Unlike public WiFi access points in airports and coffee shops, work and home, private WiFi networks are protected by a passcode. To connect to these networks, you’ll have to provide the required passcode, and only then, you can gain access and browse to your heart’s content.

The same is applicable for WiFi hotspots created through the use of an Android device. As good as this password protection is, it can quickly get more tedious if the code is alphanumeric, long and complex. A QR code may come in handy in such a situation.

Gather the Details of Your WiFi

You will need the name of your network and a pre-set passcode for the creation of a QR code.

Gather the Details of Your WiFi

You will need the name of your network and a pre-set passcode for the creation of a QR code.

The WiFi QR Code Generator app is available on Google Play and can be downloaded for free.

WiFiKeyShare

This app lets you share your WiFi passcode by writing it on an NFC tag or through the generation of a QR code.

Most of the barcode scanner applications will recognize the QR code, and the NFC tag is made in the same way as  that of Android since the introduction of its “write to NFC tag” feature on Lollipop.

How to use:

• Install the application on your phone and open it. You will see a list of available WiFi networks on the home screen. Select your network from the list.
• Enter your WiFi password and select “OK.” The QR code will be generated.
• If you want to create an NFC tag, go to the NFC tab and click on the “Write to Tag” button. The tag will be created in less than a second.

The WiFiKeyShare app is available on Google Play and can be downloaded for free.

InstaWiFi

The InstaWiFi app makes it easy for you to connect and share WiFi networks with your guests instantly through the use of NFC tags and QR codes.

How to use:

• Install the application and open it. If your mobile device supports NFC tags, you’ll see two tabs on the home screen: NFC and QR codes.
• Choose any one of them.
• Select your network name from the list of available networks.
• Select the network authentication type and enter your password. The QR code will be generated instantly.
• For creating an NFC tag, tap on the “Write to Tag” button.

The InstaWiFi app is available on Google Play and can be downloaded for free.

In the world of digital marketing, it’s hard to ignore the fact that visual content has become a powerful tool for brands in running successful marketing campaigns.

Considering that 65 percent of people are visual learners and articles with images get 94 percent more views compared to those without, it makes perfect sense to create compelling images in all areas of your digital marketing efforts.

However, hiring a professional graphic designer to give you high-quality images for your blog posts is expensive.

So how do other marketers edit their images without hiring a pro?

Social Media Image Maker Tools

Fortunately, there are some truly magical image editing tools designed for the technically challenged, and many of them are free to use or have low-cost plans.

Here are 5 Places to DIY your Images

Piktochart

Piktochart is one of the most popular online tools that allow you to create graphics, presentations and even infographics.

Their mantra, ‘Take your visual communication to the next level without hiring a graphic designer” is true to its nature, since they’ve helped a lot of marketers in create outstanding infographics over the years.

With Piktochart, all you need to do is to enter your data and choose a template and it automatically does the work for you.

MakeaMeme

MakeaMeme or MAM is a completely free online tool you can use to make your own meme. It includes a library of images you can simply slap on a caption and download after registering. However, the site does not specify if the images are under copyright, so using them may land you in legal trouble if you use it for your business, especially if your post goes viral. It is far safer to use the meme generator, where you can upload your own image or a stock photo for commercial use.

Here’s one using an image from Pixabay, an equally magical site for free stock photos, illustrations, and videos:

Other sites where you can find free and royalty-free images that require no attribution are MorgueFile and Public Domain Pictures.

Stencil

This is an online tool for easily creating images. It has its own library of thousands of royalty-free images that you can simply drag and drop to the work space, manipulate, filter, and a host of other stuff. The tool also provides social media icons, quotes, and templates.

You can’t simply copy and paste the image you’ve made, however. You have to save it on Stencil and download it, which takes a while. At any rate, it is easy to use and the free version allows you to create up to 10 images a month, so it’s all good.

PlaceIt

A blog is a useful marketing tool, more so if you can actively promote your brand through your visual content. A great tool for brand placement is PlaceIt, which lets you drag and drop your website’s URL or any landing page for a product in any of the stock photos or videos it has in its library. Here’s a sample using an image mockup:

It is free to use if you only need a small image (400×300 px) like the one above, but if you want high-res images, you have to pay per piece (from $8 up). You can also get 9 images a month for $29 or 31 images for $99.

