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Eric Ritter

Why Augmented Reality Will Beat Virtual Reality

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Why Augmented Reality Will Beat Virtual Reality

It’s the ultimate geek wet dream. You are in your living room and suddenly Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 are hanging out on your couch or by your coffee table. A game of Dejarik appears and the Wookie beckons you forward with a roar.

This could all be possible in the near future, thanks to augmented reality. And I am absolutely ready for it. It couldn’t come a day sooner.

But, there is something else geek-kind has been toying with lately. Virtual reality. It’s all the rage right now with Oculus, HTC, and Playstation going head to head in a budding marketplace. And it’s an absolutely marvelous technology. You really do, in some cases, feel like you’ve been transported out of this world.

The future is here!

But the technology of virtual reality is still in its infancy. It’s a far cry from any kind of Neuromancer-like technology. And for now you’re confined to a whatever space you have in your home.

Although Oculus and HTC would love for you to think virtual reality is going to be the most popular gaming and computing technology in the next fifty years. I’m pretty skeptical about this idea. At least with the technology we have today. And the experts agree with me on this one.

Let me break it down for you and see if you too can see the future.

VR Is Awesome….Sort Of

Don’t get me wrong, now. I love virtual reality. I mean, this has been the dream of all tech geeks and gamers since the sad VR applications of the 90’s. We had a lot of empty promises thrown at us back then. But it really wasn’t their fault. Their dreams just didn’t match with current technology.

Another obstacle for VR over the last couple of decades has been the price point.  The military used virtual reality technology long before it became popular among civilians. The problem has always been that the military had the money to develop new technology while civilian companies would be running at a loss if they even tried.

A Palmer

Then, in 2011, along came a Luckey man named Palmer. He didn’t like what was available in VR at the time and set out to make his own version.

To make a long story short, he was able to massively crowdfund his virtual reality system into existence. And, from $2.4 million dollars he produced affordable virtual reality for the masses: The Oculus Rift.

Later HTC joined the game and then Playstation 4. And all of this was a major leap forward for the civilian end of virtual reality.

It’s really quite impressive too. Head tracking is near perfect. You have 110 degrees of 1080p vision. And a fun way to interact with the world through hand presence that’s reminiscent of Nintendo’s failure of a device, the PowerGlove.

But, good VR is still fairly expensive and the cheaper mobile versions aren’t that great. Plus, these early drafts of VR still have some visual problems like the annoying god rays and screen door effect. So, the technology has a long ways to go before perfection can be achieved.

Why Augmented Reality Is The Future

While VR is hogging the stage at the moment, AR or Augmented Reality will soon rise above the noise and stun the world. At least, that’s how I see it.

But it takes a little bit of faith to see this at the moment.

AR As It Stands

AR has actually been around for quite a while. Well, sort of.

The first commercial use was in 1998 when Sportvision used a computer system to add a yellow line for the down marker to a live NFL game. Since then mobile technology has enabled a faux AR with cameras and computer animation overlays. And Google tried its hand with the failed Google Glass.

But true augmented reality has yet to arrive in consumers’ hands. Magic Leap and Microsoft are the front runners in creating an actual AR headset that will paint your reality in fantasy. But again, right now, even the dev kit for the Hololense is $3000. That’s a discouraging number considering Oculus’s DK1 was only $350.

But don’t lose heart yet! I’m about to tell you why I still think this technology will beat VR.

Why Then, Eric?

Let’s go back to VR. The biggest downfall to VR is it’s seclusion affect. It really does immerse you in another world. But you are also cut off from everything else.

Nobody wants to be permanently cut off from the rest of the world. We’re not living in a Wall-E world yet. Although, maybe if you gave me a hover chair…

Despite the fear induced satire out there, AR will eventually be ubiquitous in our daily lives.

We’ll use it for directions to the mall. We’ll use it to interface with stores and marketing, erasing the need for ugly billboards along our expansive highways. No longer will we need computer monitors.

You won’t have to take your eyes away from your cooking to see the recipe. Architects will be able to see their finished product on the actual plot of land before it’s even built. So will contractors. And homeowners.

I could fill pages and pages and pages with augmented reality applications in the real world. I really couldn’t do that with virtual reality.

