Monthly Archives: July 2022

Nowadays, digital marketing is inseparable from commercial success in any niche or industry. In the Internet age, building relationships with, reaching out to, and targeting customers is mostly done online. 

However, “online” can mean many things; there are plenty of different digital marketing strategies, tactics, and channels that a specific digital marketing professional might use to help their clients. 

Considering the vast scope of the umbrella term we’ve come to know as “digital marketing,” it’s no wonder many great agencies focus on individual channels or aspects of online marketing.

With that in mind, we’re going to look at some of the different kinds of digital marketing agencies you might hire. 

Full-Service Agency

From a layman’s perspective, most people think of this when they hear the words “digital marketing”. It’s an agency that handles a wide range of digital marketing services. And because of the large number of in-house experts they need to nurture at all times, they tend to be bigger than the other kinds of digital marketing agencies we’ll cover here.

A company will hire a full-service agency to handle every single aspect of a specific project. They’re the ultimate one-stop-shop for any kind of digital marketing need — and they’re also called “omnichannel” agencies because they can handle your digital marketing across all online channels. 

A full-service agency will deal with everything from content strategy and creation to reporting and advertising. 

Inbound Digital Marketing Agency

As the name suggests, inbound marketing agencies deal with inbound marketing — which is the other side of the coin from traditional outbound tactics. These inbound agencies help their clients position themselves so that customers can more easily find them online, lead them through the buyer’s journey, build trust, and at some point, generate sales.

These methods can yield tangible results, but generally, over a longer period; leads and sales will frequently need six months or even a year to increase via inbound marketing. 

SEO Agency

Search engines have become more than a tool — they’re our digital appendage. We search for enough goods and services on search engines that “googling” has become its own verb. And that’s why most digital marketers will tell you the oft-repeated wisdom: if you’re not on Google’s first results page for your target keyword, you might as well not exist.

Luckily, Search Engine Optimization — or SEO — techniques help you optimize your website to be more in line with the criteria used by search engines like Google and rank higher on their search results. 

There are entire SEO agencies dedicated to that task, with a large palette of experts that work on tasks like:

• Link building
• Keyword research 
• Blog and website content
• Website audits
• Metadata optimization

An entire subindustry has sprung around search engine optimization, and its digital marketing agencies use all kinds of complex tools to stay in line with Google’s constantly shifting search algorithm. 

PPC Agency

While SEO is a great example of inbound marketing strategies, it requires time to be truly effective. On the other hand, other short-term stopgaps can quickly generate traffic for your website — but at a higher up-front expense. 

That’s what PPC digital marketing agencies do — they manage pay-per-click traffic. There’s a global marketplace of paid traffic, where companies in specific niches bid on their most relevant keywords and receive ad placement above the organic search results. 

Also, these paid ads appear on certain social media channels with their own PPC platforms. And the digital ad agencies that manage this aspect of digital marketing are excellent at producing relevant, keyword-filled, and attention-grabbing ads — while also staying in compliance with the best practices of every individual platform they advertise on. 

Social Media Agency 

Today, most companies are expected to have an active social media presence — another aspect of corporations’ increasingly important “human face.” Naturally, plenty of companies that aren’t intrinsically creative don’t have the in-house talent or resources to maintain their social media presence at a desirable quality level.

That’s why there are entire digital marketing agencies specifically catering to this need. These social media agencies are extremely adept and producing original, enticing content daily while also interacting with their clients’ target audience in their unique brand voice online. 

Often enough, social media agencies will also organize influencer outreach campaigns or other forms of affiliate marketing to boost their clients’ brands. 

Web Design Companies

A company website is the most important part of any business’s online presentation — which is why web design agencies employ countless creative and professional designers to customize, build, and optimize web pages and entire websites for each client’s specific needs. 

Web designers are great at creating functional web pages that also stay within the look and feel defined by their clients’ brands. Some of the services commonly provided by website-focused agencies include:

• Web hosting management
• Web development
• User interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design
• Research

Do you want your children to be creative? Creativity can make children more curious and better at problem-solving, which are great skills to have in life. Teaching creativity to your children is not as hard as you might think. Here are some simple ways that you can help your kids become more creative. Follow these tips and watch your children’s imaginations soar!

Creativity is important because it helps children learn to think outside the box. When children are creative, they are more likely to come up with new ideas and solutions to problems. Additionally, creativity can help children become more confident and independent. Creativity can open children up to skills and hobbies that they might use and enjoy throughout their lives too, and it can be an outlet to help them deal with the ups and downs of life more generally.

So how can you encourage creativity in your children?

Engineer Creative Opportunities

There are many ways that you can encourage creativity in your children. One way is to provide them with opportunities to be creative. This can be done by giving them materials that they can use to create things, such as crayons, markers, clay, and so on. You can also give them open-ended tasks or projects to work on, such as asking them to build a fort out of blankets and pillows, or to make a collage out of old magazines.

