what is the facebook metaverse

The Metaverse. What is it?

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Recently, Facebook has announced that they will be changing their name to Meta. Now I know the question you might be asking…what does this mean? Well at the time of writing this post, nothing. But let’s dive into the meaning behind the change, and why the term “Metaverse” has been such a hot topic as of late.

Here’s the announcement video, if you haven’t seen it already.

If you haven’t been following tech news lately, there has been a plethora of small, and large companies trying to establish the “metaverse” based on popular films & books like The Matrix, and Ready Player One. If you don’t know what those are, I highly recommend looking into them.

So, what exactly is the Metaverse?

Essentially, the Metaverse means that we will be able to live a second-life in a digital world. You can socialize with other “Avatars” (people), shop at your favorite stores, attend work meetings, and explore virtual worlds. There are already some games/entertainment that resemble a smaller form of the metaverse such as VRChat, Rec Room, or even Second Life.

I’ve actually played VRChat and I have to admit, it is quite fun. You can attend virtual comedy clubs, play virtual minigames, all with a VR headset. Here’s a video that shows off some of VRChats best features.

So after watching that video, you get a brief idea of what to expect. However, “Meta” AKA Facebook is trying to turn this into a second world, where everything you can do in the physical world, can be done in this virtual world. Personally, I don’t think we currently have the technology to do so, however I’m not going to be a hater and discredit them.

The Dark Side of Things.

As with everything, giving people the freedom to do as they please often results in bad behavior, especially in a virtual place where there are no “real life” punishments. I can already imagine what people will do when this releases. Trolling, Bullying, Infiltrating virtual business meetings, etc. Those are just minor things I can think of.

Scam or Not?

There are many smaller, crowdfunded startups promising to deliver the Metaverse to their backers. While this is a noble goal, it leaves many skeptical. Let’s take a look at a controversial project that promises to deliver a metaverse, cryptocurrency, and NFTs to their users.

This project is called, Earth 2.

What is Earth 2?

Well currently, it’s a website where you can purchase “virtual land”. And at the moment, that’s pretty much it. The developers promise to make this land usable, but as of now it’s only there to be purchased. There are content creators who have built up quite a viewership covering this topic, and if you are interested here’s a video covering this mess. And when I say it’s a mess, it’s a MESS.

When it comes to this topic, there is a lot to talk about. This is something that will definitely be happening in the future, so all we can do as of now is sit back and watch this new technology play out.

Tune into next weeks blog, where we will be covering another huge, trending topic…..NFTs & Cryptocurrency!

Why Good Customer Service Is So Important.

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Having great customer service is something that benefits every single aspect of your business. Not only does it help you generate new customers through referrals and word of mouth, but it also helps with returning customers. It’s a known fact that consumers who have had a pleasant experience are more likely to share it, and more likely to return.

The perfect example, is our business AngelStar Digital. We have been serving Windsor-Essex’s printing & design needs for over 25 years, and still have returning customers since day 1. The primary reason for this is because we are a family owned business, and treat every person that walks into that door with respect, and like a human. We’ve managed to even built up friendships over that period of time, and it’s something we are very proud of.

So if that right there isn’t a solid enough reason you should be prioritizing quality-customer service, i don’t know what is.

On a more direct level, the way you interact with your customers directly reflects the workplace atmosphere, and personality of your business. So if your customer service people have an attitude towards the customer, people will automatically assume they hate working there, and that your place of employment is probably toxic. Which is not exactly a good thing, capiche?

However, what defines great customer service isn’t based on friendliness alone. Below, is a visual to show you what consumers value the most from their interactions with customer service.

This makes customer feedback very important, for all parties involved. Check the ratings for business, one of the primary reasons you will get a low rating is because of your customer service. You could sell the worlds greatest product, but if you don’t resolve people’s issues with it, or don’t seem to care about their problems, then your business will suffer.

