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Social Media: How Secure Are Our Data

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Social Media: How Secure Are Our Data

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Social media plays a vital role in our lives. It keeps us connected to our friends and family, helps us stay up-to-date on current events, and allows us to express ourselves creatively. 

As more and more social media platforms store data, securing our accounts and protecting our information is increasingly important. Managed IT Services Alpharetta can help you do just that. 

Securing your data and backing up your account information can help you avoid the headache of having your account hacked or compromised. In addition, they can also help you monitor your account activity and keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. 

So don’t wait until it’s too late – make sure to secure your social media data today.

How Secure Are Our Data In Social Media

As we share more and more personal information online, the question of data security is becoming increasingly important.

Many high-profile data breaches in recent years have involved some of the biggest social media platforms. As a result, many people are concerned about the safety of their data when using social media. 

While it is impossible to guarantee that your data will never be breached, there are several steps you can take to reduce the risk. For example, you can choose to only share information with trusted friends and family members, and you can be careful about the amount of information you share online. 

You can also regularly check the privacy settings on your social media accounts to ensure that only people you trust can access your data.

Is Social Media Bad For Your Data Security?

Information shared on social media platforms is often not secure, and unauthorized individuals can access it. Additionally, social media companies often collect user activity data and use it for marketing purposes. 

This information can include sensitive personal details that could be used to exploit users. As a result, it is important to be aware of the risks of using social media and take steps to protect your data. 

You can do several things to secure your data when using social media, such as limiting the amount of information you share, being careful about what you click on, and only sharing information with trusted contacts. Taking these precautions can help keep your data secure and minimize the risk of identity theft or other cyber crimes.

Is Social Media Good For Your Data Security?

Though it may seem counterintuitive, social media can be good for your data security. By sharing information on social media, you can create what is known as a “digital fingerprint.” 

This fingerprint can help to secure your data by providing a record of who has accessed it and when. In addition, you can use social media to monitor for potential security breaches. 

By tracking the activity of your account, you can quickly spot any suspicious activity and take steps to secure your data. In short, social media can be an essential tool for protecting your information.

It would be best if you got in the habit of protecting security and privacy because both are linked. 

Will deleting your social media account help prevent your data from getting compromised?

In the wake of recent data breaches, many people are wondering if deleting their social media accounts is the best way to secure their data. 

While it is true that social media companies have been careless with user data in the past, it is important to consider the benefits that social media can provide before making a decision. 

For example, people use social media to stay in touch with friends and family, share important news, or join online communities. In addition, social media can be a valuable tool for networking and career building. 

Deleting your social media account is not the best way to secure your data. Instead, it is important to be selective about what information you share on social media and ensure that your privacy settings are up to date. 

By taking these precautions, you can help to ensure that your data remains secure.

Secure Your Browsing

Protecting your web browsing is more important than ever in today’s digital world. Your data is under constant attack from hackers and cybercriminals, and you could easily become a victim if you’re not careful. 

One way to protect yourself is to use a secure web browser. A secure web browser uses encryption to protect your data from prying eyes. 

Additionally, secure web browsers often have built-in security features that can help to prevent you from accidentally sharing your data with third-party websites. Social media is another big reason to protect your web browsing. 

If you’re not careful, sharing too much information on social media is easy, leading to identity theft or other problems. By using a secure web browser, you can help to keep your data safe and secure.

 

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Like, Follow, Buy Now: Harnessing the Power of Local Payments in Social Commerce

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A staggering 3.8 billion people use social media, around half the internet users worldwide. With these figures in mind, social media giants are eager to reach digitally connected consumers and monetize their userbases. Gone are the days where social media was simply a place to see what friends were doing and give them a ‘like.’ With the likes of TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram leading the charge, purchasing products online is now as easy as liking a friend’s post. In fact, with over one in three global shoppers having made a purchase on social media in the past year – social media is rapidly becoming the new online marketplace of choice.

However, whilst a good tool for attracting customers, social commerce must work hand in hand with digital payments to truly unlock success. Converting browsers to buyers on social media will rely heavily on a brand’s ability to offer a range of local payment methods at the checkout.

A growing opportunity for merchants

In the US, by the age of 12, most children have access to a social media account, but that’s not to say that this is the only audience social media is appealing to. Senior citizens in the US are the fastest-growing group of Facebook users, with numbers doubling between 2019 and 2021, indicating a lucrative opportunity for merchants appealing to a broad range of demographics.

