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Why does Magento stand out among all eCommerce Platforms?

Magento is slowly but surely taking over the eCommerce landscape. With more than 250 thousand merchants around the world, Magento is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms and a go-to e-store choice for most businesses.

Some of the top reasons why Magento stands out from its competitors is because of its user-friendly interface, countless customization options and robust CRM integration. The backbone of Magento is the strong community that drives the platform forward, allowing it to evolve and remain relevant year after year.

Let’s discuss some broad reasons that give Magento a competitive edge and make it a preferred platform for e-store development.

Magento Themes Customization

An eCommerce website has different requirements compared to a normal website. A lot needs to be taken into account and Magento presents itself as a comprehensive solution to all possible e-store challenges. This is largely due to the unrivaled customization options that Magento comes with.

The platform allows the development of unmatched front-end themes in which layout can be modified, templates can be edited and newer styles can be added. In addition to front-end design, back-end adjustments can also be made depending on what your e-store requires.

The reason why Magento customization options are so well regarded is because they have the ability to mirror the changing needs of your eCommerce business. This ensures that your business can remain flexible and scalable.

In today’s competitive commerce environment, customer needs are always evolving and the demand for dynamic digital experiences is unprecedented. Magento’s customization options help merchants create a user-friendly and responsive e-store with consistent branding.

CRM Integration

Customer Relationship Management is the cornerstone of all eCommerce businesses. Personalization has become the key to success; customers expect companies to understand their needs and tweak products and services according to their preferences. This is where Magento’s CRM integration comes in.

Integrating Magento with CRM allows businesses access to comprehensive insights about their customers which can be effectively leveraged to offer highly personalized digital experiences. CRM can also be used to identify buying patterns and pain points which can in turn help re-target customers for repeat purchases.

A CRM integration comes with many benefits for your e-store, including eCommerce metrics and other data for meaningful analysis. Better customer data can help businesses personalize the user experience of their Magento store as well as offer improved customer support, good market insights and optimized lead generation.

Magento for ECommerce Business

Perhaps the biggest reason why Magento stands out as an e-store building platform is because it is specifically designed for eCommerce websites, with relevant features and capabilities in-built in the system. Over the years, it has also grown to integrate a lot of other relevant features.

Thus, e-stores that are powered by Magento tend to offer memorable digital experiences to both merchants and their customers. The needs of the business as well as the end-users are both met by Magento’s comprehensive and agile capabilities.

Conclusion

Magento continues to gain popularity as one of the most well-regarded and advanced eCommerce platforms for building e-stores. Developers love it because of its agile and flexible features while businesses love it because it allows them to scale. Overall, the functionalities offered by Magento commerce are unmatched in the arena of e-store development.

This, of course, gives Magento a competitive edge in the market. From inventory control and coupon management to CRM integration and SEO tools, this platform seems to have all business needs covered.

If you are considering developing your own e-store using Magento or if you are considering migrating to Magento, it’s better to discuss this with experts who have hands-on experience.

At Integriti, we have the most capable team of web developers who will develop tailored eCommerce solutions for your business. Explore our Magento development services here.

May 8, 2026
What is the future of AI in the recruitment industry in 2022?

Talent hunting can be a costly and time-consuming process that is quite vulnerable to human lapses of judgment. This is why AI-enabled recruitment is highly demanded in the world of human resource management. AI talent acquisition is here to stay.

Recruitment agencies are already using machine learning algorithms for some stages of the hiring process, if not all. This could be for finding the right candidates, optimizing job ads or filtering resumes. In recent years, AI is even being used during job interviews. Candidates are often asked to record their answers to questions over video, which is then algorithmically analyzed to determine aptitude. Unilever uses the AI-empowered process of Hire Vue to do this for its initial stages of recruitment. A candidate’s behavior and aptitude are gauged from their facial expressions and these insights are then used to speed up the hiring process.

Proponents of AI insist that the process is grounded in data and research while critics have labeled it a pseudoscience, with a tendency to aggravate existing gender and racial biases.

So how effective is AI-enabled talent hunting? What are some advantages and disadvantages of AI recruitment? Let’s discuss!

Should we be excited about AI recruitment?

AI-integrated hiring has the potential to offer unprecedented benefits to HR managers – from the screening process to managing employee experience. Recruitment today looks drastically different from recruitment of a decade ago. What does this mean for the future of hiring in 2022? Let’s take a look at some factors that brighten the future of recruitment.

It saves time

Menial tasks can often take up a disproportionate amount of an HR manager’s time. This is why automation of simple tasks helps HR save time so that they may be able to focus on more pressing matters. Many businesses today use applicant tracking systems to identify keywords in resumes and subsequently rank them based on candidate aptitude for a given job. Time is a precious commodity these days and AI can help you save it!

It helps with better alignment

Ensuring that the right candidates see your job posting can be difficult for HR managers. This is where AI can help. Software with predictive analytics can evaluate your past job postings as well as the job postings of your competitors in order to improve the language and structure of your future talent hunting content. This will allow HR to come up with stronger job descriptions, and a sharper overall hiring process.

AI can also help you avoid language that might appear discriminatory and unwelcoming.

Should we be wary of AI?

Though there is a lot to be excited about when it comes to AI-integrated recruitment, we should still proceed with caution.

Flimsy evidence

Critics of AI enablement in recruitment point out that there is no evidence to suggest that facial expressions make someone a better candidate. Facial cues can be highly contextual and dependent on a multitude of factors. Gender, racial and cultural factors can also come into play here which makes AI usage less desirable. When AI replicates human biases, it can be a huge problem because people can still unlearn biases whereas AI won’t be able to unless reprogrammed.

Dehumanizes recruitment

Contemporary hiring practices place great emphasis on developing empathy and building relationships with candidates during the recruitment process. This increases the chances of hearing back from candidates and decreases the likelihood of recruiters getting ghosted. It is important to humanize a process that can otherwise feel disorienting and anxiety-inducing.

