Mobile business strategies are relatively new, but most business leaders agree that they’re a necessary and vital part of marketing. Customers and clients are increasingly relying on smartphones and other mobile devices for purchases. So where does that leave you? We know it can feel crowded when you’re a startup, but if you focus on developing a strong mobile strategy you’ll be a step ahead of the competition. Mobile Stats A recent analysis of consumer shopping trends found that the top quarter of American retailers generate nearly 40% of their ecommerce transitions from mobile sites. Focusing on mobile strategies to reach your audience is a wise choice and will help you gain market share. Here are four strategies that will ensure you’ve got a strong mobile stagey. Make Sure Your Mobile Site is Updated Obviously the space on a mobile phone is much smaller than a traditional desktop computer – website optimization doesn’t just include fonts and graphics’ you need to make sure that your mobile site can effectively process and complete transactions. What does that include? Ensuring that billing processes are functioning correctly Making sure that customers or clients can easily log into the site from any smartphone Creating an equally effective experience as your standard website Be Inclusive iPhones aren’t the only phone on the market. Android is continuing to expand its market share. Right now, according to recent research, iOS is responsible for 8% of all mobile transactions, but Android is not far behind with more than 5%. Make sure you’re making your mobile sites and apps optimal for every smartphone. Make The Most of Email Marketing Keep in mind that most consumers interact with the same site on multiple devices. Because of that, email reminders are a great way to keep customers coming back and using any number of devices. Email is omnipresent; people read them on desktops, smartphones and tablets. Make the most of it. Time Your Offers With the Type of Device Used If you’re a startup now, consider yourself lucky. At your disposal there’s a huge amount of information on the shopping habits of digital consumers. All you need to do is pay attention to trends. According to research by Criteo, the most frequent time for tablet purchases is from 3pm to 5pm. People on smartphones, meanwhile, are more likely to buy between 8am and 10am. Desktops, unsurprisingly, are most likely to make purchases during work hours, from 9am to 5pm. Some other related tips? Make email campaigns are short and to-the-point, especially if they’re sent out in the morning. If you’re targeting mobile devices, make sure your email links lead to easy-to-use mobile websites. Keeping your eye on the prize and utilizing mobile strategies will give your business the kick it needs. For more helpful business IT tips and tricks, contact {company} at {email} or by phone at {phone}.

Videos are among the best ways to reach audiences with content and new information – as long as you can hold their attention you can get your point across. Stock videos are a relatively cheap way to add to or create those videos; it’s an alternative to hiring a camera crew, talent and scouting locations. When you’re looking for high quality stock videos, check out these websites. Shutterstock Rates here depend on the video resolutions, and Shutterstock’s archive is easy to use and affordable. It has one of the largest collections with over a million videos to choose from. iStockPhoto When you’re using this site you get better pricing by buying credits ahead of time; they can be used for more than just video and each credit costs around $1.50 depending on how many you buy. Most videos cost between 50 – 100 credits for the resolution you’ll need, but you also get a free video monthly when you visit their page. Pond5 With nearly 2 million videos, Pond5 offers a wide price range starting as low as $5. Users can upload and price their own videos so you can choose videos according to your budget and needs. Getty Images There are approximately 63 million seconds of stock video in the Getty Images library. It includes standard and editorial stock videos and also has stock photos and music. Fotosearch This site brings several companies together and includes rights managed and royalty free stock videos. You’ll have access to a large variety of footage in one place and you can save all of your favorites to go back to later. Videohive This works as a marketplace where providers upload stock footage and then sell it. This gives you tons of options when it comes to price and quality. BBC Motion Gallery This is a great place to find stock footage of historical events. Still, they have you’re standard stock-type videos as well. T3 Media This site is dedicated only to videos and they claim to have the deepest online footage library on earth. T3 provides project managers and research services if you don’t have the time to do all the work yourself. footage.net Footage.net pulls from many different stock footage websites and used footages from companies including ABC, CNN and NBC. That means the site features traditional stock footage plus tons of news footage and historical videos. It’s easier than you think to put footage together and find exactly the right images and video you need. Choosing the right website is all about understanding what they offer and what you’re looking for. For more helpful IT tips and tricks get in contact with {company} at {email} or by phone at {phone}.

Are you feeling lost when it comes to protecting yourself against new emerging threats? 2014 was stained by high-profile data breaches, ending with the bizarre and damaging hack of Sony Pictures. You know your business needs to protect itself, but what exactly should you be looking out for? We’ve broken down the biggest security threats shaping up in 2015. The Insecurity of Things We don’t just use computers for internet access anymore. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of innovative, connected devices used to track, monitor, and simplify every part of our lives. But when you’re storing and transferring sensitive personal information, hackers will be looking to exploit any vulnerability. TVs, home security systems automation and any other Internet capable devices need to be protected. DDoS Attacks Denial-of-service attacks don’t steal your information or cause any overt harm, but they flood a site or service with so much traffic that it becomes overwhelmed and prevent users from connecting. Last year they became much more sophisticated and they can now morph and adapt based on the defenses in place by the targeted network. Social Media Social media is what keeps us all connected – so it’s not surprising that hackers are aiming to use it to spread malware. Attackers continue to develop techniques to exploit social networks by distributing malware and stealing sensitive data from users. Mobile Malware Security experts have been talking about mobile malware for a long time. Mobile devices are more prevalent now than ever, including in business. It seems 2015 may be the year that a major mobile malware attack finally happens – so you need to keep your devices protected. Third-party Attacks Remember this – cybercriminals will take the path of least resistance, and they know that contractors and other third-party vendors can offer an opening into generally-secured corporate networks. You always need to screen who has access to your network and systems and ensure they have proper security precautions in place. Don’t let new threats get the best of you. We know what you’re up against and are ready to help ensure you don’t get crippled by security threats – to get setup with the best protection available contact us by phone or email.