Conclusion: Augmented Reality Will Win The Fight

Virtual Reality will hold a long-standing reign in the world of technology. But I really do believe that AR is going to make strides in the next five to ten years. It will definitely surpass the usefulness of virtual reality by light years.

I for one can’t wait to get my hands on a Magic Leap or a Hololens. I really do want to play a game of 3D Chess with Spock in my living room. Or have an excuse to throw out my old monitor because I now wear it on my head.

But, I’m going to have to be patient. The technology is budding, and it’s already blowing us out of the water.

Do you think augmented reality is the next big thing? Why or why not? Let me know in the comments below. And, as always, keep it real.

A Digital Consultant Looks to 2017: My Predictions

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Is it already that time again? The digital world is waiting for us digital marketing experts to predict the big industry trends of 2017. As a digital consultant, it’s my job to stay on top of the hot and popular topic in all aspects including SEO, Web Design, Social Media, and Advertising (just to name a few).

Predictions from a Digital Consultant

So, I’m here to tell you all the things your company should be focusing their efforts on as you prepare your budgets for the upcoming year.

Keep in the mind, the digital world is ALWAYS changing. Honestly, no know really knows what’s going to change and what’s going to stick around.

That said, keeping an eye on trends and data helps, and can position you for your best year yet.

That’s why we work in the digital marketing industry, though, right? It surely never leaves us bored.

Prediction 1: Mobile Prevails

Mobile is only going to continue to gain more popularity. Although most of the industry is pre-occupied with software and application development, we will see a shift towards more content focused messaging.

Look at Snapchat’s use of content marketing with their news feature implemented right into their app. That’s content people actually want to read and it’s going to continue to get more tailored and affective as users operate on mobile every day.

Prediction 2: Messaging

Snapchat, Facebook, Whats App, We Chat — these sound familiar, right? That’s because they have taken off extremely fast right beside our social channels that we use every day.

There is something fascinating and convenient about using messaging apps through our media channels.

As users continue to adapt to this, media channels will fight to get their content and advertising seen. This may be a uphill battle with users, however.

Prediction 3: Cross-Device Marketing

It’s exactly what it sounds like. The 2015 technology device usage numbers say it best, 92% of U.S. adults own a cellphone, 73% own a desktop or laptop, 68% own a smartphone, and 45% own a tablet. That’s a lot of devices being used and keep in mind, these numbers are growing.

The new trend is that people are using these devices simultaneously. Digital consultants now have to be aware of tracking these users on every device they are using.

Data alignment across these devices and recognizing what actions a user is taking is going to crucial.

Prediction 4: Videos

Videos are catching the attention of our consumers and we really can’t blame them. 4 times as many consumers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it.

More effort should be put into making compelling and relevant video content rather than textual content. Your company should be putting a video making strategy as a top priority.

Videos have more of an opportunity than any other content to go viral. Use that as motivation.

Prediction 5: Artificial Intelligence

No longer are humans responsible for every marketing task. Computers are taking over that role for us. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is popping up everywhere and it’s only going to grow into unthinkable places.

The fact that Artificial Intelligence is performed by computer and algorithm rather than human makes it even more appealing.

We could see this is all different fields but some AI examples include; product recommendation, speech recognition, ad targeting, chat bots, and more.

Prediction 6: Increased Emphasis on Content

Like current times, we will continue to see content marketing at the top of the game. In current years, we have seen content marketing take big leaps and come a long way.

Since most companies have updated and are writing the content, the focus will turn to refining their strategy. This will be through focusing on writing shorter content vs. longer content, frequency, and distribution.

Ultimately, figuring out what users want to see and read is going to drive everything.

Prediction 7: Experiential Marketing

Giving the user the opportunity to interact with your product or service face-to-face is becoming increasingly popular — also known as experiential marketing.

This type of marketing accounts for interactive, even 3D design efforts. Since we are connected to everything through our smart phones, brands will take advantage of these two things to bring us the ultimate experience.

Experiential Marketing works. 72% percent of consumers say they positively view brands that provide great experiences and this is what digital consultants will work towards in 2017.

