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Tidal Media is Catching the Green Hosting Wave 150 150 admin

Tidal Media is Catching the Green Hosting Wave

We want to help make the world we operate in a better place, for everyone on the planet. Our goal is to make sure that we are playing our part in operating in a sustainable fashion. This includes providing our customers with green hosting!

Humble Beginnings

At the onset of Tidal Media, we knew we not only wanted to provide superior service for the best value but contribute to the betterment of the world. What started with just saving trees (through paperless billing) we are proud to say has evolved into much more.

However, paperless was not enough. We wanted to find a way to turn our main service (website and email hosting), into a sustainable service. That is why we have invested in renewable energy for our hosting.

What is Green Hosting?

As the world becomes more digital, it is only natural that green energy has been brought into the digital arena.  A company that utilizes green hosting uses data centers that operate on 100% renewable energy. 

Our Green Website Hosting

Tidal Media is proud to announce we have partnered with Switch to become an even more sustainability-focused company.

By Partnering with Switch, we are able to help reduce CO2 emissions and preserve the water supply.  Our data centers now run on 100% renewable energy. Switch received an A on the Green Peace clicking green report.

To learn more about how Switch is making a difference with renewable energy watch this video.

Vision For the Future

We are looking forward to seeing the evolution of green energy in the hosting and tech industry. Our goal for the future is to be able to incorporate more partnerships with green companies.

 

 

Marketing During COVID-19: 5 Tips 150 150 admin

Marketing During COVID-19: 5 Tips

Due to COVID-19, the business landscape looks very different than it did at the beginning of the year. This means that the marketing plans that you had may not fit perfectly anymore. However, this does not mean that you need to abandon your communications and marketing strategy altogether during this pandemic. Instead, you can pivot your marketing strategy to embrace the new landscape.

Top 5 Tips for Marketing During COVID-19

1. Don’t Focus on the Short Term

Don’t let the pandemic change your mindset from focusing on your long term goals. It may be tempting to halt all of your current marketing efforts and shift them to the 2nd quarter or even the 3rd quarter at this point. We know these are uncertain times and all businesses are in different financial situations. However, we want to encourage you to keep your marketing momentum going, now is the time to increase your brand visibility.

2. Update Messaging

Let your customers and prospects know that you are up to date on the happenings with COVID-19, how your company is impacted, precautions/steps you are taking, and how you are available to help them. To do so:

  • Add a message to your website.
  • Pin a post on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
  • Create a press release or blog post that you can link to for additional information.
  • Send direct emails to your customer base with your message.

If you sell a variety of goods and or services ensure that what you are promoting is in line with the current conditions for your consumers. Additionally, make sure your messaging falls in line with the current recommendations that are being made. For example, if social distancing is encouraged, do not use imagery or verbiage that encourages gathering in groups.

3. Switch Objectives from Conversions to Awareness

Normally, your job is to recognize customer pain points for their business and provide solutions for them. While you still need to be business-minded and make sales (after all your business needs profit), it is more important now, to realize that the leads you will be reaching are not necessarily in the mind-set to be ‘sold to’.

Instead of focusing your marketing goals on converting people to sales, focus on brand awareness. Prospects may not need or be able to afford your product/services right now, but when the economy turns upward, they will be.

4. Get Social

App usage worldwide is up 20%, including social apps. Obviously, this is due to the fact that people are missing human connection and have more time on their hands.  Now is the time for you to join the conversation if you haven’t yet dipped your toes in the social media pool, or step up your existing social game.

5. Be Human

Tap into your compassion as a human and translate that into your marketing. Put yourself in the shoes of your target market during this time. Think not just about what they need from a business perspective, but also a personal perspective. How has this pandemic impacted them? How can you translate this into a strategy for marketing during COVID-19?

These are all general tips that can work across multiple business types and industries. For a more customized strategy or suggestions on implementing the above tips, give us a shout for a free consultation!

 

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Is Your Company Eligible for the Google Ads Credit? 150 150 admin

Is Your Company Eligible for the Google Ads Credit?

Google is giving $340 million in Google Ad credit to SMB’s in response to COVID-19. Their goal is to help these businesses stay in contact with their customer during this global pandemic. If you own an SMB, read on to find out how this could impact your business.

What you need to know about the Google Ads Credit

Eligibility

Small and medium-sized businesses globally, who have spent with Google Ads in the past ten out of twelve months of 2019, and in January and/ or February of 2020.

Amount

Each company will be eligible for 1 credit for their account. The amount of the credit will vary based on historic ad spend by the business and the currency of the country for the account. However, if you have a manager account with multiple eligible accounts tied to it, each eligible account will receive a credit.

