Mobile App- 8 Best UI/UX Design Practices

Launching an app for your business? Here are a few mobile app development tips for your business which will have a long-lasting impact on your customers.

1. Make Use of Conventional Elements:

Building your own quirky elements may look creative, but it will confuse the users as they expect a few elements of the app to look familiar. Engage users with a clean brand logo created using logo creator. Your users need to quickly get a grasp of the app and if it takes them a lot of time to understand the app, then they may quit it completely.

2. Create Platform Specific Designs:

There is a huge difference between an Android app UI/UX Design and an iOS app UI/UX design. As these platforms are completely different hence, you have to create two separate platform-specific apps to maximize the user experience.

3. Maintain Uniformity Throughout:

Their needs to be uniformity across all the app windows by maintaining a few fixed elements like buttons, customized logo, and color palette. This will make it easy for the user to relate each window to another and the flow will be maintained.

4. Make it Interactive:

An interactive app keeps the users engaged as compared to a non-interactive app. As users interact with the app, it creates a connection between them, and it intrigues them to use the app more.

5. Hire the Right UI/UX Designer:

It is not easy to create a good UI/UX app. We are aware that the app store is filled with thousands of app hence to stand out, your app needs to be really user friendly. Outsourcing app development to experts is the best way to go about it. The agency should be up to date with all the latest technologies that can be integrated into the app like voice recognition or the use of artificial intelligence.

Take the example of automated trading apps such as bitcoin evolution that uses AI to analyze the market trends accurately so that your investments can turn into profits. Make sure to hire an agency that can incorporate all these latest trends in the app.

6. Don’t Hinder the Speed of the App:

Do not just focus on the design as the speed is equally important. Many businesses make the mistake of creating an app that is designed really well but is sluggish. Users are impatient and will quit the app if it is not quick. The mobile speed is as essential as the design interface to keep the users engaged.

7. Focus on Limited Elements:

Often, we see apps that have so many elements on the screen at the same time that users get confused and their experience turns bad. If the app is overcrowded, the users cannot focus on the main content. Adding too many elements is a quick way to lose users. Keep the design minimalistic.

8. Understand Your Audience:

Do not create an app based on what you prefer but think from the users’ perspective as they are the ones who will use your app. You can always tweak the app based on user feedback to make their experience using the app better.

The Bottom Line- Keep it Simple:

At last, a good design does not mean the inclusion of lots of complicated elements as the main aim is not for the designer to showcase his or her capabilities but to design an app that the users can easily understand. The best way to go about this is by sticking to a minimalistic and uncomplicated design to increase app conversions.

Important Social Media Marketing Trends To Your Business In The Year 2020

Social media is emerging in every business. It is always having a huge impact on our business. There is no difference between small business and large business, if you want to stay active in the market, you have to concentrate some of social media trends that will explain in the post.

Social media is common for both small and large business owners. Both should concentrate to develop their community and build reputation to their product, because social media plays big role in organic SEO. The trends that will emerge in the year of 2020 are:

Blogging

Blogging becomes more important one for every business website. Because it drives a greater number of visitors to your website as well as it enables sharing on social media like Facebook and other. In order to get shine on the blogging, you have to give value to your customer in terms of your content as well as visuals. Nowadays, people like to read image and video instead of text-based content post. That’s why Pinterest and Instagram are more popular.

Visual content is king

Content has been the king in over years, but now, as I earlier noted that visual content is leading in the pack in our business. It’s not only for super micro platforms like Instagram to adding visual component to the social media marketing, but also it shows clear preference towards post containing in the Twitter and Facebook, as well. In the year 2013 Facebook post that containing images get an average of 55 percent more “Likes”, 105 percent more “Shares” and 85 percent of more click-through than text-based updates.

Importance of Video marketing

Video marketing is one of the hottest trends in 2019. This video marketing helps to explain your product and services to your clients in effective way. It doesn’t take much more amount to preparing the video to your business. It takes only few hours to create a successful video of your business, but this video has a significant impact for your business in terms of audience and conversion rate of your trading or any other business. Click here for more details.

Social and Search Join Together

Google indexes the content shared from Tweets from Twitter and Facebook status updates, so that small businesses with strong social media presence are help to boost their search engine results. Famous study noted that 7 of 10 most important search engine ranking factors are related to social media, from that FB having the top most position. These social media activities have clearly indicated that it builds back-links to your website so that organic search rankings will be high.

Sponsored ads

Now most of the business moves to the paid ads to engage with customers. The main reason for these things is “recommended reading section” and “other articles you may like” section in the article posting, and now everything becomes sponsored to get noticeable from the competitors.

7 UI/UX App Trends You Should Know About in 2020

The importance of UI/UX app designs is not only limited to making the app appear pleasant to the end-user, but there are several other benefits that make it essential. Apart from attracting new users, a well-designed app increases the brand’s return-on-investment (ROI).

Here are a few UI/UX app trends of 2020 you should know about.

1. Voice-based UI:

As voice assistance has become an integral part of our lives and this is how people get everything done nowadays, you just cannot expect to design a futuristic app without integrating this technology into the app. Voice searches have become really popular since 2019 and in 2020 around 50% of searches are voice-based. Users are preferring voice interactions instead of using buttons, and the significance of voice UI is only going to go up in the future.

2. Animation:

If you think your users may engage more if you use images, wait till you see the effect animation has on them. It is more interactive and more engaging. meaningful animations are known to create a positive impact on the user. You can use animated logos, icons, or buttons as this is going to be one of the top app UI/UX trends this year.

3. Foldable Screen:

The hottest smartphone right now is the foldable screen one. The phone may look cool, but it complicates the app design as the app should give a good user experience even when it is viewed in the split-screen mode. You have to consider these new smartphone designs before creating your app.

4. Dark Mode:

Ophthalmologists have stated various advantages of using the dark mode in order to maintain good vision.  Both Apple and Android are focusing on health and preferring dark mode app designs. Design your app by keeping this in mind to let the users have healthy sessions when using the app.

5. Artificial Intelligence:

If you think VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented reality) are limited to gaming, then think again. These are also making their way into e-commerce, beauty apps, housing apps, etc. Similarly, the use of AI has been seen in trading apps such as bitcoin trader where everything is automated, and the market is analyzed by the algorithms of the program. If you are wondering that, is bitcoin trader legit? Well, it is one of the best bitcoin trading apps that makes the best use of Artificial Intelligence for human benefits.

6. Minimalism:

The attention span of users is very less, if you overcrowd the app with many elements then they cannot focus on the key element and eventually lose interest. Secondly, adding too many elements will slow down the app. The best solution is to stick to a minimalistic design where you just add the important elements on the page so that the users know exactly what they should look at and the app loads faster.