You can also make demo videos, but there is no free version. You either pay per video ($29 or so) or pay $199 a month for unlimited videos and nine images.Canva

Canva is a nifty image-editing tool, which makes it easy to make professional-looking graphics without having any graphic design chops.

You can choose from pre-set templates, or create your own. Aside from photos, you can also create infographics. All you have to do is choose among the many design options and start playing! Some photos and layouts carry a small price tag, but there are many of free ones as well. They have over 1 million pre-existing images and graphics to choose from.

And there you have it, the 5 places to DIY your images!

While these tools don’t really replace a good graphic designer, it’s nice to consider that there are amazing alternatives to help you kickstart your visual content strategy. Play around with these tools and decide which one best suits you image creation needs.

Do you have other image editing tools that you love? Let us know by leaving a comment!

It’s true — Twitter has its problems, but in certain cases and contexts, it truly is the best ad platform you’ll find — though ultimately it will depend on what you hope to accomplish.

But Twitter offers some unique ad targeting features you won’t find anywhere else. These are the unicorns in a sea of donkey ad features.

Don’t get me wrong — I love Facebook Ads, Google AdWords and Bing Ads. These advertising platforms all do a ton of things fantastically well.

1) Keyword Targeting

Keyword targeting is a remarkably interesting and precise way to go after specific people who have demonstrated intent on Twitter.

You can target people who have used a specific word or hashtag in their Twitter update (or people who have interacted with tweets containing those words) in the last seven days.

Facebook doesn’t allow you to do this. On Facebook, you can’t target by keywords. Facebook only offers topic targeting.

What’s the difference? Well, on Facebook I can only go after people who are interested in AdWords as a topic.

On Twitter, I can get much more precise. I could target #ppcchat — a popular hashtag for marketers to talk about all things PPC.

Facebook has an exhaustive list of tens of thousands of topics. But as great as it is, Facebook doesn’t have a category for something as granular as #ppcchat.

Let’s look at one crazy example of this in practice: #FIFAgate.

I paid $25 to promote this tweet. It got 40,000 paid impressions (plus nearly 15,000 organic impressions!):

The promotion was hashtag-based. Only people interested in #FIFAgate saw it.

And something funny happened. This promoted tweet ended up being featured in an article, The 14 Best Tweets from FIFA gate. Odds are you want see something like that happen as a result of advertising on Facebook.

This shows just how amazingly powerful Twitter advertising can be. Instead of tweeting to everybody, you can only target people who are engaged with that topic.

2) Tailored Audiences

Did you know you can target every Twitter user who follows specific accounts with your Twitter ads? If you use a tool like BirdSong Analytics, it’s easy to download a list of every follower for any Twitter account and create your own tailored audience to target with your Twitter ads.

Facebook has custom audiences, which are awesome in their own way. But Twitter wins here because for Facebook custom audiences to work, you need to have the email address or phone number of the people you want to reach. That’s a big stumbling block.

What if you want to reach Facebook users but you don’t know their email or phone number? Sorry, you’re out of luck!

On Twitter, the bar is much lower. All you need is a Twitter user’s handle to reach people with your promoted tweets.

This really is the Holy Grail of Twitter advertising. Tailored audiences makes it super easy to get in front of any account.

3) Low Cost per Click

On Twitter you can get clicks for pennies. Literally.

The price of a click is based on the auction. It has everything to do what people are willing to pay.

Advertisers will find life is very cheap on Twitter because of the lack of advertising competition.

4) You Pay for Performance

When you promote tweets on Twitter, you only pay when you’ve achieved your marketing objective.

Whether your goal is website conversions or Twitter engagement, you only pay when people take that action (any additional organic impressions and engagements are free bonuses!) It’s the same for everything with Twitter.

If you run an app install campaign, you only pay for the number of successful app installs.

If you run a followers campaign, you only pay for the number of people who hit the Follow button and start following your account.

What’s really great here is that Twitter is shouldering some of the risk. Twitter believes their advertising product will deliver exactly what you want.

