Twitter Tips & Tricks

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Twitter

Using Twitter the Right Way.

Twitter is one of the top social media sites.

Currently, it has 238 million active users a month. Twitter is great marketing tool that boasts a total of 1 billion visits a month to various websites that have embedded tweets. You can use this to your advantage and share your own brand, get thousands of new clients, and more. So, what do you do to make your tweets visible? How do your get more following? How to use Twitter for business?

Just follow these easy tips:

  • Use hashtags.
    • Twitter is this the first website to use hashtags and it is becoming a trend that even Facebook supports hashtags now. A hashtag is a set of keywords and it begins with a pound sign.
    • If you want to share your opinion, reaction, or even a blog about a topic, do not forget to include the hashtag in your Tweet. Tweets with hashstags have a higher chance of getting engagements like replies and retweets. For example, #TyphoonMaria and #PrayforPuertoRico. These topics are timely and relevant. People talked about the recent horrible events during Typhoon Maria. Any updates regarding the tragedy included the specific hashtags above. Twitter users from all over the world shared their messages of support and tweeted links on ways on how to help.
  • Interact your with audience.
    • Talk to your followers. Do not just bombard them with updates and not actually talking to them. Post a poll, reply to tweets, and start a conversation with people. Twitter is a place for you to engage with your customers. Reply when someone needs help. Do not neglect the impact of a great customer service. Your followers will appreciate it when you reply. Say thank you when they post a feedback, retweet their positive reviews. These reviews will make other people trust your brand and they will inclined to buy your products.   of support and tweeted links on ways on how to help.
  • Add images, videos to your Tweets.
    • Twitter has a 140 character limit and most of the time, words are not enough. You can add visuals to your  Tweets to catch people’s attention. When people see a funny GIF along with your Tweet, they will probably retweet it. Generally, Tweets with images will get more interactions from people.
    • You may also attach images like product photos, or you can send out inspiring quotes, or your own videos.
  • Update your Twitter Profile.
    • Pay attention to every little detail on your profile.  Because if your profile looks shady, people will doubt your authenticity. Erase doubts in people’s minds by adding your business’ location, your logo, your official website.

Post frequently.

The more you tweet, the more content gets out there. There is a higher chance for people to read your updates. You can try to schedule tweets at different times to reach your audience even the international followers. Constantly tweeting can be tiring, but the Tweetdeck app makes tweeting easier. You can create tweets ahead of time, and publish them at a preferred time and date.

The Basics of Twitter

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Twitter on a Web Browser

Your Ultimate Twitter Guide!

It happens on Twitter.

Want to know more about the latest in entertainment, sports, politics, and pop culture? Twitter will help you with that.

On Twitter, you can follow various brands and it gives you access to what’s going on in your industry. Whether it is food, bags, cosmetics, or books, people often talk about the products they use on Twitter. Do not miss out on this pool of potential clients. It is time to learn about Twitter and its terminologies.

  • Tweet – is what you call your Twitter update. A tweet can contain 140 characters and you can also include images, links, videos, and GIFs.
    Tip#1: Your followers would appreciate it if you make your tweets personal and relatable. They will trust you if you are open and approachable.

  • Reply – Click reply to respond to a Tweet. Replying means you are interested in talking and reaching out. To reply, you just simply type @ and add the person’s Twitter handle.
    Tip#1: Anyone can reply to your Tweets. Make sure to always refresh your Notifications tab in order to see the newest replies.

  • Mention – Mentions are similar to replies. You can bring a Tweet to another user’s attention by mentioning them. Just include @ and their username to your question, to your thank you note, or to a specific Tweet.
  • Like – When you appreciate a Tweet, you can like it. The author would know that many positively acknowledged a Tweet and would probably make more similar Tweets.
    Tip#1: The Like function is also a great bookmarking tool. You can easily find a Tweet again once you click that Like button.
  • Hashtag – A hashtag is a keyword or phrase related to a certain topic. You will know that a set of words is a hashtag because it starts with a # sign and there are no spaces in between. Know more about hashtags and more Twitter tricks here.
    Tip#1: If you click a particular hashtag, you will be able to see other Tweets containing the same hashtag. This function is useful for group chats. It is easier to interact and talk about a certain topic.

Where to Find Reliable Product Reviews?

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computer, keyboard, shopping

Do people read reviews before they shop online?