In fact, Facebook is certainly leading the pack when it comes to social media – with over 2.7 billion monthly active users worldwide. For European regions such as Italy, the pandemic has also contributed to the explosion of social media usage. Time spent on Facebook’s suite of apps rose 70% in March 2020 – indicating the potential for social commerce uptake as people acclimatize to using these platforms to access shopping, entertainment, and communication.

For China, however, a country where the likes of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are blocked to consumers, sites such as Tencent, WeChat, and Weibo have been attracting millions of users, making China one of the biggest social media markets in the world. With multiple demographics across the globe now engaged with social media channels and more than comfortable with shopping online, the opportunity for merchants to trade on these platforms is greater than ever before.

Unlocking the power of social commerce

Because of the extensive reach and the power social media holds, brands embracing social commerce can scale rapidly. Everyone can do it, from international companies to individuals selling their goods on Instagram. But, it’s much more than just adding a ‘Buy Now’ button. Whilst social media platforms certainly have the power to unlock online and cross-border growth, the process will not be successful if merchants do not operate with consumer payment preferences in mind.

To enable a seamless transaction through social media channels, merchants and payment service providers (PSPs) need to take a highly customized and localized approach to digital payments. Consumers have become accustomed to choice when it comes to online payments – from buy now, pay later (BNPL) offerings such as Klarna to increasingly popular bank transfer payments such as Pay by Bank App or Trustly. Because of this, expectations around payment preferences have skyrocketed in recent years. So much so that 44% of UK consumers will abandon a purchase if their favourite payment method isn’t available. To ignore this when selling through social channels would be a huge mistake and a missed opportunity for retailers operating on these platforms.

A global strategy with local payments at its core

Whilst digital payments have the power to unlock the true power of social commerce, integrating a diverse portfolio of payment methods is no easy task. Although merchants are becoming increasingly aware of the need for a social strategy with local payments at its core, the cost and complexities associated with such integrations are acting as a major barrier for businesses. In fact, for smaller e-commerce players especially, local payment options may feel completely out of reach.

To overcome this, merchants and payment service providers are increasingly turning to infrastructure providers to meet the demands of global consumers. Partnerships of this kind mean that merchants and PSPs can take advantage of payments technology and on-the-ground local market knowledge.

Speed to market is everything in today’s digital-first retail era and merchants that are able to get up and running with a diverse acceptance of the right local payment methods quickly will be able to take strides ahead of the competition.

Those that neglect to consider the importance of local payments will see themselves fall short ahead of their competitors and lose access to thousands of potential customers.

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Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, Uncategorized

10 Mistakes Online Shop Owners Make

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Supplied makes it easier for small boutique owners around the world to access high-quality, affordable wholesale boutique items, whether to stock their physical store or IG shop.

As a brand new boutique owner, you’ve got things pretty much under control… but experience is the best teacher, and you don’t have a whole lot of that under your belt yet. If you’re not careful, you’re at risk of making one (or more!) of the 10 mistakes online shop owners make without even knowing it until it’s way, way too late.

You’ve basically got two options – you can learn the hard way, or you can learn from other people who have learned the hard way.

Whether you’ve already started an online boutique or you’re planning on starting an online shop in 2021, you’re bound to get some things wrong the first time. Making mistakes is a crucial part of being an entrepreneur, and as much as you may like to believe you’re superwoman, you’re only human. And you can come back from most mistakes even stronger than before. But doing the right thing the first time whenever possible could save you hours of time you’ll never get back (and not to mention loads of $$!)

We’ll go over 10 mistakes online shop owners make when they’re getting started and what you can do to avoid them. (You’ve got this!)

1. Not having a business plan

If you don’t have a plan, you’re planning to fail. Before you start your online boutique (or at least very early on!), you’ve got to make sure your boutique is on the right track to make money. Take the time to identify the opportunity, the market, your competition, your ideal customer, what you’ll sell, and your plan to become profitable. (Chances are, you’ve already done most of the heavy lifting to identify those things, but writing it all down will help you stay on track!)

To learn more about how to create a business plan for your boutique, click here.

2. Pricing their items too high

High prices may be good for your margins… but they might have the opposite effect on your revenue. Pricing your items too high can alienate more price-sensitive customers. It can also make you less able to compete with similar businesses, causing casual browsers to click away and look elsewhere.

