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In HelloNation, Digital Marketing Expert Sean O’Kelly Explains Why Small Business Branding Must Come Before Digital Marketing Strategy

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Branding and Marketing Serve Distinct Roles for Small Businesses, and Understanding the Difference Leads to Better Results.

CHARLESTON, W.Va., May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — What is the real difference between branding and a digital marketing strategy, and why do so many small business owners treat them as the same thing? A HelloNation article addresses this question directly, examining how each discipline works and why developing them in the right order matters for sustainable business growth.

The article explains that small business branding is the foundation a company is built upon. It defines who a business is, what it stands for, and how customers come to perceive it over time. Branding includes visible elements such as logos, color palettes, and typography, but it extends well beyond those choices. The tone a business uses to communicate, the values it represents, and the emotional impression it leaves with customers across every interaction all contribute to a cohesive brand identity.

Understanding who the target customer is, what matters to them, and how they describe their own challenges is central to building a brand with lasting resonance. The article notes that a brand speaking directly to its intended audience builds familiarity over time that advertising alone cannot manufacture.

Digital marketing, by contrast, is the set of activities a business uses to promote itself through online channels. Search engine optimization, paid advertising, social media management, email marketing, and content creation all fall under this umbrella. These tools place a business in front of potential customers at the moment they are searching for a solution.

The article draws a clear distinction between the two: small business branding defines who a company is, and digital marketing strategy determines how that company gets found. One builds identity over time. The other creates near-term visibility. Both are necessary, but they serve different purposes and should be developed in sequence.

Digital Marketing Expert Sean O’Kelly’s perspective, as featured in the article, highlights a mistake that is both common and costly: launching marketing campaigns before a clear brand identity is in place. When that foundation is missing, messaging tends to feel inconsistent, visuals may not connect emotionally, and potential customers often have difficulty understanding what sets the business apart. The result is weaker engagement and a lower return on every dollar invested in digital marketing strategy.

The article uses a clear analogy: small business branding is the architectural plan, and digital marketing strategy is the construction that follows. Even a skilled team will struggle to build something durable without a clear blueprint. When a business defines its audience, clarifies what makes its service valuable, and establishes a consistent voice, every future marketing decision has a solid foundation to build from.

This is especially relevant for businesses competing in local and regional markets. When two companies offer similar services at similar prices, the one with a stronger and more recognizable brand is more likely to earn a customer’s trust. That trust accumulates through repeated, consistent exposure and cannot be shortcut by a single campaign or a boosted social media post.

The article notes that branding is not a task completed once and filed away. As a business grows and changes, its brand may need to evolve as well. Those changes should happen deliberately and be guided by strategy rather than short-term pressures. The article recommends that business owners start by defining three things: the audience they serve, the problem they solve, and the tone they use to communicate. These elements form a reliable foundation for every content and marketing decision that follows.

Does Your Small Business Have a Brand Strategy Behind Its Marketing? features insights from Sean O’Kelly, Digital Marketing Expert of Charleston, West Virginia, in HelloNation.

About HelloNation

HelloNation is America’s Good News Network, a premier media platform built on the idea that good news travels faster when real people tell real stories. Through its community-focused digital publications and innovative “edvertising” approach, HelloNation delivers expert-driven, good-news content that informs, inspires, and spotlights the leaders making a meaningful impact in their communities. HelloNation maintains partnerships with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the United States First Responders Association.

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SOURCE HelloNation

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Allspring Closed-End Funds Declare Monthly and Quarterly Distributions

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Allspring Income Opportunities Fund (NYSE American: EAD), the Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund (NYSE American: ERC), the Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund (NYSE American: ERH), and the Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund (NYSE: EOD) have each announced a distribution.

TICKER 

FUND NAME

DISTRIBUTION PER SHARE

FREQUENCY

CHANGE FROM PRIOR DISTRIBUTION

EAD

Allspring Income Opportunities Fund

$0.05337

Monthly

+$0.00007

ERC

Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund

$0.07277

Monthly

+$0.00015

ERH

Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund

$0.08725

Monthly

+$0.00090

EOD

Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund

$0.14211

Quarterly

+$0.00567

The following dates apply to today’s distribution declaration for each fund:

Declaration date               May 19, 2026
Ex-dividend date              June 11, 2026
Record date                     June 11, 2026
Payable date                     July 1, 2026

These funds make distributions in accordance with a managed distribution plan that provides for the declaration of monthly distributions (in the case of the Allspring Income Opportunities Fund, the Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund and the Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund) or quarterly distributions (in the case of the Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund) to common shareholders of the fund at an annual minimum fixed rate of 8% for the Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund, 8.75% for the Allspring Income Opportunities Fund, 8.75% for the Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund, and 9% for the Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund based on the fund’s average monthly net asset value (NAV) per share over the prior 12 months. Under the managed distribution plan, distributions are sourced from income and also may be sourced from paid-in capital and/or capital gains. The fund’s distributions in any period may be more or less than the net return earned by the fund on its investments and therefore should not be used as a measure of performance or confused with yield or income. Distributions in excess of fund returns will cause the fund’s NAV to decline. Investors should not draw any conclusions about the fund’s investment performance from the amount of its distribution or from the terms of its managed distribution plan.

