How the Written Word and Photography Work Together for Incredible Brand Exposure

By Isabella Foreman

You have probably heard how the whole search engine optimization thing works and what tactics you need to use in order to gain more online visibility. The important thing to remember there is that there are no shortcuts, and that you must supply quality content in order to rank as high as you would like. Quality content applies to everything you do, your product, your articles, your photos, your videos, your customer service, etc.

If you are not sure why you need to insist on it so much, the following article is here to help you understand. We will focus on written content and photography and we’ll explain how they work together to increase your brand awareness.

What it means to have quality written content

Quality written content needs to be liked and shared, and it needs to show some valuable insight and be entertaining at the same time. The correct term that is used to describe quality content is 10X  and it means that anything new your create needs to be 10 times better than everything created before.

Of course, it’s never supposed to be exactly 10 times better; the more precise term would be 2X, but the point is, in order for content to be regarded as quality content, it needs to be unique, and it needs to be better, so that people can actually learn something that was not available online before.

Once you manage to bring something insightful and revolutionary, people will notice you, and you’ll become more and more popular. Or will you? In order to be noticed, you need to appear on many places online and hope that the fire will spread.

What does it mean to have quality photography?

Quality photography (best photo editing services by SmartPhotoEditors) means that it is created by a high definition camera; it means that the photo was edited and improved using a certain piece of software, and it needs to send a message. A professional and artistic photo needs to have a subject or a point that it is trying to exemplify, and if you use professional photography as a part of your written content, the text itself will be far more memorable.

Additionally, there are many platforms that love to share professional photos, so if you use them in your content, the links will lead back to your articles and your website, which means more visitors and better visibility. Basically, photography can be a powerful motivator for sharing  your quality content and it can ensure that it is seen by the right people. Therefore, it’s essential to the whole process.  

How to combine them

Combining these two is quite easy; you simply look for the photo or create a photo that is exemplifying the message of your sub headings. Each image can tell a story, and you need to find those that can “speak” exactly what you are writing about, so that your whole peace can have this element of completeness.

Think about networks like BuzzFeed; some of the most popular content is just pictures and subheadings, there’s nothing more that is required. Images are storytellers on their own, if used in the correct context.

Hopefully, you will use this information to increase your brand awareness. Remember to use quality photography and images that are an embodiment of something, and to generate quality written content as well. If you manage to do this, you’ll perform exceptionally great.

Isabella Foreman is a content writer by profession and enjoys writing on travel, photography, home improvement, and cooking. She spends her off-work time with family and travel to explore new places!

How to Earn Money from Your Photoshop Skills as a Student

Managing finances while you are in college is not an easy task. There is rent, bills, living expenses, not to mention parties and traveling; saying you can barely make the ends meet would be an understatement. So, since your parents can’t make all your wishes come true, you will have to earn some extra money on the side.

Luckily, if you are skillful in Photoshop or any other photo-editing tool, you can make that extra cash, provided you know how to get a job. In this article, we will go over some tips to help you out with earning money and getting a job using your Photoshop skills. 

Work with what you have

You can start by working with some photos you already have or that you can download for free. In case you have your own camera it would be great to create some original shots as well. Since the whole point of this is to help you earn money, there won’t be any additional purchases.

In other words, do not invest in the additional equipment for photography; focus on what you have and on Photoshop. You can create some great shots of nature and street photography using only a decent camera and good natural lighting.

Create a portfolio

You should do some work on honing and polishing your Photoshop skills, considering how you will use them more frequently at some point, and knowing all of the shortcuts and tool locations will increase your efficiency. So, go through tutorials or other tips-and-tricks videos for Photoshop and start working on the photos you have. This will help you improve a bit and also create a solid and extensive portfolio that you can put online. Furthermore, you can outsource some of the edits to professionals, and put them in your portfolio, to impress potential clients, and also to see how it’s done.

You will use this portfolio on different websites and your social networks. The idea is to become a member on any online platform that is about photography and has a large community. Your portfolio should consist of lots of different images, both with heavy and light editing, and also make sure you show how well you can use the healing brush to improve facial features.

