WHY FOCUS IS A LUXURY WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT.

Make Time for Yourself for Maximum Effectiveness
Focus is the key to reaching your goals and making your dreams come true. After all, it’s not possible to accomplish your objectives if you can’t spend time focusing on them in the first place. But while it’s easy to see how focus may be the key to reaching your goals, for some people, being able to focus is a luxury. But luxuries aside, the ability to concentrate on critical tasks is non-negotiable. Are you having trouble finding enough time in the day to make yourself a priority? Most people understand the importance of focus, but their lifestyle doesn’t make it feasible for them. Here are some tips and tricks for finding time for yourself so you can focus on your dreams.

Prioritize your list.
Rarely are dreams a “one-two-three” and you’re done type of process. Usually, there are tons of micro-goals and objectives you need to reach to get one goal accomplished. The overall big picture may take several steps to complete before your dream becomes a reality. In these instances, it’s very easy to become overwhelmed with everything you have to do to get to your final destination. But if that happens, you might get paralyzed and procrastinate. Instead, prioritize your list.

It’s more realistic to break down your goals into smaller steps that you can accomplish one day at a time in a few hours. Baby steps, and taking it slow is the key to winning the race. Finding just a few extra hours a day is far easier than blocking off huge chunks of time to reach your goals, once you get one thing accomplished, you’ll be encouraged, and will find the motivation to keep going.

The enemy of finding extra time is perfection.
Do you know how to recognize if something is “good enough?” When you’re trying to find extra time in the day to devote to focusing on your goals, perfection can be a significant drain on your time. Does the underside of the railing really need to be polished? Can you cut back on some of your chores so the house is at least sanitary, but you’re not spending your time alphabetizing the bookshelves? Look into where you spend a lot of time on little perfections that could be cut back on so you can squeeze some more time out of your day.

The key to focusing? Silence.
Your door does not need to be open. Seriously. Excess noise and punctuations in the quiet will jar your mind and ruin your ability to focus. Make it clear that you need the house to be quiet and that the door has to be shut while you’re working.

Emails and text messages can be a major distraction. Turn off your notifications, and put your phone on silent. If you must check email and texts, commit to doing it just twice per day - once in the morning, and once in the evening. If you’re swamped and really need to get caught up? Set up an autoresponder reply.

TV is another distraction. The noise of the TV can hurt your ability to focus, and watching television also puts a huge drain on your time. When you’re looking to accomplish a goal, give the TV a rest. Your dreams and your time will appreciate it. Keep these tips in mind to cut back on distractions, give yourself more time in the day, and improve your ability to focus.

REWARD!!!
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WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT, A GREAT BRAND OR A GREAT PRODUCT?

They say that perception is reality, and when it comes to having a great brand versus a great product, this adage becomes even more profound.

In marketing, both offline and online, there are two competing schools of thought. In University 1, marketers believe that the product is more critical to a company's success. Students and professors of University 2 diverge, thinking that brand is more important than the product. Here, we're proponents of the University 2 school of thought - that having a great brand is more important than selling superior products.
 
Why do more people believe that having a great product is the key to a company's success?
Logically, it makes sense that a great product comes before a great brand. The thinking goes that the product comes first, then a great marketing strategy is built around the product to influence perception. If a company has a superior product, then the goal of the marketing department is to communicate the product's unique features and benefits effectively.
 
It's simple, logical, and intuitive that a company would first develop a superior product and then work on developing a marketing or branding strategy to move the product. But while this may seem accurate on its face, this line of thinking completely ignores a key component of human nature; that perception is reality.
 
Why is the brand more important than the product?
It's counterintuitive, but having a great brand is more important than having a great product. Why? Because of perception. In reality, there are no "facts," when it comes to which product is better. There are only perceptions that your target customers hold that drive their purchasing decisions. Think about the ongoing feud between Apple and Microsoft supporters or the iPhone versus the Android. It's impossible to pin down which product is factually superior, as opposed to which product the customers perceive as being better.
 
Also, which is easier? Creating a "better" energy drink than the most famous of all energy drinks, Red Bull, or changing people's perception of Red Bull? Perception is not only the key to creating a "superior" product and building a great brand; perception is also difficult to change. Once someone's perception of a brand is established, it's hard to change it. Unless a great brand does something idiotic, it's nearly impossible to damage a customer's positive perception of a brand.
 
What do businesses need to create perception and build a great brand?

• Differentiation - It's better for brands to be different than to have a superior product.

• Believability - Become a market leader to influence positive perception.

For businesses, establishing positive perception in their target audience's minds is the way to build a great brand. And a great brand is superior to having a great product. But this isn't binary. Product is also essential to a company's ultimate success; it's just not as important as great branding.

What do you think is more important?

IS INFLUENCER MARKETING ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE?

In 2020, the influencer marketing industry is set to reach a whopping 10 billion dollars. A startling 99.3% of businesses who use influencer marketing use Instagram to build and launch their campaigns. But with the rise of major and micro-influencers proliferating on Instagram and elsewhere, is influencer marketing all it’s cracked up to be? For brand awareness, maybe. But when it comes to sales, we don’t think so.

Why has influencer marketing become so popular?

There isn’t a company or marketer alive who hasn’t struggled with creating awareness and driving sales. Often, marketers don’t have enough unique and original content to support all their channels and entertain and inform their audience members. It’s also challenging to foster trustworthiness and brand identity. And with so many brands using online and offline marketing and advertising, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for marketers to break through the noise and capture their ideal customer’s attention. Because of these marketing difficulties, influencer marketing quickly became the go-to solution for these problems. But the solutions influencer marketing brings to the table - trustworthiness and attention-grabbing - aren’t necessarily going to result in direct sales.

So, what’s the problem with influencer marketing?

When they first came on the scene, influencers may have been able to build the type of trust that brand’s want to foster with their target audience. But in today’s world where fake bots and large follower counts are often an illusion, influencers are more akin to reality stars than trusted authorities for most consumers. Having thousands, and hundreds of thousands, of followers might be what marketers want to see, but this doesn’t always translate into a sign of trustworthiness for consumers.

Studies and surveys on influencer marketing bear this out. Only 23% of surveyed consumers believe that content and recommendations from celebrities and micro-influencers are in fact, influential. Conversely, 60% of consumers are more apt to trust recommendations and content from their friends and family members. A social influencer, to most consumers, is just another marketer. They are inherently untrustworthy. Consumers are savvy and understand that content from influencers is simply the digital, modern equivalent of paid advertising.

The impact of social influencers is similar to the effects found with native advertising forms. It’s useful for steadily improving soft metrics like awareness and engagement. But when it comes to metrics like sales and conversions, influencer marketing falls short. Companies must understand that influencer marketing does have a place - to build awareness. But when it comes to direct sales? Not so much, and your efforts are more likely to pay off if you focus your marketing efforts elsewhere.

Who are your greatest influencers?

The effectiveness of influencer marketing will vary somewhat depending on your industry and your specific marketing goals. But the prevalence of bots and fake followers has seriously sullied the reputation and effectiveness of influencer marketing when it comes to sales. Your best bet? Get your real customers to recommend your products and services to their family and friends.