Mitigate Social Media Security Risk

Throughout the course when have a lot of information on how Social Media can be an effective and profitable way to engage customers and build communities. However, as with everything in life with the rewards comes the risks and Social Media is no accepting to this. Take a look at the video below that features two of the biggest Hollywood mogul.

Social Media Risks 

There are many security risks that target social media. Some of these risks include:

• Stolen Passwords- One of the simplest but mostly costly security issues is stolen social media account passwords. If someone uses a stolen password to log in and change the company accounts, this creates a major hassle for your company while you try to manage a PR crisis and revert your accounts back to their original state.
• Hacked Accounts-When your account access is compromised.

• Ransomware and Virus Attacks-Ransomware describes a variety of malicious software that block access to a computer system until a sum of money (a ransom) is paid.
• Phishing & Brand Impersonation- Phishing typically involves setting up a website that resembles that of the company whose customers are targeted as part of the phishing attack. The idea is to convince the individuals that the website belongs to the trusted company, such as the person’s bank, so that the victim reveals sensitive information.
• Third-party apps- Even if you have your own social accounts on lockdown, hackers may be able to gain access through vulnerabilities in third-party apps that integrate with the big social networks.
• Human error- Everyone makes mistakes. In today’s busy world, it is all too easy for an employee to accidentally expose the company to threats online. Something as simple as clicking on the wrong link or downloading the wrong file could wreak havoc.
• Unattended social media accounts- Idle social accounts can be the target of hackers, who could start posting fraudulent messages under your name. Knowing the account is unmonitored, once they gain control, they could send anything from false information that’s damaging to your business to virus-infected links that cause serious problems for followers. And you won’t even notice until your customers start coming to you for help.

Social Media Security Tips and Best Practices

Now that these risks have been identified the business must be proactive to mitigate them. The following should be informs by all businesses on Social Media:

• Create a social media policy- If your business is using social media or getting ready to you need a social media policy. These guidelines outline how your business and its employees should use social media responsibly. This will not only protect your from security threats, but bad PR or legal trouble as well.
• Train your staff on social media security best practices- Even the best social media policy won’t protect your organization if your employees don’t follow it. While your policy should be easy to understand, training will give employees the chance to engage, ask questions, and get a sense of how important it is to follow. These training sessions are also an opportunity to review the latest threats on social, and talk about whether there are any sections of the policy that need updating.
• Limit social media access- While you may be focused on threats coming from outside your organization, research has found that employees are more likely to cause cyber security incidents than are hackers. Limiting access to your social accounts is the best way to keep them secure. You may have whole teams of people working on social media messaging, post creation, or customer service. But that doesn’t mean everyone needs the ability to post. And it doesn’t mean that everyone needs to know the passwords to your social accounts.
• Set up a system of approvals for social posts- You can use varies tools (eg. Hootsuite) to give employees or contractors the ability to draft messages, preparing them so they’re all set to post at the press of a button. But leave that last button press to a trusted person on your team.
• Put someone in charge- This may seem like a given measure for a business to implement but many small businesses overlook it. Designating a key person as the eyes and ears of your social presence can go a long way towards mitigating risks. This person should own your social media policy, monitor your brand’s social presence, and determine who has publishing access.
• Monitor your accounts and engage in social listening- As mentioned in the risk, unattended social accounts are ripe for hacking. Keep an eye on all of your social channels. It can be a good idea to reserve your brand’s handle on all social media channels, even if you don’t plan to use them all right away. This allows you to maintain a consistent presence across networks, making it easy for people to find you. But it’s important not to ignore the accounts you don’t use yet, those that you’ve stopped using, or those you don’t use often
• Invest in security technology- No matter how close an eye you keep on your social channels, you can’t monitor them 24 hours a days but software can. Solutions such as ZeroFOX which is featured in the video above will automatically alert you of security risks.
• Perform a regular audit- Social media security threats are constantly changing. Hackers are always coming up with new strategies, and new scams and viruses can emerge at any time. Scheduling regular audits of your social media security measures will help keep you ahead of the bad actors.

