4 Neat E-mail Tricks for Offline Businesses
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4 Neat E-mail Tricks for Offline Businesses

So yours is one of those businesses that are yet to go online? And you are not ready to take the plunge yet? Fret not for you have at your service a trusted way of communicating with your clients and prospective customers over the Internet– through email. But sending out emails is not as simplistic as it looks. You need to work on several aspects of your email to win the trust of your customer and make an impact on him or her. Here are a few handy tips for your email strategy.

Custom E-mail

Sending out emails from Gmail or Yahoo reflects poorly on you and your business because it is perceived as more of a personal platform to share mails on.

It is perceived as being unprofessional. Instead, what you can do is create a custom email on any of the many email-hosting platforms with your own domain name, something that is taken seriously. Having a custom email like yourname@companyname.com shows professionalism and gives a corporate feel. Zoho Workplace and G Suite are some of the popular custom email platforms in the market.

Email Signatures

The last impression is a lasting one, some thing you will be remembered by. So signing off well and impressively is as important as the presentation of the content of your email. Ideally, you should have an email signature that has your name, your company name, social media links, your phone number etc. A small paragraph or a catchy tag line that embodies the story of your brand could be added as well.

Email Tracker

No one likes shooting an email and having to wait endlessly for a reply or a reaction. Thanks to email tracking software you can now know when a customer opens an email, opens attachments or simply ignores your email. This gives you knowledge about customer behaviour and helps you target the right clientele for your business. Imagine what you could do if you found out your potential client has opened your email but not replied (you follow up and add value that’s right).

Pre-email signature content

Sometimes having some content before your email signature can be a great way to educate or promote the email receiver about a product or service or something you believe in.

Pre-email signature content reads like – (a). Save upto 20% on your hosting. Ask me how or (b). Contactless delivery partners can now get a cashback. Get in touch for more information.

Conclusion

Business today is all about marketing yourself and your product well. So impressing your customers with good communication skills and a robust one-on-one mail policy is as important as selling them a great product. It is akin to dressing up sharply for a business meet. You obviously want to look your best before prospective investors and clients! We, at Sprout Road, suggest you incorporate these strategies at the earliest if you have not already done so. Sprout Road is one of the best Internet marketing companies in Kolkata. Also, you might want to read our blog on why the COVID-19 lockdown is the best time to take your business online here.

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Top Facebook Updates You Can't Miss
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Top Facebook Updates You Can’t Miss

The world has changed over the past two months because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. As of April 24, 2020, over 27,25,000 persons have been affected by the novel virus and thousands have lost their lives due to fatal infections from the virus.

Nations have decreed lockdowns and economies have come to a grinding halt. In such a situation, business processes like marketing efforts have undergone a change in language and immediacy. Let us review some of the changes Facebook has undergone in these unprecedented times.

Facebook Ads

Facebook announced it no longer holds it mandatory for advertisers to use campaign budget optimization or CBO. “With campaign budget optimization, you’ll be able to set one central campaign budget for all of your ad sets, and we’ll automatically and continuously distribute that budget in real time to your top performing ad sets.” You can access Facebook’s announcement regarding CBO here.

Facebook Marketing

  • Facebook has announced that changes to its moderation process and the fact that its staff is away from work might result in delays and errors in ad reviews.

So it is advisable to design and upload ads for approval much earlier than you need them so you have time to edit or change the ad or even appeal.

  • Facebook is currently testing new features that limit the spread of misinformation regarding COVID-19, on both Whatsapp and Messenger.

Some pieces of misinformation regarding magical cures and government action have gained a lot of mileage on these platforms.

  • Facebook has banned ads and listings that “seek to capitalize on fears” around the coronavirus pandemic.

Test kits, toilet paper, facemasks, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizers, or even purported “cures” cannot be advertised to exploit people on the basis of their fears.

Facebook Stories

Facebook Stories has introduced a new “Mood” frame for its Stories. The feature applies any GIF a user chooses to the stories panel and tags it as ‘Mood’. This is to signify the fact that the GIF represents the present mood of the user.

Brands can use this feature to call attention to a product review or the launch of a new product by following up a story with a mood GIF. This feature can be used to “express” feelings like excitement over recent news they have shared via Stories.

