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Free outdoor cinemas launch in London and Edinburgh this month

Free open-air cinemas launch in London and Edinburgh this month

Is there anything better than chilling with your friends in the sun, having a picnic and basking in the heat? Well, now there is. Just add your fave movie into the mix, and you’ve got a new summer hangout.

When you envision the cinema, you picture sitting in the dark, popcorn being crunched around you, and total silence expected for the duration. Now, however, you can add summer vibes to seeing a film – and it’s free!

London
Scotland

London

Cinema business Everyman, known for their unique take on the movie experience, is bringing back their annual open-air cinema to London. This year, it’ll be on the Ghat Steps in King’s cross.

Everyman strives to redefine cinema, bringing an exciting approach to venues across the UK. You can swap your soft drink for a cheeky glass or red and get freshly made pizza served to your seat. Sounds lush, right?

So, it’s not surprising the company is here to bring you their warm and friendly atmosphere – al fresco.

And what’s tastier than pizza and wine? Well, the fact that it’s free, running from 22nd June to 6 August. Showings are spread across the day – at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 7:30pm. Plus, there’s such a fab range of showings, including the Hunger Games, Romeo + Juliet and Cool Runnings. Get the gals together and settle down for a sun-soaked viewingk of The Devil Wears Prada.

It’s also un-ticketed – so turn up whenever you desire. The event, named ‘Screen on the Canal’ is expected to be a huge hit. So, try and get there early to secure a good viewing spot.

Sports fan? Everyman will be showing Wimbledon on a separate screen from 3rd to 16th July. Result!

So, grab a summer cocktail, get your friends together and enjoy.

Scotland

In Scotland, the capital will soon become home to a similar event for three days from 23rd to 25th June. Square Cinema will give you the chance to watch your favourite blockbusters – both new and old – in the joy of the sun.

Choose from music-based biographical films like Elvis and Rocketman, or catch Tom Cruise doing his thing in action-packed Top Gun: Maverick. If you fancy a cult classic, Dirty Dancing is the one for you.

Catch Mean Girls on the big screen, or sing along to Encanto or Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical. Bring in your own picnic and enjoy with the whole family. If you fancy, you can even choose from a range of mouth-watering refreshments to keep you cool, with pop-up bars located in the grounds.

As with the event in London – this is totally free! Launched in 2011, the free cinema in St Andrew Square Garden was created in partnership by Essential Edinburgh and Unique Events, to bring film lovers into the city centre to celebrate the capital’s rich culture and creativity.

Listed below is the full programme of films across the three days:

Friday, June 23

4:30pm – Mean Girls
6:45pm – Back to the Future
9:05pm – Dirty Dancing

Saturday, June 24

11am – Encanto
1:05pm – Wizard of Oz
3:15pm – Hairspray
5:35pm – Elvis
8:45pm – Rocketman

Sunday, June 25

11am – Lyle, Lyle Crocodile
1pm – Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical
3:30pm – Local Hero
5:50pm – Dr Strange in the Multiverse
8:30pm – Top Gun – Maverick

More information can be found on the Square Cinema website here.

The post Free outdoor cinemas launch in London and Edinburgh this month appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Original source: https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/free-outdoor-cinemas-launch-in-london-and-edinburgh-this-month

How to Make Money on Social Media

Social media is the most powerful marketing tool around now, and it can be pretty lucrative. It’s had a great deal of influence in changing the way we shop, and continues to play a massive part in how people make money online.

The Influencer Marketing Hub is a very useful tool for anyone who monetises their social media. Their 2020 Benchmark Report proved just how big social media marketing is. According to the report, the influencer marketing industry is set to grow to approximately $9.76 billion in 2020. And not only this, but now 300% more micro-influencers are utilised by large companies than in 2016. This paves the way for future influencers and enables more people to utilise their social media to generate an income.

Sell Your Own Products and Services
Make Money From Affiliate Links
Use Promo Codes
How to Approach Brands
Tips on Building a Following (And Selling to Them)
Rules for Making Money on Social Media

Sell your own products and services

According to research at Smart Insights, 30% of consumers say they would happily make purchases directly through social media platforms. While 87% of e-commerce shoppers believe social media helps them make a shopping decision. So, if you’re not using social media to sell and promote your products and services, you’re missing out on a massive potential market!

There are plenty of helpful tools out there, like Hootsuite, to help manage selling on social channels. Through their service you can track, manage, and schedule your social channels all in one place. They help you see what type of content, and on which platforms, your audience engage with most. The more you know about your audience demographic and their tastes, the easier it becomes to sell to them.

Bear in mind that most of these tools are paid-for services, although you can usually get a 30-day free trial to test them out first.

If you’re thinking about setting up an online shop, check out our article here for tips on getting started.

Key considerations for selling online

Matching your social strategy to your audience. Who is your main customer? A teenager or working professional? Depending what your demographic is will largely determine how you market and sell your products and services.
Create the right content, at the right time. Statistics show that across all social media platforms, posts that include visuals consistently perform better and see more engagement than those without. However, posting too frequently, or even not enough, is damaging and will drive customers away.
Connect everything back to your business. A relationship with your audience is essential – sales rarely occur on first contact, but normally several times later. Your audience need to trust you and you need to listen to them. When you do this, you’ll be in a better position to provide your audience with what they need, and when they need it.