7. Variable Fonts:

When we talk about mobile apps, the screen size is smaller which means inserting text in the writing space has certain limitations. Earlier, to allow different font families on the same page, designers had to include multiple files in the app. In 2020, UI/UX designers are using variable fonts where a single font file includes the entire font family, hence different font styles can be used in the app without the need to use a separate file for each.

The Bottom Line:

Investing in better user experience will only be beneficial to the business by increasing conversions, saving finance on long-term app update costs, and ultimately increasing your brand value.

Creating an Effective Digital Marketing Plan

The most successful marketing plans have always been based on the idea that consumer habits and motivations are in a constant state of evolution. Add the technology-driven digital marketplace to the equation, and you have a scenario where marketing strategies are probably best set down in pencil rather than ink.

Your 2020 digital marketing plan should reflect these changes and trends occurring in the marketplace. Here are a few important tips to help you craft more effective and more responsive marketing strategies for your business.

You Need to be Wherever Your Customer Is

Effective marketing demands an effective multi-channel marketing strategy. Depending on your specific business, this might include retail stores, your website, direct mail marketing, email, and text messaging, to name just a few. The idea is to reach out to prospective customers wherever they feel comfortable and at ease doing business with you, which is increasingly becoming more digital-oriented. To meet this consumer shift away from traditional advertising channels, small businesses on average are devoting about 50 percent of their total marketing budget to digital marketing.

Your overall multi-channel marketing plan might even include traditional advertising channels, such as print and broadcast media, that support your digital marketing so long as these “old school” tactics can still effectively reach your target markets.

However, to ensure success, your marketing strategy must include a vibrant and well-managed digital component. To fully exploit the digital marketplace, many businesses turn to professional marketing services for help. These services can offer tailored advice on how to optimize your online presence, develop impactful advertising campaigns, and effectively engage with your target audience across various digital platforms.

Take a Long, Hard Look at Your Website

Your basic contact information (street address, phone number, email address) needs to be prominently displayed throughout your site. Make sure that your information is consistent throughout all your various business directory listing. The search engines and business directories will spot little inconsistencies like different phone numbers, or spelling out “Street” in one listing and abbreviating it with “St.” in another, and this could cost you website traffic.

Make sure that your website is mobile-optimized. An estimated 59 percent of consumers are using a mobile device for local searches, yet only 10 percent of small business websites are properly optimized for the mobile user. Again, you need to be where the customers are if you’re going to be competitive.

Content Will Still be King in 2020

Without fresh, updated content, there is little incentive for website visitors to return. When you consider that the majority of consumers prefer to get their information about a business by reading informative articles rather than advertising, you’re missing the boat if you’re not providing updated content on a regular basis, preferably weekly.

The search engines consider unique and valuable content an important factor in determining where your business appears in the search result rankings. Better content that keeps visitors glued to your website means more satisfied searchers, which means more income potential for the search engines. Give the search engines the content that they want, and they’ll give you the better rankings that you want.

Consider Re targeting to Boost Your Conversions

As per the-bitcoin-profit.com, 2 percent of conversions happen on a first website visit. Re-targeting, or re-marketing, is a fairly recent development that can help boost your website’s conversion rate. This involves placing a “cookie” on the browser of your website visitors. Once this “cookie” is in place, your ad will follow that visitor wherever they go online. You can limit the number of times people are exposed to your ad to prevent burnout; a maximum of 15 to 20 times over a month is a good rule of thumb.

Methods to Protect a Mac From Cybersecurity Threats

MacOS is reliable, and you can even find articles about how Macbooks do not need any protection. Well, there are no ideal systems, and despite what some users may claim, your computer still needs a way to prevent cybersecurity threats from running rampant.

Read the following methods and create a Macbook maintenance routine that will help you avoid any potential threats and keep the computer in top shape.

Method #1 – Install a Reliable Anti-Malware Tool

A reliable anti-malware tool should be the first thing on the list. There are a lot of options, even if you are looking for a free anti-virus.

If your Macbook starts to behave erratically, like crashing applications, and suddenly drops in performance, you will likely have a malware or virus problem. 

Performing a virus scan for mac should be a regular thing, though, not just when you are experiencing difficulties. Do it at least once every week. Also, keep the anti-virus running in the background all the time. This way, if you encounter any threats, they are detected and deleted immediately.

Method #2 – Clear Browser Caches

More often than not, malware comes from browsing websites. If that happens to you, make sure to clear the browser caches. You do not want any traces left on the computer after you got rid of the malware.

Method #3 – Avoid Shady Websites

Speaking of browsing, you should try to avoid fishy websites because things can get out of hand pretty quickly. If someone sends you a questionable link that you have never seen before, it would be better to ignore the link.

You do not want to end up with annoying banners and add-ons that get installed and significantly slow down the computer. 

Another point to note is that you may stumble upon websites that have an aggressive pop-up ad strategy. Do not click on such ads or banners as they could also lead to questionable landing pages. In fact, you are better off using an ad-blocker as a browser extension.

Method #4 – Use a Virtual Private Network

Virtual private networks have a lot of advantages besides allowing users to access geo-restricted content. 

If you have to use public Wi-Fi, a VPN is more or less a must at this point. You can never be certain whether someone is not trying to get hold of your personal information. Since everyone can connect to public Wi-Fi, it is highly likely that there are some traps set up for more gullible users.

Do not take a risk. Create a secure tunnel between the Macbook and the internet using a virtual private network so that you are not prone to cyber security threats.

Method #5 – Turn on the Firewall

The Firewall is not always switched on by default. As it is another layer of security, you should look to have it enabled all the time.

Go to the System Preferences and select the Security and Privacy tab. Click on the “Firewall” at the top of the window. If you see a green circle next to the word “Firewall,” it means that the feature is enabled. If the circle is red, switch the Firewall on and save the changes so that it is present all the time.

Method #6 – Update the System

A lot of users associate system updates with performance improvements and new features. However, there are a lot of patches, even small ones, that focus entirely on the security of the Macbook.

It is imperative to have your system up to date. Installing the most recent version will further improve the overall safety of the computer.

Method #7 – Secure Personal Data

Even if you take all the necessary measures and precautions, it would still be in your best interest to secure personal data by backing it up using Time Machine or other tools, like clouds.

At the end of the day, nobody can be absolutely guaranteed about the safety of the information on their computer. And there is no shame in having it protected.

Method #8 – Create Strong Passwords

Being smart about your passwords is another method to guard the computer against potential hackers. Of course, there are users who even enable automatic login, but this course of action is not recommended if you are worried about the security of your computer.