Facebook appears to be concerned about your business in these uncertain times, evident from these updates. It has also put out a link to its Business Resource Hub where it puts out pointers on connecting with small businesses and taking your business online. For more assistance on these updates or social media marketing and advertising, do not hesitate to contact us. Sprout Road is the premiere most IT company in Kolkata engaged in Facebook marketing. Best, Sprout Road

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Video Marketing Trends for 2020
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Video Marketing Trends for 2020

Audio-visual medium of communications are any day more engaging and impactful than mere words communicated in patches of written text. To the viewer, a video is more captivating because it engages the aural and visual faculties.

Videos are more impactful because they communicate body language, tone and visual cues to the viewer. It is a tested norm that customers are more likely to click a video ad than a standard banner ad. Thus, most businesses prefer opting for video marketing and video advertising.

Here, we list a set of video marketing trends for 2020.

‘Live’-n up

Going ‘Live’ is the new go-to model for video marketers, especially on platforms as effective as Facebook and Twitter. They tend to create a sense of urgency and they look less scripted and more genuine.

360 degree video content

Immersive videos are dominating the market right now. And there is nothing like great 360-degree video content that can easily be shot on a smartphone or a special camera that does not cost much. Spherical videos tend to fascinate viewers and excite them a lot more as compared to non-interactive ones.

‘Shoppable’ Videos

Shoppable videos are gradually becoming a rage among e-Commerce customers. These videos are designed for customers to click on them and be directed to the checkout page seamlessly, cutting short their shopping time as compared to sifting through an e-Commerce website.

Vlogs

If you are a fan of storytelling and cannot stop at the first 100 words or so while explaining your product or services to a customer, you should go in for Video Blogging – Vlogging. Telling a personalised story that features your product or services touches a cord with the customer and increases conversion rates.

Data-driven video ads

Finally, while everything has been said in favour of audio-visual mediums of marketing and advertising being the most effective, nothing beats the credibility of data and facts and figures supporting your claims around your products and services. Thus, including relevant content in the form of data is not a bad idea at all.

So, if you are trying to better your ads strategy this year, especially since you have time on hand due to the global lockdown in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, do give this blog a thorough read. Best, Sprout Road.

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10 Free Tools To Help You Work From Home
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10 Free Tools To Help You Work From Home

Slowly coming to terms with the changes forced upon us by the spread of COVID-19? It is difficult, shifting work to your home premises. But it is not impossible.

Here is a list of some free tools that can make the transition to working from home smoother and hassle-free.

  • Slack – It is a great collaboration hub that allows you to share files and communicate in groups as well as on a one-on-one basis.

  • Google Hangouts –It brings to life conversations through texts, audio and video connections on a one-on-one basis and for groups.
  • Zoom–It is a platform that allows you to hold video meetings and host virtual presentations online. It offers real time chats and video recording features as well.
  • Skype–It is a free communications tool that helps you connect with as many as 50 people through audio or video conferencing. 
  • AirTable–This is a strong tool that helps manage data and inventory on visually appealing spreadsheets so you can keep track of what your team is doing.
  • Asana –It helps teams structure work and tasks and helps team leaders and team members track progress and completion of tasks.
  • GitHub–It is a crucial free tool used to facilitate design and development, used as it is for version control and viewing, sharing and collaborating on code developed by team members.
  • Chrome DevTools–It is used for web development and the software is built directly into the Google Chrome browser.
  • Grammarly– It is a great platform used for writing on and editing documents with.
  • Google Drive– It is best for sharing files and collaborating on them with remote team members.

Try these tools out, according to your needs and preferences. For more on the subject, check out our previous blog here – www.sproutroad.com/how-you-can-work-from-home-during-covid-19-some-free-tools.

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Tips to Increase Your E-Commerce Sales
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Tips to Increase Your E-Commerce Sales

Have an online store and wondering how to boost sales in times like these? Every online store must be thinking on the same lines, actually.

It can be especially challenging to put in place effective business strategies when the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus has affected economies the world over.

That is why we have put together this article to help you understand some ways whereby you can increase online sales. Read on to know more.

Email Marketing

While you must be engrossed in putting money into paid marketing strategies on the Internet, a less expensive and more profitable exercise is automated email marketing.

It allows you to directly communicate with a customer and send him or her relevant and timely messages, especially if you want to upsell a product.

Upsell a Product

Upsells refer to selling or showcasing a product of higher value and better quality to a buyer who has opted to buy a certain product.

For instance, if you are looking to buy a phone online and your online store advertises or pushes for a higher-grade model of the same series and the same company, it amounts to upselling a product.

That way, you might end up selling a more expensive product to a customer.

Showcase product benefits

Since all you have to showcase a product is photographs, ensure these are professionally clicked against a clear backdrop, preferably white. Ensure the lighting is right and the camera quality good.