Product reviews has this powerful impact on consumers.

People, who love to shop, depend on it before deciding on purchasing anything. But, of course, there are doubts. Some people see positive reviews as fake or it is something orchestrated by the business owners or sellers themselves. The negative reviews can either be from an angry person who has biased opinion on the business, or it can be from an irate employee, or even a rival business.

Reviews are tough to gauge at times, and we should be  careful of fake reviews. We would not want to get a product that is disappointing and far from the raving reviews.

Here are the reliable product review websites:

  • CNet –  is a web division of CBS Interactive and it provides a wide-ranged in product reviews. It features software, web hosting, technology, and electronics. CNet is a popular website that features both user and editor reviews on the new products in the market.
  • Epinions – features millions of product reviews and categorizes the products by labeling it as the “Top Reviewer”. It is a review service of Shopping.com.
  • ConsumerSearch – is well-known for its easy navigation and website design. The access is simple and the products categorized and well-organized. They have a wide-range of products from computers, food, home, garden, and kitchen. The service comes from About.com.
  • TestFreaks – is a website that shows all reviews for the latest gadgets and electronics. Both the Swedish and US website were launched in 2007. The visitors of the site are free to browse 30 million reviews and to give their own reviews.
  • MouthShut – does reviews of general products and the site provides buying guides. If you are a first time, it guide you through the process. It features cars, electronic appliances, and distinct products like websites, schools and credit cards.
  • Trusted Reviews –  it has a complete categories of products and has video reviews as well. Editorial reviews dominates the content. It compares the cost and the specification of the different product models.
  • ReviewCentre.com – it is one of the top ten review websites because of its category cloud and it offers wide variety of categories from Travel and Leisure to Transportation. The website is simple to navigate and you can easily browse through the reviews.
  • Buzzillions – has officially retired, but the good part is that you can still research all the same products and services and read reviews at viewpoints.com. The website has about 5 million posted reviews from all over the world.

Hold on to your purse.

Check out these websites for you to make the right decision. They will help you see the advantages and disadvantages, the negatives and the positives of the products or service you need. If you still have doubts, go and checkout ConsumerReports.Org. They are a nonprofit organization that puts the consumers’ needs first to attain a fairer and safer online community. They are unconstrained by advertising and commercial influences, and they guarantee you that they are dedicated to their pro-consumer commitment.

Social Media Can Help Your Businesses

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mobile phone apps

The different social media application.

Social media allows its users to connect with each other. 

It brings about content using the various online communities. It has the ability to open possibilities to both small and large businesses. Think this: if you spend a few hours in social media, it will increase your sales with no extra cost.

Here are reasons why social media is a good and profitable platform for businesses:

  • Social media is easy to use. You do not have to be an expert to join. All it takes is a basic knowledge, and you are ready to market your product or services. For assistance in marketing your product, read this social media guide.
  • Social media proves to be the fastest platform to reach millions of users. You can even reach an international audience!
  • Surely, you can enlarge your business visibility and increase the recognition of your brand. You must get people to like and share your page. And if the posts are shared, that means your brand is being introduced to other people who are potential customers.
  • If you do not use social media, you are limiting your reach to just your usual clients. It will then be difficult to reach people outside of your immediate circle. Social media will increase your inbound traffic, and that could translate to sales.
  • When you join the different platforms, it allows people reach your business. An older demographic can try a certain keyword on Facebook can reach your business. If a millennial wants to search your business in another platform, say, Instagram, you can easily be found. Syndicating your content in the different platforms is a brilliant idea because different demographics can readily access your business.
  • Consumers like it when you respond to their comments on your page instead of giving automated messages, which is very impersonal. This tells your audience that you are paying attention. This will guarantee you not only sale, but their loyalty to your brand. Among the demographics, it is the millennial that are brand loyal.
  • If you stay in the social media for more than a year, your search ranking will surely improve. If you go to the top, traffic will definitely give positive results for your business. Users will do business with you, not your company.
  • Post impeccable content. This tells the users that you are an authority and a leader in your field. Make your presence felt and connect to your audience, your followers will look up to you.

Get started on social media.

It has a treasure trove of benefits that can help your business grow. If your brand is interactive by sharing content, comment on social media, and post statuses, it becomes personal. Try it, engage with your market and learn more about them. A higher number of followers tends to improve the credibility of your brand and your market’s trust. Build your audience and enjoy the conversion rates!

