Showing posts with label Social Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Media. Show all posts

Monday, September 8, 2025

We are NeeStaNan Infrastructure Projects Digital Strategy Partner

Posted on 1:11 PMby


 
2Create360 Digital Marketing is honoured to announce its selection as the exclusive digital strategy and marketing partner for the transformative www.NeeStaNan.ca project. This flagship initiative, which stands at the confluence of economic innovation and community advancement, represents one of the most significant infrastructure undertakings in Canada’s recent history. Through a robust digital mandate, 2Create360 is entrusted to architect and deploy an integrated online strategy that amplifies awareness, stakeholder engagement, and the enduring socioeconomic legacy of NeeStaNan.


We are deeply proud to be aligned with an endeavour of such profound scale, purpose, and humanitarian intent. The opportunity to help narrate and elevate the NeeStaNan legacy—bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices in pursuit of reconciliation, sustainable prosperity, and national advancement—resonates strongly with our mission and values. With great responsibility, we will deploy cutting-edge digital solutions, compelling multi-format content, and rigorous analytics to ensure that the impact, vision, and promise of NeeStaNan are powerfully communicated to audiences across Canada and beyond.


[round, shadow,width:150,left]

A message from Tom Jackson , Senior VP @ NeeStaNan
I am  sharing a video about the NeeStaNan project—that can transform Canada’s destiny. Right now, we are feeling the impact of U.S. trade tariffs. Too often, our natural resources are trapped inland, leaving our economy vulnerable and our options limited. The NeeStaNan corridor changes that. It opens a pathway from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario to the world by building crucial infrastructure—rail, ports, and airports—connecting our communities to global markets and new opportunities.  Source

Randeep (Ron) Singh
Senior Digital & AI Strategist

Friday, April 11, 2025

Social Media Platforms

Posted on 2:13 PMby

[rocrner,shadow,direct,center,width:550px]

Top References Used:

  •  Hootsuite's Digital 2022 Report: A comprehensive report on the state of digital marketing, including social media usage and trends.
  • Statista's Social Media Statistics: A reliable source for social media statistics, including user numbers, engagement rates, and demographics.
  • Pew Research Center's Social Media Fact Sheet: A fact sheet on social media usage in the United States, including demographics and trends.
  • eMarketer's Digital Marketing Reports: A series of reports on digital marketing trends, including social media advertising and influencer marketing.
  • Social Media Examiner's Industry Reports: A series of reports on social media marketing trends, including platform-specific insights and best practices.

Monday, April 29, 2019

Brand Your Personal Social Media Accounts

Posted on 3:50 PMby

The personal brand is no longer the exclusive domain of thought leaders and CEOs. Everyone has an opportunity to educate others in their industry, but before you can do so, you need to develop your brand.
Personal branding is about controlling the way others see you. Allowing you to showcase your expertise, and make new connections. In this article, we explain how to brand your personal social media accounts.

Know Your Audience

Defining your audience is an important step toward building a personal brand. If you don’t know who you’re talking to, how can you connect with anyone? If you don’t know where to start, look at others’ profiles and see who they follow and what they talk about.
Who to look at:
  • Influencers in the industry
  • Colleagues in a similar role
  • People who work for companies you’re interested in working for
Take note of who responds to posts, what questions the audience has, and what content people tend to share most.
It’s also worth joining some relevant groups. LinkedIn and Facebook make it easy to connect with others who share your interests and expertise.

Select Your Channels

Decide which social media platforms make the most sense for your personal brand. While all of them are free, there’s no reason to use every single channel. You’ll also want to consider what kind of content you feel most comfortable posting.
If visuals aren’t your thing, stick to LinkedIn and Twitter. Here, the emphasis is less aesthetic-focused and more about the content you share.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the most formal channel in the bunch, so be careful about following strangers or asking for recommendations. It’s better to prove your value first.
LinkedIn rules:
  • Treat your profile like a digital brochure—it’s the first point of contact for potential connections
  • Don’t blindly connect with people—take time to get to know them and send a personalized message.
  • Ask for endorsements from your network

