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Web design   is a relatively new industry, having been created with the advent of the internet, and is gaining popularity in particular over the last ten years, as digital media has become a major part of many people’s lives. Most people rely on the web for their communications, information, shopping, social life and more. The demand for web designers has been growing rapidly and the industry is currently considered a good one with relation to job prospects and future growth.

The term web developer is sometimes used interchangeably with web designer, but this can be confusing. Web developing is a more specialist role, focusing on the back-end development of a website and will incorporate, among other things, the creation of highly complex search functions.
The recent growth in touchscreen phones and tablet devices has dictated a new way of designing websites, with the web designer needing to ensure that web pages are responsive no matter what type of device a viewer is using. Therefore the need to test websites at different stages of design, on a variety of different devices, has become an important aspect of the job.
Apart from having technical skills, they should have an eye for clean and artful design, possess superior user interface design skills and be able to translate high-level requirements into interaction flows and artifacts, and transform them into beautiful, intuitive, and functional designs.​
Responsibilities
Execute all visual design stages from concept to final hand-off to engineering
Conceptualize original ideas that bring simplicity and user friendliness to complex design roadblocks
Create wireframes, storyboards, user flows, process flows and site maps to effectively communicate interaction and design ideas
Present and defend designs and key milestone deliverables to peers and executive level stakeholders
Establish and promote design guidelines, best practices and standards
Web Designer Requirements
According to O*Net Online in 2010, 43% of web developers held a bachelor’s degree, 27% had some college but no degree and 20% had an associate’s degree ( www.onetonline.org). Web designers need education in computer technology and website design to be competitive in the job market.
An associate’s degree program related to web design, such as an Associate of Applied Science in Web Graphic Design, provides a student with a foundation in the design and technical aspects of creating a website. Students learn web design skills and build professional portfolios that highlight their skills and abilities. Common topics include:
Fundamentals of design imaging
Basic web design
Animation
Multimedia design
Content management
Editing for video and audio
Multimedia programming and technology
A bachelor’s degree program in multimedia or web design allows students to learn advanced skills needed for professional web design. Students develop artistic and creative abilities in addition to technical skills. Degree programs, such as a Bachelor of Science in Web Design and Interactive Media, cover:
Databases
Webpage scripting
Programming
Digital imaging
Multimedia design
Web development
What to expect
Web designers are essentially office based. Travel to client sites may be required especially when working on a large and complex project, and they may be based there for the duration of the project. Self-employed and freelance web designers will often work from home but may work in their client’s offices from time to time.
The top location for web design jobs is London, with the south east of England also providing a good number of jobs. Other hot spots include Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and the M4 corridor around Slough and Reading.
This profession is currently male-dominated, but steps are being taken to redress the balance. For information and jobs for women who want to work in technology, go to Women in Technology.
Depending upon the employer, the dress code can be informal, for example jeans and a t-shirt. When meeting clients it may be necessary to wear more business-like attire.

Source:   WebDesign Indinapolis

Selecting a PR agency is a process which if done well, can reward your company in various ways, but it also requires good preparation from your side. By doing a little investigation you could save yourself a lot of headaches at a later stage if things don’t go well.  

The people who manage your communications are just as critical as the communications themselves. Whether it's staff within your company or an outside agency, their work will influence your organization's reputation and overall success. When you're searching for an agency with the right fit, it can be like finding a needle in a haystack. But there are steps you can take to make the process easier.

If you own a business and would like to benefit from   PR services , you have two options. You  
can either create a PR department and employ PR staff or hire outside PR services. The first  
option is without a doubt a better idea because the entire PR department is working for you  
alone.


But, if you decide to choose an agency, it’s important that this agency does its homework on  
your target market, but it’s equally important that you do yours. When searching for agencies  
to tender for your business, select your favorites so that you have no more than three agencies who formally pitch. Not only will the agencies thank you for it, but they’ll also  
invest more time in a sensible proposal. Too many agencies pitching sends a red flag that the  
pitch isn’t worth the time and effort because the process isn’t being taken seriously enough.

You will probably benefit from hiring a firm that has experience in your area of business. Ask to see results from past campaigns with clients in your industry. Although the more  
experienced the PR personnel the better, the established PR specialists are typically also  
considerably more expensive than those at the entry-level who are not necessarily any less  
effective than their experienced colleagues. In order to prove themselves and create a good  
reputation, they often work twice as hard as their famous counterparts and as a result, they  
often bring excellent results. Hiring non-established PR specialist can be a risk which is why you should ask yourself if you are willing to take the chance, or better yet if you can afford to take the chance.