Also, polish up your product descriptions and add as many details regarding dimensions, colour and terms of use and your return policy.

Customer Testimonials

Mandatorily ask for user testimonials on the checkout page of you platform so you have an arsenal of feedback that you can use to your benefit.

Be a proud seller and showcase these customer testimonials to prospective buyers. These testimonials can feature anywhere on your web site – on landing pages, on the product page or on the home page.

Manufacture Urgency

There is no harm in creating a sense of urgency around your product sale. It gives the buyer incentive and a time frame to buy you product in.

And do not forget to follow up sales with an after-sale email that is a thoughtful way of building a relationship with your customer.

There are more technical ways to boost sales as well (take optimising your website pages or getting more Ad Clicks with Ad Extensions). But this article sheds light on some of the humbler points to remember while strategizing for an increase in sales that often get overlooked. Hope this helped. Best, Sprout Road

To get an e-commerce website or to setup avenues for your business, get in touch with us here.

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How You Can Work From Home During COVID 19 - Some Free Tools
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How You Can Work From Home During COVID 19 – Some Free Tools

Working from home? So are we. And so are millions of people across the world forced indoors by the spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

But if you have access to the Internet, you are doing better than many because of a variety of free tools available to assist you in working from home.

For communicating

There are several free tools available for helping you to communicate with your colleagues.

Tools like Slack, Workplace by Facebook, Basecamp, Discord and Microsoft Teamsare the names you should be acquainted with.

Most of these are on offer with paid plans, but they grant basic free packages with some limitations (that should not pose any problems to users).

For instance, there is a guide to Slack’s free versus paid-for services.

For work lists and projects management

Making a to-do list of tasks is the foremost way of keeping track of work to be done and tasks completed.

There are several tools which help carry out this function. Take, for instance, Trello and Google Keep.

Tools like Trello give us the opportunity to handle projects, keep a track of work done, add comments or collaborate on these.

Google Keep allows us to do similar things like making lists, taking notes (with a feature that allows for attaching pictures or audio clips), and sharing them with co-workers.

Apps like Zoho, Asana and Paymo can also be used for these functions.

For Collaboration

To collaborate on documents, worksheets and presentations, the most widely used tools are those comprised in the Google Suite.

Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides facilitate work on documents, worksheets or spreadsheets and presentations respectively.

Files are usually saved on Google’s cloud platform – Google Drive – though they can also be saved in the offline mode. An alternative is Zoho Docs.

Conclusion

Working from home can be productive if you want it to be. So do not hesitate to be adaptive. We suggest you try out these free tools and recommend them to colleagues as well. And if you are looking for more suggestions, do read our upcoming blog. Best, Sprout Road

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TikTok Augments Influencer Marketing Game
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TikTok Augments Influencer Marketing Game

India has more than 120 million active TikTok users. Though laden with legal challenges, the social media app has been an absolute favorite of brands and consumers alike.

Several bigwigs like Pepsi and Swiggy has started taking TikTok very seriously. With the help of influencers, these brands are running successful campaigns on the platform boosting sales. Of late, Tide Ultra and Idea too pushed campaigns asking the TikTok community to rap and dance, respectively. Even police departments are thinking of using TikTok as a powerful medium to reach out to more people and inspire citizens.

No wonder, TikTok harbors a lot of potentials when it comes content marketing.

Content Creation

Be it music, FMCG or tech/utility brands, TikTok is a great platform to amalgamate content. The fusion of brands and influencers is incredible.

“If you look at the brief history of brand campaigns on TikTok, the success stories are of those brands that have created platform-relevant content, paired it with the correct influencers and given them freedom while creating content,” says Prashant Sharma, CMO, Nofiltr Social.

Today, content marketing is the key. Brands need to consider the fact that audiences follow influencers to feed in content and reduce stress. In this digital era, content is all about being relatable, useful and entertaining. This is why a lot of content is available in vernacular languages on TikTok. It makes them more relatable and ignites instant user interest.

TikTok Influencer Marketing

In the last two years, the growth rate of TikTok influencers has been skyrocketing. Avneet Kaur with 16.2 M fans, Awez Darbar with 16.7 M fans and Ahsaas Channa with 3.5 M fans garnered phenomenal success in a very short span of time.

“Influencers can help create huge brand awareness by featuring the products or the store that has been launched recently,” says Hitesh Khubchandani, Founder of HDK Digital.