3. Pricing their items too low

On the other hand, pricing your items too low can also be a big mistake. Setting super low prices can lower the perceived value of your products and make them seem cheap, even if they’re high quality. Plus, setting your prices so low that they don’t cover your costs can even cause you to lose money… and that’s pretty much always a mistake!

To learn more about how to price your wholesale boutique items, click here. 

4. Stressing over the details

You’ll have plenty of time to tweak things, but to get started, there are only a few things you NEED. You know, like products and a place to sell them! Sure, it’d be great to have the perfect logo and branded packaging and a business phone number… but those things can wait. The key is getting started and focusing on the things that are directly tied to profit in the beginning.

For a handy checklist of everything you need to do to launch an online boutique, click here.

5. Neglecting customer service

It’s way easier (and more cost-effective) to retain a customer than it is to find a new one. All you need to do is to keep them happy and make sure they have an amazing experience with your shop. It can lead to future purchases, good reviews, and even referrals. So be responsive to your customers and go above and beyond for them, especially if you make a mistake.

6. Trying to focus on all social platforms

No need to do it all for Facebook, IG, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, AND TikTok – you’ll burn out pretty quickly. It’s good to have a presence on a lot of different platforms, but there’s no need to treat them all equally. Build a customized audience with a small budget by zeroing in on the platform where your audience spends the most time.

To learn more about how to leverage different social platforms to grow your online shop, click here.

7. Trying to do everything on their own

Hate to break it to you, but you can’t do everything by yourself. Spreading yourself too thin will only cause you to feel burnt out and overwhelmed. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether by hiring a part-time employee, delegating marketing responsibilities to a freelancer, or hiring a nanny for a few hours a day.

For more tips on how to avoid burnout while running your own business, click here.

8. Forgetting to focus on marketing

It doesn’t matter how awesome your products are if no one ever sees them! You’ve got to have a strategic marketing plan from day one. Don’t skimp on this – you can do it yourself, but it’ll often be more efficient and cost-effective if you leave it to the experts.

For more boutique marketing tips, click here.

9. Not asking people who have been there before

You’re not the only one who’s ever started an online business from scratch. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people who have been there before and ask them questions. Build a network that’s full of people you trust and can relate to. The Supplied Family Facebook group is a great place to start.

To join the Supplied Family Facebook group, click here. 

10. Failing to fully commit

We won’t lie to you – building your own boutique from the ground up is going to be really hard. It might be a while before you see the success you were hoping for. Don’t give up once it gets difficult. Press forward and do whatever it takes to reach your goals. That’s what separates the dreamers from the doers.

We have total faith in you! With the right attitude, tools, and mindset, it’s possible to join the ranks of thousands of successful female entrepreneurs and build a profitable online shop. As you steer clear of these common pitfalls, you’ll be able to spend your time moving forward instead of looking backward.

_________________________________________________________________

By: Joseph Heller, small businesses expert and CEO of SuppliedShop.com. 

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

TikTok Legal Drama Continues to Unfold Across Multiple Courtrooms and Federal Agencies

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The Trump Administration has encountered further setbacks in its efforts to prevent Chinese company ByteDance Ltd. (“ByteDance”) from providing its popular social media app TikTok in the U.S. For background:

On August 6, 2020, President Trump issued Executive Order 13942 (“EO 13942”) which: (i) determined that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok threatened U.S. national security, and (ii) imposed a prohibition which was originally scheduled to go into effect on September 20, 2020, and would have prohibited U.S. persons from transacting with ByteDance pursuant to forthcoming rules to be adopted by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

On August 14, 2020, President Trump issued a separate Administrative Order which formally initiated the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) process forcing ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok. ByteDance’s original deadline for completing this CFIUS divestment was November 12, 2020.

On September 24, 2020, the U.S. Commerce Department (“Commerce”) published a Federal Register notice to implement EO 13942’s required rules. Specifically, Commerce’s rules prohibited U.S. app stores from distributing TikTok as of September 27, 2020, and also prohibited U.S. persons from providing internet hosting services to TikTok effective November 12, 2020.

On September 27, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a nationwide preliminary injunction to prohibit the enforcement of the portion of the Commerce rules which would have prohibited U.S. app stores from distributing TikTok. In response, Commerce issued a statement confirming that it would comply with this injunction (see our previous post here).

