When it comes to characterizing the art of luxury branding, there is oh-so-very much to dive into. From the opulent adornments of Ancient Egypt to the rising popularity of decadent digital marketplaces, luxury is intimately and pervasively intertwined with human history—providing us with endless opportunities to discover. But first, it’s worth visiting the identity of the elusive quality that we call luxury itself. The word comes from the Latin word luxuria which simply means ‘extravagance or excess’. However, while most tend to associate luxury goods with top-end price tags, there is so much more to the DNA of luxury than expense alone. During his tenure with LVMH Group, Jean-Claude Biver poignantly remarked that “luxury is whatever money cannot buy.” His enigmatic words dropped a vital clue to the recipe for luxury branding success, while also highlighting the vital differences between marketing for conventional consumerism and forging an aspirational brand that can ultimately be elevated to luxury status. While positioning for the luxury market can be tricky, many have achieved the feat—and there has never been a better time for those still aspiring to do so. [Global revenue from luxury goods](https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/luxury-goods/worldwide) climbed to an unprecedented US$354.80bn in 2022 and further growth of 3.47% annually is predicted for the years ahead. With that in mind, today our goal is to delve into the fundamentals of luxury branding, exploring the tactics harnessed by those who do it best, so that they might be used as a map for following in the footsteps of those who have risen before us. ### The Power of Symbolic Value In her role as a globally recognized authority on brand meaning, Dr. Martina Olbert described the very essence of a luxury item as being “based on the inflation of its symbolic value over the functional value.” She reminds us that anything that is luxurious is a non-necessity, and its primary role is not problem-solving, but rather to create an experience that transcends the object itself. Where other brands might place greater emphasis on tangible, solution-oriented, and user-friendly features, luxury branding instead calls for aspects such as quality, craftsmanship, and exemplary customer care to be accompanied by the intangible—a sense of rarity, exclusivity, heritage, legacy, status, innovation, and ultimately, the leveraging of both fantasy and imagination to weave exceptional and enduring customer journeys. Crucially, the style of symbolic value cultivated by luxury brands may vary, but they do often share a core group of recognizable components. However, before we move on to what these are, there is another key factor to calculate into our precisely cultivated luxury branding equation. ### The Importance of Differentiation Turning to yet another striking difference between the way that big-name brands present to their audiences and the way that luxury brands do, we find the immeasurable contribution of differentiation. For most businesses, demonstrating superiority over the competition by actively encouraging comparison is a useful strategy. But, within the world of designer decadence, this tactic is seen as something to avoid. Instead, differentiation is prioritized and often taken to its extremes. Moving far beyond differentiating the qualities of products themselves, veteran luxury brands strive to foster unique—and ideally incomparable—brand identities that become transcendent and sacred central tenets, capable of both steering and grounding their continuing evolution. Iconic identifiers such as the red interiors of a Bentley, the red soles of Christian Louboutin’s shoes, and the repeated and interwoven “LV” monograms that have decorated Louis Vuitton handbags for more than a century, come to mind. These instantly recognizable signature facets of each brand’s makeup allow them to become part of our cultural fabric. This, in turn, inspires customer loyalty that is emotionally rooted and offers buyers the opportunity to shift their self-perception through ownership. ### Identifying the Core Components of Luxury Branding Undoubtedly, the arrival of the digital era has brought numerous challenges for those with a hold in the luxury market. These include an escalation in imitation and the complex shift from primarily meeting customers in curated luxury brand retail settings to presenting them with meaningful luxury shopping experiences in a virtual format. However, the[ powerful recovery of the luxury market ](https://www.statista.com/statistics/266503/value-of-the-personal-luxury-goods-market-worldwide/)since the Covid-19 crisis and its recently escalated expansion demonstrates that even the most historic luxury brands can readily evolve while remaining true to their defining identity. If we think back to that all-important idea of symbolism, it is apparent that this and any other form of luxury brand progression requires an anchor of sorts. The central DNA of the brand must be faithfully safeguarded, allowing new avenues to be explored without losing the essence that enabled that precious label of luxury to be applied in the first place. To drop that anchor effectively, we can consider the strategies used by many greats within the luxury sphere to achieve that all-important one-two combo of brand symbolism and differentiation. These common threads—while open to unique interpretation—are likely vital not only for initial success in luxury branding but also as the cornerstones upon which prosperity in forward evolution can be built. #### Time and Legacy Almost universally, the most prestigious luxury brands use the concept of time to shape their narratives and therefore how their audiences perceive them. For example, we can look to the widespread reputational legacy that lingers after more than a century of Rolex watches or the family heritage of Hermes—which spans back to 1837 and across six generations—to understand the role that time often plays in luxury branding. It’s certainly true that impressions of lineage, heritage, and historic wisdom add to the allure of a luxury brand, fostering a sense of trustworthiness and a claim to tradition among customers. But the power of time can also be harnessed by brands taking their first steps into the luxury marketplace. Much of the symbolism of a brand is drawn from its storytelling, and value perception can be increased not only by looking to the past but also to the future. To see this in action, we can look to the young but multi-award-winning Italian luxury furniture maker Baxter. While the brand was only launched in 2010, its story nods to Italian cultural heritage and the founders’ family roots while describing furnishing that is “speaking about the passing of time and tracing the lines of the future.” Whether a brand draws on individual or shared cultural heritage or positions itself as a cutting-edge offering of tomorrow, an expression of time investment is impactful. Strategically identifying as innovative and future-thinking can enhance customer perception of both exclusivity and quality while also inspiring an impression of the longevity of their purchased experience. #### Exclusivity and Rarity Within the human experience, that which is readily available is rarely as desirable as that which feels almost beyond our reach. Within the realm of luxury goods, whenever a product is seen as rare and exclusive, the customer gains a sense of both achievement and of being special along with their purchase—and this, in turn, provides the brand’s differentiation with a simultaneous boost. There are numerous ways to integrate this aspect of luxury branding, thoughtfully gearing toward the brand-aligned select few. Examples include difficult-to-attainable price points, using scarce and precious materials, accommodating only limited supply, restricting access, and even using exclusive locations as settings for campaign marketing. In this way, the distance between customers and products can be created literally through barriers to possession, and conceptually by providing a sense of special status to patrons. This is a particularly important factor to consider when navigating the wireless waves of online luxury branding. Where other brands would grasp the opportunity of this format to shift products in greater volume, the relevance of ensuring scarcity remains as central as ever for luxury brand positioning. A product’s flood of presence on social media can quickly dilute its aspirational value, while in contrast, its appearance on the feeds of a select few can quickly ramp up its appeal. This makes the electronic realm a space within which to establish new niche audiences for luxury goods, absolutely, but not to abandon the historic luxury retail modus operandi altogether. #### Skill and Artisanal Craftsmanship A component of luxury branding that the digital age has certainly advanced is the ability of manufacturers to portray the quality of their craftsmanship to audiences. Artisanal skill, innovation, attention to detail, personalization, and scale of endeavor have long been associated with luxury goods. But today, technology is helping with the communication of these qualities as never before. Shared video allows fashion houses to showcase the hours of labor and intricate methodologies behind their couture offerings, while contemporary website design lets luxury carmakers provide visitors with interactive opportunities to explore vehicle design features intimately and from any angle. These advancements are unquestionably handy for building an impression of quality in the mind and eyes of the consumer, allowing them the confidence required, both logically and emotionally, to pay more for luxury goods. In deciding to do so, they not only experience assurance of the caliber of manufacturing that they’ll access but potentially also enjoyment in investing in something that aligns with their ideals—whether that’s the continuation of time-honored traditional craftsmanship or the forward leaps of bold technological or societal advancement. #### Storytelling as a Tool For Connection When the symbolism of a luxury brand is created through effective and niche-specific storytelling, it inevitably aids in deeper and more meaningful customer connection. Among long-established luxury brands, we often see how awareness of the personalities behind them can contribute to this effect. This can absolutely be seen in larger-than-life personalities such as the late Dame Vivienne Westwood, or the 1909 origin story of an unavoidably-familiar French fashion house and its trailblazing founder Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel. Her name and legacy are just as bound to the brand identity as its continuing celebration of her signature tweed designs. On a darker note, the power of personality in luxury branding can also be observed in the enduring fascination with some of fashion’s more tragic icons such as Alexander McQueen and Gianni Versace. Of course, there are other potential approaches to storytelling beyond uniting a brand and individual inextricably—and a luxury brand’s story can also evolve over time or be strategically added to. Swiss luxury watchmaker Omega showcases an outstanding example of brand story evolution. Founded by Louis Brandt in 1848, the company already had an established legacy in high-end horology when it became the maker of the first watch ever worn on the moon. In leveraging this extension of its brand identity, Omega became not only a historically prized watch manufacturer but also a brand uniquely associated with excitement, fantasy, and the modern era—without a doubt, a luxury branding differentiation dream. Whether earthbound or otherwise, through storytelling, luxury brands can capitalize effectively using the imagination-driven resources within their marketing toolkits. They can paint a picture of something beyond the every day, and in doing so, generate value that transcends form and function by mere association. We can see the effective simplicity of mirrored language choices harnessed respectively by a long-standing luxury brand and an entirely novel one. Ralph Lauren famously once said, “I don’t design clothes, I design dreams”. More recently, ultra-contemporary luxury fashion retailer AZ Factory led their story-centric branding with the words, “We are building a Factory that manufactures dreams into real solutions.” While the two phrases are directionally opposed, both present the idea of clothing being more than just clothing, and in doing so, demonstrate the calling card of luxury. Taking storytelling further, luxury brands can also create offshoot arenas in which to expand their audience connection without shifting their core branding strategy. A great example is Gucci’s Equilibrium initiative. This connected platform has been used as a vehicle to communicate their modern commitment to generating positive change for people and the planet, from reducing their carbon footprint to utilizing groundbreaking regenerated materials. Ultimately, with every carefully targeted story that is incorporated into a luxury branding composition—whether an origin story, a new initiative or even a tale told visually within an advertising campaign—each customer’s sense of personal connection to the brand can be strengthened toward permanence. ### Audience Awareness Is a Superpower Because exclusivity, by default, makes niche appeal such a necessary part of luxury brand-building, audience awareness is key. In order to utilize the above components of luxury branding well, the segment of affluent customers for whom the brand’s unique offering will resonate most must be considered—or the offering must be tailored to fill an identified hole in the luxury market and reach the associated demographic. As any luxury brand finds its stride and starts to pick up the pace, the habit of continuously returning to the central tenets that allowed such success to unfold is the best strategy for continuing triumph. With an anchor in place, the brand will be able to grow and evolve, while forging a legacy that—with a little luck—will one day place it shoulder-to-shoulder with the most prestigious names within the luxurious lifestyle market.