Twitter

Twitter is something of a catch-all professional platform. It might be best known for trolls and political troublemakers, but it’s also a great way to keep track of industry leaders and brands.
Twitter rules:
  • Post things relevant to your industry
  • Use hashtags: Hashtagify.me is a good resource for hashtags related to your field or job opportunities.
  • Use industry chats to showcase your expertise
  • Start conversations with the people you want to meet

Facebook

Facebook is more than a place to share fake news and get lost in old classmates’ vacation albums. It’s also a flexible platform where you can share videos, links, images, and more.
Facebook rules:
  • Don’t be afraid to diversify your content mix
  • Learn about your target audience
  • Join groups and start your own
  • Keep personal and professional separate—you may need to clean up your profile before kicking off your branding efforts.

Instagram

Instagram is best for those working in creative industries. It’s great for designers, artists, and people working in the food and beverage industry. 

  • Don’t forget the hashtags
  • Stay in your lane rather than straying away from your niche
  • Post regularly
  • Create an attractive bio

Establish a Tone

We get it, a lot of this “personal branding” stuff conjures up some cringeworthy feelings.
Establish a voice that both feels like “you” and fits in with your industry and audience. Are you the friendly expert, the cheeky and irreverent jokester, or perhaps, a bit more serious?
Social media is overcrowded with self-proclaimed experts, so you’ll need to position yourself in a way that differentiates you from your coworkers and competitors. Much like how corporate brands set social media goals, you’ll want to establish a few of your own.
Some potential goals:
  • Build a well-connected network
  • Attract a following for a blog or podcast
  • Demonstrate expertise in your field
For example, if you want to be seen as an expert in the graphic design space, Google common phrases and start looking for articles, industry updates, and trends. From there, you can start writing your own posts or sharing your opinions about them on social media.

Embrace a Consistent Image

Think of any successful brand you’ve encountered—they have a distinct image and voice that spans platforms. Apple, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola. All of these achieve a certain consistency by using the same logo, colors, and tone across all representations of their brand.
To do this, brands create style guides with rules for everything from colors. You don’t need to write yourself an entire rulebook—but embracing consistency is one of the most important things you can do. It helps you build trust with your audience and make sure that they remember you long-term.
With that in mind, here are a few areas visuals can help communicate what you’re all about:

Headshots and Usernames Should Be Uniform

Keep it simple and use your first and last name as your username.
Your headshot and usernames should be the same (or similar) across every platform. While it might sound boring, it’s better to save your creativity for your actual posts.
This makes discoverability a breeze, allowing people to quickly identify you on Twitter, LinkedIn, or wherever else you hang out.

Be Sure to Get Your Bio Right

Your professional bio should be a clear, concise overview of your experience and expertise. This represents you across social channels, blogs, and websites, and serves as an online first impression.
Ann Handley’s two Twitter profiles (her business and personal) are a good example of using that same bio across different accounts.
People can quickly see that these belong to the same person based on her use of the same bullet points.
profiles ann handley example

Choose a Color Scheme (And Stick With It)

Whether you think color psychology is bogus or a bonafide science, there’s no doubt that colors can visually communicate the personality you want to portray.
A good example of this is Rachel Parcell’s profile (pictured below). She sticks to this soft, feminine aesthetic, using pinks and whites throughout her feed.
Start by considering the colors you’re naturally drawn to, then think about how those colors fit with your brand.
Blue, for example, signifies clarity, intelligence, and authority. While red demonstrates power, attraction, love, and enthusiasm. Do you want to make people feel calm or excited?
We recommend selecting a color scheme, like this one from Design Seeds:
pick a color scheme
If you need help selecting your “paint swatches,” here are some tools to find beautiful color
schemes that do the heavy lifting for you.

Unite Your Feed with the Right Filter
Generally, you’ll want to polish off your pics with a unifying filter. Stick to one or two filters and use the same editing process for every image.
In general, built-in photo editors are best left to the amateurs. Create your own using an app like Lightroom or VSCO and save your settings for easy access. This gives you the ability to maintain a consistent “mood” with a single click.

The Same Goes for Fonts

As with colors, developing a font palette is essential for creating a cohesive brand. Limit your font use to two or three options to keep things consistent.
If your main channels are social (rather than a personal website) the font rule applies to your logo and any pull-quote visuals you post in your feeds.