Make sure you are noticed

Your portfolio and your products will not do you much good unless you get enough exposure and visibility. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can do this, and none of them are really complicated. The first thing you can do is start sharing all of your images on social networks and make sure you check which hashtag you need to use to keep up with the latest trends.

Another way is to give some of your work away for free and allow people to use it and modify it, as long as they remember to give you attribution. If you have some more quality work that you want to give for free, opt for a license that allows use but without modification.

As far as the images that you regard as your best work are concerned, you should not give them for free. You should create profiles on sites that sell images, and put them on for sale. 

Volunteer

Another place you can get noticed is your college. Since you are a student, there are bound to be some ongoing projects where you can volunteer, and contribute. In fact, it does not have to be your college; you can see if they are taking volunteers to other colleges that are related to photography and art.

If you can do that, there are bound to be people there who are more relevant and who will notice your work. Moreover, volunteering will look good on your portfolio, and you will be able to find future jobs easier. 

Freelancer platforms 

Lastly, you should definitely create profiles on online platforms for freelancers. Here, you can work solo and negotiate the prices with clients who are offering jobs. Be selective when it comes to jobs you apply for, and remember to complete your profile and leave as much information as possible.

By completing the profile, you increase your chances of getting a job because people will take you more seriously. You might have to open an account on PayPal so that people will have a way of paying you for your services. Upload your samples here as well and leave the links to all of your social networks.

These were some of the tips you can use to earn extra money while living as a student. Of course, do not get too caught up in this, because you still need to study pass your midterms and your finals. However, do not take this too lightly either; because you are not only enjoying your hobby, you are also building a career for yourself. 

25 Interesting Facts about Nigeria and Nigerians

Nigeria, a country blessed with approximately 160 million people stands as the giant of Africa and the seventh most populous nation in the world. Nigeria continues to attract people from neighbouring countries and foreign investors alike, as it is one of the liveliest places in Africa and home to Lagos one of the most prominent citadel city of industry and commerce in sub-Saharan Africa. Its journey as an independent nation may have started in the 60’s but its history and culture dates far back to the precolonial era.

Contrary to what several people believe, many aspects of modern day life in Nigeria began to take shape as various states began to thrive and a sudden bloom in the economy saw an increase in the influx of investors.

State of the art facilities began to spring up across major cities like Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.

The elite few began to spend more on leisure life, various resorts in Lagos and across major states, luxury hotels like Federal Palace Hotel Lagos became the hub of relaxation for elites who required top notch service.

Listed below are 25 interesting/fun facts about Nigeria and its people.