Facebook ranks content. Some people and businesses love this fact, and others hate it, but both groups must understand it to find success with their marketing efforts on this platform. Organic traffic on Facebook receives less than 0.1% engagement. That’s up to 200 times less than what is possible on other platforms or through marketing channels like search engine optimization. If you want to defeat the algorithm that ranks content value, your posts must be authentic and valuable to your followers and others. ### How Can I Get My Content Featured on Facebook The Facebook algorithm can control who sees your posts. That makes it challenging to grow your reactions, comments, and shares while working to build an audience. When you can get your content featured because it is seen as necessary, you can extend your organic reach. Each engagement exposes your post to the extended network of each audience member, allowing your influence to grow. Although the algorithm could be more accurate, these tips can help you defeat its efforts to block you from reaching the people who want to see what you share. #### 1. Get to Know Your Audience Facebook repeatedly says that it prioritizes posts the algorithm indicates are informative and meaningful. That means a reasonable person interacting with your content for the first time would find it to be interesting, new, and valuable. The platform wants people to share content, so it emphasizes posts, stories, and reels that get people reading or viewing. It combines past individual behavior with current trends to encourage spending more time on social media. There is only one way to post content that meets these algorithmic demands. You’ll need to [know your audience](https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/05/16/communicating-respect-know-your-audience/) and the problems they’d like you to solve. #### 2. Creating Something Authentic The internet is a place where creativity and authenticity are treasured. People can pretend to be something they’re not, but that effort doesn’t produce shareable content. Facebook emphasizes posts it determines are genuine through its algorithmic evaluations. This platform also reduces the ranking for posts that the algorithm believes are misleading, spammy, or overly sensational. When creating content for Facebook, the priority should [always be to tell the truth](https://www.mindtools.com/ay30irc/authenticity). Even a minor exaggeration could be enough to have the information downgraded. Headlines should clearly describe what someone can expect when reading or clicking on your post. Avoid using clickbait whenever possible, especially since the Facebook community often counters that technique by posting your information in the comments. If you want to defeat the Facebook algorithm in this category, here are the things to avoid with your presence on the platform. - Borderline content that isn’t technically in violation of Facebook’s policies, but probably could or should be. - Fake news or misinformation, especially if the goal is to create an emotional reaction. - Deepfake videos or manipulated content that third-party individuals have flagged as false. Avoid sending links to sites with stolen or scraped content that adds little value to the user experience. Facebook wants people to see them as a resource, so create posts that reinforce that perspective. #### 3. Engage with Others The Facebook algorithm prioritizes information from pages and similar content that users interacted with in the past. That means you’ll want to have conversations with followers whenever notifications come your way. When people take the time to comment on posts, you have an opportunity to establish a relationship. If you can help each person feel seen and heard, the result is an increased chance for future interactions, engagements, and clicks. Some conversations [are easier to manage](https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/top-ten-tips-for-handling-the-difficult-conversation/) than others. Customer service principles help to navigate challenging circumstances to show the community your expertise and professionalism while resolving potential problems. Try to make each engagement as positive as possible. The algorithm will favor your interactions more often when you show a pattern of value-added comments with your posts. #### 4. Create an Interactive Audience The easiest way to show the Facebook algorithm that people are sharing your content with their friends is to have your audience interact with one another. When the platform sees a post generating numerous comments within a specific set of friends or networks, it uses re-targeted to keep showing that information to interested parties. These tips can help you find more success when building interactive opportunities for your audience through Facebook content. - Keep the content short. Most people use Facebook on a mobile device, so your best posts are about two sentences long with a complimentary photo to quickly capture a person’s attention. - Quality is more important than quantity to the algorithm. If you’re not getting any attention on social media, try upgrading the text, videos, or graphics you use to engage your audience. - Give people a look at the entire picture of what happens. Go behind the scenes, spotlight your volunteers, or share something that acknowledges relatable experiences. You don’t need expensive equipment to upgrade your content to create an interactive audience. The camera on your smartphone or tablet is good enough to begin this segment of the journey to defeat the Facebook algorithm. #### 5. Don’t Try to Manipulate the System There’s a difference between “defeating” the Facebook algorithm and attempting to manipulate it. Your goal should be to use the algorithm’s processes to your advantage. When you create content consistently that meets Facebook’s expectations, you’re more likely to meet your definitions of success. Trying to manipulate this system to gain distribution benefits beyond the information’s merits can make it harder to get noticed. If you violate Facebook’s terms of service to achieve an outcome, you might lose access to this incredible resource. You’ll want to consider the following points when attempting to grow your organic reach. - Don’t pay people to start engaging with your post. When a block of accounts focuses on specific information within a particular time, that activity sends a red flag to Facebook to review your profile. - Paid comments create a similar result. Facebook considers these unsolicited actions to be spam, which works against what you want to achieve. - Original content gets promoted more than royalty-free downloads. You can’t even boost reels that use songs, so don’t expect the platform to promote work that isn’t yours to offer. An integrity-first approach with each post builds the foundation needed to defeat the Facebook algorithm. Although original content takes more time to create, it’s essential to remember that you’re also investing in your future with this option. #### 6. Focus on Safe and Respectful Behavior Since 2021, Facebook has offered a feature that lets people control their news feeds. Your goal should be to get added to this favorites list. Once there, people will see content from you before other pages or friends. The best way to achieve this outcome is to post engaging and interesting content that solves problems while staying safe and respectful. What does Facebook consider to be safe and respectful content? There’s an [entire page](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/201148151829614) dedicated to what can get your posts de-ranked, but here are some of the highlights to consider. - Never post something that could be considered hate speech, bullying, or harassment. - Anything related to criminality or violence goes against what the algorithm wants to see. - Materials that do or likely violate Facebook’s community standards should not be posted, including posts for buying, trading, or promoting restricted services or goods. The goal should be to build others up with your posts instead of tearing them down. If it seems questionable, consider retooling the content before posting it to focus on this strategy. #### 7. Stick to the Basics A [status update ](https://neilpatel.com/blog/write-facebook-status-updates/) is just as important as a high-quality video when you want to push engagement levels higher. It’s often better to have a mix of different posts when building a foundation for sharable information. Although a simple status update seems humble today, people still interact at high levels without photos, videos, or links. It has one of the highest engagement levels because it is such an authentic expression. #### 8. Produce More Reels In early 2022, Facebook expanded Reels from its initial launch because about half the time spent on the platform comes from watching videos. It’s the fastest-growing format because it aims to help people discover new things. The news feed is more for relevant content from current connections. Reels look to build new relationships by offering observations or insights in different ways. Reels can be[ shared to your Stories](https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-provides-tips-on-how-to-create-effective-instagram-reels-content/595045/) or seen within the Watch tab on Facebook. The platform also adds suggested content for people to watch even though someone might not follow that account already. [[6]] If you have high-quality content posted in Reels on a regular schedule, you’ll find these short clips can do an excellent job of building more awareness for what you do. #### 9. Post at the Right Time When you want to [optimize your content](https://www.inc.com/ben-sherry/we-asked-chatgpt-and-sophia-the-robot-to-predict-the-impact-of-ai-on-the-business-world-heres-what-they-said.html) for your Facebook audience, it helps to know when these people will be logged into their profiles and using the platform. Teens typically access content during their lunch break and in the late afternoon. When your goal is to reach young professionals, try posting in the morning to have your information seen before people settle in at their desks or workstations. Most users are logged in during the weekend, while fewer are available mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Every audience is different, so you’ll want to consider what each group needs when developing a posting schedule. Once you find a rhythm that works for your needs, stick to it. People are more likely to interact with pages and brands when they feel like they’re a part of their daily routine. #### 10. Use Stories to Your Advantage Stories might include Reels, but they also offer a more interactive option that stays separate from the algorithm’s news feed priorities. This option appears in the tabs at the top of the feed, above the rest of the content. When you use Stories correctly, you can potentially bypass concerns with Facebook’s algorithm. This feature lets you share content that disappears after 24 hours, although you can still access it through your profile later. To get your point across, you can add text, stickers, and effects to the still images or videos to share. You can even add custom links and buttons to encourage more interactions with the Stories you share on Facebook. #### 11. Follow the Specifications The news feed is constantly updating each user’s photos, videos, and status updates. Each post type comes with formatting recommendations that can help your information receive a potential algorithmic boost because following the rules is perceived to deliver some value. The [design recommendations](https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide/update/image/facebook-feed/outcome-engagement) for images include using JPG or PNG file types. The best ratios range from 1.91:1 to 1:1, while the resolution should be at least 1080p x 1080p. For Facebook posts with text, the primary content should have a maximum of 125 characters. The best headlines and descriptions have 27 characters or less. You can have more content in the latter areas, but the platform will often truncate it for the viewer. Some additional technical requirements are also worth reviewing when your goal is to defeat the Facebook algorithm. - The maximum file size should be kept to 30 MB or less. - Images should have a minimum height and width of 600 pixels. - The aspect ratio tolerance maximum is 3%. Although these standards are set for Facebook Ads, the guidelines were developed to maximize audience engagement through high-quality content outreach efforts. It only makes sense to do the same when creating posts for your audience to review. ### Proactive Actions Are Necessary to Defeat the Algorithm To expand your Facebook reach, you could use a trial-and-error method with your content. It is possible to find what an audience prefers by testing different post types. The problem with that approach is that there are no guarantees. You could post hundreds of times without generating much response for those efforts. That’s why it helps to implement strategies like the ones found here to boost attention for your content. In return, you’ll find that the Facebook algorithm can be helpful. - https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/05/16/communicating-respect-know-your-audience/ - https://www.mindtools.com/ay30irc/authenticity - https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/top-ten-tips-for-handling-the-difficult-conversation/ - https://www.facebook.com/business/help/201148151829614 - https://neilpatel.com/blog/write-facebook-status-updates/ - https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/facebook-provides-tips-on-how-to-create-effective-instagram-reels-content/595045/ - https://www.inc.com/ben-sherry/we-asked-chatgpt-and-sophia-the-robot-to-predict-the-impact-of-ai-on-the-business-world-heres-what-they-said.html - https://www.facebook.com/business/ads-guide/update/image/facebook-feed/outcome-engagement