The Allspring Income Opportunities Fund is a closed-end high-yield bond fund. The fund’s investment objective is to seek a high level of current income. The fund may, as a secondary objective, seek capital appreciation to the extent it is consistent with its investment objective.

The Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund is a closed-end income fund. The fund’s investment objective is to seek a high level of current income consistent with limiting its overall exposure to domestic interest rate risk.

The Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund is a closed-end equity and high-yield bond fund. The fund’s investment objective is to seek a high level of current income and moderate capital growth with an emphasis on providing tax-advantaged dividend income.

The Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund is a closed-end equity and high-yield bond fund. The fund’s investment objective is to seek a high level of current income. The fund’s secondary objective is long-term growth of capital.

The final determination of the source of all dividend distributions in the current year will be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax-reporting purposes will depend upon a fund’s investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. Each fund will send shareholders a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell shareholders how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

For more information on Allspring’s closed-end funds, please visit www.allspringglobal.com.

Shares of these closed-end funds are only available for purchase and sale at the current market price on the stock exchange on which it is listed. Shares of a fund may trade at either a premium or discount relative to the fund’s net asset value, and there can be no assurance that any discount will decrease. The values of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by a fund may decline due to general market conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of such securities.

Equity securities fluctuate in value in response to factors specific to the issuer of the security. Debt securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk, and high-yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality have a much greater risk of default and their values tend to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar maturities. Foreign investments may contain more risk due to the inherent risks associated with changing political climates, foreign market instability, and foreign currency fluctuations. Risks of international investing are magnified in emerging or developing markets. Funds that concentrate their investments in a single industry or sector may face increased risk of price fluctuation over more diversified funds due to adverse developments within that industry or sector. Small- and mid-cap securities may be subject to special risks associated with narrower product lines and limited financial resources compared with their large-cap counterparts. Each fund is leveraged through a revolving credit facility and also may incur leverage by issuing preferred shares in the future.

The use of leverage results in certain risks, including, among others, the likelihood of greater volatility of the net asset value and the market price of common shares. Derivatives involve additional risks, including interest rate risk, credit risk, the risk of improper valuation, and the risk of noncorrelation to the relevant instruments they are designed to hedge or closely track. There are numerous risks associated with transactions in options on securities.

Allspring Global Investments™ is the trade name for the asset management firms of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, a holding company indirectly owned by certain private funds of GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners, L.P. These firms include but are not limited to Allspring Global Investments, LLC, and Allspring Funds Management, LLC. Certain products managed by Allspring entities are distributed by Allspring Funds Distributor, LLC (a broker-dealer and Member FINRA/SIPC). Associated with Allspring is Galliard Capital Management, LLC (an investment advisor that is not part of the Allspring trade name/GIPS firm).

This material is for general informational and educational purposes only and is NOT intended to provide investment advice or a recommendation of any kind—including a recommendation for any specific investment, strategy, or plan.

Some of the information contained herein may include forward-looking statements about the expected investment activities of the funds. These statements provide no assurance as to the funds’ actual investment activities or results. Readers must make their own assessment of the information contained herein and consider such other factors as they may deem relevant to their individual circumstances.

© 2026 Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC. All rights reserved. ALL-05122026-hoj7svnv

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SOURCE Allspring Global Investments

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UpGuard’s ASX 200 Cybersecurity Report: 1 in 10 ASX 200 Companies Already Infected by Dark Web Infostealers

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Although there was a slight improvement in the ASX 200’s security rating, it was driven by post-incident security fixes, not proactive strategy

HOBART, Australia, May 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — UpGuard, a leader in cybersecurity and risk management, released its annual ASX 200 Cybersecurity Report, which measures the cyber risk exposure of Australia’s largest listed companies. Based on daily scanning of billions of data points, UpGuard benchmarked external security posture on a 0–950 scale, finding the average score for the ASX 200 was 728.5 in 2025, equating to a B rating, and showing a 1.58 percent improvement from 2024. However, the report also found that 10 percent of the ASX 200 had active, verified infostealer infections. In addition, the research identified a trend where security scores typically remain stagnant until a major global security issue, such as the CrowdStrike outage, triggers a brief spike in remediation activity. However, these reactive security improvements often subside within months as organizational priorities shift. 

Key Findings from the 2025 Report:

Identity is the primary attack vector: 1 in 10 ASX 200 companies had high confidence that credentials were circulating in infostealer logs, with 71 percent of these infections concentrated in the largest organizations. Supply chain cascade risk: The majority of ASX 200 rely on the same core SaaS platforms, creating a cascade effect where a single vendor vulnerability can exploit hundreds of companies.Encryption is the weakest link for the second year running: Encryption is the lowest-scoring technical category, leaving data privacy at significant risk.Sector leaders and laggards: Information Technology (776) and Utilities (769) lead the index, while the Materials sector (673) continues to rank lowest in overall security posture.Attack surface volatility: In every security category, nearly a third of companies ended up in a worse position than in 2024.

