Twitter is working on a Snapchat-style video sharing tool

Twitter Inc. is working on a new Snapchat-style feature that makes it easier to post videos on the social-media company’s app, according to people familiar with the matter, aiming to attract more users and cement a nascent turnaround.
The San Francisco-based company has a working demo of the camera-centered product, according to people who have seen it, but the design hasn’t been finalized, nor has the timing of its debut. The tool could change significantly over the next several months, they said, asking not to be identified because the product hasn’t been publicly disclosed. The goal of the new feature is to entice people to share video clips of what’s happening around them. Twitter declined to comment.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-25/twitter-is-said-to-work-on-snapchat-style-tool-for-video-sharing

End of Re-marketing?

Is Google phasing PPC re-marketing out?

Today Google have announced that they are expanding the number of places where it’s “Mute this Ad” option will be available. It will also be applying “Mute this Ad” across devices. Once a user tells Google they don't like an ad, Google will stop displaying it across all the devices that user is logged into.

Perhaps more worryingly, the search giant also announced that it is adding a new feature to Ads Settings that will specifically let users “mute” remarketing ads.

Referring to remarketing ads as “reminder ads”, Google explained:

Reminder ads like these can be useful, but if you aren't shopping for Snow Boot Co.'s boots anymore,then you don't need a reminder about them. A new control within Ads Settings will enable you to mute Snow Boot Co.'s reminder ads. Today, we're rolling out the ability to mute the reminder ads in apps and on websites that partner with us to show ads. We plan to expand this tool to control ads on YouTube, Search, and Gmail in the coming months. For more information about this new control, check out our Help Center article.

What does this mean for the future of re-marketing?

 

Source (https://www.econsultancy.com/blog/69750-in-a-blow-to-marketers-google-will-let-users-opt-out-of-remarketing-ads)


Top 3 Rated Website Designer in Oldham

We are proud to announce and share that we have been awarded as one of the Top 3 website designers in Oldham. We have been awarded this fantastic achievement thanks to our excellent reputation, proud history, local reviews, customer satisfaction, trust and cost. All these values mean so much to us as a company and to be rewarded for this was a very proud moment. This achievement signals our continuous improvement and expansion as we strive to become the leading web developers and web designers in Oldham and beyond. Our team has worked incredibly hard to achieve this and we now boast some very large sites & clients thanks to this. Despite this expansion and growth it has been important for us to stick to our core business values and continue with our motto, designing tomorrow today. For a look at some of our recent work go to www.dsgnuk.com/portfolio-landing-page.

Here are just some of our excellent reviews:

"Fantastic service all the time, these guys always go the extra mile when I'm on a tight deadline, keep up the good work guys!"

"I have used them a few times and have always been satisfied with the outcome. The team is extremely welcoming and helpful. They even delivered to my door. They are very knowledgeable and know how to make something look good! I have recommended them to family and friends, who in turn have been satisfied and happy customers. good work guys"

"Excellent service and value for money....wouldn't hesitate to recommend."

Our reviews and listing can be seen on https://threebestrated.co.uk/website-designers-in-oldham . Three Best Rated® was created with a simple goal to find you the top 3 local businesses, professionals, restaurants and health care providers in your city. We display only businesses that are verified by our employees since customers deserve only the best.

That's not all... Businesses do not pay us to list them ever. You do not pay us for the listing any time. We believe that local businesses provide better and personal services locally. Local businesses know your city better since they live there too. Our policy is free to list because if you can pay to list, then is it really the best business?

We have listed dsgnuk in the top 3 website designers in Oldham after using our 50-Point Inspection which includes everything from checking reputation, history, complaints, ratings, satisfaction, nearness, trust and cost to the general excellence. We truly believe we have found you an excellent, reputable company for website design in Oldham.


Social Media - Why Bother?

Why Bother with Social Media ?