Compare this to LinkedIn, for example, which doesn’t offer any pay-for-performance advertising options. Facebook does offer pay-for-performance (page likes, app installs, link clicks), but Twitter can be far superior for lead generation.

Tweet Engager Targeting

Tweet engager targeting is another way to reach an audience in a remarkably targeted way. With this form of advertising, you remarket to people who recently saw or engaged with your tweet.

This is a real hidden gem of Twitter advertising. Rather than going for everybody on Twitter in a non-targeted way, you can target not only the people who saw your promoted tweet, but those people who actually engaged with it.

Targeted people who engaged with your tweets is Twitter’s version a laser-guided missile for finding the 1 percent of your most engaged users. Amazing stuff here!

Facebook doesn’t have anything comparable to this. The closest thing I can think of is Facebook’s great “hidden” invite button that lets you invite people who engaged with your posts to like your page.

Plus, there are huge advantages in Twitter’s system for having high engagement rates. You can learn more about this in my post, Hacking Twitter Ads: Mastering Twitter’s Secret Quality Adjusted Bids Algorithm.

5) Tailored Audiences

Did you know you can target every Twitter user who follows specific accounts with your Twitter ads? If you use a tool like BirdSong Analytics, it’s easy to download a list of every follower for any Twitter account and create your own tailored audience to target with your Twitter ads.

Facebook has custom audiences, which are awesome in their own way. But Twitter wins here because for Facebook custom audiences to work, you need to have the email address or phone number of the people you want to reach. That’s a big stumbling block.

What if you want to reach Facebook users but you don’t know their email or phone number? Sorry, you’re out of luck!

On Twitter, the bar is much lower. All you need is a Twitter user’s handle to reach people with your promoted tweets.

This really is the Holy Grail of Twitter advertising. Tailored audiences makes it super easy to get in front of any account.

Ephemeral content is content that has a limited lifespan. Unlike a blog or a web page that stays up indefinitely, ephemeral content is usually up for 24 hours or less. For many marketers, this seems completely counter-intuitive. Traditional marketing has always focused on content that lasts and can be recirculated well into the future. However, with the popularity of Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook stories growing, marketing strategy needs to keep up with the changing times to remain effective.

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What Are Stories?

Stories are compilations of photos or videos. They can be live or pre-designed. There are options to get creative with filters and artwork, or you can simply point and shoot. Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook all have versions of stories. Each platform has subtle differences but they’re more alike than they are different. Facebook users are gifted a story each year when Facebook compiles their year in review posts.

For many businesses, video content feels out of reach financially. It may not be in the budget to invest in the equipment or hire a vendor. The cost-risk analysis may be too scary for a smaller business.

One of the great things about ephemeral content marketing is that you don’t need special equipment. If you have a smartphone — you do have a smartphone, right? — then you have what you need. Part of the charm of the story is the authenticity of it. The less slick the better. This is a way to add video to your marketing strategy without the big investment.

Who Uses It?

• Taco Bell uses Snapchat to promote new products and customer experiences.
• The NBA gives fans sneak peeks of the team behind the scenes to boost excitement and viewership for upcoming games.
• McDonald’s unveiled a new product line on Snapchat.
• Mashable engages consumers by running a weekly contest to get featured in one of its stories.
• GrubHub offers exclusive promotions to its followers.

Why Does Ephemeral Content Marketing Work?

At first glance, it does seem awfully strange how content which disappears quickly actually works. So, what is driving this phenomenon and why is it successful?

The fear of missing out, or fear of loss, has always driven marketing strategy. That’s why the world is full of signage touting clearance items, today only, closeout and once-a-year sales. Ephemeral marketing takes this same concept and kicks it up a notch. It gives everything a now-or-never feel to it. This drives shoppers to make decisions more quickly and shortens the sales cycle.

Do I Really Need This?

Marketing is about communicating effectively with the target audience. Ephemeral social media platformsaren’t a thing of the future. They are now. Millennials made ephemeral content relevant and generation Z is expanding on it.

Generation Z has reached adulthood. The oldest members are entering the workforce, and according to Nielsen data, they make up 26 percent of the population of the United States. Do you really want to ignore 26 percent of the population in your marketing strategy?

The most successful businesses keep up with the trends. Can you imagine not having an online presence? At one point, there was a choice to embrace the internet and create an online presence or not. Those who chose not to didn’t fare very well.

