How to make buyers out of Instagram followers
Instagram has become one of the most popular social networks to date. One billion active users consume its image-heavy content every day. Aside from it being a photo-sharing app with fun filters, Instagram has demonstrated its capability to turn your followers into customers. Make the most out of your Instagram account with these practical tips. Ensure your posts are shoppable This simply means providing a convenient path where your followers can buy the products posted on your page. With the right Instagram tool, you can direct users to your online shop where they can make an actual purchase. Instagram is, arguably, not the best eCommerce platform to use if you depend on clickable media, but if you know how to tweak the app to your advantage — and provide an attractive presentation of your products — you can turn likes into sales. Give away discount codes or coupons Encourage followers to engage with you and share content with incentives such as discount codes or coupons. You can do this by running contests with an interesting concept, cool prizes, and a sharing or voting element that encourages participants to share your content with their friends. Better yet, engage followers with user-generated content via photo contests, resulting in free promotion for your brand. Come up with a strong call to action (CTA) Instagram doesn’t exactly have the most mobile-friendly CTAs, but don’t let this prevent you from sending followers to your sales page. Whether it’s telling them to go to the link on your bio or simply incorporating a shoppable Instagram feature on your page, specific instructions on how to buy or learn more about your product can spell the difference between making a sale and being ignored. Post frequently and make the most of all available tools Post photos using stylish filters, create snappy and quirky videos, or let your followers take a friendly behind-the-scenes peek at your organization using the Stories feature. Come up with a catchy and relatable caption that encourages participation and engages your core audience. Also important: always use hashtags on your posts. Any business Instagrammer worth his or her salt knows that a simple hashtag can pave the way for other users to reach your content and, ultimately, buy your product. Repost content from brands in your niche There may be instances when you won’t need to create your own Instagram content (especially if you lack the time to produce your own). Other accounts may already be successful in their efforts to engage your target audience, and there’s nothing wrong with reposting content from similar brands as part of your strategy to earn exposure for your account, as long as you ask permission and give credit where it’s due. Search for brands in Instagram that inspire you and your target audience but are not direct competitors. You can use hashtags to help narrow the search and display the most relevant accounts. Follow these brands, and save any share-worthy posts in a collection with the bookmark icon. When you find an Instagram post that is worth sharing, either comment on the post or send a private message to the account, and mention that you like the content and you think your followers will enjoy it too. Ask for permission to share the post on your feed, and assure the owner you’ll give them proper credit. With some creativity, visual flair, and a well-defined strategy, these tips can help transform your Instagram feed into an attractive online sales generator. If you need further advice on how you can make the most of your social media presence, contact us and we’ll be happy to help. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Tips for safeguarding business data
You can’t afford to lose business data. It takes away the trust of your clients, leading to loss of revenue. Cybercriminals are here to stay, so it’s more important than ever to utilize tight security measures to keep your business data safe. Still, some hackers may have advanced cracking skills, or are really determined to break into your network, so it’s a good idea to use the following methods for safeguarding your corporate data. Use Two-Factor Authentication Using a complicated password to secure your system is no longer an effective way to solve the issue of cybersecurity. We tend to use that same complex password in our email accounts or bank accounts, and if one of your logins is compromised, this can result in grave consequences. Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security for your systems and accounts. It can be biometric verification for devices that you own, or a time-sensitive auto-generated code that is sent to your mobile phone. This security feature works in the same way websites would require you to confirm your email address. They want to make sure that you’re not a bot or anything else. Encrypt all data Encryption is a great obstruction to hackers, since it scrambles and descrambles data every time someone tries to read it. Encryption also causes compatibility issues if the data is not being accessed via the company’s own network systems. While applying encryption can be costly, it is certainly well worth the money if it can protect your business data from falling into the wrong hands. Keep systems up to date Technology is moving at a fast pace. Hackers are always upgrading their tools to take advantage of outdated security systems, so companies should do likewise to protect their valuable resources. Yet many companies don’t install software updates immediately. If the update closes existing security loopholes, delaying an update exposes you to external attacks. So install software updates as soon as they are released. Back up frequently Although you’ve implemented several layers to your security, sometimes hackers can still find their way in. This is why you need to back up data frequently, whether it’s on-site, off-site, or by way of cloud backups. In the worst-case scenario where your systems do get infiltrated, you can restore lost data from those backups. Monitor connectivity Many businesses have no idea how many computers they have, so it’s very hard to keep track of which computers are online. Sometimes a company’s computers and servers are online when they don’t need to be, making them tempting targets for attackers. It’s advisable to configure business servers properly, ensuring that only necessary machines are online and that they’re well-protected. It’s much more expensive to recover from a data breach than to prevent one. If you’re looking to protect your business IT systems for potential threats, contact us today so we can help. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
BYOD=Bring your own disaster?