Remember this. Even though you are the business owner and they are the consumer, you are both human beings and the interaction between both parties should feel like a human to human experience. Not one of those automated, half-effort responses we are used to dealing with.

 

Remembrance Day 2021: A Time For Reflection & Appreciation.

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Every year, on November 11th we celebrate Remembrance Day.

A memorial day originally dedicated to the fallen heroes of the first world war, however it’s evolved into a moment of reflection, and appreciation for all those in uniform.

A Brief History

In 1919, following the end of the first World War, King George V of the British Empire established a memorial known as Armistice day throughout most of the territories within the empire. This memorial was meant to celebrate, honor, and remember the men and women who served during the war, and lost their lives. The original date for this memorial was on the second Monday of November. However, this ended up colliding with Canadian Thanksgiving, and was eventually changed to the 11th, and renamed “Remembrance Day” in 1931.

When Armistice Day was renamed to Remembrance Day, it brought back interest in recalling the wars, and great sacrifices that were made. Eventually, two minutes of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day, poppies, and the recitation of Flanders Field became custom.

 

Remembrance Day, Today.

Growing up, I always remembered taking two minutes of silence to reflect on the soldiers who gave their lives for us, and it always stuck with me. It’s an extremely important day, as I know people close to me who fought in the Afghanistan Wars, and were never the same after they returned. Soldiers are put through hell, from training, to conflict, and beyond, which brings me to my next point.

Ever since it’s birth, Remembrance Day has unfortunately fluctuated in popularity and celebration. Many employers don’t seem to value it’s importance, and refuse to give their employees TWO whole minutes to reflect. Which is undeniably disappointing as these troops sacrificed their lives for our country, and witnessed many gruesome, and unforgettable, life-changing things.

Especially these past few years with the pandemic, it seems that celebration for the memorial is at an all time low.

 

Indigenous Veterans Day

One of the more overlooked memorial days, is the Indigenous Veterans Day which occurs on November 8th. This day is meant to celebrate first nation soldiers, often volunteers who fought side-by-side with fellow “Canadian” troops. Why they were referred to as fighting alongside Canadians, instead of AS Canadians is because during the time their platoons were considered a “separate entity”. However, many first nations in the current day are fighting to decolonize Remembrance Day, and essentially combine both days.

The Power of Branding: Construction Industry.

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The construction industry is one of those industries that is often overlooked and undervalued by people who don’t know much about it. Construction and all that encompasses it (which is a LOT of different sub-categories) is a lucrative, and essential industry. Unlike a lot of corporate industries, the construction industry is led by tons of small-scale, usually family-owned businesses that all specialize in different things, instead of MASSIVE giants. In the world of construction, the massive giants are the “Unions”, which is something I won’t dive into for the sake of the post.

Why is branding so important if you work construction, or have your own business? Well, it ties back to a point that I made in the opening paragraph. That point being….market saturation. Off the top of my head, I can name at least 5-10 construction companies in my small, local area, and I know little to nothing about the industry. With that in mind, think of people who actually might know a thing or two, how does your company differentiate itself from the competition? Is your quality better? Are you more efficient, and quicker? Do you charge less?

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Here’s a quick example of how a brand can affect even the smallest conversations.

You recently performed a job for a client named Jim. After the job was completed, Jim was very impressed.

Later during the week, Jim met one of their buddies at the bar and showed them pictures of the job you did. The client’s friend, Bill looked at the pictures and asked “Who built that?”

Jim responded with “John Doe Contracting”. Bill said, “Oh I think I’ve seen those guys before, they have those bright green trucks with the bear logo or something right?”

“Yeah, that’s them.”

“Damn, they do some great work” Bill responded.

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If you still haven’t realized why that example would be awesome in real life, let me spell it out for you.

Your client showed a friend (potential customer) your work.

Both of them liked your work.

The friend remembered your brand, based on seeing your trucks.

Catching on?