Conclusion

AI has already made its presence known in the recruitment industry. Some businesses are actively automating their processes while others are trying to catch up.

Though HR has already reaped the benefits of technology-empowered hiring, only time will unfold the true potential of AI. Critics of AI also make some good points about unnecessary reliance on automation which dehumanizes the already stressful process of hiring.

AI seems to be a harbinger of positive innovation but one should be cognizant of the fact that it can’t replace processes that require a human touch.

May 8, 2026
Utilizing React for UI in Adobe XD
Product teams are essential for bridging the gap between the project’s design and development. There may be a lot of guidelines for help, but until the execution is done right, guidelines don’t guarantee a perfect result. To close this gap between design and development, React was introduced.

React was brought in as a sophisticated and vital framework library of JavaScript. In the front-end development space, it is different from its competitors in a way that it does not attempt to provide a complete app framework that other mainstream frameworks offer. But rather, it provides mastering the art of user interfaces. And this is mainly the reason why React is majorly symbolized with UI/UX.

React Native – a UI framework for building native apps uses native components like View, Text and Image for building the UI blocks. Diagram 1 summarizes this in a visual format.

Diagram 1: React UI Framework

This component approach yields the following benefits:
- Components let you build a domain specific language
- They are shared across the boundaries meaning for a component on the design canvas, source code is given for it too.
- Platform specific versions get established so a single codebase can share code across platforms. React components wrap existing native code and interact with native API’s via React’s UI paradigm and JS.
Diagram 2: Cross Platform Design in React

Adobe XD is a fast and powerful UI/UX Design and collaboration tool. It offers a vector-based user experience design for web and mobile apps. It is actively used to create the overall prototype or wireframe for the app. Once the designing process is completed, the project may be exported to any other app framework. It is important to note that while exporting is done, it may disturb some of the design elements interfaces. To avoid this, there is a need for a plug-in to integrate the Adobe XD with React. Plug-in, in this scenario, would utilize react Framework using JSX, in conjunction with webpack to transform and bundle the source into JavaScript consumable by XD.

It is important to note that the XD plugin environment is not a browser. Instead, there is a technology called Unified Extensibility Platform (UXP) developed by Adobe that powers the plug-in’s code. It aims to map closely to web standards for HTML, CSS and JS. It should be noted that not all node packages are expected to work. XD’s plug-in sandbox supports NPM modules using only the core JavaScript API’s i.e., no file system access or external process launching.

Following is the mechanism to create the plug-in.

STEP 1: Choosing the kind of plug-in – Modal or Panel

XD supports two kinds of plug-in flows, namely Modal (also known as diagonal) and Panel. The difference between these two is that dialogue plug-ins drop down from the top of the application and block further user interaction until dismissed. They have their place, but not all tasks benefit from the need to interrupt workflow. Panel plug-ins integrate into a dedicated area off to the side. The plug-in effectively becomes another tool to use, embedded right into the XD’s native application. UXP engine renders true application UI elements from the plug-ins code. Here, we’ll proceed with panel type plug-in, but it’s completely optional which one needs to be used.

STEP 2: Project Set Up

Have the following up and running before starting with XD.
- JS IDE like VSCode, WebStorm, Atom or Notepad++.
- Repository management via Git. There will be a need to pull & push codes to the project report.
- Installation of JS sources from a remote registry and then build node packages: node with npm and yarn.
Once XD has been started, next step is to locate the plug-in development folder. This can be found in the path: XD > Main menu > Plug-Ins > Development > Show Develop Folder.

STEP 3: Project Installation

From git, clone the project files. Once the project has been pulled down, execute yarn install within the projects root directory to pull in the necessary dependencies. A good way is to keep a file watcher going on to recompile the project automatically by typing npm run watch (or yarn watch) in the terminal also from the project’s root folder. Project debugging can be done in the developer output console in XD, where runtime errors and console.log () statements are recorded. Diagram 3 shows a sample screenshot.

Diagram 3: Project Installation

STEP 4: XD Resources Configuration

In the project files, manifest.json would be present which contains metadata pertaining to the plug-in. Externals entry in the webpack.config.js is important because this is where native XD modules are listed. The webpack code will use externals from the XD binary instead of bundling them with build. Projects src folder will have main.jsx file. This is a standard looking entry point that requires a helper file react-shim.js as shown in code below.
```
if (window.setTimeout == null) {
window.setTimeout = function(fn) {
fn() }; 
} 
if (window.clearTimeout == null) {
window.clearTimeout = function() {}; 
} 
if (window.cancelAnimationFrame == null) {
window.cancelAnimationFrame = function() {}; 
} 
if (window.requestAnimationFrame == null) {
window.requestAnimationFrame = function( {      
console.log("requestAnimationFrame is not supported yet");  
} 
} 
if (window.HTMLIFrameElement == null) {
window.HTMLIFrameElement = class HTMLIFrameElement {}; 
} 
The shim provides XD’s JS engine with functions that are not there. 
It assigns the windows iframe element to HTMLFrameElement built into XD. 
PanelController mounts the app and holds three functions implemented by 
the panel plug in specification: 
show(), hide (), and update ().  See the code below.  
const React = require('react'); 
const ReactDOM = require('react-dom'); 
class PanelController {   
constructor(App) {    
this.App = App;     
this.instance = null;    
this.rootNode = document.createElement('div');     
this.attachment = null;    
['show', 'hide', 'update'].forEach((fn) => this[fn] = this[fn].bind(this));   
}   
show(event) {
const { selection, root } = require('scenegraph');     
const App = this.App;   this.attachment = event.node;     
this.attachment.appendChild(this.rootNode);     
if (!this.instance) {       
this.instance = ReactDOM.render(, this.rootNode);     
}     
this.update(selection, root);   
}   
hide(event) 
{     
this.attachment.removeChild(this.rootNode); 
} 
update(selection, root) {
if (this.instance.documentStateChanged) {
this.instance.documentStateChanged(selection, root);   
}  
}   
}
```
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After the plug-in loads successfully, show () is called where the app instance attached to a generated root div element, then rendered in typical React fashion. Then whenever the ScenegGraph changes, the update () function is called which in turn calls documentStateChanged() on app passing along the current selection with the SceneGraph root node. When the plug-in unloads, hide () is invoked and the app is then unmounted.