Make money from affiliate links

Affiliate links are a popular way to make a bit of passive income. They’re cheap and easy too, as you don’t need to create and sell a product yourself. You just need to establish a connection between the buyer and seller, and then take a commission when a sale is made.

There are a few different ways you can set up affiliate links – one is through the Amazon Associate Programme. With this, you can earn up to 12% of all purchases made during the buyer’s shopping session. So even if someone clicks on your link, doesn’t buy that specific item, but ends up purchasing something else during that same ‘session’, then you’re still entitled to 12% of that.

ClickBank is another site with it’s own affiliate marketplace. They allow you to promote already best-selling products and earn commissions as high as 90% on some products. You have the option to pair with brands in various areas including arts and entertainment, e-business, and parenting and families.

How to promote affiliate links

Any promoting and selling on social media should come across as natural. No audience wants to feel like they’re constantly being sold to.

Reviewing a product is a legitimate way to link it into a post or blog. Summarise the pros and cons, giving a balanced opinion of it. You want your audience to trust you and selling them naff products is only going to damage your credentials.

Choose your affiliate links carefully and post them sparingly. Inundating your followers with affiliate links is counter-productive, they’ll more likely be put off and unfollow you instead. Promote a select few that you genuinely believe are worthwhile purchases and fit with your brand image, whether that’s fashion and beauty, or the latest gadgets.

Use promo codes

Plenty of influencers use discount and promo codes to make money. They work similarly to affiliate links where a commission is earned on the number of sales made with their code.

Almost anyone can get promo codes for brands, although you’ll probably have more luck the larger your following. When appealing for promo codes, make sure the brand is relevant to you, your content and your audience. Chances are they’ll be happy to offer you a code, as it comes at no cost to them. Simply, if they don’t make any sales from you, they don’t have to pay you any commission and they haven’t lost out.

How to approach brands

Brands are a big source of social media income and anyone with a following of 2000+ is considered a micro-influencer. Plenty of brands want to work with influencers now as it’s much more effective and cost-efficient for them than traditional forms of marketing, like magazines and TV ads.

However, knowing how to approach brands is key.

Steps on how to approach a brand

Do your research. Thoroughly research the brand, their mission statement, and any products you’re interested in. It comes across very poorly if you’re asking a brand for sponsorship but don’t know anything about them.
Check your social media. If you really want to be able to monetise your social channels – make sure you keep it on-brand and professional. Posts in the public eye need to be free of anything incriminating or potentially offensive. If brands spot any risky content they’ll be sure to steer clear.
Pitch Yourself. You need to be able to offer the brand something in return. Think about what your USPs are – what’s different about your content, or your audience, that makes this a worthwhile opportunity for them that they won’t find elsewhere.
Illustrate affiliation with the brand. Don’t send out a blanket email to every brand you get in touch with but demonstrate your knowledge and create a unique pitch every time.

Questions to answer when you pitch to brands

How relevant is your blog or social channels to the campaign subject matter?
How big is your following? What is the size of the potential audience the content will reach?
How regularly do you post on social media?
How engaged is your audience?

Another consideration for reaching out to brands is through agencies. There are actually several UK influencer marketing agencies that you can sign up for including Disrupt, Goat Agency, and Socially Powerful.

Tips on building a following (and selling to them)

Unfortunately, there’s no quick ways to instantly increase your following. There are plenty of false advertisements for this and whilst your follower count will increase, it’ll be made up of bots who won’t actually engage with your content or brand, completely defeating the purpose.

One way to build your network is to create daily, weekly, and monthly goals so from the outset you’re committed to a pace of engagement that will steadily grow.

Tiktok

TikTok has been the latest social media trend and is rapidly growing with over 800,000 logins every month. Although TikTok doesn’t currently have any direct money-making features, one of the key ways people are earning from it is by pushing their TikTok followers onto their other social media platforms, where they are able to make money. Some other users have even been organising sponsorship deals for things like wearing branded clothing or appearing at particular events in their videos.

At the moment most influencers using TikTok are compiling it as part of a general package rather than making lots of money off of it directly. Although only a few months ago TikTok announced its Creator Marketplace. It’s a site in which users can connect with advertisers to collaborate on marketing opportunities.

Users can also receive gifts from their audiences via TikTok Live videos. Hootsuite also have a super helpful guide on all the ways you can make money through TikTok. You can read it here.

Instagram

Instagram is a huge contributor to people making money on social media, with over 90% of influencer marketing campaigns involving the app.

Business profile

Instagram has the ability to change your personal page into a business profile. When you do this you get to view insights into engagement with your posts and stories, and also get the ability to set up an Instagram shop.

Instagram’s shoppable features allow businesses to tag products that are available for sale and allows customers to purchase them directly within the app.

On an Instagram business profile you need to include:

A photo or brand logo that’s recognisable and consistent across all your social platforms.
A well thought out bio. This is a chance to give customers a brief insight into you, your brand, and your business.
Link to your website. Unfortunately, Instagram doesn’t allow direct links in posts so the URL section of the bio is the only clickable link in your profile.

