Cybersecurity Tools

Open-source cybersecurity tools are popular with IT people who want to either test the waters or have an innovative idea to experiment with. Cybersecurity Tools have a special place in the open-source market, for they meet most of the primary enterprise-grade security requirements. Though many tools do not provide the capabilities of the respective paid version, many newcomers use the free versions to learn and test before they purchase the full version. They also allow a great degree of freedom to customize if the user has the required skill set to modify the publicly available source code. Quite often they are used in combination with paid open-source tools to meet some unique business needs. Analytics Insights has curated the

 Top 10 open-source cybersecurity tools for businesses to deal with the snooping jacks.

Wireshark:

A network protocol monitoring tool, that can deep inspect hundreds of protocols, even when hundreds of them get added every day. This network sniffing tool with its best in the market filters transforms each captured packet into readable form, thereby allowing users to analyze for the cause of cybersecurity issues and even detect a possible cyberattack.

Tripwire:

It is a file monitoring tool, which quickly identifies changes made to a file. Changes to a file system can either stem from regular code release or malicious intervention. Though basically designed to support Linux, it can be scaled up for windows too. It is considered the best among open-source File monitoring tools for its ability to generate Syslog reports for every transaction.

OSSEC:

The world’s most used open-source host-based intrusion detection tool comes with features like rootkit and malware detection, log-based intrusion detection, compliance auditing, file integrity monitoring, etc. Its USP lies in incorporating machine learning in its enhanced version, which allows the tool to learn from past operations and design new threat detection rules.

OpenIam:

Available in open-source and commercial editions, this identity access management tool is widely used across different industries. In addition to its applicability across different operating systems, it can be applied to the on-cloud systems as an IDaaS (Identity as a solution). With a robust business rule builder, that helps design automation scripts, it smoothens the identity and access workflow.

 Nmap: 

This Network Mapper initially built for Linux has been scaled up for Windows, Unix, macOS, and other operating systems because of its usefulness. Now it is available in languages such as Python, C, C++, and Lua, too with a GUI on top of the source code. Nmap can map network activity through a variety of scripts, signatures, and traffic protocols.

Metasploit:

A Ruby-based open-source pen-test tool, that allows testing via command line alterations or GUI. It can be modified into an add-on through coding, to support multiple languages. It also works as an auditing and network port scanning tool, with an ability to scan around 250 ports exposed to external vulnerabilities. The exploits can be detected via cross-referencing open services, vulnerability references, fingerprints, etc. It can automate every phase of a pen test to allow the security experts to focus on just one strategy formulation and security auditing.

Kali Linux:

Kali Linux is an advanced penetration testing and auditing tool. It contains many features which facilitate pen-testing, security research, computer forensics, and reverse engineering. Its uniqueness lies in its customizability. It can be used on around three desktops and even be carried in the pocket with a bootable USB device. Its multi-lingual support allows the number of users to leverage it to find the appropriate tools for their business.

John the Ripper:

Developed as an offline password cracking tool for hackers, now it is widely used by enterprises for password auditing. This tool supports many algorithms and is capable of brute-force using the CPU and the video card. It can be deployed for cloud computing effectively and it comes with a pre-generated Amazon Machine Image (AMI) for flexible AWS implementations.

Comodo OpenEDR:

Versatile endpoint detection and response tool, apart from providing the basic functionalities of an EDR tool, can carry out real-time monitoring of workstation filesystems, detection of fileless threats, frame custom detection rules, etc. It comes with a recommendation engine for the system to devise a strategy to detect potential threats.

Kee Pass:

Kee Pass is an open-source tool to save all your passwords securely in one place, which requires just one master key. Most of the data is protected with keywords, it becomes quite cumbersome to remember all the keywords. The database is usually encrypted using secure encryption algorithms such as AES-256, ChaCha20, and Twofish. Apart from the passwords, KeePaas can encrypt the complete database including the usernames, accompanying notes, etc.

Introduction of Cyber Security

What is Cyber Security?

Cyber Security is a process designed to protect networks and devices from external threats. Businesses typically employ Cyber Security Professionals to protect their confidential information, maintain employee productivity, and enhance customer confidence in products and services.