On October 30, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania considered separate litigation initiated by three TikTok content creators and issued its own separate injunction to prohibit Commerce from enforcing the entirety of proposed EO 13942 rules (including the additional prohibitions which were scheduled to take effect on November 12, 2020).

Late last week, Commerce issued a notice confirming that it would not be implementing the proposed rules for EO 13942 “pending further legal developments.” ByteDance continues to negotiate its proposed divestment of TikTok to Oracle in order to comply with President Trump’s CFIUS Administrative Order. Although ByteDance did not complete this divestment by the November 12, 2020 deadline, recent filings by TikTok with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia indicate that CFIUS has agreed to extend the divestment deadline until November 27, 2020.

For the time being, U.S. app stores may continue to distribute TikTok and U.S. service providers may continue to provide TikTok with internet hosting and other services while the injunctions issued by the U.S. District Courts for the District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania remain outstanding.

___________________________________________________________________

Grant Leach is an Omaha-based partner with the law firm Husch Blackwell LLP focusing on international trade, export controls, trade sanctions and anti-corruption compliance.

Nithya Nagarajan is a Washington-based partner with the law firm Husch Blackwell LLP. She practices in the International Trade & Supply Chain group of the firm’s Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation industry team.

Camron Greer is an Assistant Trade Analyst in Husch Blackwell LLP’s Washington D.C. office.

Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

Global Trade Magazine Provides Logistics Marketers Specialized Platform

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The marketing team at Global Trade Magazine announced the launch of their latest logistics-focused research project earlier this week, catering specifically to industry advertisers in need of results-oriented solutions for marketing challenges.

To support efforts in identifying the most common roadblocks and challenges, Global Trade Magazine is conducting a survey tailored specifically for logistics-focused advertisers for the upcoming year.

“We want to continue to adapt and refine our media channels to align with the goals and needs of logistics companies,” said Marketing Director Brooke Edwards. “If you are an advertiser or media buyer for this industry, we would appreciate your help in providing us with insight into your plans to advertise in the future.”

The survey will be available until November 17th and responses are kept confidential. As a small “thank you” for completing the survey, all participants will be entered to win a $250 Amazon gift card as well as a Global Trade sponsored podcast (valued at $3,950) for their company.

To take the survey, click here.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

The Largest Data Breaches in U.S. History

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COVID-19 has led to major changes to daily life for Americans, including a shift toward remote and at-home work. While these changes have led to more flexible working conditions for employees, they have also increased data security risks. New data from the Federal Trade Commission and the Identity Theft Resource Center indicates that heightened security risks brought on by more remote work are of particular concern when considering that data breach and identity theft reports doubled between 2014 and 2019.

Certain sectors are more vulnerable to data breaches than others. In 2019, the largest number of breaches occurred in the business and healthcare sectors, at 644 and 525 total data breaches, respectively. The business sector has become increasingly vulnerable to data security issues, as breaches in this sector increased by nearly 150 percent between 2014 and 2019. In contrast, data security remains strongest in the banking and government sectors, both of which saw a decline in total data breaches between 2018 and 2019.

Data breaches often compromise a company’s most sensitive records. The majority of them stem from hacking and intrusion cases and unauthorized access to records, which comprised more than 75 percent of all data breaches in 2019. On the other hand, employee error and negligence accounted for less than 11 percent of data breaches in 2019. However, with an increase in at-home and remote work, breaches stemming from a lack of employee knowledge or training is now more of a priority among employers.

To profile the most significant data breaches of U.S. companies, researchers at Spanning analyzed data from the Identity Theft Resource Center and the Federal Trade Commission, while also reviewing major news reports. Data breaches were defined as any unauthorized exposure to a company’s records, and incidents were ordered based on the total number of records exposed.

Between 2013 and 2019, companies involved in social networking and media, such as Yahoo and Facebook, were the most vulnerable to data breaches. For these companies, data breaches were most likely to occur through hacking and intrusion or accidental internet exposure. Emails, passwords, and other personal information were the most frequently compromised types of information.

Here are the 10 largest data breaches of U.S. companies in history.