Introduction One of the most hotly discussed topics in technology today is cloud computing. Its cloud-based services have been widely implemented across industries today, providing a cost-effective, scalable solution and delivering modern business capabilities to firms of all sizes. Cloud-based technology continues to be at the forefront of unparalleled technological innovation and is redefining modern-day business. In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies worldwide adopted remote-working methods for their workforce and continued administering a wide array of digital technologies throughout their operations. [ Cloud computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing) became a market-leading technological paradigm for delivering IT and business solutions to firms of all sizes. The rise of the cloud computing era is a clear indicator of technological progress, but what exactly is cloud computing? This blog article dives into cloud computing and explains the leading cloud technologies in 2023. ### What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is the delivery of hosted software, storage and computing services over the Internet in a way that makes them accessible and manageable by remote clients. It provides scalability, portability, on-demand availability, low cost, and all these benefits through a software as a service (SaaS) model. Cloud computing is a set of industry-specific technologies that deploy and manage applications. Cloud computing models are based on the ability to share resources among entities, such as companies and consumers. Cloud computing encompasses dedicated hardware components, software, and services accessible through the Internet. There are different types of clouds: ### Private Cloud A private cloud is a cloud infrastructure owned and operated solely by the organization it serves. It contains resources, such as computing, storage or network capacity, dedicated to said organization. ### Public cloud A public cloud is a type of cloud infrastructure over which the user has no control of access to the infrastructure or underlying hardware. Users can access from various locations but cannot control their network security and data privacy requirements. ### Hybrid cloud A hybrid cloud is a mixture of the two architectures. It offers a blend of public and private cloud computing resources to create an environment that delivers elasticity and scalability. ### What are the Top Cloud Technologies in 2023? Cloud technologies have proven highly beneficial to businesses as they deliver cost-effectiveness, flexibility, scale and mobility. Below are some of the top cloud technologies ### Artificial Intelligence (AI) The combination of processor speeds and fixed memory can burden the performance of hardware-based AI systems. However, using cloud computing to deliver AI capabilities has proven efficient, appealing and extremely valuable to many businesses. Cloud-based intelligent cognitive computing is an effective environment where machines are making an increasing number of business decisions rather than people. ### Big Data and Analytics In business intelligence, companies must rely on predictive tools to generate actionable solutions. Big data and analytics are responsible for processing large volumes of data to gain insight and make predictions to make decisions that can be mapped, visualized and monetized. ### Secure Access Service Edge A smart-access service edge provides a uniform architecture that can be used by all cloud technologies, regardless of whether they use private or public clouds. It centralizes access to cloud-based resources and provides the control points for the services, which are used for the process of creating access to systems and services. ### Software as a Service (SaaS) SaaS is one of the core models for delivering cloud computing solutions that allow users to receive software applications on-demand via internet protocols rather than on physical media. SaaS provides the flexibility to utilize software applications at the individual user level with a single interface. ### Data Centre Tiers In the cloud computing environment, data centers are separate from the end-user business solution being executed. They are responsible for delivering ultra-fast and reliable connectivity between cloud facilities and user systems that use services such as wireless networks, virtualization and storage technologies. ### Platform as a Service (PaaS) PaaS is a cloud computing environment that provides virtual environments for the execution of third-party applications. In PaaS, the underlying hardware and software are abstracted from users to provide an optimized environment for application deployment. ### Network Function Virtualization (NFV) Network function virtualization (NFV) is one of the top cloud technologies that has gained much popularity as it delivers an automated network infrastructure with modular building blocks. NFV is designed to improve business agility and service quality of new network functions. ### Software Defined Networking (SDN) SDN is a software architecture that allows businesses to create a flexible, manageable and scalable networking system. SDN can be used as a stand-alone technology or in conjunction with cloud computing to optimize the use of resources. SDNs are independent of hardware and employ software for their operation. ### Internet of Things (IoT) IoT is a concept that provides an environment where users can connect and use various wireless devices through the Internet to monitor, collect and process data such as temperature, humidity, light intensity and other environmental parameters to ensure the optimal functioning of the device. The IoT ecosystem allows businesses to integrate cloud technology on any access layer. ### Machine Learning Machine learning is a set of algorithms that are responsible for the process of improving a solution based on past decisions that have been taken. A business can use machine learning to help deliver services with predictive capabilities. ### Cloud Security and Privacy The main drivers for cloud security and privacy revolve around the level of control, accountability and liability placed on cloud providers. Examples include scaling infrastructure capacity, moving resources among locations, deploying software patches and updates promptly, and minimizing costs. ### Cloud as a Service (CaaS) A CaaS environment provides all the functions related to cloud infrastructure, software and platforms. Users can access all these resources via one interface, accessible from various locations and instances. ### Edge Computing Edge computing provides a distributed system of multiple cloud resources that can deliver trusted analytics using real-time data processing and advanced analytics techniques. Edge computing divides workloads into two categories: cloud-based and on-premises processing. Edge computing reduces latency and increases the overall performance of business applications by performing parallel processing from hard-to-reach locations. ### Benefits of Cloud computing Cloud computing’s main benefits are: High Availability: The cloud-based architecture ensures that services are available whenever needed, even if a component fails. Centralized Management: Cloud providers are responsible for all infrastructure maintenance and management aspects. This allows users with limited IT department resources to focus on core business objectives. Cost Reduction: The cloud-based computing model provides cost savings on computing power, storage capacity, and software upgrades and updates, as well as eliminating the need for hardware acquisition and maintenance costs. Scalability: The cloud-based architecture allows users to add and remove resources on demand, thus eliminating the need for long-term commitments. Data Portability: Cloud vendors usually provide their services through a web-based interface, allowing users to access their data anytime from any location. Users can also download their data in a standard or proprietary format for further analysis using third-party tools and applications. Disaster Recovery: Cloud computing allows users to back up data in multiple locations and regions, thus ensuring that business continuity is not compromised even if there is a degradation in service performance in one place. Infrastructure Automation: Using cloud-based solutions, users can implement facilities and processes without worrying about hardware maintenance, storage, or network connectivity. Faster Time to Value: Cloud vendors typically provide the software applications in the required format, thus allowing businesses to invest in desired solutions that are more efficient and scalable with greater efficiency. Strong Security: A key benefit of cloud computing is the protection it provides against malware attacks due to encryption technology and policies enforced by cloud providers on all services at all times. Low Latency: Cloud computing allows users to access data, applications, and other resources from anywhere in the world by connecting their business network with a cloud provider’s network. This significantly reduces the need for on-site storage, increases overall performance, and ensures that business applications process data faster. Mobile resources: The cloud-based model allows users to access their applications and data via standard browsers on various devices such as notebooks, tablets or smartphones. ### Security Issues with Cloud Computing Data Security: Cloud vendors must be able to guarantee the security of the data stored in the cloud and prevent unauthorized access. Data Reliability: Cloud users must be able to trust the data they share with providers. The biggest concern related to data reliability is information leaks, which might expose sensitive information or the contents of a data set. Availability: Users need to ensure that their data is available and accessible when required, which can be especially important for businesses that rely on real-time data for critical decision-making. Monitoring: The security of a cloud environment depends on a robust monitoring system that can identify any illegal access attempts or breaches in security and take appropriate action. Privacy: Cloud users need to trust their cloud vendor and be assured that the provider protects the privacy of data being uploaded and that users cannot be identified or tracked as a result of their cloud usage. Compliance: Cloud computing systems must comply with industry regulations, especially when dealing with sensitive information such as financial data, personally identifiable information, and intellectual property. Technology: Cloud vendors must ensure that their network security is up-to-date with the latest technologies to prevent any potential threats from emerging. Vendor trust: A cloud provider’s reputation is essential in providing secure and reliable services. This is why it is necessary to involve the cloud provider in security assessments before deployment. Risk assessment: Cloud vendors must perform a risk assessment and ensure that all security measures are applied as required. This will ensure all data is protected, users are identified, and there are no unauthorized access attempts to the network hosted in the cloud environment. Testing: Cloud vendors need to test their systems and networks to identify vulnerabilities, prevent breaches and ensure that the security of the data being shared is not compromised. ### Conclusion In conclusion, cloud computing is the most prominent and integral development in information technology. This technology is projected to transform IT infrastructures and drive business performance. It has become a primary source of business applications, data storage and processing, and an efficient platform for developing new solutions, products, and services. Cloud computing generates significant benefits for businesses, public sector organizations, and governments. However, it also creates challenges for businesses due to the complexities associated with cloud services and the potential security risks associated with such environments. More on this in another post.

The past few years were marked by a world pandemic, inflation, political turmoil, and several changes and even so, we’ve witnessed continuous rapid digitalization, innovation, and increased investment in technology. Technology breakthroughs allowed companies to adapt to these difficult circumstances, turning them into competitive advantages that ultimately resulted in increased productivity and better services. Staying on top of tech trends helps business leaders plan ahead. By watching the development of new technologies organizations can anticipate how to use them and how they’d impact the company’s growth. In this article, I’ll be sharing the top 10 anticipated tech trends in 2023. Discover all of the significant tech trends for this year and figure out exactly what new developments you should be prepared for. ### The Top 10 Anticipated Tech Trends In 2023 The top 10 anticipated tech trends in 2023 revolve around artificial intelligence and machine learning, quantum computing, and blockchain. This will also be a strong year for tech development regarding the metaverse, IoT, super apps, and many other areas. ### Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Even though artificial intelligence has been around for a while, it continues to be an emerging technology with the ability to improve the yield of other technologies like robotics, quantum computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Artificial intelligence and machine learning and widely appreciated for their capabilities in image and speech recognition, navigation assistance, ride-sharing applications, and carrying out both creative and mundane tasks. Further AI developments will allow this tech to: - - Analyze different interactions to determine basic connections and insights - Predict demand for services to determine better resource use - Detect patterns in customer behavior to help companies provide custom experiences Popular variations in the AI field continue to attract more business leaders. No-code AI is based on drag-and-drop interfaces that make it more accessible to developers. Companies are likely to capitalize on this to create more AI-based products and services while still reducing time to market. Another exciting AI field includes synthetic content. Artificial intelligence can harness its creative power to create new images, sounds, or data, that never existed before. This will likely lead to new forms of AI-based entertainment. Companies will also take advantage of adaptive AI systems to increase efficiency, maximize resources, and reduce delivery times. This AI technology adjusts to changing circumstances in the real world by interpreting behavioral patterns in datasets, while in production. ### Quantum Computing [Quantum computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computing) is a tech trend that uses subatomic particles, superposition, quantum entanglement, and other quantum phenomena to create new ways to process and store data. Using this technology, developers will be able to create new devices that are a trillion times faster than the best regular processors available today. This form of computing has already shown proof of its great advantages. It was involved in preventing COVID-19 spread and developing potential vaccines. It’s also a great bet in the banking and finance space for credit risk management, high-frequency trading, and fraud detection. Quantum computing can assess, monitor, analyze, and act on data regardless of its source. So, it isn’t a surprise that there’s currently a global race to create quantum computing at a large scale. However, quantum computing might pose a significant risk. This technology is so powerful that it might render current encryption techniques ineffective. Any nation that heavily advances in the quantum computing field will be able to easily break encryption employed by other nations, businesses, and organizations. ### Blockchain Over the years, blockchain’s popularity has risen and this technology is in high demand. While many associate blockchain with Bitcoin, its applications go well beyond the realm of cryptocurrencies. Blockchain works as collections of data to which developers can only add to, creating a chain of data. Not being able to modify previous blocks makes this technology very secure. Another great feature of blockchain is that it is consensus-driven, meaning that no entity has control over the data. This decentralization creates new ways of transacting, communicating, and doing business. There’s no longer a need for an intermediary that verifies the data through a centralized system. The data is not stored in an encrypted and more secure way. Blockchain is an anticipated tech trend that allows companies to create new ideas. It accelerates the process of verifying transactions, preventing fraud and cyberattacks, while remaining efficient, reliable, and secure. ### Sustainable Technologies In recent years business leaders became much more conscious of their carbon footprints and began making numerous changes to their organizations to minimize their waste or transform it by using sustainable technologies. Companies are turning to AI, blockchain, cloud computing, extended reality, robotics, and many other forms of technology to help them create a greener, more sustainable future without sacrificing efficiency, productivity, and growth. ### Metaverse The metaverse is an immersive 3D virtual world experience that profoundly enhances the experience of the Internet. We’re still far from seeing its completion but we’ve begun to understand its many capabilities. This virtual world is great for people looking for new gaming experiences or other ways to socially interact. However, the metaverse is also a great opportunity for companies in terms of increased social presence, remote working, payments, healthcare, product trading, and more. Many organizations are already capitalizing on this immersive environment to improve their services and connect with their consumers. Companies of all sizes, from all industries, are creating interactive metaverse-like experiences. Future metaverse features will include advanced avatar systems, with the creation of full-body haptic suits and headsets that allow the metaverse to better simulate reality. GPS-like applications will allow metaverse users to quickly travel between different metaverse worlds. ### Internet of Things (IoT) The Internet of Things refers to the growing number of devices connected between themselves due to Wi-Fi. There’s already a long list of