In history classes growing up, we’ve studied the importance of the printing press and how it led to a revolution: the rise in literacy rates and the spread of knowledge across the world. More recently, however, we have encountered another revolutionary invention that democratized the digital world and pioneered graphic design. The introduction of the Macintosh computer in 1984 changed the design world forever with its featured font menu. After taking a calligraphy class at Reed College, Steve Jobs understood the importance of typeface and later integrated this feature into his computer. This type menu has transformed design forever and become an integral part of artistic composition. As you devise your branding and marketing efforts, keep in mind the importance font plays in identifying with target audiences, gaining the attention of consumers and creating an image that resonates with them.

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Webinars have evolved and become an excellent learning tool, extremely personable outlet for marketers to reach their prospective audiences and helpful in connecting with others in like industries. In the ever-changing industry of digital marketing, continued learning is imperative in order to stay ahead of the game. These three webinars will help you understand the latest trends in marketing and how to integrate them into your marketing plan in order to see tangible results.

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In today’s fast-paced, deadline-driven work environment, we have little time to write a well-crafted paragraph when conversing with our colleagues. Messages need to be written and exchanged quickly, with no time for too much detail. Keep things at work moving with our list of workplace acronyms:

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It’s the beginning of October and every Austinite knows what that means—the first weekend of Austin City Limits. Whether you’re a festival goer or festival avoider, this weekend will impact us all. ACL brings people from around the country to the city of Austin, giving our businesses and the city itself unique exposure. This weekend, the city will be packed with music, events, locals, and travelers from around the world. With hundreds of festival-goers hitting the streets of Austin, this is the perfect weekend to take advantage of blockchain marketing and consulting opportunities for your business.

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Digital acronyms are heavily used as a way to simplify digital language in most workplaces today. In the marketing and advertising world, it is important to be aware of as many digital and workplace acronyms as possible in order to stay up to speed. Broaden your knowledge of the digital space by familiarizing yourself with acronyms from programming to social media metrics.

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Over the past decade, social media has become the most vital communication platform for most businesses. Social media has become a platform in which brands interact with their consumers on an intimate level. Sprout Social conducted this study on how businesses engage with customers on social media. They found that 90 percent of consumers engage with brands on social media and that social media is the first place customers go if they have an issue—surpassing phone and email.

As customer service expectations become greater, it is imperative that brands take this direct communication with their consumers seriously. We’ve laid out a few steps you can follow to ensure your community management is on the right track:

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As artificial intelligence continues to advance, we’ve found ourselves new best friends with intelligent personal assistants such as Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Google. The way people search the web for information is changing from the traditional search engines. Nearly 60 percent of searches today are performed through mobile devices. Mobile devices are becoming our key source of knowledge and consumers are increasingly using their voice over their fingers to search the web. Asking questions and receiving answers has never been quicker or easier. As voice search continues to gain market share, it is imperative that we as marketers understand how to optimize our websites in order to stay ahead on SEO best practices.

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Social media and messaging apps have led to the evolution of bots. A bot is a computer program that automates certain tasks by chatting with a user through a conversational interface like a messaging app. Interactions with bots can be straightforward such as asking a bot for the location of a restaurant, or more complex, like troubleshooting your internet service. In a world of immediacy and instant demand, simply offering an app won’t cut it anymore. Consumers expect an immediate response when it comes to customer service, and bots offer quality service before the customer even comes across an issue. If you haven’t invested in bots quite yet, here are a few reasons you should consider:

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It has been a decade since Apple released the first generation of iPhones that changed technology forever. This revolutionary product digitized many industries and built a world dedicated to instancy and connection. This September, Apple announced the release of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X. Since the latest release, in many cases, consumers did not feel the iPhone 8 met their expectations for innovation and the iPhone 7 has been selling more than the iPhone 8. The iPhone X will be released on Friday, November 3, with the intent to give consumers the futuristic phone they’ve been craving. With competitors like Google and Samsung lingering, here are a few capabilities of the iPhone X that set Apple apart:

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Having taken two advertising classes before beginning my internship with HMG, my knowledge of the marketing industry was limited. I remember sitting in the conference room listening to all the tasks I was going to take on and all of the social media accounts I was going to manage and being so excited to expand my knowledge in the field of marketing. Fast forward seven months, and I can honestly say I’ve gained value far beyond the tasks given to me.

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