From a brand’s standpoint, the best is when you rope in influencers who have relevant audience-base in the locality you are about to target. Look for transformational videos and leverage them to feature your products if you hail from the beauty or fashion sector. As the festive season is right upon you, don’t forget to consider this option.

Few Tips and Suggestions

The founder of Mad Influence, Gautam Madhavan predicts that the next set of content on TikTok is going to be on education and motivational speeches. This would include cooking, dancing and photography tutorials. In essence, the format would simply define a problem and formulate its solution.

Below, we’ve shared a few TikTok marketing strategies that as an agency you should keep in mind:

  • Being a mass platform, TikTok should never be used for campaigns that are directed towards niche audiences.
  • Influencers are the lifeblood of the ecosystem. Support them and create the most immersive content.
  • Be clear. Make sure you know the objective of your campaign; while hashtag challenges can be used to create awareness, filters are great to drive engagement.

To know more about influencer marketing, contact us at Sprout Road. We would be happy to help you and your brand in the best way possible.

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Sacred Games Meme Carnival: See How Netizens Die Laughing!
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Sacred Games Meme Carnival: See How Netizens Die Laughing!

“Balidaan dena hoga sab kuch” because the Sacred Games 2 is here and trending as never before.

About Sacred Games

Sacred Games released with an all-star cast of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte and Pankaj Tripathi among others and became an instant hit. Since its premiere on 6th July, 2018, people all around went crazy!

It is quite significantly, the first ever Netflix original series in India. The directors, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Neeraj Ghaywan had truly devoted all of their time and resources to make this series a roaring success.

Besides the thrilling plot and stunning performances, not only from the lead actors but from the entire cast and crew, the witty dialogues and one-liners crafted cunningly and delivered delightfully, has reigned all over the internet.

Sacred Games 2

“Kabhi Kabhi Lagta Hai ki Apun Hi Bhagwan Hai” iterated the Directors and the Producers of the film and released the sequence of Sacred Games on Netflix on 15th August 2019.

Though the speculation, trending terms, clouding rumors and rambling ruminations kept the social media engaged all the time, the release of Sacred Games – Season 2, on 15th August 2019, multiplied the frenzy!

“Aap dharam me nahi mante na sardar ji, to aage kya hoga aapko main batayega!”

With netizens all over the globe, involving in myriad memes and biggies diving in the race of warping the dialogues into ingenious marketing campaigns, Sacred Games 2 has satisfyingly seized the spotlight!

Here we bring you the top 5 promotional memes and advertisements that are ruling the Social Media:

Dushman ka bhi pata hai, aur jung bhi jaari hai – Nicotex

 

 

 

Sacred Rains – Durex

 

 

 

Balidaan dena hoga – Pulse

 

 

 

Safety ka Sartaj, kal bhi aaj bhi, 15th August ke baad bhi – Godrej

 

 

 

Sacred Biscuit – Parle-G

 

 

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What Lord Varys from GOT Teaches about Content Strategy

We’ve all witnessed the frenzy brought into by Game of Throne’s SEO and online branding memes that are scattered across the web. Though their humor grabs our utmost attention, there are countless valuable lessons to learn from HBO’s magnum opus show – Game of Thrones.

To be frank, I was always much more of a Tetris kid than an innate worshipper of Dungeons & Dragons – but this time I must say I am totally engrossed in Game of Thrones. Why? Because it’s badass – it’s full of surprises, and its character etching is flawless.

Talking about GOT characters, Lord Varys strikes me the most. His skilled manipulating abilities and the way he singlehandedly commands a large network of informants encompassing two continents wins me over every time – here I have culled out the reasons why he is regarded as the epitome of a supreme content strategist.

Knowledge is King

Being a content strategist, what skill you need the most? A keen eye for the details. Knowledge is strength, it’s the power. And Lord Varys knew this very well; as a result, his Little Birds supplemented him with a large array of crucial data and insights – it’s this information that makes him unbeatable.

When to Talk and When Not To

A proper sense of timing is crucial. Lord Varys appreciates the power of silence and timing. As a content strategist, he understands when his brand should speak, and when it’s best to remain mum. This quality makes him so-desired for promoting brand reputation management.

Balanced and Unbiased

With no emotional involvement and zero complicated relationships, Lord Varys stands tall in terms of trust, reliability quotient and biasness. As he is a no-nonsense person, he is expected to be both neutral and extremely cryptic when asked about his future activities and agendas.

Nothing but Result Matters

“I serve the realm my lord, someone must.”