Run ads

The easiest way to run ads is by promoting posts you’ve already shared on Instagram. Simply select the post you want to boost and hit ‘promote’.

You have the option to create the audience you want to post to be shown to (choose across genders, age range, etc.) or you can leave it to Instagram who will automatically share it with a similar audience.

Ads also don’t have to cost a lot – they can start from as little as a couple of pounds. Initially you can just run an ad for a few days to test how well it performs. Although keep in mind that it takes a little work to get it right so if your first attempt doesn’t bring in tons of business, keep trying. Ideally, having a simple call to action button like ‘Shop Now’ makes it easy for someone to make a purchase. Overcomplicating it will put people off.

Instagram stories

If you have more than 10,000 followers, Instagram gives you the option to add links to your stories. It can take a while to build a following of this size, but having a concise and consistent brand image, regular posting, and using hashtags smartly will help bring new people to your page.

You can use the link in stories function to create direct links to your website, shop, or specific items.

#Use hashtags

Hashtags are a simple and effective way for people not following your page to find your content. Don’t use too many though! You don’t want your page to look like spam, but like it’s carefully curated. It’s much better to focus on a few targeted and highly-trafficked hashtags. Think about who you’re trying to target, and use hashtags that will find them.

Rules for making money on social media

New legislation states that if you’re making money, you need to declare it.

Disclose any and all affiliate relationships. All you need to do is include a simple sentence along the lines of, “Disclosure: The link below is an affiliate link. Which means that, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through that link I’ll earn a commission.”
If you’re working directly with a brand who’s paid you to post something, then include a simple hashtag or comment along the lines of #sponsored #ad.
If a brand or PR company requests that you don’t tag something as ‘sponsored’ or ‘ad’ it’s actually illegal and you need to refuse to do so.
You need to make it clear when you’re posting about your own products and services, too.

What counts as an ad?

Paid-for space
Own advertising
Affiliate marketing
Advertorial
Paid reviews of products
Paid product placement in your content

Gifted content can cause confusion, but basically if the brand asks for something in return – for you to post it on social media, or provide some form of editorial content – then it’s an ad and should be tagged as such.

More Ways to Make Money Online

Need some more ideas to make money online? Try these articles next!

The post How to Make Money on Social Media appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Original source: https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/how-to-make-money-on-social-media

Microsoft on the future of advertising and conversational AI

Microsoft is reviewing different ways to implement conversational AI within the Microsoft advertising platform, Kya Sainsbury-Carter, corporate vice president of Microsoft advertising, told Greg Finn yesterday at SMX Advanced.

That’s one thing we learned yesterday from the keynote, which explored how conversational AI might radically change search marketing.

From higher CTRs to increased ROIs to conversational AI making an appearance in ads for the first time, Bing Chat has been specifically designed to tackle universal problems experienced with traditional search, according to Sainsbury-Carter.

Here’s a recap of the wide-ranging SMX Advanced keynote interview.

Tackling traditional search issues

The new Bing, unveiled in February, was designed to succeed where traditional search results can sometimes fail.

“The universal problem with traditional search is that billions of searches fall short of the mark. It can be hard at times to find the information that people are seeking, and so we launched Bing Chat to bring better search results and answers to complex questions,” Sainsbury-Carter said.

Microsoft has worked on solving historic search issues by combining the power of large language models like open AIs with its own search index.

“This is to ensure we’re delivering results that are current, that are cited and, as I said, that are conversational,” Sainsbury-Carter said.

The new Bing for advertisers: ‘so far, so good’

While it may be early days, Microsoft has confirmed that there have already been more than half a billion Bing Chat conversations since its launch, with more than 70% thumbs up for the answers it serves.

In addition, people have created more than 200 million pictures with Bing Image Creator.

Early data indicates great news for advertisers too, as Microsoft’s conversational AI is driving a higher click-through rate than traditional search, which is subsequently leading to increased conversions.

“It’s because the user journey is shortened, so there is a faster path to conversions. So far, so good, would be the summary here,” Sainsbury-Carter said.

Sainsbury-Carter did not reveal any specific numbers. But she did reveal that increased CTR applies to both search results and ads, which is promising news for search marketers.

In more good news for advertisers: Microsoft is working on more opportunities for advertisers to further boost user engagement, which could again result in an uplift in conversions.

Conversational AI comes to Microsoft Ads

Sainsbury-Carter stressed that the company was committed to investing in integrating chat AI, noting that Bing Chat is “stronger than ever”. She added:

“We’re doing a lot of work to understand how we can use Chat to drive internal efficiencies to make sure our people are working on the highest valued, most complex work. So you know there’s the platform aspect of it and there’s the internal aspect of it – both of which we think are very meaningful.”

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From keywords to topics

Microsoft has suggested that advertisers can expect traditional keyword targeting to shift towards a topic-centric approach with conversational AI. Explaining the change, Sainsbury-Carter said:

“If I’m trying to find a dress for a wedding in Chicago in July and I type in a traditional search query, I’m likely to get results for dresses for weddings – and for Chicago. But if I put that same query into Chat, Chat can put together something that says, OK, it’s hot and humid in July in that part of the country and therefore show me a sleeveless flowy dress and a lightweight fabric.
“What’s happening is we’re expanding our understanding of intent…rather than just matching answers to keywords and so it definitely turns the idea of keyword bids on its head. We think this offers a tremendous opportunity for ads to match the conversation better and will lead to better ROI.”