Engage with Your Audience

Social media is supposed to be a conversation, so it’s crucial that you give and take. Make sure you respond to every comment you receive, even if it’s just to say thanks.
We get that after a certain point, this might not be possible, but in the meantime, it’s a good way to connect with your audience.
People don’t visit social media platforms to look at ads. As such, you need to make sure you’re sharing useful information that can help others. Do this consistently, and your followers will share your content with others.

Branding Doesn’t Need to Be a Big Deal

Unless your end game is becoming a social media personality, remember to treat personal branding as a stepping stone to better opportunities in real life.
While there’s a lot to take in, the main thing to remember is to be consistent—both in terms of aesthetics and tone. You’ll also want to make sure you post regularly and respond to comments as they come in. After the initial “remodel” phase, your brand should just need some maintenance here and there.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Social Media Challenges for Small Businesses

Posted on 8:08 AMby

Challenge #1: I don’t have enough time to manage social media


Managing social media doesn’t have to be completely time-consuming. There are numerous ways to efficiently manage whatever you do on social. Once you have these methods established, the time usually spent on social media management can now be used to listen to your customers more effectively and to work on other aspects of your business.

Tip #1: Plan ahead and use Scheduling

When planning and executing your social media strategy, it helps to save time by scheduling pre-planned content. This not only helps to build an audience, it also prevents you from inundating your follower’s feed with too much or not enough information. Scheduling helps you maintain a steady flow of content being published throughout the day.  Another advantage to scheduling your posts is that you still can continue to share news, updates, and content in the event that you are busy or away from the office.

Tip #2  Use Automation Tools

There are many robust tools like HootSuite, IFTTT, ZAPIER etc that you can leverage to automate your Social Media Engagement and Scheduling.

Challenge #2: When is the best time to tweet?

Knowing the best time to tweet allows you to increase reach of your Tweets and increase engagement. To find out the best time to tweet, getting to know your audience’s social media behavior will help.

Tip #1: Your geographic location matters

When discovering the best time to tweet, make sure you factor in both your  own geographic location and the location of the customers you are targeting. Tweeting at 9 am Vancouver, Canada time won’t necessarily render the same results if your customer base is in São Paulo, Brazil.

Tip #2: Use the right tool


For small businesses, the best times to tweet can be found using various tools.

Tip #3: Make sure you engage on social media

Knowing when the best time to tweet for your company’s Twitter handle starts with social media engagement. In other words, if you are taking the time to tweet, take the time to engage with your followers as well. Initiate conversations, provide value to your audience by sending them tips and take note on the times of day your audience responds the most.
Extra Reading: For more information about the best time to tweet, check out this blog post.

Challenge #3: How do I create a social media marketing plan for my business?


If you are trying to set up your business for success on social media, setting up a social media marketing plan is essential.

Tip #1: Clarify Your Business’ Social Media Goals

The most important part of your social media marketing plan is defining clear goals. All decisions are informed by these, so without clearly defined goals, your marketing plan will also be scattered and/or ineffective. To prevent this from happening, start by writing down at least three social media goals for your business. Make sure each goal is specific, realistic and measurable.

Tip #2: Audit Your Current Social Media Status

Once you have established your goals, conduct a search for both officially sanctioned and unauthorized pages representing your company.  These range from fan sites, fake sites posing as your company, or your official brand sites. Figure out how many followers you have, how many visitors you get to the sites and whether everything is up to date. Remove all spam and unimportant content.

Tip #3: Develop Your Content Strategy

The previous two tips should now create a framework for you to develop a comprehensive content strategy for your marketing plan. Within your content strategy, you should include what type of content you intend to post, how often you will post content, who your target audience is, who will create the content, and how you will promote the content.

Tip #4: Use Analytics to Track Progress

Once your social media marketing plan has been implemented, it’s now time to check the appropriate metrics and see how your content is performing. Find out when your fans are online, how many are seeing your posts, who’s sharing or responding, and who’s viewing and engaging with your web pages.

