Picture this: You’re sitting at the doctor’s office, patiently waiting to be seen. After an hour, you need a pick-me-up so you pull out your phone and head to Buzzfeed. Lucky for you, there’s a list of the most Instagram-worthy travel destinations. And just a day prior, you told your partner you had to get out of town for a week.

Hoping to travel to one of these newly-found destinations, you copy the URL and paste it into your Facebook Messenger. Off it goes to do your convincing for you (you hope). Guess what? Your action just became a part of “dark social."

Ringing in the New Year, 2017 has a lot to offer in the world of marketing. 2016 was great, don’t get us wrong. It brought us enhanced visuals, real-time social media, and a new world of mobile experiences (see the 5 hottest marketing trends 2016 had to offer).

But now technology is a year older, a year wiser, and it’s rapidly changing. Marketers have never had so many channels, technologies, and products at their disposal to leverage their overarching strategies. We came up with our list of the hottest marketing trends on the 2017 horizon.

And just like that, over 3,000 of the largest companies in the world are now eligible to start using Drupal 8 for their Investor Relations websites starting in January 2017.

Nasdaq Corporate Solutions – the sector of Nasdaq that develops, hosts, and maintains Investor Relations websites for more than 4,000 companies – has recently announced that Drupal 8 will be the base for the next generation of Investor Relations website platforms.

Think about the last time you had a dull, disappointing meal. Did it seem like something was missing? Perhaps it wasn’t spicy enough, or maybe it could have used dash more garlic? The point is, if the proper seasoning had been added, the meal might have been better.

The same goes for the use of visuals in social media. A brand can easily come across as boring or dull without the use of consistent imagery and video. But with a dash of visual appeal and a touch of excitement, a brand’s social media marketing effectiveness can skyrocket.

Ever wonder what should be the most important element in your website redesign? Well, let’s see if you can figure it out by answering a few questions.

How many times have you browsed a website only to find that you couldn’t find what you were looking for? Have you ever logged on to a site on your mobile device and discovered that it wouldn’t display properly? Have you ever had to search for the search box?

You can probably guess where we’re going with this. That’s right — navigation and accessibility.

Design or Credibility – which one is more important to you when you are working on a website redesign project plan?

If you answered credibility, you are in the majority — and according to a study from Stanford University, you are not telling the truth.

It seems like we’re always on the move. We move to new homes, to new cities, to new jobs — someday we might even move to a new planet! Whatever the situation, most of us do our best to ensure that others can easily find us after we’ve moved. We send out cards via the postal service, update our job on our social media platforms, and if we packed our bags and headed to Mars I’m sure we would send out an interplanetary alert — or at least shout it from the roof tops.

Where would you go if (or when) the Zombie Apocalypse begins? Have you researched where the safest places would be? Examined the best materials and self-defense mechanisms? Studied the movements and different forms of zombies?

Well, just like research could be the key to surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, it’s also an essential key in planning a new logo for your business. Developing a great logo design takes time, research skills, and — of course — a great graphic designer on your team. It’s also important to know how it works with helping to brand your company.