How to Leverage Ephemeral Content Marketing

• Prove it. Everyone says they’re wonderful and they do charity work and they love babies and puppies. The new generation of consumers is done hearing everyone pat themselves on the back. They want companies to prove it. If your company volunteers time, show it off with a Facebook or Instagram Story.

• Be authentic. Ephemeral marketing is an opportunity for the customer base to get to know the business on a more personal level. Have a real employee give a behind-the-scenes tour of the offices or manufacturing plant or sales team. Let your personality show through. Don’t be perfect, be real.

• Engage your audience. This is the perfect opportunity to connect with your target market. For example, you can use the live option with Instagram Stories, and viewers can interact in real time. This can be as simple as an ask-me-anything session.

• Sneak peek. Use it to create buzz for an upcoming event or sale. Launching a new product? Build up to the big announcement by creating stories that drop tantalizing behind-the-scenes hints.

• Keep it fresh. People don’t usually visit a web page regularly to see what’s been updated, but they’ll check their stories regularly because they know they’re timely and new.

• Be consistent. Create a plan and stick to it. If you only create ephemeral content occasionally, people will stop looking for it. If your content goes live each day at a certain time, they’ll look forward to it.

• Stay relevant. Much like other marketing content, make sure you’re staying relevant, so your target market will want to engage with you.

Important Reminder

Ephemeral marketing is not a replacement for other forms of marketing. Don’t stop what you’re doing. Add this into the mix.

Getting a leg up on the competition in the home improvement business can be tough.  Small Business Trends spoke with Dave Yoho, the Founder and President of Dave Yoho Associates, a consulting company that’s been representing small businesses since 1962.

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Differentiating Your Home Improvement Business

Yoho  shared some tips on how a small home improvement contracting business can stand out in any crowded marketplace.

Talk with Clients

There’s more to being different than offering free estimates and the lowest price, Yoho says.  One of the ways that contractors can differentiate themselves is to establish a personal connection by talking with clients about their specific needs.

“If someone doesn’t recognize the value people put on their personal time, they’re going to do what everyone else does,” he says suggesting this kind of connection adds a personal touch that adds depth to advertising and special offers.

“Contractors need to be able to deal with the people that contact them so they can get something out of it,” Yoho says, adding the example of roofing contractors telling a prospect about the average lifespan of shingles in their area.

Listen to Clients

Of course, listening to any prospects is just as important. When they start talking about remodeling a basement and you interrupt them to talk about the high-quality drywall you use, they’ll lump you in with all the others who use high pressure sales tactics.

When you’re listening to them talk, you’ll get to understand what their needs are.

Pay Attention to Cycle Times

You need to give customers accurate estimated completion times for jobs. In the home improvement industry, there are many variables like weather that can affect this. Yoho stresses contractors need to be organized so they have accurate “cycle times” to get the job done on time. That way, the client is happy, everyone gets paid and the business gets a great reputation.

He uses the example of a window replacement project.

“It might take six weeks from the day you sell it to the day you complete it,” he says. “The work year might have 48 weeks with holidays and bad weather.”

Dividing those numbers gives you a cycle time–the number of days you need to complete the project factoring in all your operating costs.

It’s a simple formula to make your business more efficient and credible.

Find a Smaller Target Market

Narrowing down the area you work in as a home improvement contractor is a great way to separate yourself from the competition.  One way to do this is to geographically tag any of the keywords you use on your website or in social media.

For example, if you use a keyword like “bathroom renovations” you can narrow down your market by adding a location so it reads “Philadelphia bathroom renovations.” Using a technique like this helps you to build stronger client relationships in a more condensed area.

Look at Your Structure

If you’re bogged down with an inefficient supply chain or bookkeeping system that’s not right for your home improvement business, you’ll have no time to work on differentiating yourself.

That’s why Yoho suggests a smaller firm in this space standing head and shoulders above the competition always needs to be looking toward improvements across the company.

“That goes for the installation crew, the sales crew and even the people working in the office,” Yoho says, cautioning against just using tried and true methods because they work.

Keeping open minded can give you an edge. Getting employee input at a weekly meeting is a good start.