The world of Cyber Security revolves around the industry standard of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, CIA. Privacy means data can be accessed only by authorized parties; integrity means information can be added, altered, or removed only by authorized users; and availability means systems, functions, and data must be available on-demand according to agreed-upon parameters. The main element of Cyber Security is the use of authentication mechanisms. For example, a user name identifies an account that a user wants to access, while a password is a mechanism that proves the user is who he claims to be. 

Types of Cyber Crimes

Cybercrime is any unauthorized activity involving a computer, device, or network. The three types are computer-assisted crimes, crimes where the computer itself is a target, and crimes where the computer is incidental to the crime rather than directly related to it

Cybercriminals usually try to profit off of their crimes using a variety of tactics, including

Denial of Service, or DOS

Where a hacker consumes all of a server’s resources, so there’s nothing for legitimate users to access

 Malware

Where victims are hit with a worm or virus that renders their devices useless

Man in the Middle 

Where a hacker puts himself between a victim’s machine and a router to sniff data packets

Phishing

Where a hacker sends a seemingly legitimate-looking email asking users to disclose personal information.

Other types of cyberattacks include cross-site scripting attacks, password attacks, eavesdropping attacks (which can also be physical), SQL injection attacks, and birthday attacks based on algorithm functions.

What Motivates Cyber Criminals

The main motive behind cybercrime is to disrupt regular business activity and critical infrastructure. Cybercriminals also commonly manipulate stolen data to benefit financially, cause financial loss, damage a reputation, achieve military objectives, and propagate religious or political beliefs. Some don’t even need a motive and might hack for fun or simply to showcase their skills.

Black-Hat Hackers

Black-hat hackers use fake identities to conduct malicious activities for a profit

Gray-Hat Hackers 

They work both with malicious intent and as legitimate security analysts

White-Hat Hackers

White-Hat Hackers work as security analysts to detect and fix flaws and protect against malicious hackers

Suicide Hackers 

They aim to openly bring down the critical infrastructure for a social cause

Script Kiddies 

They are unskilled hackers who run scripts and software created by more experienced hackers

Cyber Terrorists

They create fear by disrupting large-scale computer networks; motivated by religious or political beliefs

State-Sponsored Hackers

They penetrate government networks, gain top-secret information, and damage information systems; paid by a hostile government

Hacktivists 

Promote political agendas by secretly defacing and disabling websites 

Who Are Cyber Security Experts

Data Breaches hacking, and cybercrime reach new heights, companies are increasingly relying on Cyber Security Specialists   to identify potential threats and protect valuable data. It makes sense, then, that the  Cyber Security Market is expected to grow from $152 billion in 2018 to $248 billion by 2023

• Find, test, and repair weaknesses within a company’s infrastructure
• Monitor systems for malicious content
• Identify network breaches
• Install regular software updates, firewalls, and antivirus protection
• Strengthen areas where attacks may have occurred

Work in one or more of these common Cyber Security domains to keep data safe

• Asset security:   Analyze networks, computers, routers, and wireless access points
• Security architecture and engineering:   Standardize security policies and procedures
• Communication and network security:   Regulate cloud storage and data transfer
• Identity and access management:   Track user authentication and accountability
• Security operations:   Monitor security to identify attacks
• Security assessment and testing:   Test security policies to ensure compliance with industry standards
• Software development security:   Create and repeatedly test code
• Security and risk management:    Identify potential risks and implement appropriate security controls

Cyber Security experts employ different tactics to secure computer systems and networks. Some of the best practices include

• Using two-way authentication
• Securing passwords
• Installing regular updates
• Running antivirus software
• Using firewalls to disable unwanted services
• Avoiding phishing scams
• Employing cryptography, or encryption
• Securing domain name servers, or DNS

Instagram Marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy for Instagram guides your account and helps you figure out what to post. 

As with any strategy, defining your goal is the best place to start. Instagram for small businesses can help you achieve any number of goals. Once you settle on the specific objectives, you can create your strategy.

Ideas for your Instagram marketing strategy include: 

• Building a community by engaging your audience with thoughtful captions 
• Giving your product more context with video tutorials 
• Showing off your company’s personality with unique posts 
• Increasing conversions with shoppable posts
• Enhancing brand awareness with curated content

Defining your target audience is also an Instagram for business best practice

Once you know who you’re aiming to reach, you can tailor your content to fit that audience. Different social media platforms are better for particular audiences, so ensure your Instagram content is targeted at its key demographics.

