The best mind mapping apps for focusing your creativity

Organize your ideas into workable projects with these tools.

Everyone has the occasional really good day when the ideas are flowing freely and even the trickiest brief poses no problem; the rest of the time, though, your brain needs a little assistance, and that's when having a mind mapping app to hand can really help.

A mind map enables you to organise a haphazard collection of related ideas into a workable project by starting out with a central idea that you branch out from in assorted directions, ending up with a connected visual overview that's a lot less chaotic than a mood board and which can help you figure out your workflow moving forward.

While it's perfectly easy to create a mind map with just a pen and paper, there are plenty of apps available to ease the process and get your thoughts in order more efficiently. Here are five of the best available right now.

01. Scapple

If you're new to mind mapping and don't want to be overwhelmed by a pile of features that you don't necessarily need, Scapple is an excellent – and inexpensive – solution. 

Developed by the same team between popular writing app, Scrivener, Scapple provides you with the basic mind mapping tools you need to lay out and connect ideas, and makes it exceptionally easy to get started; simply double-click to create a note, and drag notes on to each other to create connections.

While it's primarily text-based, Scapple also enables you to add PDFs and images to your mind maps, making it ideal for cutting through complex briefs and plotting out design projects in an easily-graspable visual manner. And at £17 for a standard license on Mac and Windows (with an even cheaper educational license available), it's incredibly good value.

02. Ayoa

Ayoa features project management tools as well as mind mapping (Image credit: Ayoa)

For a mind mapping app that not only helps you organize your ideas but also makes it easier to take your project through to production, Ayoa is well worth a look. It's a cloud-based app that works on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android, and combines mind mapping with project management tools. While the project management part might be a little beyond what you need right now, it could be a useful extra to have down the line.

Aoya gives you a choice of three mind map styles to work with; basic speed maps, organic maps with colorful, curved branches, and radial maps that enable you to present your ideas as a visual pie chart and see your priorities at a glance. All three styles give you full control over formatting, color, and style, and you can work with images and other files to give your maps instant visual impact. And if you have more ideas than you can use straightaway, there's also an idea bank where you can stash them until you're ready to add them to your mind map. 

Ayoa's basic version, which allows you to work with up to five boards, is free; the advanced version with additional features costs $9 per month for a single user.

03. Milanote

Mind mapping is just one of Milanote's collaborative creative tools (Image credit: Milanote)

Designed to be an easy-to-use tool for organizing ideas and projects into visual boards, Milanote has all manner of applications including mood boarding, brainstorming, and building creative briefs. It also works as a powerful collaborative mind mapping tool that enables you to combine text, images, video, and more to organize your thoughts and bring them to life.

Milanote has its own mind map template designed to help you gather ideas and reference material and then arrange them on an infinite virtual canvas through a drag-and-drop interface, before sharing it all with your team and collecting useful feedback. 

There's a free version that gives you unlimited boards with up to 100 notes, images, and links as well as 10 files; the professional version, for $9.99 per person per month, allows you to use unlimited notes, images, links, and files as well as adding the ability to search boards and content.

04. Miro

Miro can instantly organise your mind map into a more structured design (Image credit: Miro)

Miro is one of our favorite wireframing tools; it's a collaborative online whiteboard designed to help remote teams create together, and beyond wireframing it also works brilliantly as a mind mapping tool. 

It's perfect for laying out ideas on an infinite canvas, with a variety of design styles to choose from, and its real-time collaboration tools mean that your entire team can contribute ideas, notes, and imagery simultaneously. If things get a little chaotic there's a simple one-click option to automatically organize your mind map into a more structured design, and once you're done you can export, share and embed your maps with ease.

The free version of Miro gives you three editable boards complete with pre-made templates and core integrations; for $8 per person per month, you'll get unlimited boards plus other useful features such as high-resolution exports, custom templates, and a remote meetings toolkit. Business and enterprise plans are also available.

05. Mindnode

Mindnode's focus mode helps you concentrate on the essentials (Image credit: Mindnode)

By the time you've created an in-depth mind map, it can sometimes be a little hard to keep track of everything that's going on. Mindnode makes things easier by providing a focus mode that enables you to concentrate on a single branch of your map at a time by highlighting it and fading out all the other branches. When you're deep into planning a project and overwhelmed by ideas, it's a really useful tool that helps you to focus on each part without being distracted by everything else.

Available for Mac and iOS, Mindnode is packed with features to make the mind map creation process as smooth as you like, with visual tags to help categorize and add context to your ideas, ready-made themes for creating great-looking maps, stickers for adding clarity to your map, and an automatic layout mode that deals with all the branching for you. 

There's also an outline view that rearranges your map into an easily-readable linear layout, and to help turn your map into a project you can turn map nodes into tasks that sync with Apple Reminders. A cross-platform subscription to Mindnode costs from $2.49 per month or $19.99 yearly; there's also a free editor that you can use to create simple mind maps without a subscription.

This article was originally published by CreativeBloq

Creative Bloq created this content as part of a paid partnership with iStock by Getty Images. The contents of this article are entirely independent and solely reflect the editorial opinion of Creative Bloq.

Marketing During COVID-19 For Small Businesses: How to Leverage and Utilize Digital Marketing

Strong digital marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic will not only help your business survive and thrive during difficult times, but will also help lay the groundwork for success and moving forward as we begin to look ahead to a more normal life (whenever that may be).

Why Market During This Time?

• Internet traffic is up 50%. With shelter-in-place orders and mass employment changes giving people excess free time and very few ways to fill it, we’re all going online more than usual.

• Invest now to reap benefits later. According to the Harvard Business Journal, “On average, increases in marketing spending during a recession have boosted financial performance throughout the year following the recession.” So continuing to spend on marketing now (whether that spending is in the form of money, time, energy, or other resources) is likely to pay off even further once this pandemic is over.

• People are still buying. While our needs may have changed in the current moment, our willingness to spend money has not--consumers are still buying and there’s still a market for products and services.

• Users need services and may become aware of those needs due to the situation. Continuing from the last point, being stuck at home often makes people aware of the need for services they otherwise hadn’t realized. For example, just imagine how many people are finally tackling home improvement projects they’ve been putting off and suddenly need plumbing or roofing services!

• Your marketing pace can be a competitive advantage (stop, walk, jog, or run). Is your marketing spending still at a running pace while all your competitors have slowed to a jog? That’s an advantage for you. Even if you don’t have the resources to continue at your regular pace, look at what your competitors are doing--if they’ve stopped completely, you could slow down to a walk while still maintaining your competitive advantage.

• Have patience and be cognizant. This is an unprecedented situation and is changing week-to-week. Stay on top of how the world and your industry are progressing, but also be aware that people are adjusting and finding a new normal, and there is room to market effectively as long as we do it in the right way.

Audit Yourself

Start by turning the mirror on yourself and asking “what can I do myself, or what can my company do in-house to create effective, marketable content during this downtime?” Rather than hiring film crews or outside content creators, think about things that you can do either on your own or with the team you currently have in place. For example, simple blog ideas can help not only connect with your customers, but improve your SEO and attract new customers. Ideas could include answers to frequently asked questions, in-depth explanations of your services, DIY How-To’s, and more. 

Next, consider making videos that correspond to each blog post. Are you an auto-mechanic? Do a point-of-view video showing how to change your car’s oil. Are you a CEO? Set up and record a zoom “panel” with other leaders in your industry. Look up Promo Video or Powtoons to see options for creating your own explainer animations. iMovie comes free on all Apple computers and has an endless supply of lessons and support, and the barrier for learning to create great video content is at an all-time low. 

And of course, from here you have meaningful content to share on social media. The most common reason people cite for not posting more is “I don’t have the time,” so let this downtime be an opportunity to get on top of your social media accounts.

Understanding Your Audiences

As we’re all aware, different people have responded to the pandemic in different ways, and we’ve identified three main groups of people based on their current behaviors: 1. Slam On The Breaks, 2. Conservative but Looking Ahead, and 3. Business As Usual (or at least as usual as can be). It’s important to note that these groups are fluid, as are the people within them. Some people may be on the edge between two groups, or may shift between them as time passes. But it’s crucial to understand that your existing client base (as well as all your potential customers) will be made up of people from all three of these groups, and you must have a plan in place to build relationships with each group.

Slam On The Breaks

This group is likely not going to purchase anything right now. They’re shutting things down completely, and they may be nervous or even panicking (this is not to judge--we all likely started in this group!). Your goal should be to focus on your future relationship with them and sow the seeds now so that they turn to your services once the pandemic either passes or they move into groups 2 and 3. 

• Effective marketing efforts for this group can include:

  • Philanthropic Awareness Campaigns. Not just keeping your name out there, but calming nerves by sharing important information about our current situation and/or showing them how your business is helping.

  • DIY Content. Create useful content that they can utilize without cost, such as demonstration videos (even for services you’d normally charge for), informative blog posts, or free white paper downloads.

  • Free Consultations. Offer no-charge consultations (virtually, of course) that show your willingness to help your partners get through this difficult time.

  • Free Useful Items. We’ve seen everything from toilet paper give aways to branded doggie waste bags--keep your name and your logo in front of people with items they’re sure to use even while sheltered-in-place.

• How to Market: 

  • Social Media

  • Website Message and Landing Pages

  • Blog Posts

Conservative But Looking Ahead

This group (likely the largest of the 3) is hesitant to purchase, but is still willing to be convinced. They tend to need some positive coercion to get them to make that final decision, and appreciate patience and flexibility. Many people are teetering between groups 1 and 2, so be attentive to their behavior and needs so you can act accordingly.

• Effective marketing efforts for this group can include:

  • How your services can help them right now during this time. Show them that your services are still useful and necessary during difficult situations.

  • Genuine purpose and positive messaging. This group is very wary of businesses they perceive as “taking advantage” of the current situation, so you want to be genuine in your efforts to help them and reassure them that we’re all in this together. 

  • Discounts, payment plans, or deferred payment options can be helpful tools for making a sale to those in this group.

• How to Market: 

  • Social Media Posts

  • Social Media Ads

  • Website Message and Landing Pages

  • Blog Posts

  • Minimal Google Ads (this group may still be searching on Google, but not as actively, so you may want to adjust your budget accordingly)

  • Email/Newsletter

Business As Usual

This group is (as best as they can) continuing to do business, research, and purchase as they normally would outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether they are unaffected due to their social status, work in an industry that’s unaffected (or is even seeing growth) under the circumstances, or are a business/consumer that is moving up from one of the other two groups in response to receiving stimulus benefits, this group is generally trying to take advantage of opportunities to try new things or score great deals.

• Effective marketing efforts for this group can include:

  • “Normal” Marketing. Generally speaking, this group responds well to marketing your services or products in the same way as you would under regular circumstances, as they’re still researching the same as they did before.

  • “Treat-yo-self!” This group often has the capital to finally invest in their interests with their new-found free time, while perhaps taking advantage of deals. Whether it be buying puzzles to pass the time, a bike to get out and exercise, or something else entirely, this group is in a position to “treat themselves” during a difficult situation.

  • Discounts, payment plans, or deferred payment options are still helpful tools just as they are to group 2, as group 3 will be on the lookout for good deals.

• How to Market: 

  • Targeted Social Media Ads

  • Website Message and Landing Pages

  • Blog Posts

  • Targeted Google Ads

  • Email/Newsletter

  • CAUTION: You must always be acutely aware about appearing crass or disconnected with groups 1 and 2. This is why we stress maintaining a genuine message of help and service, while also making sure that your ads (on social media and Google) for group 3 are appropriately targeted.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented us all with a truly unique situation that none of us have any experience with--not us, not our parents, not our grandparents. While there’s certainly a plethora of difficulties in running a small business during this time, it doesn’t mean our digital marketing efforts have to fall by the wayside. We may need to compensate and adjust for new demands, new audience behaviors, and new expectations, but with the proper care and attention, our businesses can learn to not just survive the present situation, but position ourselves to hit the ground running once this finally passes.

This article was originally posted by Ben Theis from SkolMarketing.

Toptal Design Blog Color of the Year 2020

Every year a number of companies release their Color of the Year, most notably Pantone in the design industry. And each year there’s a discussion among designers about what that color is, how to use it, and why that particular hue was chosen.

The color of the year is generally both a marketing strategy on the part of the companies that release them and an exercise in trend forecasting. Companies consider current cultural trends and where those trends are likely to go over the coming year, tapping into the zeitgeist of not only the design world but the world in general.

Having written a book on color theory, the color of the year has always fascinated me. How can a single hue encapsulate the mood of an entire year? And how do the people who come up with the color of the year go about it?

This year I got my chance to figure those questions out first-hand. Coming up with the Toptal Design Blog’s Color of the Year 2020 was both challenging and extremely interesting. The process is not unlike choosing a focal color for any design project and starts with thinking about mood and needs.

Determining the Mood

When thinking about what 2020 would bring and what color might be best suited to represent it, several factors were considered. There were certain keywords that kept coming up: hope, positivity, and grounding being key among them. The psychology of color is one of the most interesting parts of color theory, and figuring out which colors best represent those keywords was an important step.

Design trends from the past year were also considered. Shutterstock released its 2019 Color Trends nearly a year ago and pointed to three major trending colors: UFO Green, Plastic Pink, and Proton Purple. All three are vivid, neon colors. Local favorites around the world included shades of green, blue, and purple.

Paint companies also follow color trends closely. While the digital design isn’t necessarily going to follow trends in home decor, popular paint colors give insight into the psychological state of the average consumer. Last year the colors included lots of earth tones and neutrals, plus darker shades of green, blue, and purple.

This year some paint companies have already released their color of the year 2020, with a few shades of dusty pink included, as well as grass green, navy blue, and terracotta hues. The pinks point to consumers wanting a hue that will relax and comfort them, while the navy blue points toward a desire for tradition and honesty. The green hue included in these trends would indicate a desire consumers have to reconnect with the natural world.

The world is restless, and the colors of the year so far reflect an attempt to bring comfort and respite from that world—bringing us back to those three keywords: hope, positivity, and grounding. Translating those values into a digital sphere is a bit more complicated than painting a wall, but there are colors out there that embody all three and have enough character to stand out.

Picking a Hue

Before choosing the final hue, some colors needed to be eliminated. Because it’s an election year in the United States, anything that could be perceived as political—red, blue, and purple—was immediately cut from the running. The color of the year 2020 should be accessible and inviting to all, and not a cause for division, whether intentional or perceived.

