Social Media Devon: Who Hires Social Media Managers? - Updated for July 2016

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Marketing via social media does much more than just gain exposure for your company online. It also brands your company or organization and gives it a name. It helps build and maintain reputation and rapport. In addition, social media also gives you a chance to establish and maintain long-lasting relationships with potential and current customers and/or clientele.

Keeping that in mind, let’s look a little more closely at who actually hires social media managers. One way to find out the latest information is to browse the job ads on the multiple job search websites online. You may find that the number of job listings for social media managers will vary depending on your geographic area, but more and more companies and organizations are beginning to understand the importance of social media marketing and how beneficial it can be.

Examples of those that hire social media managers are:

1. Large businesses
2. Small businesses
3. Home businesses owners
4. Website owners of all types
5. Non-profit organizations
6. Celebrities
7. Corporations
8. Communications companies
9. Franchises
10. Attorneys
11. Entertainment companies
12. SEO or web design companies
13. Technology companies
14. Electric utility companies
15. Publishing companies
16. Banks
17. Travel agencies
18. Insurance sales companies
19. Hospitality companies
20. Restaurants
21. Retail stores
22. Real estate agencies
23. Amusement companies
24. Staffing agencies
25. Marketing companies

Those are just a few examples of who you may find that hire social media managers. Those mentioned are just a drop in the bucket as to the latest opportunities available for experienced social media managers.

While individual companies will outline the job description and expectations, you will find that many of the job descriptions and expectations will have some things in common.

Examples of what you can expect to see are things such as:

* Developing and managing social media strategy
* Managing daily social media campaigns
* Writing editorials
* Online advocacy
* Maintaining the company blog
* Analyzing social media trends and activities
* Managing the presence of the company on multiple social media sites

Each company will have their own expectations and many of them may include some or all of those listed above. You can also expect that those hiring social media managers are going to expect someone who is professional, experienced and passionate about what they do.

Keeping that in mind, it is necessary to make sure you have the skills, expertise and abilities that will enable you to fulfill the responsibilities involved with being a social media manager. Not every company has “tuned in” to social media marketing, but as each year passes, more and more companies are realizing the importance. This will result in an increased demand for those that are experts in the field and can open up a whole new world of opportunities for qualified individuals.

A good social media manager will have the knowledge of how to market and represent the brand they are working for. They will also have a complete and thorough understanding of the social networks they use to do their jobs. Companies expect positive results and that is exactly what a good social media manager will do for their clientele.

What Next?

If you have been thinking about getting onto Facebook or Twitter, but don’t know what the first steps should be, call us on 01271 324 841 or get in touch with us without any obligation at http://rightclickseo.co.uk/company/contact/.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.

Web Design Barnstaple: Ongoing www Scale Attack on WordPress Sites - Updated for July 2016

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WordPress Website Design Barnstaple Devon

WordPress websites are currently under attack!

For the past few weeks, there has been an ongoing wide-scale attack on WordPress sites.

This is not isolated event, as the attacks have been ongoing, peaking just a little under a week ago.

*This is affecting everyone with a WordPress site*

So what can you do to protect your site? With just a few simple precautions, you can protect yourself.

To put things in the proper perspective, we first want to inform you about the nature of the attacks. Potential hackers are employing “Brute Force” methods to access WordPress sites.

Once they have gained access to your account, they can then use various hacks to take over or destroy your site.

What is a “Brute Force” attack? Very simply,  it is a way of guessing for valid passwords. It is not a very sophisticated attack, and is not targeting anyone in particular. What makes it dangerous is that it appears that they are employing massive botnets–casting a very wide net so to speak, making no distinction as to what kind of sites or businesses to target.

In response to this, we advis you to take the proper precautions towards making sure that your WordPress site is not affected.

There are some very simple ways to protect yourself which you can actually do yourself:

Change Your Password:

Brute Force attacks are very resource intensive and only have a chance of succeeding if your passwords are not secure. Change your password right after reading this article.

Make sure that it is a secure password, you can use this link to help you generate a secure, strong
password:

http://strongpasswordgenerator.com/

Secure Your Username:

The username is half of the equation – using a common username is effectively giving malicious hackers that part of the equation – making it that much easier for them. If you login to your WordPress dashboard and go to “users” on the left hand navigation – you will be given a list of users.

