Tag Archive for: Deanna Simone Rosewood VA

stock photo

A picture is worth a thousand words. This saying is very accurate! Using photos is extremely important as people are drawn more to photos rather than text. Using stock photos has become a very popular choice for people as it saves you the time and money of hiring a photographer. Stock photos can be found online and are already created and ready to be downloaded for your use. Before downloading a stock photo, you will need to pay for it in order to hold the license (although some websites do offer free stock photos).

Types of Uses for Stock Photos

There are two most common uses for stock photos: commercial use and editorial use.

Commercial Use:

  • Marketing
  • Social Media
  • Branding
  • Used on Your Website

Editorial Use:

Accompanying text content such as:

  • Blogs
  • Articles
  • Magazines
  • Newspapers

We have done extensive research on various stock photo websites and have come up with our top 3. Best of all, we have included paid and free options.

Pexels (Free)

Pexels is a royalty free, high-resolution photo marketplace. All photos on Pexels are free for commercial and personal use. Pexels offers thousands of photo options all at high resolution, and they even offer free stock videos as well. Unlike many stock photo websites, Pexels does not require you to register for an account – anyone can upload and download photos! Giving credit to the author is not necessary but is definitely appreciated by both Pexels and the author. Just remember, you CANNOT use these photos for resale.

Pixabay (Free)

Pixabay is another free stock photo website that offers photos, videos, vectors, illustrations and more. Currently, there are more than 1 million options to choose from on Pixabay. All contents are released under Creative Commons CC0. This makes them safe to use without asking for permission or giving credit to the author/artist. Like Pexels, Pixabay does not require you to create an account in order to download the photos, although certain features do require registration. You may not use the photos and videos from Pixabay for resale, but you can most definitely use the graphics they offer for personal or commercial use.

123rf (Paid)

123rf is a paid stock photo website that offers millions of options to choose from, however this is our personal favourite here at Rosewood. This stock photo site offers thousands of photos, videos, audio, and vectors. You can choose to either do a monthly subscription plan or pay for credits and top them up as you need them.

Each photo/video is downloaded based on size. You can choose to download small (2 credits), medium (4 credits), large (6 credits), or extra-large (10 credits). Typically for most uses, small will work just fine. However, if you require a higher resolution photo, you may want to purchase medium, large, or extra-large. Like Pexels and Pixabay, the contents offered on 123rf are not allowed for resale, unless you purchase an extended license. One thing that is especially great about 123rf is the customer support they offer. When you create an account, you will be assigned an account manager who can help you with any questions or concerns you may have.

Let’s Recap

After looking into Pexels, Pixabay and 123rf, we can honestly say that all three of the stock photo platforms are great! If you aren’t looking to spend money at this time, Pexels or Pixabay is a great option for you. If you are looking for a little bit of an improved and efficient library to choose from and are willing to pay for it, 123rf is your best option.

Let’s Connect

Rosewood is a digital marketing agency outside Toronto dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their online presence. We work with clients across North America and Europe to identify, strategize and reach their marketing goals!

You can join the conversation online on InstagramFacebook and LinkedIn. Or contact us to chat about your marketing goals for 2020!

Sign up for our Newsletter to keep up with our latest news!

Until next time,

Cassandra

course

Online courses have become huge over the last couple of years. With people’s busy schedules, online courses make it easy to learn from the comfort of your own home at your own pace. Whether your course is meant for your staff members, students in school, or just sharing your knowledge with individuals eager to learn, it is important to look for which platform best suits your needs for what you are offering.

Three of the most popular course creation platforms include Thinkific, Udemy, and Teachable. In this blog, we will be comparing the three different platforms and making our recommendations.

Plan Pricing & Features

Thinkific Pricing & Features

Plans

What Does the Plan Offer?

Who is This Plan Recommended For?

Offers a FREE plan with basic features

  • 3 Courses
  • Unlimited students
  • Quizzes & surveys
  • Content hosting
  • Instant access to your funds

Individuals looking to test the course platform

Essentials Plan: $49/month

  • Unlimited courses & students
  • Coupons
  • Email students
  • Affiliate reporting
  • Custom domain
  • Email integrations
  • & More!

Starters with minimal course creation experience

Business Plan: $99/month

  • Unlimited courses & students
  • 2 Site admin accounts
  • 5 Course admins/authors
  • Private & hidden courses
  • Memberships and bundles
  • Certificates
  • Assignments
  • & More!

For course designers that are building a successful online course

Advanced Plan: $279/month

For advanced businesses ready to build an education realm

 

To learn more about Thinkific’s plans and features click here.

Udemy Pricing & Features

Plans

What Does the Plan Offer?

Who is This Plan Recommended For?

FREE Plan

  • Unlimited Courses
  • Video Lectures
  • Audio Lectures
  • Quizzes/Exams
  • Text Lectures
  • Certificate of Completion
  • Q&A
  • Coupon Codes
  • & More!
For course designers that are building a successful online course

Team Plan: $240/month

  • Branded Dashboard and Custom URL
  • Video Lectures
  • Audio Lectures
  • Quizzes/Exams
  • Text Lectures
  • Certificate of Completion
  • Q&A
  • Coupon Codes
  • Unlimited Courses
  • & More!