BYOD=Bring your own disaster? Workplaces today have changed. They extend beyond the working hours, beyond the cubicles. Whether you are commuting to work or even vacationing, chances are you or your employees take a break from the break to reply to those important emails that require ‘immediate action’. Plus, there may even be employees who are not even on the same continent as you. What does all this mean for your business in terms of IT security? Does BYOD translate to bring your own disaster to work? This blog explores the risks of BYOD culture and offers tips on how you can avoid them. When you adopt a BYOD culture at your business, you are opening the virtual floodgates to all kind of malwares and phishing attacks. Your employee may be storing work-related data on their personal devices and then clicking a malicious link they received on their personal email or (even whatsapp in case of tablets or smartphones) and put your entire network at risk. Secondly, you cannot control how your employees use their personal devices. They may connect to unauthorized networks, download unauthorized software programs, use outdated antivirus programs etc,. Even something as simple and harmless as the free wifi at the mall can spell danger for your data. What you can do? First of all, if you have decided to adopt the BYOD culture in your organization, ensure you have a strong BYOD policy in place. It should cover the dos and don’ts and define boundaries and responsibilities related to the BYOD environment. It also makes sense for you to invest in strong antivirus software and mandate those employees following the BYOD model to install it. You can also conduct device audits to ensure your employee’s personal devices are up-to-date in terms of software, security and firewall requirements to the extent that they are safe to be used for work purpose. And one of the most important aspects–train your employees on the best practices related to basic data security, access and BYOD environments. This will ensure that they don’t make mistakes that prove costly to you. You can conduct mock drills, tests and certifications and provide the BYOD privilege to only those who clear your tests. You could also use positive and negative reinforcements to ensure everyone takes it seriously. BYOD is great in terms of the flexibility it lends to both–the employer and the employee, and the trend is here to stay. It is up to businesses to ensure it helps more than it can hurt.
Apple WWDC 2019 recap
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is basically Apple’s launch party for its newest updates — from new devices, most important software patches, and other exciting news. There were a lot of updates in the conference, so we’ve compiled some of the most notable changes for you. Privacy commitment In Mr. Cook’s keynote speech, he hammered home Apple’s commitment to ensuring user privacy. According to him, Apple will be utilizing new privacy tools that will allow users to sign into third-party apps with their AppleID without giving away excessive user information the way conventional sign-in methods do. iOS 13 launch Another exciting update is the launch of iOS 13, Apple’s next-generation version of its famed mobile operating system. iOS 13 is projected to be the first iOS version to deploy dark mode, a new and improved sleep mode, app optimizations, Files app improvements, an updated CarPlay interface, a less obtrusive volume HUD, and a new WiFi-less tracking feature that connects using proximity with other devices. iPadOS Apple also confirmed that Apple’s tablets won’t be getting the new iOS 13 update. Instead, they’re getting their very own operating system, iPadOS. The first big change over iOS that you’ll notice is the home screen. App icons are more compact, giving you the option to display the Today View next to them. Multitasking is also much easier by enabling you to use split view and pull up and app in a side window. What’s more, iPadOS will come with USB drive and SD card support and a serious performance boost, suggesting that Apple is on its way to replacing bulky laptops. Mac OS 10.15 launch The launch of macOS Catalina (the official name for the upcoming macOS 10.15), Mojave’s successor, is also one of the major announcements in the conference. The new macOS will be a launching pad for a fully-unified app network, where developers can design a single app that works with either a touch screen or a mouse and trackpad. Apple will also be launching new Music, Podcasts, and Books apps as part of its continued Marzipan efforts, it’s soon-to-be-launched cross-apps merger. Also, the new MacOS will no longer support 32-bit apps. New Mac Pro launch The dramatically retooled flagship desktop computer Mac Pro was also launched whose entry-level model now features an octa-core Xeon processor, 32GB of RAM, a Radeon Pro 580X GPU, and a 256GB SSD. Higher-end configurations will feature a Radeon Pro Vega II GPU, Apple Afterburner, up to 1.5TB RAM, and a specialized graphics card which has the processing power for more than 6 billion pixels per second. More changes will likely be announced throughout the year, so if you’re an avid Apple user, it’s important you stay on top of the latest news and updates. Contact us today if you want to get the latest Apple updates and tips. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
How to cut your data center expenses