STEP 5: UI Components Addition

The app has three inner components within the plug-in panel area handling a couple of actions and functions. EditDocument function’s first parameter is the undo label. The second is the function passing the current selection + SceneGraph root node. This is the only place where document changes can be made from the code. SceneGraph can only be invoked by a user interaction like a button click or input change originating from the plug-ins UI. If the action is asynchronous, the operation must use a Promise or the sync / await keywords in order to pause the plug-in until the action completes.

UI capabilities can be seen in MainContent.jsx. Let’s have a look.
```
const React = require('react'); 
const styles = require('./MainContent.css'); 
const btoa = require('btoa'); 
const application = require('application'); 
const { selection, Artboard, ImageFill, Line, Text } = require('scenegraph'); 
const fs = require('uxp').storage.localFileSystem; 
const UNSPLASH_API = 'https://api.unsplash.com/photos/random?client_id=b21ca0eaeafd7b2d3ad04aea61bc1ca8516fe43dfdb22ebd93e39aa25049a014'; 
class MainContent extends React.Component {   
constructor(props) {    
super(props);    
this.state= {};    
['handleCreateRendition', 'handleFetchImage'].forEach((fn) => {      
this[fn] = this[fn].bind(this);  }); }   handleCreateRendition = () => {
application.editDocument({ editLabel : 'Export Rendition' }, (selection, documentRoot)  => {
selection.items.forEachasync(node) => {      
const folder = await fs.getFolder();              
const filename = `${node.name}_${node.guid}${(node.fill instanceof ImageFill) ? '@2x.png' : '.svg'}`;         
const file = await folder.createFile(filename, { overwrite : true });         
const renditionSettings = [(node.fill instanceof ImageFill) ? {           
node : node,           
outputFile  : file,           
type : application.RenditionType.PNG,           
scale : 2 } : { node  : node,  
outputFile  : file,           
type        : application.RenditionType.SVG,          
minify      : true,           
embedImages : false,   
scale       : 1      }]; 
… 
… 
```
… The UI in the above code shows some plug-in capability regarding buttons. The disabled attributes are set based on the current selection and a uxp-variant attribute provides basic built-in styling loosely adhering to XD’s native UI.

In a nutshell, the first button passes its click handler up the app to pan and zoom the viewport. The second button fills a shape type object with a random image provided by the API. Within the handlers editDocument(), a first async call is made which returns a JSON object describing the image. The description entry is used to rename the layer, one of the source URL’s is also grabbed for use on the following fetch call. Taking the entry’s full size image URL through the second and last async fetch call, the response is converted from a data buffer to a binary string.

Finally, the selected node gets filled with the base 64-encoded representation of that binary image data. The third button simply exports the image. A file handler is created at that path with a name generated from the layer’s name plus it’s a guid (a UIUD) properties. A set of export options are defined, createRendition() is called, ultimately writing the file contents and closing the handle.

The final steps are to package the plug-in. First execute the yarn build within the project’s root folder. The bundled JS is written by webpack to main.js located off the projects root folder. Files are imported in the source by using the require statement. A standard zip file would contain main.js, manifest.json and the images folder, plus any other assets placed on the root folder by webpack. Then change the file extension from .zip to .xdx so Adobe XD recognizes it as a plug-in package.
May 8, 2026
Unlocking the Power of Authentic User-Generated Content in 2023
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Image Source: Unsplash

‍

With the rising popularity of user-generated content (UGC), it is becoming increasingly important for brands to understand how to leverage its power to drive engagement and increase ROI. By understanding the benefits, challenges, and best practices for using UGC, brands can create a successful content marketing strategy for 2023 and beyond.

What is user-generated content?

User generated content refers to exactly what the words say. Content generated by users. It could be anything such as reviews, blog posts, videos, photos, and more. It is usually shared on social media, allowing brands to reach a wider audience and engage with their customers. UGC is also known as consumer-generated content (CGC) or brand-generated content (BGC).

So, the content that you may have seen on social media that isn’t created by the brand itself but rather by the audience translates to UGC.

A product review?
UGC.

Ways to use a product?
Also UGC.

The rise of the phenomenon is due in part to the increasing availability of digital media platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. These platforms allow users to share photos, stories, and videos with their followers, enabling brands to leverage the power of authentic content to reach more people and drive engagement.

How does it benefit your business?

The benefits of consumer-generated content are clear regardless of the industry.
- Increased Visibility: UGC can help brands reach a wider audience and increase brand visibility. By leveraging UGC, brands can showcase their products and services in a more engaging and authentic way.
Because the message is coming from the audience for the audience, the content carries a lot of power in influencing the decision of other consumers.
- Enhanced Customer Engagement: UGC helps to create a more personal connection between brands and their customers. By encouraging customers to share their experiences and stories, brands can create a sense of community and engagement with their customers.
- Improved SEO: UGC can help brands improve their search engine rankings by increasing the amount of content related to their products and services.
- Increased Trust and Loyalty: UGC can help build trust and loyalty with customers. By showcasing authentic customer stories, brands can create a sense of connection and trust between themselves and their customers.
Source: Instagram

How can you optimise user-generated content?

Using UGC effectively requires a well-thought-out content marketing strategy. Here are some tips for creation.

Different platforms have different audiences. It is important to choose the right platforms for your content. Think about where your target audience is spending their time and create content specifically for that platform.

For example, video content does brilliantly well on Instagram. Whether it’s stories or reels, the platform is perfect for catering to audiences who prefer video formats over others.

Think about what content your audience would find valuable and create stories, videos or posts that resonate with them. Make sure that it’s engaging and interesting!

Influencers can help you reach a wider audience and drive more engagement with your content. Consider leveraging influencers to help promote your content.

That said, try to look for niche influencers. Their numbers may be small but the engagement and ROI levels are far better.