From there, other hues were considered and their meanings accepted. Brown was an obvious choice when it comes to “grounding” but it’s not really hopeful or positive. Yellow and orange are hopeful and positive but not particularly grounding.

That left green as the best choice. Green, depending on the exact shade, can be positive and hopeful. It can also be grounding due to its strong association with the natural world. Green’s association with plants, spring, and things that are growing also makes it an energizing color.

Green also works well in a variety of designs, from kid-friendly entertainment sites to corporate sites and everything in between. It can be serious or light-hearted, modern or traditional, upbeat, or soothing.

But green is one of the most diverse color families in the world. Which presented another challenge: What shade of green would be the best fit for the color of the year 2020?

Narrowing Down the Choices

Spanning everything from pale sage and mint greens to darker olive and hunter greens, including bright shades, muted shades, neon shades, and everything in between, there is no doubt that green is an incredibly diverse color family.

The best part about this diversity is that it gives a ton of options to choose from for the color of the year. But that also presents a challenge: where to start.

There are various shades of green that appear in water, from rivers and lakes to the ocean. My favorite lake often looks green near the shoreline, similar to beaches in the Caribbean. The idea of that lake, and water in general, became the primary source of inspiration for picking this year’s color of the year.

Lake Willoughby often has a green hue around its shoreline. (Photo by Nathaniel Broderick CC BY-SA 4.0)

Once the general green hue was determined, the next step was to narrow down the exact color. Since water was the inspiration, searching for photos of beaches, the ocean, rivers, and lakes was a logical place to start.

Using the Digital Color Meter utility, the RGB values for various colors within the photos were established and a list of about 20 shades was created. Shades that were very close to one another were eliminated, and favorites from those groups were selected. When it was narrowed down to six specific colors, the Toptal Design Blog team was asked for their input.

There was no clear winner, with everyone discussing the pros and cons of their preferred colors. But the discussion (particularly the parts about how those colors could influence perceptions and emotions) was enough to help determine the final color of the year.

The Toptal Color of the Year 2020

Water and the natural world deeply inspired the final hue. It’s upbeat without being overwhelming. It has undertones of blue, giving it a calming character. At the same time, it’s bright enough to be energizing and hopeful.

The final color chosen was dark seafoam green, specifically hex value #72C89E.

Beyond the water it was inspired by, this color is widely found in nature. It can also be found in a variety of plants, including succulents.

And it’s even seen in rarer natural phenomena like the Aurora Borealis.

How To Use the Color of the Year in Designs

One of the primary things I wanted to accomplish with the color of the year 2020 was a hue that’s versatile enough to be incorporated into virtually any project. Some colors are best suited to particular industries or for distinct audiences. But green is universal, especially in a blue-green shade like dark seafoam green.

In digital designs, consider using dark seafoam green as an accent or background color. When paired with neutrals, it will “pop” and can be used as a focal color. But when paired with brighter colors, it can also work well as an accent.

Brightscout’s website includes Toptal’s Color of the Year throughout their homepage’s illustration.

For things like packaging, dark seafoam green is subtle enough that it could be used as a background color without overwhelming other design elements. At the same time, it’s vibrant enough to stand out in logos, lettering, or images.

The Toptal Design Blog’s Color of the Year is well suited to packaging design. (Image by Packaging of the World)

When considering whether to incorporate the color of the year into a project, there are a few things designers should consider. While the color is timely and was chosen specifically for 2020, it’s also a timeless shade that won’t look dated in a few years (unlike some other color trends from the past few decades). Because of that, it can be incorporated into projects that will have some longevity.

At the same time, it’s so well suited to the mood for the coming year that it’s an excellent option for shorter-term projects, such as promotional sites or limited-time-offer graphics.

The Amsterdam Ferry Festival uses the Color of the Year as an accent color alongside shades of blue and purple.

A lot depends on the other colors a designer wants to incorporate into their project. If paired with trendy colors (such as other colors of the year), it’s more likely to be perceived as of-the-moment. Whereas if paired with more timeless colors or neutrals, it will work as well as it does this year five years from now.

Color Palette Examples

While dark seafoam green might initially seem hard to pair with other hues, it’s actually quite versatile. Colors that are analogous on the color wheel, particularly shades of blue, work well. Complementary and split-complementary colors also work well, including shades of pink and purple.

This color palette includes analogous colors as well as complementary ones. It has a fresh, feminine vibe.

Combining dark seafoam green with shades of blue gives it a traditional, classic feeling.

Bright pink pairs beautifully with dark seafoam green, as does gray. This would be an excellent choice for a design aimed at younger women.

Brown and grayish-green hues bring out dark seafoam green’s earthier aspects.

Mixing dark seafoam green with purple and light blue gives a very modern feel, while light gray keeps it grounded.

Conclusion

The Toptal Design Blog’s Color of the Year 2020 aims to bring hope and positivity to the coming year, while also helping designers (and those they design for) connect with nature and stay grounded. When working with the color, designers can turn to color palettes that appear in the natural world—in plants and water particularly.

The color of the year is versatile enough to be incorporated into a wide variety of design projects. Depending on what other colors a designer pairs it with, it can be serious or lighthearted, modern or classic, feminine or masculine.

This article was originally published by Cameron Chapman from Toptal.

16 phones coming out in 2020: iPhone 12, iPhone SE, Galaxy Fold 2 and more

Despite changes to the smartphone supply chain, we still expect to see these phone releases in the coming months.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, phone companies still plan to release new phones. The rollouts started in earnest in late April with Apple's iPhone SE for 2020 and will continue well into the summer. While many of us are tightening our belts right about now, companies like Apple and Samsung are at this very moment still building phones and still hope you'll buy them. 

We'll see how well that works out. Phones shipments were down 38% in February compared to the same month in 2019. March couldn't have been much better. No one really knows how the next few months will play out, but as far as phone releases go, what follows is the current plan. 

Samsung Galaxy Fold 2

This is the first Galaxy Fold. We still expect the sequel to make an appearance this year.

Angela Lang/CNET

Samsung is one company betting that foldables are the future of mobile devices. It worked on foldable displays for years before unveiling its Galaxy Fold in February 2019. Samsung's device, which expands from a phone into a tablet, captured the world's attention, but it quickly ran into troubles. 

The company delayed the launch of the $1,980 Fold by five months from April to September after some reporters found screen defects in their review units. This year, it's expected to launch round two with what we're currently referring to as the Galaxy Fold 2, building on what it learned from last year's disaster and February's Galaxy Z Flip. There aren't any firm details about when the Fold could launch, but some leakers suggest we'll see the phone as early as the second quarter. 

Notable updates to the Fold could include a glass display instead of plastic and a bigger internal screen. Some rumors even suggest it will come with an S Pen stylus. Still, the coronavirus pandemic could push back the launch, and Samsung's still having trouble making enough Galaxy Z Flips for potential buyers. 

Expected release date: September 2020

Huawei P40 Pro series

Actual photo of the P40 series.

Huawei

Huawei's P40 series consists of three phones -- including the standard P40 and the P40 Pro -- but it's the hero, the P40 Pro Plus, that has us most excited. It's the first phone to have a 10x optical zoom lens, it promises to be killer in low-light photography and it's got a practically bezel-free design. This phone is due to go on sale in June, but due to ongoing political difficulties, the phone won't come to the US. 

Expected release date: No US release date, but on sale now in many European countries

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

The Note 10 in all its iridescent glory.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The fate of Samsung's annual stylus-bearing flagship phone for power users is up in the air. Typically, we'd expect the new Note to arrive in August, guns blazing, to much fanfare and a splashy launch event. This year, who knows. An early rumor suggested that the Note 20 -- following Samsung's new naming convention for the Galaxy S20 phones -- would appear as early as July. 

That seems wholly unlikely as the world hunkers down to weather this coronavirus pandemic. It's possible that Samsung could host an online event like rivals instead of the usual stadium or music hall venue. The company didn't reply to a request for comment on the topic.

What is likely is that the Note 20 will build off the Galaxy S20's key features, from 5G data speeds and a fast 120Hz screen refresh rate to those high-resolution cameras -- whenever and however it's eventually unveiled.

Xiaomi Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro 

The Xiaomi Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi took the wraps off its latest flagship phones, the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro, in an online event on Feb. 13 for the Chinese market, which it followed up with an international launch on March 27. Both phones sport a massive 108-megapixel camera sensor, which appeared first on the Mi 10 Note and was co-developed by Samsung. 

The phones will also come packed with other top-shelf specs, including the latest Snapdragon 865 chipset, 90Hz displays, a 4,500-mAh battery and a 30-watt wireless charging option. Xiaomi says it'll release the phones in European countries including Spain, Italy and France in April, but stopped short of announcing any details of a possible US launch or release. In Europe, the Mi 10 will start at 799 euros, with the 10 Pro starting at 999 euros. Under these prices, converting to US dollars would have the Mi 10 costing around $880 and the 10 Pro at $1,100. 

Expected release date: Xiaomi has not announced plans to launch in the US

Samsung Galaxy A Series

Samsung

Samsung is going all in on budget phones with its new Galaxy A Series lineup. And when we say "budget," we mean downright cheap in some cases. We have yet to actually use these phones, though, so hopefully that's cheap in the best possible way. 

The 4G LTE lineup, which includes four phones, consists of the $110 Galaxy A10, the $180 Galaxy A11, the $250 Galaxy A21 and the $400 Galaxy A51, which is the followup to 2019's Galaxy A50. Then we have the two 5G phones: The 5G version of the Galaxy A51 will cost $500, while the new Galaxy A71 5G comes in at $600. 

Again, that's some really aggressive pricing from Samsung, and over the coming months we'll know if they're worth it even at the lowest prices. 

Expected release date: Available now through the end of the summer, depending on model

Google Pixel 4A and 4A XL

The Pixel 3A.

Angela Lang/CNET

Last year, Google debuted budget versions of its Pixel phones, the Pixel 3A and 3A XL. The devices turned out to be a success for the company, so we expect follow-ups this spring. Rumors for the Pixel 4A and 4A XL include the same $399 starting price for the Pixel 4A and headphone jacks, as well as a new front-facing hole-punch camera. And in case there was any doubt, Verizon debunked a previous claim that it is dumping Pixel phones -- it won't, and said it will "continue to work with Google."

Expected release date: April or May 2020

Redmi Note 9S

Redmi's latest Note 9S model comes in three colors: Aurora Blue, Glacier White and Interstellar Grey.

Xiaomi

In late March, Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi unveiled the Note 9S as its next-generation budget phone. It's the sequel to the Note 8 series which emerged as the best-selling Android phone at the end of 2019. The biggest talking point of the Note 9S is its 5,020-mAh battery crammed under the hood, which is larger than the 5,000-mAh battery in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. 

Other notable features: the Redmi Note's first-ever in-display selfie camera and the quad-camera system on its rear, led by a 48-megapixel main sensor. The Redmi Note 9S will be available globally, the company said, arriving first in Singapore and Malaysia with other release dates and pricing for the US to be announced later. We're expecting the base model that comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage to start at around $215 after converting to US dollars from its price in Singapore.

Expected release date: Redmi didn't announce plans to launch in the US

OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro

The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro are official.

Angela Lang/CNET

OnePlus launched its latest line of flagship phones on April 14 at a digital event. Called the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro, the phones both have 5G and fast displays: 90Hz for the 8 and 120Hz for the 8 Pro. The OnePlus 8 starts at $699, the 8 Pro at $899. One rumor that didn't pan out? A budget-minded variant called the OnePlus 8 Lite. Read our full reviews of the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro.

Expected release date: April 2020

TCL 10 Pro

TCL's 10 Pro has a curved AMOLED screen and a $449 price.

Angela Lang/CNET

Long known for its TVs and for releasing devices through brands like Alcatel and BlackBerry, TCL is getting into self-branded phones with its new 10 Series, which looks to follow the blueprint laid out by its TV line and offer value at low prices. Its first phone is the 10 Pro which is priced at $449 and features a 6.47-inch curved AMOLED display with a fingerprint sensor underneath, runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor with 6GB and 128GB of storage and has four rear cameras. 

Expected release date: April 2020

TCL 10L

CL's 10L is the company's budget phone.

Sarah Tew/CNET

The budget item in TCL's line, the 10L packs 6.53-inch full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 processor with 6GB RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage as well as four rear cameras. While its screen and specs are a step lower than those of the 10 Pro, its price is significantly more affordable at $249. 

Expected release date: May 2020

Apple iPhone SE

Angela Lang/CNET

Apple launched the iPhone SE in April and it could be the first of at least five iPhones anticipated to launch in 2020. The phone lives up to the hype with a super-fast and future-proof A13 processor and a camera nearly as good as on the iPhone 11 Pro. All this for only $399. 

Release date: April 2020

Apple iPhone 12 

Angela Lang/CNET

The upcoming iPhone 12, 12 Pro and 12 Max (Apple has not confirmed the name of the phones, but we'll go with that for now) face unknown waters ahead -- suppliers in China have already shut down or are operating on limited capacity because of the outbreak, which may impact inventory in September when new iPhones are typically launched. Rumors for the devices are all over the place, with some stating the phones will have a radical new design and other leaks suggesting it will likely look similar to the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro. Some models could have 5G, others might not.

Expected release date: Early September 2020

Moto G Stylus 

Sarah Tew/CNET

In February, Motorola announced two new members to its budget-friendly family of phones: the Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power. Both have a 6.4-inch full HD hole-punch display for a selfie camera, a Snapdragon 665 processor, 4GB of RAM and run Android 10 with Moto's thoughtful extra touches. The Moto G Stylus has, as you can probably guess, a stylus which puts the phone in line with the Samsung Galaxy Note and LG Stylo. It has three rear cameras: a 48-megapixel main camera, a 16-megapixel ultrawide "action" camera and a built-in macro camera. It will cost $300.

Expected release date: Spring 2020

Moto G Power 

The G Power and G Stylus.

CNET

There is a significant Venn-diagram overlap between the Moto G Stylus and Moto G Power. See the Moto G Stylus section above for basic specs. The biggest differences, aside from the Moto G Power's $250 price tag, is that it doesn't have a stylus. Instead the Moto G Power has a 5,000-mAh battery that Motorola claims can last over three days of regular use after a single charge. There is a rear triple-camera array with a 16-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide-angle camera and a built-in macro camera.