Never use the same password for different platforms, especially ones that are important, like your bank. Also, when creating a password, use a generator that will give you a strong option. Avoid random words with a few numbers or symbols at the end of it.

Method #9 – Reinstall the OS

If you feel like the Macbook is not secure, and it needs a new start, reinstall the operating system. While the process itself is complicated and not something that a lot of people want to go through with, it will delete all the junk that has accumulated over the years and remove threats, giving the Macbook a fresh start.

Ways to Improve PC and Phone Security in Small Businesses

The internet has created new opportunities for all businesses all over the world to reach larger and new markets for their products. It also makes their work easier and more efficient by using a computer and mobile-based tools. Any company that adopts the use of the internet, whether it’s just email or cloud computing, should embrace cybersecurity as part of the plan. Digital information theft is one of the most common forms of fraud today, way ahead of physical theft. Companies have also embraced the use of APIs that help create new revenue streams, streamline internal operations, and form successful partnerships. While at this, the risk of APIs as a source of infiltration gets very high. These API tutorials will guide small business owners on measures they should take to ensure that the APIs they use are secure.

Why Small Businesses are Attacked More than Larger Businesses

Most attacks on small businesses are done to get personal data that can be used in identity or credit card theft. Even though larger businesses have more data that can be stolen, small businesses are at a higher risk of attack since they have less secure networks that are easy to breach. Small businesses also lack the budget, time, and expertise to ensure proper security. Some even lack IT security specialists and employee training making it very easy for them to be attacked.

Improving PC and Phone Security

1. Training all Employees

It is very essential for small businesses to ensure that all employees working in the enterprise are trained on the enterprise’s security policies and network security best practices. Security policies evolve with time due to more complicated attacks making it essential for small businesses to regularly update their employees about new protocols. To be on the safe side, small businesses should also make it mandatory for each employee to sign a security document after being informed of all the policy protocols. This will hold them accountable and make them understand that action will be taken if the security policies are not followed.

2. Mobile Devices’ Policies

Most small businesses lack enough budget and therefore allow their employees to use their own computers, smartphones, or other devices for work purposes. This increases the chances of attack. It is, therefore, essential for businesses that allow this practice to have a well-detailed policy focussing on security precautions. There has been an increase in the popularity of wearables with wireless capability that might leave small businesses exposed when connected to networks at the workplace. All these devices should be included in security policies to minimize the risks of an attack. Employees should also set up automatic security updates for all the devices that they use to access the company’s network. This is because security updates come with critical patches to security holes.

3. Using Firewall

A firewall is used to protect a network from unauthorized access and is often the first line of defense against a cyber attack. Setting up a strong firewall provides a barrier between small businesses and attackers. To make sure that the small businesses are fully protected, they should also set up internal firewalls for additional protection. This is in addition to the standard external firewall. Businesses that have employees working from home should formulate policies that require them to install a firewall on their home network for additional protection.

4. Backing Up Data Regularly

A small business might have strong security settings in place but still get attacked. This does not mean that the security precautions are poor. It means that the businesses should be ready for any eventuality to avoid compromising their business operations. Small businesses should regularly back up all their data, and store them in different locations. This means that in case of an attack, or even a calamity such as a fire, the business will resume normal operations within the shortest time possible. It is also important to regularly check all backed up data to make sure that it works well.

5. Use of Safe Passwords

Most small businesses’ breach of data has originated from stolen, lost, or weak passwords. This is because most employees find it difficult to change their passwords regularly if they are not being forced, or rather asked to do so. Small businesses should ensure that all devices that are used to access the company network are password protected. They should also have password policies that should be enforced to minimize the risks of an attack. 

6. Documentation of Security Policies

Most small businesses operate by word of mouth, making it very easy to forget some security protocols. Also, a business might lose an employee who probably had all the important security protocols. In such a case, the business might lose a lot of information hindering the normal operations of the organization. It is therefore important to make sure that all security policies are documented, but access granted to just a few of the business employees.

Technology evolves every day. With new features comes new security threats. Small businesses should stay on top of technological changes to make sure that they understand what is needed to beat new tricks and threats from cybercriminals.

Top Amazon Seller Tools To Guarantee Your Online Success

One of the most significant benefits of an internet contractor beginning today is that you don’t have to find out anything for yourself. As for the promotion of your goods, there are several examples to follow competitive online companies.

You can use ‘platforms’ to make your business start-up fast and straightforward – you don’t need to build your website, online store, or e-commerce website. Yes, these third-party services may form the basis for your long-term undertaking.

Amazon is possibly the most strong today. This once bookseller has become enormous over the years. It is a major online retailer that sells anything from toilet paper to athletic shoes and high-end electronics.

Becoming An Amazon Seller

If you’re looking to start a rentable side hustle or become your boss, selling on Amazon provides an immense and lucrative opportunity especially with the help of amazon seller tools. Yet while some online advertisers will have you believe it’s not just a magic money-making scheme.

To do this requires a sufficient budget, hard work, multiple studies, and several commitments. Some people are leaving today, before they can succeed, who continue their Amazon journey.

However, if you work hard, you can maximize the opportunity to start and develop a successful business with Amazon. Here is a helpful guide to become an Amazon seller, step by step!

1. Check Amazon for a product for sale.

Currently that you have decided to sell Amazon, the first thing you want to do is figure out what you want to sell. At this early point, the work you perform in this step is one of the most critical tasks. The data you collect and the product choices you decide about the success or failure of the project.

The popularity of a successful product or competing with medium-sized Amazon goods is much more essential to find good opportunities. You need to evaluate the products, competition, keywords, and trends of the industry thoroughly before you make a decision.

Retail arbitration is typically a good basis for an Amazon newbie. When you visit supermarket shops like Walmart or Target and purchase cheaper items at a higher price on Amazon, then online arbitrage is also known as RA.

The great thing about this approach is that you can sell your feet water on Amazon without a considerable investment. The definition of automated refereeing is the same except that discounted items are bought directly from vendors and are only available on Amazon.

Private label can be Amazon’s most flexible platform for sale. You consider a generic product and a supplier with an individual name, who can produce the drug in bulk at a fair price. You then change the outcome, add your logo and your company details, and sell it under your name.

Wholesale means that you purchase goods directly from a big company at a wholesale price and sell them at Amazon. The difference between this and private label is that you are buying products directly from an existing company through wholesale and only market them under their brand name through their consent.

2. Compete and learn the contest.

Seeing what others do in your niche is also worthwhile. See how costs are for your products. What products, particularly new products, they are selling. You can’t hold that way, even though your Amazon shop is good. You can not stagnate and will have to expand to compete with the competition.