 Creating a social media calendar goes a long way, as well. It helps you plan out your posts and ensure you’re posting consistently. Setting up a calendar can give you time to prepare for events, such as holidays and product launches. 

Content To Post on Instagram for Small Business

Content is one of the best ways to build your Instagram following. If you post quality content, it’ll be easier to amass followers because they’ll want to see what you share. It’s an Instagram for business best practice to be thoughtful with the content you post. 

There are various ideas for the types of content you could post that all depend on your brand and goals, such as:

• How-tos 
• Behind the scenes 
• Q&As
• Customer testimonials 
• Giveaways and contests
• Product tutorials 
• Sneak peeks
• User-generated content
• Announcements 
• Trending topics 

Instagram helps give your customers insight into your brand and tells them your personality, aesthetic, passions, and story. 

Go beyond just promoting your product into what your brand represents. Red Bull and GoPro are two companies that have physical products. But their Instagram pages capture adventure, adrenaline, and action.

Post what your audience cares about. If you run a business that sells rock climbing equipment, it’s a good bet your customers care about rock climbing. You can share information about the sport, interviews with rock climbers, tips, stories, reviews, or even memes. Don’t despair if you think your business doesn’t lend easily to content. There are still plenty of ways to take advantage. You can post customer testimonials, interviews, graphics, quotes, or animations that always capture the essence of your company and brand. If you need more inspiration, look at your competitors’ social media profiles or brands you admire. 

Instagram for Business Best Practices

To make the most out of your Instagram marketing, here are some of the best Instagram business tips. 

Craft the Perfect Bio

Your Instagram Bio is essential because it is one of the only places you can put a link. So there’s a good chance you’ll be directing people to it often. Moreover, this is where you establish your company. Use the 150-character space strategically. Introduce people to your company and tell them what to do once they land on your page with a call to action. 

Post More Than Just Photos — Create Videos, Stories, Reels 

Remember that Instagram is more than just photos. Diversify your posts by using video posts or IGTV, which lets you post up to 60-minute videos. Stories are also valuable tools on Instagram for businesses, with one-third of the most-viewed Instagram Stories posted by companies. 

And don’t forget about Reels Instagram’s competitor to TikTok, which companies are gaining popularity with, such as Louis Vuitton. 

Engage With Your Followers

Social media is about being social. Take the opportunity to talk to your customers and interact with them. Ask questions in your posts, create polls, put interactive stickers on your stories, and respond to comments from your audience.

Create an Aesthetic

Follow a visual aesthetic with what you post so if someone looks at your page, it looks cohesive when tiled together. Make sure the photos flow together and use similar fonts and accent colors like Under Armour's use of red and white, which are used in its logo. 

Use Hashtags Strategically

Hashtags are still one of the best features to use on Instagram to connect with certain audiences. Plus, users can follow a specific hashtag to see similar content. Use hashtags for your product, industry, location, and other relevant details. Follow Instagram for business best practices, and don’t overload your posts with several hashtags. You can use up to 30, but your posts look spammy with too many. The sweet spot is around 11 hashtags. Consider creating a brand-specific hashtag like #ShareACoke. It helps with branding and is an excellent way to connect with customers and find user-generated content, to share on your page with their permission. 

Instagram for small businesses is an excellent tool to help you succeed with goals, including promotion, conversions, awareness, and content creation. The possibilities of the platform can be tailored to your company’s needs and creativity.

Devote time to creating an Instagram marketing strategy and think about what kind of content you want to post. Make use of an Instagram business account and keep in mind all the different methods to optimize your account, like hashtags and a comprehensive bio. 

Digital marketing strategy

A digital marketing strategy is a plan that outlines how your business will achieve its marketing goals via online channels like search and social media. Most strategy plans will summarize which online channels and digital marketing tactics you will use, plus how much you will invest in these channels and tactics.

what is marketing,” you might be wondering how it works.

With marketing, you can promote your products and services through multiple channels to reach your target audience. As a result, you can earn more sales and revenue for your business.

promote your brand

• Social media Platforms
• Search Engines
• Websites
• Apps

You can also conduct market research and competitor analysis to understand how you can ensure your business stands out online to attract more potential customers.

marketing important?

If you want to attract new customers and drive more sales for your company, investing in marketing is essential. Marketing is the key to helping more consumers discover your business, increasing your brand awareness, and generating more leads and conversions.Are you still not convinced that marketing is important for your business? Then check out these reasons why marketing is essential.