Expected release date: Spring 2020

Sony Xperia 1 ii 

Sony

In February, Sony announced the Xperia 1 ii and Xperia Pro, which on paper share many of the same basic specs. It has a 21:9 ratio 6.5-inch 4K HDR OLED display, Snapdragon 865, 4,000-mAh battery with wireless charging, 8GB of RAM and 256GB. It has a rear triple-camera array with three 12-megapixel cameras with different focal lengths, 16-, 24- and 70mm. 

The Xperia 1 ii, like last year's Xperia 1 will borrow camera tech from its Alpha line of cameras like the A7ii and A9 ii. One of the best is Eye AF, which instantly finds the focus on a person's eyes when taking photos. The phone will also support 5G, but not in the US. There's no word on pricing.

Expected release date: Late spring 2020

Sony Xperia Pro 

Sony's Xperia Pro has millimeter wave 5G.

Sony

In February, Sony teased the Xperia Pro, a 5G phone aimed at professional video shooters. This could be the phone that knocks Apple's iPhone off its video-prowess throne. It has the same triple-camera rear setup and Alpha camera features as the consumer-focused Xperia 1 II, and like its sibling packs a 6.5-inch 21:9 ratio 4K OLED display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor and 8GB of RAM. The Pro also has 512GB of storage, and an HDMI/USB 3.1 port for outputting video. The Pro will support both low-band and midband 5G. The Xperia Pro doesn't have a price but will likely cost more than the Xperia 1 ii.

Expected release: Late spring 2020

First published on April 5, 2020 at 4:00 a.m. PT on CNET by CNET Staff



Apple and Google accelerate coronavirus contact tracing apps plan

Apple and Google have tightened privacy measures in the contact-tracing scheme they are offering to health authorities and brought forward its launch.

The tech giants now intend to release a software building block to developers on Tuesday, allowing them to build compatible apps. A fortnight ago, the firms said it would take until mid-May.

Apple's version will require an updated version of its mobile operating system.

Some countries, however, would prefer the firms to be less prescriptive.

France and Germany have confirmed they are pursuing designs of their own, and are pressing Apple to let them have greater access to the iPhone's capabilities without having to adopt the initiative.

In a blog published earlier, NHSX, the digital wing of the NHS, confirmed it was "working with Apple and Google" on its UK contact tracing app, but stopped short of committing itself to the companies' framework.

Virus alerts

Contact-tracing apps are based on the principle that people's smartphones can be used to log when two people are in close enough proximity for long enough that there's a high risk of contagion if one of them has the coronavirus.

If one of the phone-owners is subsequently diagnosed as having caught the virus, others they might have infected can be sent alerts advising them to get tested or go into self-isolation.

By combining the use of such apps with other measures - including manual contact tracing by humans and frequent hand washing - the hope is that the spread of the disease can be slowed or suppressed.

Apple and Google's system is based on the use of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) beacons. Effectively, the two handsets wirelessly "shake hands" with each other, and in doing so exchange a string of randomly-generated numbers that can be used to log matches without revealing the users' names, location, or other identifying information.

Representatives from the team responsible said they had listened to feedback received from health authorities, governments and data protection watchdogs, and made changes to both increase security and to make it easier for apps to be built using the API (application programming interface) building block they are providing.

These changes include:

• giving information about different devices' Bluetooth power levels, to help developers better estimate how far two handsets are from each other

• letting developers decide for themselves how close together phones should be and for how long to trigger a handshake

• preventing the phones from logging any meeting as having lasted longer than 30 minutes

• encrypting data about the transmission power of the phones, to prevent anyone from retrospectively using the logs to reveal what models had been involved

• changing to a different encryption algorithm - AES - to reduce the toll on battery life

Apple will require users to install a new version of iOS 13 to use the API. That means any handset older than the iPhone 6S - which was released in September 2015 - will be incompatible.

Any Android device running version 6 of Google's operating system, which launched in October 2015, or higher will work without needing an update.

• Apple and France in stand-off over contact-tracing app

• Why are there doubts over contact-tracing apps?

• State surveillance 'a price worth paying'

Background Bluetooth

Apple and Google's system has been described as "decentralized" as the contact-matching takes place on the users' devices, preventing the authorities from being able to see who got an alert unless a user decides to disclose the fact - for example, to request a diagnostic test.

But some countries are pursuing "centralized" designs. This would give them more insight into the number of alerts being sent out and potentially the ability to re-identify users, meaning they would not truly be anonymous.

However, these nations face a problem with the iPhone versions of their software. Apple places restrictions on third-party apps' use of Bluetooth, which it is only dropping if the authorities adopt its scheme.

"Bluetooth is heavily restricted on iOS when the app is in the background," explained Quentin Zervaas, a developer who is building a Google-Apple compliant app.

"It can be used to occasionally broadcast or receive data while background, but there are no guarantees how frequently this would be, and the app would be competing against any other apps on your phone trying to use Bluetooth.

"So for contact tracing it can't constantly send or receive the necessary data necessary to effectively keep track of every device you come into contact with.

"[This] is why I think all the contact tracing apps should be using the system-level tools Apple and Google are rolling out."

Apple and Google declined to discuss the implications of countries that opt to go it alone.

This article was originally published by Leo Kelion from BBC News.

These 12 essential apps will make quarantine bearable

(CNN) You sure are spending a lot more time on that phone of yours nowadays, aren't you? But perhaps you've tired of Sudoku, your eyes glaze over during Netflix binges and you haven't touched Candy Crush since you started seeing the game in your dreams.

It's unclear how how long we'll be sequestered like this. We'll keep you busy with a cadre of new apps.

So massage that crick in your neck, put on your blue-light glasses and settle down with these digital offerings. They're instructive, entertaining and nice to scroll through before taking your third nap of the day. Almost all of them are free to download, too, but offer optional in-app purchases, if you're willing.

For chilling out

Stop, Breathe & Think

This meditation app, colored with cool blues and kind-eyed cartoon instructors, is designed to ease your mind the moment you open it. You start by checking in and evaluating your physical and emotional state. The app scrambles those results and spits out activities -- guided breathing, brief meditations or, on occasion, a calming compilation of cat videos -- based on your self-eval.

Those activities are categorized by feelings like compassion, grief, and equanimity, and they're short enough to hold your attention but substantial enough to stave off anxiety. Let them wash over you like a wave of calm.

For gaming

Playing with friends: Heads Up! on Houseparty

You may be familiar with Heads Up! (the Ellen DeGeneres-backed game that's kind of like a reverse charades), and you may be familiar with Houseparty (the video calling app that mashes all your friends together on one screen). Here's how to combine the two since we can't be with friends in person.

First, download Houseparty. Click the die in the upper right corner. Heads Up! should appear in the drop-down column. Gather your friends, and voila!

Playing solo: The Sims Mobile

Badipsa froopy noo (that's Simlish, for the uninitiated)! The Sims is still as fun as you remember, perhaps now more than ever -- you manipulate the life of a virtual person who can shop, date, throw parties, meet ghosts -- everything we can't do right now. Playing The Sims during a pandemic is an exercise in wishful thinking. Or you can trap your Sim in their home (just delete all the doors!) and drive them as stir-crazy as you feel.

For learning

EdX

Much has been made about Yale University's "Happiness" course, available to non-Yale students now for free. Once you learn about the roots of joy, dig into the 2,000 classes available through the EdX app.

Think of a topic, any topic -- they probably have a class for that, offered by one of more than 100 universities. You won't earn a degree, but you will earn bragging rights for furthering your education while isolating.

Duolingo

Whatever you think about that little green owl mascot, this language-learning app is an engaging and colorful way to get smarter.

It's structured like a game in that it's image-heavy, fast-paced and it incentivizes you to keep going with ultimately inconsequential but briefly exciting rewards.

There are 35 languages to try, including fictional tongues like "Star Trek's" Klingon and "Game of Thrones'" High Valyrian. Emerge from isolation a learned polyglot.

For cooking

Project Foodie: Guided Cooking

Amateur cooks of the world looking to broaden their culinary horizons, Project Foodie hears you, and it knows you're capable of more. That's why it breaks down recipes step-by-step in a video, led by pro chefs. And unlike their TV counterparts, these cooks won't skip a moment of prep. By the end, you'll be blanching and julienne-ing better than they can.

For socializing

Nextdoor

The virtual equivalent of a cul-de-sac meet-up, Nextdoor connects you with neighbors you may've never met. It was fun and useful before the pandemic, but gone are the days when our only gripes were whose dog left a mess in the hallway or whose headlights were left on all night. Now, it's essential to get to know your neighbors who may need your help or can offer you theirs. If nothing else, join for the odd request for a minister to officiate a cat wedding (just be wary of misinformation -- like any social media, it's an issue on Nextdoor, too).

For working out

Aaptiv

It's a pocket-sized personal trainer that's all audio-based, so you won't need to pull out your phone to see what comes next -- just focus on the spoken instructions and your body. If you don't know where to start, don't sweat it (or do sweat it, ha) -- the app picks out which exercises will work best for you.

Peloton

If video-guided workouts are more your speed, Peloton offers a whole lot more than cycling. Watch the pros lead strength training classes, yoga, boot camps and cooldowns. It's free for 30 days, too.

Runkeeper

The app tracks your runs and measures your progress -- and if you keep it up, you can earn rewards toward real-life training gear, too!

For staying healthy & in-the-know

Apple's Covid-19 app

This one-stop shop collects everything you need to know about coronavirus in a neatly packaged and easy-to-navigate hub. You can customize the information you want by state and screen your symptoms if you suspect you've become infected. It's constantly updated with verifiable information as it's released.

For silly, escapist fun

TikTok

Seriously, you're not on TikTok yet?

If you missed the boat on our dearly departed Vine, get on board with this bite-sized video platform. If dancing lipsyncers aren't for you, filter them out -- they're not the only ones using the app.

TikTok is a platform for burgeoning comedians, wholesome families and sardonic activists -- and somehow, there's room for them all. Cardi B, Reese Witherspoon and the World Health Organization have all found a home on the app, too. So Scroll. Laugh. Learn about the global health crisis. Repeat.

This article was originally published by Scottie Andrew, CNN

Motorola Edge launches today after leaks, plus more tech news you need to know

Motorola Edge: launch today, leaked yesterday

Motorola’s Edge event is today, at 12pm ET, which is pretty right around the corner. Presumably, it’ll be streamed live on the company’s YouTube channel or Twitter account.

It matters because the new Moto Edge is the company’s first flagship phone in forever, if you exclude the folding Moto RAZR, which I do.

• The once-Google-owned now Lenovo-owned company based out of Chicago has put out affordable and budget devices for years.

• The best of those included 2016’s higher-spec Moto Z for its attempt to create a modular world, and the more recent Moto G7 for being the best price/value around in the US.

• 2019’s Moto G8 wasn’t a winner, though.

Leaks and oopsies: 

• Ahead of the launch, Motorola has sent out devices to media. We know that because one tech publication accidentally published early thoughts on the device.

• We’ve now seen almost complete specs and leaked images.

• It’ll be another big flagship at 6.7-inch curved display with 90Hz refresh rate, with a Snapdragon 865 chipset meaning it’ll support 5G, either 8GB or 12GB RAM, plus a 5,000-mAh battery, and 108-megapixel rear sensor, plus a headphone jack.

• There’s also a non-plus or vanilla Moto Edge, but few details have emerged about it thus far.

• The image above comes via a leaked marketing video, found by Evan Blass.

• Lots of good specs, but we’ll need to see how it all comes together.

$1000:

• Pricing and availability looks …challenging.

• What we’ve seen published is that it’ll be $1000, or $41.67/mo over 24 months, and available on Verizon only, in the US at least.

• That availability isn’t necessarily a surprise, given Motorola and Verizon have a long-running partnership.

• But it’s not exactly a much-loved partnership given how strictly limiting it makes Motorola devices like the flagship Motorola Edge.

• Those companies will argue it’s to deliver mmWave 5G, but super-limited availability means that’s a tough justification for now.

• Assuming the leaks are accurate given what’s been published-then-quickly-removed, I just don’t know if there’s much to like given what you can get from Samsung, LG, and OnePlus, without needing to be locked into Verizon.

• All are hamstrung by the costs involved flagship 5G SoCs from Qualcomm, which is why we’re at the $999 mark or more for so many 2020 flagships.

• We’ll see how it shakes out later on today, but you’ve been warned…

2. Epic has changed its mind and officially placed Fortnite on the Google Play Store. It’s not really by choice, as Epic explains it was basically forced to join rather than get users to sideload its APK. The world’s biggest game couldn’t even try to beat Apple’s 30% cut of revenue, and its attempt to beat Google failed. It’s quite the position for that duopoly on our phones. Also, Epic is reportedly raising cash, like many other companies during this downturn. Fortnite hasn’t hit the top of the charts in gaming that I’m seeing on the Play Store yet, but it’s still early (Android Authority). (Android Authority).

3. “Umm, is the $499 OnePlus 7T a better choice than the OnePlus 8 series?” (Android Authority).

4. Galaxy S20 Ultra gets a new DxOMark ranking, but doesn’t top the listings: you be the judge (Android Authority).

5. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active2 can monitor your blood pressure, but you’ll need to calibrate it monthly. I wonder how accurate it is (Ars Technica).

6. Rumors are that Apple has delayed an iPhone SE Plus model until late 2021, while the iPhone 12 series will feature four new models (9to5Mac).

7. Razer’s updated Blade Stealth gets a faster display and GPU (Engadget).

8. Facebook spent $5.7b to buy 9.9% of a giant Indian telco, Jio, its single biggest investment ever (The Verge).

9. The next SpaceX Starlink launch is set for 3:37pm ET later today, 60 more sats going up (YouTube).

10. Calm yourself with endless Super Mario clouds (Gizmodo).

This article was originally posted by Tristan Rayner from Android Authority

Should you buy the new iPhone SE or wait for iPhone 12?

It has taken four years, but Apple finally updated its budget, pocket-friendly iPhone SE. The original model took the internal hardware of the iPhone 6s (about six months old at the time) and crammed it into the smaller body of the iPhone 5s. The new model takes the same approach, stuffing a lot of the iPhone 11 hardware into an iPhone 8 body.