Availability

Google will begin distributing the ads credit to eligible companies, in phases starting in late May of 2020. If your company receives an ad credit you will be notified by Google via your ads account.

Usage

You can spend your credits on future ads (this does not include current or previous campaign spend), until the end of 2020. These credits can be applied to any campaign type across the Google Ads platform including Search, Display, and YouTube.

You must use the credit before December 31st, 2020. After this date, Google will remove the unused credit from your ads account.

You can see Google’s full announcement here.

Take advantage of the Google Ads Credit

Don’t let your Google Ad campaigns get stagnant. Here are some suggestions to amp up your campaigns:

  • Reevaluate your ad campaigns to make sure they align with the current mindset of your customer.
  • Check out what your competitors are doing.
  • Brush up on Google’s literature on how to use Google Ads.
  • Consult with a professional on how to get the most bang for your buck with your Google Ads.

Tidal Media is here to support you with your Google Ad needs. Please feel free to reach out to us to discuss how we can help enhance your pay-per-click strategy.

 

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What is a Spear Phishing attack and How Can it be Prevented? 150 150 admin

What is a Spear Phishing attack and How Can it be Prevented?

Email scams and fraud have been around since the inception of email. Due to this, security has become more advanced and email users more aware of potential threats. As a result, hackers and spammers have become more sophisticatedRead on to learn about what is a spear phishing attack and how to prevent it. 

What is Spear Phishing Attack?

Spear phishing is a form of cyberattack that uses email to target individuals to steal sensitive/confidential informationThis information can include account credentials, financial information, etc.  

The attacker disguises themselves, by sending an email that looks like it is from a trusted source (friend, entity, etc.), to acquire sensitive information. They gain this trust by using the information on the victim that they have found online.

How is Spear Phishing different than Phishing? 

It is important to note that these types of attacks are similar. However, there are key differences to be aware of:

Phishing Attacks

  • Not personalized
  • The emails are broad and automated, the goal is to send as many emails as possible
  • Normally one-and-done attacks

Spear Phishing Attacks

  • Personalized
  • Highly targeted attacks, often going after a specific target
  • The attacker thoroughly researches the target
  • Spear-Phishing emails are often just the beginning of the attack

How it is Done 

The attacker will look at online profiles to find information on the victim such as:

  • Email addresses
  • Geographic location
  • Friend lists
  • Job title
  • etc.

As a result of having this information, the attacker can pose as a familiar entity or friend and sends a convincing fraudulent message. These types of emails often have urgent warnings or explanations as to why the victim needs to act and provide sensitive information.

These types of scammers typically use two methods. Malicious attachments or spoofed websites.

Malicious Attachments

The target will be asked to open a malicious attachment. This will download malicious files/software onto the device allowing more access to personal data or internal networks.

Spoofed Websites

In the second type of attack, the email will claim that the target needs to change where money is being sent (paycheck, payment to a vendor). The link to do this will be a spoofed website. This link will not take the target to an actual website, but a fake one that the attacker has access to.

Once one of these actions has been taken by the victim, the attacker can then use the stolen information for any malicious activity they want.

How to Avoid Spear Phishing

There is no one way to fully protect against Spear Phishing attacks. However, there are steps that can be taken to guard against these types of attacks. Here are some of our top recommendations:  

  • Do not have a list of all email addresses of all employees on your website
  • Never send out sensitive personal information via email
  • Use strong passwords
  • Frequently update operating systems, application and security software
  • Do not click links in emails unless you know they are 100% reputable 
  • Implement security awareness training at your company  
  •  Be sure to use logic when opening an email: 
    • Ensure if a friend sends an email asking for personal information, reach out to the friend prior to taking any action 
    • A business should never send an email asking you for your username and password or any sensitive account information

To learn more about protecting yourself from this type of attack or if you think you have fallen victim please contact us.

Why CMS Updates are Important 150 150 admin

Why CMS Updates are Important

A website is an important investment for a business. Safeguard your investment by making sure needed CMS updates are performed. Read on to learn what a CMS is, why it needs to be updated and the benefits of utilizing a professional to do these updates.

What is a CMS (Content Management System)?

A Content Management System (CMS) is a platform on which a website is built. They make it easier to add, edit and manage content on the website without the knowledge of programming languages. The most popular content management systems are:

  • WordPress
  • Drupal
  • Joomla!

Content management systems use plugins/widgets to add additional functionality to a website. Examples of these are:

  • Forms
  • Sliders
  • Ecommerce
  • Much more!

Why Does a CMS need to be Updated?

Content Management Systems are open source software. The developers of the CMS and plugins/widgets will continually release updates related to security, new features and reported bugs.