An excellent way to research is to read positive and negative reviews of customers, particularly on AmazonYou can also have your products delivered to professional amazon product testers and have their feedback. Figure out what people dislike and what other things people want, and make sure you satisfy these needs and stop dropping.

3. Build a page for your Amazon shop.

Log in and begin developing your product listing, which is the product page on which the customer reads about your product and purchases it. A collection of things allows consumers to demonstrate what the goods are, why they should buy them, and what they are doing.

It is essential to be as accurate as possible when presenting your product. The specifics, materials, products, measurements, and all that a shopper needs to know are included. Also, you should read a new piece of content from the writers at Infinite FBA to learn how the Amazon PPC tool is effective to manage your campaign targets.

Use an Amazon PPC tool to automate your selling on Amazon. Merch Jar makes it easy to improve your ad performance in minutes.

4. Check for a producer.

Let’s suppose that you agreed to sell private label products sold by FBA. Where do you get your inventory? This phase aims to answer this question. It’s time for potential manufacturers to examine and find out what’s best for your business.

Alibaba is one of the most commonly used private labels. This website is a great place to start looking for a company from abroad that can supply your product in bulk.

Make sure that you do your homework and choose a renowned company to work with. As a Verified manufacturer and a Gold manufacturer, ALIBABA provides its quality control initiatives. Such names are confirmed by non-Alibaba third-party organizations and affirm the organization ‘s legitimacy.

Reports of the answer time and amount of transactions over six months can be found on the manufacturer’s product page.

5. Optimize your list.

We go back to the list of items we have begun with phase 4 for search engine optimization. The goal is to make sure the record reaches the highest number of customers finding your service. As described above, it is necessary to use the most suitable keywords to construct a search and traffic list.

You may already collect keywords in the earlier product research phase, but you are given a list of the top keywords for entering your product into keyword research. Perhaps you would like to write a title that artfully combines the top keywords, and the main terms are the first five.

Good Read for Amazon Sellers: Learn How to Build a Sales Pipeline

Top Amazon Seller Tools You Should Use

To help you accomplish Amazon’s next success story, here is a list of several valuable amazon seller tools that you can use.

1. Price tools for Amazon.

For consumers worldwide, price is so critical. We found RepricerExpress to be the best pricing resource on the market for Amazon. It’s a super fast and economical tool to boost your online sales and profit by offering competitive prices.

In addition to basic and advanced rules, sellers can freely customize pricing strategies, set min, and maximum prices to protect the margins, imports, and exports of filtered searches and templates to snap price changes.

2. Feedback from vendors and ratings for goods.

Amazon sellers recently published their customer unsatisfactory metrics feedback. Feedback is a hot subject. Computer tools like FeedbackExpress can help customers interact more easily. 

You can give a constructive review to the customer automatedly. The app also warns you when you receive a negative review so that you can take quick steps to mitigate your business disruptions.

3. Computer Helpdesk

eDesk is a complete range of customer service desks based on ecommerce. It offers an efficient platform for e-commerce companies to centralize and manage all their business support, information, resources, and other functions.

4. Shipping

ShipWorks can download and send orders from your online stores easily. You can use ShipWorks for custom invoices and packaging lists, monthly or weekly reports, promotional emails, and much more after you have sold them.

5. Fiscal Levels

With more than 7,000 companies, TaxJar is the leader in eCommerce sales tax management. They are built to help retailers and developers spend less time on selling taxes and spend more time growing up their loved ones.

6. Pay

Currencies Online merchants like you are getting foreign-market money with no local banking accounts issues. Coin Direct customers can make exchange rates savings of up to 3% of gross revenue compared to international markets.

7. Checks

AMZFinder lets you automatically forward feedback and email review requests, management of reviews, and orders to increase the reputation of your Amazon shop and its customers.

8. Procurement

The best items for Amazon sales are an essential part of an e-commerce journey. SourceMogul is an online seller platform that automatically searches the product if you need to help the sourcing process. Hundreds of online retailers can match or upload custom listings or large lists to suit your business needs.

Maximize The Benefits of Being an Amazon Seller

You could start with just one Amazon product. But if you want to make any money, you will have to grow to sell all kinds of things. Again, you have to look closely at the market, see what is selling well, and hop on the ride.

It is also necessary to use the holiday season. It’s Christmas time when brick and mortar retailers make their money every year. The same applies to online sellers. Make sure you treat a flood of orders well.

And for that, there’s a way to pay twice. You can include affiliate links to your products in your marketing by joining the program of Amazon’s Associate. 

Final Words

The Amazon algorithm allows customers to view a list of the products they recommend when they visit the site, and if they don’t even seek your client, their product can attract attention. Amazon also has a vast network of affiliates that can show people how to use Amazon ads on their websites for their products.

How to Use AI for Small Businesses

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a new technology that different industries have adopted to increase efficiency and production capacity. Some people know it as machine learning. About 29 percent of chief executive officers from medium and small businesses believe that AI will impact enterprises soon, according to a survey done by Vintage. The following are four ways that small businesses can use artificial intelligence.

1. Coach Your Sales Executives Using Advanced Tools

Many small businesses rely on their sales executives to generate revenue. So, it is important to train your team using the right tools. Chorus, Jog, and Gong are new artificial intelligence tools that you can use in your enterprise. They transcribe and record each call that a sales representative receives.

The tools then compare strategies that the sales executive applies to those which top sales team members in your business use. AI tools analyze different strategies based on the ratio of time sales representatives spend talking or by word choice. The tools allow you to share efficient strategies with the whole sales team without making a detailed review. To know more about AI, you should join AI ML courses first.

2. Integrate an AI-Infused CRM to Improve Sales and Marketing

Customer-Relationship Management (CRM) systems collect customer data from social media, phone calls, and emails to automate or improve sales. Salesforce has started using AI to enable small business owners to review client feedback from different communication channels. The analysis helps them in improving lead generation and marketing in their businesses. An AI-infused CRM increases lead generation results and allows you to optimize your client acquisition process through sales-relevant insights.

3. Use a Chatbot to Answer Clients’ Questions

Small businesses including gaming apps have started integrating artificial intelligence in their systems. As AI shapes online, gaming websites use chatbots to facilitate smooth customer communication. They resemble customer service representatives who offer unlimited customer support. At times, popups appear at the bottom of your screen when you visit particular websites. Even so, some small businesses lack a dedicated sales team. They can use chatbots to address clients’ needs and assign crucial tasks to their employees.