We never leave the “admin” user as live on our Client sites, but we are aware that people change them after we’ve set everything up. If you see a user called “admin” this is the default user) – you need to change the username immediately.

Roughly 90% of all the successful attempts are done through the “admin” login. So just by making this simple change you are protecting the site.

(Note that when you delete the user “admin” you will be asked if you want to attribute any posts to another user. Simply click the user you wish them to be attributed too. That way, you won’t lose the posts).

Remove any other user that you are not familiar with.

In conclusion:

We would recommend accessing your site as soon as possible to ensure that the username and passwords are secure.

We provide a 5 Point Security Plan, where our Team of WordPress Security Professionals can create multiple layers of security customised for your WordPress website:

  1. Backing up
  2. File Security
  3. Database Security
  4. Secure Settings
  5. Security Plugins

This 5 Point Security Plan involves over 28 separate lock-downs to secure your site against malicious online attacks.

Contact us today or click here for more information on our WordPress Security Service.

Social Media Devon: Why Are Social Media Managers Needed? - Updated for July 2016

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When starting a new business you may find that the overall process is overwhelming. You may spend a lot of time “spinning your wheels” in the process, only to discover that you really haven’t accomplished near what you had originally intended to. With that being said, that’s one of main reasons that you definitely need to consider using the skills and expertise of a good social media manager to help manage and maintain your social networking and marketing functions.

Being a business owner isn’t nearly as easy as some people think. Modern technology has taken everything to a new level. It has brought a competitive advantage to some businesses. Some business owners are still wondering why their business isn’t thriving.

There could be many reasons why the business isn’t successful, but one of the most common reasons for lack of success is lack of knowledge of areas in which a business owner is not putting the available resources to work for them.

There are a multitude of reasons that your business needs a social media manager. Let’s look at some of the most common reasons that social media managers are in demand.

Social media managers provide business owners with the necessary services which enables the owners to focus on their own projects. They will also be handling all of your social media correspondence which includes cleaning out the inboxes, directing messages to the appropriate place and making sure current or potential customers are receiving the proper replies to their correspondence to you.

Social media managers will also make sure they develop a system that works for their individual clients. It may involve some research, but they are also able to help with that.

Status updates and posts on social networking sites can be rather time consuming. This is something that your social media manager will be doing for you. This helps give you the freedom to do other business-related tasks and it also helps keep your stress levels and anxiety down. Knowing that you have a skilled professional who is maintaining and managing all of your social network platforms will save you a great deal of time on a daily basis.

There is nothing in this world as certain as the fact that technology is always changing. A good social media manager will keep abreast of any changes and will also have access to the latest applications and technological tools that will give your business a huge marketing advantage.

You will also find that many of the social media managers will help with promotion of events, radio shows and podcasts related to your business. They can also handle any pre-show interviews that may be part of the marketing plan.

As you can see, a social media manager is definitely a help for any business who desires to succeed. They can help you get started in marketing, maintain the platforms and help increase exposure for your business. A social media manager will partner with you, learn about your business and will be passionate about getting results. This is what they do, and that is why your business probably needs one.

Success in business begins by starting strong, going forward and gaining positive exposure. Utilizing the skills and expertise provided by a social media manager will give your business the competitive advantage it needs.

What Next?

If you have been thinking about getting onto Facebook or Twitter, but don’t know what the first steps should be, call us on 01271 324 841 or get in touch with us without any obligation at http://rightclickseo.co.uk/company/contact/.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.

Web Design Devon: Application Service Providers and Hosting - Updated for July 2016

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Application service providers (commonly referred to as ASP’s) have quickly sprouted onto the web hosting scene in effort to provide businesses with new and innovative services. The term ASP should not be confused with Microsoft Corporations software application.

The number of applications provided through the ASP model is growing. Accordingly, there is a growing business of companies developing software for the ASP marketplace. What sorts of applications are being developed? As remotely-hosted applications can provide cost-effective access for businesses to unique software, many of the applications are designed to be of occasional use in terms of use. Others are geared towards using group connectivity provided by through the Internet to provide an application that is flexible.

ASP’s have created software programs to handle various business functions as materials management, human resources, financial management, and e-commerce transaction services.

The variety of solutions provided by ASP’s is vast. Many ASP’s are doing great business in meeting operational needs of companies across different industries and business functions. There are a number of technical and business issues currently addressed by ASP’s to develop and enhance system applications.