These updates help to improve functionality and keep the security of your website up to date.

The Danger of Not Updating A CMS

Not updating a CMS  can lead to:

  • Security risks
  • Compromised websites
  • Potential loss of data and or sensitive information
  • Having to rebuild a website (due to a compromise that was too severe to recover the site)
  • Functionality on the website breaking

Updating a CMS regularly will help to avoid these potential issues.

Benefits of Having a Professional Update A CMS

A professional can help to mitigate the following challenges:

  • It is best practice to back up the website before making an update to the CMS
  • Troubleshooting issues that may arise
  • Staff not having the time or training to perform CMS updates

If you would like to discuss Tidal Media Group helping with CMS updates to your website, please contact us.

The Benefits of a CDN 150 150 admin

The Benefits of a CDN

A CDN, otherwise known as a Content Delivery Network, allows for improved security and website performance. Below we outline what it is, and the benefits of a CDN.

What is a Content Delivery Network?

A CDN is a service that allows websites to load faster while providing many other benefits. A CDN  is a network of servers linked together with the goal of delivering content as quickly, reliably, and securely as possible.

How a CDN Works

The network of servers has cached versions (copies) of website assets such as images and scripts. The website content will be shown to visitors from the server on the CDN that is closest to the visitor. This reduces the amount of time it takes for the website to load.

For example, a website hosted in New Hampshire but accessed from California. Parts of the website content will be delivered from a server on the CDN that is closest to the end-user, not from New Hampshire.

As a result of the benefits of a CDN, this type of service is becoming more popular among companies and organizations of all sizes.

Benefits of a CDN

The type of website and configuration of the CDN, ultimately determine the benefits it will have. However, the main benefits are a CDN can help improve:

  • Website load speed
  • Website security
  • Uptime
  • Site speeds for websites using SSL’s 
  • Bounce rates
  • Search engine rankings by helping SEO (search engine optimization)

Should Your Website Have a CDN?

If you want your website to be more reliable, secure, load faster and have a better user experience and the opportunity to improve search engine rankings, a CDN should be installed on your website. Therefore, you should consider a CND for your website if the following apply to your website:

  • Downtime or slow load speeds impact the ability to generate revenue (for an e-commerce site)
  • Peak traffic periods (Black Friday, Christmas, etc.) have a negative impact on e-commerce sites
  • Your website displays a lot of images
  • Your website offers video or streaming audio
  • Faster load times are needed

How to Get a CDN?

Tidal Media Group is a company that offers this service. If you are interested in further discussing the benefits of a CDN, have questions or want to add one to your services (whether you are a current or new customer) let us know!

 

The Benefits of an SSL 150 150 admin

The Benefits of an SSL

It may not seem like a little “s” at the beginning of a URL would make a big impact, but it does. Read more to find out why this little letter can help you better reach your audience and build consumer confidence.

What is an SSL?

An SSL is an extra layer of security that helps to protect data transmitted across the Internet by adding an additional layer of encryption.

A more technical definition is that an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard in security technology. It is used to establish encryption between a web browser and a server. Using this link, data can pass securely from the web server and browser.

How do I know if my Site has an SSL?

You will know your website is secured by an SSL if you see one of the following:

  • On Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Microsoft Edge, you will see a lock next to the website address
  • If your site has https: in front of the domain name (example https://domain.com or https://www.domain.com)

Benefits of an SSL

The top benefits of an SSL are:

  • Prove your website is secure
  • Protect yourself and users against hackers and identity theft
  • Improve ranking in search engine results
  • Increases user confidence that your website is safe, reputable and secure for interaction
  • Displays as secure (without a warning from Google or other web browsers)
  • Increased data security

Should you add an SSL to your Website?

Our professional opinion is if you do not have an SSL, you should add one. Here are our top reasons:

1. Loss of user Confidence

Due to this, website visitors are more likely to abandon your site out of caution, and you will miss out on the other added benefits of having an SSL.

Not only will users see your website as “unsecured” when they go directly to your site but in Google search results. This is due to the fact that the URL for the search term is shown in the search results. From looking at the results, users will clearly see if the site URL has https or http in front of it.

Showing a secured site in google search

2. Google Gets “Angry”

Furthermore, as a standard, more and more websites are integrating an SSL.  For that reason, Google is leading the pack with this trend by flagging websites that are not secure with a large red warning screen.

3. Negative Impact on SEO

A website that is not secure can have a negative impact on SEO.  Search engines will not value your website as high as those with an SSL.

How to get an SSL

These are available from website hosting providers. If you would like more information on getting one from Tidal Media Group, please contact us.