Ahmad Kareh

Whether you're starting a new company or overhauling the image of an existing one, building a brand is a big undertaking with extremely high stakes. Getting your brand wrong as a startup means failing to resonate with your target audience. Messing up a rebranding effort could mean alienating and ultimately losing your loyal customer base.

Google's announcement about adding a built-in ad blocker to Chrome presents an opportunity to advertisers. Aggressive advertising, such as pop-ups or auto-playing videos, have annoyed website visitors for nearly as long as they've been in existence. While such advertisements can be used to success, they can also drive away traffic and damage user impressions of a company or product.

As the popularity of immersive virtual reality experiences continues to grow, more and more platforms now offer the ability to create and publish 360-degree photos and videos. Consumers are increasingly exploring and using this media format, and brands might think now is the perfect time to get in on the ground floor.

As channels for sharing important information, influencers, journalists and social media all offer their own advantages. But blasting the same message to the widest possible number of recipients is counterproductive. Journalists and influencers are routinely contacted by firms, and not all consumers are the right audience for every piece of news. After all, no matter how important the information may seem to insiders and people within a company, not everyone will care about every development. Blast the same message too often and you may find users blocking you on social media or your emails to publications or influencers being filtered directly to the trash.

As a business owner, you are surely aware of the value and importance of engaging with your audience if you want to become and stay relevant in today’s competitive online space.

You've had some good meetings with representatives from a new agency. The team members they've sent seem sharp, personable and ready to have you sign on the dotted line. But committing to an agency – whether you're transitioning to a new agency or this is your first time working with one – is a big deal.

Consumer demand is rising for video content: At least 43% want to see more than they're seeing now, according to research done by Hubspot. But poor marketing can turn people away. One danger is that over-produced or overly slick videos can leave potential clients or customers feeling talked at, rather than to. This can lead viewers to feel disconnected from the content and can create the perception that the presentation is inauthentic. Other troubles include videos that focus purely on the hard sale; while these can work, they can also create a sense of "you want something" rather than "you're providing me with something to value" – a significant difference in perception.

Augmented reality is quickly becoming one of the hottest trends in the marketing and advertising industries, recognized as an innovative and creative way of connecting with customers and increasing engagement. The technology has significantly grown in popularity over the last few years, and the AR market is expected to continue this trend; it's projected to reach $117.4 billion by 2022, as indicated by Markets and Markets research.

Every business has a target audience that it hopes will buy its product or service. Rather than create marketing campaigns for an unknown quantity of nameless, faceless "consumers," many companies try to create user personas – clearly defined individual personality types based on real demographic and behavioral information about their target customers. After all, isn't it easier to have a one-on-one conversation with a person you know than get up and give a presentation to a crowd of strangers?

On a popular social media platform, you can share photos and videos with your followers that will automatically disappear after 24 hours. Which one is it?