“Even as companies in the ASX 200 continue their efforts to improve security, our research shows that the rise of sophisticated identity threats like infostealers, and new mandates under Australia’s Cyber Security Act 2024 mean that periodic security checks are no longer enough,” said Greg Pollock, director of Research and Insights at UpGuard. “Maintaining robust cybersecurity standards requires a shift to continuous, comprehensive cyber risk posture management that reflects a true end-to-end security posture. Success will be determined by three factors: awareness of change, time to remediation, and security fundamentals.”

Real security posture requires total visibility across an organization’s attack surface, vendors, and threat exposure. To address the challenges in the current threat landscape, ASX 200 organizations need to have a unified system that addresses those three key risk dimensions. Recommendations include:

Implement continuous external scanning to know what is visible on the public Internet.Transition to real-time vendor risk monitoring.Deploy dedicated dark web monitoring and credential exposure detection.

Methodology:
UpGuard’s analysis is derived from UpGuard’s Cyber Risk Posture Management (CRPM) Platform, which provides security ratings based on a quantitative assessment of external cybersecurity posture. This is done using a proprietary, subtractive scoring algorithm that benchmarks performance on a 0–950 scale, with assets starting at a perfect score and deductions applied based on the weighted severity of identified risks and vulnerabilities.

To download the full report, visit here.

UpGuard Summit:
To learn more industry insights and explore the future of cyber risk, UpGuard is holding its quarterly APAC Summit May 21 at 1:00 PM AEST. To register for this online event, visit: https://www.upguard.com/summit

About UpGuard
Founded in 2012, UpGuard is a leader in cybersecurity and risk management. The company’s AI-powered platform for Cyber Risk Posture Management (CRPM) provides a centralized, actionable view of cyber risk across an organization’s vendors, attack surface, and workforce. Trusted by thousands of companies, UpGuard’s platform is designed to help security teams manage cyber risk with confidence and efficiency. UpGuard is headquartered in Hobart, Tasmania with US headquarters in Mountain View, California. To learn more, visit www.upguard.com.

To learn more, visit www.upguard.com.

MEDIA CONTACT
Julie Huang
press@upguard.com

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/upguards-asx-200-cybersecurity-report-1-in-10-asx-200-companies-already-infected-by-dark-web-infostealers-302776698.html

SOURCE UpGuard

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Use.AI Launches Unified AI Workspace Platform to Improve Daily Workflows

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Use.AI discusses the value of integrating AI, knowledge, and collaboration into a single system.

CLAYMONT, Del., May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Use.AI recently announced the launch of its unified AI workspace platform, designed to improve daily workflows by centralizing access to multiple leading models in one operating environment.

Powered by several of today’s most prominent AI models, including ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, and Llama, Use.AI aims to mitigate the fragmentation and disconnection many individuals and teams experience when using multiple AI tools simultaneously. In doing so, Use.AI directly compresses the time between conceptualization and execution, potentially contributing to lower costs and higher throughput.

Addressing Fragmentation and Friction

Use.AI’s primary value proposition stems from its ability to make multiple leading AI models accessible on one page. This approach is intended to address fragmentation, a result of using multiple AI models across several pages simultaneously.

Use.AI claims that fragmentation inherently results in slower, less productive workflows, since creators and teams using multiple AI models simultaneously must recontextualize their prompts each time they want to test the same idea across models.

Not only does this process of recontextualization add time, but the friction it causes may also disrupt creative thought processes outright. For example, a writer might use multiple AI models to brainstorm or test the same idea across them to receive distinct feedback.

The problem is, if that writer wanted to tweak their prompt to test a new idea, they would have to do so across all of their tabs, and given that chatbots don’t always provide information instantly, the time it takes for multiple bots to process answers at the same time may add up quickly. These delays may be severe enough to distract the writer, interrupting their thought processes to the point of stifling creativity.

Use.AI’s unified platform is designed to mitigate these delays by allowing users to prompt multiple chatbots at once, thereby reducing the time required to compute unique responses and re-enter prompts across multiple tabs.

Supporting Momentum Across Enterprises

Use.AI came about after its creators recognized the growing reliance on AI models in everyday workflows. AI’s continued development lacked structural support; however, Use.AI’s emphasis is on the value of orchestrating existing models.

As many businesses and enterprises scale their AI-assisted operations, Use.AI’s platform supports them by reducing tool overload, streamlining processes, and potentially improving output quality through toolkit consolidation, while giving teams a more organized way to compare outputs and apply AI across recurring tasks.

Use.AI reviews suggest the platform is actively evolving to keep pace with the market, expanding its capabilities to support how teams organize their work. In doing so, Use.AI would mitigate the fragmentation bottleneck, giving users the time and space needed to focus more on conceptualization and less on recontextualization.

About Use.AI Inc

Use.AI Inc. is a unified AI workspace platform that lets users access multiple AI tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, and Llama, from a single page. This platform is designed to combat fragmentation by making it easier for users to integrate AI into daily workflows, thereby creating structure and facilitating navigation.

Alex Samuels
PR Manager
Use.AI
pr@use.ai
Claymont, DE 19703, USA

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/useai-launches-unified-ai-workspace-platform-to-improve-daily-workflows-302776898.html

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