Rethinking traditional ads

Sainsbury-Carter explained that Microsoft is taking a new approach when it comes to ads, the user experience and ROI scenarios:

“We’re being more thoughtful about monetization within the experience. So, for example, in Chat mode, when you see sources cited, those citations will be a mix of algorithmic results, like you would see in traditional search, as well as some ad placements.”

Visual ads

Visual ads are another major newer feature that should be of interest to marketers, according to visual ads.

“The ads we’re running in the new Bing Chat experience include both text ads that appear upon hover, and then more visual ads served in line with the conversation, such as a multimedia vertical pr product ad.”

Microsoft is making visual ads a huge priority and has already been trialing this feature for hotel ads. Next, it’s planning to roll out this experience for travel and real estate verticals.

Although the spotlight is currently on conversational AI, Sainsbury-Carter said this isn’t the end of traditional search:

“Traditional search isn’t going away and there are good reasons to continue using it. That’s why we’re also focusing on delivering more visual and immersive experiences, as well as new vertical ad experience that you can’t find on any other platform.”

Ads quality over quantity

Bing Chat launched with ads and the plan is to ensure that they remain an integrated part of the chat experience – just as they are with traditional search. However, Microsoft is focusing on improving the ad experience by making sure that ads served are relevant and meet user intent.

“It’s less about how many people are seeing the ads and more about the questions people are asking the new Bing, and how we respond to those queries. That’s how we’re thinking about it – not so much about numbers but in terms of matching queries,” added Sainsbury-Carter.

Huge opportunities for small businesses

Conversational AI is resulting in people running queries 3x the length seen on average in traditional search, meaning that they are giving more details. This extra information is helping bots to better understand user intent and so they are able to serve more detailed responses.

“We do see a big opportunity here for small businesses. They need that extra details because they’re not looking to cover the entire world…so that opportunity to get more detailed is key.”

Small local businesses looking to improve their SERP rankings have also been advised to ensure they have Bing maps on their website. “It’s not required for ads,” said Sainsbury-Carter. “But it does help!”

Driving traffic to news publishers

Microsoft has introduced a chat API, which is going to be made available to news publishers that want to implement chatbot technology in their websites.

Whether publishers source their AI chat experiences from Microsoft or not, Microsoft Advertising can help them to monetize their services by serving relevant ads designed specifically for the chat experience.

“This solution gives publishers and app companies flexibility and control over the user experience – because nobody knows their audience better than they do,” added Sainsbury-Carter. “They can choose the ad formats they believe are best for their audience and integrate that in a way that feels most natural to their native experience. We’re super excited about bringing that out into the market more broadly.”

Dig deeper: Microsoft’s vision for a prosperous content ecosystem in a generative AI world

Bing Chat isn’t perfect – but Microsoft is learning ‘very quickly’

Sainsbury-Carter acknowledged that safety and privacy concerns have been a huge talking point for search marketers. She stressed that addressing these issues has been a priority for Microsoft.

She pointed out that Bing Chat has been designed in partnership with AI experts and is in line with Microsoft’s Responsible AI Principles.

“We made sure we were leveraging the expertise of Microsoft to ensure that we weren’t reinventing the wheel with this. And we are continuing to learn lessons from real world experiences and real world testing,” Sainsbury-Carter said.

Microsoft has taken many steps to prevent the abuse of its technology, such as limiting the number of sequential chats per session and limiting the total number of chats per day.

However, while Bing Chat has been developed to Microsoft’s highest standards, Carter admitted that they are expecting teething issues.

“We didn’t bring the product out and say it’s perfect or that you should use it in every instantiation of every interaction and it is going to be perfect. We are learning, but we’re learning very quickly so that we can continue to evolve our approach.”

The post Microsoft on the future of advertising and conversational AI appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/microsoft-conversational-ai-advertising-428289

Major Looker Studio GA4 connector update adds 170 new fields

Looker Studio has rolled out a major update to its system, unveiling 170 new fields for reporting. In order to access the new data, users must refresh their GA4 data sources.

Why we care: You can now create more in-depth, detailed Looker Studio reports because they will have access to data that previously wasn’t available. Advertisers are particularly excited as they’ll have insights into landing page, user conversion, page location and session conversion rates by event data, which will help them to make more informed decisions with regards to ad placements and campaigns moving forward.

What are the new fields: An impressive 170 new fields have been implemented – so we’ve just highlighted some of personal favourites here:

Ads clicks & cost
Average session duration
Landing page
Page location
Page referrer
Session & user conversion rate
Session conversion rate by event name
Time dimensions like hour or week

How do you get the new fields? To get access to Looker Studio’s new fields, follow these step-by-step instructions:

Click on ‘Data Sources’ in their Looker Studio account.
Select the GA4 source you wish to update and select the ‘Refresh Fields’ button in the bottom left corner.
A new window will then pop up on your screen with all 170 new fields listed.
Click on ‘Apply’.
All the new fields should then appear in your existing reports.
You’re all set!

