Navigating toward GDPR compliance requires an approach that will allow you to get the most out of the process. The capabilities of Microsoft 365 can accelerate your journey to GDPR compliance. With a deep understanding of GDPR and its implications on organizations, Microsoft is set up to help you navigate the murky waters. Don’t attempt to swim through the regulations on your own. At Flint Technologies Solutions, we can help guide you on your journey. Contact us for more.
View: Accelerate your GDPR compliance journey with Microsoft 365
Dave had a dream; he started his own business.
Dave’s business grew quickly when he started a website and did digital marketing. And added an e-commerce option so that his customers could pay online. Dave’s family was so proud of him, and Dave was very happy.
Then one day Dave’s customer reported that her credit card had been charged for a trip to the beach that she never took. Another customer who lives in New York was charged for dinner in Colorado. After several more customers reported mysterious charges, an investigation was started which revealed that Dave’s e-commerce system had been hacked. Many people’s identities were stolen, and nobody trusted Dave anymore. Dave became very sad. 
Now, Dave works for his cousin Wilbur, and cousin Wilbur is…difficult.
Don’t get stuck working for cousin Wilbur. Leverage Managed Cybersecurity and have someone constantly checking to see if your security is up to date, if there have been any breaches, if there are any weak points that need to be made stronger, and ready to respond immediately if something does happen in order to segregate the problem, minimize the damage, and restore your system to health. Managed security backs up your data too, so not even a fire will cause you permanent loss.
Take the Flint Tech Solutions Cyber-Assurance Package for a 30-day free trial, and rather than being stuck with him, have a great relationship with Wilbur since you’ll only be around each other for visits. 😉
Write to info@flinttech.com or use the chat over there on the right!
At the end of this piece, I’m going to make a security offer to you, and you’re going to want it. You’ll click on this link to get it. Watch; you’ll see. First though, about your kids…
As a parent, I’m confident that you take your kid (kids) to the doctor for regular checkups to prevent any harmful conditions or diseases from hurting them. You also take them to the dentist so that they can keep their teeth cleaned (preventing the buildup of dirty, stinky plaque) and in case a cavity starts to form the dentist can take care of it before the pain of it brings your kid to tears. Hopefully, you’re visiting the dr. regularly for your own health, too. So here’s the way things typically go;
You…
Take the kids to the doctor for checkups and preventative measures and if needed, treatment.
Take the kids to the dentist for checkups and preventative measures and if needed, treatment.
Take yourself to the doctor and the dentist for preventative measures and if needed, treatment.
but then you…
Completely ignore the cyberhealth of your team’s network because it would cost money to keep it healthy, and besides, the system isn’t coughing, so it must be healthy, right?
You can’t tell if certain diseases hit your bloodstream unless you visit the doctor because they work quietly in the darkness until the damage is significant. Sometimes, horrible things escape our notice for a while.
Remember the frightening number of stories about families and individuals being spied on by a landlord or in a motel and how long these individuals got away with it?
Even governments spy and are spied upon for long periods of time before the breach is discovered.
Are you being spied upon by something beneath the surface?
Verizon commissioned the “2018 Data Breach Investigations Report, 11th edition”, a report so shocking it made our whole team do a doubletake when we read it. One of the stunning revelations was that 68% of breaches were discovered months or years after the initial compromise.
68% of breaches were discovered months or years after the initial compromise.
MONTHS OR YEARS AFTER!
That’s a long time for a parasite to be buried beneath the surface, wreaking havoc without anyone knowing. Hackers don’t tend to install flash script to announce their arrival. You wouldn’t know when they breached your system until the damage was significant.
The Verizon report unearthed that most breaches are discovered by a 3rd party. As the doctor finds your illness and prevents worse, a cybersecurity manager would find your cyber illness and prevent worse. There is another 3rd party too, one that you absolutely do not want to be the party who discovers your breach; your clients. Even worse, the media.
There’s a high cost to doing nothing.
There’s a high cost to your physical health from doing nothing. There’s a high cost for your cyberhealth from doing nothing, and it affects more people than just you. Cyberhealth absolutely requires
- preventative medicine
- regular checkups
- updated vaccinations
Scary enough, the Verizon report also revealed that the top external actor (perpetrator) group in breaches is organized crime! The top internal actor group in breaches is your system administrator! Who protects you?
Email breaches remain among the chief inroads of disease vectors into your system, and the Verizon report exposed the sad fact that people who experience a breach due to clicking on a phishing email tend to continue clicking on phishing emails! Does this describe you, or does it describe your team members?
It certainly describes someone in your organization.
Now the encouraging news; we have an opportunity for you to examine your cyberhealth now, and apply the practices you need to stay healthy. We want to help you be as vigorous as you can be, so like when doctors offer free clinics, we’re offering you a 30-day free trial of some very good medicine.
The Flint Tech Solutions Information Protection Package is yours free for 30 days when you sign a managed solutions agreement with us. If at the end of that 30 days you don’t believe our health plan has improved your cyberhealth in guarding your email, you can end the agreement without penalty and see if you can find support elsewhere.
Your Flint Tech Solutions Information Protection Package includes 24/7 personal protection management of your email system (no, we don’t read your emails or documents like the free services do, we just make sure they get to their destination safely), and;
- Real-time protection
- Holistic protection and trials of the amazing collaborative tool Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, Sharepoint Online, and OneDrive for Business.
- Safe Attachments utilizes advanced machine learning to protect you in real time by preventing malicious attachments from impacting your messaging environment, even if their signatures are not known! It isolates and examines attachments before sending them to recipients, nice and clean.