It is important to track and analyze your content to understand what is working and what isn’t. Make sure to use analytics tools to measure the success of your content.

If you don’t know where to begin, learn the basics of creating a marketing plan first.

Tips for creating effective and valuable user-generated content.

Creating effective UGC requires a strategic approach. Here are some tips for nailing it:

Leverage User Stories: User stories can be a powerful way to engage with your customers. Consider sharing stories from your customers to create a more personal connection.

This can be written reviews, video testimonials, or even picture-based product reviews.

Make It Relevant: The content you produce should be relevant to your audience. Think about what content your audience would find useful and create content that resonates with them.

Focus On Quality: Quality is key when it comes to UGC. And no, I don’t mean high-product and all that jazz. The content should be authentic, unbiased and truthful to actually influence other users.

Offer Incentives: Offering incentives to your customers for creating content can help to increase engagement. Consider offering discounts or rewards for customers who create content for your brand.

Source: Instagram

Methods for making the most out of your consumer-generated content.

Once you have created your UGC, it is important to leverage it effectively. Here are some strategies to help you out:
- Spread the word: Consider sharing the content on your social media channels to increase engagement and reach a wider audience.
- Host Contests or Giveaways: Hosting contests or giveaways can be a great way to engage with your customers and encourage them to create UGC. Consider offering prizes or discounts to customers who create for your brand.
- Use Influencers: Influencers can be a powerful way to leverage UGC. Consider reaching out to influencers and asking them to promote your content.
- Measure Your Results: It is important to track and measure your results to understand what is working and what isn’t. Make sure to use analytics tools to measure the success of your content.
Tools for managing user-generated content.

There are a number of tools available to help manage UGC. Here are some of the key tools for managing UGC:

Hootsuite: Hootsuite is a popular tool for managing content. It allows you to monitor, schedule, and publish across multiple platforms.

Sprout Social: Sprout Social is a management tool as well. It allows you to track and measure engagement, monitor conversations, and respond to comments.

BuzzSumo: BuzzSumo is a popular tool for finding and analyzing UGC. It allows you to search for content by keywords and analyze the engagement of existing content.

CoSchedule: CoSchedule is a great tool for creating and managing content. It allows you to create and manage content calendars, track performance, and schedule content.

Tailwind: Tailwind is a great tool for content management. It allows you to post to multiple platforms, track performance, and analyze engagement.

Conclusion

User-generated content (UGC) has become an increasingly popular way for brands to engage with their customers and increase ROI. By understanding the benefits, challenges, and best practices, brands can create a successful content marketing strategy for 2023 and beyond.

By leveraging the power of UGC, brands can reach a wider audience, build trust and loyalty, and increase sales and ROI.

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May 8, 2026
Uncovering the truth; is WhatsApp really a social media platform?

Having been used as a free messaging and calling app for years, businesses are now considering how WhatsApp can be used to propel their marketing message forward. That said, with limited features and a hardcore focus on privacy, is WhatsApp a social media network or not? Let’s find out.

Definition of social media

Social media is defined as any type of online service or website that allows users to create and share content and connect and interact with other users in virtual communities or networks. Social media platforms are online tools that allow people to create and share information, ideas, and images with a wide network of connections. They serve a variety of functions, including business promotion and marketing, networking, and staying connected with friends and family.

When considering the somewhat strict premises of traditional social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, one can clearly see that WhatsApp, in fact, does not fall into the boundaries of “social networking”.

But does that mean that we can render the number one messaging app in the world useless for marketing? Not at all!

‍

Source: Oberlo

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Advantages of using WhatsApp for marketing

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1. Massive user base

WhatsApp users are spread across every country, age group, and niche – which makes it incredibly easy to target your audience.

2. Low cost

WhatsApp is free to use and you don’t need to buy additional equipment or hire staff.

3. Easy to implement

There are no specific rules or regulations for WhatsApp marketing. Whether it’s setting up a WhatsApp business profile or cold-messaging prospective customers, everything’s game.

4. Easy to track Customer journey

With WhatsApp, you can easily track how many people engage with your content, how many clicks through to your site, and how many buy.

5. Good for building a community

WhatsApp is excellent for building a community around your brand. It’s a great place for engaging with customers, answering questions, and providing regular updates.

One of the most rampant and useful website development trends is the usage of the WhatsApp icon within the website. A lot of businesses incorporate the clickable icon on their website, which, upon clicking, directs a client to a WhatsApp chat box.

6. Provides a wide variety of tools

It has a built-in poll feature, the ability to send large files, live video, and basic analytics. There are no WhatsApp marketing tools per se, but communication features can be used for marketing purposes.

Additionally, WhatsApp status is one of the most commonly used features, and Statista estimated its usage to be half a billion in 2019 alone. The status message on WhatsApp can be text, pictures or even videos to promote a product, service or even inform users.

A few local businesses indulge in the practice of reaching out to customers in their databases with promotional marketing messages on WhatsApp. Likewise, using the WhatsApp status feature, businesses also inform their customer base about the latest products and offers.

‍

Source: Oberlo

7- Wide variety of uses

‍ WhatsApp can be used for far more than just marketing. It’s also a great tool for keeping in touch with colleagues, friends, and family.

As per the latest update, the platform can also be used to build communities.

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Limitations of using WhatsApp for marketing

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1. Limited functionality ‍

WhatsApp is designed to be a simple messaging platform. As a result, it doesn’t have all the functionality of other social media platforms, such as blogging and lead generation tools.

2. Not originally built for marketing

As mentioned above, WhatsApp is not specifically designed for marketing: In fact, an increasing number of businesses are being warned away from it due to its lack of effectiveness.

The interface of the app essentially ties back to its purpose, i.e. calls and messages only. Though recent additional features like stories have been incorporated, the circle in which WhatsApp users engage is still limited.

3. Privacy concerns

The biggest disadvantage of using WhatsApp for marketing is privacy. Unlike other social media platforms, WhatsApp doesn’t make any money from advertising. As a result, it can’t be as generous with its user data.