4. Conduct Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence

Analysis is one of the most vital operations in all businesses. Investors can use AI to perform predictive analysis in small businesses. Analysis is appropriate if you lack the financial capability to invest in machine learning. The following AI-powered analytics software efficiently analyze operations in businesses:

  • Amazon Machine Learning: The service offers tools for developing machine learning models. Amazon Machine Learning has easy analytics and small business owners can connect it to data kept in Amazon S3, Redshift, and RDS.
  • Microsoft Onboard: Microsoft’s objective is to empower individuals and organizations using artificial intelligence. Microsoft Onboard is an open-source software framework which competes with Tensorflow and Caffe. It helps businesses scale across many machines.
  • H20: It has open-source and free primary tools. You can download the tools to access the H20 platform. It has an Apache 2.0 license and you can run H20 tools on AWS-powered clusters.

Artificial intelligence will soon have a huge impact on small businesses. Investors can coach sales teams using advanced tools, improve marketing by integrating AI-infused CRMs, use artificial intelligence to conduct analysis, and answer customers’ questions using chatbots. The technology won’t replace employees. Instead, it will improve their efficiency and performance.

Phone Apps for Small Business

Running a small business is not as easy as it sounds. You’ll get pulled in different directions simultaneously. And if you are to succeed, you have to take control of your mind, time, and energy. Small business owners are usually in charge of daily operations such as employee issues, payroll, or any problem that needs to be solved during the day.

If the demands are starting to overwhelm you, do not give up. There are hundreds of business and productivity apps out there that will help you keep everything organized and neat so that you can delegate tasks effectively and stay on top of your business operations.

So, which are the best phone apps for a small business? They will largely depend on your business and preferences. If you don’t have the time or energy to go through the endless list of apps, we are here to help you. Let’s get started!

Apps for Productivity

1. Evernote

Evernote allows you to clip pieces of information from the internet and tag them for an easy search process. You can also alter these pieces by adding tables, pictures, video, and audio to name a few.

Evernote can also be used for journaling, to-do lists, contacts, recipes and to store emails and tweets. You can enjoy all these features for free in the basic version. The business version costs 12 bucks per month with more features which include more space for uploads and admin controls.

2. Pocket

Pocket, as its name suggests, makes it easy for you to save articles, videos, or any other content you find valuable online.

When you’re tired of reading funny comments or tweets on social media platforms but you still want to relax while reading something interesting, Pocket will come in handy. The best part is you don’t need an internet connection to access what you saved. Pocket is simple and easy to use.

3. Wunderlist

Wunderlist is a very effective to-do list app. You can create an endless task list and share it with whomever you want. Lists will sync automatically so that your team can see which tasks or items have been completed. Wunderlist has launched a powerful business app that helps you delegate tasks to your immediate team and create subtasks.

They can add notes, program reminders, and set deadlines. The basic version is free while Wunderlist for business costs $4.99 per month for every user.

Apps for time management

All business owners need to be accountable for how they spend their time. These apps will help you get started in this area.

4. Rescue Time

If you are like most people, you probably spend too much time on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to name a few. Plus, with the introduction of online shops, it’s easy to waste time and money on things that you don’t need. According to luckynj.com, the basic version is free while the premium version costs 9 bucks per month. Rescue Time is available for Android, Linux, and Apple devices.

Rescue Time, as its name suggests, helps you manage your time better by blocking certain sites, setting notifications, and tracking online activity.

5. Toggl

Toggl is an amazing time management app as it will help you track every second during the day. You can track clients and projects, view well-designed graphs, timesheets, and sync your reports with other project management apps.

All your team members can use Toggl. And you can divide them into different groups to boost performance. Toggle free version can be used by a maximum of five users while the Pro version doesn’t have a set number of users. It costs 5 bucks per month per user.

Project Management Apps

6. Basecamp

Basecamp is one of the most popular project management apps around the world today. Its interface is not only streamlined but also intuitive thus making it easy for you to chat within projects, invite team members, create checklists, and track progress. You can also create workflow calendars to keep all team members on the same page. Basecamp charges per project with plans starting from $24 and going up to $150 per month.

Conclusion

If you are struggling to manage your business every day, these apps will come in handy. With the right combination and proper use of tools, you can streamline your business operations and simplify them to save time and money. Download these apps today!    

Top 6 cybersecurity Tips For Employees

Do you know what’s the biggest threat to the majority of companies nowadays? Cyber attacks. That’s why it’s essential to learn basic rules on how to protect your company from data breaches, hacker attacks, etc. If your company is looking for reliable IT support that’ll help prevent any cyber problems from occurring, take a look here.

If you’re an employee and want to learn more about cybersecurity, in the article, you’ll find the top six cybersecurity tips for employees. These tips may sound sometimes trivial to you, but remember that practicing them will allow you to add something to your company security.

1. Protect your data

Okay, it sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people forget about this elementary rule. Avoid sharing your personal information like security number, address, and credit card on sites that don’t look legitimate.

Also, don’t log in anywhere using your work email address. Scammers can easily hack your email and gain access to company data. They can even take control of your company’s social site, so you need to be careful. That’s why everyone must get educated in the field of Cyber Security by taking any Cyber Security courses online.

You should avoid sending any photos from the workspace as well. Sometimes you can send someone a pic of something confidential without even knowing it. The same goes for the pictures you share on your social media.

2. Connect to secure network and use VPN

Before you log in to any company accounts, make sure that the connection is secure. The company Wi-Fi should be protected and hidden, but it’s safe to check it from time to time.

Now, if you have to work remotely, you should try to avoid public networks. They can be risky and make your data vulnerable to any cyber-attacks. If you have to use one, you should use a VPN to protect you and your data.

VPN can be a perfect protection tool against any attacks. More companies are acknowledging that and provide their employees with it. But if your company doesn’t, you should consider getting one for yourself.

3. Use strong passwords

That goes without saying, but there are still people who use passwords like Andy123. Passwords like that make hackers jobs much easier, and therefore make your company more vulnerable. A strong and complex password is one of many steps to help your company secure its data.

A strong password should contain at least ten characters and include numbers, symbols, capital letters, etc. You ought to change your passwords regularly as well. You may be overwhelmed with the number of passwords you create, but there are password managers to help you with that.

Password protection may not be enough to make sure your company is protected. But it’s the first step to make sure it is.

4. Avoid pop-ups, insecure links, and unknown emails

That’s one of the most important things you can do, and yet many people can’t obey this simple rule. Don’t open any pop-ups or click on insecure links while you’re surfing through the web. This hacker tactic is called phishing.

The phisher will do everything they can to make sure you open things they send; every link and pop-up content virus or malware that can be a severe threat to your company’s security.

The same goes for unknown emails. Remember that it’s easy to fake a company email address. So if you didn’t start the conversation and see a new email that may look legitimate, don’t open it. It’s likely to contain malware or viruses as well.

