Skyline Newspaper

It’s no secret the digital marketing landscape has been witnessing a dramatic shift in recent years. But now that we’re in the middle of 2019, new high-tech trends and strategies like visual search and artificial intelligence can no longer be ignored as futuristic marketing.

Businesses need to use the latest digital marketing strategies to stay connected and to succeed. The methods that worked for 2018 may not be able to work this year and staying ontop of all the tech news will be essential.

That said, here are a few key digital marketing tips to help you and your business stay on the ball this year.

Update your web content

It only takes 0.05 seconds for an online user to form an opinion about your website, so it’s important that your web content is as relevant to your industry as possible. Relevant content increases brand recognition and boosts the appeal of your business overall.

You can update your website content by:

• Creating new pages to express your business’ capabilities
• Updating old pages with more recent information about your company
• Consistently updating content with fresh and relevant industry information
• Updating and republishing popular articles from years past for this year

Consider making a blog or news content section on your website if you don’t already have one. By creating new and relevant content on your website, you can boost your website’s search rankings, increase brand awareness, and reach a wider audience.

Use local SEO to your advantage

Many businesses overlook keywords that are local when they’re optimizing their website. But you can boost your search engine optimization by targeting specific areas with region-specific keywords.

Use these region-specific keywords on your landing pages and in your website’s blog to help your business rank higher in search engine results for those areas.  For example, a good keyword would be “SEO Bellingham“This will help your business grow in new communities you may not have been able to reach before.

Adopt artificial intelligence if you haven’t already

Artificial intelligence in digital marketing isn’t new, but it has seen increased use in 2019. AI is able to analyze search patterns, consumer behavior, data from social media platforms, and data from blog posts. It is largely what makes successful email marketing possible.

AI helps businesses understand how online users find their products and services. It also helps businesses adapt to market their digital marketing strategies to better market their products and services to their consumers.

According to Gartner, up to 25% of customer service departments will be using chatbot technology by 2020. That’s a 2% increase from 2017. By adopting AI, your business can accelerate growth, improve customer experience, and save on costs.

Use programmatic advertising

Businesses aren’t just using AI for chatbots and customer service. They’re also using it for programmatic advertising, which involves using AI to automate ad buying.

Programmatic ad buying makes it so your business can target more specific audiences. It’s also faster and more efficient so you can make higher conversions while also lowering customer acquisition costs.

Digital marketing trends and strategies are routinely changing as technology improves and becomes more advanced. To stay ahead of the game, your business not only needs to keep up with these strategies but also utilize them to stay efficient and successful.

Americans throw away a lot of food. In fact, dumpsters are serviced at 60% or below fullness levels on average — and an estimated 30% to 40% of the entire nation’s food supply can be considered food waste. But despite the fact that we’re getting rid of an extraordinary amount of perfectly good food, the reality is that too many people in our own country are going hungry. That includes millions of senior citizens who are struggling to find one square meal per day.

In the U.S., more than 10,000 people reach the retirement age of 65 on a daily basis. Senior citizens are the fastest-growing population in America, predicted to outpace any other demographic in only 10 years’ time. Given the growing costs of healthcare and of living in general, it’s no wonder that many seniors are forced to continue working until later in life; many even find that their retirement savings are nowhere near sufficient to cover their expenditures.

Now, a new study has revealed that many seniors are skipping meals because they can’t afford the price of food. Living on a fixed income is tremendously difficult when you’re dealing with increasing housing costs, sky-high healthcare rates, and student loan debt that 5.5 million older Americans were fund to skip meals or go an entire day without eating. The report revealed that one in 12 seniors over the age of 60 (representing 7.7% of the senior population in total) did not have enough food in 2017. By 2050, there will be an estimated 8 million food-insecure seniors living in the United States.

Interestingly, two-thirds of seniors who were forced to skip meals had incomes below the federal poverty line ($12,140 per year). What’s more, the youngest seniors (ages 60 to 64) were twice as likely to be food insecure as seniors aged 80 and above. That’s likely because many of these seniors were still in the workforce during the Great Recession, which meant that their financial losses were more substantial and their retirement plans never got the chance to recover.