4. Difficult to scale ‍

WhatsApp is great for connecting with a small group of people, but can be fairly difficult to scale up.

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Comparison of WhatsApp to other social media marketing apps

Let’s take a look at how WhatsApp compares to other social media networks.

Mobile reach

All social media platforms now have a mobile app. Social media marketing has enabled businesses to reach the majority of people without them ever needing to visit your website.

Engagement method

All social media platforms have their own way of encouraging users to interact. Some of the most popular methods include liking and sharing, commenting, and using hashtags.

User demographics

All social media platforms have a specific demographic in mind when they are designed. This helps them provide a tailored experience for each group.

User experience

All social media platforms have unique designs and layouts. This can affect how users engage with the platform and could mean your content is not as effective.

Considering the multi-feature communicating approach that these hardcore social media networks could we really call them WhatsApp’s competitors?

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Final verdict: Is WhatsApp a social media platform or not?

While there are a few benefits to using WhatsApp for marketing, there are also many disadvantages. In fact, WhatsApp seems to be more of a marketing tool as opposed to a social media platform. This is because it lacks many of the features that are associated with social media, such as user engagement and demographics.

Therefore, in our opinion, WhatsApp is not a social media platform. That said, there are a few ways you can use WhatsApp to market your business.

You can create WhatsApp groups and use them as a forum to answer customer questions and provide helpful tips. Alternatively, you could create a WhatsApp news feed and use it to provide regular updates. You can also use it to connect with your team and boost morale.

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May 8, 2026
Top 10 emerging Tech skills in Canada, 2021

Technology is becoming more and more integrated into daily business operations. Did you know that digitally transformed companies are expected to contribute to more than half of global GDP in 2023? With the enhancement and diversification of tech roles, it has become essential for tech enthusiasts to be aware of the most sought-after skills. Employers often cite the technical skills gap as the main reason behind their failure to fill vacancies. While this claim may be debatable, it is still important to note the tech skills and expertise which are most desired by these recruiters.

Using the LinkedIn data on the emerging jobs, we can make an estimate of the ten most sought-after tech skills by Canadian recruiters in 2021.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Last year, AI Specialist was LinkedIn’s Top Emerging Job. This demand will continue to be strong in 2021 especially with AI extending its reach beyond the IT industry. In a post COVID world, companies are striving to harness the potential of innovation and Big Data analytics. Hence, ML and AI will continue to be a well-demanded skill set for this year as well.

Data Science & Engineering

Data Science has also experienced vast growth in the past few years. This popularity can be ascribed to an increased usage of Big Data for business decision-making as well as the evolution of already existing jobs. There is an increased demand for competent engineers who can develop the infrastructure needed to maintain the company’s Data. Data analytics can also make medical care more effective. Hospitals are using Big Data to predict which COVID 19 patients are likely to become severely ill. These approaches reflect how the appetite for Big Data is likely to grow in the future, particularly in view of the pandemic.

Cyber Security

According to Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020, data breaches have a global average total cost of $ 3.86 M and have impacted around 19 million Canadians since 2018. In 2021, cybersecurity budgets are likely to climb higher than even pre-pandemic limits. Cloud adoption will also increase the need for a good cybersecurity skillset as companies will need to ensure cloud data protection.

DevOps and Site Reliability Engineering

DevOps allows for much faster application development and easy maintenance of current deployments. The efficiency provided by this approach has made it a desired skill set for recruiters. The government lockdowns imposed due to the COVID19 pandemic have increased rapid digitization, automation, and cloud adoption. These measures will increase the need for better communication between teams to ensure operational efficiency. Hence, the DevOps market is likely to experience growth in 2021.

Full-Stack Development/Engineering

Full-stack developers need to be competent in different technical solutions to have a better grasp of the complete build of a project. This makes them a valuable resource for any company. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that the demand for Full stack developers will shoot to around 853 thousand in 2024. Given their past desirability and skillset, we can deduce that Full-stack engineers will continue to be in high demand in 2021.

Robotics

LinkedIn data suggests that the demand for Robotic engineers has increased by around 40% every year since 2015. The growth potential of the robotics industry can be gauged by the mere fact that UiPath, the most successful robotics solution, is valued at around $7 billion. A study conducted by CATAAlliance and Sciencetec in 2018 proved Canada’s potential in becoming a robotics powerhouse. These statistics enable us to understand the appeal of robotic engineering as a lucrative career option for Canadians in 2021.

Customer Success Management

Technological growth has also sky-rocketed the demand for Customer Success Specialists. Companies require professionals who can understand their technology while being able to maintain customer relations. This will be particularly true in the coming year as it has become difficult to manage churn rate and customer retention in a COVID19 environment.

User Experience

With increasing online business interactions, it has become vital for companies to offer a smooth and effortless digital experience to their customers. Furthermore, information overload and shorter attention spans make it more difficult for companies to make an impression on users. This has led to an increased demand for designers who can understand user’s expectations and needs to ensure the optimal customer experience. In 2021, companies are accelerating their digital transformations in response to the pandemic. This will likely make experience designing a highly demanded skill in the future.

JavaScript Development

94.5% of all websites use JavaScript and it is the most popular programming language to this date. This popularity is likely to continue in 2021 as the ability to code in JavaScript languages allows one to develop applications for nearly any platform.

Cloud Computing

According to Global Knowledge 2020 IT Skills and Salary Report, Cloud Skills are highly sought after and are the second-highest IT investment area. Cloud has unlocked new revenue channels by utilizing Future techs such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. IDC estimates, for the coming year, suggests that the IT spending is likely to go down in most areas except Cloud. Cloud investments are likely to experience growth despite the global pandemic.

May 8, 2026
The Secret to Success: Crafting a Winning Marketing Plan
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Image Source: Unsplash‍

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When it comes to success in business, having a solid marketing plan is essential. A marketing plan outlines your strategy for how to reach your target audience, build brand awareness, and increase sales.