Some marketers may not have access to all 170 new fields right away. The number of new fields your account has access to will depends on how many conversion events you have.

The post Major Looker Studio GA4 connector update adds 170 new fields appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/looker-studio-new-fields-update-428345

Why Companies Struggle with Employee Retention and How to Fix It

Home Business Magazine Online

By Izzy Galicia, President and CEO – Incito Consulting Group, San Francisco, California

It’s time to change the way the world does business. Thankfully, many businesses over the world are starting to wake up to and recognize this reality. Part of the reason why it’s becoming more common now is that they realize they’ve been hemorrhaging talent for years.

Fixing a company’s staffing problems will require some major shifts within its corporate culture, but this change will benefit everyone, increasing employees’ well-being and productivity.

Why companies struggle to retain talent

Many business leaders and C-Suite executives wonder why their efforts to attract and keep employees continue to fail. They launch initiative after initiative, aiming to solve this persistent problem, and yet none of it seems to work.

That’s because these palliatives don’t address the root of the problem. The main reason companies lose talent is due to leadership not responding proactively or handling negative feedback well. The result is a pervasive corporate culture of employee passivity, obedience, and disengagement. In short, employees learn that honest feedback won’t be handled properly, so they stop giving it, quietly check out, and start revising their resumes.

In my experience, many C-Suite executives attempt to embrace and communicate an employee-first, upward “feedforward” culture. However, deeds can speak louder than words, and their “I know better” persona continues to dissuade truthful but negative feedback.

Ending this kind of toxic culture requires explicit intervention.

Fixing the underlying issue

To start solving this problem, first understand that negative feedback from employees is a gift. In fact, problems within the organization are more prone to arise when employees don’t give it.

With this shift in mindset, organizations can break the cycle of suppressing negative information and create a culture where truth-tellers are welcomed. Employees who are willing to provide negative feedback draw attention to problems, which are really just new opportunities in disguise.

By understanding the value of negative feedback, business leaders can start creating an environment that allows employees to push back when it would be advantageous for the company. Toward that end, C-Suite executives should embrace lean leadership behaviors, which cultivate a corporate culture in which contrarian opinions are embraced.

Business leaders’ mental and emotional states have been shown to spread quickly throughout their enterprises, so this transformation can only happen from the top down. High-level executives have the power to squelch dissent, but they can also demonstrate the forbearance, good humor, humility, and curiosity that signal a truly open mind.

How companies benefit

The advantages of this approach are many. First of all, when employees feel free to discuss their concerns, leadership gains a better understanding of the reality their organization faces. Listening to staff members at all levels enables executives to develop a thorough picture of their company and make better decisions.

Second, when employees point out problems, managers gain the ability to address them. If people with a wide range of perspectives can share freely, then the business will be maximally protected. Moreover, seizing the opportunities inherent in these problems also opens up the possibility of creative problem-solving and innovation. This approach also promotes a growth mindset that has been associated with happier employees and greater innovation.

Finally, healthy corporate cultures have been associated with increased productivity and profitability. Employees tend to feel more valued, be more engaged, and demonstrate heightened motivation in these environments. They also tend to stay in their positions, rather than leave for a competitor.

Executives need to stand tall, welcome criticism as a learning experience, and apply negative feedback in a way that grows the company. As soon as they adopt this new perspective, they’ll start seeing positive results and easily retain employees.

The post Why Companies Struggle with Employee Retention and How to Fix It appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/management/employees/companies-struggle-employee-retention-fix/

Best Ways to Travel in Business

Home Business Magazine Online

When you have a business, chances are you might deal with some high profile clients. These can bring in a lot of new money for your company, but in order to get them on board (or keep them) they might require a fair amount of schmoozing. You want to show that you mean business and are high profile enough to take them on board, particularly if you work in the luxury field. If you are looking to give a luxurious experience and really impress, there are a few things you can do. Here we have rounded up a few ways to impress your clients.

Think about how you transport them to your destination

If you are meeting a high profile client and want them to come to you, or if you are meeting them in another location, you need to consider how you will transport them around. Instead of picking them up from the airport in an old cab, or having them fly in economy, why not go one step further? You could book them a Private Jet via JetApp which is an effortless and easy way to book them a plane that is guaranteed to go above and beyond. You could then pick them up from the airport in a chauffeur driven car or limousine.

Book them in to a fancy hotel

When you are sorting out the accommodation for your client, don’t put them up in any old chain hotel. Instead think of something that is guaranteed to impress. You could have them stay in a hotel with a view that is sure to take their breath away. Or why not find somewhere totally unique? There are a host of great hotels you can find that you can book in for them. It can be a good idea to find somewhere with a restaurant or nice bar too as you could meet here for a meeting.

Give them something that is branded for them

If you are looking to onboard them as a client of your business, why not put their branding on one of your products, or on something they will find really useful? You could get them a tablet or iPad that you put their and your branding on. Or why not create a prototype of the product you are pitching so you can show it to them in the flesh? Going above and beyond in your presentation and showing a product can really give you the edge against any competition you might have.

These are just a few examples of how you can work with high-profile clients and how you can impress them. If you have the budget to really go above and beyond, there are some amazing things you can do to introduce new clients and elevate your own company to the next level. Have you got some high profile client meetings coming up? If so, what are some things you’re going to do to try and impress? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you.