Drive more traffic to your website

Marketing can help you boost your online visibility in search engines, social media, and more. As a result, more consumers will discover your website, increasing your web traffic.

Reach your ideal customers

Reaching the consumers who are most likely to purchase your products and services is critical to increasing your sales. With marketing, you can take advantage of audience targeting features that help you ensure your promotions reach your ideal customers.

Generate more conversions and sales

Marketing helps you grow your business. Implementing campaigns that engage your audience and encourage clicks and conversions can help you continuously acquire new customers.

Marketing is an excellent way to reach more members of your target audience and outshine your competitors to drive more revenue for your business.

Types of marketing strategies

Check out some common types of marketing strategies below:

1. Search Engine Optimization
2. Pay per Click Advertising
3. Social Media Marketing
4. Email Marketing
5. Content Marketing 

Search engine optimization 

SEO is a digital marketing strategy that focuses on your website’s presence in search engines. An SEO Strategy involves various techniques that can help you achieve a top spot in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

SEO can involve optimizations such as:

• Improving your page load speed 
• Inserting keywords throughout your website
• Creating custom content 
• Improving your website user experience  etc

Increasing your search engine rankings is essential because it boosts your online visibility so more consumers can discover your website when they conduct a search online. Plus, 75% of users don’t go past the first page of search results, which means getting your website to rank on page one is a must.

Pay-per-click advertising

PPC Advertising is another excellent strategy that can help you increase your brand awareness and drive more sales. That’s because PPC ads display at the top of the SERPs and are one of the first results users will see. In fact, by using PPC ads, you can increase your brand awareness by 80%.

With PPC ads, you bid on keywords & phrases that your audience is searching for online. With a successful bid, plus a high Ad Rank and Quality Score, your ad will appear at the top of the SERPs each time a user searches for that keyword.

Do you need more convincing that PPC is an effective strategy? Then check out these statistics:

• You can earn $2 for every $1 spent  on PPC ads
• 32% of companies  use PPC ads to sell products directly to consumers
• 46% of page clicks  go to the top three PPC ads

PPC advertising is an excellent way to promote your products and services on search engines to drive more sales for your business.

Social media marketing

With more than five billion active users on social media, social media marketing is an excellent opportunity to promote your brand. Social media marketing involves promoting your business, products, and services on social media platforms  such as:

• Facebook 
• Instagram
• twitter 
• Linkedin  etc

With social media marketing, you can interact and engage with your audience invest in advertisements that appear in users’ newsfeeds, and much more.

Plus, many social media platforms enable you to use audience targeting features to ensure that your advertisements and sponsored posts reach your target audience. For example, you can target specific users based on their:

• Age
• Location
• Gender
• Interests
• Purchase history etc

As a result, your promotions will reach the users most likely to purchase your products or use your services.

Email marketing

Another type of marketing strategy is email marketing. Email Marketing is the process of using emails to promote your products and services. Emails are an excellent way to provide more information about your business to your audience to encourage them to convert into customers

For example, you can use emails to:

• Share business and industry news
• Promote new products and services
• Share custom content etc 

You can also use email marketing to generate leads for your company. When you include an email sign-up option on your website, interested users can voluntarily sign up for your emails. As a result, you can build a subscriber list of users who want to learn more about your business.

You can then send them emails with more information about your brand, products, and services to encourage them to make a purchase.

Content marketing

Content Marketing is a digital marketing strategy that involves creating a variety of valuable content that delivers relevant and helpful information to your audience.

There are several types of content you can create, such as:

• Blog Posts 
• Informative articles
• Detailed guides
• Videos 
• Infographics 
•  etc

When you Create Custom Content that provides value to your audience, you can establish your brand as an expert in your field. As more users read and watch your content, they will trust your brand, leading to more sales as a result. Content marketing can also help you improve your search engine rankings. That’s because you can insert keywords and phrases throughout your content that your audience searches for online. As a result, your website will have more opportunities to rank at the top of the results so more users can find your business online.

Backlinks

What are Backlinks

Backlinks are links from outside domains that point to pages on your domain; essentially linking back from their domain to yours.