Fill Your Home With Creative Inspiration

Another way to encourage creativity in your children is to fill your home with creative inspiration. This can be done by hanging artwork on the walls, displaying collections of interesting objects, and having a variety of books available for them to read. Have a variety of different styles and types of creative things on offer, to help your children experience many sides of creativity. From space artworks to books in different languages, don’t hold back.

You can also listen to music together, go to the theater or ballet, and visit art galleries. All of these activities will help to spark your children’s imaginations.

Encourage Them To Be Curious

It is also important to encourage your children to be curious. When children are curious, they are more likely to explore and experiment. This is a great way for them to learn new things and come up with new ideas. Try not to answer all of your children’s questions for them. Instead, encourage them to find the answers themselves. This will help them to develop their problem-solving skills and be more resourceful.

Make Time For Creativity

It is also important to make time for creativity in your children’s lives. This means setting aside some time each day for them to be creative, without any distractions. This can be done by turning off the television and putting away all electronic devices. Clear the kitchen table and put a jumble of art materials on it, or head outdoors and find ways to be creative amid nature, whether it’s collecting sticks or making up songs.

Encourage Them To Take Risks

It can be difficult for parents to let go sometimes, but it is important to allow your children to take risks when they are being creative. This means not telling them what to do or how to do it, but instead letting them experiment and figure things out for themselves. This is essential for their creativity. Of course, you should always be there to offer help and support if they need it, but try not to take over. 

Model Creativity

Another way to encourage creativity in your children is to model creativity yourself. If you are always coming up with new ideas and solutions to problems, your children will be more likely to do the same. Additionally, if you allow yourself to be creative in front of your children, they will see that it is okay for them to be creative too. When you’re out with your children, ask open questions about the world around you. This is a way of modeling curiosity, and encouraging your children to ask questions too.

Mix Up The Routine

It is also important to mix up the routine from time to time. This will help to prevent your children from getting bored and stop them from being creative. Try to do different things each day and week, such as going for a walk in the park instead of the usual trip to the playground. You could also have a picnic in the living room, or build a fort out of blankets. Come up with ideas together for mixing up the routine too. Closing your eyes and pointing to a spot on the map you’re going to visit, or booking onto a talk at the local library you wouldn’t normally be interested in will encourage a little spontaneity in your kids too.

Encourage Them To Be Persistent

Persistence is another important quality for creativity. This means not giving up when things are difficult and not being afraid to fail. Encourage your children to keep going even when they feel like they can’t do it. This will help them to develop a growth mindset and be more resilient.

Be Patient

Finally, it is important to be patient with your children as they explore their creativity. It can be tempting to rush them along or tell them what to do, but it is important to let them go at their own pace. This will allow them to fully develop their ideas and be more creative overall.

Creativity is an important skill for children to develop. As a parent, you can help your children to be more creative by doing things such as being curious yourself, making time for creativity, encouraging them to take risks and being persistent. By doing these things, you will help your child explore new sides of themselves.

It’s become cliché to talk about how much schools have changed in the last few decades. While many things about schools are the same as they were when you were attending, it’s also true that there have been many changes. Unless you work in a school setting, you might not understand how schools have adjusted to a more modern world.

Many of the changes in schools depend on district choices, funding, and individual administrators. Schools with less funding will have a harder time buying into new technology, and rural schools may not have virtual learning available, for example. However, other changes, like security measures and adjustments to the standards, are more universal. For parents who may expect their kids’ school experience to be just like their own, these changes may come as a surprise.

Kindergarten is the old first grade

Kids are learning academic skills earlier than ever, and in many classrooms kindergarten is no longer considered to be preparation for more serious school. Six-year-old kids are expected to be reading, adding, and writing well before the end of the year. While expectations vary, in many cases kids are learning sight words, sounding out short words, and practicing with real books. Compulsory homework in kindergarten is common. Even the cut-off date for starting kindergarten has changed in some places, meaning there are now 4 year old children starting kindergarten.

Security is Vital

Security is probably the most visible of the changes in schools. Security is now one of the most important talking points for politicians, and with good reason. Parents are more worried about their kids’ safety at school than in the past. Features such as armed school security guards and metal detectors have become commonplace even in smaller rural schools. Lockdown and armed intruder drills are a normal part of school life now.

Tech is King

Remember learning to type in high school? Now kids learn to use the computer in elementary school, including beginning typing lessons. In addition to special computer classes, many classrooms have access to more tech gadgets than ever before. Electronic whiteboards have replaced blackboards. Children watch educational movies frequently since they are easy to access and play in the classroom.

In many schools children have access to tablets in the classroom where they use educational apps. Young children are even learning basic coding in some elementary and middle schools. Educational apps might be assigned for homework, and classrooms often use apps to help teach math concepts, practice reading, and even do digital experiments like digital dissection.

Phones in Class

Your kids are likely to use their phones for school. Whether it’s for research, scheduling, homework assignments, or learning apps, more and more kids have access to phones and internet, and teachers are embracing that. In fact, your kids might even be encouraged to use their phones during class. Some classrooms use certain apps or sites for giving out homework assignments. Children without phones in high school might actually be at a disadvantage in the classroom as teachers have come to expect them to be available.