It’s a roadmap for how you will market your business, and it can help you stay focused and organized.

But what is a marketing plan, and how do you create one? In this blog post, I’ll discuss what a marketing plan is, why it’s important, and how you can craft a winning marketing plan for your business!

What is a Marketing Plan?

A marketing plan is a plan of action that outlines your overall marketing strategy. It should include objectives, strategies, tactics, and if possible, a budget for your marketing efforts. A good marketing plan will include customer segmentation, positioning, and product promotion tactics. It should also include market research and analysis of your target audience, competitors, and industry trends.

The goal of a marketing plan is to provide guidance and direction for your marketing efforts. It should provide a clear roadmap for how you will reach your target audience, build brand awareness, and increase sales. A well-crafted marketing plan will help you stay on track, measure your progress, and adjust your tactics as needed.

Why is a Marketing Plan Important?

Having a well-crafted marketing plan is essential for success in business. It’s a roadmap for how you will market your business and reach your goals. A good marketing plan will help you stay focused and organized, and it can help you measure the success of your marketing efforts.

Having a marketing plan also helps you stay on track. It allows you to set goals and measure your progress. It also helps you adjust your tactics as needed. With a marketing plan, you can easily evaluate your progress and make changes where needed.

When social media initially took off, businesses were floundering to see what works, and we’ve been there too! Simply put, a solid marketing plan helps you align your efforts correctly. It also gives you a clear idea of what’s working and what needs to go.

Consequently, it also helps you stay competitive. It allows you to analyze the competition and adjust your strategy accordingly. It also helps you identify potential opportunities and threats in the marketplace. With the right marketing plan, you can stay ahead of the competition and capitalize on new opportunities.

Steps to Crafting a Winning Marketing Plan

Creating a winning marketing plan is a critical step in the success of your business. Here are the steps you should follow to craft a great marketing plan:
- Conduct market research: The first step in creating a winning marketing plan is to conduct market research. This includes researching your target audience, competitors, and industry trends. This will aide in identifying potential opportunities and threats in the marketplace.
- Set objectives: Once you’ve conducted your research, it’s time to set objectives. This includes setting goals for your marketing efforts, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, and increasing sales.
  Always remember, the objectives for each business are completely subjective!
- Develop strategies: Once you’ve set your objectives, it’s time to develop strategies to achieve them. It should include tactics such as content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing.
- Create a budget: After creating your strategies, it’s time for budgeting. This includes determining how much money you will spend on each strategy and tactic. It’s important to create a realistic budget that you can stick to.
- Measure and adjust: The final step in creating a winning marketing plan is to measure and adjust. This includes tracking the success of your efforts and making adjustments as needed. It’s important to regularly review and adjust your plan to ensure it’s still relevant and effective.
Get your hands on our free marketing plan template.

Benefits of Having a Marketing Plan

Having a well-crafted marketing plan is essential for success in business. Here are some of the benefits of having a marketing plan:
1. Stay organized: A marketing plan helps you stay organized and focused. It provides a roadmap for how you will achieve your goals, and it can help you stay on track.
2. Measure progress: A marketing plan allows you to measure your progress and adjust your tactics as needed. It’s a great way to track your progress and make sure you’re on the right track.
3. Stay competitive: A marketing plan helps you stay competitive in the marketplace. It allows you to analyze the competition and adjust your strategy accordingly.
4. Save time and money: A marketing plan helps you save time and money. It allows you to identify potential opportunities and threats in the marketplace and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Creating a Marketing Plan Template

Creating a marketing plan template is a great way to stay organized and ensure you’re on the right track. A marketing plan template should include sections for objectives, strategies, tactics, and budget. It should also include sections for customer segmentation, positioning, and product promotion.

A good marketing plan template should be easy to use and understand. It should be tailored to your specific needs and goals. It should also be flexible and easy to adjust as needed.

Examples of Successful Marketing Plans

There are many examples of successful marketing plans. Here are a few examples of successful marketing plans:
1. Apple: Apple’s marketing plan focuses on creating a brand experience that is both innovative and inspiring. Their tactics include creating engaging content, building relationships with influencers, and leveraging digital platforms.
1. Airbnb: Airbnb’s marketing plan focuses on creating a unique experience for travelers. Their tactics include creating content about travel destinations, leveraging user-generated content, and partnering with influencers.
1. Netflix: Netflix’s marketing plan focuses on creating an engaging and interactive experience for their customers. Their tactics include creating content about their shows, leveraging social media platforms, and partnering with influencers.
  Wednesday is the prime example of a marketing plan done right. From social media, to billboards and even bus stands, Netflix truly had a stronghold on the audience.
  
  Did it work? Heck yeah! Wednesday successfully went on to become the second most watched show within WEEKS of being released.
Services that Can Help with Marketing Plan Creation

Creating a successful marketing plan can be a time-consuming and complicated task. Fortunately, there are services that can help.

Some services offer marketing plan creation services, which can help you create and implement a successful marketing plan. They can help you conduct market research, set objectives, develop strategies, create a budget, and measure and adjust your tactics.

Other services offer marketing plan consulting. These services can help you develop a successful marketing plan and provide guidance and advice on how to implement it.

Conclusion

Having a solid marketing plan is essential for success in business. A good marketing plan will help you stay focused and organized, and it can help you measure the success of your marketing efforts. It’s a roadmap for how you will reach your target audience, build brand awareness, and increase sales.

Creating a winning marketing plan requires research, planning, and dedication. It’s important to set realistic goals, develop strategies, and create a budget. It’s also important to measure and adjust your tactics as needed.

Creating a winning marketing plan is a critical step in the success of your business. With the right steps and guidance, you can craft a great marketing plan and set yourself up for success.

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May 8, 2026
Technical Skills Gap A forced Belief

When it comes to technical recruitment, there are numerous ways to distinguish between a right and wrong candidate, just like there are ways for a candidate to scan the right job for themselves. As much as it seems theoretically simple, it really isn’t when one practically starts looking for a job or potential candidates, especially in the IT field.