To a larger degree, your backlink profile is made up of backlinks from external sites (also known as referring domains) that contribute to the overall strength, relevance, and diversity of your domain’s backlink profile the total number of backlinks can often include many links from the same referring domain or multiple referring domains. It’s common for referring domains to link back to your content if it is relevant, authoritative, or valuable in some way to their own domain. In an ideal world, that’s how backlinks are accumulated; unique content that other websites want to be associated with. Generally speaking, backlinks are considered to be a “vote” of confidence for the content that’s being linked to your domain from outside sources.

Why are important backlinks

Backlinks are important for search engines and users alike.  From a user’s perspective, backlinks provide a way for people to find other sources of information on the same or related topics. if the consumer is visiting a page about the “best smartphones” he might find links to other carriers, cell phone providers, or user-generated review pages. Links create a solid consumer experience because they transfer the user directly to additional desirable information if needed. Search Engines and backlinks help to determine the page’s importance and value (i.e. authority). Historically, the number of backlinks was an indicator of a page’s popularity.  Today, due to the way backlinks are evaluated based on different industry-related ranking factors, it is less quantity-focused and more about the quality of sites from which the links are coming.

Alternatively, too many backlinks from many unreliable domains can hinder the authoritative signals of your domain.

Effects 

A natural link profile has variety.  The links come from different domains and links will have different strengths best understand your backlink profile, it makes sense to look at a few top levels KPIs such as the referring domains and IPs, the country from where the backlink is coming from, and the Top-Level-Domain. There are domains that are better to receive links from than others.  These are domains that are “trusted” sources and have higher domain authority. links from educational institutions (.edu) and government entities (.gov) tend to carry a lot of authority and indicate “trusted” content or sites to search engines.

Backlinks help in SEO 

Make sure your backlinks appear to be natural. Don’t ask webmasters to link back to your pages with a specific anchor text since this can haphazardly result in a pattern that may get noticed by search engines and cause you to get a linking penalty, a la Penguin. Also, don’t do anything shady or unnatural to create backlinks, like asking a site to put a link in the footer of every page on their site.NEVER offer to pay someone for links! If you’re trying to build backlinks by pushing sponsored content, it has to explicitly say “Sponsored” on it. That’s an FCC regulation. Most publishers will mark these backlinks as nofollow but they still have link value and they can drive traffic to your site. At one time, directories like DMOZ were a good place to add listings and get backlinks. However, these large web directories aren’t really relevant anymore. But, if you do find industry-relevant directories or niche communities online, it can be worth building a relationship with webmasters to get a backlink from this type of site..GOV domains are quite valuable since they can’t be started by just anyone. So they inherently have more domain value.

How do I backlinks 

Outreach to webmasters should be personalized. You can list reasons why you like their brand, think your brand would partner well with them, or cite articles and other contents they published are great ways to make them more receptive. Try to find an actual point of contact on professional sites like LinkedIn. A generic blast of “Dear Webmaster…” emails is really just a spam campaign.

 Who links back to my site

It’s important to monitor the backlinks your site is accumulating. First, you can verify that your outreach is working. Second, you can monitor if you pick up any shady backlinks. Domains from Russia and Brazil are notorious origins of spam. Therefore, it can be wise to disavow links from sites originating from this part of the world through Google Search Console   as soon as you find them – even if they haven’t impacted your site.

Hub-and-Spoke Content Marketing

What is The Hub and Spoke Model

The hub and spoke model in content marketing is a framework that allows you to create topical relevance. It allows you to better organize your content, and lead visitors through every stage of the buyer’s journey. It accomplishes this with larger overview pages (the hub) about specific topics which then link to pages where aspects of the topic are explored in-depth (the spokes). For example, a business could create a hub page that focuses on email marketing. The hub page would summarize the major aspects of the topic such as segmentation, subject lines, email newsletter design, re-engagement campaigns, etc. For each supporting topic or subsection, it would link to another page that goes into further detail on it.

keywords relevant to the topics

At this point, you should have a lot of potential topics that you know your audience cares about. Right now there are two challenges: 

There are too many topics that need to be prioritized or cut

You don’t know their potential in terms of search traffic

Keyword research is the solution to both problems. Prioritize topics based on the potential search volume (which is a proxy for interest) and business impact. Keyword research is beyond the scope of this post so I’ll share a few resources. Before that, there are some things to be aware of. Many keyword research tools will give you a keyword difficulty rating. Take this with a grain of salt because, as I mentioned earlier, topical relevance plays a major role in your rankings. Keyword research tools haven’t caught up to this. Over time, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well you rank for keywords considered difficult. 