If you’re still not sold, here are some other reasons to brand your construction company. Wearing brand shirts or hoodies can help identify your workers on sites with multiple contracting companies.

People who like their jobs love wearing their employer’s merch, so everybody knows what they do, and where they work. Which in turn, is also free advertising for you.

Plus, look at this awesome wrap we did for local Cainen Contracting. Pulling up to a site with a high-quality, sexy wrap like this makes a statement. What is that statement?

That you guys take pride in your work, you’re professionals, and you are the right guy for the job.

 

 

Why Should You Rebrand Your Business?

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Ever wonder why big companies change up their brand “appearance” every few years?

Surprisingly, there are many different reasons for this.

Primarily, many businesses like to rebrand their company to feel up to date and to reposition themselves. For example, lately, there has been an influx of brands changing their brands to a more modern, minimalistic appeal.

Here’s an example of some of the biggest rebrands for 2021:

When it comes to repositioning, we can take a look at Walmart who changed its business slogan from “Always Low Prices” to “Save Money, Live Better”. Why was this so significant? Well, Walmart had a reputation for dirt cheap prices but wanted to provide some value/guarantee to their slogan. They knew that saving money led to a “better” life, subjectively. While these changes are minor, they can have a major impact on how people view your company, and sometimes it feels good to rebrand your business after using the same logos, colors, themes, for so long.

Rebrands don’t have to be drastic either, it’s all depending on your goals, and how you can make your company more “unique” compared to the competition in your field. For example, look at McDonald’s, which completely shifted into a “cafe” style restaurant.

Everybody misses the old McDonalds, including me. However, McDonald’s saw an opportunity for rebranding and took it. What was this opportunity? Well, there were quite a few. For example, the packaging of their products. This was changed to increase the “sustainability” of their previous packaging. (Which is also why many companies are switching to paper straws, due to climate change activism, and many people pointing the finger at large corporations.) As far as an overall rebrand, it was more of a reputation thing. In the United States, the obesity rates were rising through the roof in young children, and many feds pointed the finger at McDonald’s saying that they were too playful, and appealing to children.

Now with some background information and examples in your head, let’s look at the stats.

  1. Most importantly, consumers purchase from authentic brands, that they trust. What does this have to do with rebranding? Well look at big companies who have had controversy, and managed to “rebrand” to show that their company is a different company than before. For small business owners, you want to make sure you look professional, and up-to-date which is where a rebrand comes in. If you want to look more trustworthy, stop using your 1990s photoshopped logo, and switch to something more modern.
  2. First impressions make a BIG impact. Keep the above point in your head because it directly correlates with this one. If your brand is lacking visually, or business model-wise, it’s time to change that. Something business owners should always remember is that if they want more customers, you have to be in their face as much as possible. This means that branding your vehicles, running ads, branding company outfits, all work together like pieces of a pie, but with that being said the initial impression is definitely the most important.
  3. Be Consistent. If you’re going to rebrand your logo, for example, make sure that you are using that one logo everywhere. If your vehicle wrap has your old logo, it’s time to visit AngelStar Digital and update that to your new logo. In my opinion, as a marketing specialist, these are three of the most important branding tips I could give you.

Hopefully, this post helps you consider whether your brand is up-to-date for 2022, or still stuck in 2008.

Are you keeping up? For Business Owners, and Marketers.

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The world of business is an ever-changing landscape. Each and every day, new technology and software are released, that will eventually shake up the digital world.

As we know, Social Media is an absolute giant. It has become the best way to reach the consumer, and deliver our message to them.

As a marketer, the digital world fascinates me. It amazes me how ads have been more impactful, and relevant more than ever. When the user likes certain pages, talks about certain things, and shows a general interest in a product/service/industry, it allows us to segment better than ever, and get better results than ever before. While this is all great news and all, it also brings up some challenges.

For example, consumers are exposed to an average of 4,000-10,000 ads per day.

How is your message going to stand out, and stick in the mind of the consumer, with a stat like that?