The post Best Ways to Travel in Business appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/lifestyles/travel/best-ways-travel-business/

Philanthropists James Dooley & Karl Hudson Invest in EEAT SEO Agency with Alpha Digital Group Ltd

Home Business Magazine Online

James Dooley is a major name in various industries within the UK, as is the name of Karl Hudson. Together, the two entrepreneurs have invested in the EEAT SEO agency, sparking some major changes and improvements for the group.

But why is this notable, and who are these two investors that you have probably heard the names of multiple times before?

Whether you are familiar with them or not, it is important to understand who these two figures are. Chances are they have at least some connection to your life, whether that is them investing in a service you use or owning a company that you have relied on in the past.

Who are James Dooley and Karl Hudson?

While both of these major figures came from completely different backgrounds, the pair have built up their own presence in the world with completely different methods.

James Dooley is a major digital landlord and investor in the UK, having influenced countless online platforms and businesses while also marketing himself as a business expert. A serial investor, he has been a core part of many businesses finding success, using his expertise to pick out companies that are likely to succeed.

Karl Hudson is another digital landlord with over twenty years of SEO and digital marketing experience. Not only does he own his own digital marketing and link building agencies, but he constantly works to grow even more companies under his ownership.

Why are they investing together?

Dooley and Hudson have invested in the same businesses multiple times in the past and cultivated networks of partners and contacts that have helped them find their current success. It is only natural to see them both investing in the same businesses – after all, they are both experienced at identifying investment opportunities.

The pair have created their own investment business with Alpha Digital Group and have invested in a range of new businesses across various different industries. EEAT SEO is only one of many stories of them investing in a business that they see potential in, and it is hard to doubt their expertise on that fact.

What do these investments mean?

In realistic terms, these investments in EAAT SEO are mostly for the company’s benefit. Like a lot of the SEO businesses that the pair have invested in prior (either on their own or as a pair), it is only going to push EEAT SEO into stronger working relationships and a more stable position.

Investments from names like these often mean that they see potential in a business and are willing to invest in order to guide it towards that potential. For people relying on those companies already, you can expect services to get better and the business itself to improve.

Of course, investment is never without risk. There is always a chance that James Dooley and Karl Hudson may be wrong about a company or that their investments will take longer than expected to pay off. What’s important is that these investments, whether smart or risky, cause a change in both the business and the whole market or industry.

The post Philanthropists James Dooley & Karl Hudson Invest in EEAT SEO Agency with Alpha Digital Group Ltd appeared first on Home Business Magazine.

Original source: https://homebusinessmag.com/businesses/business-spotlights/philanthropists-james-dooley-karl-hudson-invests-eeat-seo-agency-alpha-digital-group-ltd/

Google Marketing Live 2023: Reactions from the experts

Google Marketing Live 2023 made it clear that AI is going to change the role of digital marketing in a big way. At SMX Advanced, Julia Friedman, owner of PPC consultancy Neptune Moon, discussed how advertisers can both prepare for and thrive in the AI revolution, with fellow industry experts:

Gil Gildner, co-founder of PPC agency Disco Sloth
Julia Vyse, West Coast digital director for iProspect Canada
Melissa Liu, associate director of California ad agency RPA.

The AI revolution has arrived – with huge perks!

The SMX panel was in agreement that AI is going to make life easier for digital marketers in many ways. Gill noted that smaller businesses in particular that perhaps do not have the budget to hire human contractors would benefit from using AI tools.

Liu also pointed out that AI will relieve advertisers from time-consuming tasks such as generating ad copy. However, she stressed that it was important for marketers to not become complacent: “As a search marketers, I now need to think about how I can shift my role to be more strategic. I also need to think about what new skills I need to learn to better myself.”

The role of digital marketers is changing

All three guest speakers as well as the panel’s host were in agreement that the role of PPC advertisers is evolving – and that it is a “concern” for the industry. Explaining how his agency is going to adapt to the AI revolution, Gill said:

“We’re going to go super strategic. It’s inevitable that it soon wont matter as much what buttons we’re clicking. There will be a lot of strategy and tactics and, honestly, client education and shepherding that we’re going to have to do. It’s inevitable that our roles are going to change and it will be important to stay on top of that.”

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Should marketers question their optimism around AI?

Vyse was hugely excited about the changes Google discussed for digital marketers. She also spoke about her appreciation for being told in advance about how the industry would be evolving.

“It’s nice to get a bit of a head up as opposed to have something dropped on us in the middle of the year,” she joked.

However, Vyse added that while AI is going to help advertisers, the industry should also prepare itself for unexpected issues.

“There’s a lot of optimism around AI, but perhaps that’s something we should question,” she added.

New AI tools will help ‘smaller brands’

Google Marketing Live unveiled a number of new tools for digital marketers, such as Product Studio, which Gill noted would be hugely beneficial for small and medium-sized businesses:

“Some smaller brands don’t have the budget to do professional photoshoots for every single product – even though it’s massively valuable. We see an uplift every time we have good media for a client whether it’s a TV commercial or product listing.
“So Product Studio is huge for e-commerce agencies. It will allow smaller brands to have better creative control. I don’t think it’ll help bigger brands that much but definitely mid size to smaller brands.”