Five Steps To Take After You Have Been Scammed

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Police Man and Police Woman

Report scammers and do not stay silent!

Scammers are so excited to get your money. They try all the scheme possible. It could come in the form of an email phishing, text message, an online post, a robocall, free trials, mobile phone phishing, or even someone who came to your house. This can be so upsetting!

It is not easy to get the justice you want when a scam happens to you. Scammers are so clever that they make sure they cover their tracks. It is important to know what to do.

  • Call your credit card company and your bank especially if you used your credit card number or if you gave your personal information to a scammer. They will hold your account so charges cannot be made. Do not call any number coming from an email because it could be a phishing scam.
  • File a report. Promptly file a police report particularly when the money was stolen in your own account. The bank and your credit card might ask for a copy. Report the scam to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Give all the information needed about the scammer, and also the date of transaction. Get in touch with Trading Standards as scamming is a criminal offense. This is under Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulation 2008. They will take action.
  • Report a Fraud Victim Statement with the 3 major Credit Bureaus. File the report to TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. This will put a note that you have been a victim of a fraud. The note also indicates that any business trying to pull your credit report should call you on the phone numbers you provided when you actually reported the fraud alert. When someone calls you, you can tell them that you did not give any authorization for any inquiry on your credit. Anybody who tries to open your account is a scammer.
  • Do a “Security Freeze” of your credit reports. This will help stop ID thieves from opening accounts using your identity. Check on the advantages and disadvantages of security freeze on your credit reports.
  • Scan your computer and update your anti-malware software. Your scam-related email may have planted links to a malware that can damage your computer. This malware could get your account information and send it to the scammer and this will surely damage you. To avoid this, update your anti-malware software. Make sure you install programs that to not clash with each other like MalwareBytes and Microsoft Security Essentials. There are premium versions and there are also freeware. Check which one you think can protect your computer.
  • Tell your family that you have been scammed and you are doing the necessary steps to lessen the situation. By doing so, you are also protecting them so that they will not be the next victim. Inform them on: the different scams, and how to prevent these online scams. Tell someone, share your experience on social media, and report the scammers. The more you wait, the more time you need to recover. Your sharing will greatly help others.

15 Tips to Prevent Online Scams

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Free stock photo of police, money, crime, financeScammers will do anything just to defraud people of their money. They will use different schemes just for you to give them some vital information and send your money. You have to be way ahead of these cyber perpetrators.

Here are some tips that can help you:

  • Be attentive when dealing with uninvited contact who tries to prove that they are someone you can really trust. If the deal is too inviting, it is not a good deal so it is better not to entertain it.
  • Research online – go to your preferred search engine and check the company’s name or product and use words like complaint, scam, or review. Find out if someone reported them as scammers.
  • Even if you have a caller ID – caller ID name, info and the number, a  call could still be fake. Hang up and do not rely on Caller ID!
  • Protect your personal information – protect passwords and pin numbers and do not share your personal information anywhere especially in social media.
  • Select difficult passwords – no one should be able to guess what your passwords are. A strong password compose of both lower and upper case letters, numbers or symbols. Never share your passwords to anybody.
  • Don’t pay – scammers will surely ask you to pay in advance. Report them instead!
  • Think of how you pay – When shopping online, do not wire money using Western Union or MoneyGram because if there is a problem, you can never have your money back. The same goes for Vanilla, Reloadit and MoneyPak.
  • Do not deposit your check and wire the money back – if the check is fake, you will have to repay the bank.
  • Do not make hasty decisions– Avoid purchasing things online without thinking twice. Talk to someone first. Scammers are happy when you are excited and careless on your decision. Do a search first.
  • No to robocalls – hang up once you hear a recorded sales pitch. This is illegal. Inform Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Avoid pressing anything. This could mean more phone calls.
  • Say no to free trials– never sign up for products. Find out all about the company and its cancellation policy. If you fail to do so, there could be a monthly bill.
  • Stop opening anything – it could be a text, email, or a pop-up. Check the identity of the contact first, browse a phone book, or do an online search. Do not use the contact numbers in the message.
  • Review your social media’s security settings and privacy – just to make sure if there is any suspicious behavior. If so, quickly click on spam. Protect your account and then report.
  • Be careful when you do online shopping – Only deal with online shopping service that you trust. Avoid using virtual currencies like bitcoin. Choose another transaction method just in case you want your money back.
  • Sign up with FTC to do free scam alerts at ftc.gov/scams. They will message their advice and tips in your inbox. If you run into scam, report at ftc.gov/complaint. They will look into the matter.