Prediction 8: In-Store Marketing

Just as it sounds, the act of marketing to the consumer inside the actual store is a growing field. With the addition of smart phones being on us 24-7, digital consultants now have the ability to send us promotions while we are in the store. Pretty crazy, right?

It will not only affect the shopper’s mindset, but this marketing allows companies to track the user’s behavior.

Working alongside Artificial Intelligence, in-store marketing will send personalized promotions and alerts through messaging.

Prediction 9: Changing the Infrastructure

A huge part to all of this new emerging digital technology is that you need to have employees that know how to use it. You also need to have employees that can create and compete with technologies like this.

This is where company reorganizations and infrastructure will come into play. Web designers, UX designers, and Application Developers are all going to be very abundant in the job market.

Companies need these types of employees that have the skills to market to their consumers through the data and technologies in the market place.

Prediction 10: Analytics & ROI

All of these new technologies and ways of marketing are being introduced yet many companies don’t even analyze their results to see if the work being put in is paying off.

Increased emphasis on analytics and measuring ROI is needed. Especially in big areas like social media and content marketing.

Companies need these tools to first tell how their content marketing is doing and then to figure out their budget going forward.

See you in 2017

From studying current market trends and analyzing the success of campaigns in 2016, this is what’s expected to come in 2017.

Good news for you: digital consultants are here to help. We will be with you every step of the way this upcoming year in finding out what this innovative industry will bring next.

Stay tuned.

Hiring a Digital Consultant? Ask These Questions First

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Hiring a digital consultant?

You need to know if they’re an expert or a “pretender.”

This market is flooded with self-proclaimed “digital marketing consultants,” and we’re going to tell you how to find the bonafide authority.

It’s vital to find the right person who wants to partner with you and not work for themselves. Asking the right questions and knowing the right answers will help you weed out someone who isn’t interested in serving your purposes.

Marketing is the face and reputation of your company or business. Details are important and often missed. That’s what consultants are for.

We catch the missed details and turn them into strengths for your business.

Before shaking hands and signing contracts, ask these questions and evaluate their answers according to your business:

What Exactly Do You Do?

There are a lot of agencies and professionals that wear the digital consultant hat. Some might be versed in SEO, others in web design, and a few in digital reputation.

Larger agencies might have a few departments to handle the wide range of services.

Find out what a digital consultant can do for you before signing an agreement. It’s always convenient when one singular person can proficiently execute multiple disciplines for your business.

What Are Your Goals?

Don’t let an answer like, ‘we want to fulfill your goals’ pass. You should want to hear something a little more concrete.

If a sports team has no goal, there is no desire to perform at a high level. The playoffs and championships in the athletics world give an incentive to bring out the best performance in teams.

Your team needs goals to conquer with appropriate strategies in place.

Will You Take The Lead?

The digital consultant should be making recommendations, current on trends, and anticipating the needs of clients and the moves of competitors.

In a sense, the digital consultant will be the news source and crystal ball (backed by empirical data, of course) for your business.

Consultants are brought in to assist with the leadership of the organization. You’re seeking the expertise because you have a problem or a gap – let them take the lead and trust their abilities.

What Success Have You Had With A Business Like Mine?

Track record. You want to see a positive track record.

Previous achievements do not always indicate future success, especially if the previous business is in a different industry as yours.

If the digital consultant has a proven track record in your field, then they can elaborate on their plan for you. Their success will make your life easier or it’s not a success. That’s the entire philosophy behind hiring someone – you hire to make things easier and more efficient, not to hinder you or your business.

What Is Your Response Time?

What this question is really asking – are you familiar with all traditional and digital forms of communication?

The marketing and advertising world are dominated by speedy communication and responses. Their swiftness implies expertise and professionalism.

Conveying a complex message with ease and speed are desired qualities. Only champions of the marketing world can master this feat. Always ask for examples from the consultant on how he or she plans to execute fast-paced, detailed, complex messages to other businesses or customers.

How Do You Track Results?

Is the consultant or agency using analytics and metrics to track the improvements?

Their answer also gives them the opportunity to explain their process. It helps if you already understand Google Analytics or another analytics service – that way when you ask them to explain, you’ll be able to see if they’re pulling the wool over your eyes.