IoT devices that include smartwatches, smartphones, fitness trackers, smart door locks, home voice controllers, and even coffee makers. We can lock our doors remotely, schedule a fresh morning coffee, and monitor our overall fitness using IoT. However, as long as it is possible to connect our smartphones to everything surrounding us, this industry will continue to grow. The IoT helps companies make better decisions by allowing them to collect and analyze real-time data. This feature could prove useful in a wide variety of industries by enabling predictive maintenance, accelerating medical care, improving customer service, and more. A new area of IoT is also rising. It is called the AI of Things (AIoT) and refers to using artificial intelligence technologies in IoT devices to improve functionality and performance. It allows devices to autonomously collect and analyze data, make decisions, and take actions without human intervention. ### New Energy Solutions Because sustainability is such a big goal across all industries, a great way to take advantage of current advancements in technology is to employ it in developing new energy solutions. This might lead to creating new types of sustainable energy models or improving already existing ones. For instance, applying artificial intelligence to renewable energy models like wind and solar power could help increase their benefits. AI could detect any anomalies, predict failures, and allow workers to take timely action. Innovation in the energy section appears in many different forms. These include smart grids that forecast peak energy demand and predict equipment failure, self-piloted drones that keep track of power lines and facilities, and even digital twins that simulate grid upgrades and show potential outcomes. ### Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Closely related to artificial intelligence and machine learning, RPA automates a wide variety of business processes and repetitive tasks. Some of them include interpreting applications, managing data, processing transactions, and responding to emails. Not dealing with time-consuming, run-of-the-mill business tasks give employees the freedom of focusing on more creative and productive tasks, increasing profitability, saving costs, and reducing the chances of errors. ### Super Apps Super apps are the apps of the future and therefore one of the most anticipated tech trends in 2023. They work as a digital ecosystem, a platform consisting of many different mini-apps that can be added or removed according to the user’s will. The main goal of super apps is to replace the wide variety of available apps with a compact app that provides users with the features they need the most. Super apps combine utility with the creation of personalized user experiences. An example of a successful super app is called PayPay. This is a Japanese payment provider that also offers mini-apps for purchasing movie tickets, ordering food, financial management, bicycle sharing, and more. Future super app developments will likely include features that support chatbots, Internet of Things (IoT) tech, and the metaverse. ### Extended Reality Extended reality encompasses all types of technology that simulate reality including Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and everything in between. Extended reality tech continues to help us break away from the real boundaries of the world with its features. This technology is popular among many industries from gaming and medical specialists to retail and even modeling. It can also be useful in training, entertainment, education, marketing, and injury rehabilitation. Recruiters can take advantage of ER to conduct onboarding processes. The military might adapt simulation software to their VR or AR equipment to have their personnel train and safely improve their abilities. And even therapists can use this tech to employ exposure therapy treatments without directly exposing their patients to their stressors. ### The Top 10 Anticipated Tech Trends In 2023 – Final Considerations Staying on top of technology development allows companies to quickly adapt and keep up with their competitors. To help keep you up to date I created this curated list for the top 10 anticipated tech trends in 2023. Among the most popular technology trends, artificial intelligence and machine learning, quantum computing, and blockchain seem to stand out. However, the metaverse, IoT, and super apps will also have a great presence in the tech development field. Technology will continue to aim for automation, independent decision-making, and improving internet experience. Sustainability, extended reality, and interconnectivity between many more devices will also play a big role in the development of new tech.

Every day, social media serves up a platter of possibilities for contemporary marketers thanks to the sheer scale of its captive audience. According to data from Statista, [almost 4.9 million people](https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/) use social platforms around the world and that number is projected to rise by another couple of million by the end of the decade. It's common sense that marketing to end consumers in this vast and sprawling digital ecosystem would be a savvy idea, but what about harnessing the juggernaut power of social media to market to other businesses? Happily, if you want to level up your B2B marketing, platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are just as advantageous for you as they would be for your direct-to-consumer counterparts. If you think about it, this welcome news is hardly surprising—because a whopping [93.79% of businesses](https://www.businessdit.com/social-media-for-business-statistics/) are actively pursuing their own marketing efforts on the very same platforms. It stands to reason that if you want to get their attention, you can meet them right there on the playing field! Yes, social media is a prime ally for achieving success as a B2B brand, but plenty of other businesses will be just as clued in on the opportunities to be seized. So, how can you get the upper hand? Let's get to grips with some stellar strategies to help your business stand out from the crowd. ### What Makes B2B Social Media Marketing Strategies Different? Long ago, in the earliest days of social media, platform creators dreamed of providing virtual spaces where friends and family would be able to connect and share, and advertisers would be able to frolic. However, next, something truly interesting happened. Businesses began claiming their own social media presences and personalities, connecting with customers more affordably, broadly, and meaningfully than ever before. This was marketing magic in action—a place where audiences and brands could interact directly and slick campaigns could go viral, achieving massive reach without worrying about a cost per click. It's no shock that today's brands spend a pretty decent chunk of their overall marketing budgets on social content creation and campaigns. It's also no revelation that in the current economic climate, businesses are managing their spending wisely. This year, roughly [58% of B2B marketers](https://resources.integrate.com/all-resources/the-state-of-marketing-budgets) in the UK and US anticipated a marketing budget that is equal to or less than in 2022, but despite such stagnation, B2B brands are deciding to [serve up a larger budgetary slice](https://www.slideshare.net/christinemoorman/the-cmo-survey-highlights-and-insights-report-september-2022) to their social media teams. If social media is the place to be for B2B branding, what do you need to know about this particular sub-category of marketing? Crucially, it's important to recognise that the businesses you want the attention of are hustling just as hard as you are—and they'll respond to messaging that reflects that. ### 10 Essential Tips to Help Your B2B Brand Stand Out on Social Media Digital channels such as social media are poised to become the setting for [80% of B2B sales interactions](https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/trends/future-of-sales) by 2025, so let's look a little further into how you can hone that hustle of yours with the needs of other businesses in mind. #### 1: Make Your B2B Social Media Marketing Human With the rise of chatbots, automation tools, and AI content generation, it's easy to get carried away with the gloss of artificiality. However, as useful as these tools may be, a human touch can be a powerful thing when it comes to forging more genuine B2B connections. Research from LinkedIn highlights that [75% of B2B decision-makers turn to social media](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/social-selling) to size up whether a purchase is right for their enterprise. They'll be looking for shared values, transparency, brand authority, and outstanding communication. This makes a human presence—whether it's the voice that shines through your posts or the courteous comment replies—an impactful one indeed. A great way to showcase the people behind your brand is to place leadership and employees in the spotlight from time to time. As an added bonus, this can double as employer branding, attracting new talent while giving your current team a greater sense of autonomy. #### 2: Strategically Differentiate to Stand Out From the Competition Your B2B brand is getting busy on social media, but as we mentioned, so are most other businesses—including your direct competition. These days, setting up your social profiles and posting once in a while isn't likely to cut the mustard. You need to discover an interesting edge that will allow your presence to shine the brightest. When novel messaging and creative but consistent visuals are combined, the results can be potent. But to get these ingredients right, you need to understand your social media niche and curate in the right direction. So start by asking who will engage in your content and why. What needs will your business address for theirs and how can you clearly communicate that value? From that point, you can begin to identify how to differentiate your B2B brand and product marketing from competitors' without veering off message. #### 3: Position Your Social Media Pages as First Points of Contact Chances are, you've put in some primo effort to get your website's SEO up to scratch. It represented a solid investment because organic web traffic is always a solid return. However, now the time has come to invest the same kind of might into transforming your social media pages into the kind of first-contact landing pages that you can truly be proud of. Why is this important? Well, young consumers are increasingly using social media to track down what they need. [40% of Gen Z use Instagram or TikTok](https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/12/google-exec-suggests-instagram-and-tiktok-are-eating-into-googles-core-products-search-and-maps/) to look things up and even Google's execs aren't exactly happy about it. Fortunately for your B2B brand, this is something that you can leverage to your advantage. The place to start is sprinkling smart keywords through your profiles and posts, before getting to grips with how to hashtag #likeapro. It's also worth regularly running your own industry-relevant social media searches to figure out how to boost your visibility even higher. #### 4: Build Your Community to Boost B2B Brand Authority A little earlier, we touched on the importance of the human element on social media as well as the power of communication. These are concepts that you can really pick up and run with by focusing on forging community, stimulating stronger audience relationships and customer loyalty along the way. In fact, according to HubSpot, [90% of social media marketers](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/brands-social-media-communities) say building an active online community is critical to success in 2023. Here are some B2B community-building options to explore: • Get active in social media groups that are relevant to your B2B niche • Create your own groups and establish yourself as an industry thought leader • Drop high-value content and free resources to make your business indispensable • Jump into authority-focused digital spaces like Reddit and Quora • Keep comments-based dialog flowing with your day-to-day audience #### 5: Use Multimedia to Keep Your Social Feeds Fresh Social media continues to evolve at flat-out speed and it's essential for B2B brands to keep up. When Instagram first debuted the Reels feature in 2019, nobody could have predicted how quickly short-form video would come to claim space on the platform. Today, users increasingly get to choose how they use their go-to social media platforms, including whether they pay more attention to images, linked posts, polls, memes, video content, or SnapChat-style stories. Right now, according to Sprout Social, short-form video is [the most engaging type](https://sproutsocial.com/insights/index/) of in-feed social content—but that may change tomorrow. Clearly, there is an advantage to be claimed by mastering every format on your social media channels of choice. Crucially, a diverse multimedia offering will keep things fresh for your audience while ensuring that you don't drop out of view for the business decision-makers that you want to reach the most. #### 6: Balance Brand and Demand Marketing Undoubtedly, the right brand-building social media strategy will elevate both awareness and perception of your business among the minds that matter. However, there is another angle of marketing that should always be present in the mix and that is demand marketing. What do we mean by demand marketing? Well, vitally this carries us back to the idea of understanding the needs of your customers. As a business, you cannot create demand—you can only step up to meet it. Where brand marketing focuses on forging epic associations that wire and fire, demand marketing focuses on demonstrating an understanding of customer needs and an ability to provide optimal solutions. The B2B gurus at LinkedIn recommend that brands [divide their marketing efforts pretty evenly](https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/success/insights-and-research/brand-to-demand?trk=lms-blog-b2b&src=bl-po) between these two endeavors. #### 7: Monitor Your Market Niche to Stay One Step Ahead We've ticked off talking about the importance of differentiating your B2B brand from its competitors, but there is more to be uncovered in keeping tabs on others operating within your social media market niche. Because their target audience is yours and vice-versa, there is much to learn through simple observation. Soon, you'll be able to spot which of the opposition's campaigns, content strategies, or even comments get the most engagement and which fall flat. Not to mention, you'll also be able to sniff out sneaky opportunities. For example, if there's a buzz in the headlines about something relevant to your industry, you'll definitely want to jump on it—but if your competition drops the ball in this area then you'll likely be able to nab some of their limelight by taking the lead on a trend. #### 8. Leverage Audience Insights to Your Advantage Having initially done the work to understand your audience well enough to reach them, now you can make the most of social media analytics and dig even deeper. As the world's ultimate data gatekeepers, social media platforms thankfully have the sense to provide a bevy of information to businesses about how users interact with their content. Not only can this information allow you to confirm that things are working well, but you can also use audience insights to test different approaches to your B2B brand marketing. You'll need to identify the metrics that are going to be most useful and consolidate them between platforms, but from there you can analyze, discover, apply, and repeat. Yes, with analytics at your fingertips, you can zero in on the kinds of content to prioritize, where and when to post, and even which platforms are more worthy of your time. Thinking back to those limited B2B marketing budgets, there is no shame but in fact great wisdom in dialing in your social marketing strategy tightly so that time and money invested always provides the best possible return. #### 9. Set Clear KPIs Based on Your Core