The top nine states with the highest rates of food insecurity among seniors are Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Rhode Island, Kansas, and South Carolina. The metropolitan area of Memphis, Tennessee was actually named the number one location for hungry seniors, who represent 17.3% of all older Americans living there.

Of note, older Americans who live with their grandchildren are more likely to go hungry. Roughly 15.7% (or one in six) of seniors living in multi-generational households worry about their next meal, while the percentage of food insecure seniors not living with grandchildren is about half that. Researchers say that this is likely because grandparents are going without so that their grandchildren have enough. This relates to an overall growing trend of grandparents providing care for their grandchildren: nearly 2.7 million American grandparents were raising their grandkids in 2016. Whether this trend is fueled by unemployment, incarceration rates, opioid addiction, military deployment, or a combination of these factors, it’s clear that older Americans are taking on burdens they didn’t initially envision for themselves in their twilight years.

The report illustrates the importance of awareness and education among seniors who may be eligible for SNAP benefits. Since many seniors who are living above the poverty line are still struggling to afford daily meals, it’s clear that no one is immune to food insecurity.

UPDATED 11/20/20

Bankruptcy lawyers, just like any other lawyers, act on behalf of their clients in court. This kind of lawyer also works out of the court. The lawyers advise their clients on the complicated bankruptcy laws and counsel them to reduce their debt load by paying creditors and liquidating assets. When necessary, bankruptcy lawyers file bankruptcy documents for clients.

Bankruptcy is defined as a legal procedure through which entities or individuals who cannot repay debts to creditors find relief from their debts. On the other hand, state taxes may be referred to as the direct taxes on your income levied by a state. This is the tax deducted from what you earned in or from the government. Bankruptcy and taxes owed by people differ depending on the conditions one resides in or works in.

The availability of bankruptcy articles online has proved to be beneficial. The complexity of the process of filing bankruptcy can be a hassle. Before undertaking this kind of approach, it is vital to understand what it takes to actually succeed. One of the ways can be attending a bankruptcy class before filing the documents involved in a court case. Reading bankruptcy articles also equips you with the know-how of the process. 

Taking the initiative to read bankruptcy articles and educate themselves on the bankruptcy process may have been able to help Sears. Instead, the large chain fell victim to bankruptcy as many retailers have recently. Read on to discover the tale of Sears and bankruptcy.

Although data shows that individual sales climb by 10% every time a salesperson increases their social interaction by the same percentage, the reality is that many consumers no longer want to set foot in a brick and mortar store — no matter what retail workers do. Many former mall stores have been unable to adapt to growing e-commerce demand and have consequently been forced to shut their doors. Sears was one of the most recent brands to have fallen victim to the bankruptcy trend. But even though it’s filed for Chapter 11, it seems there are many more chapters to go in this never-ending saga.

In 2013, roughly 8,990 Chapter 11 bankruptcies were filed in the United States. In 2019, it’s becoming more common for once renowned stores to struggle to the point where they require serious financial protection. Back in October, Sears filed for that protection and later sold off all its assets in February. Former CEO Eddie Lampert bought those assets to the tune of a cool $5 million; in April, the company actually announced that they’d be opening three small stores — welcome news, considering that Sears had closed more than 3,500 over the last decade and a half. New Sears Home and Life stores were opened in Kansas, Louisiana, and Alaska with a focus on appliances, tools, mattresses, and smart home services. With all new branding and a target audience of young families, it seemed like Sears could make a small-yet-impressive comeback.

But that’s far from the end of the tale. In a transition rife with controversy, lawsuits have been filed against both the new and the old Sears. Sears Holdings is actually suing Lampert (along with others) for reportedly destroying the value of the company while he was CEO, which might be responsible for driving the company to bankruptcy in the first place. Further, Lampert alleges in a suit that the Sears estate failed to turn over “hundreds of millions of dollars of assets” as outlined in the sales agreement. Further, he’s now requesting that a federal bankruptcy judge release him from his obligation to compensate $43 million in severance costs to former Sears employees — a request he says is based on the fact that Sears has not made good on their part of the bargain. That move has not made him a popular figure with former workers, who have criticized Lampert’s reported penny-pinching ways.