Many business owners tend to ignore the server room or pretend that it doesn’t exist. But this won’t change the fact that it can wreak havoc on your electric bills. Before you suffer, read this article to lower your energy bills. Perform an energy audit There’s a good chance your IT staff has never thought about how much energy your server room and data center are consuming. The first thing to do to rectify the problem is to identify how much power is being used. To get you started, here are a few questions to ask: How much of the data center’s power budget goes to support systems? How much goes to IT systems? How much IT output do you get for every kilowatt/hour of power used by your data center IT systems? Answering these questions will help you determine just how efficient, or inefficient, your data center is. Decrease IT workload When you save a single watt of energy at the server level, you save nearly 3 watts in data center costs. How do you decrease the IT workload? Virtualization is a common and effective tactic. Instead of wasting money on cooling the servers in your data center, have them hosted by your IT provider and have their technology delivered to you via the internet. This allows you to eliminate some servers from your office and reduce cooling costs. For alternate ways to decrease server workload, you can also: Eliminate unused servers Consolidate servers Purchase more energy-efficient technology Mind humidity and temperature levels Because many non-IT personnel don’t understand the data center, they assume incorrectly that the room must be kept as cold as the North Pole to protect sensitive data. This is not true. While excessively high temperatures, humidity, or dry conditions can harm your data, most modern-day data center equipment can withstand a wide range of humidity levels and temperatures. Because of this, you need less cooling and dehumidification. Consult an IT professional for the right temperature. You can also cool down your data center with an economizer system. This technology uses cool air from the outside to provide “free” cooling cycles for your data center. Want more tips on reducing your overall IT bill? Curious to learn more about virtualization? Call us today to talk to our experts. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Better sleep with these Android tablet pointers
Your precious Android tablet is a handy tool for you to get work done and communicate on the go. But like all electronic gadgets, your Android tablet can severely disrupt your sleep patterns. For business owners like you, not getting enough sleep can dramatically affect the success and growth of your company. Here’s how you can prevent this from happening. Don’t use it before bed It’s been widely recognized that the blue light from screens and mobile devices can disrupt sleep, suppressing your body’s levels of melatonin (the hormone that induces sleep). Because of this and the distractions your tablet brings, it’s best to avoid using it a half hour before bed. However, if this isn’t possible, here are a few tips to prevent your device from causing sleep disruption. Silence distractions with Google Chrome’s Reader Mode Reading before bed can be an effective way to induce sleep. However, if you’re using your tablet to browse the Internet, you’re often exposed to ads that are sometimes loud and flashy. Just as you’re nodding off, one of these ads could startle you awake and out of slumber mode. So what can you do? Google Chrome’s Reader Mode can eliminate unnecessary ads and images, placing an emphasis on the text. To activate Reader Mode, type “chrome://flags” into your navigation bar, scroll down till you find Reader Mode triggering and choose Always from the menu. The next time you launch a page on Chrome, click on the banner that appears at the bottom of the page that reads Make page mobile-friendly. And just like that, your text will be highlighted and ads eliminated. Prevent disturbances If you let emails, calls, and text messages wake you up in the middle of the night, then you are obviously not getting enough sleep. Enter the Do Not Disturb setting. This will shut out all of these nightly annoyances so you can unplug from the world and focus on doing something important for yourself — getting a good night’s rest. To turn on Do Not Disturb, open Settings > Sound and Notification > Do Not Disturb. From here, you can choose which contacts can get through to you while you’re in dreamland. Dim your device While Android tablets don’t have a built-in feature to adjust the amount of blue light emitted, there are apps that can help you easily adjust the filter opacity, making your screen less bright. The free app Dimly is one option you can try. Monitor your sleeping habits Do you constantly wake up at night for no reason at all? Are you sleeping better or worse on nights when you consume certain food or alcohol? Or do you sleep better on the days you exercise? If you’re unsure of the answers to these questions, there’s an app that can help you. Using a motion sensor and sound recording, Sleep as Android will monitor your sleeping habits to help you discover which nights you sleep best. Then you can try to recreate those conditions to resolve your sleep issues. No matter your business, sleep is vital to your success. We hope these five tips will help you get the sound sleep you desire. If you’re curious to learn more about how your Android tablet can improve your life and business, give us a call. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Why your phone has slow internet speed
In today’s world, staying connected means having a strong internet connection and a feature-packed smartphone. But you may discover that your internet-based apps are loading much more slowly after using your handset for just a few months. Learn four possible reasons why your phone’s internet speed is lagging. Router location One simple yet overlooked reason why your Wi-Fi-connected phone may be experiencing internet lag is because of your router’s location. Although Wi-Fi has a range of up to 230 feet, the farther away you are from the router, the weaker the signal. Large objects like doors and walls situated in between you and the router can also weaken the transmission. It’s recommended to place your router in a centralized location, preferably away from concrete and masonry walls or other big objects like a chimney. As the router signal radiates from all sides, blocking any side with