Objectives Speaking of metrics, have you already made friends with a handy set of key performance indicators? If not, it's time to find your new best buddies and get acquainted. These crucial data points are going to elucidate whether or not your B2B brand marketing strategy is a sure thing. Key performance indicators, or KPIs for short, are the measurables that any business can examine to better understand their progress. The best way to identify the right social KPIs for your brand is to think first about what you hope to achieve on these platforms and work out from there. Your goals might include things like: - Increase brand awareness - Drive website traffic - Build trust and authority - Generate leads - Drive conversions - Inform customers - Boost customer retention - Attract job applicants Once you know the whys behind your social media marketing efforts, you can much more easily pinpoint the right metrics to track. For example, social likes and shares are healthy indicators of growing brand trust and authority, while tracking your audience from your latest social posts through to conversion will let you illuminate what it was that sealed the deal. #### 10. Regularly Re-focus Your Targeting For most B2B brands on social media, marketing dispatches will be made up of a mix of organic and paid content. When it comes to your paid campaigns, social media platforms are increasingly facilitating laser-sharp ad targeting, allowing you to point and pull the trigger with curated content for the exact kind of businesses you want to speak to. But you can also think of your organic content as targeted content. By factoring in things like the types of professionals you hope to reach, when and how they use social media, and what will make them sit up and pay attention the most, you can make sure your messaging always land. Dividing your audience into segments, catering to each segment in turn, and consistently monitoring to see if a tactical shift is necessary will help you hold your relevance overall. At the end of the day, as specific as B2B brand marketing may be in some regards, one thing is certainly universal. Being a champion within the varied worlds of social media means providing something that people truly want to scroll to—something that gives them that all-important dopamine hit while ideally anchoring them to your business for the long haul. If you make that a central tenant to your hustle while harnessing the above tips, you should soon find yourself climbing the social media podium towards success!

Every day, social media serves up a platter of possibilities for contemporary marketers thanks to the sheer scale of its captive audience. According to data from Statista, almost 4.9 million people use social platforms around the world and that number is projected to rise by another couple of million by the end of the decade. It's common sense that marketing to end consumers in this vast and sprawling digital ecosystem would be a savvy idea, but what about harnessing the juggernaut power of social media to market to other businesses? Happily, if you want to level up your B2B marketing, platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are just as advantageous for you as they would be for your direct-to-consumer counterparts. If you think about it, this welcome news is hardly surprising—because a whopping 93.79% of businesses are actively pursuing their own marketing efforts on the very same platforms. It stands to reason that if you want to get their attention, you can meet them right there on the playing field! Yes, social media is a prime ally for achieving success as a B2B brand, but plenty of other businesses will be just as clued in on the opportunities to be seized. So, how can you get the upper hand? Let's get to grips with some stellar strategies to help your business stand out from the crowd. ### What Makes B2B Social Media Marketing Strategies Different? Long ago, in the earliest days of social media, platform creators dreamed of providing virtual spaces where friends and family would be able to connect and share, and advertisers would be able to frolic. However, next, something truly interesting happened. Businesses began claiming their own social media presences and personalities, connecting with customers more affordably, broadly, and meaningfully than ever before. This was marketing magic in action—a place where audiences and brands could interact directly and slick campaigns could go viral, achieving massive reach without worrying about a cost per click. It's no shock that today's brands spend a pretty decent chunk of their overall marketing budgets on social content creation and campaigns. It's also no revelation that in the current economic climate, businesses are managing their spending wisely. This year, roughly [58% of B2B marketers](https://resources.integrate.com/all-resources/the-state-of-marketing-budgets) in the UK and US anticipated a marketing budget that is equal to or less than in 2022, but despite such stagnation, B2B brands are deciding to [serve up a larger budgetary slice](https://www.slideshare.net/christinemoorman/the-cmo-survey-highlights-and-insights-report-september-2022) to their social media teams. If social media is the place to be for B2B branding, what do you need to know about this particular sub-category of marketing? Crucially, it's important to recognise that the businesses you want the attention of are hustling just as hard as you are—and they'll respond to messaging that reflects that. ### 10 Essential Tips to Help Your B2B Brand Stand Out on Social Media Digital channels such as social media are poised to become the setting for [80% of B2B sales interactions](https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/trends/future-of-sales) by 2025, so let's look a little further into how you can hone that hustle of yours with the needs of other businesses in mind. ### #1: Make Your B2B Social Media Marketing Human ### With the rise of chatbots, automation tools, and AI content generation, it's easy to get carried away with the gloss of artificiality. However, as useful as these tools may be, a human touch can be a powerful thing when it comes to forging more genuine B2B connections. Research from LinkedIn highlights that [75% of B2B decision-makers turn to social media](https://business.linkedin.com/sales-solutions/social-selling) to size up whether a purchase is right for their enterprise. They'll be looking for shared values, transparency, brand authority, and outstanding communication. This makes a human presence—whether it's the voice that shines through your posts or the courteous comment replies—an impactful one indeed. A great way to showcase the people behind your brand is to place leadership and employees in the spotlight from time to time. As an added bonus, this can double as employer branding, attracting new talent while giving your current team a greater sense of autonomy. ### #2: Strategically Differentiate to Stand Out From the Competition Your B2B brand is getting busy on social media, but as we mentioned, so are most other businesses—including your direct competition. These days, setting up your social profiles and posting once in a while isn't likely to cut the mustard. You need to discover an interesting edge that will allow your presence to shine the brightest. When novel messaging and creative but consistent visuals are combined, the results can be potent. But to get these ingredients right, you need to understand your social media niche and curate in the right direction. So start by asking who will engage in your content and why. What needs will your business address for theirs and how can you clearly communicate that value? From that point, you can begin to identify how to differentiate your B2B brand and product marketing from competitors' without veering off message. ### #3: Position Your Social Media Pages as First Points of Contact Chances are, you've put in some primo effort to get your website's SEO up to scratch. It represented a solid investment because organic web traffic is always a solid return. However, now the time has come to invest the same kind of might into transforming your social media pages into the kind of first-contact landing pages that you can truly be proud of. Why is this important? Well, young consumers are increasingly using social media to track down what they need. [40% of Gen Z use Instagram or TikTok](https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/12/google-exec-suggests-instagram-and-tiktok-are-eating-into-googles-core-products-search-and-maps/) to look things up and even Google's execs aren't exactly happy about it. Fortunately for your B2B brand, this is something that you can leverage to your advantage. The place to start is sprinkling smart keywords through your profiles and posts, before getting to grips with how to hashtag #likeapro. It's also worth regularly running your own industry-relevant social media searches to figure out how to boost your visibility even higher. ### #4: Build Your Community to Boost B2B Brand Authority A little earlier, we touched on the importance of the human element on social media as well as the power of communication. These are concepts that you can really pick up and run with by focusing on forging community, stimulating stronger audience relationships and customer loyalty along the way. In fact, according to HubSpot, [90% of social media marketers](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/brands-social-media-communities) say building an active online community is critical to success in 2023. Here are some B2B community-building options to explore: • Get active in social media groups that are relevant to your B2B niche • Create your own groups and establish yourself as an industry thought leader • Drop high-value content and free resources to make your business indispensable • Jump into authority-focused digital spaces like Reddit and Quora • Keep comments-based dialog flowing with your day-to-day audience ### #5: Use Multimedia to Keep Your Social Feeds Fresh Social media continues to evolve at flat-out speed and it's essential for B2B brands to keep up. When Instagram first debuted the Reels feature in 2019, nobody could have predicted how quickly short-form video would come to claim space on the platform. Today, users increasingly get to choose how they use their go-to social media platforms, including whether they pay more attention to images, linked posts, polls, memes, video content, or SnapChat-style stories. Right now, according to Sprout Social, short-form video is the most engaging type of in-feed social content—but that may change tomorrow. Clearly, there is an advantage to be claimed by mastering every format on your social media channels of choice. Crucially, a diverse multimedia offering will keep things fresh for your audience while ensuring that you don't drop out of view for the business decision-makers that you want to reach the most. ### #6: Balance Brand and Demand Marketing Undoubtedly, the right brand-building social media strategy will elevate both awareness and perception of your business among the minds that matter. However, there is another angle of marketing that should always be present in the mix and that is demand marketing. What do we mean by demand marketing? Well, vitally this carries us back to the idea of understanding the needs of your customers. As a business, you cannot create demand—you can only step up to meet it. Where brand marketing focuses on forging epic associations that wire and fire, demand marketing focuses on demonstrating an understanding of customer needs and an ability to provide optimal solutions. The B2B gurus at LinkedIn recommend that brands divide their marketing efforts pretty evenly between these two endeavors. ### #7: Monitor Your Market Niche to Stay One Step Ahead I've ticked off talking about the importance of differentiating your B2B brand from its competitors, but there is more to be uncovered in keeping tabs on others operating within your social media market niche. Because their target audience is yours and vice-versa, there is much to learn through simple observation. Soon, you'll be able to spot which of the opposition's campaigns, content strategies, or even comments get the most engagement and which fall flat. Not to mention, you'll also be able to sniff out sneaky opportunities. For example, if there's a buzz in the headlines about something relevant to your industry, you'll definitely want to jump on it—but if your competition drops the ball in this area then you'll likely be able to nab some of their limelight by taking the lead on a trend. ### #8. Leverage Audience Insights to Your Advantage Having initially done the work to understand your audience well enough to reach them, now you can make the most of social media analytics and dig even deeper. As the world's ultimate data gatekeepers, social media platforms thankfully have the sense to provide a bevy of information to businesses about how users interact with their content. Not only can this information allow you to confirm that things are working well, but you can also use audience insights to test different approaches to your B2B brand marketing. You'll need to identify the metrics that are going to be most useful and consolidate them between platforms, but from there you can analyze, discover, apply, and repeat. Yes, with analytics at your fingertips, you can zero in on the kinds of content to prioritize, where and when to post, and even which platforms are more worthy of your time. Thinking back to those limited B2B marketing budgets, there is no shame but in fact great wisdom in dialing in your social marketing strategy tightly so that time and money invested always provides the best possible return. ### #9. Set Clear KPIs Based on Your Core Objectives Speaking of metrics, have you already made friends with a handy set of key performance indicators? If not, it's time to find your new best buddies and get acquainted. These crucial data points are going to elucidate whether or not your B2B brand marketing strategy is a sure thing. Key performance indicators, or KPIs for short, are the measurables that any business can examine to better understand their progress. The best way to identify the right social KPIs for your brand is to think first about what you hope to achieve on these platforms and work out from there. Your goals might include things like: • Increase brand awareness • Drive website traffic • Build trust and authority • Generate leads • Drive conversions • Inform customers • Boost customer retention • Attract job applicants Once you know the whys behind your social media marketing efforts, you can much more easily pinpoint the right metrics to track. For example, social likes and shares are healthy indicators of growing brand trust and authority, while tracking your audience from your latest social posts through to conversion will let you illuminate what it was that sealed the deal. ### #10. Regularly Re-focus Your Targeting For most B2B brands on social media, marketing dispatches will be made up of a mix of organic and paid content. When it comes to your paid campaigns, social media platforms are increasingly facilitating laser-sharp ad targeting, allowing you to point and pull the trigger with curated content for the exact kind of businesses you want to speak to. But you can also think of your organic content as targeted content. By factoring in things like the types of professionals you hope to reach, when and how they use social media, and what will make them sit up and pay attention the most, you can make sure your messaging always land. Dividing your audience into segments, catering to each segment in turn, and consistently monitoring to see if a tactical shift is necessary will help you hold your relevance overall. At the end of the day, as specific as B2B brand marketing may be in some regards, one thing is certainly universal. Being a champion within the varied worlds of social media means providing something that people truly want to scroll to—something that gives them that all-important dopamine hit while ideally anchoring them to your business for the long haul. If you make that a central tenant to your hustle while harnessing the above tips, you should soon find yourself climbing the social media podium towards success!