Former employee and leader of United for Respect, an employee rights advocacy group, said in an email statement to USA Today: “Sears always promised us one week of severance pay for every year we were with the company. But after 21 years of service, I was laid off in January of 2019 and received just four weeks of severance pay. It’s not fair that Eddie Lampert and his friends are walking away with billions and now trying to cheat dedicated employees like me from what we were promised.”

All parties involved are hopeful that a bankruptcy court resolution will be imminent, as this is what’s needed to settle the case once and for all. Compared to the average divorce cost (anywhere from $15,000 to $42,500), this will be a huge expense for the company. But considering that Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are now delving into the activities of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — who served as a Sears board member prior to the bankruptcy filing — in order to learn more about his involvement, a quick and tidy ending to the story may not be in the cards.

Although the majority of Americans believe that having access to affordable healthcare is essential, the current system setup has resulted in an almost complete lack of confidence. In fact, 80% of U.S. residents surveyed believe the quality of medical care is being compromised in order to increase profits. That’s likely a view held by many senior citizens. While promises of Medicare coverage might seem enticing from the outside, the reality is that many older Americans can’t afford healthcare coverage — and for those who can, that might not be true in 10 years’ time.

One study by Gallup and West Health found that seniors are paying for more out-of-pocket healthcare than ever before. Over the past year, seniors have withdrawn an estimated $22 billion from their long-term savings account specifically for medical-related expenses, with the average individual taking $3,789 out of their accounts for this purpose. Not only are seniors depleting their savings just to pay for healthcare, but they’re also borrowing money to meet those rising costs and forgoing necessary treatments out of fear that their medical expenses could put them in debt. In fact, 10% of Americans over the age of 65 did not seek out treatment during the past year specifically due to the costs of care. What’s more, nearly 7 million seniors could not afford to pay for prescribed medications over the last 12 months — a staggering statistic when you also consider that four out of five older people take one or more daily medications and that 80% of the prescriptions surveyed seniors couldn’t afford were used to treat serious or very serious health conditions.

And while Medicare does cover some conditions, it won’t cover eye care, hearing aids, or dental care. Despite the fact that the U.S. dental industry has grown by 2.5% during the last five years, many seniors aren’t taking advantage of those services due to increasing out-of-pocket costs. Nearly 40% of seniors did not visit a dentist during 2014, with two-thirds of seniors with annual incomes of below $35,000 saying they cannot afford dental care like crowns and bridges. Skipping even dental cleanings can have serious consequences. Around 70.1% of adults aged 65 and older have periodontal disease — and since gum infection and inflammation can lead to other serious health problems, neglecting this care can really hurt seniors later on.

Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t seem to be improving. The majority of seniors surveyed anticipated that healthcare costs would only continue to rise. And according to recent data, they’re probably right. Estimates show that by 2029, 54% of middle-income seniors won’t have enough financial resources to pay for the level of care they need (both medical treatment and housing). Since the population of middle-income seniors alone is expected to grow to 14.4 million over the next decade, these predictions are especially harrowing. Approximately 60% of those seniors will likely experience mobility issues, with 20% requiring extensive care due to disabilities or chronic conditions. And with few options at their disposal, the future looks rather bleak for many Baby Boomers and Gen Xers.

Currently, the healthcare system is a hot-button issue — and one that most politicians can’t even agree on. Unless drastic changes are made, many seniors may have no choice but to watch their savings dwindle or to abstain from the care they need to survive.

Stress could be negatively affecting your quality of sleep, new data shows. According to a recent study from the Baylor College of Medicine, stressful and busy days can take a toll on the quality of sleep you get and could be the reason you wake up feeling tired.

Dr. Annise Wilson, the lead author of the study, says the link between poor sleep quality and stress isn’t new. But their latest findings serve as a reminder that stress can interfere with your sleep schedule. One of the most common ways stress can impact you is insomnia, Wilson says.