big objects will impact your Wi-Fi’s signal quality and as a result, your phone’s internet speed is impeded. Wi-Fi noise Did you know that home electronic appliances emit wireless signals at a frequency similar to your router’s (2.4GHz)? So before deciding on your router’s location, determine whether there are any wireless devices nearby, as they emit signals that can interfere with your router’s signal. For example, even if the ideal location for your router is at the center of your house, you shouldn’t place it there if there’s a cordless phone nearby. You can also set your router on a 5GHz band, as this frequency is less prone to interference from other appliances. But before you start tuning it, make sure your phone supports 5GHz; otherwise, it won’t be able to connect to the router. Slow network Another reason for your phone’s slow internet connection is fluctuating network speeds. Ask yourself these two questions to know the exact cause of this problem: How many people are connecting to the router? What are they doing over the internet? You should increase your router’s internet bandwidth speed if you discover you have many users and all of them are either streaming movies, or downloading computer games or software updates. This will allow every phone to enjoy faster internet speeds. If you’re outdoors, and you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network, consider using your mobile data instead. You won’t have to share your internet when you use mobile data, enabling you to experience faster connectivity at all times as long as you have a high-speed data plan. Too much cache Last, you should check your smartphone’s cache if fixing your router, network, and positioning doesn’t improve your device’s internet speed. Cache is a component in your phone that saves data from earlier searches in order to increase the speed of similar searches in the future. Although your phone becomes more efficient for that particular search, it also makes your phone much slower when you do other things that require the internet. You can clear out your cache manually or use a cache cleaner app to thoroughly get rid of useless cache and optimize your phone’s internet speed. If you decide to download a cache cleaner app, make sure that it is reputable and trustworthy so you don’t accidentally download a malware-infected program instead. There are more reasons to your phone’s lagging internet speed. If your business relies heavily on a speedy mobile internet connection and you’re unable to fix the problem, call our experts today. We’re always ready to help you. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
VoIP and remote work: The perfect combination
Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone systems give employees the freedom to make and receive calls from any location. More importantly, a good VoIP solution allows you to enable work-at-home arrangements that will keep your workers happy and your company productive. So how exactly will VoIP and working at home equal to a more successful business? Let’s find out. It’s good for business Many businesses have misconceptions about their employees who choose to work from home. They assume that their employees will be less productive if they are not within the office environment, but this could not be farther from the truth. VoIP services can empower your small business and work-at-home employees in a number of ways: VoIP technologies allow you to keep your employees on track with an array of management tools like barge, monitor, and whisper, which allow you to coach and micromanage your employees. The cost of business resources, furniture, space and sick days are reduced when there is an effective way for your employees to work at any location. VoIP services promote continued collaboration between employees even if some of them are not in the office, allowing workflow to be more efficient. As a business owner, VoIP gives your company more opportunity for growth such as by allowing you to communicate and hire people from different countries with minimal cost. Perks for employees Work-from-home policies with VoIP systems are also good for your employees. As more of their workload is digitized, working from home or anywhere else has never been easier. In fact, studies have shown that employees who took days to work from home were actually more productive. Part of this is because it gives them a break from the stressful office environment and, with a VoIP service readily available to them, they feel as if they haven’t missed a day’s worth of work. With the right VoIP systems installed, employees can easily collaborate with co-workers. Using VoIP at home also saves your employees from long and costly commutes. They can simply pick up their VoIP device and join a conference meeting without physically being in the boardroom. What’s more, employees who want to recall important events during conferences or seminars can use the VoIP call recording feature. This way, employees can make sure they are correctly approaching their work in their own time. VoIP requirements for remote workers If you’re convinced that working from home is a good solution for your company, it is essential that your chosen VoIP service provider offers the following features: Voicemail – records missed calls and sends you an email of the audio file Call forwarding – allows your employees to redirect calls between VoIP devices and their smartphones Whisper, monitor, and barge – lets you monitor calls for quality control purposes and even coach employees without disrupting the call Third-party integrations – streamline processes and enable employees to give instant feedback when collaborating on platforms like Office 365 Many companies are now benefiting from a mobile and remote work environment. Although work-at-home strategies may seem like a risky venture, making the most out of your VoIP technologies will keep your employees happy and productive. If you want to learn more about the VoIP services that we offer, give us a call. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Let Office 365 help you save the date