Company
Rank
Number of records exposed
 Type of breach
Industry
Types of information compromised
Yahoo – 2013 1 3,000,000,000 Hacking/intrusion Media Name, email, phone number, date of birth, login information
River City Media – 2017 2 1,370,000,000 Accidental web/internet exposure Marketing Name, IP address, physical address, email
People Data Labs / OxyData.io – 2019 3 1,200,000,000 Accidental web/internet exposure Data Name, email, phone number, social media profiles
First American Corporation – 2019 4 885,000,000 Accidental web/internet exposure Financial Bank account number, bank transactions, drivers license, Social Security number
Facebook / Cultura Colectiva – 2019 5 540,000,000 Accidental web/internet exposure Social network Account name, account ID, Facebook comments and reactions
Yahoo – 2014 6 500,000,000 Hacking/intrusion Media Name, email, phone number, date of birth, login information
Marriott International – 2018 7 500,000,000 Hacking/intrusion Hospitality Name, physical address, phone number, email, passport number, date of birth, gender, reservation information
Facebook – 2019 8 419,000,000 Accidental web/internet exposure Social network Name, account ID, phone number, country
FriendFinder Networks – 2016 9 412,000,000 Hacking/intrusion Social network Account name, email, password, join dates, user’s last visit
MySpace – 2016 10 360,000,000 Hacking/intrusion Social network Email, password

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Spanning’s website: https://spanning.com/resources/industry-research/largest-data-breaches-us-history/

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Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

How Social Media Can Change The Whole Game For A New Business

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To become a successful entrepreneur, the new business owner must find ways to reach customers. Social media can make that job easier.

The rise of social media as a marketing tool has had a major impact on businesses, particularly startups. Studies have shown that more people follow brands on social media than follow celebrities.

But while social media marketing can put a new business on the map, missteps can be made that are costly to the bottom line (and one’s reputation), says Deni Sciano (www.ScoreGameDayBag.com), an entrepreneur who founded Score! Designs, LLC, a women-owned designer handbag company based in San Antonio, Texas.

“There’s good and bad social media marketing,” says Sciano. “As an entrepreneur, few of us are good at it. We can play around with it and learn about it, or throw a little money at it here and there.

“Now that social media marketing is such a big business, you really have to find the right marketing company that fits you. Either way, through a company that focuses on it or doing your social media marketing in-house, it’s imperative to learn what to do, and what not to do, if you want social media to be an effective tool to attract and retain customers.”

Sciano suggests five ways to make social media work for your new business:

Know who and where your customers are. “Adopting social media tools must be a well-planned and researched step,” Sciano says. “It starts with determining who your target audience is – who would have a need for your product? – and their demographics. Then it’s vital to find out which platforms your potential customers are on before devising an appropriate strategy for each.”

Know what your message is. “This has to be specific,” Sciano says. “You need various angles in order to pull them into core message. There’s too much clutter and competition out there in social media for you to be general and bland about your product’s value. If you want to build more customers, you need to give them what they want and message it in a way they can relate to.”

Set goals on customer engagement. “The whole idea is creating curiosity in your product,” Sciano says. “How many responses should you expect in the early weeks, the third month, and so on? Is your message working or does it require tweaking? Setting a goal for number of responses is a metric you need to have.”

Find the right marketing company.  Social media marketing can be of utmost importance to entrepreneurs who do it themselves because they don’t have the large marketing budgets that more established companies have. But Sciano says those entrepreneurs who do hire social media marketing companies shouldn’t get aligned with a firm that has too many accounts to spend significant time with them. “Finding the right marketing team is easier said than done,” Sciano says. “They need to understand you and your message completely. They need to see your passion for the business and you must see their passion for getting your message out there effectively. The right marketing company becomes an integral member of your team, not just a vendor.”

Learn from failure. “This is often the best teacher,” Sciano says. “I fail every day but my company has come a long, long way. From losses come victories, creative solutions, more curiosity and optimism. All of that drives you and your company forward on various social media platforms.”

“Social media is a great way to create a buzz about your business,” Sciano says. “But it takes time, patience, flexibility and perseverance. And for many entrepreneurs, it’s become a daily part of their business model that they can’t do without.”

____________________________________________________________

Deni Sciano (www.ScoreGameDayBag.com) is the founder of Score! Designs, LLC, a women-owned designer handbag company based in San Antonio, Texas. A former teacher and marketing director, Sciano created her company and products with today’s heightened security issues at sports stadiums and arenas chiefly in mind. Her clear bags are sold in all 50 states.

Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

5 Reasons Businesses Should Bare Their Souls To Customers

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We live in the information age — aptly named because we have unprecedented access to information through many platforms. Researchers estimate that between television, radio, the internet, email and social media, the average person receives the equivalent of 174 newspapers worth of data every day. That means consumers have a lot to sort through and choose from when shopping for virtually any type of product. And studies show they demand more transparency from companies to help them make an informed decision. 