 

Small teams of 5-20 users that will be contributing to course

Enterprise Plan: Must Contact Udemy for Pricing
  • Branded Dashboard and Custom URL
  • Create and Host Custom Content
  • Create and Share Learning Paths
  • Custom Categories
  • Video Lectures
  • Audio Lectures
  • Quizzes/Exams
  • Text Lectures
  • Certificate of Completion
  • Q&A
  • Coupon Codes
  • Unlimited Courses
  • & More!

Bigger teams of 21 or more users

To learn more about Udemy’s plans and features click here.

Teachable Pricing & Features

Plans

What Does the Plan Offer?

Who is This Plan Recommended For?

Offers a FREE plan with basic features

  • Unlimited Video
  • Unlimited Courses
  • Unlimited Hosting
Individuals looking to try out the course creator

Basic Plan: $29/month

  • Unlimited Video
  • Unlimited Courses
  • 5% Transaction fees
  • Instant Payouts
  • Unlimited Hosting
  • Unlimited Students
  • Course Creation Training
  • Coupon Codes
  • Integrated Affiliate Marketing and Email Marketing
  • & More!

Starters with minimal course creation experience

Professional Plan: $79/month

  • Everything in Basic PLUS:
  • No Transaction Fees
  • 5 Admin Users
  • Product Support
  • Graded Quizzes
  • Course Completion Certificates
  • & More!

Small teams of 5 that will be contributing to the course

Business Plan: $399
  • Everything in Professional Plan PLUS:
  • 100 Admin Users
  • Manual Student Imports
  • Bulk Student Enrollments
  • Custom User Roles

Large teams of up to 100 that will be contributing to the course

To learn more about Teachable’s plans and features click here.

Which Course Platform is Best?

In our opinion, after investigating the three platforms, we have decided that Udemy is best. We think Udemy is best for several reasons. For us, we have a small team and therefore don’t require the more expensive plans that allow for a lot of team users to build to content for the course. The free courses for Teachable and Thinkific do not appear to have as many features as the free version of Udemy. After reading many reviews online for all three of the platforms, we found that majority of people who used Udemy said that they built up a large following due to the built-in promotion engine that Udemy offers. If you’re a starter, Udemy is definitely the best option.

In Conclusion

While Udemy would work best for smaller businesses, it definitely is not the realistic option for larger companies and corporations that have many contributing team members. It is important to do your own research on different platforms to determine which would work best for you and what you are looking to achieve.

Rosewood is a digital marketing agency outside Toronto dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses grow their online presence. We work with clients across North America and Europe to identify, strategize and reach their marketing goals!

You can join the conversation online on InstagramFacebook and LinkedIn. Or contact us to chat about your marketing goals for 2020!

Sign up for our Newsletter to be notified when we launch our online course!

Until next time,

Cassandra

social media

A social media presence is one thing, but ensuring your digital platforms remain original, on brand, and content-driven is another. No longer is it acceptable to not be creating your own media to share with your audience; those reposts and #throwbackthursdays are only going to get you so far.

Further, our most recent findings across social media algorithms have shown that, particularly over Instagram, if you aren’t posting more than five times a week, don’t expect results.

Staying Up to Date with Changes in Habits, Platforms & Algorithms

People’s habits change, new software is created and platforms need to update their algorithms to keep up with the influx of data all fighting for first place. This can influence how people use and react to social media marketing, as well as how marketers (us!) reach our target audiences.

We all need to make sure we stay ahead of the curve when it comes to social media. Doing so ensures you have the right tools at your disposal, an up-to-date strategy, and the required skills to make the most of your digital presence.

Content Packages Specifically for Entrepreneurs & Small Businesses

From blogs to photos and videos it can all get overwhelming to keep creating kick-arse posts for your business. It’s a fulltime job, right? Well, what if I said we can help with that?

Our professional photography and videography services are designed specifically for entrepreneurs and small business owners to help tell their stories.

Our friends over at Hubspot in their most recent 2020 Video Marketing data shows that 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video. Additionally, they found that people who don’t currently use video are set to bite the bullet this year, with 59% of them expecting to utilize it in 2020.

We Recommend Quarterly Media Shoots to Stay Seasonally Relevant

But, we aren’t here to just push video – because sometimes it just doesn’t apply to your business offerings. That’s why we offer photography services, too. We typically recommend quarterly photoshoots, to ensure that your content is seasonally relevant. These pictures can be used in blogs and as social media content. Not only do they tell your story, but they help your audience resonate with you and build trust.

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be. We are here to help. Believe it or not, our process is very streamlined, and you can have fresh content ready for posting in less than a week.

Our Process:

  1. Content Planning Session
  2. Photo/Video Shoot
  3. Editing
  4. Use Your Photos! Options: Either the client can manage their social with special training from Rosewood on BEST practices OR Rosewood can manage your social media presence

Want to know more? Check out our Videography and Photography page HERE for all of our package details. We even have a special running for January to give your social media the 2020 facelift it needs.

The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can get started!

Looking forward to seeing you through the lens,

Georgie