5. Install security software

If you’re an employer and want to make sure your company and your employees are safe, you have to invest in security software. Security software providers revise their software regularly so that their clients can be safe from new threats.

If you want to make sure your company is protected, you should install security software. It’s also essential to check for any updates and install them right away. That also applies to any personal devices you use at work, like a smartphone or laptop.

Also, inform your IT department or security manager on any suspicious activities you may notice. This way, they’ll act fast and put out potential threats before they occur.

6.  Make regular data backups

Any company needs to make sure their data is secure. That’s why you have to make sure that it won’t be lost or stolen. It’s important to remember about regular data backups if you want to prevent your data from being lost.

It may be the most important thing you can do to secure your company next to installing security software. Mind that the majority of security breaches happen because hackers want to steal your data. By backing it up regularly, you’ll be able to provide better security.

There are many ways you can backup your data. It depends on your company policy, whether you should use cloud or external hard drives.

Summary

In conclusion, it’s vital to make sure your company is safe. It doesn’t matter if you’re an employer or employee; you have to do everything you can to help protect your company data from any cyberattacks. There are many things that you may consider to be minor, but in reality, they can be essential for overall company security. Remember that everything can make a difference, so make sure everyone in your company follows security rules.

Which Android Phone is the Most Worthy-to-Buy in 2020?

Mobile technology is constantly improving, which means shopping for a new phone requires understanding which devices are new, improved and overall best at the time of purchase. While many opt for standardized devices such as iPhones, the level of versatility and functionality found in Android phones ensures users can find exactly what they need.

With that being said, which Android phones are the most worthy contenders in 2020? Let’s take a quick look at the best options on the market currently and help you come to a decision.

Samsung Galaxy S20 – for Everyday Users

The flagship phone of the Samsung enterprise, the brand’s Galaxy line has long been a popular choice for Android consumers. Weighing in at just under 6 ounces, the 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S20 makes for a great Android mobile device for most consumers. With a pristine 1440×3200 pixel resolution, images, videos and apps alike will be crisp and brilliant on the screen.

Its photo and video capturing potential is also immense. Offering up to 108 megapixels of photo-grabbing beauty, 33 megapixels of still video capture, 8K video and up to 100x zoom functionality via its Space Zoom technology, capturing all of those important moments will be a piece of cake.

Other features you expect (such as 5G compatibility, 5000 mAh of battery life and up to 512 GB of internal storage) can also be found on this top-of-the-line Android solution.

Vivo V Series – for Price-Conscientious Consumers

Those in the market for cutting-edge Android technology without the hefty price tags of traditional smartphones need look no further than the Vivo V Series lineup. With four different phones available, the Vivo V Series offers users access to an affordable and powerful Android phone for around half the price of other flagship entries.

With 32-to-48-megapixel cameras utilizing AI technology, up to 128 GB of internal storage, battery capacity up to 5000 mAh and Snapdragon processors designed to maximize battery consumption, you’ll be able to snag video, photos and audios without having to worry about needing to recharge your Android device constantly (click here for information on the battery capacity of new phones).

Google Pixel 4 – for Multimedia Enthusiasts

Google’s Pixel 4 line is an excellent choice for Android lovers who love to capture the world around them in photos and videos – day or night. Specializing in transforming those challenging shots into professional-looking cinema and photography, Google’s latest generation of Night Sight is included on Pixel 4 phones (which allow great photos and video without the need for flash).

Utilizing features such as an improved portrait mode that make photos resemble ones taken by a DSLR camera, the Google Pixel 4 is a top contender for Android users seeking to garner the most from their cameras while on-the-go.

BlackBerry Key2 – for the Tactile Lover

Last but not least, there is an increasing demand for the return of a physical keyboard on select Android devices. With screens bigger than ever, trading a bit of screen size for a tactile keyboard is once again feasible. While not the most modern phone on the list in terms of technical specs, the BlackBerry Key2 is a worthy contender for those wanting that physical feel in their Android experience.

Featuring 64 to 128 GB of internal storage, a 3500 mAh battery (BlackBerry’s software is optimized for energy use, making this battery easily on par with other manufacturers’ 5000-mAh batteries) and 4.5” of screen in addition to the nifty physical keyboard make this latest addition to the BlackBerry line worth considering if you prefer a physical keyboard for day-to-day use in emails, typing and beyond.

Ultimately, the most worthy Android phone for 2020 depends on your preferences and day-to-day use. These four phones in particular each have their pros and cons, but balancing use factors such as multimedia, tactile preference, budget and all-around use mean that at least one of these Android phones would be excellent in the hands of virtually anybody shopping for a new device.

Seven Best Grocery Shopping Apps

Daily shopping is an important part of our life. We buy products, household chemicals, and spend most of our budget on shopping. However, fewer people experience a responsible attitude to grocery shopping, which means that plenty of unnecessary goods appear in our baskets.

So, if not controlling our budget, we are more tended to spend more than if making a shopping list. Additionally, if following the special deals, collecting coupons and vouchers, we can save even more than expected.

If you are looking for a special discount or want to find out if there is a promotion, discount, or coupon offered, it’s best to check out the Bass Pro Promo Code. This discount code program is one of the most sought after promotional codes for online stores. The good thing about the Bass Promo Code is that all you have to do to get the best results is to enter the code in the shopping cart.

We recommend you to use several grocery shopping apps and take your shopping under control. Here are seven options, which can assist you to save more and plan your purchases.

1. Bring!

This app makes shopping easy and smart. The developer solves plenty of shopping tasks in a single app, which includes shared shopping lists, delicious recipes, discount cards, and personalized Bring offers. The application will help you organize the shopping process and will accompany you from the idea of the dish to the trip to the supermarket.

Manage any number of lists with your family or friends using your smartphone, computer, smartwatch, or voice assistant. Moreover, this app supports plenty of languages, which can be used by happy customers from all over the world!

2. Rabato

This incredible app assists you in collecting the updated catalogs of your favorite stores and the best deals from various grocery chains. This is a perfect solution for customers, who would like to save on everyday shopping. If you are a bad smartphone user, you also can browse weekly ads on the Rabato website.

3. Lidl

This well-known grocery chain has many chances to be downloaded on your phone. It helps customers to keep track of the latest promotions, BOGO offers, and sales. Weekly leaflets make this task especially simple, while every item has a clear product description. You can plan your shopping list at home by learning them and calculate the required amount of money to avoid unnecessary spending. 

4. SAVE

This is a price drop alerts app for Walmart grocery, which helps people to save on their purchases at this chain. You can browse the prices by categories, add some products to favorites and learn the tips for the advantageous shopping. In addition to grocery, you can follow special deals in various categories such as clothing, furniture, home appliances, electronics, and others.

