Top Ways to Utilize Mobile Marketing and Payment Options Today

top ways to utilize mobile marketing and payment options today

No matter what type of business you currently operate, or plan to open, in this day and age it’s important to keep up with the advances in technology that are changing the way companies interact with, and sell to, consumers.

New technologies haven’t just created whole new industries, products, and services, but also put more information and power in buyers’ hands than ever before. Today, consumers want to be able to pay for goods how, when, and where they choose to, as well as receive information that has been personally customized just for them.

The prevalence of smartphones, in particular, has really led to a variety of new marketing and sales techniques that are beneficial for both customers and businesses. Organizations can now make it easy for consumers to purchase at any location by using the best mobile credit card processing, as well as send customers specifically targeted information, rewards, tips and more.

If you want to get in on the mobile payments action, now is definitely the time. Read on for the lowdown on how you can best use smartphones and related apps in your business today.

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Buy Now or Buy Later: the iPhone 6S vs. the 7

buy now or buy later iPhone 7 iPhone 6s

Even with the strong showing of competitors such as Samsung, LG, and HTC, Apple continues to be the trendiest toy on the smartphone block. With rumors constantly circulating about new innovations that the company is attempting to incorporate into its flagship product’s design, it seems as though that, even as the new version of the iPhone is released, consumers can’t help but immediately look forward to next one.

With the holidays fast approaching and iPhone 7 slated for release in September of next year, Apple enthusiasts are faced with the conundrum of upgrading to the iPhone 6S right now or waiting until the 7’s arrival.

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Visual Bookmarking: A Better Way to Browse the Web

visual bookmarking

When you’re on the Internet, you can fall down the rabbit hole of searches. You’re clicking from one topic to another without pause. When you started, you might have been searching for grilling recipes, but when you’re done, you’re on a page about the latest celebrity story. While you might not want to save everything you skim in a day, there’s no way you would be able to replicate the trail you just created, or the interesting articles you want to read later.

At times like this, it helps to save interesting articles, news stories, recipes, celebrity gossip or wallets in one central location. One way to achieve this is through browser bookmarks. While it’s possible to sync bookmarks across all of your devices with certain browsers, including Google Chrome and Firefox, most people never look at their bookmarks after saving a site.

The Solution: Visual Bookmarking

Visual bookmarking services allow you to organize your online interests. They are a place that you can save interesting stories, compelling photographs or tutorials in one place that can be searchable as well as organized into boards or layouts that are easy to track.

When the articles are clipped or pinned to the online organizer, you can gather them by topic for easy viewing later. Some visual bookmarking services may work offline. You can’t always be within range of Wi-Fi or Internet service. If you’re in the backyard trying to grill, you want to be able to view the recipes you’ve saved to your device.

While you are on your laptop at home, you can save a news story about cocktails onto the visual bookmarking service. Later, you’re out for drinks with a friend, and you want to share the story you read. Instead of doing a search for cocktails, your phone is already synched with the data you’ve saved. You can find the board and instantly show your friend the story.

Examples of Visual Bookmarking Services

Clipix.com is an example of a clipping service that allows you to compile links into boards, work offline and compare prices. Clipix can alert you to lower prices on your favorite items, which is something other clipping services don’t offer.

Pinterest.com has over 100 million monthly users, becoming the visual bookmarking tool of choice of most individuals. For comparison, Twitter currently counts 316 million monthly active users and Snapchat hit 100 million this time a year ago, and is now believed to have doubled that.

For additional visual bookmarking options, check this list of Pinterest imitators and this second list of even more Pinterest imitators.

Where to Find Affordable Apple Parts and Accessories

affordable apple parts accessories

Do you own an iPad, MacBook or iPhone? Are you searching for high quality Apple parts? You can easily buy them from Apple’s retail stores. However, there’s one catch – their prices are sky high.

The hefty price tags often put off buyers because it does not cost much to make any of these accessories. Still, Apple sells them at high prices and makes a killing. But you don’t have to be a victim of this daylight robbery. If you are willing to shop around, it is possible to buy screen protectors, power cords, batteries, cases, logic boards, and additional memory for your Apple devices without burning a hole in your pocket.

Here are three tips to get you started. Continue reading “Where to Find Affordable Apple Parts and Accessories”

Solving the Circuit: A New Age of 3D-Printed Electronics

3d printer

In recent years, we’ve seen plenty of examples that demonstrate how powerful 3D printers have become, but companies haven’t ventured too far into the electronic world.

So far, most objects have been printed using one or two materials, so the thought of crafting your own phone or video game console has felt like a futuristic fantasy.

Now, however, there’s a Kickstarter in progress for a printer called the Voltera V-One, which can make small-scale circuit board in mere hours. It had a $70,000 goal, but raised more than $300,000 with weeks left in the fundraising phase. This just shows how excited engineers and programmers are — they want to get their hands on a machine that allows rapid prototyping from a small office. It’s a noteworthy development in 3D printing technology.

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5 Easy Ways to Trade in Your Phone

trade smartphone

Good quality phones can retain a surprising amount of their original value. An entire industry has been built around buying and selling cell phones. Charities are also eager to accept old working phones so they can sell them and build up their funds. Regardless of where their phone may end up, those who wish to sell their phones can make a fair bit of extra money by taking the time to go through the proper channels.

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The Modern Storage Space of Data Centers [Infographic]

With widespread access to the internet and increased use of cloud storage, it is sometimes easy to forget the amount of data that can be accessed without needing physical space. There is less need to find shelves for photo albums, DVDs, old text books, periodicals, or even handwritten notes. All of that information has to be stored somewhere. As a result, data centers are expanding rapidly to supply the storage that basement shelving would have handled for most people just a century ago.

There are now over 5,000 data centers worldwide, and that number is constantly increasing. All data on the internet runs through a server at one of these centers every time you request it. Check out the infographic by ServerCentral for more amazing facts about data centers.

The Brain of the Internet Infographic

Presented by ServerCentral

 

Why Cloud Computing Makes So Much Sense for Small Businesses

cloud computing small business

Before the Internet, everything was legacy hardware and software. You turned your work on and off and it only came with you if you brought it. Most of the time, that wasn’t possible, being that it was confined on a heavy desktop computer.

After the Internet, everything can stream, from music to video, to documents and accounting spreadsheets. Cloud computing is nearly a $20 billion industry today. It’s a game-changer.

So, why does it make sense for small businesses? It’s packed with advantages. It works smarter, faster and is the smarter investment.

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Time Clock Software For Businesses

time clock software

Time clocks are needed for every business that pays its employees by the hour. Employees need to have a reliable way of tracking how much they have worked, and the business must have an easy way of obtaining information about the hours worked by employees. These clocks are helpful in many ways, and they provide the business with many options for accounting and handling payroll.

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Evaluating and Selecting Manufacturing Software

manufacturing software

Manufacturing software has changed how companies do business for the better. One of the ways in which this software is used is to help oversee all parts of the manufacturing process. Software of the highest quality can be easily used across several industries.

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