 

A business needs more than just a website, a fancy logo, nice office. If your business is to survive in today's market you need to improve and maintain your social media presence, it isn't enough to just have an account you need to be active and engaging. You may believe it to be a complete waste of time for your brand to invest time and money into social media outlets. But social media is a vital way of connecting to customers both new and existing. Here are a couple of reasons as to why you should give social media a serious thought;

We're all doing it

Chances are most if not all of your businesses competitors are active on social media, this is already giving them an advantage in acquiring new customers over you simply because they have more channels to reach them. Social media has become a part of most peoples life and is something that influences their daily life. As a brand you should take advantage of this. Social medias demand and popularity is not something that is going to be slowing down anytime soon especially with over 2 billion people on Facebook alone, it's probably wise to use it to your advantage.

People like Branding

Customers like being part of a brand, Encouraging customers to interact with you gives them the sense of importance and as if they are playing a part in your business . A Facebook fan page which is busy with articles, news and likes can help with getting you customers.

It’s Live

One other main benefit is that social media is live, by this we mean that everything you post/tweet whatever it may be is done in real time and can easily be communicated with like if you have a customer service complaint or a problem with a product you can quickly access any brand’s social media site and request some help or advice. This makes it easy for businesses to deliver quick and beneficial customer care.

Find out what your competitors are doing

With social media you can gain key information about your competitors. This kind of knowledge will allow you to make to stay ahead of them in this fast paced environment.

All in all, Social media is a vital tool for you and your business, and if after reading this short article you still find yourself sat in your office, sofa wherever it may be asking yourself , 'Why bother with social media? then give us a call today to see how we can help you with a custom social media plan that would be perfect to boost your business.

So you know, we offer:

  • Custom Social Media campaigns
  • Help you reach more potential customers while minimising ad spends.
  • Analyse your current campaigns and offer ways of improvements.
  • Provide you with detailed reports.
  • Create & customise your facebook page including banners and buttons.

Leave it to the experts! Gve us a call today a arrange a free no obligation 1 to 1 consultation on your social media marketing requirements on 0161 627 1857.

 


Importance of Being Online

One of the first thing's a potential customer looks into before contacting a business is their website, and if you don't have one they simply won't find you.

To the vast majority of businesses, the idea of not having a website will seem alien – but it’s still the case for many businesses, even in 2017!

Often a business will seek to make the quickest solution to get their business present on Google and just simply leave it there without keeping it fresh and updated. How many times have you gone on to a website to realise the material is 2/3 years old? or the website just simply isn't user friendly anymore. If your site is like this it can have a huge affect on whether or not the potential customer chooses you, without updated content the user simply doesn't have a reason to come back to your site and therefore you will be easily forgotten.

Investing in a well built website is one of the key principles for any start up now, but it is also vital that older businesses stay modern and also maintain their website. We often hear customers tell us they don't need a site, they're already busy but below are just a few reasons why a well built website can have a greater impact on your business as a whole:

  • Engage customers

Keeping a website fresh and up to date gives your customers a reason to come back to your website frequently, therefore when they do need a service you provide, you will be at the top of their mind.

  • Build an online presence

No matter which industry you operate in, there is always competition so it is important to have an online presence for your business to help you stand out from the crowd. This is vital in ensuring customers find you, gone are the days where someone will pull out the phone book, instead a simple search gives them hundreds of businesses and if your not online that's one more customer you've missed.

  • Deliver a sense of trust

Customers are more likely to trust your business if you have a website, they can see you have invested into your brand and they can instantly have a better understanding of who you are and it gives them an easy method of contacting you.

  • Establish a credible reputation

Testimonials/reviews can be added to the website to help improve credibility. This is a fantastic method of showing potential clients you are trustworthy and have experience in the industry.

 

All of the above show key elements that make a website successful. A website is usually your first point of contact with customers, therefore this immediately gives the customer insight into how your company is set up and operates.

At dsgnuk, we analyse your business & your competitors, this is vital in ensuring you get the very best response possible from your site. Want to discuss anything i've talked about? Simply get in touch!

 


Tips for preventing Cyber Attack

No company or organisation is immune to Cyber Attack. While nobody can guarantee a 100% protection against any attack, you surely can take many steps to further tighten the security of your computers. Taking just few steps will ensure you are ready to defend any Cyber Attacks.