Introduction One of the most hotly discussed topics in technology today is cloud computing. Its cloud-based services have been widely implemented across industries today, providing a cost-effective, scalable solution and delivering modern business capabilities to firms of all sizes. Cloud-based technology continues to be at the forefront of unparalleled technological innovation and is redefining modern-day business. In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies worldwide adopted remote-working methods for their workforce and continued administering a wide array of digital technologies throughout their operations. [ Cloud computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing) became a market-leading technological paradigm for delivering IT and business solutions to firms of all sizes. The rise of the cloud computing era is a clear indicator of technological progress, but what exactly is cloud computing? This blog article dives into cloud computing and explains the leading cloud technologies in 2023. ### What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is the delivery of hosted software, storage and computing services over the Internet in a way that makes them accessible and manageable by remote clients. It provides scalability, portability, on-demand availability, low cost, and all these benefits through a software as a service (SaaS) model. Cloud computing is a set of industry-specific technologies that deploy and manage applications. Cloud computing models are based on the ability to share resources among entities, such as companies and consumers. Cloud computing encompasses dedicated hardware components, software, and services accessible through the Internet. There are different types of clouds: ### Private Cloud A private cloud is a cloud infrastructure owned and operated solely by the organization it serves. It contains resources, such as computing, storage or network capacity, dedicated to said organization. ### Public cloud A public cloud is a type of cloud infrastructure over which the user has no control of access to the infrastructure or underlying hardware. Users can access from various locations but cannot control their network security and data privacy requirements. ### Hybrid cloud A hybrid cloud is a mixture of the two architectures. It offers a blend of public and private cloud computing resources to create an environment that delivers elasticity and scalability. ### What are the Top Cloud Technologies in 2023? Cloud technologies have proven highly beneficial to businesses as they deliver cost-effectiveness, flexibility, scale and mobility. Below are some of the top cloud technologies ### Artificial Intelligence (AI) The combination of processor speeds and fixed memory can burden the performance of hardware-based AI systems. However, using cloud computing to deliver AI capabilities has proven efficient, appealing and extremely valuable to many businesses. Cloud-based intelligent cognitive computing is an effective environment where machines are making an increasing number of business decisions rather than people. ### Big Data and Analytics In business intelligence, companies must rely on predictive tools to generate actionable solutions. Big data and analytics are responsible for processing large volumes of data to gain insight and make predictions to make decisions that can be mapped, visualized and monetized. ### Secure Access Service Edge A smart-access service edge provides a uniform architecture that can be used by all cloud technologies, regardless of whether they use private or public clouds. It centralizes access to cloud-based resources and provides the control points for the services, which are used for the process of creating access to systems and services. ### Software as a Service (SaaS) SaaS is one of the core models for delivering cloud computing solutions that allow users to receive software applications on-demand via internet protocols rather than on physical media. SaaS provides the flexibility to utilize software applications at the individual user level with a single interface. ### Data Centre Tiers In the cloud computing environment, data centers are separate from the end-user business solution being executed. They are responsible for delivering ultra-fast and reliable connectivity between cloud facilities and user systems that use services such as wireless networks, virtualization and storage technologies. ### Platform as a Service (PaaS) PaaS is a cloud computing environment that provides virtual environments for the execution of third-party applications. In PaaS, the underlying hardware and software are abstracted from users to provide an optimized environment for application deployment. ### Network Function Virtualization (NFV) Network function virtualization (NFV) is one of the top cloud technologies that has gained much popularity as it delivers an automated network infrastructure with modular building blocks. NFV is designed to improve business agility and service quality of new network functions. ### Software Defined Networking (SDN) SDN is a software architecture that allows businesses to create a flexible, manageable and scalable networking system. SDN can be used as a stand-alone technology or in conjunction with cloud computing to optimize the use of resources. SDNs are independent of hardware and employ software for their operation. ### Internet of Things (IoT) IoT is a concept that provides an environment where users can connect and use various wireless devices through the Internet to monitor, collect and process data such as temperature, humidity, light intensity and other environmental parameters to ensure the optimal functioning of the device. The IoT ecosystem allows businesses to integrate cloud technology on any access layer. ### Machine Learning Machine learning is a set of algorithms that are responsible for the process of improving a solution based on past decisions that have been taken. A business can use machine learning to help deliver services with predictive capabilities. ### Cloud Security and Privacy The main drivers for cloud security and privacy revolve around the level of control, accountability and liability placed on cloud providers. Examples include scaling infrastructure capacity, moving resources among locations, deploying software patches and updates promptly, and minimizing costs. ### Cloud as a Service (CaaS) A CaaS environment provides all the functions related to cloud infrastructure, software and platforms. Users can access all these resources via one interface, accessible from various locations and instances. ### Edge Computing Edge computing provides a distributed system of multiple cloud resources that can deliver trusted analytics using real-time data processing and advanced analytics techniques. Edge computing divides workloads into two categories: cloud-based and on-premises processing. Edge computing reduces latency and increases the overall performance of business applications by performing parallel processing from hard-to-reach locations. ### Benefits of Cloud computing Cloud computing’s main benefits are: High Availability: The cloud-based architecture ensures that services are available whenever needed, even if a component fails. Centralized Management: Cloud providers are responsible for all infrastructure maintenance and management aspects. This allows users with limited IT department resources to focus on core business objectives. Cost Reduction: The cloud-based computing model provides cost savings on computing power, storage capacity, and software upgrades and updates, as well as eliminating the need for hardware acquisition and maintenance costs. Scalability: The cloud-based architecture allows users to add and remove resources on demand, thus eliminating the need for long-term commitments. Data Portability: Cloud vendors usually provide their services through a web-based interface, allowing users to access their data anytime from any location. Users can also download their data in a standard or proprietary format for further analysis using third-party tools and applications. Disaster Recovery: Cloud computing allows users to back up data in multiple locations and regions, thus ensuring that business continuity is not compromised even if there is a degradation in service performance in one place. Infrastructure Automation: Using cloud-based solutions, users can implement facilities and processes without worrying about hardware maintenance, storage, or network connectivity. Faster Time to Value: Cloud vendors typically provide the software applications in the required format, thus allowing businesses to invest in desired solutions that are more efficient and scalable with greater efficiency. Strong Security: A key benefit of cloud computing is the protection it provides against malware attacks due to encryption technology and policies enforced by cloud providers on all services at all times. Low Latency: Cloud computing allows users to access data, applications, and other resources from anywhere in the world by connecting their business network with a cloud provider’s network. This significantly reduces the need for on-site storage, increases overall performance, and ensures that business applications process data faster. Mobile resources: The cloud-based model allows users to access their applications and data via standard browsers on various devices such as notebooks, tablets or smartphones. ### Security Issues with Cloud Computing Data Security: Cloud vendors must be able to guarantee the security of the data stored in the cloud and prevent unauthorized access. Data Reliability: Cloud users must be able to trust the data they share with providers. The biggest concern related to data reliability is information leaks, which might expose sensitive information or the contents of a data set. Availability: Users need to ensure that their data is available and accessible when required, which can be especially important for businesses that rely on real-time data for critical decision-making. Monitoring: The security of a cloud environment depends on a robust monitoring system that can identify any illegal access attempts or breaches in security and take appropriate action. Privacy: Cloud users need to trust their cloud vendor and be assured that the provider protects the privacy of data being uploaded and that users cannot be identified or tracked as a result of their cloud usage. Compliance: Cloud computing systems must comply with industry regulations, especially when dealing with sensitive information such as financial data, personally identifiable information, and intellectual property. Technology: Cloud vendors must ensure that their network security is up-to-date with the latest technologies to prevent any potential threats from emerging. Vendor trust: A cloud provider’s reputation is essential in providing secure and reliable services. This is why it is necessary to involve the cloud provider in security assessments before deployment. Risk assessment: Cloud vendors must perform a risk assessment and ensure that all security measures are applied as required. This will ensure all data is protected, users are identified, and there are no unauthorized access attempts to the network hosted in the cloud environment. Testing: Cloud vendors need to test their systems and networks to identify vulnerabilities, prevent breaches and ensure that the security of the data being shared is not compromised. ### Conclusion In conclusion, cloud computing is the most prominent and integral development in information technology. This technology is projected to transform IT infrastructures and drive business performance. It has become a primary source of business applications, data storage and processing, and an efficient platform for developing new solutions, products, and services. Cloud computing generates significant benefits for businesses, public sector organizations, and governments. However, it also creates challenges for businesses due to the complexities associated with cloud services and the potential security risks associated with such environments. More on this in another post.