Is this the iPhone SE for you? Well, the $399 price is certainly very attractive, but it’s only a bargain if it’s a good fit. The iPhone 12 might cost more, but if you’re going to be happier with it, you might want to wait. Do the following statements sound like something you would say?

iPhones are too expensive

Well, you might as well jump on the new iPhone SE, unless you want to wait for Apple to start selling refurbished models. Every iPhone on the horizon is expected to cost hundreds of dollars more.

This is the company’s least expensive iPhone by a long shot—the only way to get something cheaper is to get something old.

iPhones are too big

If you miss the size of the old iPhone SE, I’m sorry to inform you that iPhones that small are just not coming back. But the iPhone SE is still a lot smaller than every other modern phone Apple currently sells.

Look at the comparison below (from the excellent Phone Arena size comparison tool). Until today, the iPhone 11 was the smallest new iPhone; the iPhone SE (which is essentially identical to the iPhone 8 in the center below) is quite a bit smaller. Still, the original iPhone SE, on the right, is still much more petite.

The iPhone 8 is the same size as the new iPhone SE—much bigger than the old SE, but smaller than the iPhone 11.

But wait! The latest rumors about the iPhone 12, due for release this fall, hint that the smallest size may have a 5.4-inch display. With no top or bottom bezels like the iPhone 11, that would make it very nearly the same size as the new iPhone SE. If you want a more modern phone with dual cameras and Face ID and so on, even if it’s more expensive, you might want to wait for the fall to see if that rumor proves true.

I prefer Touch ID to Face ID

Once you get used to it, unlocking your phone with Face ID is faster and easier than Touch ID. And it’s easier to do with wet or dirty hands. Apple never collects your face data at all—it stays encrypted on your iPhone and they don’t even have the key.

If you're not a fan of all this face-unlocking stuff, good news, the new iPhone SE still has a Touch ID Home button.

But not everybody prefers Face ID. Some miss the good old Touch ID Home button. If you want to return to the days of Home buttons but don’t want to buy an old phone, the iPhone SE is your chance.

Of course, you give up a few other features...

I want to use Memoji and Animoji

If you don’t have Face ID, you don’t have the TrueDepth module. And if you don’t have the TrueDepth module, you can’t really use Memoji or Animoji. The front-facing 3D scanning sensors that are used for Face ID are also used to approximate your facial expressions and motion on Memoji and Animoji.

It’s also used to take Portrait Mode selfies. You’re giving up all these things with the iPhone SE.

I really want to use AR apps

The iPhone SE will certainly work with the current crop of augmented reality (AR) apps on the App Store, just as the iPhone XR can do so with only one rear camera. 

The new iPhone SE will support AR apps, but likely not as well as the upcoming iPhone 12 Pro with its LiDAR camera.

But if you’re really into AR, you’ll want to wait for the iPhone 12 Pro, which is almost certain to have the LiDAR sensor found in the new iPad Pro. That will make a big difference in AR apps. You’ll be able to launch into them immediately without waving moving your phone around to scan the environment first, and AR placement will be faster and more accurate.

Of course, it will cost you. The LiDAR sensor is rumored to be only found in the iPhone 12 Pro, which will probably cost around $999. You could buy two new iPhone SEs for less than that!

I care most about camera quality

The good news is that the iPhone SE appears to have the same rear-facing wide-angle camera as the iPhone 11 (12MP and f1.8). With the A13 chip inside, it’s capable of nearly all the same image and video processing, including all the portrait lighting effects and Smart HDR. However, Apple makes no mention of Night Mode, which is strange...there's appears to be no reason the iPhone SE couldn't do it, but it can't.

The bad news is that you only have the one rear-facing camera: no telephoto lens, no ultra-wide lens. You can do Portrait Mode, but as with the iPhone XR, it only works when it detects a person’s face, and there’s no Portrait Mode on the front camera.

The front-facing camera isn't as good on the iPhone SE as on other modern iPhones. It's a 7MP camera that seems identical to that found on the iPhone 8, and is limited to 1080p video at 30fps. The A13 Bionic processor enables better image processing with it, but the hardware is a little aged.

The iPhone SE camera is almost as good as the iPhone 11, but there's just one rear camera, and no Night Mode.

So the photo and video quality from the rear camera should be up to par with the iPhone 11, but you don’t have as much flexibility. Of course, we expect the iPhone 12 in the fall to have an even better camera. If you’re concerned with quality more than price, you might want to wait.

Battery life matters most to me

If you want really epic battery life, you might want to look beyond the new iPhone SE. While we don't expect it to have bad battery life, it should definitely not last as long as the iPhone 11 or iPhone XR.

Apple says it should get 12 hours of video playback or 8 hours of streaming video. For the iPhone 11, those figures are 17 hours and 10 hours, and the iPhone XR is about an hour less.

Don't expect to game all day on the new iPhone SE without a charger handy.

In essence, the new iPhone SE should get about the same battery life as the iPhone 8. That's impressive when you consider the phone is way more powerful with the A13 Bionic processor inside, but disappointing when you compare it to more recent iPhones that have dramatically improved battery life.

Smaller phone, smaller battery, less battery life.

5G is the future

Right now, 5G isn't a critical technology for your iPhone. You can't get a good 5G signal in most places, and even when you can the benefits are modest compared to the hype. There's not much you can do with 5G right now that you can't do with a good 4G LTE signal.

That won't always be the case. The carriers will be working overtime over the next year or two to blanket the country with 5G coverage and improve its performance. It's not like 4G LTE is going to stop working for a long time, but over the next several years, 5G is going to grow to be much faster and better than 4G LTE.

If you're buying a phone to keep for four or five years, you might want to wait for an iPhone 12, which is expected to support 5G networks. It won't make a big difference this year, but in 2022 you could be glad you did.

I just want an iPhone that I can keep for 5 years

iPhones are expensive! Some people want the latest model every year, and others just want something reliable that they can keep for five years until it stops getting software updates.

While the iPhone SE is relatively inexpensive, it's also built using the A13 processor—Apple’s newest phone chip. That means it’s likely to be supported by new iOS updates for years to come. You’re better off buying a new iPhone SE than a used or refurbished older iPhone because the older model isn’t likely to be supported by iOS updates for as many years.

If you really want longevity, you might consider waiting for the iPhone 12 this fall. It’s expected to cost a lot more, but feature a newer A14 processor (along with other fancy features)—five years from now, Apple may cut off iOS support in the A13 while still offering updates for products that use the A14. Because the iPhone 12 will have a Truedepth module for the front camera, it will support whatever future features Apple comes up with that require it.

And of course, if you’re keeping your phone for four or five years, you want one with the best camera possible. That means waiting until the fall and spending more money, but years from now you may be glad you splurged on a phone with a better front-facing camera and a rear camera capable of Night mode.

This article was originally published by Jason Cross from the Macworld.

Keeping your business alive during the COVID-19 pandemic

Do you remember where you were at midnight on the 1st of January 2020? Well, everything has changed, and in the words of music superstar, Drake, nothing was the same. The current pandemic has affected the world in every way you can imagine. The normalcy of our lives has been put on hold, and we are compelled to redefine what it means. We live in uncertain times as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our health, economy, and emotion.

Businesses have taken the hit in different measures as the restriction of movement has placed several industries on the back-foot. Companies need to think outside the box and cut costs to stay afloat through this period.

In this article, we will look at different ways to ensure that your business is still existing after the smoke is gone.

What should businesses do?

In times like this, customers, as well as businesses, go through challenges. Various industries have felt the brunt in different ways, and there are specific steps that every company has to take. There is a need to adapt through these uncertain times.

0% business loans

Many (small) business owners are reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments, on the other hand, are scrambling to distribute resources through various relief programs for businesses. There is a wide range of funds both at the state and federal levels. 

It is also essential to cut down operational costs while considering the needs of employees. The pandemic has led to a lot of uncertainty; therefore, you need to ensure that you cater to every member of staff. Subsequently, they will create value for customers and sustain your business through these tough times.   

Effective Communication

More than ever before, you need to continually share information with clients, employees, shareholders, and the general public. You need to ensure that you communicate clearly. It is also crucial for brands to get the right kind of emotions for this moment. You also need to ensure that the elements of your designs portray these emotions.

Customers are stressed, and they want to digest simple information from their favourite brands. There is a need for brands to create emotionally intense moments with customers consistently.  This presents an opportunity for brands to look out for customers in their time of need. You need to ensure that you are more easily accessible to meet the needs of customers.

Digital Customer Experience

One of the core aspects of customer experience is the extent to which you understand your customers. Today, the pandemic has influenced customer behavior and brand’s responses to these behaviors. When you know how customers feel, then you can respond accordingly.

This means that businesses need to make the best use of (scarce) resources during these times. You need to creatively combine the people, processes, and tools that are required to deliver a stellar digital customer experience. There is also the need to provide customers with compelling value (e.g., tools for entertainment and information).    

Engagement through social media

More than ever before, there is a need for companies to focus on social media. Social media can be used to bring your community of followers together in times like these. The pandemic has affected the daily routines of several business processes. With social media, brands can creatively find new ways to engage with customers.

Everyone wants to feel a sense of togetherness, and companies can leverage this and help customers share thoughts and experiences. Access to information is crucial in the fight against the Covid -19 pandemic. Brands (through their social media channels) must provide accurate information. Customers want to know what is going on, and when they get this information from their favorite brands, it positively influences CX.   

Impact on finances (cutting costs)

Due to the COVID-19 situation, a lot of businesses have their budgets reduced. Although there is a need to maximize the digital experience, you also have to consider cutting costs. This means that companies need to create top-notch, visually appealing designs without large budgets.

How can you create amazing motion graphics at a low price?

Brands can create top-notch visuals for all kinds of marketing needs with templates from Vdeesign. These templates can help you get the best results from your digital marketing streams. Vdeesign templates are designed to provide top-notch value for your customers through this period and beyond.

With Vdeesign templates, you have a long list of options to choose from. This variety may make it easy for you to choose the best designs for your brand’s branding efforts. With more than 30 premium templates to choose from, there is a tendency that the selection process is overwhelming.

Our templates help brands advertise content and promote ideas on the go. There is a wide range of options that you can use to create great content across all social media platforms.

We understand that Brands have unique personalities that can be communicated through colors, designs, typography, and many more. This is why we have provided several affordable templates that will help you to stand out.  

Vdeesign templates are easy to use, and they can be used on the go. Check out our full range of options here;

Rounding Up…

The COVID-19 will crumble the economy for the rest of 2020, and businesses have to find new creative ways to reach out to customers. We live in a fast-paced world where customers consume information regularly.

Vdeesign templates are created by professionals that understand how motion picture can improve the positive perception of brands. This is why we have consistently sought to create unique templates for a wide range of uses. The proper combination of these templates will set you apart from competitors and help you to outline your messages through pictures and motion pictures clearly.

With our templates, you can provide quality content to your audiences and get amazing results on the go. We are here to help you through this uncertainty; we believe that we will go through this phase with a renewed appreciation for the little things that matter.

At Vdeesign, we are interested in your well-being, and we will ensure that we keep you up to speed with valuable information. While we await vaccines, you must discard myths and conspiracies while focusing on maintaining proper hygiene.

Vdeesign is here for you, no matter what, please stay safe and healthy!

Thank you for reading.

Coronavirus is causing some real code-red graphic design

One of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic has been the proliferation of memes, guides, and other visual aids concerned with keeping people healthy. Everyone from the Wu-Tang Clan (cool!) to Ted Cruz (ugh) has weighed in, with their own advice on how to, for example, keep your hands off your face.

Jack Koloskus is The Outline’s design whiz. He makes our work and our website special and fresh, and he has terrific visual taste. We've presented him with eight different coronavirus graphics that offer different pandemic best practices. Jack offered his thoughts on the graphics below, rating them on a scale of 0 to 10, with a brief accompanying description.

We all have a role in combatting #COVID19.

Below are some tips for how you can help prevent spread of the #coronavirus:
🤧Cover your sneeze or cough with a tissue.
🧼Wash your hands regularly.
🏠Stay home if you are sick.
📞Call your medical provider before going in person. pic.twitter.com/ZCK1eeGGjM

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 16, 2020

Jack: Ted Cruz is a dip but this graphic is... fine. Or at least it seems like it is, but maybe it's bad. Who coughs into a tissue? Cough into your elbow. And no mention of washing your hands for 20 seconds, just “frequently.” I don't believe washing your hands 20 times for one second each time works the same way. Graphic- wise this is fine (it is red because this is serious) but the information seems bad which is bad! 3/10.

Here’s @DrOz dos and donts #coronavirus #CoronaVirusUpdate #gdny pic.twitter.com/UDlu9eQkoo

— Rosanna Scotto (@rosannascotto) March 6, 2020

Jack: Oh hell yeah, this graphic has some information. This is probably too much information, but seeing as how none of the text is too small to read it's a great graphic. I've learned a lot here. And who else is talking about what you should be eating? 8/10.

Protect Ya Neck against the Coronavirus. We are making a few thousand prints and distributing them across New York City. Feel FREE to do the same in your City.
Share and RT this to the world. #wutang pic.twitter.com/coS5M3WdiW

— Wu Tang Clan (@WuTangClan) March 15, 2020

Jack: Straightforward. This is a handy thing to remember, but these are all things we're probably remembering regardless of this mnemonic device. If you're going to use that concept, it should be for more detailed information in my opinion. Like:

Wash
Ur hands for at least
Twenty seconds
And
Never forget to wash the tips of your fin
Gers since those are the parts of your hands you actually touch your face with

5/10.

The top of Google search results. Image via Google.

Jack: Awful, so awful. The numbering here doesn't make any sense. Why is item No. 4, “feet,” to stay three feet apart? “4. FEET, Stay 3 feet apart"??? Make that item No. 3 at LEAST. I will never remember this. I have already forgotten the helpful information. 1/10.

Image via Red Cross.

Jack: Modernism strikes again. Your icons are nice but they communicate nothing! “Spray-paint your bathroom,” “hold suds in your hands without scrubbing,” “hold your noodle of an arm in the air while you do something with your mouth” — have a little fun with illustration here and maybe we'd learn something! At least the information is correct. 3/10.

A graphic displayed by an NBC affiliate TV station in Nebraska. Image via KSNB-TV.