Concerns around AI generated content

After Google unveiled new tools to help marketers write ad copy, Liu admitted she was excited but keen to learn what the editorial quality would be.

“Writing ad copy require a deep understanding of your customer and what your unique selling position is. I’m curious to see if AI will give me and my competitors similar copy or will AI copy be tailored to my unique brand?” she said.

Liu voiced her concerns over the loss of originality and a brand’s tone of voice if the industry relies too heavily on AI-generated copy. However, she stressed that it will fall on the shoulders of digital advertisers to to ensure this problem doesn’t impact their brands. Explaining how she intends to address this issue, she said:

“One idea that resonates is quality of input and how I, as a search marketer, can better input into the system to differentiate myself against my competitors. Yes, our roles are changing, but how do we put that human touch to best guide AI to perform better for us?”

Issues around AI imagery

Liu was also excited about Google’s launch of AI tools that can create unique images. However, when she was watching the demonstration of the search engine’s new tools, she had some concerns:

“There were automatically generated images using pictures taken from your website as well as stock photos. One concern I have is that if me and my competitor have very similar product offerings and want to communicate the same benefits, will AI give us similar stock images? Because that will pose a problem,” Liu said.

Exciting news for retail – not so much for finance

For digital marketers working on retail campaigns, Vyse pointed out that the AI generative properties and front-end user experience changes unveiled by Google are exciting news. She said:

“I work with a lot of retail businesses and restaurants, so I’m interested in footfall traffic, and how people interact with their map. When you’re experiencing what is to get directions and go somewhere, such as a retailer who I support, I’m really interested in what that’s going to look like for customers.”

Discussing the new backend generative features, Vyse added:

“All the stuff they’re doing to change how we build and measure campaigns is going to be great and not so great. For my retailers and restaurant clients, it’s going to be fantastic. Everything is going to be much simpler with a lot more thought leadership and strategy from us as opposed to button pressing. But on the other hand, for anyone who works in a highly regulated industry like finance, there might be some challenges.”

Searchers are changing their behaviours

After watching the Google Marketing Live discussion, Liu noted how the way searches are conducted online have also changed dramatically.

In 2011, she noted that consumers consulted 10 or more sources before making a purchases. Fast-forward to 2023, and people tend to consult just five sources online.

“In a culture where we’re research obsessed, I’m surprised it’s dropped so much. I wonder if it’s because people are getting information fatigue of if we’re just getting much better at researching and so less sources are needed to make that decision. With AI becoming an integral part of our lives, I’m curious to see if that number will change in the next couple of years,” Liu said.

What’s next for Google Ads?

Gil said he expects the industry to change significantly in the near future:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Google Ads is entirely different in a year or two. There are always trends, but I was surprised at seeing all the tools Google is launching. I think it may actually be changing this time.”

Although he is anticipating huge changes to the industry, Gill stressed that as long as the experience is still good for both the searcher and the client, then the AI revolution will be positive. But there will undoubtedly be teething issues and the industry will simply need to adapt.

The post Google Marketing Live 2023: Reactions from the experts appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/google-marketing-live-smx-expert-reactions-428197

Twitter will start paying verified content creators in coming weeks, says Elon Musk

Twitter is going to start paying its verified content creators for adverts served in their replies over the next few weeks. Elon Musk, who has owned the social networking site since October 2022, announced that the first block payment totals $5 million – however, he has set some conditions.

What’s new: Under Musk’s new rules, content creators will receive cash for ads in their replies, but only if they are verified. In addition, the billionaire added “only ads served to verified users count”.

Why we care: This news means that advertisers will have another potential stream of revenue on Twitter.

Why now? Musk’s announcement comes as advertising guru Linda Yaccarino prepares to join Twitter as its new CEO. It is hoped that her leadership will help restore trust in the platform after ad revenue plummeted following some of Musk’s restructuring decisions – including laying off almost half of Twitter’s 7,50-strong workforce.

Prompting concern around ad placement, ad spend took a huge hit and was down roughly 20% year on year, according to research from Sensor Tower and Insider Intelligence.

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What has Twitter said? Musk wrote on Twitter:

“In a few weeks, X/Twitter will start paying creators for ads served in their replies. First block payment totals $5M. Note, the creator must be verified and only ads served to verified users count.”

In March, Musk opened up about his high hopes for the future of Twitter’s ad sales despite its recent challenges. Taking to Twitter, he revealed his target of increasing the platform’s current 5 to 6 cents per hour of user attention to 15 or more cents. The billionaire explained he aims to achieve this through more relevant and timely ads.

Further details are expected to follow shortly.

Timeline:

October 2022 – Musk buys Twitter for approximately $44 billion after months of negotiations.
October 2022 – A number of Twitter’s top bosses are reportedly laid off, including CEO Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sam Edgett.
November 2022 – Musk begins the biggest lay-off of staff in Twitter’s history by initiating talks to axe almost half of its staff around the globe.
November 2022 – Twitter turns it blue tick verification system into a paid for service at a cost of $8 per month. Public figures from Beyonce to Cristian Ronaldo lose their blue ticks over night, resulting in a surge of fake profiles impersonating public figures.
February 2023 – Post frequency dives by 20% on Twitter.
April 2023 – Twitter is dropped from Microsoft’s Ad platform.
April 2023 – Musk enforces mandatory verification on advertisers.
May 2023 – Linda Yaccarino is announced as the new CEO of Twitter.
June 2023 – Twitter’s US ad revenue drop 59%.
June 2023 – Musk announced Twitter will begin paying verified content creators for ads served in their replies.