Arranging meetings that work with everyone’s schedules is a pain — especially if participants don’t work in your office. A calendar that is easy to share publicly simplifies everything from scheduling calls with clients to quarterly meetings with business partners. Here’s how you can achieve that with Office 365. Share an Office 365 calendar with specific people Click the Share button from the Home menu along the top of your Office 365 calendar. This will open an email window where you can enter the addresses of people you want to see your calendar. From that window, you can limit how much of your calendar they see by choosing from Availability Only, Limited Details, or Full Details. The latter two will show recipients the meeting names and participants of events on your calendar, whereas Availability Only will simply display scheduled events as Busy. After you’ve sent the invitation, recipients receive an email with a link to view your calendar in a web browser. Make an Office 365 calendar public If you’d prefer to have a link that you can share in a variety of channels whenever you’d like, click the Publish Online button from the Home menu along the top of your Office 365 calendar. From the dropdown menu, first click Publish This Calendar, then Configure This Published Calendar. This will create a link that you can give to collaborators outside your organization. As long as you don’t change your calendar’s visibility, they’ll be able to open that URL and view your availability. Share your calendar so others can manage it Users who have administrative control over their Office 365 calendar can set up special sharing settings that allow someone else to send and respond to invitations. From the Account Settings window, click on the Delegate Access button. This window lets you add or remove delegators and configure how much control they have over your calendar. Even something as simple as sharing your calendar outside your organization has the potential to increase office productivity and efficiency. If you have questions or concerns about managing various aspects of Office 365, get in touch with us today. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Is your business prepared for hurricanes?
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and certain parts of Louisiana the hardest. In the same year, Hurricane Irma devastated companies in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. During uncertain times, a disaster recovery (DR) plan is what saves companies from power outages and massive revenue losses. Let these tips guide you. Determine recovery hierarchy Certain parts of your IT are more mission-critical than others. Ask yourself which systems or data must be recovered in minutes, hours, or days to get your business back to running efficiently. For example, you may find that recovering sensitive customer information and eCommerce systems take priority over recovering your email server. Whatever the case may be, prioritizing your systems ensures that the right ones are recovered quickly after a disaster. Pay attention to location First and foremost, your backup site should be in a hurricane-free zone. Ideally, your off-site facility should be located at least 100 miles away from your main location. If this isn’t possible, make sure it is built to withstand wind speeds of 160 mph (as fast as Category 5 storms), and is supported by backup generators and uninterruptible power supplies. You should also request an upper floor installation or, at the very least, keep critical IT equipment 18 inches off the ground to prevent water damage. Use image-based backups Unlike fragile tape backups, image-based backups take “snapshots” of your systems, creating a copy of the OS, software, and data stored in it. From there, you can easily boot the virtual image on any device, allowing you to back up and restore critical business systems in seconds. Take advantage of the cloud The cloud allows you to host applications and store data in high-availability, geo-redundant servers. This means your backups can be accessed via the internet, allowing authorized users to access critical files from any device. Expert technicians will also watch over and secure your backups, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of enterprise-level backup facilities and IT support. Back up your data frequently Back up your data often, especially during disaster season. If your latest backups were created on the 15th of September and the next storm makes landfall on the 28th, you could lose nearly two weeks of data. Get in the habit of replicating your files at the end of each day, which should be easy if you’ve opted for image-based backups. Test your DR plan After setting up your backups, check whether they are restoring your files accurately and on time. Your employees should be drilled on the recovery procedures and their responsibilities during and after disaster strikes. Your DR team should also be trained on how to failover to the backup site before the storm hits. Finally, providers, contractors, and customers need to be notified about how the hurricane will affect your operations. As cell towers and internet connections may be affected during this time, make sure your company forums are online and have your employees register with the Red Cross Safe and Well website so you can check their statuses. It’s nearly impossible to experience little-to-no disruptions during disasters like Harvey or Irma, but with the right support, you can minimize downtime. If you’re concerned about any natural disasters putting you out of business, call us today. We offer comprehensive business continuity services that every company should have. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.