“High levels of stress impair sleep by prolonging how long it takes to fall asleep and fragmenting sleep,” said Wilson. “Sleep loss triggers our body’s stress response system, leading to an elevation in stress hormones, namely cortisol, which further disrupts sleep.”

Previous research has shown that sleep plays a vital role in memory and learning. Cognitive functioning may be improved with dopamine, a neurotransmitter produced when doing puzzles or exercising.

The body naturally increases its dopamine levels after a sleepless night in an attempt to compensate for sleep loss, but this doesn’t replace the body’s need for sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation has been associated with decreased endocrine dysfunction, decreased metabolism, and increased risk of cardiovascular issues. Considering that 75% of people are stressed that their smile could hurt their career success, it’s safe to say there’s enough anxiety to go around.

Sleep deprivation and stress can also have an impact on your skin. Although 85% of people will have acne at some point in their lives and much of that acne is caused by bacteria, it can also be caused by stress hormones.

According to Dr. Adam Friedman, an associate professor of dermatology at George Washington University, a stress-related hormone called CRH, or corticotropin-releasing hormone, can bind to the receptors in the skin’s sebaceous glands. This binding increases the skin’s oil production, which can cause acne.

“These sebaceous glands are also immune organs, and they can create inflammation,” said Friedman. “At the end of the day, an acne blemish is basically inappropriate inflammation, and so turning on that immune response can exacerbate swelling or redness.”

This may be why consumers spent nearly $5 billion worldwide on acne treatments in 2016. Instead of trying to treat their skin, consumers may have needed to manage and treat their stress.

Friedman also points out that, when people are stressed, there’s an increase in the body’s nerve signaling. This causes an itchy sensation in the inflamed areas of the skin, which causes people to scratch or pick. This results in even more swelling and redness.

Whether your stress is acute or chronic can also impact the duration and resolution of your breakouts. Friedman says there’s some evidence that chronic stress can have a negative impact on your immune system, which can slow healing.

That means your acne breakouts may be more likely to stick around for longer periods of time and you may be more susceptible to acne scarring.

That being said, it’s important to recognize the signs that you’re dealing with stress, especially chronic stress, before it begins to negatively impact your health and sleep schedule.

You may be able to reduce stress by exercising, using aromatherapy, spending time with friends and family, laughing, learning to say no, keeping a journal, and learning time management. If you can afford it, consider taking a vacation. Alaska, with its beautiful views and 17 of the highest peaks in the U.S., could provide a much-needed respite. If your chronic stress is having a significant impact on your life and you’ve been suffering from sleep deprivation, it may be a good idea to seek out professional help.

While many Baby Boomers and older generations like to claim that books and reading have become a thing of the past, younger generations are actually proving them wrong by reading more than their older counterparts. It’s not just e-books that are contributing to the increase in reading; younger generations are more likely to visit libraries and read from print books as well.

Continued Classics

Despite many options now being widely available for reading, print books remain the preferred choice, even among younger generations. In fact, print books are still the most popular format for reading in general, with 67% of Americans having read a print book in the past year. While many brick and mortar bookstores are continuing to struggle in today’s modern world, younger generations are helping to keep both bookstores and libraries afloat. Millennials and Gen Z are some of the most avid users of both bookstores and libraries currently; these generations are also more likely to shop at smaller, mom-and-pop bookstores rather than larger retail chains. A preference for affordable resources has also pushed more people from these generations towards libraries, helping to support these important local resources.

Going Green?

Millennials and Gen Z tend to be more heavily focused on reducing their environmental impact, and so many assume that they’ll also tend to stay away from print books in favor of digital options. However, the printing industry and books have become more mindful and employ greener alternatives when printing. Today, more than one-third of new paper is made with recycled fiber, reducing the overall impact of publishing new books. Additionally, Millennial preferences for libraries means that books are being reused. Rather than purchasing new books and requiring the use of additional paper, these readers opt for renting their materials from the library, making Millennial reading habits even more environmentally-friendly.