Today we will look in to some of the precautions you can take to ensure a better safety of your computer devices.

  • Backup!
    There is no alternative to backup. It takes little time and you can back up your data on a physical hard drive or dvd and keep it safe somewhere. Get a portable hard drive (cheap from ebay) and copy all your important data to that drive then put it away in a secure place. Repeat this backup to keep the hard drive updated on a regular basis.
  • Install a complete security software, not just Anti Virus.
    Install a good Anti Virus program that has a full Internet Security option. This will install a strong firewall on your system which will prevent attack. I personally use and recommend Avast. A state of the art, light weight yet one of the strong Anti Virus and Internet Security suite. Keep it updated. Whatever software you use, keep it updated regularly!
  • Keep your system up to date!
    A lot of us don’t bother updating our operating system. If you are using Windows, make sure you regularly install and update your PC by downloading and installing them as soon as they come out. These mostly contain security patch and other updates. On most cases, Windows update is automatically turned on by default but if not check it yourself. Also, a lot of us to this day try to hold on to previous versions of Windows such as Windows XP, Windows 7. Remember, updating to the newest version of Windows means you will be updated and protected against the most newest of security threats! Start using Windows 10!
  • Beware of clicking on any links in an email. This is phishing scam.
    We get a lot of emails these days. Some of them try to trick us in to clicking those links. You MUST NOT click on any email link unless you are 100% sure it is from where you think it is. For instance, sometimes you may get an email saying it’s from paypal and needs to verify your account. Although it may show it’s from Paypal, you can actually click on the name to see actual email address, in most cases you will realise it’s from some other account calling it Paypal. If you get an email about your account activity, separately go to their website and login to see. Do not do this by clicking the link in the email. A lot of junk email these days doesn’t get filtered because of their sophisticated techniques.
  • Be careful when installing software
    Do not install software from unknown publishers or with an unknown certificate. If it asks to make changes to your computer and you have the slightest doubt, do not install it.
  • Beware of fake websites and what you download
    Some websites can pretend to be something they are not. Look in your address bar and do not sign up to just any website. Make sure you know what you are doing. Do not download pirated software, they have been modified. Spend some money and get a legitimate one! The same goes for accepting files from strangers or individuals that you haven’t met in real life. Do not accept any file from someone over the internet who you hardly know!

If you have ensured the above, we are confident this will significantly increase your security protection to deal with any future Cyber Attacks.


Guide to hassle free website migration

From time to time, we may need to change hosting provider. This can be a strenuous process and even worse if you don’t plan it. Today, we are going to look at some of the aspects of hosting and migration to a new server.

What is website migration?

A website migration is when you need to move your website to a new server or upload from your local installation to your hosting provider with the intent of making it live.

Sometimes,we may just need to change the nameservers and keep the domain where it was originally registered. So what is nameservers? Nameserver is a server that is responsible for dealing with queries regarding a domain name and all of it’s services. Nameservers are fundamental part of the DNS.

Where would i find it?

When you register a domain name your registrar automatically assigns default nameservers. Some registrars offer free holding page / email address forwarding etc. This is not meant to be standard hosting. If you are looking for find where to edit your nameservers, well, you are most likely to find it in your control panel / my account page.

Login to your control panel or my account that you have with your current company who registered your domain. You will find it in domain management option / DNS settings or nameservers.

What will happen when I change my nameservers?

Once you change your nameservers, every service attached to it will be affected. If you currently have hosting and a live website, please make sure to take a backup or consult your new hosting / web design company before you make this change as your website will be offline. Your email services will also be affected and you may loose all your emails.

Wait! It doesn’t have to be that strenuous!

Don’t worry. Most nameserver changes or change of hosting provider is hassle free if you plan it. The nameserver changes can take up to 24 hours. Below are some of the steps you should follow for a stress free migration of your website.

So let’s get back to website migration. How to do it safely? In the following few steps, we will discuss this with you.