Jack: Now this is what I call graphic design. A 3-D model showing me where exactly on my body I should be feeling my sore throat? What would I do without this? And that nose icon is dope. Probably not enough information here, i.e. what kind of cough (wet/dry) is problematic, or what do you actually do if you experience any of these symptoms. But maybe that's just not the goal of this graphic, which knows what it is and isn't trying to be anything else. And whoever made it was obviously enjoying themselves, which is really what we all need most in this time of global difficulty. 9/10.

A guide from the BBC. Image via BBC.

Jack: See this is what that other one needs to learn from. I can see some vigorous motion in those hands. When this person lifts their noodle arms, the relationship between arm and face is much better illustrated here. I’m docking points because nobody touches their face like that. You don't have to tell me not to place my open palm over my left eye, I was never going to do that. Please revise the illustration to depict someone picking their nose right here so that way I’ll actually learn. 6/10.

An advisory from the Virginia state government. Image via the Virginia Department of Health.

Jack: I love the use of purple here. Really non-traditional health poster color, which I commend this graphic for. This information seems good, I like the flow from the globe to the three symptoms by a dotted line. But wait...

This icon about not coughing into your hand is a guy coughing into his hand. Come on! I'd recommend some new icons here. That one is fatally flawed and the “trouble breathing” icon looks more like a guy who’s got some hot breath after eating some kind of weird food. But the purple here has still won me over. 7/10.

This article was originally published by Noah Kulwin from TheOutline.com on March 16, 2020.

How Relevant is Virtual Reality?

Necessity has always been the primary inspiration for most modern-day inventions. These solutions are born out of the needs of the populace. Today we have technology doing the most to make our lives easier. With the internet, we have forever changed the way business is done.

Most of our experiences with the internet have been two-dimensional. However, with the situation of things in the world today, all that is about to change. The prevalence of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) is gradually changing the way business is done. One of these projected changes to the way we utilize the web is the gradual shift to virtual reality. With limitations in movement around the world today, people are adapting to a new type of web experience.

In this article, we will learn about Virtual reality and its effect on human relationships.

It has been around for a while, and specific industries have already begun to reap the benefits of VR. Over time, virtual reality has transformed the way we learn, connect, and communicate thoughts and ideas with others from around the world. 

Uses of virtual reality

Gaming is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear about virtual reality. However, VR can be used across various industries to present thoughts in a precise manner. With all kinds of pitches and presentations, virtual reality can make it easy to do things from the comfort of your home.

Below are some areas where virtual reality has been highly beneficial;

Business

From business presentations to marketing materials, VR helps businesses to accurately present ideas to audiences. Consumers and businesses alike have begun flocking to the various virtual/augmented reality platforms. This has impacted the way relationships and the means of communication between companies and their consumers. Below are some other benefits of VR in business;

o   It can help the process of recruitment and training, especially during these times. With VR, you can also showcase the work environment to potential employees.

o   Virtual reality can be used to improve collaboration in the workplace from various locations. Teamwork is essential for success, and with VR, you can hold meetings and handle tasks effectively.

o   Virtual reality can also be used for product demos. With VR, you can give potential users a closer experience of your product. 

Military

With virtual reality, military trainees are put in simulations of real war scenarios. Countries like the US and the UK have both adopted this method of training. With VR, the military can significantly save costs and safely replicate dangerous training situations.

Leisure

The travel industry has a lot to benefit from virtual reality. With the increasing demand for customers to experience various destinations in the world, VR is a great solution. Virtual reality can be used to give clients a feel of various holiday destinations before making their choice.

Sports

When it comes to sports, virtual reality has been beneficial to both the viewer and the players/coaches alike. VR has been used to enhance the viewing experience of sporting events by providing a 3-dimensional view of events. This makes it possible to enjoy the live experience of a sporting event from thousands of miles away.

Virtual reality can also be used to aid the training process in many sports. With VR, coaches can understand player techniques and analyze their athletic performance.

Medicine

Virtual reality can be used to train medical and dental students on crucial procedures. Apart from minimizing risks, this helps the students to develop essential skills that they will find useful. VR can also be used to treat patients with underlying mental health issues such as anxiety disorder.

VR 360 Promo Pitch

The 360 promo pitch from Vdeesign stands out in terms of quality when it comes to creating and promoting top-notch VR or 360 projects. This tool can be used to help your clients and friends to visualize your VR/360 project without headphones.

This tool can be used to deliver futuristic and inspiring VR content for sports, action, lifestyle, start-up pitch, and business sales, to name a few. The user-friendly setup of the tool makes it easy for anyone to create magic. All you have to do is to simply drop your traditional HD footage and paste the text.

The VR 360 promo pitch is the perfect tool to create projects that will resonate with your audience and influence them to act. You don’t need 3D software or 360 videos to produce highly professional content. This tool allows you to deliver highly inspiring VR content exceptionally.

Other features of this tool include;

• 10 Media Placeholders

• 24 Text Placeholders

• No plugins required

• Fully Customizable (Change your colors in one click!)

• Full HD Resolution (1920×1080)

• After Effects CS6 and above

• CS 5.5 version is available upon request

• Video Tutorial

• Free e-mail support: having trouble with my template? Always happy to help!

• Links to font and music are included inside the template

Wrapping up…

As countries in the world grapple with the effects of the Covid-19 virus, it is essential to understand how virtual reality can help. Businesses have been hit with restrictions to movement, and they have to find new ways to adapt. With the situation around the world today, VR is bound to become very popular in the coming months. The global lockdown will play a critical role in influencing different industries to use VR.

From healthcare to education, commerce, and entertainment, VR can be used to create fully immersive environments. Businesses are looking to adapt to this shift as it will affect the way employees work.

If you are looking to leverage the fantastic potentials of Virtual reality, then Vdeesign has got you covered. The VR 360 promo pitch is one of the tremendous tools/templates that our teams of experts have put together for you.

We hope you stay safe during this period, and please let us spread love to every corner. We will get through these times as one unit and conquer the Covid-19.

Vdeesign cares about your safety and we will always put you first.

Thank you for reading.

20 Tips for Working From Home

The outbreak of the coronavirus has most people working from home. If you're new to working remotely, these tips from a home-office pro can help you stay productive and maintain balance.

The global spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, is keeping people at home. Major conferences, including Mobile World Congress and Google I/O have been canceled to decrease the risk of infection. Some employers are encouraging or requiring people to work from home for an indeterminate amount of time. If you're new to the work-from-home lifestyle, whether due to coronavirus or because you've managed to find a remote-based job, you'll need to change some of your habits and routines to make working from home a success.

I've worked 100 percent remotely for more than five years, and I have some friends and colleagues who've done it, too. We all face unique challenges, not only because we have different personalities, but also due to our various lifestyles and the type of work we do. Still, many of the core issues we face as remote employees are the same.

Everyone who works remotely has to figure out when to work, where to work, and how to create boundaries between work and personal life. What about office equipment, career development, training opportunities, and building relationships with colleagues? Working remotely, especially when working from home most of the time, means figuring out these issues and others. Here are 20 tips for leading a better and more productive remote-working life, based on my experience and what I've learned from others.

1. Maintain Regular Hours

Set a schedule, and stick to it...most of the time. Having clear guidelines for when to work and when to call it a day helps many remote workers maintain a work-life balance. That said, one of the benefits of remote work is flexibility, and sometimes you need to extend your day or start early to accommodate someone else's time zone. When you do, be sure to wrap up earlier than usual or sleep in a bit the next morning to make up for it.

Automatic time-tracking apps, such as RescueTime, let you check in on whether you're sticking to your schedule. They can also help you figure out what times of day you're most productive versus when you slack off. You can use that information to your advantage by reserving your hours of high focus for your most important tasks.

2. Create a Morning Routine

Deciding you'll sit down at your desk and start work at a certain time is one thing. Creating a routine that guides you into the chair is another. What is your morning routine that indicates you're about to start work? It might be making a cup of coffee. It might be returning home after a jog. It might be getting dressed (wearing pajama pants to work is a perk for some, but a bad strategy for others). A routine can be more powerful than a clock at helping you get started each day.

I say "morning," but not everyone who works from home follows a nine-to-five schedule. Yours might be a "getting started" routine at another time of day.

3. Set Ground Rules With the People in Your Space

Set ground rules with other people in your home or who share your space for when you work. If you have children who come home from school while you're still working, they need clear rules about what they can and cannot do during that time. Additionally, just because you're home and can let service people into the house or take care of pets doesn't mean other family members should assume you will always do it. If that's how you choose to divide up the domestic labor, that's fine, but if you simply take it all on by default because you're home, you may feel taken advantage of, and your productivity may suffer.

4. Schedule Breaks

Know your company's policy on break times and take them. If you're self-employed, give yourself adequate time during the day to walk away from the computer screen and phone. A lunch hour and two 15-minute breaks seem to be the standard for full-time US employees.

5. Take Breaks in Their Entirety

Don't short-change yourself during breaks, especially your lunch hour. You can use an app, such as TimeOut for Mac and Smart Break for Windows, to lock yourself out of your computer for 60 minutes. Or you can just launch a simple clock or timer on the screen when you take a break. If you return to your desk after only 40 minutes, walk away for another 20.

6. Leave Home

You don't have to eat out every day, but try to leave your home or workspace regularly. The same advice applies to people who work in traditional office settings, too. Leave the building at least once a day. Your body needs to move. Plus, the fresh air and natural light will do you good.

You don't have to go to crowded public spaces to get away from your solo workspace. Take a walk. Weed the garden. You get the picture.

7. Don't Hesitate to Ask for What You Need

If you're employed by a company or organization that supports your work-from-home setup, request the equipment you need as soon as you start working from home, or within a day or two when you realize you need something new. It's extremely important to set precedents early that you will ask for what you need to get your job done comfortably, including the right monitor, keyboard, mouse, chair, printer, software, and so forth. Organizations that are accustomed to remote employees often have a budget for home office equipment. Ask what it is and how often it's renewed. It also doesn't hurt to ask whether there's a loan agreement or who will pay for return shipping or disposal of outdated equipment.

If you're working from home unexpectedly due to coronavirus, ask for what you need within reason. You could be working from home for weeks on end and you should be comfortable, but ordering a new office chair and desk might be asking too much. Consider a mouse and keyboard, plus a back-supporting cushion instead.

8. Keep a Dedicated Office Space

In an ideal world, remote employees would have not only a dedicated office but also two computers, one for work and one for personal use. It's more secure for the employer, and it lets you do all your NSFW activities in private. But not everyone has a separate office in their home, and keeping two machines isn't always realistic. Instead, dedicate a desk and some peripherals only for work use. For example, when your laptop is hooked up to the monitor and external keyboard, it's work time. When it's on your lap, that's personal time. You may want to go as far as partitioning your hard drive and creating a separate user account for work.

9. Maintain a Separate Phone Number

Set up a phone number that you only use for calls with colleagues and clients. It doesn't have to be a landline, second mobile phone, or even a SIM card. It can be a free VoIP service, such as Google Voice or a Skype number. Similar to some of the other tips, having a separate phone number helps you manage your work-life balance.

10. Use a VPN

Use a VPN whenever you're connected to a network that you don't control. That includes Wi-Fi at co-working spaces, cafes, libraries, and airports. Some organizations have their own VPNs that off-site employees need to access certain servers or websites that store information meant only for internal use. In those cases, you'll also need to use a VPN at home. In any case, it's a good idea to get into the habit of leaving your VPN connected as often as possible because it's always safer to have it on than not.

11. Socialize With Colleagues

Loneliness, disconnect, and isolation is common problems in remote work life, especially for extroverts. Companies with a remote work culture usually offer ways to socialize. For example, they might have chat channels where remote employees can talk about common interests, meetups for people in the same region, and in-person retreats. It's important to figure out how much interaction you need to feel connected and included. Even if you're highly introverted and don't like socializing, give a few interactive experiences a try so that you're familiar with them if you ever decide you want them. If you're not at a company with a strong remote culture, you may need to be more proactive about nurturing relationships.

12. "Show Up" to Meetings and Be Heard

Certainly, you'll take part in video conferences and conference calls, but it's a good idea to attend optional meetings sometimes, too. Be sure to speak up during the meeting so everyone knows you're on the call. A simple, "Thanks, everyone. Bye!" at the close of a meeting will go a long way toward making your presence known.

13. Get Face Time

If your employer is lax about getting you in a room with other employees, ask to have an annual or semi-annual trip in your contract. It could be for annual planning, training, or team building. Or, tack it onto some other business event, such as a yearly fiscal meeting, nearby conference, or office holiday party. Don't wait around for someone to invite you to the office or an event. Be proactive.

For those unexpectedly working from home who are also trying to reduce face-to-face contact, set up a video call with your colleagues or manager once a week to check-in.

14. Take Sick Days

When you're not well, take the sick time you need. If sick days are part of your compensation package, take the time off that you need. Not taking it is like throwing away money. If you're a freelancer who doesn't have paid sick days, it can be very easy to fall into the opposite time-is-money trap and try to power through illnesses. Keep in mind that sometimes it's best to rest and get better so that you can be your most productive self in the long term.

15. Look for Training Opportunities

When you're not in an office with your fellow employees, you might miss out on training and skills development courses that are taught in person. Your company might even forget to add you to its online training courses. It can be tempting to regard this as a dodged bullet, but you might be missing out on an opportunity to learn something useful. Speak up and make sure you're included.

In addition to top-down training, you can request online or in-person courses, training, and coaching if you need it. For people who work remotely 100 percent of the time, look for learning opportunities that are taught at the company's headquarters or your closest office. That way, you get training and face time with colleagues.

16. Overcommunicate

Working remotely requires you to overcommunicate. Tell everyone who needs to know about your schedule and availability often. When you finish a project or important task, say so. Overcommunicating doesn't necessarily mean you have to write a five-paragraph essay to explain your every move, but it does mean repeating yourself. Joke about how you must have mentioned your upcoming vacation six times already, then mention it again.

17. Be Positive

I like succinct and clear messages, but I know that the less face time I have with people, the less they know how to interpret my tone in writing. When you work remotely full-time, you must be positive, to the point where it may feel like you're being overly positive. Otherwise, you risk sounding like a jerk. It's unfortunate but true. So embrace the exclamation point! Find your favorite emoji :D. You're going to need them.

18. Take Advantage of Your Perks

Every week, I bake a loaf of bread. Why? Because I work from home and I can. Plus, I enjoy it. When I worked in an office full-time, I struggled to find the time to pop something into the oven that often. Working remotely comes with unique perks. Take advantage of them. You deserve it.