Achieving target is his motto in life. And for that Lord Varys can go up to any extent. He is focused, determined and result-oriented. Nothing can steer him away from the path of success. This must-have skill should be present in every versatile content strategist who wants to leave a lasting mark in the industry.

Flexible, While Leveraging Seasonality

Lord Varys never swears his allegiance to an evil king. He is free to change his loyalties, if the situation demands or for the welfare of his people. If its content marketing, it has to be Lord Varys – he is the ideal guy who knows how to leverage trends and conditions, while securing his win. Thumbs up to this man of quirks!

So, before you start mulling over how to hire such content strategists, remember Lord Varys takes the job of the message transmitter very seriously – he keeps the King updated and well-informed about all the events that take place in all the Seven Kingdoms, and his role should be given due importance.

The advent of digital media has unlocked vast streams of information. In no time, this powerful information is utilized to formulate superior content strategy based on crucial insights and data. Hence, our ever-inspiring Lord Varys is replaced by robust media intelligence tool, and instead of relying on intuition, this new-age tool provides the valuable clients meaningful insights about whatever is going around in their kingdom. Conforming the SEO guidelines and content marketing campaigns, tools like this help users stay abreast of public wants, brand image and how the competitors are strategizing outside their area of domain.

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Follow These 5 Tips and Secure Your Magento E-store
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Follow These 5 Tips and Secure Your Magento E-store

Approximately 240, 000 eCommerce stores use Magento – reflecting nearly 30% of the eCommerce platform market is occupied by this worthwhile program.

Unfortunately, with great power comes great responsibility – though Magento is superb as a program, it tends to be a soft target for cyber criminals across the globe. Being an eCommerce platform, its security remains a crucial factor to consider.

There are a handful number of customizations, security settings and auxiliary best practices to turn your Magento powered e-store safe and secured. We will take you on a ride through 5 interesting tips to make your Magento eCommerce site impregnable like never before..

Power up a strong password policy

The worst thing that Magento e-store operators and administrators can think of is to have a weak, regular and easy to crack password. We understand, your entire focus remains on setting up Magento initially, in situations like this, often you may forget to give due importance to password setting. However, if your system lacks automated password policies, implement one on your own.

Layer it up by a secure two-step authentication – it helps when your system password is shared among the employees at a certain point of time.

Alter the admin path

Chances are high that you won’t be bothered at all about the admin path. In reality, the default or admin path makes it easier for the cyber criminals to crack your login credentials – thus by modifying the admin path, you can add a protective layer to keep your credentials safe and secured.

 Here are the steps in which the default admin path can be changed:

  1. Select admin backend. Then, go to system and config. In the options, hit Admin – Admin Base URL. Choose ‘Use Custom Admin Path’, and click Yes.

2. The alternate method includes manipulation of some codes in your Magento store’s local.xml file. Access local.xml file through app/etc/local.xml.

Open the file, and look for the following code.

<admin>
<routers>
<adminhtml>
<args>
<frontName><![CDTA[admin] ]</frontName>
</args>
</routers>
</admin>

What you need to do is replace [admin] with the new path. Once done, save the file, and refresh the cache.. That’s it!

Encrypt crucial pages

Never take the risk to send any sensitive information, like your credentials over encrypted platforms. You know how easy it is now for hackers to commit data theft – seek for Secure URLs. Magento can help you here:

Go to System – Configuration – Web. Choose the Secure tab, and tick Yes for the pop up ‘Use Secure URLs in Frontend’ and ‘Use Secure URLs in Admin’.

Lastly, remember it is very important to secure URLs, which processes financial transactions.

Use Magento to add SSL in your web store

Trust reliable security extensions for Magento

High-profile security risks and attractive eCommerce websites go hand in hand. Fortunately, Magento comes with some time-tested efficient extensions that can help fight all sorts of security issues. Explore the top notch extensions for functions like scanning for vulnerabilities, blocking security threats, blocking malicious codes, log activities, enforce strong password policies, and implement firewalls

Take a look at the noteworthy Magento security extensions given below:

  • ET IP Security
  • MegaSecure
  • Spam Killer
  • Mega Firewall

Be ready with Backup

To ensure your website remains unaffected even in the adverse event of security breach – opt for regular backups and store them on the cloud. Also, make sure you have an offline copy so that you can quickly push up your website back to the previous form in no time, in case of emergency.

In a nutshell, Magento is applaudworthy – not only for business development, and from a management perspective, but also from a security point of view. In this extremely volatile and threat-prone cyber world, the responsibility to secure your Magento rests on your shoulder. So, Good Luck!!!

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