Are you keeping up with critical system updates to ensure your business stays protected? Microsoft has released a patch for a critical vulnerability in the Windows HTTP protocol stack. Known as HTTP.sys, it could have disastrous consequences once it’s publicly exploited. The latest bulletin features four critical updates issued by Microsoft. They warn that exploiting this vulnerability could lead to remote code execution and privilege escalation on a compromised device. So what’s that mean, exactly? Hackers Gaining Access to Your Computer As soon as an attacker knows how to create the specially crafted HTTP request, they can begin targeting every web server that they find until they hit one that’s vulnerable. A major concern is that the work-around provided by Microsoft isn’t very expansive and it fails to provide IT admins with much to protect them while they’re testing the patch. Secondly, the sheer number of Windows web servers is huge. There are more Linux servers in terms of total numbers, but Windows servers are much more popular in corporate environments. Plus, they store a lot of valuable and sensitive information. Cybercriminals can use the vulnerability to run code on your webserver under the IIS user account. They would then use an exploit for a second local vulnerability to escalate privilege, become administrator and install permanent exploit code. The attack is simple to execute and needs to be addressed quickly. Who’s Vulnerable? Microsoft said the vulnerability has been found in Windows 7, Windows 2008 R2, Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 and in Server Core instillation option. Other important patches released can be seen here and include fixes for vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and Office. CLIENTS ON OUR MANAGED SERVICES PROGRAM WILL HAVE THE PROPER PATCHES APPLIED. To get more breaking IT security news or to talk about how your business in {city} can be protected against dangerous online threats, contact {company} at {email} or by phone at {phone}.

Is your data being properly protected? When it comes to keeping your private information safe, planning is everything. According to an article in PC Magazine 93% of companies that lost their data center for ten or more days due to a disaster filed for bankruptcy within a year. Within six months, 60% of companies that have lost their data shut down. Those are pretty alarming numbers considering the current rates of breaches or data loss. Your business needs to develop and manage a contingency plan for recovering information – it may not be fun to think about, but it’s definitely important. Your livelihood may depend on it. When it comes to protection, you need to be proactive and remember that planning is key to staying safe. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity should be major components of your IT team’s strategy for you, meaning you develop and document a decided-upon course of action. Luckily with cloud services, mobile device use and virtualization that’s getting a whole lot easier. You need to be sure you’re not getting locked into pricy and inflexible Data Recovery plans – there are tons of capable and affordable solutions available. Your own requirements will be unique to your business, so assess your needs and spend time considering different scenarios that need to be planned for. When you’re developing Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans, you can get rid of bottlenecks by modernizing your already-existing storage with the implementation of a storage refresh. New technologies like hybrid-flash, all-flash arrays and cloud storage integration give you IT several useful options that address the need to increase storage capacity and improve performance. Check out this podcast for more info on how to modernize your technology and ensure you’re planning ahead to protect yourself and your data. To get more helpful IT tips and tricks or to talk about Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans, get in touch with {company} at {email} or by phone at {phone}.