Yes, Social Media is a very effective and profitable that businesses can utilize. However, there are security risks involved which can be mitigated by using the security tips and best practices outlined above. So in hindsight Social Media is benefit to businesses only if the risks are identified, mitigated, managed and monitored.

DO YOU THINK BUSINESSES PAY ENOUGH ATTENTION TO THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA SECURITY?

Let me know in the comment section your thoughts.

Sources:

Church, J. (9th March, 2018). Business 2 Community. 7 Social Media Security Issues Your Business Faces. Retrieved December 4th, 2018 from https://www.business2community.com/cybersecurity/7-social-media-security-issues-business-faces-02024378

 

Canva, making life simple again.

Throughout this course I have been required to build online platforms such as Twitter, Instagram,LinkedIn and this fantastic blog channel, and also promo them. Due to my lack  of  experience in the graphic design department I was dreading these activities. However, thankful our lecturer through a lifeline to us by including Canva in the content creation lecture. 

You maybe asking yourself what is Canva? 

Well look no further cause the answer is here. 

Canva is an easy to use website and tool to create graphics. Canva is loaded with easy to use features and functionality that anyone can create with a variety of engaging content that gets shared. 

Canva for me was a lifesaver and change my life forever. (That sounds so dramatic) Have a look at the image above created be me with Canva.

As you can see below, Canva really offers a variety of content types. From pre-sized social media image and header templates to marketing materials, documents, presentations, invitations and ads, you’ll find almost everything you need. However, if you don't then you can create a custom design.

If you thought Canva couldn't get any better will think again because it has an APP, I repeat it has a Canva app.

So say goodbye to the days of having to Google to find the closest design temple you want when with Canva you can get the exact design. 

So to sum it up with Canva you can design anything and post it anywhere.

Don't believe me them try Canva for yourself.

Let me know in the comment section you experience with using Canva.

Sources:

Canva. https://about.canva.com/

My relationship with Facebook

Facebook being the first social media platform it's obviously one of the topics covered in the Digital Marketing course. However, the way I view Facebook now is not the same as when I first joined. Being a naive teenage I joined Facebook as it was the "it" thing at the time 12 years ago (that made me feel so old, lol). Just entering High School all my new friends were on this thing call Facebook so of course I have to go with the wave (smh). I used it as a tool to communicate with my friends after school hours, view their pictures/videos, sharing my thoughts/opinions of how "hard" life was as a High School student little did I know that College was going to humble that thought, and even played games such as Farmville. According Statista, seem like I was not along see the image below.

I never give a  second thought that it could be used for so much more. Now thankfully I am better educated on the uses of Facebook not just for personal use but also for business use. Some of the uses of Facebook for business are:

• Help you connect with you existing customers
• Increased exposure to potential customers
• Gather more leads
• Reach a target audience
• Increase web traffic
• Measure performance using Facebook insights
• Help build brand awareness
• Boost Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Being Mobile ready
• Bench-marking

This are just some of the uses of Facebook for business.

Can you think of any other? 

Let me know in the comment section. 

Sources

Richter, F. The Statistic Portal. Retrieved 23th November, 2018.       From https://www.statista.com/chart/1572/main-reasons-to-use-facebook/

Ayres, S. Ten Top Benefits of Facebook Business Page. Retrieved 23th November, 2018. From   https://www.postplanner.com/top-10-benefits-facebook-business-page/

Why Brand Your Business?

One of the lectures covered during the Digital Marketing course is Branding. In any industry branding is important as it is more that just the logo or identity of the company by what makes it unique. Most of the markets today have become so competitive that Branding is the only way that a business can set itself apart form its competitors. 

What makes you special?