Here are some best practices, that should help with that exact problem.

Whether you’re a marketer, or a business owner if you follow some of these practices you are GUARANTEED to excel in the digital landscape.

  • Content is King, Video Content Trumps All. I put this first, for a good reason. Next time you scroll through your social media feed/timeline, take a look at how much still imagery you see. I guarantee you that while you are scrolling, you will stop because you see either a gif/video that moves. Now that it grabbed your attention, it reels you in even further by using sound, and video. Every business should include video content for this exact reason, however, the ones that stick out the best are the most clever/creative ones. For example, here at AngelStar Digital in Windsor, we post satisfying, “behind the scenes” video content. Why? Put simply, people love satisfying content.

 

  • Optimize EVERYTHING for SEO. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. When you write content, figure out ways to tie in your key phrases/words, and make sure they are CONSISTENT across all platforms. And no, it’s 2021, you can’t just fill a page in with keywords and color the font white to hide it, that just makes Google upset. He’s a mini-scenario of how I tend to optimize my content for a YouTube Channel.
    • Let’s say our company did a vehicle wrap, of a 2021 Ford Bronco. After my video is done rendering, I make sure to name the finished product something like “AngelStar_Car_Wrap_Ford_Bronco.mp4″. I use this name, because it’s based on the keywords people use to find our business, and it is relative to the content in the video. Then, when I make the thumbnail image, I’ll give it a similar name. When I write my description I’ll make sure to use keywords that relate to the video, and what people are searching for similar to the service ‘Car Wrap”. So on, and so forth. You want to make sure everything you upload to the internet is named properly and can help improve your search rankings.

 

  • Google MyBusiness. Tying into SEO, but important enough to be its own point is Google MyBusiness. This is something you should stay on top of, constantly. Making sure your business hours are correct, posting photos of your workplace/products, responding to customer reviews (Especially the negative ones), posting offers and events, are all extremely important especially for business owners.

 

  • Social Media, Use It Properly.  This one is mostly for the business owners that might be out of the loop, as marketers are USUALLY trained/educated on the matter, and yes…usually. If you run a social media account for your business, make sure you follow some of these rules of thumb.
    • Post consistently, don’t spam post either. Using a tool like Hootsuite, you can schedule all your posts in advance. Generally, there are some best days/times of the week to post, which you should Google search. However, every few months you should review your analytics to see what time your viewers actually interact the most with your content, and base it on that data.
    • Use emojis, strategically. The use of emojis, in general, seems to help increase overall engagement with posts. however, when executed properly, can be even more beneficial.
    • Establish a voice, and stick to it. Take a look at some of your favorite brands, and scroll through their posts. (The best example, is Wendy’s). You should automatically be able to get a gist of the brand’s “personality” by the content they post, how they “speak” through their copy, and how they interact with their audience, which brings me to my last point.
    • Engage with your audience. Remember, your goal for this is to get your audience to interact and engage with you. This means that when they do, you have to interact back with them, professionally, even the bad comments. You know how the saying goes, “Even Bad Publicity, is Good Publicity”. While you shouldn’t aim for bad publicity, you should still make sure to keep it under control when it does happen, because it does.

 

Now to be quite frank, I could spend the whole day writing about this. There are so many different aspects that you need to consider, in order to separate yourself from the pack and get ahead. If you actually had the time & patience to read the entire post, make sure to look up some more pointers and etc to get a better understanding.

I’ll leave you with one final statement. “The Human attention span has dwindled down to approximately 6 seconds and is expected to sink even lower. This is how much time you have, so make sure you make the best of it.”

As always, thanks for reading! I hope this does help your business, and if you have any further questions, you can reach out to any of our social media profiles at AngelStar Digital.

 

Vehicle Advertising. Here’s why your business NEEDS it!

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Vehicle Advertising is a marketing trend that is growing more and more, each year.