For instance, Transistor.fm. is a podcast hosting company  that was launched in early 2018 and already ranks on the first page for “how to start a podcast.” It’s outranking websites that should be doing better in a head-to-head fight.  

This happens when you have topical relevance. Another thing to keep in mind is that keyword search volumes in research tools are flawed. That’s why 2 keyword research tools can give you 2 completely different search volumes. 

If you rank on the first page of Google for one keyword, you’ll rank for 50 other keywords as well. All of them bring a little more traffic and most keyword tools are unable to predict that. 

Finally, it’s important to understand the quality of the content already ranking on the first page. Can you truly create something better? If you can then go for it. If not, it may be best to focus your attention elsewhere.

SEO (and conversion) optimized content

After finishing keyword research, you should have multiple hub page topics and know which one you’ll tackle first. You’ll also have the subtopics for your spoke pages which I’ll touch on shortly. 

The next thing to do is create the hub page. This is where people often drop the ball. They create mediocre content that has no hope of ranking or enticing their visitors to take the desired action. 

Your content should be:

1. High-quality
2. SEO optimized
3. Conversion focused

Point #1 is a given but high quality is relative to other content out there. That’s why I mentioned looking at the people you’ll compete with. You should know ahead of time whether you can make something better. 

What you can do instead of focusing on the length of your content is make sure you have a great design, you have included some rich media (videos, GIFs, infographics), and you have made the content as digestible (readable) as possible.

Also, don’t forget that editing is more about removing than adding. More doesn’t mean better.

The hub and spoke content model puts the user first but you should still optimize your content for SEO . Here’s a quick overview of what to focus on:  

• Optimize meta descriptions to improve CTR
• Interlink (you’re already doing this as part of the hub and spoke model)
• Develop a clear content structure
• Include images with relevant alt text
• Make sure your site loads fast (non-negotiable) 
• Include outbound links to relevant sites

The last thing to focus on is the conversion aspect  of your content. Your hub piece is designed to rank well and push visitors to other parts of your website. Don’t be afraid to add in content CTAs that get people to perform your desired action. 

Use a popup, an inline form, a CTA with a simple button, or whatever works best for your audience. Whatever you do, don’t miss this amazing opportunity to turn targeted traffic into new business.

Crafting Effective Content Spokes

The hub and spoke model is built on a simple premise. You’re growing your audience, authority, and customer base by positioning yourself as an authority on a subject. 

They first interact with you through a hub page and get introduced to detailed guides on the subject. You’re going an inch wide and a mile deep. You’re prioritizing depth over breadth.  

The content spokes are what give your content hub its power. These are the subtopics you mention and also link to from the content hub so the reader can get more information on the subject. They’re in-depth pieces that advance the narrative you’ve started in the content hub. They also link back to the hub to share link juice and improve your website’s usability. 

However, spokes aren’t limited to just articles. They can have a number of formats and goals depending on your overall business strategy. A few types of content that work well for content spokes are: podcasts, infographics, ebooks/white papers,user-generated content  , and videos.

Podcasts

Podcasts are growing fast . If you have one, you can invite a guest that will expand on an aspect of your content hub and treat it as one of the spokes.Conversely, you can use a relevant podcast where you were interviewed into a spoke. Just ask the host for permission to embed it on your website and expand it with a transcript or written commentary.  

Infographics

Years ago, it was expensive to have an infographic made. Now, there are many tools on the market like Venngage and Canva which make it simple to design and distribute infographics. They’re visually appealing, easy to digest, and shareable.

Ebooks & White papers

You can -and should- link to gated content from your content hub. This is how you get closer to generating real revenue for your business. The lead magnet  you use doesn’t have to be 100 pages, and it doesn’t even need to cover the topic 100% either. It just needs to be a piece that is interesting enough to hand you out their email to get it. White papers, by nature, are often packed with a lot of information and can’t be consumed in one sitting. Therefore, it’s normal for them to be gated. Don’t shy away from adding in gated content   because it’s where you move closer to your real goal.  

