E V O LV I N G
WITH THE TIMES
How Well Do You Know
Your Customers?
FOUR BEST PRACTICES employees
can implement to help protect the
company’s (and their own) data:
Never accommodate a sender’s request for
your username or password in emails
No one should ask for your username/password
in an email. If the email is hijacked, and you com-
ply with the request, then you’ve just given a
hacker easy access.
Always opt for two-factor authentication
For an extra layer of security, many online ser-
vices will provide users with the ability to enable
two-factor authentication. This requires users
to provide a piece of information that only they
would know (or have readily available via an
app on their phone). Encourage employees to
take advantage of this excellent extra security
measure.
> Continued from page 4
into Instagram and found my way
to an amazing lunch. Under-
standing how hashtags are utilized
across all social media channels can
help you filter out the noise and zero in on
valuable information.
2. GIVE AND TAKE: If you’re on social me-
dia to learn a little bit more about your customers,
you shouldn’t just lurk in the background. Instead,
find ways to contribute to the conversation. Your cus-
tomers are looking for engagement. Share your own
insights, ask questions and engage in a dialogue.
You’ll be surprised by some of the valuable tidbits of
information you’ll gain from these encounters. Also,
don’t be afraid to interact with other brands. It’s
shocking how quickly a follower base can grow when
they network with similar or complementary brands.
3. FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS:
Remind employees to ignore any email
that asks for a username and/or password.
Only visit trusted websites
It’s not always easy to tell which websites are
safe and which ones are harmful, but for the most
part, you can use common sense to navigate the
web while at work. For added protection, compa-
nies can limit which websites can be accessed
on a company’s network.
Manage privileged access
Employees know which areas of your company’s
database are needed to do their jobs. Everything
else is not only unnecessary, it’s potentially harm-
ful. Your network administrator should assign
different privilege levels to users based on their
position. Employees should be encouraged to
speak up if they find that they are able to access
something that’s not directly related to their jobs.
There are individuals out there who are highly regard-
ed in the social media realm as “influencers” – they
have the power to reach millions of followers and
influence behavior. Along with keeping tabs on
targeted audience members, consider following
influencers in your market. Doing so could put you
ahead of the competition when it comes to knowing
what the customer will want next.
If you want to learn more about
your customers, turn to social
media and listen to episode 55,
“tweets & posts and a side of
hashtags: the trifecta of social
media effectiveness,” on
By Kurt Hoeft, vice president,
EasyIT, [email protected]
unsuitable on Rea Radio at
www.reacpa.com/episode-55.
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