  1. Backup, backup and backup!
    There is no alternative to taking website backup on a regular basis. Before you make any change, please take a full backup of your website using ftp and if you have a more advance website, make sure to take a backup of your database using PhpMyAdmin. If you are using a CMS system like Wordpress, there are other options using plugins.
  2. Do you use Outlook for your emails?
    If you use an email client like Microsoft Outlook then most likely all your emails are already downloaded to your email client and you will still have them. You will just need to change the settings to start receiving emails. If not, download it now and sync it to download all your emails to your computer.
  3. Start the process during night time.
    Do it at a time when most people are likely to be sleeping, meaning you are expected to have the lowest number of visitors. For instance, if you make the required changes / start the process during night time, hopefully the changes will be done be ready to attach hosting by next morning.
  4. Upload files to new server
    Once the hosting is ready, you may upload the files using FTP to your new server. Remember, most servers usually have a public html folder. You should upload all your files inside there. If this is not the case, consult your new host.
  5. Issues or errors
    One of the common error is the website still showing the default landing page specified by the host. Please ensure, you upload it to the correct folder and you have named your homepage as index.html or index.php. This is what server looks for. If you have capital letters, make it small. Also, you may wish to clear your browser cache or try a new browser. You can also hold the shift key and press refresh to reload everything.
I am going to buy xanax pills online for my brother. He caught a cold and hasn’t left the house for a week, maybe I’m sick too.
Sometimes, things doesn’t go according to plan. If you find it too difficult to migrate yourself or if you face any errors while doing it or after uploading, please get in touch with our web team. Whether you have a static business website or complex Wordpress / Woocommerce site, our technical department can take on the responsibility of migrating your website to new server and solve any issues.

Call us now on 0161 627 1857 or contact us now!


Benefits of Instagram For Business

Instagram was initially launched as an innovative new image based sharing platform. 2 years on from its initial launch Facebook took over and transformed it into of the biggest social media platforms around, April 2017 marked five years since Facebook’s purchase of Instagram. In that time, the platform has grown from 30 to 600 million users – it’s a success story of sorts.

There are several benefits for taking use of Instagram for business & marketing,

  1. Increased Engagement – In short people tend to engage and take note of visuals rather than text.

Depending on the quality of the post, updates on Facebook and Twitter are sometimes overlooked by the user. However this isn’t true for Instagram users; having an active Instagram account with useful and interesting content can earn you crazy levels of engagement with your audience. Latest study by Forrester found that Instagram content generates 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter.

  1. Building Trust And Personality

With branded content being more popular for generating engagement, one of the key benefits of Instagram is that it can help you build trust. Recommendations are a huge market for generating sales, people buy from people and Instagram will help you to with that. The great thing here is that it allows you to share the day-to-day experiences of your business in an informal and casual way – therefore giving a personal feel to your business. Behind the scene photos and employee images tend to rank well on Instagram, especially if you’re a specific service provider.

  1. Increase In Traffic

Although you can’t add clickable links to every Instagram update you publish, Instagram can be a powerful source of generating inbound traffic. With the higher levels of engagement compared to Facebook and Twitter, creating and maintaining a strong profile could be hugely beneficial for your site’s visibility

  1. ‘Free Advertising’

Yes, you’re reading it correctly; the great thing about Instagram is free advertising. You can showcase your products and services in action which generates huge exposure. It gives you a chance to show off more of what you have to offer. You can potentially reach hundreds if not thousands of people for free, just by carefully selecting the right hash tags and optimising these.

Instagram is a very time consuming marketing strategy, it requires in depth analysis of the right hash tags to achieve the very best results, but even more importantly it requires high quality, engaging pictures. Not every business will have the time to find the perfect picture and then come up with the hash tags, that’s where we come in, we can create engaging content on your behalf and help you reach a whole new market.

If you want to discuss your business further and how we can help, feel free to drop me a line jake@dsgnuk.com or give us a call 0161 627 1857 , and we can create you an effective marketing strategy to take your business to the next level.


Building your Brand

Building Your Brand:

Throughout business you often hear the word 'Brand' being said and many business owners presume that they have a strong brand because they're logo looks nice or they have a fancy website. But having a brand is a whole lot more than just the basics, without a strong company brand you simply won't survive.  If we was to ask 5 random businesses what is your brand almost all of them would simply point to their logo, when it is a whole lot more, your brand is everything from your office to your staff, it does include your logo and that is a major impact in your brand.