19. Don't Be Too Hard on Yourself

The most successful remote employees have a reputation for being extremely disciplined. After all, it takes serious focus to do any full-time office job from an unconventional space. That said, everyone lets their attention drift sometimes. If you find yourself working one minute and booking flights for your upcoming vacation the next, don't reprimand yourself too harshly. Instead, ask yourself whether people in an office setting do the same thing. If the answer is yes, cut yourself some slack, then get back to work.

20. End Your Day With a Routine

Just as you should start your day with a routine, create a habit that signals the close of the workday. It might be a sign off on a business messaging app, an evening dog walk, or a 6 p.m. yoga class. Something as simple as shutting down your computer and turning on a favorite podcast will do. Whatever you choose, do it consistently to mark the end of working hours.

Make It Personal

Above all else, figure out what works best for you. Sometimes the answer is apparent, but other times you might need some inspiration from other people who are in the same boat. A supportive community of remote employees does exist, whether you find them in your organization's Slack channel or online through blogs or Twitter.

This article was originally posted by Pcmag

Maximizing Content Marketing

What comes to mind when you hear the words ‘content marketing’? I bet that you may think about blogs and different social media platforms. However, content marketing is all about compelling storytelling, and it has been around long before the internet.

The human mind has always been able to connect to relatable stories, and it has served as a great way to gain attention. It is true that content is king, and to get the best results from content marketing; you need to understand what it is and how to go about it.

In this article, we will understand what content marketing is and how you can get results from it. We will also look at some critical statistics about content marketing.

Content marketing 101

According to the Content management institute;

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action."

Traditional marketing techniques often involve specific product-marketing efforts. These efforts deployed to get customers interested in the product/service and the value that you offer. The difference between traditional marketing and content marketing is that the latter focuses on the customer.

Today, marketing is all about providing the customer with the kind of value that they can’t get anywhere else. This works better than one-off product marketing as it helps customers to gain knowledge and answer crucial questions. Content marketing includes things like informative articles, e-books, videos, entertainment, webinars, and many more.

Target audience

One crucial detail about content marketing is the fact that there is a target audience. This is why it is essential to carry out market research to find out the necessary information about your audience. During the process of planning or producing content, you need to ensure that you create a buyer persona.

A buyer persona refers to the aggregation of critical details about your target audience. It includes things like their age, gender, marital status, interests, and location, to name a few. This is helpful because it helps you understand the people that your content is made for, and it helps you to build a lasting relationship. When you know the people that are viewing your content then you can create specific kinds of content.

For example, at Vdeesign, we understand that our audiences have certain distinct features. This understanding has helped us to regularly create content that you love. When you know the personality traits of your audience, then you can identify the kind of answers that they seek. This is a great way to build trust and subsequently improve conversions.

Another essential factor with content marketing is consistency. You need to ensure that you provide valuable content to your audiences regularly.

Content marketing is coordinated, and the goal is to create meaningful relationships and subsequently leverage these relationships. Today, customers want to feel like your company cares for them. By creating relevant and relatable content, you can provide value and inspire them to respond in specific ways.

The world is a pretty noisy place, and several things call for the attention of your readers. You need to consistently provide content that will help you to become a credible and authoritative source of information. By positioning your brand as an authority, you can improve the trust that customers have for your brand.

Customers have short attention spans; therefore, customer attention has become a scarce resource. This is why you need to maximize every opportunity that you have to communicate with your target audience. By doing this, you can earn the loyalty and trust and subsequently strengthen relationships.

10 fast facts about content marketing

Men lie, Women lie, but numbers never lie.

In this part of the article, we will consider some statistics about content marketing and what it means for you.

1. 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content each day (source: eMarketer). This shows you the importance of consistency when it comes to content marketing. Your competitors are likely going to remain consistent, so do you!

2. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about three times as many leads (source: DemandMetric). This does to show you that content marketing is a significant investment that provides fantastic results. You do not have to run a hole through your pockets to reap the benefits of content marketing.

3. 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing (Source, CMI). This shows that you need content marketing to gain the attention of potential customers. With content marketing, you can build trust over time and keep prospects engaged.

4. 60% of the most effective BC2 marketers have a documented content strategy (source: CMI). You must have a documented content strategy because it helps you to create a direction for marketing. It is easier to produce engaging content when you have a content strategy.

5. 69% of marketers say that content is superior to direct mail and PR (Custom content council). Although direct mails and PR are crucial, they don’t come close to content marketing. With the creation of useful content, marketers are more likely to appeal to their ideal customers.

6. 72% of marketers are producing significantly more content than they did a year ago (CMI). This goes to show you that content creation has become a critical part of competition amongst marketers. This increase is due to the customers’ demand for quality content.

7. The most common content marketing delivery mechanism is social media, used by 87% of marketers (Source: CMI). Creating content is one step; you need to ensure that you deliver them to the right place.

8. The demand for infographics has increased by 800% in the past year (Source Unbounce). Infographics have become more prevalent in recent times as customers tend to prefer visual representation of data.

9. 91% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content (source: TopRankBlog). Linkedin is going through a growth rate, similar to what happened with Facebook in 2012.

10. 73% of B2B marketers use YouTube to distribute content (TopRankBlog). After Google, YouTube is the largest platform, with more than 6 billion hours of video views every month.

Rounding up…

The relevance of traditional marketing has waned in recent times. Today, forward-thinking marketers understand that content marketing is a better way. It is easier to communicate with an audience that you continuously educate, inform, or entertain.

When content marketing is done correctly, it influences customer behavior after they consume your content. The kind of content that you decide to use depends on your audience (we will look at the various types of content and their effects in subsequent articles)

Thank you for reading,

Cheers!

Why You Should Use Templates For E-Learning

E-learning is a great way to both provide and acquire knowledge in diverse fields. Experts create value-driven content and activities for learners in the best way possible. Is it possible to do this without having significant graphic design expertise? Yes, it is.

To develop professional e-learning courses, you need to ensure that you choose the right template. Over the years, experts agree that e-learning templates make it easy to regularly create content. By using templates as blueprint, e-learning developers can create engaging and compelling content continually.

In this article, we will consider the benefits of E-learning templates and subsequently look at examples of fantastic templates for you.

Shall we?

Templates provide the proper framework for content. By using one, you gain access to standard screens that offer both visual and cognitive continuity. Below are some benefits of e-learning templates;

Simplification

One major challenge for professionals when it comes to these courses is to break down complicated subjects. There is a need to use the unique functionality of templates to simplify content to the learner. It is said that the human brain processes visual information faster than any other kind. With the use of templates and their intuitive layouts, professionals can create impactful and straightforward contents regularly.

Flexibility

With a wide range of features and functions, templates help you to maintain flexibility. Audiences get bored when you use the same kind of content all the time. Therefore, it is crucial to meet the (ever-changing) requirements of your viewers. With regular updates, templates can help users to align with technological changes and create stellar content.

E-learning templates are also flexible when it comes to customization. Although they provide instant design layouts, templates will help you to extensively customize templates to suit your brand’s taste. They are flexible enough to be customized into course content, branding materials, and social media content, to name a few. 

Professionalism

When it comes to e-learning, professionalism is not an option, it is necessary. No one will take you seriously if you don’t create appealing content. Templates have professionally designed layouts that make them appealing both visually and aesthetically. Templates can provide you with the needed finesse and appeal that you need to create quality content. With adequately designed layouts and a wide range of customization options, you can improve the quality of e-learning.

Ease

Most e-learning professionals create content regularly. This task requires effort and an understanding of the principles of Graphic design. With regular graphic design, it is more likely that you will spend more time on the process. E-learning templates eliminate this issue and provide readymade designs for you to customize according to your needs.  

A library of templates makes it easy to work with diverse sets of preconfigured interactions. This makes it easier for you to create content in real-time. Templates will provide you with more power and more choices when it comes to quality content creation. The coolest thing about templates is that you don’t have to be a professional to get it right.

Consistency

It would help if you had the consistency to ensure that your e-learning brand is thriving. Audiences often have an idea in their mind when they hear your name, and you have to be consistent with this idea. Without uniformity, it is impossible to create an identity for yourself and your e-learning videos. This is why it is essential to have standards and consistently uphold them. Standards refer to unique features such as color, layout, fonts, and many more. When you are consistent with the image that you project, then it is easier for audiences to recognize your courses.

Saves time

Designing and developing quality visual content involves specific processes that take up time and effort. You can save a significant amount of time when you have ready-to-go templates. When compared to the traditional means of creating videos, templates save users a considerable amount of time. All you need to do is to select templates based on your learning needs as opposed to building them from scratch.

Creativity

You can get numerous creative design ideas and inspiration from pre-built templates. Remember, these templates were designed by professionals who understand design. They provide you with several options when it comes to the excellent presentation of ideas. Templates are a great source of inspiration that can spark your creative juices.

High level of quality assurance

For professional E-learning templates, creators check for bugs and functional issues. These issues are cleared during the pre-testing stage to ensure that you get top quality templates. Quality assurance teams go through all necessary processes to ensure the maximum functionality of these templates.       

Also, templates are professionally designed to accurately organize information and avoid content overload.

What are some of the best e-learning templates for me?

At Vdeesign, we care about your brand’s appearance. This is why we created a line of fantastic e-learning templates with which you can effectively tell your brand’s story.

These templates have been put together for the best optimization, performance, and compatibility. Let’s take a look at these beautiful e-learning templates;

Collage Explainer Video Story

This template is created purposely to communicate ideas with clean and sophisticated design language. It is universally accepted, and it can be used across a variety of markets such as; retail, e-commerce, business, education, sports, lifestyle, real estate, banking, and many more.    

Blackboard Chalk Explainer Toolkit 3.0

This template is a smart and authentic way to stand out from the crowd. With this template, you can assemble artistic animations using the chalkboard vibe. It is user-friendly, and everything is made entirely in after effects.

Universal Paint Brushed Explainer Toolkit

This template is specifically designed to help you to explain concepts with artistic animations. It is stylish that can be used to create fun and highly engaging content. It allows anyone with minimum After effects knowledge to produce fantastic content on the go.

Whiteboard Explainer Toolkit

This tool can be used for everything, from animated lectures, blog presentations, explainer videos, commercials or product promotion, and many more. It has also has a stylish and engaging animated set up that helps you to produce fresh and elegant content on the go.

Rounding up…

We live in a fast-paced world where information is consumed regularly. Learners are looking for tools to create quality content on the go. Working on an e-learning project is an advantageous process where you provide value to audiences. This is why quality is an essential element when it comes to creating e-learning projects.

E-learning templates significantly reduce the effort and time invested in the development phase. They can also be used to create consistent content according to your needs.

At Vdeesign, we understand how diverse learners’ needs can be. This is why we have created different e-learning templates that suit each user. We also provide extensive customization options that help you stand out.

Holla at Vdeesign today, and let us help you provide your learners with premium content. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this?

Cheers!

After Effects Version 2020. Upgrades & Improvements

Users of design apps like adobe often depend mainly on the performance that the app offers. Performance can be measured in terms of rendering speed, workflow, and ease of use. An app like adobe needs to respond to the actions of users quickly. The rate with which pixels are displayed is also pertinent to your work on After Effects.

Every time adobe announces the release of a new version of its After Effects, the first question customers ask is, what’s new?

Well, After Effects version 2020 offers significant improvements like sharper and quicker review playback, and its new GPU accelerated display system. These are just some of the fantastic features that users of the 2020 version of After Effects have.

In this article, we will examine these features and why they are relevant to the average adobe user.

Why should I upgrade to the latest version?

Speed and efficiency are the keywords that best describe the 2020 upgrade of After Effects. The update is designed to improve performance and reduce memory usage. Performance has been said to grow by 10-25% while memory usage has decreased by almost 70%.

This update also makes it easy to remove objects from scenes.

Below are the highlights of the 2020 After Effects upgrade;

Improved responsiveness

One major highlight of the new release is its improved responsiveness. The latest version notably increases performance for projects that contain shape layers. The upgrade of the shape layers means that you can expect a significant boost if you work with vector-based illustrations. Also, you can now select multiple shapes in the timeline panel and group and ungroup them (this can be done by only right-clicking).

Improved Graphics and Texts

There are several improvements in this regard. A good example is the drop-down menu Control effect. With the previous version, you had to hook up properties of each layer to sliders and checkboxes drive animations within projects. However, with this upgrade, you can hook these properties up to a drop-down list.

Another significant improvement is the improvement in the control of your text. You can now edit text properties with an expression, giving you the ultimate power to decide how your text looks.

Further improvements with expressions

The new update offers specific improvements in terms of expressions. Apart from using them to style your texts, expressions can be used for a vast array of purposes. The new version has specific impressive expression editor improvements. Firstly, you can prevent the numbers from matching in an autocomplete list whose first variable starts with a number.

You can also use the graph editor to effect changes in all open graph editors. Apart from choosing your preferences in this regard, you can also scale font size for Hi –DPI displays.

Enhanced EXR workflow 

If you work with large files, then you will love this update better. The 2020 edition of After Effects allow you to import layered EXR files into After Effects, therefore making the process faster. With this option, you can apply multiple effects and make your renders look more natural without going through a complicated process. 

Access to new Cinema 4D Lite R21

When you upgrade to the new version of adobe After Effects, you also get a copy of Maxon Cinema 4D R21 installed. This software is saved on a specific folder where your applications are stored.

On the first launch, you have to create a Maxon user account. This process is seamless and requires you to follow simple onscreen instructions.

System compatibility report

To improve user experience with the use of After Effects, the software detects issues and gives you regular alerts. The systems compatibility report checks for hardware issues and correctly affirms or denies your system’s compatibility with After Effects.

You can also submit a bug if you need the adobe team to review the compatibility issue directly.  

Final thoughts

The new release combines new features with improvements of older ones. There have been significant improvements in the software’s general performance.  With this update, you can select a label group (from the 'Edit' menu) without selecting the shy layers. It also has an updated Photoshop import library.

Expressions are a necessary weapon in every designer’s arsenal. When deployed correctly, they can be used to automate tasks and improve flexibility — the new update of After Effects is bound to enhance your motion graphics workflow. Users can discover how to create reference frames, remove logos on a smooth surface, and several other things. With practical tips properly espoused by professionals, you will learn how to make the most of this update.