After getting a new lead that’s interested in your topic, the hub and spoke model does its second job: You can use the same content you were already creating for your spokes to build trust and move your new prospect, lead, or contact down the purchase funnel/buying journey.We want to combine the AARRR funnel with email marketing  and go from Acquisition to Activation and all the way to Revenue. With marketing automation and drip campaigns, you can keep in touch, and use the momentum you gained to learn more about your email subscribers (see the research questionnaire I mentioned earlier). 

Videos

Video is king. If it’s to be believed then video marketing  is the final frontier. With this type of content spoke, you can take advantage of a pronged approach. These primary content spokes are similar to your hub content. The only difference is that they go deep on a single subtopic. Your hub content touches on the entire topic. 

Secondary content spokes support both the primary spokes and the hub content. 

Secondary content spokes aren’t usually as in-depth. Their main goal is to drive traffic back to the content hub or build links . They can take the form of guest posts, social media posts, guest podcast appearances, video content on third-party sites, forum activity, and more. Many people skip this part of the entire process but I’d argue that it’s the most important. No matter how topically relevant your content is or well written, it won’t make a difference if it’s not seen.You have to jump-start that process with a few links and social sharing before the flywheel effect  can kick in.

Hub and Spoke Model – Conclusion

The hub and spoke model is an effective way to overcome a lot of the challenges associated with content marketing. When done properly, you build a content moat that protects your rankings and revenue. And, when done incorrectly, you’ll spend a lot of time with little to show for it. This article has outlined the hub and spoke strategy model of content marketing and broken down the key elements you need to implement it. Start with your hub topics and work your way down to the individual spokes. Keep in mind that this isn’t a one-day project. It can take weeks or months to complete so make sure you’re in it for the long haul. 

Virtual Reality , Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality & Extended Reality

Virtual Reality (VR)

People often describe “virtual reality” or “VR” as a “virtual environment” or “virtual surrounding.” In VR, everything the user sees is exclusively virtual; nothing from the external world is visible. Often virtual environments are visualized with head-mounted displays (HMDs) that surround the user’s head. These closed HMDs display an image that fills the user’s field of view. With the help of built-in and external sensors, it transmits the head movement of the user to a computer so they can move naturally in the virtual world. In the workplace, virtual reality can be used during design or prototyping processes so workers can see the finished product before it exists. Of course, VR is already being used in gaming and other entertainment

Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality” or “AR” means extended or enriched reality. The user still perceives their real environment, but virtual objects or contextual information are digitally superimposed or visually integrated. AR is only as good as internal data processing and the visualization of virtual content. That happens simultaneously, so users don’t sense delays. This ensures real-time interaction with the AR software. The possibilities for visual presentations in AR are very diverse. The user must be able to still see their environment, either because the display is mounted to headgear that doesn’t take up the entirety of the user’s view or an opaque screen that displays the viewing image as if the user weren’t wearing a device at all, such as with smart glasses.

Mixed Reality (MR)

In the industrial setting, we take the term “mixed reality” in the literal sense and often describe the physical mixing of realities. For MR, the device being used must offer spatial tracking and be able to scan its surroundings. For example, Microsoft HoloLens uses spatial mapping and inside-out tracking. Using this technology, a mixed reality application then produces 3D models of real-world objects and displays them virtually. With such tools, you can interact with the world both virtually and physically. In the case of augmented reality remote support solutions like TeamViewer Assist AR, this may mean you can place a virtual “sticky” annotation on a real object and have that annotation remain with the object within the MR tool no matter how you move. You may also see MR described as “spatial augmented reality” or “spatial AR.”

Extended Reality (XR)

Extended reality is an umbrella term that covers all of the various technologies that enhance our senses, whether they’re providing additional information about the actual world or creating totally unreal, simulated worlds for us to experience. It includes Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) technologies.

Future Is Virtual

you inspect VR or AR, it becomes clear the definitions are ever shifting with the technology. In the most basic sense, they mean the same (the interaction between humans and machines using visualization and physical movement rather than mouses and keyboards), but they differ and can cause misunderstandings. To make it easy, AR still incorporates the real world, whereas VR attempts to replace it. Since software and technology are constantly being developed, alternative forms of virtuality keep being added. Eventually, they must be explained and named.No matter what we call this technology, humans will continue to find new ways to use data to enhance the analog world to improve work and play. Starting to explore these technologies now means there will be less of a knowledge gap when AR, VR, and/or MR become commonplace in the world of work.