5. Auchan

Order thousands of products from Auchan directly in your mobile application — now it’s convenient and easy! The entire range of grocery items — from the cereals, flour, or butter to the goods for home or garden, toys, household appliances — everything is in the Auchan app. The app has plenty of advantages:

  • intuitive registration and navigation;
  • the wide functionality of shopping planning;
  • the ability to personalize shopping lists and share them with other users;
  • access to promotional offers, etc.

6. Walgreens Coupons

This well-designed app will help you to plan your purchases and save money thanks to coupons. You can get incredible offers for a wide range of items. All the promo codes and vouchers are distributed for free, so every user can get it immediately and use it during the shopping at Walgreens.

7. Beelivery: Grocery Delivery

If you have a tight working schedule or simply cannot spend some time shopping, just order delivery with this convenient app. Make a shopping list directly in the app and wait 20-90 minutes for a courier to bring it home. Do not postpone your daily plans for the future and let the service take care of you.

In Conclusion

Many people do not know how to shop online. As a result, their attempts turn into a complete disappointment. You can learn how to make smart purchases by using thematic apps. If you go to the grocery store, then do not forget to make a list. Think about how much you are willing to spend. At the same time, consider your capabilities. Try not to exceed the budget. If there is a temptation to buy something out of the list, take money only for planned purchases. Then you simply will not have any extra money. Good luck!

The 3 Best Email Monitoring Tools in 2020

Email is the easiest and fasted way to communicate with your customers. The senders need to write the message and send it to the person with whom he wants to share the information. Email in offices is mostly done for official purposes; however, it can also be used for illegal activities like exchanging sensitive information of customers to others in return for money. This could violate the data protection act and result in huge penalties for a company.

It is an effective corporate security measure to use an email monitoring software that can track the online activities on the net through the mail. This software can track the incoming as well as outgoing messages of staff, thereby providing complete ease and relaxation of data security of the office.

There are many types of email monitoring software that are available on the internet. Some of them can be downloaded freely and require no paid subscriptions. However, some software also requires paid subscriptions for full access to the software.

Reasons to use Email Monitoring in your Company

  • Keep watch on any targeted device: – Mails can be sent from the phone and on desktop or laptops. Hence track the email activities of employees can be a difficult task, especially for the call center industry where employees have access to customer’s sensitive information. Using email monitoring software can be useful for securing the stored information that is used for official purposes only. You can track the email activities on any targeted device using this email monitoring software.
  • Observe the quality of email within the company: – Sometimes, email can be perceived as harassing, even if people claim it is a joke These could be observed easily using email monitoring software. This software is easy to install as they are compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems.
  • Keep track of spam emails: – If the emails are registered on third party websites, then it pushes unnecessary information and sends spam emails. These emails consist of links that can potentially harm any computer and increase the risk of a virus attack.

Best Email Tracking Software in 2020

Email tracking software: – It is the best email tracking software that can monitor the email activities and can be used in the sales team to track email engagement with industry-standard metrics.

Outreach – Email tracking software: – This is easy to use email tracking software that can track the email activities and is one of the best-known software for bloggers. They can reach their targeted audience by sending their emails to their prospects. It helps you to outreach your existing customers.

Freshsales – Email tracking software: – IT companies, Customer care help desk and other IT supports company uses CRM software. They need to monitor the activities of their staff through the internet. This tool can easily detect any illegal activity and alert the business owners about any potential harm of data leaks.

Data stored in the office should be kept for office use only; hence it is the duty of every business owner that they monitor their staff’s email activity using email tracking software.

Turning Gaming into Educational Training: Game-Based Learning

Education serves to impart knowledge, values, and critical thinking strategies to someone. It is the main activity that goes on in schools and other learning institutions. Non-formal, formal, and informal are some of the forms this systemic process can take on. Similarly, training is grouped in the bracket of education since it aims to provide learners with skills and abilities. These attributes are essential since they help people to figure out how they can apply their acquired know-how to solve problems.

As such, there are numerous strategies that schools and other institutions employ to provide workers and students with an education. Entertainment is often viewed as something that people engage in to relieve stress or for enjoyment. Games are a typical form of such leisure activities. Gaming is mentally stimulating due to its ability to provide intrinsic motivation and challenge the cognitive aptitude of the players. Therefore, education and entertainment can work hand-in-hand to make the former more engaging and effective. This article delves into the strategies we can use to integrate the two concepts and come up with a curriculum for training.

Moving Away from Gamification to Implement Game-Based Learning

Gamification refers to using the standard principles of playing a game in a different context or activity. All this is done as a way of encouraging people to apply themselves to the exercises. However, people often misunderstand the terms. The elements of the typical game that gamification uses are listed below.

  • A point-based reward system where the player would receive some score for achievements.
  • Creating a competitive environment where participants challenge each other to achieve specified goals.
  • Ensuring that there are rules and regulations which must be followed by the contestants.

Game-based learning turns the process of receiving an education into a game instead of applying the elements of playing it. That is, the teacher does not attempt to incentivize the students to learn through introducing leaderboards and a scoring system. Instead, they convert the course content into a game that teaches the student class concepts as they play it. In this case, the student can progress through the gameplay, and their level indicates their understanding of a subject. 

For example, if you want to train your students on how to become a competent essay writer, you can work on their spelling through a game. Hangman is a fantastic example of how children can learn grammar in an environment that is fun for them. With studies showing that interactive playing can help you retain and recall information, gaming can have a positive impact on education.

Applying Game-Based Learning in a Classroom Setting

First, you need to understand the students you want to teach. People have different aptitudes and abilities when it comes to learning various subjects. For instance, a student may be drawn more towards STEM courses instead of literature needed for students who’d like to be a paper writer. Of course, it is still vital to encourage them to improve in the areas that they are experience challenges while enhancing their skills in what they are already great at doing. Once you have such a profile worked out, you can design learning programs for each student that will help them increase their scores in their problematic subjects. At the same time, they will have an opportunity to get better at their strong ones.

Secondly, teachers should ensure that their students are engaging with relevant content as they play. For this step, it pays to play the games yourself so that you can check the concepts that are taught. Otherwise, you may risk your students rejecting the games since they do not offer much or any assistance in their academics. Think of this step as ensuring that learning is the focus of the game. Plus, some games tend to be quite complicated and even in how they let players interact with it. Using them for the learning process might end up stifling the education aspects of the game.

Lastly, teachers should make their students accountable for the time they spend playing. Keeping a watchful eye on their progress does not remove the stress-free elements of the game. Instead, you get the opportunity to see how well they are doing. After all, outcomes need to be measurable if you want to continue directing the students to areas they can improve in their academics.