BRAND - what is the first thing that pops into your head when this is said? I was recently at a training programme when this same question was asked and the answers were very similar, they were all major companies, Nike featuring the most (this too was my answer), and the reason for this is Nike have such a good brand and have built this overtime to a point where they're company is associates with such a basic word.

4 Tips For Building Your Brand:

  1. Values - For this first tip it is all about YOU, only you the business owner truly knows what your companies values are and what they mean. Once you have established your values it is vital to stick to them (live by these) and provide them to your customers, If you say you have the best products, make sure you provide the best products; if you claim to deliver the best service, make sure your team is doing that. Living the brand is a huge part of becoming the brand, so be sure not to overlook this step.
  2. Unique - This tip is one of the most important, there is no use just being another business in the line. Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. Be different, be innovative, take the risks and by doing so you will become a market leader.
  3. Be Consistent– Design - One of the worst things as a company you can do is lack any consistency. Think of every email you have from the 'big boys'. You’ll see they’re always consistent and to a high standard. Leaflets being designed in Microsoft word are a no go.
  4. Build Loyalty– Now we know this is a lot harder than it sounds, especially with today's customers becoming very price conscious. But if you already have a strong client base then target these, they are waiting for you to send them offers, promotions, or a simple hello. This is a tip that many businesses simply forget, they will often go racing in to find new customers allowing their existing base to slip away.

I hope these tips will help you evaluate and consider your brand and help you reach the next level. If you need any help or advice on building your brand, our expert team are on hand to help, feel free to give us a call or drop me a line jake@dsgnuk.com.

 


Benefits of E-mail Marketing

Benefits of creating an email marketing campaign:

Email marketing is used by thousands of businesses of all sizes worldwide, fastly becoming one of the most popular online marketing strategies around. First of all what is email marketing? In simple terms it is a form of direct marketing as a way of communicating a message (offers, promotions, newsletters).

As with any marketing strategy there are several pros & cons for using email as a marketing strategy, in this latest post I will run you through these & show you how dsgnuk can help you reach the next level through targeted strategic email campaigns.

Benefits of using e-mail marketing:

Guaranteed Reach – as long as you have a database of emails then your email campaigns will be seen by whoever you send them to, creating a guaranteed reach. For example if you send out 1000 flyers you won’t really know how many got delivered or how many was even seen, whereas with our campaigns we send you in-depth campaign analysis displaying who read the email etc.

Targeted – E-mail marketing is one of the only channels consumers actually ask to see. You should only be sending e-mails to consumers who have requested for you to do so, therefore this works heavily in your favour as they have already shown an interest in your company and may only need that one offer to convert to a sale.

One further way this can be targeted is through segmentation, we can send your emails to certain clients only, for example you may only want to send the e-mail to males under 24.

Brand Awareness – E-mail marketing heavily increases your brand awareness, with short, simple regular emails your brand remains fresh and on the very top of the potential customers mind, when a customer needs products or services, your business stands a much better chance of turning those leads into clients and clients into loyal customers.

Shareable – There aren’t many forms of marketing as easy to share as email marketing. With the simple click of the forward button, subscribers can share your deals, offers and news with whoever they like. Subscribers who share your emails are acting as brand advocates. Therefore, when a subscriber shares an email with friends, your brand gains more exposure and credibility again linking back to building on your brand awareness.

Email Marketing is a must.

In today’s ever-changing digital world, email marketing is a definite must. If you haven’t considered email marketing for your business already, now is the time. Email marketing is a targeted, shareable, credible, measurable, and cost-effective tool overlooked by many. Here at dsgnuk, I will run you through all the different variations of the campaign, and then generate a targeted campaign with the hope of taking your business to the next level. We will cover all the design work, saving you any stress & once the campaign comes to an end, a detailed report will be given.

If you would like to discuss this any further and see how we can help you then please feel free to drop me a line – jake@dsgnuk.com or give us a call 0161 627 1857, we look forward to hearing from you.