If they are successful, they will be representing you with the media and beyond so you need  
to ensure that you have chosen a partner who understands the dynamics of your company and  
the potential politics involved. If understand what products and services you sell. This is  
fundamental and there is no excuse for a PR agency not being able to understand this. These  
are relatively simple facts to discover and if the PR agency is worth its weight, it should have been able to find the answers to these simple questions via basic level research or by simply phoning you and discussing it outright.  
Furthermore, it is important be sure you like the team you are hiring. Of course it is primary that they are qualified and will do a great job, but it’s equally important that you like them and want to work with them. It’s really no different than hiring people to your own internal team, you want to be excited to work with them everyday. Some people hire a publicist and expect their workload to be lightened. But you'll need to be involved in your own PR, whether by tweeting, blogging or being available to speak with media on demand.

In the end, once you have chosen your agency it is important trust their instincts. You’ll get far more from them if you listen to their advice and proposal for your campaign. If there is no trust ,why did you hire them?

Source:   PR Agency Tampa ,   Mashable

Former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée once said, “Advertising is saying you’re good. PR is getting someone else to say you’re good.” This is a good starting point for everybody in PR who want to explain public relations. It’s also a good way for the general public to understand this difference. You can find many good articles on this topic, but most people, even professionals, still don’t understand the difference between advertising and public relations. We can start by saying that PR and advertising usually go together but they are two completely different things. This means that advertising is exclusively focused on promotion of products or services with an aim to encourage target audience to buy, whereas PR is specialised in communication with the public and media. Advertising is paid media, while public relations is earned media. So in PR you simply try to convince reporters and editors to write a positive story about you or your client, brand or issue. So your story has more credibility because it was independently verified by a trusted third party, rather than bought. Because of this, PR is amazing for building a connection with your audience and promoting your key messages, consumers are more likely to believe in something written in an article, than an advertisement that has been paid for. In this case you don’t have control over how the media presents your message, or if it will run at all. The press is not in obligation to run your news items or cover your event just because you sent them a news release. On the other hand, with advertising, you are controlling the message. It is important to understand that both advertising and PR can be veryeffective. The most successful campaigns use both at the same time, though the cost of a dual PR/Ad campaign is out of reach for many companies. For businesses with limited budgets you may try building your credibility and public awareness first with a strategic PR campaign, which will then help ensure the success of your future advertising. For example, PR can be a cost-effective way to reach large numbers of people. First of all it builds trust, as the news media gives third-party validation to your organization. And with the rise of digital media, a great PR story has the power to influence your audience for years to come with email, posts, re-posts and tweets, providing greater reach than ever before. Public relations involves a mixture of promoting specific products and services and promoting the overall brand of an organization, which is an ongoing task. Individual advertisements are sometimes based on a brand but are more often based on a specific promotional message such as a price cut or the launch of a new product. Advertising makes you the boss as long as you’ve got the cash. You decide exactly what your ad says, how it will look, when and where it will run. You pay top dollar for this control. The downside? Advertising, even in small publications, is anything but cheap. Research shows that it takes 5 to 7 impressions of a product or service before most consumers are compelled to buy non-essential items. So, the conclusion is that PR can give you free placement, but less, or no control. A story that runs only once or twice. Also credibility, because it’s viewed as a third-party endorsement. No guarantees and it can be time-consuming. On the other hand, with Advertising you get paid placement and complete creative control. Your ads will run as often as you’re willing to pay. Some consumers know it’s an ad, and can be skeptical. A guaranteed date the ad will run and it’s easy if you have money to spend.

Source: PR services Tampa fl

If you would like to become a copywriter, or just want to improve your copywriting skills , you simply need to follow a few rules, particularly as they pertain to selling online. Making a copy for various websites is a mixture of skill, inspiration and craft. First of all, always be certain to know who your audience is.This means that you must know your audience so well that you can create their personas and write your copy directly to them. Don’t assume that you know the audience without study. Even if you are part of the demographic, study your audience anyway. Next thing may seem not that important, but it actually is. Remember to use graphics and color to highlight points. Graphics are your friend when it comes to effective copywriting. If you can use or something to highlight words that you don’t want your audience to miss, then you should. Don’t go nuts with arrows and symbols , make the design clean, but do point out important words and phrases with graphics and color. Used sparingly, bold text can call attention to what you need to drive home to the end-user. Having whole swathes of text or, indeed, entire paragraphs –bolded, though, will result in the potential’s customers’ eyes bouncing off the screen, as your sales pitch won’t register. Less is more in this instance. Also, give the audience a part to play. This means that you should create a dialogue, not a monologue. Know that with every reaction and interaction, they're telling you something about themselves. If you haven't given them anything relevant or a way to respond, you can them fast. Use this information to lead them through click by click. Are they looking for cold, hard facts? Do they want to be entertained? Make the information accessible, easy to understand and interactive. Listen and learn. Always leave sope space to explain benefits over features., because No one really cares about the features of your product except you. What they care about is what it does for them. What problem does it solve, and what solution does it provide to them? If you can’t explain it clearly, you’ll need to give it more thought before writing. Furthermore, thin about the optimization of your copy for people in addition to search engines. Sure, having searchable words and targeted keywords is crucial if you want the search engines to find you, but you don't want to lose your readers in the process. Selling is about connecting with people and building relationships. Your words are your virtual handshake, extending to those who probably trust a stranger more than they trust your brand. The thing you write about needs to educate in some way and entertain as well. It also needs to connect and build trust. Your readers want to know that you are aware what's going on in their lives and that you actually care about them. So, as we have mentioned before, get to know who they are. And then write the way they speak. People instinctively trust those who speak like they do. Keep it conversational, concise and simple. Big words may impress, but your job is to communicate and engage. Avoid words that sound like you're selling something because it will just sound like you're selling something. And the only thing that will build is resentment. It would be nice if you could also include a customer quote. A brief and convincing quote can add credibility to what you are talking about. The more real you can make the person to your readers, the better. Including their name, what city or state they live in and even a photo, if it fits your campaign, is a great way to communicate the value of your service.