You can start by finding a platform that allows you to follow up on the results of your students’ playing sessions. This monitoring system will help you ensure that your game-based learning strategies are working.

Marketing Strategies For You in 2020

Marketing always deals with the analysis and strategic thinking regardless of the popularity or complexity of a chosen solution. Therefore, a marketing strategy that will work best does not necessarily mean that it is currently in the trends or copies example of large corporations like Apple and Amazon. The year 2020 has already shown itself as turbulent and unexpected with a great number of financial shocks, trade wars, and the Covid-19 situation, which has already paralyzed most of the world and marketing ways.

Nevertheless, such conditions also show which marketing strategy to choose because there are not so many options due to globalization, outsourcing, and limited resources. The key is to invest in education in marketing. Since most people turn to remote servicing these days, educate and provide the content that actually teaches the customers about the ways how they can benefit from an unusual living environment or restricted opportunities.

Best Marketing Choices in 2020

  • Personalization. Add some personality and human voice to your marketing strategy. It means that it is best to avoid generic messages that only aim to sell a product or receive more subscribers if the talk goes about social networks. Most people listen to friends or follow the trends that are popular in their social circle. In some cases, there are celebrities who share a Twitter post or tell the reporters about their experience. While it is mostly a media hype, it still has a personal message that some people can relate to. In practice, it is a personalization philosophy that drives people towards particular decisions. If you speak from the company’s experience or endorse a famous person, it will make a major positive difference.
  • Social media presence. A good marketing strategy online means more than just creating a page on Facebook or adding information to a blog. The secret to success is in keeping the information updated and regular. As the practice shows, building a strong social media strategy means researching the target audience to find out what kind of information is in demand and what is missing from the global Internet network. Start by outlining the social media strategy to analyze what has worked and what could be improved as the sales or number of visitors changes.
  • Unique content. The major problem with choosing the right marketing strategy is the lack of unique content or the inability of employed specialists to provide information with a low similarity index. Thankfully, you can use Samplius regardless of text length without paying a dime. All it takes is some time to review the highlighted parts in order to change them later.
  • Even if you find it difficult to write your own content, turn to PowerPoint slides or short presentations where all the important information is outlined just like a thesis statement. As most students already know, the only way to avoid plagiarism is to check things twice!
  • Investing in research. Even though it is always linked to certain expenses or a considerable amount of time, invest in researching your marketing subject at greater depth because it will not only make your content powerful but will also help a particular company or a project to stand out. The same relates to most marketing college tasks when some research has to be done in order to get good grades and find reliable argumentation. Considering checking topicsmill.com for great essay ideas if you are in a writer’s block or need to boost your brain for creativity. After all, a good topic always needs the facts to support each claim, so even an hour of research matters. Ensure that you write down and organize all the interesting facts discovered.
  • Live streaming and education. Some call it social distancing or stay-at-home concept as we live through the pandemic times, yet live streaming quickly becomes a marketing strategy that unites people from all over the world more than ever. Implement video lessons, marketing campaigns, competitions, and surveys through the video blog to attract more visitors. Create collaborations, presentations, and answer the questions of the followers’ live. There has never been a better chance to explore what is in demand and educate yourself in terms of communication skills.

Podcasts and Collaboration

Far not everyone is capable of filming a movie or creating fancy video blogs where all the latest updates are outlined in a style of Hollywood hits. Luckily, the old radio concept is alive more than ever as we have online Podcasts, which has already become one of the most popular marketing strategies in 2020. Even most students these days use collaborations when they need to promote something or organize a social campaign within the local community. At the same time, hosting Podcasts that deal with your ideas also means that you can invite various specialists in the field without leaving the comfort of your home or a workplace. Explore available opportunities, build your audience, make comfortable schedules, and use information that you already have. You can use any advertisement during the talk, so there is no pressure like it is done on TV or Youtube videos.

Modern Mobile Security Now Mirrors Its Desktop Counterparts

Mobiles have transcended their status as palm-sized communication devices. Now known as smartphones, modern devices have, in many ways, become super-computers that never leave our sides. With so much invested in our mobiles, security is paramount. Having a phone without protection is like walking onto a construction site without a hardhat. Yes, you might be ok. However, would you really feel safe?

Just like a construction site, there are many dangers within the mobile space. Even though you might not be a direct target at any given time, you could be a target and that’s what you need to protect yourself against. Ask yourself this: would you leave your mobile sitting on a table in a coffee shop without a passcode? Most of us would say no. Leaving aside the fact someone might steal your phone, the reality is that you have too much sensitive data on there to not have a password.

Indeed, you can take this a step further and apply the same logic to apps. From Facebook and Gmail to your banking apps, passwords and passcodes are a necessity in the mobile realm. However, these are minimum requirements in today’s world. If you really want to stay safe, embracing the latest innovations is important.

Securing Apps is Essential

Moving beyond the basics, TouchID is a great way to protect your device and, more recently, your apps. For example, when you visit the Paddy Power online website, you’ll find a link to the Apple Store. Here, you can download the operator’s mobile app and get full access to games like Buffalo Blitz, Premium Blackjack and Live Spin A Win. What you also get is the ability to make deposits and withdrawals. Just as you can credit money to your account via the website, you can do the same on the app. With this feature in place, real money mobile gaming is possible.

Therefore, just as you’d want to secure banking apps and eWallets like PayPal, you’ll want to protect your gaming app. To this end, Paddy Power has added TouchID to its app. By using this instead of a password, you not only get quicker access to what’s inside but the added security of fingerprints rather than text.

Cybercriminals Have a New Target

It used to be the case that cybercriminals couldn’t or wouldn’t target mobile devices. However, with more people using smartphones than before, they’re now rich pickings. According to Kaspersky, there were 3.5 million malicious installation packages downloaded to mobiles in 2019. Add to this 69,777 new mobile banking trojans and 68,362 ransomware threats and it’s clear to see that mobile antivirus software is now a must. However, even though many of the major security brands like Kaspersky and Avast offer free mobile antivirus software, few of us use it. Despite being standard practice on desktop devices, we’re not yet conditioned to download these products onto our mobiles.

Yes, the number of mobile threats is still low compared to the desktop realm. Moreover, mobiles tend to have a greater degree of internal protection thanks to Apple et al. However, mobile antivirus software is becoming more important. Indeed, it all plays into the narrative that mobiles are the new computers. That’s why we have passwords, passcodes, and fingerprint protection. We live so much of our lives through phones that we have to secure them like we do computers. This means antivirus software will soon become standard. Moreover, it will lead to more innovations and ideas in the coming years as we look to make our mobiles more secure than ever.