Remember that warning dialogue that comes up when you use the aware content fill for the first time? This update fixes that and other issues that affect reference frames. 2020 After Effects updates also supports new formats, and it also offers better playback support. You will experience better playback when you work with 10-bit H265 HD/UHD files. The Canon XF-HEVC format is supported in this update, and it also helps ProRes decoding performance.  

Change is a constant, especially in the world of digital technology. This is why users are required to update continually.

Adobe recommends that users back up all projects and media before upgrading the app. A great way to avoid compatibility issues is by installing existing effects installations with the new version. Also, if you use a Mac, then you may need to use metal or software rendering as opposed to the OpenGL support.

How to create the best video content in 2020

In recent times, videos have become a vital part of digital marketing. Brands have committed to the process of using videos as promotional tools. This is because videos are a powerful medium to tell stories; which are crucial to the branding process. With video content, businesses can engage and excite their audiences.

There are definitive rules that guide the process of creating quality video content. These rules will help you to get it right with videos. Experts often talk about the usefulness and effectiveness of videos without mentioning its risks too. Videos can have a dastardly effect on marketing if it is not done correctly.

The goal of video marketing is to ensure communication between you and your target audience. This is a great way to build deeper and satisfying relationships with them.

In this article, we will go through the process of creating quality and effective video content. This tips that we will go through will be helpful for marketers across all industries.

Without further ado, let’s learn;

What are my options?

The efficiency of video marketing is hinged on the fact that you use what’s right for you. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to video marketing. A successful marketing campaign starts out when you understand the best way to reach out to your target audience.

There are several ways to leverage video marketing, they include;

* Vlogs: With vlogs, you can reach a wide array of people and engage them directly. It is an effective way to build an online community and get regular feedback from them.

* Interviews: Are a great way to encourage engagement and promote ideas. By getting expert opinions, you can use interviews as a way to entertain or educate your audiences. 

* Webinars: Everyone is online these days, and brands recognize the great potential that this holds. With webinars, you can increase trust in your brand by providing value.

* Events: Fun events happen regularly. In today's age of quality videos, you can share highlights of these events with audiences and improve.

* Presentations and Tutorials: With these, you can educate your audience and provide value. This is a great way to maintain a great relationship with your viewers.

* Product reviews: Product reviews make you appear like an authority in your field. This is another way to improve people’s trust in your brand.

* Testimonials: By showcasing feedback from customers, you can improve the trust that customers have in your brand. Testimonials are a great option that every brand needs to try.  

* Animated Videos: This is a great way to present ideas uniquely to audiences by leveraging various elements of design.  

* Behind the scenes: When you take your audiences behind the scenes, then you create a deeper connection. They begin to feel like they understand your essential details about your brand.  

* Live Videos: With the growth of social media, brands can engage with audiences on the go through social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  

All of these methods are effective based on what your goals are at each point in time. The best video marketing strategy will consider your target audience and decide the best combination of the methods above.

Starting out…

Great videos don’t happen by accident. They are often results of well thought out plans. It is essential that you define your marketing goals and consistently measure them. Planning is a crucial part of marketing, and you need to work with a video marketing strategy.

Your video marketing goals can be in terms of increasing leads, revenue, and so on. To decide what your goals should be, you need to evaluate your brand and understand what it needs. Some common goals include improving; brand awareness, conversion rates, and engagements, to name a few.

Storytelling

The art of telling stories has existed since time immemorial. Stories have been used to share crucial details and reports from various times in history. Stories can appeal to emotions and influence people to act in specific ways.

In marketing, stories can be used to create lasting impressions in the mind of the perceiver. Audiences relate better when products or services are portrayed in ways that they can relate to. This is why you need to pay attention to telling compelling stories instead of being overly focused on sales. Tell a story about the product and the solution that it is aimed at. This is better than telling the customer how great your product is.

In telling stories, ensure that you focus on the mission of the product. This will help you to appeal to the emotional side of customers (who will be made to see the importance of the product to their lives).  

Successful brands find success because they can create a tribe/ community of people. This is the most excellent way to build brand awareness, and storytelling is critical to growing communities.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

The relevance of SEO goes beyond blog posts and websites. It has become a relevant part of video content marketing (YouTube is the second largest search engine online). This goes to show the potential of getting your video content out there. There are a couple of things that you need to consider when it comes to video SEO. 

• Titles: A great title is an excellent first impression, and it can be used to catch the viewer's attention. You need to ensure that the title is informative and short.

• Keywords: You must plan your keywords. When used correctly with video descriptions, keywords can provide exposure for your video. Add keywords to your video description and don’t forget to include the link to your website.   

• Tags: These are as important as keywords, and you need to get it right. To get the correct tags, you should consider all the things that people could be looking for in your video. 

• Links: You should work on the number of links that redirect audiences to your videos. This is a great way to improve keywords ranking.

Other tips include;

1.      Don’t be boring, create exciting, entertaining, and inspiring videos  

2.     Make your videos mobile friendly

3.     Ensure that you educate your audience by providing value.

4.     Have a killer introduction.

5.     Ask questions

6.     Humour is a great way to generate interest in your video.

Rounding up…

In 2019, videos amounted to more than 80% of consumer internet traffic. This number will likely be surpassed in 2020 and beyond. This presents an excellent opportunity for brands that use video marketing.

Whether you are just starting out or you have done video marketing for a long time, you need to create a blueprint. This will consist of a road map that will outline the steps that you need to take for your video marketing to be successful. By doing this, you will understand how you can measure success.

It is said that video marketing guarantees ROI, you need to know the exact benefits of video marketing on your business. It is also crucial that you adjust your video marketing strategy based on feedback from audiences.   

About 90% of online marketers use video content, this shows that it is an effective strategy. This strategy is bound to work when you play by the rules. However, in doing this, you need to ensure that you are not preoccupied with perfection. Marketers often spend time on the unnecessary details about videos in a bid to release perfect videos. Although the video quality is essential, there are several other factors that you need to consider to create fantastic video content.

I hope this article has been helpful?

Thank you for reading!

Mobile App Engagement

When it comes to mobile app marketing, customer retention is as necessary as customer acquisition. There is a high chance that up to 20% of users who download your app will use it only once. Another 60% of users are estimated to stop using the app after 7 days.

Trust is crucial to the marketing process, and it is nurtured by maintaining a great relationship with users. When users are faced with options of similar products, they tend to go for the brand that they trust. This means that your efforts as a mobile app marketer have to be geared towards finding loyal app users.

Many developers fall into the pit of believing in numbers rather than focusing on the analytics that count. For example, if you notice an increase in downloads after you offer a free trial of your app, you may need to do more work.

In this article, we will look at the importance of engagement in mobile app marketing. Subsequently, we will take a look at a tool that has been specially designed for effective app marketing.

If you are excited as I am, then let's get to it!

Starting off strong…

It goes without saying that for your marketing to be successful, you need to have a great product. With a great first impression, you can build effective app marketing strategies. No user wants to open your app and see an error message or anything similar. The perception that users have about your app is crucial, and you need to stand on the right foot. A customer that is not impressed by their first experience of your brand may exit your app and completely write it off.

Apart from creating a great application, you need to ensure that you provide your subsequent users with a smooth sign-in process.

Another crucial part of your interaction with potential customers is how you interact with them. Gone are the days of mass marketing where you send the same content to every user. Today, for marketing to be effective, you need to ensure that you segment your users before marketing.

Customers love it when brands have their best interest at heart. Therefore, you need to send personalized messages to keep them engaged. Personalized messages consider factors such as the users’; sex, age, location, and other factors. You are more likely to get a response from users when you use targeted messages.

Reaching your target users

You must consider this when you are about to start marketing. Certain things can piss users off, and you need to avoid them. Below are some tips that can help you to reach out to your target users;

1. Ask: Users hate it when they are bombarded with messages; therefore, it is vital that you seek permission. By creating the option for users to opt-in and out, they tend to automatically trust your brand more.

2. Connect: It is not enough to have creative marketing materials. You also need to ensure that you find communities (both online and offline) to effectively connect to. Having a multi-channel marketing strategy is a great way to improve user retention. The most essential platforms include mailing lists, websites, SMS, social messages, etc. These communities can also be used to remind users about regular updates.

3. Provide Value: According to Oracle, more than half of users expect special offers and discounts when they engage with your app. This is why you need to ensure that you give users value (it could be in the form of a free sample or a discount). By providing value, you can encourage user acquisition as well as user retention.

4. Timing: This is the most critical factors to consider because it determines the success of the other steps taken. One of the crucial details that you should know about your users is the best time to reach out to them. This is why factors such as time-zones should be highly considered. To make it better, you should get feedback from users to know the most effective time to send messages.

Mobile App Engagement Teaser

Now that we have considered how to effectively market your app, we will discuss this tool. It was explicitly designed (by the professionals at Vdeesign) to promote mobile app projects.

It features dynamic motion graphics animations that are beautifully designed. With its amazing features, this tool can be used to help your users get a visual feel of what your application has to offer.

The mobile app engagement teaser is better than your typical explainer videos. It is a quick and efficient option that will improve your app awareness and ensure the success of the marketing process. The tool uses the elements of design to tease your audience and deliver a clear message of quality to them.

Built to the highest industry standards, this template works with a modular structure that allows you to easily tweak colours, fonts, length, and order. With this tool, you can create scenes to suit your individual needs and preferences.

This template is user-friendly, and its interface can be used by anyone with minimal after effects experience. Editing the template is easy as it doesn't require third-party scripts or additional plugins. 

Other features of the Mobile App Engagement Teaser include;

• Identical template as featured in the preview

 • 20 App Screen Placeholders

 • 10 Text Placeholders

 • No plugins or third-party scripts required

 • 100% After Effects native project

 • Fast rendering

 • Organized and easy to use template

 • Modular project (Fully adjustable length order of slides)

 • Step by step video tutorial

 • Fully customizable colors, font, and content.

 • Drag & drop pre-animated placeholders

 • 4K, HD, 720p and SD resolutions

 • Runs on After Effects versions CS5.5 and above.

 • Dedicated customer support

 • Free regular updates

Final thoughts

Over the years, the process of creating applications has become more easily accessible. However, the same cannot be said about the process of selling them. Due to the vast array of options available to users, keeping a committed and engaged app user base is quite an uphill task.

This is why you need to differentiate your app and stand out from the competition.

How to Get Started With Digital Video Marketing

These days, there are digital screens wherever you turn to, each providing you with content that is designed for a purpose. On Youtube alone, users view more than 1 billion hours of videos each day.

This is significant from the marketing perspective because videos have become a great way to connect with customers. It is a great way to increase engagement while providing value to the viewers. With the growth of video marketing, users expect high-quality videos (in terms of content as well as picture quality).

In this article, we will outline the necessary things that you need to do to make the most of video marketing.

 If you are as excited as I am then let’s get into it;

Work with a plan

Planning is an essential part of marketing, before you start creating videos, you need to envision what you want to achieve. When you make plans, then you can track your progress and see how well your strategy is working. Growth is the most critical factor when it comes to digital marketing. To measure growth, you need to write your goals down and hold yourself accountable.

Your video marketing goals need to be clearly defined. For example, your video marketing goal cannot be set by stating that you want to get more customers (too vague). By doing this, you can learn from both your successes and your failures. When you achieve your goals, it helps you understand what works for you. On the other hand, failure enables you to know that you are doing something wrong.

In planning, it is also essential that you pay attention to the following;

- Identifying your target audience and understanding how to reach them

- Knowing what your budget is. Without a budget, you cannot plan properly.

- For effective planning, you need to create a timeline and stick to it.

- Lastly, it would help if you defined what a successful video marketing campaign means to you.

Tell a story

When you look at some of the most successful ads in the past decade, you will notice that they all tell compelling stories. Storytelling is an essential part of human communication as it helps in the dissemination of ideas.

Stories are critical in today’s world of branding and marketing. By telling original and relatable stories, brands connect to their community of followers. The quality of your video is highly influenced by the variety of the stories that you tell.

Humans are known to make emotional decisions when it comes to choosing the brands that they love. This is why marketers need to evoke emotions by telling compelling stories. In the world of videos, the best way to provide value is by being a great storyteller.

Have a great introduction

The influx of content available to users has caused a low attention span. Today, customers are quick to form opinions about your videos (the first 10 seconds of your video are crucial). This is why it is good to make a great first impression with your video. The introductory part of your video will determine the kind of effect that it will have on the eventual consumer.

First impressions can make or mar the effectiveness of your video. Therefore, you need to ensure that you leverage it for great ideas and subsequent conversions.

Leverage SEO

There is more to video marketing than the process of creating the video. You can get a lot of exposure when you make the best use of keywords. The effectiveness of video marketing is also dependent on its reach. For you to execute a successful marketing strategy, you need to pay attention to Search engine optimization.

Youtube is the second largest search engine in the world (of course, Google is first). W ith video content, you can generate social signals and connect to people from far and wide. To ensure that this is done, you need to ensure that your content is being optimized across search engines.

By using the relevant keywords in the description section of your videos, your video can reach far and wide. However, it would help if you avoided keyword stuffing by accurately explain your videos with the relevant keywords.

Use the right tools

Video marketing is a consistent process that requires the regular creation of video content. Marketers can leverage the use of a wide range of tools to create quality video content. Apart from the quality they provide, many of these tools help marketers to create video content in real-time.

There are several software that can be used to create videos that are both interesting to watch and mobile-friendly. After effects templates are a great example of tools that can be used to create amazing visual content. These tools incorporate unusual elements of design in the creation of fantastic videos.

Vdeesign offers a wide range of after effects templates that can be used across a variety of markets. Our templates can be used in advertising and marketing, technologies, retail, e-commerce, business, education, sports, lifestyle, banking, and real estate, to name a few.

By using the right tools, you can produce unique and quality content quickly and easily.

Start creating videos

After you create a plan and note all the above-listed steps, then you can dive into the fun part- creating. Don't fret if you feel intimidated at first, it happens to the best of us (especially when you are new to the process of creating videos.

One thing that you will realize after a while is that your first video will be your worst. The more videos you make, the better you become. To ensure this, you need to pay attention to feedback and build upon it. There is never a perfect time to start, you need to make concrete plans and then dive into the creative process.

Conclusion

As a marketer, there are several reasons why you need to make videos a vocal part of your brand's culture. You must present ideas and concepts in the best way possible. Videos provide the best ROI for marketers, and it is relatively inexpensive to explore.