Explaining their method for tracking results should lead into asking when you’ll see results. You should be leery of quick and generous ROI (return on investment).

What Lessons Have You Learned From Past Mistakes?

No mistakes, no business. You don’t want to be the first victim with no back-up or contingency plan.

Crisis-management is part of the digital consultant job description. Go ahead and ask:

  • How will you handle a crisis for me?
  • Who is my point of contact for problems or concerns?
  • Can you explain the process of a contingency plan?

The chances are high that their mistakes have happened with their own business. Press to see if they have learned from those errors. Ask what strategies they have implemented for their own business that will be used for yours.

How Much Money Are You Asking?

The question goes beyond asking the budget and fees. A consultant will enter a meeting with an asking price in mind.

Be prepared to ask questions about the terms and details of a contract. They will have answers.

It isn’t necessarily better to choose the cheapest option although it might be your only option. With any form of marketing, you will get what you pay for.

Will We Work Together?

Figure out if the person sitting across from you answering questions is the person who is going to be your day-to-day contact – if not, then who?

It’s good business practice to at least bring along the person who is going to be the point of contact between each party.

Investigate to see how many hours the contact will be available. Keep an open mind and know that you will need to learn from the consultant just as much as he or she will learn from you.

Ultimately, you’re the paying customer and will call the shots even if you and the consultant disagree.

What’s Next?

You should have a plethora of questions for the digital consultant vying for your business. But when all of your questions are answered, it’s time to make a choice.

The decision to hire a digital consultant means you’re serious about spreading the name and message of your business, driving conversion, and improving internal and external communication across all channels.

Hiring additional help doesn’t equate to failing – it shows you want to be the best. Without the services of an expert authority, your competition is bound to take advantage of advanced metrics, SEO, SEM, and broader opportunities.

Please contact me today and we can get started on improving the presence and power of your business.

So, What Does a Digital Consultant Do?

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Perhaps someone has advised you to should seek out a digital consultant. Besides not knowing any digital consultants, you may not even be sure of what such a person does or is.

Don’t worry. You are not alone. Many people wonder what does a Digital Consultant do? There is a good chance that most of your peers also do not know what a digital consultant is or the advantages of employing one in their business.

Unfortunately for you, a few of them do. Those are the ones who are eating your lunch. They seem to always be a few steps ahead of you no matter what you do.

They are first to the trends that matter. They get positive Yelp reviews. And they have a lot more Twitter followers than you do.

It is past time you learn about digital consultants, what exactly it is they do, and why you should be contacting one right now:

Digital Consultants Wear Many Hats

A digital consultant is a wearer of many hats. The title itself is a catchall for all of the digital needs of a business.

There is the real world of analog business realities like buildings, computers, employees, signage, staplers, and anything else you can lay your hands on. Those things are not the domain of digital consultants. Their domain is everything else.

Once you turn the computer on, you are now in the binary world of 1s and 0s. You are in the online world of email, social media, search, advertising, and everything else that can be accessed by touchscreen, keyboard, or mouse. That is the world of the digital consultant.

To some degree, the digital consultant has to be a polymath: a jack of all digital trades and a master of, well, all of them. If not a master, at least very competent.

No one person can do all of the jobs under the auspices of digital consulting. Think of the consultant as the quarterback of the digital team. He or she must know all of the positions well enough to direct them. Here is some of what he or she is ultimately responsible for:

SEO

One of the most recognizable jobs of a digital consultant is search engine optimization (SEO). The task of SEO is a full-time job all by itself.

This is one of those situations where the digital consultant may not be doing the day to day of SEO. But he has to be on top of it to the point where he is probably the one doing SEO audits.

Search engine optimization includes, but is not limited to the following:

  • Inserting high-quality, relevant content on your website
  • Insuring appropriate back-linking
  • Google guideline compliance
  • Reputation management
  • Social media mentions
  • Keyword analysis
  • Proper tagging
  • Comment management

Managing SEO is a big job that can make or break all your digital efforts. And it is just one of the hats worn by the digital consultant.