Know this – you’re not the only one feeling challenged by Facebook marketing these days. It can be incredibly hard for brands to really make an impact when news feeds are increasingly crowded. Some reports even say that brands are bypassing Facebook altogether, opting to post more content on Instagram. But don’t give up just yet; in order to make an impact on Facebook, you just need to pay attention to trends, figuring out which tactics will work best and how you can get your content to wider audiences. Here are a few tips to try out when you’re looking to beef up your Facebook marketing. Post videos! The best strategy for Facebook marketing at the moment is videos. With autoplay, videos start playing automatically once they’re scrolled past on a newsfeeds – drawing viewers in and making them more likely to actually watch. Remember: make it short, to-the-point, and have a clear call to action. Also keep in mind that posting a video directly to Facebook tends to get better results than linking to other websites like YouTube. Share quote photos This may seem insignificant, but it will help bring views and potentially many more likes to your page, meaning your content will now naturally reach a wider audience whenever you post. People love inspirational quotes, especially motivational ones, and they tend to share them for others on Facebook. Make use of your CTA button Facebook has introduced a huge tool for businesses – the call-to-action button makes engaging your audience easier than ever. Currently there are a number of CTA options you can choose from including: Book Now, Use App, Contact Us, Shop Now, Sign Up, Watch Video or Play Game. Zero In On Key Topics BuzzSumo is a great tool for learning what topics to focus on when using Facebook for marketing. It allows you to plug in keywords and view content from over the past several months that has performed the best across social networks. You can actually filter directly by your subject and topics to figure out what’s resonating with your audience. Post more often! Another easy tactic is to simply keep on posting – do it more often than you’re used to. Overall interactions with your page will increase the more you post. Pay attention to Trending Topics Facebook has recently incorporated a Trending Topics section, which like Twitter can attract wide audiences to a post related to trending subjects. If you can connect your marketing to some Trending Topics, you’ll get your content out to new readers. Look at negative feedback Aside from what you’re doing right, look into what you can improve. Facebook Insights offers up four kinds of negative feedback – Hide Post, Hide all Posts, Report Page as Spam and Unlike Page. You can view them as raw numbers and study where and why they’re hit most often. You may discover patterns that help guide where you go next. 3D Ads and Innovation This is an interesting and innovate new marketing technique for Facebook – on St Patrick’s Day, Jameson promoted its whiskey with the first ever 3D video Facebook ad. The autoplay function certainly helped it grab a lot of attention. Keeping up with new techniques and trends is a great way to stay on top of your marketing game. Cinemagraphs Still photographs that incorporate subtle, looping videos are called cinemagraphs – and they could be the new best attention-grabber on Facebook thanks to autoplay. Many companies are trying them out now and experiencing success, so if you want to get ahead of a new booming trend, now is your chance. Focusing on the right areas will mean increasing your views and getting readers to pay attention to your content. To get more helpful business and IT tips get in touch with {company} at {email} or by phone at {phone}.

Are You Planning Anything Special On April 22? Earth day is just around the corner! Is your IT team doing all they can to give you the best service while also helping the environment? It’s easier than you think. On Wednesday, April 22 the world celebrates Earth day – a time to reflect on what we’re doing to help preserve our beautiful planet. When you’re choosing an IT team, are you choosing one that’s effective, budget-friendly, and environmentally conscious? We know what many other IT service companies don’t know. There are several courses of action that will not only help to improve your business and increase productivity, but also show conscious effort to help keep our Earth clean. So, what is {company} doing to help out both your business and our earth this year? Replace Aging Technology Old, outdated hardware needs constant care, upkeep and attention. Those systems consume more power than advanced, newer designs, which are created to save power and reduce your output. Not only will getting you updated allow your business to work with the latest technology – streamlining work and improving output – but you’ll also reduce the costs of maintenance and your eco footprint while doing so. Prepare Conscious Arrangements If you’re replacing your desktop systems, it’s important that you have your IT team take care of it to ensure your data is safely removed and that hard disks are properly wiped and destroyed if necessary. We’ll make arrangements with local electronic recyclers to make sure that your systems are properly recycled – or, rather than just trashing your machines, we also prep systems for donation to non-profits, schools, or resale to your staff if they’re in adequate shape. Every little thing counts – let us handle any boxes from your new hardware so we can ensure they’re properly recycled. Make an impact this Earth Day! Choosing the right IT service team can also mean helping out the environment – this Earth Day, we’ll be providing efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solutions. Let us clear up your clutter – literally and figuratively. To get set up with the best IT solutions that will benefit both your business and our environment, contact {company} at {email} or by phone at {phone}.

This is the future. Cloud computing is incredibly convenient and has a ton of potential advantages when you use it.  You can access information stored on the cloud from anywhere you have an Internet connection and so can your friends and family.  Simple as that – no more having to remember to carry around flash drives or wasting your time e-mailing attachments. The cloud will also reduce the amount of money your business spends on infrastructure.  That’s putting more money in your pocket where it belongs. Using a cloud service does have one severe drawback, though:  There are very legitimate, and potentially very damaging, security holes in the cloud.  Hackers are out to THREATEN you and steal your valuable information.  When you do not have full control of the network then you do not have full control of the information PERIOD.  If you neglect cloud security the misuse or deletion of information can include identity theft and data duplication. Don’t let hackers get away with it – protect yourself!  Here’s what you can do: Use a Two-Step Verification System Identity thieves start by wanting to steal your username.  Once they have that they own your information – unless you use a two-step verification system.  How?  These thieves (and that’s EXACTLY what they are) will just go through every possible combination until they crack your password.  This leaves your information vulnerable and defenseless.  So what should you do?  Get another layer of identification confirmation through a two-step verification code to your mobile device.  This can be done through a text or even an app and keeps identity thieves out of your personal business. Choose Wisely When Sending to the Cloud Only send a file to the cloud if you are planning on accessing it remotely or if you plan on sharing that file.  And if you send a file to the cloud, put into the documents folder first so you have a backup.  Don’t let a sudden network failure float your file into thin air. Encrypt Everything Encryption absolutely must be done for every file you send to the cloud.  Keep your data secure!  The great thing is that you can leave this step to the experts. {company} is here to help you find the right encryption service to match your needs, so you won’t even notice your information is being encrypted as you send it. Keep your information safe on the cloud, and ensure you won’t have to worry about criminals invading your privacy. {company} is your go-to source for {city} IT security – contact us at {phone} or {email} to find out how to protect yourself from hackers and identity thieves.