“This is especially critical in digital marketing,” says Jonathan Musgrave, owner and chief digital marketer for Steep Digital Marketing (www.steepdigital.com). “With information so abundant and readily available, companies are becoming increasingly transparent in an effort to engage the potential customer. They’re inviting potential customers into their world rather than talking at them.” Musgrave offers five ways that being transparent in digital marketing can win over customers:

Builds trust. “You deserve more than someone playing games with you and withholding information,” Musgrave says, whose digital marketing agency specializes in seminar advertising, lead generation and marketing automation for financial advisors. “The consumer expects and is entitled to know exactly what they’re signing up for. The financial advisors my firm works with, for example, tell us that they build such good rapport with their seminar attendees before the event occurs because of the way they’re featured on the event landing page. There’s a lot of ‘gotcha marketing’ going on in the world today, and no one likes to feel like they got fooled.”

Develops loyalty. Surveys show that the vast majority of consumers will be loyal to a brand that practices transparency. “Brands now have the enhanced opportunity to show their personalities and values due to the internet and social media,” Musgrave says. “So consumers expect to know more about companies than ever before. And if you give them transparency, they’re willing to pay extra for it.”

Shows authenticity. “To do digital marketing right,” Musgrave says, “companies need to take a deep dive into who they are, where they’ve been — warts and all — and show a vulnerability that potential customers can relate to. People can see themselves in what you truthfully present. The whole objective is to create a human interaction, and being authentic in this way is one of the most powerful things you can do.”

Pairs a great offer with great value. “Regardless of what you’re selling, there is some ulterior factor we’re using as an advertising carrot,” Musgrave says. “An example would be a time-share presentation; get a free cruise if you sit down and listen to them talk about some product they’re trying to sell you. But the carrot blinds you from the actual intent of the event. In order to be transparent and build good trust, the offer has to be paired with value.”

Increases efficiency. “Becoming more transparent through digital marketing can greatly improve a business’ efficiency by spending less time talking around product limitations and sidestepping customers’ concerns,” Musgrave says. “By not embellishing your results, you save time for more productive work.”

“Giving consumers access to all the information they need to know without masking your intentions is a proven way to build better relationships through digital marketing,” Musgrave says. 

Jonathan Musgrave is the owner and chief digital marketer for Steep Digital Marketing (www.steepdigital.com), which he founded in 2017. Musgrave got his start in the direct mail business, using his communication skills to craft powerful marketing messages that reached more than 1,000,000 households each month. He’s started his own wholesaling company that brought digital marketing tools to the financial advisor space for the first time in 2013 that were responsible for doubling sales for three consecutive years.

Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

Want To Do Business With Baby Boomers? You’ll Find Them On Social Media.

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Forget those jokes about Baby Boomers and their supposed struggles grasping today’s technology.

They may have grown up in a black-and-white TV, rotary-phone era, but most Baby Boomers long ago adapted to the 21st-century digital world. And that includes social media, which they took to with almost as much delight as their children and grandchildren if recent studies on the subject are any indication.

As a result, any business or professional who wants to market to Baby Boomers needs to understand that reaching them through social media channels should be part of the strategy, says Jonathan Musgrave, owner and chief digital marketer for Steep Digital Marketing (www.steepdigital.com).

“I always tell people that educationally based messages are the key to getting traction when it comes to reaching and influencing people on social media,” Musgrave says. “While plenty of goods are sold on Facebook, for example, that’s not primarily why Baby Boomers, or anyone else, logs in each day.

“Instead, the reason they are addicted to social media is to see what’s new. What’s new with their friends, kids and grandkids? What’s new in the news? The best way to reach them and market to them is to position yourself as an educator; someone who is telling them what’s new.”

If that still sounds more like a way to reach younger generations rather than BabyBoomers, consider this: A study by Google revealed that Boomers and seniors spend more time online than they do watching TV. Also, 82.3 percent of Boomers who use the internet have at least one social media account, with Facebook being their favorite.

Musgrave says his company uses several approaches when creating effective Facebook ads, but many of these elements also can work for routine social media posts on a business or professional site as well. They include:

–Images. It’s important to have compelling images to catch a social media user’s attention while they’re scrolling through their newsfeed and makes them stop to take a second look. “We use colors and font combinations that grab your attention immediately,” Musgrave says.