The New (New) Math

Your kids might learn to solve problems differently than you did-at least to start with. Common core math has been criticized, but it seems to be here to stay. While kids might learn different ways to get to the answer, they’re usually taught the “old” way too. Eventually. These new ways can be confusing for parents, but they’re designed to get kids thinking about the problems mathematically, rather then simply memorizing methods. Parents can help with homework by letting their children show them how they learned to do it. In addition to helping parents understand, teaching someone else is a great way for kids to learn!

Handwriting (Yes, Really)

While it’s become a common criticism to talk about schools not teaching cursive anymore, it’s actually happening. Of course kids still learn to write by hand, but the focus on careful penmanship has disappeared. Instead, students are more likely to learn digital note taking, typing skills, how to use word processors, and coding. This shift seems to be a reaction to the changes that have already happened in the global workforce and a preparation for a more digital future. Parents that are worried about this shift can easily pick up some handwriting workbooks and teach cursive over summer break.

Homeschooling is Cool

Since the pandemic started, school has changed in many ways. In many places, education at home became commonplace, not just for a few months, but for more than a year. More children than ever before are being educated at home. Some are enrolled in public or private at-home schools. Some are enrolled in local school that are still having some virtual learning. Other families have switched over completely to homeschooling and aren’t looking back. For better or for worse, the school environment has changed, and it doesn’t seem to be going back to the way it was before.

Time flies, doesn’t it? It seems like yesterday when your child first set foot in kindergarten. Now they are all grown up, closing another chapter of their life, and that fills you with pride and excitement.

Graduations are not a dime a dozen in any family. They are rare occasions and significant milestones to be celebrated. So, it is natural if you want the celebration to be memorable. But you don’t need to host an extravaganza or break the bank to make that happen. All you need to do is make your guest of honor feel proud and special, which just requires a little bit of planning. Here is how you can throw a graduation party that your son or daughter will appreciate.

Start Planning Early

Whether you are planning a small and very intimate party with a few close friends and family members or a more elaborate event at a prominent venue, planning ahead always makes things easier. Nowadays, it is very common to hold a party for multiple graduates at once, which is organized by families gathering together and planning the occasion. In such cases, preparing for the party a month or two in advance becomes even necessary. Either way, you need ample time to, among other things, pick a suitable date, coordinate with guests, and book an appropriate venue—if that is what you want. 

It is worth noting that the date doesn’t have to be exactly on your son or daughter’s graduation day. Most of the time, it is even better to have it on the closest weekend that follows the graduation date. If you really want to have it on the same day, note that high schools usually hold a single graduation ceremony, so you need to cater your schedule around that. For colleges and universities, you have more flexibility as they typically hold two commencement ceremonies, one by major and one for all students.

Get Your Graduate Involved

No one knows your child better than you, except for themselves, or at least they know what they want better than anybody else. So get them involved in the planning and ask them how they envision their graduation party. Does your graduate prefer a small cozy dinner with friends and family, or do they crave a more noteworthy event? What are the specifics in their mind? Conferring with your graduate about these things helps you set the party objectives much more easily and adjust the event in tune with his or her liking.

Set a Budget

It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to have a budget in mind before beginning the planning and preparation process. While it is not necessary to have an exact number in mind, it is crucial to know the threshold past which expenses would be too much. Specifying a budget helps determine the logistics like how many guests you can invite, how much you can spend on food and drinks per guest, and how much you can allocate to the venue, decorations, etc.

If it is possible, organize a joint graduation party with other graduates and their families. Doing it this way not only splits the costs and labor that goes into the event but also makes the celebration more remarkable and memorable. The caveat is that a joint ceremony makes planning and coordination more complicated, as more parties are involved, and coming up with a budget and a date that each family is comfortable with may be easier said than done.

Get Creative with Party Ideas

This is where the fun begins in the planning phase, and there are lots of things you can do to make the day as unforgettable as possible. 

Although not every party needs a theme, coming up with one can spice things up by a ton. There are countless ideas that you can look up on sites like Pinterest for inspiration. Whether you opt for a college sports team theme or a candy graduation party theme, go all in with food, decorations, attire, and music to create an exciting and unique experience for your graduate and the guests.

You can also toss cool ideas into the mix for an extra touch. For example, you can make a graduation group video in which teachers or non-present loved ones share their warm wishes and project it on a wall before or after the special toast. Or, you can set up a chalkboard in a corner and ask every attending guest to write a message on it to be kept as a memento.

Spread the Word

Getting the word out about your graduate is essential, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Mailing a traditional print announcement through the mail is always an option, but be sure to keep the price of printing and postage in mind. Designing, printing, and sending paper invites can take several days, so plan in advance. If you have other priorities for your budget, the digital variety of invitations, such as through emails and Facebook groups, works just as fine.