Stop scams from happening to you. Know about the online scams, click here to know more about it.

How to Identify Fake News

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administration, business, cellphoneFake news make fictitious occurrence as real and true.

When a certain article is shared multiple times, it can eventually mislead people. It has been widespread in the different news sites and social media. Facebook has been expressed its stand against fake news online and Google made its stand as well. It has initiated a search label globally to show when an article has been fact checked.

Here are some guide to help you:

  • Check the website – Most of the fake sites are quite obvious and it will depend on the reader’s reaction. These kinds of news evoke an emotion and sensationalize headlines. Because of the reader’s reaction, reading the rest of the news may be neglected.
  • Look-alike URL – When a link is similar to an actual news site, that is a sure sign of being a fake. Go to the real website and compare the URL. Look at the likeness of the fake news and the established news site. An odd domain means odd content. Instead of cnn.com, it will be cnnn.com or cmn.com. At a quick glance, you might consider them all the same.
  • Probe the source – Find out if the source of the news was reported by someone with a good reputation for accuracy. The news article should not focus on appeal to the emotion, but to the data and evidences. Should the organization is not familiar, check About section and you can contact that person if you have your doubts.
  • Look at the other reports – Do not rely on a single article, and do your own research. Browse for other reports that focuses on the actual story, and not your emotion. If the same news was reported by other news sites you can trust, the news is likely accurate.
  • Unusual formatting – A fake news has an odd layout and has misspelled words. The real news sites design is professional and the news has been edited properly.
  • Beware of biased political news –  It is during election that fake news often happens. It will give information to give more advantage to a certain political party.
  • Check the debunking sites – Go to websites like Snopes and FactCheck to check the authenticity of a particular news.

When we evaluate news, we need to be critical.

Do not be ruled by your emotion. If you are not certain, go to the different debunking websites, or do your own research. Then, make your final conclusion.

The Different Online Scams

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email

Scams are usually sent to your email account.

The internet is a gift to humanity.

We shop, make reservations, and pay our bills online and some of us even has online jobs. That is the advantages of technology and in addition, we can do everything, anywhere, anytime, anyplace. But be aware that when we navigate and access websites, we are also opening doors to scammers.  The perpetrators can enter our workplace, homes, even our private lives.

Scammers are brilliant. For years, they studied every details but they have something in common. So, we all should know the different online scams.

Here are some of them:

  • Phishing Emails – Deceives a victim to a website pose as a real banking or eCommerce site. It looks like your real account when you log in, but the fake site will send the scammer all the data you entered. Surprise, the scammer has wiped out everything you have – your cards, bank accounts, and even your own identity.
  • Nigerian 419 Scams (also known as Advanced Fee Fraud) – This has been around for years it came from Nigeria as the name suggests. Potential victims are contacted through social networking message, email, letter, or text message. A huge amount of money will be offered to you just to assist in transferring a personal money out of the country.
  • Killer Spam: Hitman Email – This could mean that you got an email containing a threat message. You need to pay or you die.
  • Pump and Dump Stock Scams – You will receive numerous email that has confidential information regarding certain stock. The scammer wants to inflate the price and sell the stocks in a much expensive price.
  • Greeting Card Scams – You will receive a greeting card in your email that will seem to come from family or a good friend. The scammer will take advantage of your curiosity so it’s best if you do not click the card. A booby-trapped web page will allow trojans horses to go straight to your computer system. A ransomware will infect your system and you will be asked to pay.
  • Lottery Winner Scams – You will be told that you won something like a huge amount of money. Watch out when you are asked personal information to get your prize. The scammer will tell you it is just for tax purposes and bank deposit. If you have not entered a giveaway, then, that is surely a scam.

These scams are usually sent to your email address. Be careful when opening to emails from unknown senders. You do not have to open every email you get.

 

 

How to Identify Fake Reviews

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Brown shopping bags

Before you shop online, be careful on the reviews you see.