Consumers need to be able to identify your business point of difference which adds the sense that their are not just receiving a product or serve but much more. Branding allows the business to form a relationship with the consumers as it instills the following attributes: 

• a sense of belong

• security

• a product or service that cannot be received by another brand

• guarantee of good quality and source

Some of the advantages of branding and building a strong brand are:

1. Customer recognition. Having a strong brand works to build customer recognition. This means when a customer is shopping for a particular product or considering a company to perform a service, they recognize your company in the running. Consumers are far more likely to choose a brand that they recognize over something unfamiliar, even if they don’t know a great deal about your company at the time.
2. Competitive edge in market. Your brand is what differentiates you in the marketplace. When customers recognize and back your brand, it helps lend a competitive edge to your company. The more recognition you receive and the more you build your brand, the more you will find that your brand elevates and is competitive with other well-known brands.
3. Easy introduction of new products. When you already have a strong brand and loyal customers, it is often easier and less expensive to introduce new products or test them out before you further invest in them. If you have a loyal brand following, your customers will often be interested in your new products and even anticipate them being released.
4. Customer loyalty and shared values. The recognition and elevation that a strong brand builds upon all lend to greater customer loyalty. Customers are attracted to brands that they share values with. When you build a strong brand, you need to convey these values to build an emotional connection with customers. Brand loyalty often lasts a lifetime and even transfers to future generations.
5. Enhanced credibility and ease of purchase. Having a strong, well-known brand enhances your credibility with customers, your industry, and the marketplace as a whole. As you build your credibility, you also build recognition, loyalty, and competitiveness. Everything goes hand-in-hand, and you’ll find that your credibility has a direct connection to customers ease of purchase. We want to buy from companies we like, know, and trust. If you’re brand is credible, you’re far more likely to get the sale.

Can you think of any other advantages of Branding?

Comment you answers down below.

Sources:

The Hartford. Mature Business Playbook. Retrieved 20th November, 2018. from https://www.thehartford.com/business-playbook/in-depth/advantages-strong-brand-equity

Digital marketing, what and why?

Traditional marketing have been a key factor for many businesses success in the past but through innovation new marketing trends were developed. Known to us today as the digital world, which has become so dominate that marketer had to find a new approach to marketing and a new understanding of customer behavior. Hence, digital marketing was born.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is the marketing of products or services using digital channels to reach consumers http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=digital-marketing. Using various forms of digital media to promote brands is its key objective.

Digital marketing does not only mean internet marketing by also extends to not internet requires channel. It includes the following:

• Mobile phones (SMS and MMS)
• Social media marketing
• Display advertising
• Search engine marketing
• Any other form of digital media

Why use digital marketing?

1. Businesses can use digital marketing to reaches people where they spend their time and money. 

In 2018, the average internet user has at least 7 social media accounts. The trend currently is the average person spends over 2 hours  day on social media. they spend around 37% of this time interacting with branded content. 

So people are on social media but do they buy?

People said one of the top 10 reasons that they're on social media is to buy products advertised to them.

2. Levels the playing field for small or new business

It's difficult for small or new businesses to compete with the brand recognition or the millions that large businesses put into marketing and reputation management. This is were the importance of digital marketing come into play as it allows smaller businesses to compete with a much smaller advertising budget. When managed effectively, it gives them control over where and how they spend their money. The small businesses have control and he data to support decisions will result in better and smarter decision making.

3. More target

Digital marketing allows business to target their desired audience. In terms of search advertising it also business to target people will specifics such as:

• Goal
• Challenge
• Profession
• Education level
• Buying behavior

4. Can be personalized

Another important part of digital marketing is email marketing, this can target almost down to the individual level.  According to MailChimp's extensive data, 72% of consumers prefer that businesses use email to communicate as it gives them a sense of control which makes them more comfortable to buy from a business. 

5. More advance analysis

With digital marketing you can analysis the ads or campaigns you business ran as follows:

• Number of persons that viewed the ad
• If they interacted with it
• If they liked it
• If they shared it with a friend
• If it promoted another action
• If it led to a sale eventually

You can also learn more about the people interacting with the ad:

• Who's most interested in your ads
• What are they like
• What makes them more likely to take an action
• Who is easiest to convert
• Who spends more
• What do they do online
• What terms do they use to find you online
• Which websites did they visit that lead them to yours

References

Financial Times. Defination of Digital Marketing. Retrieved from 

http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=digital-marketing

Sean. (2018).  The importance of digital marketing. Retrieved from https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/importance-of-digital-marketing/

Ranger, R. (2017). MailChiimp Email Marketing Metrics. Retieved from (https://www.rankranger.com/blog/mailchimp-reports-marketing-dashboard