Tip #5: Adjust Your Strategy as Needed

Once you’ve analyzed your current campaign, resolve to do more of what is working and revise things that are not working. Re-write your content strategy based on your analysis to reflect your new understanding. You will need to keep developing your strategy and content, and use analytics to guide your next steps throughout your social media campaign.

Challenge #4 : What is social media engagement? And how do I know if I am doing it right?

People are more likely to recommend a business that engages with them on social media compared to a company that has no social media presence. That being said, many companies overlook proper social media engagement and miss a major business opportunity.




Tip #1: Proactive Social Media Engagement Can Go A Long Way

To take your engagement a step further, be proactive, listen and respond. Don’t let interaction with your audience be a passive experience. Reach out to your audience instead of waiting for them to reach out to you. Find those who are mentioning your business and thank them for their time; you can also offer them your take on industry news, as well as share tips or special offers.

Tip #2: Include Social Media Monitoring In Your Social Media Strategy

Social media monitoring, also known as social listening, involves monitoring what people are saying on social media about your business and the issues that affect it. Seen by us as one of the biggest missed opportunities for businesses today, social listening allows you to not only identify opportunities as they happen but also gain invaluable insight into your customers, competitors, and industry influencers. Effective social listening will help you build strong relationships with your customers, keep you one step ahead of your competition, as well as give you insight on how your social media engagement is performing.

Tip #3: Retain Existing Followers and Clients Through Social Media Engagement

As long as you share content that is valuable, your business will attract new followers on social media. The magic, though, is in retention. Neglecting to retain existing followers is also a missed opportunity. It’s simple—the more effort you put into your social media engagement, the more reward your business will receive. Take the time to reach out to your existing followers. Thank them for listening and ensure that if they have questions, you answer them promptly.


Challenge #5: Do I need to spend money on Facebook and Twitter ads?

Facebook and Twitter have become daily destinations for millions of consumers. As a result, businesses are taking advantage of this, and have started to launch ad campaigns on both platforms. As social media advertising is fairly new, it can be a complex process that requires effective planning, testing, and measuring. Below are a few tips to help you navigate both Facebook and Twitter Ads.

Facebook Advertising Best Practices

  • Determine your objectives before you start
  • Similar to goal setting for your social media marketing plan, determine your objectives before you start your ad campaign.
  • Get granular with your audience targeting
  • The nature of Facebook ads allows you to target specific people that you consider quality leads. Facebook will also use your email list to find people that they deem as probable customers. This will then help to inform your messaging so you can tailor your content specifically to that group of individuals.
  • Rotate your ads regularly
  • Prevent ad fatigue with your customers by regularly rotating your ads every 3 to 5 days. This helps you keep your content fresh and engaging, and prevents people from becoming bored of your ads.

Twitter Advertising Best Practices

  • Test your content organically first
  • It’s simple: if your ads have great content in them, they cause tons of people to click your Tweet, and your Twitter ads become cheaper.  In more complicated terms, “Twitter rewards advertisers who create compelling content by lowering their cost per engagement (CPE) based on the click through rate of the Tweet.”
  • Understand Tweet differences, and know when to use hashtags. 
  • Depending on what you are trying to achieve with Twitter ads, hashtags make a huge difference in the response rate you are looking for. For example, if you’re looking for a direct response or conversions, don’t use hashtags.
  • Refresh your Tweets
  • As with Facebook ads, Twitter ads also need to be refreshed every 2-3 days. Aside from preventing ad fatigue for your audience, Twitter will actually shut down your ads after a set period of time to try and prevent content from going stale.
  • Don’t “Automatically promote”
  • Don’t assume that all the content you publish is an effective ad. Rather, measure which Tweets resonate the most with your audience and craft your ads based on these observations.

Challenge #6: Should I outsource my social media management?

The decision to manage social media internally or to outsource this job, should be weighed carefully. As social media essentially shapes how your company is received, there are a few details to consider before making such a decision for your company. Instead of tips in this section, we have outlined the pros and cons to outsourcing your social media management.