Before buying online, it is natural for us to look for the feedback of other consumers about the product or service. The sad part of it is that: a lot of reviews online are fake. So, who does these deception? They could be businesses, retailers, marketers, whose main purpose is to increase their sales and damage their rival companies, writers who use phony names, and people who gets a deal from positive comments, or those who gets paid for their reviews.

Fake online reviews can surely hurt the netizens. People can waste good money in purchasing products that are not good. Products like that may endanger your health and safety.

To help you know whether a review online is fake or not, here are some tips:

  • Language – Real reviews present information on the performance of the product. The fake ones raves and uses superlatives rather than detailed product description.
  • Review the reviewer – A reviewer who writes a review for a certain company shows that the reviewer has a vested interest.  The reviewer can use photo of the product purchased to show authenticity. Investigate the site. Some allow posts from consumers who purchased in their site. Know their policies on this.
  • Be sharp on the detail – If a reviewer can tell why he or she like or dislike a certain product or service, that is not fake. If the review uses general statement like, “It was horrible!” or “It was so good,” it only means the review was written to  blatantly credit or discredit a certain product or service, to get a negative or positive feel to the reader.
  • Too negative or too positive – Do not believe reviews that gives a crushing 1-star or a fabulous 5-star.  A real review is in the middle of the spectrum.
  • Well-written reviews – Be cautious if the review is written well and everything is perfect. A marketing shill or a person who has vested interest could have written it. It also uses superlatives to describe the product.
  • Keyword stuffing – some online fake reviews will use the game search engine results to create traffic to the product purchase page or site. This is done by repeating the same product over and over again to make the product appear in the search results. This tactic is used to manipulate the ranking.
  • Reviewer’s history – Findout the history of the reviewer by checking the different online stores to know how many reviews the reviewer has written.
  • Same text over and over again – If a review is seen again and again, it could be bot generated. Also, reuse of the same content taken from another review is fake.
  • Check the reviewer’s ID – a long line of numbers on its username should you that profile could be fake. An example would be “Reviewer 072514123789”. A username like that could mean that that profile could be a bot.

What You Should Know About Cyber Threats

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Business, online, security

How to keep your online business secure?

One of the most important issue for businesses worldwide is its security online.

In spite of the assistance of technology to improve their operations using different methods, cyber attacks are still growing in numbers. This year, cyber threats are expected to hit even the nation state cyber espionage and this without question can damage many businesses. Know the top cyber risks and what they can do.

Here is the top list of key problems:

  • Human error – is losing a smartphone or laptop that has sensitive data. When that happens, clients might decide to take legal action because of non-prevention of unauthorized access that contains confidential information of other people.
  • Blackhat Hacker – this person can break into the computer system. Often, these cyber criminals do this for sheer profit. Hacktivists can damage your business and your reputation. They could also endanger the nation’s security.
  • Spear Phishing – is sending emails that seems to come from someone you know. This could be a way of revealing certain confidential information,  it could disable security measures, and could set off a computer virus that could compromise the system.
  • Extortion – is when a person breaks into the data system of a firm by Structured Query Language (SQL) injection attack and since SQL is used for query, insert, update and modify data, the attacker can do a malicious payload or an SQL statement.
  • Ransomware – is a malware that threatens a business in exchange for money. The hacker will expose sensitive files to the public if the ransom is not given.
  • Distributed Denial of Service (or DDoS) attacks can disable multiple huge names. This is an outcome of a multiple compromised systems that can cause flooding the targeted system with a traffic of malformed packets, incoming messages, and connection request that can slow down or even crash and shut down. This will deny service to the legitimate users or systems.
  • Internet of Things (or loT) – is a significant privacy threat. It is an inter networking of physical devices to connect a computer network with another. This will allow exchanging and gathering of data that cyber criminals can access.
  • Dronejacking – drones are a helpful tool for professional photographers, videographers, but this technology can be hackedr.
  • Social engineering – since cyber technology has been complex, cyber criminals can now use social engineering to bypass such system. This can manipulate or deceive key persons in sharing financial information or data by the use of the phishing techniques.
  • Insider threats – is a threat from the inside and research shows that 60% of the security issues comes internally.

Of course, there are more cyber risks like mobile malware, machine learning, and fake ads.

Businesses should be way ahead of these cyber criminals as when an attack happens to your business, it can be catastrophic. You should make sure you have the right systems and software to keep you protected. Hire a good security professional or think of getting a cyber risk insurance. Know more about it here.