–Captivating headlines. Headlines are the gateway to getting people to read the rest of your copy. “Shorter headlines are easier to read and get straight to the point,” Musgrave says. “We want things to be as easy as possible for people to understand what we are offering in their area.”

–Engaging copy. Once the headline draws them in, you need to deliver with an engaging message. Musgrave suggests one way to do this is with questions. “Asking questions of your audience creates a desire for an answer to those questions,” he says. “This creates an open loop that makes the brain grab on tight. It acts like a ‘pop quiz’ and keeps the audience glued.” It’s also important to avoid buzzwords, he says. “You want your copy to be easily readable, and buzzwords usually do the opposite of that,” Musgrave says. “People do business with people who make things easier for them.”

“Facebook is the primary way Baby Boomers interact with content online, although you can find them on other social media platforms as well, such as Twitter and LinkedIn,” Musgrave says. “It’s critical that anyone who wants to do business with Baby Boomers understand that if you’re looking to reach them, social media is a good place to make the connection.”

About Jonathan Musgrave

Jonathan Musgrave is the owner and chief digital marketer of Steep Digital Marketing (www.steepdigital.com), which he founded in 2017. Musgrave leverages his 13+ years of experience in the financial services world to help financial professionals reach more than 8,000,000 prospects each month with social media advertising. Steep Digital Marketing has rapidly grown and was recently recognized as one of the top 100 Colorado Companies to Watch.


Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily

How Traditional Marketing Can Benefit From A Digital Twist

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At one time, marketing meant using such tactics as buying commercial time on TV or radio stations, advertising in a newspaper or magazine, or sending your message through direct mail.

All of those remain options today, but they are joined by a plethora of digital alternatives for reaching potential customers or clients, who spend a lot of time hanging out in the digital world.

“Websites are optimized for sharing content with others, and people are getting on social media to be educated or entertained, so delivering on those ‘needs’ is super important for any business or professional who wants to remain relevant,” says Jonathan Musgrave, owner and chief digital marketer for Steep Digital Marketing (www.steepdigital.com).

Yet, Musgrave says many businesses and professionals don’t always take advantage of what digital marketing offers, instead falling back on what worked in the past, either out of habit or due to a lack of understanding of the power of digital.

And that’s no way to move forward, he says. But choosing between digital or traditional approaches to marketing isn’t an either/or proposition. Musgrave offers a few examples of how the two can be married to produce great results:

-A text instead of a call. Musgrave says one of his clients, a financial professional, would buy TV time each month for a show in which he would talk about money issues. At the end of each segment, in an effort to generate leads, his firm’s telephone number would be displayed so viewers could call if they wanted more information. “I suggested that instead of a number to call, they should show a number that people could text,” Musgrave says. That change might appear insignificant on its face, but it proved to be extraordinarily consequential. The financial professional went from receiving about three responses per show to about 300.

–Billboards and digital calls to action. A message on a billboard provides the same opportunity to elicit a digital response from anyone who sees it. Once again, instead of urging people to call, urge them to text. You can also include your website address in your billboard ad so those intrigued by what you have to offer can learn more there, Musgrave says.

-Work digital connections into all marketing materials. Likely, you have business cards, brochures or any number of other marketing materials that people can hold in their hands. All of those should let people know how they can find you online, whether it’s on your website or on social media channels, Musgrave says. By the same token, if you have speaking engagements, you can put that information on a display poster or include it in a PowerPoint slide. “Since people always carry their phones, if they see how to find you on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or wherever, they may follow you right then and there,” he says. 

“The most dangerous thing I hear people say is that digital marketing is the future,” Musgrave says. “That’s not quite accurate because the future is already here. Advertisers globally spent more on digital advertising than any other medium in 2017, displacing TV at the top of the chart for the first time. If you keep kicking the digital can down the road, by the time you catch up to it again, your competitors will have already passed you.”  

About Jonathan Musgrave

Jonathan Musgrave is the owner and chief digital marketer for Steep Digital Marketing (www.steepdigital.com), which he founded in 2017. Musgrave got his start in the direct mail business, using his communication skills to craft powerful marketing messages that reached more than 1,000,000 households each month. He’s started his own wholesaling company that brought digital marketing tools to the financial advisor space for the first time in 2013 that were responsible for doubling sales for three consecutive years.