The post Twitter will start paying verified content creators in coming weeks, says Elon Musk appeared first on Search Engine Land.

Original source: https://searchengineland.com/twitter-pay-verified-content-creators-elon-musk-428170

Ways to make extra money

For the majority of us these days, money has become tight, which is why so many of us are looking for ways to make a bit of extra cash. The good news is that even if you have a full time job, there are many ways of utilising your spare time to make a few pounds and boost your bank account. Here we take a look at just some of them.

Sell what you no longer use

Selling unwanted items has almost become a national pastime and is a great way to make a few quid. If you’ve just had a clear out, then try a car boot sale. Car boot sales are not only a great way of making money in return for just a few hours work, they’ve also become popular as a way of living more sustainably, making them a win-win way of boosting the coffers!

Alternatively, use online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace or through websites like eBay and Gumtree.

With unwanted clothes, you could try selling online through organisations like Vinted or ASOS Marketplace.

Try Music Magpie for unwanted tech and entertainment systems, including DVDs and CDs.

Online surveys

We’ve all got an opinion and love it when people want to know what we think. In which case, getting paid to do surveys online could be your ideal pastime! Complete market surveys or watch videos online in return for money, gift cards or rewards. It may take you a while to build up enough credit for a significant reward, but you’ll have fun along the way. Sign up for survey sites such as Swagbucks, Toluna, or OpinionPanel.

Free competitions

Online competitions are very popular and lots of people consider themselves ‘compers’. But because there are so many ‘compers’ out there, it doesn’t mean to say you’re not going to win anything – and you’ll never win if you don’t even enter anything! There are lots of free to enter competitions online, just check competition listings by joining sites such as Loquax or CompersNews. One daily draw that’s gaining in popularity is Pick my Postcode (formerly Free Postcode Lottery) because it’s totally free to enter, and there are winners every day!

Rent your drive

If you have a driveway and live near a station or in a city centre, you could make good money by renting out a parking space. Depending on where you live (and how intense the competition for parking spaces is), you could make hundreds or possibly thousands every year! Click here to find out more.

Reclaim tax

If you’re employed and have been paying income tax for the past four years, you may be entitled to a tax rebate. The accountants at Zest have been getting people an average £1,846 tax rebate. It’s free to apply and you only pay Zest a portion of your rebate – money you’d probably never have recovered without help anyway.

Side hustle

Even if you work full time it’s always good to have a hobby. And if you’ve got something you’re passionate about as well as being good at, what’s stopping you turning it into a way of making yourself a bit more money?

Mystery shopping

Love shopping? Apply to be a mystery shopper. You’ll get paid for every task you’re asked to do, get expenses, as well as getting reimbursed for anything you’re asked to buy as part of your assignment. To find out more, click here to download our ‘How To Make Money Mystery Shopping’ guide.

Pet and house sitting

Love animals but can’t have any pets of your own? There are ways to make money that also give you the opportunity to get close to our furry friends, such as pet sitting or house sitting. When they’re away, many people would prefer their pets to stay at home rather than be placed in kennels. There are therefore plenty of paid opportunities in your local area to look after pets in their own homes – sign up to a pet sitting agency, or post notices on local messaging boards if you want to find your own clients. Housesitting is also a great way to make extra money at the same time as looking after people’s pets, and maybe also getting the opportunity to stay in different parts of the country. If you have a job that allows you to work from home, you won’t even need to take time off work!

Get crafty

How crafty are you? If you’re particularly talented when it comes to crafting, candlemaking, jewellery making, knitting, sewing, woodwork or art and love doing it in your free time anyway, have you thought about selling your creations? Renting a stall at a craft market can be quite expensive, so if you’re just starting out, set up an Etsy shop and link it to your PayPal account, then make sure you shout about it on your social media accounts so everyone knows about you! Getting paid for doing something you love is something many of us aspire to, and you never know where it might lead… Dragon’s Den perhaps?!

Online tutoring

If you’re an expert at something that fits in with the National Curriculum, especially an academic subject or a foreign language, you could earn money by online tutoring. Check out agencies such as MyTutor to find out more.

Become a delivery driver

Did somebody say JustEat? Or Deliveroo or UberEats, or your local takeaway. Delivering food is a great way to earn extra money in the evenings and at weekends and these services are always in need of delivery drivers. Plus, if you’re good at it, you could also earn cash in tips.

A word about side hustles and tax

If you’re earning additional income, then you will need to think about the tax implications. The good news is that you can earn up to an additional £1,000 a year before you need to submit a self-assessment tax return, although if you earn more than a thousand pounds in a year, you will have to report your earnings to HMRC and will have to pay tax.

The post Ways to make extra money appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

Original source: https://www.moneymagpie.com/make-money/ways-to-make-extra-money