What on earth is causing it to grow at such a rate?

Well first, let’s start off with some need-to-know facts about this form of OOH (Out-of-Home) advertising!

  • Vehicle wraps/decals give you between 30,000-70,000 ad impressions, depending on the density of your area.
  • A vehicle driven only 15,000km per year will pass by roughly 9,000,000 cars. (No exaggeration!)
  • Vehicle wraps/decals help improve brand recognition by almost 15% greater than other advertising mediums.

These were only a couple of the many reasons your business should be utilizing vehicle advertising.

Now, let’s discuss WHY those numbers are so high.

Let’s start with a scenario.

You live in the Greater Toronto Area, and you spend about 30-45 minutes commuting to work. You spend most of your commute in a “Stop-and-Go” traffic jam. While waiting for traffic to move, you notice a bright Orange and Blue pickup truck, wrapped in a company decal. It immediately caught your attention as it went by, sticking out like a sore thumb against the sea of silver, white, and black cars you’re normally used to seeing. The truck was from a local plumbing company in the area. When you get home from work, you notice that your pipes under our sink have been leaking. On your way to work the next day, you see that bright truck again, which has a decal on the bed of the truck with the company phone number. When you get home, you call the company and they show up.

This was obviously a highly sped-up scenario, but it gives you a general idea of how these things work.

Almost 70% of cars on the road follow a “grayscale” color scheme of white, gray, black, and silver. What this means, is that it is ridiculously easy to stand out amongst the crowd. Not only does this apply to automobile traffic, but to anywhere your vehicle can be seen with a pair of eyes.

Not only can wrapping your vehicle help your car stick out, and gain more “impressions”, it also helps people briefly understand what your brand is about.

Here’s an example showing just how much of an impact wrapping your vehicle can have.

Before:

After:

(Wrap performed by the talented team at AngelStar Digital, in Windsor, ON.)

Which one would catch your eye in traffic?

Hopefully, this blog post helped you realize how beneficial this could be for your business!

Let us know!

Top 10: Best Ways to Grow Your Small Business!

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When it comes to marketing your small business, and trying to get ahead there are a few roadblocks many small business owners face. These include:

  • Lack of Funds
  • Lack of Time
  • Lack of Knowledge.

So how do you tackle these? Well…it depends on what the issue really is.

Usually business owners that lack time & knowledge, tend to hire someone to advertise their business for them but what if you lack funds too?

Well you’re going to have to figure it out for yourself for the time being, but that’s where this blog post comes in.

Here are 10 of the BEST ways to advertise your business to the right people, at the right place, at the right time.