A major advantage for businesses in seeking ASP services is that they provide an opportunity to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Companies can have access to a wider-range of software products with the possibility of paying less than an outright purchase through usage charges. This allows businesses to access applications that can service particular business needs so companies can focus on their core operations. Furthermore, ASP’s are developing new software that can provide business solutions to operating issues not previously addressed through PC-based software. ASP’s also remove many of the technical administrative and maintenance issues associated with software by providing real-time upgrades, remote hosting, remote dial in customer support and overall software management.

Web hosting companies are involved in the development of applications — however, many of the hosting companies serve to provide network management and serve the application remotely to users. In providing ASP-related services, these companies are essentially AIP’s (application infrastructure providers.)

For mainframe web hosting applications, ASP service providers are pioneering a new way to host and maintain business applications.

What Next?

If you have been thinking about setting up a new website, or your existing site doesn’t work for you (or just needs updating), call us on 01271 324 841 or get in touch with us without any obligation at http://rightclickseo.co.uk/company/contact/.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.

Web Design Devon: Bandwidth Bandits - Updated for July 2016

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Files that are loaded to or from servers uses internet bandwidth to push files along the network at various speeds. Every time you upload a file to your ISP, surf the web or use an audio application, you are using bandwidth.

Bandwidth is a bunch of wires or fibers connecting servers to a network. Depending on the grade of the wire it determines how much data is coming across the network where your web-site is hosted. When someone attempts to get more data than can be handled by the network, the whole network slows down.

ISP’s can put a limitation on bandwidth at certain times during peak periods or charge you a flat fee per month for bandwidth usage. If you go over the flat fee, then they charge you extra for using extra bandwidth. Some ISP’s will shut down the transmissions until traffic is more stable on the network.

You can load most files (images, sound files, videos and flash scripts and other programs) in your web site. This excludes, of course, banners and pop ups and specific documents and images which are supposed to be loaded from a central server.

Bandwidth bandits link to images and other files directly to some other server instead of putting them on their local server. There are various reasons as to why they do this but one reason is to get as much bandwidth as possible to show their links and images. So they “steal” images or audio files each time the site is initialized meaning that they steal the bandwidth.

There’s certain ways that you can stop the person from stealing your bandwidth allocation. If they have an email, I would contact them personally or go through Network Solutions and do an IP lookup which will give you information on the person and who the site is registered to. You can always get in touch with the company that hosts their site too.

Bandwidth can be expensive and the last thing that you want is someone stealing it.

What Next?

If you have been thinking about setting up a new website, or your existing site doesn’t work for you (or just needs updating), call us on 01271 324 841 or get in touch with us without any obligation at http://rightclickseo.co.uk/company/contact/.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.

Web Design Devon: Beware of the Cyber Squatters - Updated for July 2016

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Your domain name could be stolen or given up to the evil entity known as the Cyber squatters whose main mission is to steal your web identity and this is how they do it. They could register YourDomainName.org, and do the same thing with YourDomainName.biz, therefore contacting you and try to sell you those names at advanced prices. If that doesn’t work, then the following events could happen.

They will allow your competitor to get a domain that sounds like yours, and allow him to cause confusion or try to steal your hard-earned traffic, business and clients.

Take these steps right now to halt the cyber squatters.

Have people go through you for authorization: Go through your domain name registrar and fill in a form that locks in authorized entities of your claim of other domain names. You can buy these names and keep them under your roof. It will provide you information to include, such as contact information, who should be contacted if someone wants to register your domain, the character string you are claiming (this must be an EXACT match), description of your current products/services, when you began using that domain name.

You have a small window to accomplish filling out an authorized entry form. Check with your domain registrar for time frame windows in filling out an authorized entry form Failure to enter a claim during a certain time frame means the registering entities will not check to see if there is an equivalent .com, .net or .org name. They will not check the IP Claim Service database. Meaning, you could lose your .info or net-version of your domain name.

Don’t let cyber squatters shake you down and ruin what you have built up on the net. Get the rights and the authorization to similar or like names to your main domain name!

What Next?

If you have been thinking about setting up a new website, or your existing site doesn’t work for you (or just needs updating), call us on 01271 324 841 or get in touch with us without any obligation at http://rightclickseo.co.uk/company/contact/.

We’ll do our level best to answer your questions without resorting to complicated jargon and industry-speak and then you can decide for yourself whether this service is something you would be interested in.