Advertising

Digital advertising is yet another one of those full-time jobs overseen by the digital consultant. Advertising responsibilities include knowing where to invest advertising dollars on the web.

What about podcast ad buys? There is a reason the same 4 or 5 companies dominate the podcast world.

Are banner ads still worthwhile considering how prevalent banner blindness has become?

Is there more to social media marketing (SMM) than buying an ad on Facebook?

How much of the budget should go to buying a Google search result ad versus other PPC campaigns?

Digital advertising requires a lot of specialized knowledge, not just about advertising in general, but about the digital space where modern advertising takes place.

Web Design

Again, you don’t need to be a web designer to direct the web design efforts of the company. You do have to know what that job entails since the most visible manifestation of your business in digital form is your website. The most important aspect here is User Experience. A good digital strategy will keep the UX (which by the way is also part of SEO) front and center during any web design.

If you are a global business, your website is likely the only manifestation most people will ever see.

For starters, your website is going to have to have a mobile responsive redesign (if it hasn’t happened already).

A mobile responsive site is one that can rearrange itself to look as if it belongs on small mobile devices as well as large desktop screens. Your audience is on mobile. Your website has to be as well.

Your site must also be accessible. Devices like the Mac, iPad, and iPhone are completely accessible to the blind and visually impaired. More people with disabilities are accessing the web than ever before.

Your site needs to not only comply with web standards but accessibility standards as well.

Web design must also be intuitive and purposeful. People can’t just be greeted with a confusing wall of text, images, and ads.

There needs to be a clear path for their eyes to follow, and an obvious next step to take. Otherwise, there is little point in bringing a person to your site in the first place.

There are other considerations like what content to present at what stage of the visit, when to ask for the sale, how e-commerce will be handled, and how you will collect and secure personal information.

These are not minor issues. And most sites do them poorly. This is why your digital consultant and your web designer need to be in constant communication.

Social Media Expert

How many social networks are you able to name outside of Facebook and Twitter? When counting, did you consider major social networks popular in other countries? If your business is global, you should.

Have you mastered the hashtag? Managing social media requires the proper use of hashtags.

Tweets receive 21% higher engagement if they have only 1 or 2 hashtags as opposed to those with more than 2.

There is a delicate balance of getting people to engage with you on social media, and being a nuisance.

Facebook is getting ready to experiment with auto-play videos with sound. People are already annoyed by silent auto-play videos. Do you really want to be the first talkie in their stream?

Nothing about managing social media is easy. But it is an integral part of what a digital consultant does on a daily basis.

A digital consultant does so much more than meets the eye. They may specialize in only one of these areas. But they have to be conversant in all of them including:

  • SEO
  • Advertising
  • Web design
  • Social media

Despite the many hats they wear, their main job is to make you successful online! To the extent that all business is done online in some form or other, you can’t afford to be without one.

Want to learn more? Get in touch today. I’ll be happy to walk you through whatever you need to know.

Subscribe to email newsletters to be more productive

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https://vine.co/v/eQAgxpOY57v

#ProTip: Be more productive by subscribing to email newsletters.

Email is not dead

For more reasons than I have time to elaborate here, email is not dead. In fact, it is doing extremely well.

One way you can use email to be more productive is by signing up for email newsletters.
Thanks to the New York Times Morning Briefing I have rediscovered my love for email. Their Morning Briefing emails are always spot on. Here are two more I subscribe to and read:

  1. Strands of Genius: Weekly Awesomeness (from Faris & Rosie)
  2. Moz Top 10 (from Moz.com)

I also make sure to not miss Business Insider’s 10 Things In Tech You Need To Know and Search Engine Land’s emails.

In addition, I setup keyword alerts with Google and the New York Times to make sure I don’t miss anything throughout the day.

As a final #protip I recommend theSkimm. Yes, I know it’s geared towards women. But I’d be damned if their content isn’t always intriguing, spot on, and relevant. Even though they focus on female topics the newsletter is a great daily read for the male gender as well.

Anyone want to start-up theSkimm type newsletter for men with me?

Why email newsletters?

Instead of constantly checking social media for breaking news, email newsletters do a great job of aggregating the news in one place. This way you can be productive thought the day without obsessing over breaking news.

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