The idea of an algorithmic timeline for tweets has been in discussion for some time – the actual roll-out and had even been leaked by BuzzFeed the week before the official announcement. BuzzFeed’s report subsequently lead to the creation of a new hashtag – “RIPTwitter” - which was used by thousands of people to voice their displeasure at even the suggestion of such a change to how Twitter works. That backlash may have actually lead to Twitter making the algorithm-defined timeline opt-in – a detail which was highlighted repeatedly throughout Twitter’s various announcements on the addition. But nevertheless, the option is here, and it is being used by some, so Twitter’s taken the opportunity, via their Small Business blog, to highlight the potential impact of the change, and what it may mean for businesses looking to maximize their engagement via tweets. The potential problem: People may see fewer of your tweets if they’re not generating enough engagement, as the algorithm won’t see them as important. Twitter’s advice to counter this: “produce sparkling content” Okay, there’s more to it than that – Twitter’s actually provided seven tips to help brands up their engagement and ensure their tweets don’t get lost in the shuffle as users switch to their algorithm dictated feeds. Those tips are as follows. - See more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/twitter-provides-tips-creating-more-effective-tweet-...

Sometimes companies need a helping hand when they are in need of fresh ideas or wish to shift in anew direction. To accomplish these and other goals, they go to marketing consultants.
The title “marketing consultant” sounds highly paid and professional, but people often have no  real idea what a marketing consultant does. What role does a marketing consultant play in an organization? How does a marketing consultant help a company?
They work directly with other company marketers to help identify target market segments, find ways to market to those segments, and help implement those strategies.
Marketing consultants provide companies with risk assessments of various marketing scenarios, and allow company directors to choose from various strategies with input from the consultant. They may also provide training or workshops for current marketing teams, informing them of new or better strategies. The job description of a marketing consultant usually varies heavily on a case-by-case basis. They can work in marketing or pr agency.

A marketing consultant works with companies to create and implement marketing strategies. These strategies are centered on the core of the business and what services and products they offer. A consultant helps create a detailed marketing plan, determine the marketing message, and identify the appropriate marketing mix to get the message out. They will then follow the plan through, and work to execute and implement the marketing strategy. They will monitor results, tweak as necessary and ensure that the companies gets the best results from their marketing efforts.

A marketing consultant will be skilled and knowledgeable in consumer behavior and marketing process. This includes having the ability to identify the companies target market and position their product or service offering in a way that will interest consumers and make them want to buy.

As an independent thinker and an independent consulting practice, you will always need to assert your individualism. Let your independence ring out with forward-thinking insight and forward-thinking business practices. Realize that for projects you want, it is your independence that will win the new client and the next project.

If you do decide to pursue a career as a marketing consultant, first you need to pick the right
school for you. These two are said to have the best marketing graduate programs:

1. Northwestern University in Evanston , IL

School Highlight: Faculty in the school of marketing are leading scholars in their field, including a past president of the Association of Consumer Research, an L.G. Levanted Professor of the Year, and a recipient of the Marketing Educator of the Year Award, presented by the American Marketing Association.

In 2016, Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg School of Management was ranked the best graduate marketing school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Students in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program can study marketing or marketing management. Although the programs are similar, the marketing track teaches general marketing skills and concepts, while the marketing management track is designed for students interested in
specific types of marketing or advertising careers. The MBA program can be completed in
one year of full-time study or two years of part-time study. The Kellogg School of Management also offers a Ph.D. in Marketing.

2. Stanford University in Stanford , CA

School Highlight: Stanford offers a Quantitative Marketing track within their Ph.D. program by collaborating with the Economics and Statistics Departments. Stanford University's graduate marketing program was ranked third in the county for 2016 by U.S. News & World Report. Full-time graduate students can complete the MBA in Marketing in two years. In-depth studies include topics in consumer and business marketing, as well as brand identity, analytics and consumer behavior. Experienced professionals may be interested in the MSx Program, formerly known as the Sloan Master's Program, a 12-month course of study for accepted 'Sloan Fellows'. For students looking to devote their careers to research, a Ph.D. program is available.