The Cons

1) Losing Authenticity
If you decide to outsource your social media management, your business is at risk of losing the authenticity that you once built. Authentic voice, tone and style aren’t easy things to replicate.
2) Slower Response Rate
Outsourcing also creates a wall between yourself and your audience. Previously, your customers had a direct line to your business if there was something wrong. Now if they contact you on social, they have to go through your agency or consultant in order to get your help in handling their concern.
3) Another Layer of Complexity
Often, keeping things simple is the best way to keep a handle on your marketing efforts. By outsourcing your social media management, it adds a layer between you and your social accounts, and prevents you from running an agile marketing plan.

The Pros

1) More Time For Your Business
The most obvious advantage of outsourcing your social media management is the time it saves you. These extra minutes leave you time to focus on other aspects of your company.
2) Valuable Expertise
If you outsource your social media management to an agency or marketing professional the expertise knowledge they bring to the table can be invaluable.
3) It helps you scale
If don’t have the capacity to manage your own social media, outsourcing provides you with instant access to manpower. The best part is you can still stay in the loop with a tool like Hootsuite, which allows agencies and business to collaborate.

Challenge #7: There are so many social networks out there—how do I know which one to use?

Knowing the purpose of the social networks you own allows you to know exactly what to post to each.  With this in mind, the following is an overview of the main social networks. Once you understand what the playing field is like, you can choose which specific networks you would like to focus your attention on.

Facebook


Facebook has over 1.3 billion users. Facebook users come from every demographic, using the friends and coworkers. Facebook also has a specific place for businesses called Pages. Facebook Pages can  help create awareness, generate excitement for campaigns, and keep the conversation going with your customers. You can also use your Facebook Page as a hub for you customers. Often Facebook pages are also uses as an avenue for customer service or product feedback.



Twitter

Twitter is an open social network with over 232 million users. People converse in short messages (favourite celebrities, people are using Twitter to connect with individuals and brands. Twitter profiles are exactly the same for everyone, meaning there aren’t separate pages for businesses. Keeping in mind the mere fact that the network’s approach to social media as a whole is a test in brevity, your Twitter profile also should be kept clear and simple. Use Twitter as a place where you can build relationships with your audience, share content and make professional connections. Don’t just use Twitter as a sales platform; rather, share valuable stories and use it a place where customers can connect with you directly.
Tweets) of 140 characters or less.

Google+

Google+ is a fast growing social network with over 300 million active users. The majority of users are young professionals, but this is changing as more businesses are using Google+ Pages as a way to market their brand. Because Google+ profiles have a role in Google search results of your name or brand, it is important to make sure your company has a solid presence on Google+. This way you can leverage Google+ Pages to enhance your discoverability on Google. Also, Google+ is a part of the Google family, use their other tools like Google Hangouts as a video chat forum to connect directly with your customers, coworkers, or new connections.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is known as a professional network, with over 250 million members. Individual professionals use LinkedIn to grow their network and explore career opportunities, while brands and businesses can expand their online presence through LinkedIn Company Pages. If you business has a LinkedIn Company Page, your customers can follow you and stay up to date with your latest news, product updates and/or industry best practices. Use a LinkedIn Page to connect with the largest online network of job seekers, employees, potential customers, and partners. LinkedIn is also a great place to establish your brand’s industry expertise.

Pinterest

With over 70 million users and over 2.5 billion monthly page views, Pinterest provides significant value to businesses looking for a simple tool that engages customers effectively. A highly visual Pinterest, is to host user-generated content contests. For example, with photo-pinning contests, get your followers to pin photos showcasing creative uses your products. This not only creates direct connections between you and specific customers, it also encourages them to focus on using your product.
platform, Pinterest allows you to organize images and videos into personalized visual collections, known as Pinboards. You can also browse through public pins and follow boards created by other users. One effective way to use








Saturday, November 14, 2015

Technology and Small Business :Cloud, mobile and security in 2016

Posted on 11:14 AMby


Cloud, mobile and security top the list of technology trends in small business again for
the coming year. But this is no business-as-usual report; these trends come with refined twists that pack a wallop. In other words, it's not just about using cloud and mobile; it's about data convergence and reimagined work. And while security earns intensified focus this year, it also comes with new mandates from some of your biggest customers.

Here's what you need to know about cloud computing, mobile and security to stay on top of new business demands and opportunities in 2016.