One can truly understand this dilemma through the example of the U.S. (2014): 4.7 million jobs advertised while 9.7 million candidates were looking for jobs, which made more than 2 for every job advertised, YET employers complained about failing to fill the vacancies.

This helps us to wade deeper into the cause of the problem.

Companies that couldn’t find the “right fit” were the ones to use the “skills gap” as the cause of this dilemma – especially those concerned with IT recruitment. What’s even more interesting is the fact that none of these companies provided a real agreement about what skills were unavailable.

Now we can further identify the real culprits behind the massacre of the “right candidates” per see

Gap existing in competitive incentives

If you are not willing to pay for the skills you require from a resource, there is a very slim possibility of finding the “right candidate” who could ‘hit the ground running’. Knowing competitive salaries for specific technical skillsets i.e. dev ops engineers, Angular – frontend engineers etc, and making offers at those numbers or at least near those numbers is a great place to start.

Gap existing in Job Description

If you are looking for a candidate with an Ivy league educational background, a certain number of years of experience, and most importantly expertise in multiple unrelated technologies, you are on your way to discouraging real candidates to apply for your job.
Moreover, this practice encourages keyword-stuffing, dishonest behavior, unrealistic expectations, and a sense of irresponsibility on a recruitment agency’s part.

Look at it this way: If you hypothetically replace this potential candidate’s persona with your own employees, do you think they can qualify for the post? Consider these requirements as a lever. The more you add, the fewer job seekers will apply.

Gap existing in employee training

If all you do is ‘ask’ from the potential candidate and not ‘give’ in the form of learning or training, there’s a lesser chance of having people apply to your job, much less sticking to them if/once hired.

If you cannot train your new hires and existing employees, people may not be interested in working for your company. As it turns out, other than a good paycheck, learning is the next priority for every serious candidate.

Another added benefit of training is that it immensely encourages employee retention (i.e. less turnover) as the employee gets to invest time and energy into becoming a useful resource for your company.

Gap existing in supplier communication

Sometimes suppliers like staffing/recruitment agencies or internal recruiting teams require more direct communication in order to find the right candidates for the open roles. A mere CV and cover letter may not convey the entire package, thus rendering them insufficient to help a recruiter source the best-fit candidates; on top of that, the supplier may have to figure it out by the end i.e. through the process of elimination.

It is best to schedule some time for either a direct meeting or through an interview so that you answer all of their questions/concerns and, in the meanwhile, get to know them better.

May 8, 2026
Target audience: harnessing the power of knowing your market
One of the very first things when venturing to start an online business – or even a physical one – is to have a clear idea of the people you’re going to be targeting. A target market strategy will effectively get the message to the right people.

But first, let’s define what a target audience is.

A target audience is a group of consumers who you want to reach with your targeted marketing efforts. Your ideal customer group can be characterised by multiple factors that can be as vague or as specific as you wish.

The characterisation can be done based on specific demographics and psychographics such as:
- Age
- Gender
- Area
- Income
- Interests
- Behaviours
And more.

Tip: To see optimum results we do advise narrowing your target audience down to the dot.

These groups are the key influencers in the decision-making processes for marketing strategies. A target audience of a business decides how to appeal to them, where to spend the budget and what commodity to build next.

Once your target audience is defined, you could also go a step further in defining your buyer personas. A buyer persona is the ideal target audience profile that a business wishes to target based on the data collected from the target audience.

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Image Source: Meta Blueprint

The information helps businesses understand their audience and it’s purchasing behaviours. Targeting a specific audience will help in conveying your message to the right audience who will relate most to your message.

To help you understand here’s an example.

Let’s take a stationery item for students as an example. Given that the item is mainly for students, we have our first distinction. If the product is priced higher, the students would be divided into households with specific incomes. Not to mention, if it is targeted specifically to girls, the demographic would be further narrowed down even more.

So now we have school-going girls belonging to a household with x-amount of monthly income.

This is a target audience for a product aimed at upper-class school-going girls. While the business may target boys, or adults even, it may not be the best choice because they would be least likely to purchase it.

The people in your target audience could be anyone but what would tie them together is an interest in the product you offer.

Target market vs target audience? Which one should you work with?

The terms target market and the audience may sound synonymous and they do refer to mainly the same thing. Still, businesses and marketers must know the difference.

Both terms revolve around dividing larger groups into sub-segments. However, target markets pertain to a larger group of consumers that the business targets and the target audience are a further breakdown of said group based on interests, buying history and demographics.

Safe to say, you can define your target market by first detecting your target audience. For example, if a target market is “fashion students aged 18-30” the target audience would be “fashion students living in New York City, aged 18-30”.

Dividing your target audience.

A business can have more than one type of audience. The two can be classified as:

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Image Source: Understand audiences

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- Primary target audience
A primary target audience is a group that will get most of a business’s attention as they are most likely to become valuable and loyal customers.

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Image Source: Target Audience

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- Secondary target audience
The secondary target audience on the other hand is a group who may be interested in a product and have common characteristics with your primary target audience but there’s an improbability for them to become valuable customers.

This group may not directly include the ideal buyer persona but influencers of their decision-making process too.

Children are sometimes a part of the secondary target audience for products targeted towards parents. Also, having a defined secondary cluster of customers can help businesses shape their marketing. Mainly if a business sells more than one product, the overlapping interest between the two groups can appeal to the secondary audience rather than the primary.

Capitalise on your market knowledge.

Identifying your target audience can streamline a tonne of processes for a business. Which include but are not limited to
1. Maximising resources and time‍
Just as a vegan food business has its ideal clients so does a steakhouse. Defining the market that needs your services can help understand it and place the product and service accordingly.

The research becomes the pillar on which the marketing of said business can stand. Casting the net wide and encompassing a broad array of consumer base may seem like the best approach initially but it can severely hamper growth and marketing efforts.

It’s important to realise how a brand’s message may not resonate with everyone, thus focusing time and resources on a clearly outlined segment can be more rewarding and productive for an organisation.
1. Does less engagement mean less ROI?‍
Engagement being directly proportional to ROI is one of the most widespread social media marketing myths.