The online digital landscape is constantly evolving, with new trends, platforms, and technologies emerging at an increasingly rapid pace across the globe. One of the most significant paradigm shifts on the horizon is the advent of the [Metaverse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaverse), a network of virtual worlds that promises to offer users a more immersive and autonomous web experience. As this futuristic concept becomes a reality, it’s natural for marketers to feel anxious about their employment prospects. However, Digital Marketers should realize that with the disruption of familiar digital spaces comes unprecedented opportunity, and the rise of the Metaverse will expand current digital marketing roles and create new and exciting ones. In this article, we will explore potential job opportunities in the Metaverse and why it’s crucial for marketers to pay close attention to this exciting new virtual land of promise and opportunity. ### Why is the Metaverse So Concerning? For starters, as with any technological revolution, keeping up with changes is unsettling but crucial for staying relevant as a digital marketer. EarthWeb.org reports that by 2024 the Metaverse market will be a staggering $800 billion industry, that JP Morgan estimates the market to have a $1 trillion future, and Goldman Sachs predicts a $1-12 trillion market. Neither firm give specific time frames for when those numbers will be achieved but contrast those optimistic forecasts with a Metaverse market cap of a “mere” $46 billion in 2020, and you get a sense of what the excitement is all about. There is no mistake, immersive technology will become more pervasive in the future, and traditional social media platforms will decline; connecting consumers in newer and more highly personalized ways will be indispensable for driving consumer engagement and encouraging brand loyalty. Utilizing gamification techniques combined with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies to appeal to digital power users, such as Gen Z and Generation Alpha consumers, creatively and more effectively will blaze new trails for innovation and market penetration. Major consumer brands are already experimenting with the Metaverse. The collaboration between corporate marketers and platform developers allows players to purchase exclusive merchandise for their avatars inside the game, increasing brand-specific awareness and greater customer engagement. Although the ultimate success of these marketing forays is still undecided, there is clear excitement among corporate sponsors for the potential rewards that can be garnered when repackaged campaigns are presented to eager participants in their new virtual worlds to spur commerce, relationship building, and other social interactions. The macroeconomics of this new market make the Metaverse a vast and exciting new frontier for digital marketing. Brands that effectively leverage this uncharted space will have a significant competitive advantage that will be difficult to overcome. ### Metaverse Job Opportunities As the world enters the dawn of the Metaverse, it is essential to consider the types of jobs that will emerge from the new paradigm so you can take advantage of the best career opportunities. Here are a few possible jobs for Digital Marketers to consider: ### Virtual Event Marketer Virtual Event Marketers are responsible for planning and executing marketing campaigns for virtual events, such as virtual conferences, webinars, and trade shows. Their job duties include: Developing and implementing marketing strategies. Creating and managing social media campaigns. - Tracking analytics. - Analyzing data to optimize performance. The average annual salary for a qualified Virtual Event Marketer is about $70,000. ### Virtual Product Marketer These professionals are in charge of creating and executing marketing strategies for virtual products and services, such as virtual reality games, virtual tours, and virtual experiences. Their job responsibilities include: - Researching target audiences. - Creating marketing materials. - Analyzing data to optimize campaign performance. The average annual salary for skilled Virtual Product Marketers is around $80,000. ### Virtual Brand Marketer Virtual Brand Marketers are responsible for creating and executing marketing strategies to promote a brand within the Metaverse. Their job includes: - Creating and managing social media campaigns. - Tracking analytics. - Analyzing data to optimize performance. They also work with virtual event and product marketers to ensure campaign consistency. The average annual salary for a Virtual Brand Marketer is approximately $85,000. ### Virtual Content Marketer Virtual Content Marketers are responsible for creating and managing engaging content for virtual platforms, such as virtual tours, virtual reality games, and virtual experiences. Their job includes: - Researching target audiences. - Creating and curating content. - Tracking analytics. - Analyzing data to optimize performance. The average annual salary for a Virtual Content Marketer is around $75,000. ### How to Find a Job in the Metaverse As the Metaverse grows and evolves, more job opportunities are opening within the immersive digital landscape. However, since the Metaverse is an emerging field, finding a job can be slightly different from traditional job searching. Here are a few tips to help you land your dream job in this brave new frontier: Get familiar with the Metaverse: Spend time exploring the Metaverse and familiarize yourself with all the different platforms, technologies, and applications used within its boundaries. Becoming familiar with the platform will help you understand what jobs are available and how to best position yourself to land one of them. Build a portfolio: As with any job search, it is vital to have a robust portfolio of work samples that showcases your skills and experience. Demonstrating your skills is especially true for jobs in the Metaverse, as many of these roles require a deep understanding of digital technologies, platforms, and programming and software development techniques. Network: You will want to attend virtual events, join online communities, and connect with other professionals in the Metaverse to expand your Rolodex of contacts. Staying current on the latest trends and developments may lead to unexpected job opportunities. It would be beneficial if you find a mentor to guide you through your Metaverse learning experience by directing you to the appropriate technologies to learn and to prepare you for job interviews. Stay up to date on skills: As the Metaverse continues to evolve, it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on the latest technologies, platforms, and applications. Once you learn a technical skill, remember that technology is constantly evolving. Consider periodically taking online courses or attending virtual workshops to keep your skills current. If you follow these tips, you will be well on your way to finding your dream job in the Metaverse. Since the Metaverse is a new and fast-evolving field, the job market is not stable, and your potential salary may change depending on the area of expertise needed, your experience, and other job seekers. ### How to Get a Metaverse Job with No Experience Getting a job in the metaverse can be challenging, especially if you do not have direct experience in the field. However, there are still ways to break into the industry if you are persistent and put in the necessary effort. One way is to get the skills you need to be considered an asset to a company that hires Metaverse professionals. You can gain these skills through online courses, tutorials, and resources. Another way is by creating your own virtual projects or by contributing to open source metaverse projects and building a portfolio of your work. Last but not the least, be bold and apply for entry-level positions or internships; these positions are great opportunities to gain valuable hands-on experience and learn from more seasoned professionals in the field. ### Remote and Freelance Jobs in the Metaverse The Metaverse is such a hot market right now that a lot of companies are already searching for skilled personnel to staff critical jobs, and many offer remote and freelance positions if you are talented enough. While researching current jobs and roles currently in demand, you should also improve your professional profile and online reputation. Boosting your competitiveness will increase your chances of attracting the right employer or obtaining a coveted Metaverse job. Here are a few examples of remote and freelance roles currently being advertised: - NFT and Gaming Marketing Specialist - Strategic Virtual World Campaign Manager - Virtual World Business Strategist - Virtual World Marketing Manager To improve your odds of finding a job in the Metaverse, you should invest in training courses to gain new digital marketing skills. Earning a professional diploma in Digital Marketing enhances your qualifications in the eyes of potential employers and prepares you for the Metaverse job market. ### Conclusion The Metaverse presents a wealth of career opportunities for Digital Marketers. From virtual event marketing to virtual product marketing, virtual brand marketing and content marketing, and many other roles that require onsite, remote, and freelance Digital Marketing skills to thrive. With the Metaverse being such a new and fast-evolving field, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest technologies, platforms, and applications by taking online courses or attending virtual workshops. It’s also crucial to build a strong portfolio showcasing your skills and experience, network with other professionals, and research the current job market and available roles to optimize your chances of finding suitable employment. In short, the Metaverse is a new frontier for Digital Marketing professionals to explore, and a lot of possibilities exist for those willing to be competitive.