1. Small Business Trends in Cloud Computing

It's no secret that small businesses are flocking to the cloud. Indeed, 92 percent of
small businesses use at least one cloud business solution, according to SMB Group analyst Laurie McCabe's blog post.

The most common use of the cloud thus far is subscription software. Increasingly, small businesses subscribe to software rather than purchasing it outright and installing it on company computers.

Subscription software, otherwise known as Software-as-a-Service or SaaS, not only reduces the cash outlay for software, but it also lets you and your employees remotely access the data from home office desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

While small businesses pay more over the life of the subscription than they would if they purchased the software outright, the monthly "rental" model is easier on cash flow, includes automatic software updates, and places the onus of IT maintenance on the vendor rather than the small business owner. The "use anywhere on any device" flexibility also untethers SMB owners and workers from their desks, which increases both productivity levels and workflow options.

But that's just the beginning.


Subscription software whetted the SMB appetite for more remote access to the company data. This year will see more SMBs moving data to the cloud precisely for that purpose. Both plentiful and cheap, cloud storage makes adding hardware to the company data center an unpalatable choice in most cases. Although some companies use a hybrid approach—wherein some data resides in the cloud and other data in the companies' on-premises servers—primarily as an additional security measure.

Small businesses are also turning to the cloud for infrastructure services. "Eighty-seven percent use at least one cloud infrastructure solution," says McCabe in her post.

"In 2015, cloud solutions are poised for hockey stick growth as more SMB decision-makers turn to a cloud-first approach that not only supports existing business models, but also enables them to develop innovative new products, services and business models."

All of these changes will result in the restructuring and repurposing of small business IT staff. According to McCabe, this is the year that "SMB IT staff and channel partners evolve into cloud managers."

In a statement to the press Steve King, of Emergent Research and co-author of a joint Intuit report, Small Business Success in the Cloud, said:

"Today, the U.S. and global economy is going through a series of shifts and changes that are reshaping the economic landscape. In this new landscape, many people are using the power of the cloud to re-imagine the idea of small business and create new, innovative models that work for their needs."


How the Cloud has Redefined Small Business



But the cloud isn't just making work easier and more productive; it's changing how small businesses attack business opportunities and threats too. According to an Intuit study, small businesses that find great success in the cloud fall in four broad categories:

Plug-in Players

Small businesses will increasingly adapt to the cloud by taking advantage of specialized services that they can seamlessly integrate into back-office operations. Instead of spending time and effort on the nuts-and-bolts of finance, marketing and human resources, cloud-adapted small businesses will plug into cloud-based providers who deliver comprehensive, tailored solutions, giving small business operators the ability to focus on mission-critical areas of business.

Hives

Cloud-adapted small businesses will increasingly be made up of individuals who share talent to form a team. These businesses will operate virtually, with employees working in different locations, and increasingly flexible staffing levels will rise and fall to meet project needs. For example, independent contractors will use virtual spaces to connect and market themselves. On Main Street, small manufacturers and producers may share a commercial facility.

Head-to-Headers 

A growing number of cloud-adapted small businesses will compete head-to-head with major firms, using the growing number of platforms and plug-in services to reach markets once only accessible to large corporations. This is already happening with platforms such as AirBnB, which provide individuals with the ability to reach a mass market through community infrastructure.

Portfolioists

Successful cloud-adapted freelancers will bring together multiple income streams to create a career portfolio. These largely will be people who start with a passion, or a specific skill. They're motivated primarily by the desire to live and work according to their values, passions, and convictions. They will increasingly build personal empires in the cloud, finding previously unseen opportunities for revenue generation.

2. The Convergence of Mobile, Cloud and Data

Small business data is on the move—thanks to the cloud—and mobile devices provide far more than a standard means of communication. Two prime trends breaking on this front: mobile payments and using geo-location in mobile advertising
and marketing.

"We're seeing the use of geo-location—meaning pushing out ads to people within a given radius of a business," says Ken Wisnefski, founder and CEO of internet marketer, WebiMax. "It used to be a difficult prospect to incorporate people's vicinity to your business into your Internet marketing and advertising campaigns. But social media makes this simple and cheap, for example using Facebook's Local Awareness Ad product, you can create ad campaigns for as little as $5 a day."