This year, it has been projected that 75% of internet traffic will be videos. Therefore, they are essential for your brand if you hope to maximize your online community.

Mobile App Promotion Using Animated Videos

Over the past year, we have consistently talked about the importance of visual content. It is by far the most effective way of reaching out to a clearly defined audience. Mobile application developers often look for the smartest way to do this.

Building an amazing mobile application is just the first of many steps when it comes to a successful launch. In this case, a successful launch is when the app has been effectively marketed to the people that need it. With millions of applications competing with yours, you must find effective ways to promote your app.

There are several ways to promote your application, and each differs in terms of efficiency. Therefore you must find out the best way to reach out to your target audience.

In this article, we will adequately examine why using animated videos is the best option for mobile app. Promotion.

Why you should use animated videos

Videos are generally known to provide amazing results no matter the kind of product or service that it is used to market. It is expected that video alone will attract more than 80% of internet traffic this year.

Of all the existing kinds of videos, animated videos are known to be the best for mobile app promotion. You may be tempted to ask why it is so. This part of the article will look at reasons why animated (explainer) videos are the best for your mobile app marketing campaign.

• Engagement

Grabbing people’s attention is one thing and keeping it is another. This is why nothing matters more than engagement during the promotion of a mobile application. To get the desired feedback from the potential users of your app, you need to grab their attention. You need to make the best use of the first impression to set your product apart in their minds. Anyone in the (overcrowded) mobile app market needs this kind of attention from potential users. With animated videos, you can build a firm connection between the users and your brand.

According to a study by Google, animated marketing videos can boost your average download rate by more than 10%. This is amazing because animated videos typically cost less than real videos.

• Presenting the Idea

In my years as a marketing enthusiast, I have come to realize that an idea is only as good as the way it is presented. Animated videos are a great option because they adequately explain concepts. Animated videos help you to present the idea behind your app in the clearest of terms. They can be used to show the main functionalities of your mobile application in real-time. Also, with animated videos, you can clearly communicate the purpose of your app and show users what they can expect.

To get the best results, this has to be done compellingly. Animated videos can be used to present a complex idea in a fun, quick, and easily understandable way.

• Connecting viewers to your brand

The most crucial factor as far as any sale is concerned is the emotional factor. When customers are faced with the option of two competing brands, they often go for the brand that they are emotionally connected to. Animated videos provide precise visual cues that can foster the connection between your brand and your target audience. With animation, you can tell a unique story that your target users can relate to.

With animated videos, you can effectively show users specific values that are unique to your brand. The emotional bond between a brand and its customers is a significant part of any brand's identity. This can be used to raise brand awareness and get your product out there.

• Returns on Investment (ROI)

This is the most critical question that every marketing expert needs to answer. ROI is used to measure the success of any marketing campaign. With animated videos, you can rest assured that you will get proper returns on the investment you make on animated videos. The cost of producing animation is way cheaper than the price of live videos, and it is also more effective than the latter.

Understanding potential customers

The success or otherwise of app promotion is highly dependent on whether you understand your potential customers. This is why it is essential to conduct market research to understand your market based on age, gender, location, and other factors.

For marketing to be successful, it has to talk to one user at a time. The goal of marketing is to get people to be interested in your application. Your marketing effort does not end with user acquisition but rather with retention.  You need to find ways to ensure that users remain loyal. This can be done by maintaining a constant connection with every user. By having direct conversations with users, you can gain crucial feedback about your application.

During the pre-launch of a product, you need to ensure that you understand the target market. When you know the key players in your specific app, then you will learn the best ways to reach them. If you fail to do this, then it may affect the success of your marketing efforts because you will be selling the right product to the wrong people.

You need to identify the most influential blogs, groups, and other kinds of platforms where your target audience may be. By focusing on these channels, you can reach out to the right people.

Analytics

Getting traffic is not enough; you need to understand all the crucial details about the traffic you are getting. This understanding will help you to make essential decisions regarding the process of marketing your mobile application. To make the best out of your mobile app, you need to focus on the right metrics. This will help you to understand how people are reacting to your marketing efforts.

You need to understand metrics such as user engagement, monetization, downloads, subscription activity, and many more. It is not enough to look at download numbers and determine whether your marketing effort is successful or not.

There are several tools to check analytics, such as Google Analytics, Firebase, and Apsee, to name a few. These tools will give you real insight into how well your app is performing in the market.   

Rounding up

The number of available apps has consistently increased over time, and this means that competition is tighter than ever. With more than 4 million applications open at the world's leading app stores, you need to find unique ways to promote your app. Today, the quality of applications is not the only differentiating factor. Although it is essential to build an app that functions well, it is more important to ensure that you market it correctly.

Mobile app marketing mainly covers highlighting user interaction. The success of your marketing efforts hinges on this factor.

After finding your target audience, you need to ensure that you effectively communicate with them and improve your brand’s reach. The ultimate goal of any mobile app marketing strategy is to get users to become loyal advocates of your app.

If you can work with the practical tips in this article, then you will see amazing results

Thank you for reading! 

67 Video Marketing Stats You Need to Know for 2020

2020 is here! Believe it or not, we’re entering a new year, a new decade, and hopefully a new chapter in your video marketing journey. 

You probably know by now that video is a critical component of your overall marketing strategy. Because the video landscape is changing so drastically, we’re constantly coming across new ways to engage with consumers and tailor video content to specific business goals. 

That being said, video is your biggest opportunity in 2020. Whether you run a one-person business from your basement, have a small startup that’s just getting off the ground, or work for a giant multinational corporation, there are countless ways to use video to your advantage. 

Plus, if you aren’t using video, your competitors probably are, so it’s time to step up your content game. Don’t believe us? Here are 67 statistics that prove the importance of video marketing for 2020 and beyond. 

[Note: This page has been updated from 2019 to reflect the latest statistics for 2020.]

Video Marketing Statistics for 2020

To help make these statistics more digestible, we’re going to break them into the following categories:

• Video marketing for attracting customers and driving purchases

• Channels for distributing video content

• Video marketing industry trends

• Consumer preferences for video content

• Reasons people are putting off video content

Let’s get started!

Video Marketing for Attracting Customers and Driving Purchases

When it comes to attracting new customers, it makes sense that video content is effective. It combines visual imagery, sound, and extras like effects or text headings to paint a fuller picture of your concept than any one component alone. Plus, since video is dynamic, it grabs attention better than static images or walls of text. 

In order to attract new customers, this combination of attention-grabbing media and a clearly explained concept is key, making video a great choice. Video often means that viewers can see your product or service in action, preemptively answering questions they might have had and demonstrating real-life applications. This is great for driving purchases.

The statistics below shed some light on how to use video to capture attention, gain brand awareness, drive purchases, and influence your overall sales funnel. 

Does video content capture attention in a memorable way?

1. 85% of marketers say that video is an effective way to get attention online.  (Animoto)

2. Viewers claim they retain 95% of a message when obtained via video. (Social Media Week)

3. The average video retains 37% of viewers all the way to the end of the video. (Hubspot)

4. The average retention rate of personalized videos is 35% higher than non-personalized videos. (Hubspot)

Is video content effective in gaining brand awareness?

1. Video ads were the #1 way consumers discovered a brand they later purchased from. (Animoto)

2. 94% of video marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service. (Wyzowl)

3. 30% of mobile shoppers say video is the best medium for discovering new products. (Facebook)

4. 96% of people say they’ve watched an explainer video to learn more about a product or service. (Wyzowl)

Is video content effective in driving purchases?

1. 93% of brands got a new customer because of a video on social media. (Animoto)

2. 79% of people say a brand’s video has convinced them to buy a piece of software or app. (Wyzowl)

3. 92% of mobile users report sharing videos with others. (Social Media Week)

Does video content affect the sales funnel?

1. 84% of marketers say video has helped them increase traffic to their website. (Wyzowl)

2. 81% of marketers say video has helped them generate leads. (Wyzowl)

3. 80% of marketers say video has increased dwell time on their website. (Wyzowl)

4. 41% of marketers say that video has helped them reduce support calls. (Wyzowl)

Channels for Distributing Video Content

Now that we’ve covered the impact that video content can have on consumer brand awareness and purchase intent, we’re going to dive into the options you have for sharing your video content. 

We’ll focus mainly on social media platforms since there are so many social channels to choose from, but there are other great channel options outside of social as well. The stats below can help point you in the right direction when it comes to where to share your video content. 

Is using video content on social media important?

1. 58% of consumers visit a brand’s social media pages before visiting their website. (Animoto)

2. 24% of consumers are making more purchases due to ads on social media than they did last year. (Animoto)

3. 60% of consumers who made a purchase from a brand found out about them on social media. (Animoto)

4. The top 3 purchase-driving platforms are YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. (Animoto)

Should I use video content on Instagram?

1. 77% of marketers have posted a video on IGTV. (Animoto)

2. 41% of marketers say that Instagram Stories has become more important in the last 12 months. (Animoto)

3. 1 in 4 consumers made a purchase after seeing a story on Instagram. (Animoto)

Should I use video content on Twitter?

1. 93% of Twitter video views happen on mobile. (Twitter)

2. Videos with minimal Tweet copy have a 13% higher brand and message recall and overall view time than videos with longer Tweet copy. (Twitter)

3. Video is Twitter’s fastest-growing advertising tool. (Twitter)

4. There are over 2 billion video views on Twitter each day, which is 67% growth over last year. (Twitter)

5. Tweets with video attract 10x more engagements than Tweets without video. (Twitter)

6. Promoted Tweets with videos save more than 50% on cost-per-engagement. (Twitter)

Should I use video content on Facebook?

1. Facebook is the #1 platform where marketers plan to invest in the next 12 months. (Animoto)

2. 33% of marketers have used Facebook Live as a channel. (Wyzowl)

3. On Facebook, 1 in 5 videos is a live broadcast. (Facebook)

Should I use video content on LinkedIn?

1. 80% of video views on LinkedIn take place with no sound. (LinkedIn)

2. Content on LinkedIn designed for silent viewing is 70% more likely to be watched all the way through to the end. (LinkedIn)

Should I use video content on YouTube?

1. YouTube replaced Facebook as the #1 platform that affects consumer behavior. (Animoto)

2. YouTube is the #1 purchase-driver on social. (Animoto)

3. YouTube has 1 billion users, which is almost ⅓ of the Internet. (YouTube)

4. More than 70% of YouTube watch time comes from mobile content. (YouTube)

5. Every day, people watch over a billion hours of video on YouTube. (YouTube)

6. 83% of consumers worldwide prefer YouTube to watch video content. (Hubspot)

Should I use other channels for video content?

1. 41% of video marketers have used webinar as a channel. (Wyzowl)

2. 11% of video marketers have used virtual reality as a channel. (Wyzowl)

3. Cisco predicts that live Internet video will account for 17% of Internet video traffic by 2022. (Cisco)

Video Marketing Industry Trends

Now that you know where you might want to post your video content, you might be wondering how other companies are approaching video marketing. Is video marketing growing? Do businesses see video marketing as important? These statistics shed some light on general trends in the marketing space, and where the industry might be moving in the coming years. 

Is video content being used by other companies?

1. 70% of businesses say they’re creating more videos now compared to the same time last year. (Animoto)

2. 96% of marketers have placed ad spend on video. (Animoto)

3. 87% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool. (Wyzowl)

4. 91% of video marketers consider video an important part of their marketing strategy. (Wyzowl)

5. 84% of marketers rank video creation skills important when hiring for a new marketing position. (Animoto)

6. 18 is the average number of videos published by businesses each month. (Hubspot)

7. 52% of small- and medium-sized businesses use a mix of in-house and outsourced resources for video production. (Vidyard)

8. High-tech and professional services companies create the newest videos annually. (Vidyard)

Is video going to continue to grow?

1. By 2020, the number of videos crossing the Internet per second will approach 1 million. (Social Media Week)

2. 99% of marketers claim they will continue to use video in their approach. (Social Media Week)

3. 88% of marketers are committed to devoting more dollars to video campaigns in the future. (Social Media Week) 

Consumer Preferences for Video Content

By now you can probably tell that video content is effective and important, but do consumers enjoy engaging with them? The following statistics answer this question, and highlight some specific preferences consumers have for video content. Check them out for details on video length, format, and consumer viewing habits. 

Do people like watching videos?

1. 78% of people report watching videos online each week, with 55% of those watching on a daily basis. (Social Media Week)

2. 68% of people say they’d most prefer to learn about a new product or service by watching a short video. (Wyzowl)

3. 54% of all people want marketers to put out more video content. (Hubspot)

Is video format important?

1. The 4 most common video types are explainers, product demos, how-tos, and testimonials. (Hubspot)

2. 86% of business-related video views happen on desktop browsers. (Hubspot)

3. 82% of people find it annoying to watch videos with a “black bar” where the video hasn’t been properly optimized to display in their chosen orientation. (Wyzowl)

4. When viewing videos, 75% of people prefer to watch horizontally. (Wyzowl)

5. 60% of users film content horizontally. (Social Media Week)

6. People are 1.5x more likely to watch video daily on a smartphone than a computer. (Facebook)

7. Millennials are 1.35x more likely than older generations to say they find it easier to focus when watching videos on mobile. (Facebook)

8. 56% of videos published in the last year are less than two minutes long. (Hubspot)

Reasons People Are Putting Off Video Content

At this point, you might be wondering why anyone wouldn’t be creating video content given how powerful these statistics are. Unfortunately, some brands are still holding back and missing the opportunity to use video in their marketing strategies. 

The following statistics give the most common reasons marketers aren’t using video. If any of these apply to your business, we can help! We do all the legwork for you to make video content more accessible, especially for small-to-medium sized businesses with limited time and resources.

Why aren’t some people using video?

1. 23% of marketers who don’t currently use video say it’s because they lack the time. (Wyzowl)

2. 21% of marketers who don’t currently use video say it’s because they don’t know where to start. (Wyzowl)

3. 12% of marketers who don’t currently use video say it’s because it’s too expensive. (Wyzowl)

Conclusion

Hopefully, these 67 video marketing statistics for 2020 have convinced you that it’s important to include video in your content marketing plan. If so, fill out the form below to schedule a free consultation call with us! We’ll discuss your goals to come up with a video concept that works for your audience—and your budget.

This article was originally published by Alexa N.