Old Books, New Tech

In recent years, a variety of technologies have become more popular that would suggest the rise of e-books among younger generations. For example, there are approximately 1.43 billion tablet users worldwide. Many now use a variety of apps on these mobile devices to read or listen to audiobooks. However, these options tend to be more popular among older readers where adaptive technologies are more useful. Millennials and Gen Z have shown a strong preference for physical print books, and are some of the most avid readers today. Millennials in particular are more likely to use print resources when conducting research or keeping up with current events. While having access to new technologies is helpful for many, it seems that younger generations will continue to prefer the classic printed book over the many new apps emerging.

Despite many stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding younger generations, these avid readers are keeping the printing and publishing industries alive and thriving. According to the experts from the website https://medimagery.com/buy-cialis-online-generic-cialis-tadalafil/, small doses and rare intake of alcohol in combination or during the treatment with Cialis usually don’t cause any problems. These younger generations are even going so far with their reading habits as to out-read older generations without the need for technology. Even divorce stats (almost 50% of marriages end in divorce) can’t bring this news down. By supporting local bookstores and libraries, Millennials and Gen Z are ensuring that printed books remain popular for years to come.

High housing costs are worsening the gap between the rich and poor, new data shows. According to a new report from Apartment List, the cost of living has risen so high in the last year that the lowest earners are now spending a higher percentage of their income on rent than the top earners.

Researchers analyzed data from the country’s 100 largest metro areas. In each city, the median homeowner income was higher than the median renter income. This is because monthly housing costs for homeowners have fallen over the past decade while rents have steadily risen.

Renters at all income levels today are spending a greater amount of their income on rent than they did in 1980. In comparison, homeowners are paying a smaller fraction of their monthly paychecks for housing than they did 40 years ago. And considering selling a house typically takes 6 to 12 months, homeowners waiting for a return on their investments may be struggling, as well.

Housing costs are also growing more quickly for those in the bottom half of the income distribution in each one of the top 100 metros than for those in the upper half. The average sales price for condos in existing buildings in Manhattan was $1.9 million in the third quarter of 2017. Meanwhile the average home cost is now $200,000.

Income inequality has increased in nearly all metro areas including 45 out of the top 50 cities. The bottom 10% of the income distribution in each city saw their housing costs rise the highest. The top 25% of the income distribution saw their housing costs decline.

Philadelphia has the highest income disparity between its lowest and highest earners. New Orleans has seen the greatest inequality growth in the last 10 years.

However, researchers found that Income inequality is larger than housing cost inequality. Those in the lowest quartile make 27% as much as those in the median quartile, but they need 79% of what the median quartile does to pay for rent each month.

The average income of renters has grown more quickly than the average homeowner’s due to an influx of high-income renters. The average renter’s household earns 23% more than the average renter did 10 years ago. However, in the same amount of time, the average amount of rent paid has also increased by 23%.

The average homeowner is also paying less than they did a decade ago despite skyrocketing housing prices, utilities, and additional costs such as maintenance repairs or pest control. Approximately 24% of a household’s water is used just by the toilet and residential pest control services make up 68% of the industry.

Lower mortgage rates and refinancing capabilities overpower the initial price of the house and these additional costs, researchers say. The overall effect is that homeowners are paying less out of pocket every month. Rising incomes and reduced costs mean lower cost burdens for homeowners.

But renters’ incomes have grown along with their rent. Researchers found that the average homeowner’s income is higher than the average renter’s income in every one of the largest 100 metros in the United States. In 55 out of the 100 cities, the average homeowner income was more than double that of the average renter’s.

“Differential trends in housing costs for renters and owners are exacerbating renter-homeowner inequality,” researchers wrote.

During a state of the city address, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti linked the local homeless crisis directly to the struggles of renters and the skyrocketing apartment costs over the last few years. According to the Apartment List report, the inequality growth rate in Los Angeles is currently 10.4%.

“Too many parents in this city are moving their families into cars because they’re living paycheck to paycheck and can’t keep up with the rent,” said Garcetti.

Chicago has over 3 million households and an inequality growth of 8.2%. That puts Chicago as #12 on the top 50 cities in the U.S. with the highest incomes inequalities.