Walk of Life by Dire Straits – this rock ’n’ roll-style 80s tune was oddly not intended to make it onto the fifth studio album ‘Brothers in Arms’ from British rock band Dire Straits, but instead was meant to be a B-side for their lead single ‘So Far Away’. Manager Ed Bicknell knew better though, and after happening to hear it while it was being mixed, he convinced lead singer Mark Knopfler to include it on the album last minute. What a stroke of luck that was! The song was their biggest hit in the UK, peaking at no. 2 in the charts and no. 7 in the US Billboard Hot 100. The song has a familiar and comforting 50s rock ’n’ roll rhythm plus an iconic bluesy organ riff in the introduction – you’d recognize this riff anywhere. Over a cheesy IV – V – I chord progression, Knopfler tells the story of musician “Johnny”, a sort of autobiographical tale about a busker on the streets of London. ### Story Behind the Song The song was of course inspired by street buskers, as Knopfler explained to Uncle Joe Benson on the [Ultimate Classic Rock Nights](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/dire-straits-walk-of-life-influence/) radio show: “I saw a photograph of a kid playing the guitar in a subway, turning his face to the wall to get a good reverb. When I started playing the guitar, because I didn’t have an amplifier, I’d put the head of the guitar on the arm of a chair and put my head on the guitar to try and get into a loud noise. It kinda reminded me of that, I suppose.” He was also interested in Cajun music at the time and used it as inspiration. “Really, all I was trying to imitate with that Farfisa (organ) riff, it’s really like an accordion. If you substitute accordion, it’s really a Cajun-style riff.” A fantastic cover by [Louisiana swamp artist Charles Mann](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZOvIga4aLY) proves just how at-home this riff is in Cajun music. Mark Knopfler started the band in 1977 along with younger brother David on guitar, John Illsley on bass, and Pick Withers on drums. They were an overnight success, rising from the London pub-rock scene to some of the biggest stages in the world over the course of their 15 years. Growing up, the brothers were both fans of Elvis, Chuck Berry, and The Shadows, admiring popular guitarists like Hank Marvin as well as great names in the blues like Muddy Waters and John Lee. Mark got his first guitar at age 15, a copy of Marvin’s red Stratocaster, and started out playing in school bands and around the city. Over the years there was much falling out between band members, and by the end of 1984, Knopfler had assembled a new group of musicians to create the next record ‘Brothers in Arms’ including keyboardist Guy Fletcher and guitarist Jack Sonni. Knopfler was incredibly detail-oriented when making this album and the group rehearsed rigorously before flying over to Air Studios on the Caribbean Island of Montserrat to record. As you can imagine, the chilled island lifestyle over in Montserrat brought a sense of ease and effortlessness to the recording of the album. ### What Happened After the Release? ‘Brothers in Arms’ was generally described as a mid-tier album by reviewers, but that didn’t stop its success. The music station MTV was about to launch in the UK, and they chose the single ‘Money for Nothing’ as the first video to be shown on the channel. Selling more than a million copies on CD, the album took them on an 18-month-long world tour in 100 cities. ‘Walk of Life’ came with two music videos: a British version showing the character “Johnny” described in the song as he plays 50s songs in the subway, and an American version which shows clips of the band playing live intermixed with clips of American sports bloopers to hopefully catch the attention of American fans. The band went on to make one more album in 1991: ‘On Every Street’. After one last two-year-long tour, Knopfler sadly felt completely worn out by the fame and the stress of the spotlight and so decided to lay the band to rest. “Mark and I agreed that was enough,” recalls John Illsey on Louder Sound. “Personal relationships were in trouble and it put a terrible strain on everybody emotionally and physically. We were changed by it. Neither of us wants to go back to those days. Mark described it to me just the other day as being too much ‘white light’ – too much in the spotlight, and he was never very comfortable with that.” The band seemed very content with coming to an end. Illsley went on to get into painting and set up an exhibition of his work in London, as well as recording with his own band ‘Cunla’. Mark Knopfler got into composing soundtrack albums like ‘Altamira’ (2016) with Evelyn Glennie and solo albums like ‘Down the Road Wherever’ (2018). ### Song Breakdown The iconic long intro with the bluesy riff is the ultimate manifestation of 80s feel-good sentimentality, and it’s easy to see why this song was so popular. It feels like it’s infused with that Caribbean sunshine from Air Studios. [Verse 1] Here come Johnny singin’ oldies, goldies Be-Bop-A-Lula, baby what I say Here comes Johnny singing “I got a woman” Our character Johnny is singing ‘oldies’, meaning classic nostalgic songs from the 50s, including rockabilly song ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula’ by Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps and ‘What I’d Say’ by Ray Charles. Down in the tunnels, tryna make it pay He got the action, he got the motion Oh, yeah, the boy can play Dedication, devotion Turnin’ all the night time into the day Johnny is “down in the tunnels” i.e. down in the London Underground trying to earn some money from busking, and he sure is talented at it. He’s turning the nighttime into day with his sunny performance. [Chorus] He do the song about the sweet lovin’ woman He do the song about the knife Then he do the walk, do the walk of life Yeah, he do the walk of life Woo-hoo Knopfler is talking about more 50s tunes here: ‘My Sweet Lovin’ Woman’ by Robert Nighthawk and ‘Mack the Knife’ by Kurt Weill. Although, Dire Straits also have a song about knives: ‘Six Blade Knife’. Knopfler would sometimes switch out the lyrics in live performances to mention this song instead. What exactly is the “walk of life”? I would imagine it’s a description of the “sense of life” as I know it, that “journey” we talk about. [Verse 2] Here come Johnny gonna tell you the story Hand me down my walkin’ shoes Here come Johnny with the power and the glory Backbeat, the talkin’ blues He got the action, he got the motion Oh, yeah, the boy can play Dedication, devotion Turnin’ all the night time into the day This verse is all about the role and the skill of the musician – he can tell you a story and perform all sorts of different styles! [Chorus] He do the song about the sweet lovin’ woman He do the song about the knife And he do the walk, he do the walk of life Yeah, he do the walk of life Woo-ho-ho [Verse 3] Here comes Johnny singin’ oldies, goldies Be-Bop-A-Lula, baby what I say Here comes Johnny singin’ “I gotta woman” Down in the tunnels, tryna make it pay He got the action, he got the motion Oh, yeah, the boy can play The dedication, devotion Turnin’ all the night time into the day [Chorus] And after all the violence and double talk There’s just a song in all the trouble and the strife You do the walk, yeah, you do the walk of life Mmm, they do the walk of life The lyrics themselves are kind of unremarkable in this song. In fact, I imagine most listeners like myself aren’t paying much attention to the individual words. While they do tell a nice story about our performer Johnny, they definitely aren’t the centerpiece of the song. The rhythm is. You want to get up and dance! Knopfler’s vocal delivery is super smooth and laid-back, along with the jolly blues-style chord progression, catchy main melody, and seamless guitar licks to fill in gaps between, the overall performance is bright and sunny – “turning all the nighttime into the day”. You might find the cheesy melody a tad annoying if you’re in a bad mood, but otherwise, this infusion of Cajun imitation, love of 50s rock ’n’ roll rhythm, bluesy feels, Caribbean lifestyle, and laid-back delivery make this song a good dose of sunshine to add to your day.

Sometimes a movie becomes so ingrained in popular culture that everyone just automatically says it’s good. Even if you’ve never seen it, there’s an understanding that people hold it in high regard. Then, when you actually go to watch it, whether for the first time or as a rewatch, it just doesn’t live up to the expectations. There’s nothing more disappointing than realizing you don’t like a “classic” movie. It’s almost like you feel left out of the conversation from then on. I was quite apprehensive that this would be the case after 25 years – and for the 7th time around – with Good Will Hunting. It’s got 97% on Rotten Tomatoes (as if I care), but it’s also 25 years old. Could people be looking at it through colored glasses? Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about. It still holds up as a great movie, even many years after its original release. If there’s any complaint, it’s that it does have a pretty standard plot structure, but I think it’s elevated by strong writing and charismatic performances from the entire cast. I love college-based movies, and this one takes place smack dab in the colleges of Massachusetts, in a way my backyard, too. If you’re looking for a well-done, feel-good movie just before autumn ends, Good Will Hunting is perfect – even the poster showcases the red and gold foliage of Boston. But there’s more to it than just how it looks of course. Let’s get into the story! ### The Plot… Matt Damon plays twenty-year-old Will Hunting, who is a rough-and-tumble janitor at MIT. He likes to hang out with his friends, get drunk, and fight in the streets. He also happens to be a genius who suffered an abusive childhood and doesn’t trust many people. He draws the attention of a professor after he solves two incredibly difficult mathematical proofs on a public chalkboard. After Will lands in jail after a street fight, Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) gets his sentence dropped on two conditions: Will must work with him on mathematical equations and see a therapist once a week. The lessons go well, but Will scorns several therapists before Lambeau reaches out to an old college friend, Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams). Due to Maguire’s tenacity and his honesty about his emotional struggles regarding the death of his wife, Will connects with him. Maguire discovers that Will is afraid of taking chances on people and himself due to his abuse in foster care as a child; he even pushes away a serious romantic relationship with a woman named Skylar (Minnie Driver) to avoid being hurt. Maguire encourages Will to stop using the possible negative outcomes of opening up to people as an excuse to not do anything with his life. After many struggles, Will becomes more open to using his intellect to start a real career, but ultimately decides to pursue his earlier relationship and follow Skylar to California. ### The Result… A simple, timeless script can still be impressive if it’s executed well, and that’s the case with Good Will Hunting. It’s one of those movies that is just solidly made, even if there aren’t many surprises in it. Remember the old bromide: sometimes it’s the journey rather than the destination! And I had a good time following the movie’s well-crafted trail. I think having a good script creates a solid foundation upon which the rest of your movie can be built. Matt Damon wrote the first draft of Good Will Hunting for a class at Harvard. Then he recruited Ben Affleck to help him develop it further. Wow. Although the script changed pretty significantly from when it was first written based on feedback the two got from other filmmakers, the script is still solidly the work of Damon and Affleck, and they paced it well. There aren’t many dull spots in the movie, and almost every moment feels necessary to building the characters and the world they live in. The one exception is the scene in which Ben Affleck’s character goes to a job interview in place of Will. It’s meant to be light-hearted and funny, but it goes on just a little too long and doesn’t contribute anything to the story. It’s the one moment I thought was truly superfluous in the whole movie. Will and his friends are otherwise fun to watch. They’re characters who are rough around the edges but decent people at heart, just like the well-educated Professor Lambeau is a little condescending but not really a bad person. There’s a clear naturality to the dialogue between Will’s friends, presumably because Damon and Affleck both grew up in Massachusetts and were drawing from their own experiences. Even outside of the casual banter between the friends, the dialogue still feels mostly real. Some of it is because Robin Williams was given freedom to ad-lib, which is almost always going to give great results. Even though he’s mostly remembered for his comedy, Williams is great at delivering dramatic monologues with the right level of believability. Occasionally the monologues in this movie can get a little play-like, I’ll admit. But again, that’s not anything you wouldn’t expect from this kind of character-driven movie, and it is the characters (and their actors) that make them work anyway. ### Speaking of the actors… The combination of natural-sounding dialogue and the charm of the actors really sells the movie. You want to watch Matt Damon’s journey, even though it’s pretty clear where it’s headed, because his character and his performance are so charming. And clean. Really, there’s not a bad performance in the whole bunch. Robin Williams once again proves that he can handle drama as well as he can comedy, and even Ben Affleck shows some great acting chops as Will’s best friend, Chuckie. Even when the lines sometimes feel a little forced, the actors deliver them with aplomb. I also really appreciate that the director, Gus Van Sant, was smart enough to let Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver use their natural accents instead of forcing them to be American. It can really drag down a performance if the actor is struggling to maintain an accent that’s not their own. Luckily, both of them could use their own voices, and they both gave memorable performances. Driver was especially moving in her final moments on screen with Matt Damon. She’s a likeable character to begin with, thanks to the good script, but Minnie Driver’s devastation at the thought of losing Will is incredible. Good Will Hunting is a great-looking movie, too. College settings always give me a warm, cozy feeling for some reason, and this one is no different. Even the crowded office at the community college where Robin William’s character works made me want to go back to school. There’s also the fact that a lot of it was filmed on location in Boston. This gives it a realistic, lived-in look that I really appreciate. The cinematography and editing aren’t especially flashy, but they don’t need to be. Instead, everything is just neatly done, again letting the craftsmanship carry the movie instead of being all style and no substance. That doesn’t mean that there’s nothing special about the look of the film or how it was filmed. The juxtaposition of the clean and proper halls of MIT and the almost junkyard-like appearance of Will’s neighborhood is really effective. The ending shot of the movie is really nice, too. Instead of ending with the actual reuniting of Skylar and Will, we just see Will’s car driving along a highway on its way to California. The screen doesn’t fade to black like most movies; instead, the credits begin rolling overtop of the view of the car. It’s a smooth ending, not abrupt, one that lets you sit with what you just watched in a way I thought was really interesting. And satisfying. ### Final Thoughts Movies don’t have to be huge spectacles to be good. They don’t have to be overly artsy or obtuse either. Good Will Hunting strikes a near-perfect balance of craft and entertainment. It’s not pretentious in its attempt at meaning, but it’s not overly simplified. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck took a simple story structure and executed it to a T, which is an impressive beginning to their careers. Then it kept its polish by a no-nonsense approach to the mechanics of the film. The directing, the cinematography, the editing, are all on an even keel and expertly handled. And finally, it was further elevated by a terrific cast. It’s not just the names of the cast that matter either; even great actors can have some real stinker performances. But I think every single person in this movie was giving their A-game, and it really helped sell the whole package. It’s not necessarily a movie you need to watch over and over again. There are more exciting things to watch, in all likelihood, some more original stories to give a chance, sure. But I was pleasantly surprised at how low-key excellent Good Will Hunting still is. In fact, I think it will probably still be great in another twenty-five years. A simple story told really well is sometimes all it takes to stand the test of time. And it is like déjà vu, when parts of your own life resonate with a movie character. Will Hunting reminded me of me when I watched it 25 years ago and today it reminds me of Neil – a life come full circle?