so don’t feel like you have to choose one or the other.

 

Transaction Accounts

Each bank will have different variants of their accounts, each offering slightly different things. Here are some main things to consider when comparing accounts:

  • Monthly fees. Look at what fees come with the account- there are lots of fee free accounts, so one of these may be the best option.
  • Does the account come with a card free of charge? You should be able to get a debit card free with the account so you can easily shop online.
  • Look for a well known bank that has lots of ATM’s to make it easier to deposit and withdraw money.
  • Most banks offer internet banking services, go for an account that will allow you to manage your money online.
  • Deposit amounts- some banks require you to make a minimum deposit to set up the account, whereas others encourage a certain amount per month to keep the account active. Consider these factors when setting up an account and find one that works best for you.


Savings Accounts

As with transaction accounts, savings accounts can differ slightly. Consider these things when choosing a savings account:

  • Look at the fees that come with each account option.
  • With savings accounts the interest rate is important. How much is the interest? How often is it paid into the account? Its also important to find out how much interest is lost if you withdraw money from the account.
  • Minimum and maximum account balance. Compare the minimum or maximum you’ll be allowed to have in the savings account at any time.

 

Remember, you don’t need to have all of your accounts with the same bank. Sometimes banks offer incentives for you to keep both a transaction and a savings account with them, but still feel free to shop around to find the best deal. If you consider these tips, you should easily find an account that works for you.

2 Tips To Lose Weight And Stay Healthy

For decades, we have heard that being overweight and above is not healthy at all. This fact will ring true for the foreseeable future, and it is correct in that being overweight is not a healthy lifestyle at all. The good thing about this is that it is easy to lose weight! The science behind losing weight is simple, and many often look for a shortcut. Whether that be through pills, radical diets and exercise routines, many look for a magic way to lose weight. However, good old fashioned exercise and dieting is the best way to lose weight, and can’t be substituted by any other magic pills or supplements. While the following tips do require motivation, consistency and determination, they can help to understand how people lose weight and why these tips will help in burning calories and subsequently, fat.

Here are 2 tips to lose weight and stay healthy.

Watch Your Diet

Losing weight

Contrary to popular belief, losing weight does not require exercise at all. Exercise is essential to staying healthy and can help in burning calories, but diet is the biggest factor that must be considered. The food you eat day in and day out should be healthy, balanced meals, with a mix of carbohydates, protein, healthy fats and vitamins/minerals. It is simple, if you burn more calories than you eat, you WILL lose weight. There are no ifs and buts about it, it is simple science. Eating at a caloric deficit will ensure that you lose weight.

Exercise

Cardiac exercise and weightlifting such as running, jogging, rowing and so on, are all great ways to burn extra calories. Exercise uses calories for energy, and if combined with a diet, you will be able to recover and lose weight. You will also be able to improve your performance in strength and endurance, and will improve your health significantly.

Overall, a healthy diet with a caloric deficit and an exercise routine is the best way to lose weight. Looking for a magic shortcut will not get you anywhere. By applying yourself and being consistent with an exercise routine and diet, you will lose weight. The science behind it says it all.