1. Nigeria was formed under Governor Frederick Lugard in 1914.
2. Nigerians make up one-fifth of the total population of Black Africa.
3. The Nigerian currency was introduced in 1959.
4. With 521 languages, Nigeria is the third most multi lingual country in the world according to ethnologue.  
5. In the 1850s, Kano, one of the largest cities in Africa, made 10 million sandal pairs and 5 million hides for export annually.
6. In 1246 AD the Kanemi of Borno created a sensation in Tunisia when he sent a gift of a giraffe to Al-Mustapha, king of Tunis.
7. In 1000AD, Queen Luwo, the twenty-first Ooni of Ile-Ife supervised the design and construction of the streets with quartz pebble and broken pottery. Originally created to pave the way for the queen so as not to soil her clothing and feet during the rainy season. By the 14th and 15th centuries, apaadi Luwo had become part of the architectural heritage of Ife.
8. Lord Lugard described Kano: ‘Commercial emporium of the western Sudan.’ Of its wall, he said, ‘I have never seen, nor even imagined, anything like it in Africa.’ He estimated in 1904 that there were 170 walled towns still in existence in the whole of just the Kano province of northern Nigeria.
9. The Guinness Book of World Records (1974) describes the walls of Benin City as the world's second largest man-made structure after China's Great Wall. “The Walls of Benin City was the world's largest man-made earth structure.” Fred Pearce wrote in New Scientist. Finished in 1460, the Benin Iya or moat is a historic world defence wonder. Before it was ravaged by the British in 1897, it was known as one of the largest man made structure lengthwise and considered as the largest earth work in the world by most.
10. Established in 1965, Cocoa house in the city of Ibadan, Oyo state was once the tallest building in tropical Africa.
11. Discovered in 1928, Nigeria’s North and North Central region hosts West Africa’s oldest civilization; the Nok, which flourished between 1000 BC and 300 BC.
12. In 1976, 75 kobo exchanged for one British Pound and 60 kobo for one US dollar.
13. 5 of the 10 richest pastors in the entire world are Nigerians, with net worth’s according to Forbes, from $10-150 million. They include; Pastors, David Oyedepo, E. A. Adeboye, Chris Oyakhilome, Temitope Joshua and Mathew Ashimolowo.
14. A brand new car sold for N2000 in 1975.
15. A ticket to London was less than N100 in 1975.
16. Until 1984, travel visa was not required to travel to the United Kingdom.
17. King of Kanem-Bornu, Idrîs Aloma (1571-1603) went on pilgrimage and came across firearms. He brought some guns back, along with Turks to train his army on how to use them.
18. The north was the more literate part of Nigeria in the past. According to Lord Luggard, there were 25,000 Qur’anic Arabic schools with about 250,000 pupils in the north.
19. Legendary Fela’s mother, Mrs. Fumilayo Ransome-Kuti was one of the delegates that negotiated Nigeria’s independence in Britain.
20. The Adubi war in 1918 was a major uprising by 30,000 Abeokuta Egba warriors against the colonial government for colonization, taxation and slave labor. One British was killed, rail and telegraph lines were destroyed. The British rewarded their soldiers with medals for quelling the uprising.
21. Nigeria’s north (719,000 sq. km), makes up 80% of Nigeria’s land mass. It is four times the South in size.
22. Repatriated Brazilian and Cuban slaves were known as the Amaros; they are the ‘Aguda’ people of Lagos today.
23. According to U.S Bureau Census data, Nigerian immigrants have the highest education attainment level in the United States, surpassing every other ethnic group in the country,
24. The Yoruba ethnic group and its bloodlines have the highest rate of twins in the world.
25. Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote is the richest Black person in the world, with a net worth of $16.1bn.

Nokia 3 Specifications

Nokia 3 is one of the Android phones to be released by Nokia in 2017 as it makes its comeback into the smartphone market.  View the specifications of this cool phone next as released by GSM Arena.

Nokia 3 Specs

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE

LAUNCH	Announced	2017, February
	Status	Coming soon. Exp. release 2017, May

BODY	Dimensions	143.4 x 71.4 x 8.5 mm (5.65 x 2.81 x 0.33 in)
	Weight	-
	SIM	Single SIM or Dual SIM

DISPLAY	Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	5.0 inches (~67.3% screen-to-body ratio)
	Resolution	720 x 1280 pixels (~294 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass (unspecified version)

PLATFORM	OS	Android OS, v7.0 (Nougat)
	Chipset	Mediatek MT6737
	CPU	Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53
	GPU	Mali-T720MP2

MEMORY	Card slot	microSD, up to 256 GB
	Internal	16 GB, 2 GB RAM

CAMERA	Primary	8 MP, f/2.0, autofocus, LED flash
	Features	1.12 µm pixel size, geo-tagging, touch focus
	Video	Yes
	Secondary	8 MP, f/2.0, autofocus

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

COMMS	WLAN	Yes
	Bluetooth	Yes
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS
	NFC	Yes
	Radio	FM radio
	USB	microUSB v2.0, USB On-The-Go

FEATURES	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
	Browser	HTML5
	Java	No
		- MP4/H.264 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/FLAC player - Photo/video editor - Document viewer

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Ion 2650 mAh battery

MISC	Colors	Silver White, Matte Black, Tempered Blue, Copper White