  1. Social Media: This one is kind of a no-brainer, however there are many practices that can help you grow your social presence without spending a dime. Even if you aren’t going to be doing the social posting yourself, it’s still important to know how it works. Check out this post by  CoSchedule to learn more about organic social growth. If you have any money for marketing (which you definitely should) a good idea would be to look into paid ads. Social Media offers some of the cheapest ways to get your posts/ads/business in front of more eyes and are perfect for upcoming promotions, displaying your best work, and getting more people interested in you.
  2. Google Search Ads (PPC): It’s no secret that Google is an absolute GIANT, which is why it’s landing in the second spot. On average, businesses make $2 for every $1 invested when using Search Ads so take that how you will. If you are unfamiliar with the term “pay per click” it means you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. One of the major downsides to this though, is that like social media, there’s a lot of market saturation. While this can be a low cost, high turnover form of marketing, the big players with bigger wallets tend to win.
  3. Video Content: This ties directly into social media, however it’s important enough to be it’s own point. One important thing you will learn is that good content is king, and video content is king. Video is the best, for quite a few reasons. Since there’s visuals paired with audio, it tends to keep the viewer interested more than if it was just words and a picture. This directly correlates with the average attention span being 6 seconds, which is unfortunately lowering more and more.
  4. SEO: For business owners, SEO is very important for many reasons. The internet is a highly saturated place, and you are competing against hundreds, thousands, even millions depending on where you are located, and the type of business you are.  SEO helps you organically build up your Google Search presence, which can be done for free. If you end up hiring someone to do this for you, it’s worth noting that SEO isn’t a one and done deal, you have to do SEO year round to see effective results. If you only do it for 3 months, you might experience growth during that period but once you stop doing it you will fall back down the ranks and end up at square one.
  5. Email Marketing: Believe it or not, Email Marketing is an effective tool for re-targeting previous customers, and keeping them in the loop. Giving people incentives (Such as deals, promos, etc) to join your email lists can help increase signups, and ultimately sales. Just make sure you are following the CASL regulations or you can get in serious trouble. While the open rates for emails have dropped substantially in the past 15 years, they are still a very viable tool because the people that actually open your emails are interested in hearing from you.
  6. Google Display Ads: Google lands another spot on the list. What are display ads, and how are they different from search ads? Well simply put, Display Ads are a form of “push” advertising, where as Search Ads are a form of “pull” advertising. Search ads show up when users search for something, and are most commonly text based ads. Whereas, display ads are visually based ads perfect for showing off products, and carrying emotion. So why is this one lower on the list? Well budget wise, search ads tend to be better for lower budget startups, and smaller scale business.
  7. Niche Marketing Tips: Niche marketing in this scenario refers to smaller, less “mainstream” forms of advertising that can carry large impacts. Some of the best forms of niche marketing, are custom work apparel, vehicle wraps, banners/decals, signage….real life things. These “real life” tactics take your marketing beyond the screen, and help your brand get in-front of more eyes through different channels. The more you get your logo in-front of consumers, even if it is low key, still helps them recognize you. If someone sees your Facebook ads, then sees your vehicle wrap in traffic, then sees your shirt at a store, these are all different ways to increase awareness and eventually get more business.
  8. Encourage Reviews: Reviews on almost every platform affect your SEO, credibility, and profits in ways you can’t even imagine. If you can ask customers to leave a review on socials or on Google, it can greatly benefit you. Especially if you pair that with a coupon for their next purchase, this encourages them to review you and return back for more business.
  9. Print Ads: Back around 30 years ago, print would have topped this list. However, the world of digital has shaken up traditional advertising media quite substantially. Does this mean that it is no-longer a valid method of advertising? Not at all. Depending on your target audience, your business, or your industry, print advertising is still a very attractive way to advertise. Keep in mind though, print advertising is more expensive than social media, however people tend to trust print ads more than digital ads.
  10. Engage with Local Community: Now this one takes the last spot, but not because it’s the least effective. I put this in last place, because it depends on your business, your budget, and your goals. All the factors come into play here, however as far as trust goes this is the way to build up the most trust. Participating in charities, events, giveaways, contests, etc will show that you care about the community, and that you are a responsible and ethical business.

One of the best things about advertising/marketing is that it allows you to be creative, with tons of different platforms and mediums to get your message across. While this list isn’t the end all, be all, it’s still based on previous experience with campaigns and clients, and what performed the best short term and long term.

Thanks again for sticking around and reading the blog! Hopefully this can help you promote your business. and if you have any questions/feedback feel free to reach out to our social channels!

introvert

Quarantine Like a Pro! 6 Tips From A Master Introvert!

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Quarantine Like a Pro! 6 Tips From A Master Introvert! With the evolving COV-19 situation, leaving your house is becoming less and less appealing. This leaves some people with a sense of emptiness in their lives. But luckily for you, the employees of AngelStar Digital are master introverts. Here are a few things which we […]

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SWOT analysis

SWOT Analysis for Small Businesses

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Compiling your company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, SWOT is designed to help you and your team gain complete awareness of all the factors involved in making big business decisions, such as new initiatives, revamped policies, or market pivots. When it comes to such decisions, performing a SWOT analysis will help you develop a strategy […]

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