In short, mobile isn't just about getting your work done; it's about attracting customers to your business in myriad ways, too.

Mobile payments are on the upswing too, in ways that go beyond the usual services such as Swipe, Square, Dwolla, and PayPass. New services, such as Apple Pay, require that small businesses have a POS system that supports the NFC chip. It will be awhile before the mobile payment services industry goes through a shakeout that will shorten the list of options an SMB must accommodate. For now, Current trends in mobile payment options mean that accepting mobile payments in almost any form is essential.

Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) programs are on the rise in small businesses, too. But these days, small businesses want to store company data in the cloud rather than on mobile devices to increase data protection should devices be lost, stolen or broken. It's also easier to block a former employee from accessing company data that way.

"A growing majority of small businesses now regard mobile solutions as essential business enablers, with 60 percent saying that mobile solutions are critical to their business," says McCabe. "Eighty-six percent of SMBs agree or strongly agree that mobile apps are a complement to traditional business applications, and 71 percent believe that mobile apps will replace some traditional solutions entirely."

As mobile and data converge, rather than operate as two independent tools, they become more central to how business is done. And this, of course, requires renewed attention to security.

3. Security: A Top Priority, But SMBs Lag Behind


While small businesses notoriously assume that they're too small to attract cybercriminals, the opposite is true. Hackers often view SMBs as the best entry points to a larger organization. That was the case in the infamous Target breach, where hackers gained access to Target's data via an unprotected small company's access to Target's vendor portal.

But access to big companies is not the only appeal in attacking smaller companies.

"The cost of entry into an organization for a cybercriminal is decreasing and commercialization of malware and advanced persistent threats (APT) in particular grow at a rapid pace," says Mark Bermingham, director of global B2B marketing at Kaspersky Lab.  "As a result, small businesses will see attacks from a wider range of sources."

"However, small businesses today are not very aware of this trend and are extremely vulnerable to an attack," he added. "Small businesses need to be aware that cybercriminals, especially as malware actors become more prevalent, will follow the path of least resistance. In addition, the concept of the cyber-mercenary is very real today. As a result, we expect to see larger operations and more surgical strikes against small businesses."

Because of this cybercriminal shift in focus, SMBs can expect their customers, particularly customers that are big companies, to insist that they meet security standards. SMBs that cannot prove they have adequate and reliable security measures in place will lose business in droves this year.

That's the year ahead. Are you prepared for it?

Monday, November 2, 2015

Twitter Town Hall

Posted on 9:36 AMby

Introduction to Twitter Town Hall

Organisations, municipalities and Businesses can use a Twitter town hall to engage with their clients.  This is the venue wherein various groups and agencies will invite online users in a public gathering at a specified time. If you are not sure what a twitter townhall experience looks like, view the video below where Twitter hosted a town Hall for President Obama. There are other such examples available on youtube

In the given meeting, online users can be free to ask questions and acquire information regarding a specific topic on the social media site. The idea is for interested parties, as well as the public, to gather and share information in a town hall setup. Questions are labeled with a hashtag so everyone knows it's specific to the event. The questions will also be forwarded to the agency so that it can address each one properly. The answering party can make use of various methods to reply to the questions in a way that will be viewable to the parties concerned. The Twitter town hall is unique from regular messaging and posting since specific issues and topics are addressed by the main parties involved. The concerned public can directly delve on related issues and get straight answers from the group or individual. Twitter chat has proven to be an effective and quick-acting tool that helps organizations spread information, as well as get in touch with the public for various objectives and programs.

Starting a Twitter Town Hall

When planning to start a Twitter town hall, there are key steps to follow. First, promote the activity by choosing a host and then sharing the information a few weeks in advance. Some of the methods to quickly let concerned parties know about the schedule and hashtag include tweeting regularly, writing blogs and using other social media tools. The engagement should also clearly indicate the objectives and policies. Define the topic well so that questions and discussions will only dwell on the real issues. Before and during the event, live chat must be supported and all the people involved must communicate to ensure that the agency and public only relates to the hashtag. Continue updating the information by posting blogs and related information days before the event. Assess the success of the Twitter town hall by making a checklist of the objectives that were successfully reached, the number of people who participated and the response time
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

.

.