Absolutely no. When a business makes the effort to successfully identify who its target audience is, a focused approach can maximise ROI significantly. For example, when targeting social media users a narrowed approach can bring better results when targeted with tailored content.

Social media targeting is one of the most popular and rewarding approaches being implemented by businesses all around.
1. Efficiency in processes – better rewards
‍When a business finds the audience that is most likely to convert, creating content that addresses their challenges, concerns and apprehensions can help in tipping the scales.
Rather than focusing on an audience that may engage with your efforts but isn’t willing to open their wallets, it is better to utilise resources and position your strategy to cater to those who will.

Conclusion:

A single business of course has different types of audiences. We suggest identifying what stage of the buyer journey your customers are on and reaching out with relevant content. Similarly, another approach could be pushing content according to the sales-funnel stage prospective customers are at.

Consumer A might be looking for some help in deciding whereas consumer B may need to be educated from scratch.

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May 8, 2026
Should consumer electronics brands tweak content according to the social media platform?

Cross-posting has been on the block ever since the internet exploded and the world got caught up in a whirlwind of digital marketing. With yearly new platforms introduced with the latest features, internet nomads naturally run towards them.

More social media apps mean more platforms for marketers to find and target their audience. But while we’ve established that a social presence on every platform ever is not an absolute necessity for most brands, and if it’s required, cross-posting can be truly lifesaving.

That said, the concern about altering content for each platform runs rampant among marketers. Depending on who you’d ask, some marketers will advise posting the content as is – with minor adjustments, and some would say to make major alterations.

But who to trust?

By taking the examples of some of the biggest electronics brands in the social media marketing world, let’s answer the question. Should these companies tweak content according to the social media platform when trying to establish a multi-platform presence?

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Source: Vivo Facebook

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Source: Vivo Instagram

The first step would be to carry out a social media SWOT analysis.

Businesses can evaluate how their current marketing practices are performing based on the SWOT analysis method. Most companies are familiar with running paid ads and are therefore experienced with gauging conventional campaign success through metrics like CAC, (customer acquisition cost) ROI (return on investment) and CPC (cost per click).

A SWOT analysis, however, looks beyond it and identifies critical elements like faulty asset promotions, customer satisfaction and competitors pushing a business out of the market.

Having some insight into what your standing among customers on different platforms is, can give you a good idea about what content type and‌ narrative work best.

Check what resonates with the audience (trial and error at first)

Once you have the results from the SWOT analysis and a clear picture of the content preferences of different audiences on different platforms, it would be best to tweak your content accordingly.

If you have been posting a lot of static content or informative posts on Instagram but not seeing engagement despite your content being top-notch, it would be better to alter the narrative slightly and turn the same copy into a reel.

Instagram’s algorithm prioritizes reels over images and, from a consumer’s point of view, watching a video is significantly easier than reading a post. Similarly, another approach could be assessing what your competitors are doing and checking the current marketing trends.

Taking inspiration from consumer electronics companies like Sony, you can create your cross-posting strategy accordingly.

Moulding content around the platform.

Some content forms are suitable for specific social media platforms. For example, short-form videos are perfect for TikTok and Instagram. And though cross-posting the same thing on all social fronts would be time-saving, it would make little sense to push reels on a text-based website like Twitter.

The key is to club similar platforms together. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are mainly text and community based so cross-posting between these two with minimal variation could work.

However, if the same thought or copy needs to be incorporated in a visual-first platform, we’d suggest changing the content type to perhaps a video or a carousel.

Striking the right tone

Building up on customising content around the platform, electronics brands also need to gauge the tone of the website and then create content around it.

Instagram is the perfect hub for pulling back the curtain and showing a more humanistic side of a business. The tone of the platform is more fun, casual and vibrant and content with human faces takes the cake for engagement. Similarly with TikTok, given the laid-back and “authentic” approach the platform has towards content, tech brands can certainly repurpose media with minor changes between them.

As for LinkedIn and Twitter, both are heavily reliant on text, but some semblance of graphics can be introduced to break the monotony of text.

Lastly, Facebook is the best of both worlds and can become the perfect tool to balance text and visuals. Pictures and videos thrive on the platform, but shouldn’t be as casual or laid-back as TikTok or Instagram. Text is suitable but not as formal as LinkedIn either.

Now, let’s have a look at how Samsung, Panasonic and Toshiba have developed their social media presence on Facebook and Instagram.

Samsung:

Boasting a whopping 869k followers on Instagram, the content Samsung puts out is a comfortable balance of engaging and informative. Samsung optimally uses Instagram’s preference for reels and makes them a large chunk of the company’s content on IG.

For Facebook, they have divided the page into two categories where Samsung Global focuses on the video format and the content itself is more polished and professional. Samsung Electronics is the second page that zeroes in on text-based content.

However, the content on both platforms is different altogether, with little overlap, if any.

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Source: Samsung Electronics Facebook

Panasonic:

Panasonic nails its Instagram content strategy by putting a tonne of employee faces on the feed. The visuals are engaging, and employee-centred and the text is light and digestible.

For Facebook, the tech giant opts to portray a slightly more professional appearance with professionally made videos and more text-heavy informational content.

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Source: Panasonic Facebook

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Toshiba:

The Japanese multinational conglomerate has a strong social media presence but cross-posts every piece of content. The copywriting hasn’t changed per se but only the CTA’s are.

One can attribute the brand’s marketing efforts to an equal blend of images and informative and accessible textual content that makes it perfect for both Meta platforms.

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Source: Toshiba Instagram

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Source: Toshiba Facebook

To sum up:

Cross-posting is a great time saver, but to offer customers the best depiction of the business, tech brands should tweak content based on their audience’s behaviour on different platforms.

If they have the option to create fresh content for each website, that’s perfect! But if not, repurposing the same content but in different forms (text into explainer video etcetera), can help create and schedule a consistent image across platforms.

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May 8, 2026