- Exchange Online Protection protects your environment when users click on links by instantly examining the URL in real time, and either warning you of a risk in visiting, or blocking it entirely. Reporting allows you to see which users clicked a link and when they did it!
- Rich reporting gives you critical insights into who is being targeted in your company, what types of attacks you’re facing, and the ability to trace and report malicious links.
Use this service to defeat malware, assure compliances, for data loss protection, and dress your server in armor!
This is a powerful and amazing package under the direction of Flint Tech Solutions CISSP Brian Rupp, and we’re happy to offer it to you for 30 days at no cost to you! Simply click HERE to start your free trial!
Update; we’ve decided to add something to our giveaway that you can get, and keep forever. Microsoft provided us with a fantastic Whitepaper on Shadow IT. In a nutshell, Shadow IT happens when you or your team tweak your device with any unauthorized piece of software, whether that software adds value or not. That’s the tricky part; if you don’t know what apps are being added to your carefully crafted system, you can’t know what they’re affecting, what data they’re moving, if your security covers their actions…nothing!
You can have this whitepaper just for clicking through, ’cause we truly do appreciate your time, and want to see you in control of your business from top to bottom!
Did you know…?
Managed Services are the best way to control spending in your company. The pains you’re feeling now over trying to handle all aspects of your daily business, like cybersecurity, operating systems, compliance, upgrades, relocations, and expansions, can drain your finances, morale, and the time you have available for your customers and the healthy growth you need.
It’s almost certain that you have spent money you didn’t need to spend, and lost growth you should have gained because you were spending time and resources in an area that was not the right use of your team.
Let Flint support you in handling ongoing services and special projects. We have the specialists you need to do it right the first time, do it efficiently, and without interrupting your business. Our managed cybersecurity solutions guard your business 24/7, and can effectively lower your overall costs of operation!
There’s a high cost to doing nothing. Don’t pay that price. Do something. Do business better. Ask us how.
Brian Rupp, CISSP to lead Flint Tech Solutions cybersecurity division
Wexford PA— Sept. 5, 2018 — Today, Flint Tech Solutions is pleased to announce the appointment of Brian Rupp, CISSP, Certified Information Systems Security Professional!
“Brian is an awesome gain for our company,” said Kenneth Barrett, CEO at Flint Tech Solutions.
Positive Customer Impact
Flint Tech clients will benefit greatly from Mr. Rupp’s extensive background in developing and perfecting approaches to military, state, and private sector cybersecurity. His commitment to excellence as a leading figure in the security field tremendously elevates Flint’s ability to provide cyber and physical security. Already a superior, “born in the Cloud” security provider, Flint’s ability to provide top-notch security and security teaching regarding the safest measures for any given setting is now separated from most SMB providers by the presence of such a skilled and experienced CISSP and complete CISO services.
Product Availability
Flint Tech Solutions offers SMBs and Enterprise companies the rare and valuable circumstance of having all four pillars of Digital Transformation under one roof; Cyber Security is our first concern, adding Digital Marketing, IT Managed Solutions, and DevOps/App Support, eliminating the need for dealing with multiple companies, multiple representatives, and conflicting contracts. Lower your overall operating costs while receiving optimal care toward helping you do business better.
Founded in 2013, Flint Tech Solutions is focused on Managed Cybersecurity Services with a complete in-house team that supports it through Digital Transformation of business to Engage your customers, Empower your employees, Optimize your operations, and Transform your products, all while reducing your overall costs of operation!
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Flint Tech Solutions operates in 6 countries, observing and helping clients maintain full national and international compliances, including GDPR, HIPPA, PCI DSS, and others. For more information, press only:
Mark Brown
Flint CMO
1.412.301.7948
MBrown@flinttech.com
For general questions write:
Info@FlintTech.com
The past few years have been stellar. The rapid growth of technology has helped several industries to grow into major businesses, and it is believed to be all for the better. About a decade ago, going on a road trip would mean flipping through pages after pages to find which direction to head towards. Today, we can take the fastest, shortest and even toll-free routes with utmost ease. Even getting a taxi has become so much easier. Gone are the days standing on the side of the road, either burning under a scorching sun or getting wet in the rain. Thanks to the transportation industry that has revolutionized so much for their digital disruptors like Uber.
What is Digital Disruption?
Digital Disruption is making use of digital technologies like social media, mobile phones and analytics to challenge the status quo. Typically, it’s about improvements on ideas that haven’t been thought about. Digital disruption is almost everywhere. But unlike traditional systems, they do not intend to be disrupted themselves.
The pace at which technology is rapidly growing and evolving, digital disruptors are almost everywhere and moving quickly to every corner of the world. What do you think is the next big disruption? Other than the automobile industry, here are 7 other industries that will experience an upheaval soon in the clasp of digital disruptors:
7 Industries That Are Headed to be The Next Digital Disruptors
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Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality, seriously? You must be thinking we are talking about the most commonly used applications of video games and TV. However, did you know there is plenty of R&D being done on this technology with millions of dollars of investments behind them? Virtual Reality is paving its way for innovation.
It may seem like a far-fetched idea right now seeing as we are not there yet. But with the heavy investments, it will usher in another revolution that leaves us wondering how we managed to live so long without such a technology by our side. From virtual tours to tourism to video conferencing or even distance learning, virtual reality simulations are on their way to making a HUGE breakthrough!
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Healthcare
The healthcare industry at present is deprived of “pleasant experiences.” This is where the role of digital disruptors come in. They are on their way to a massive development in making the consumer experience more comfortable, fast and useful. There is more to come.
Although there is heavy regulation, it is predicted that the healthcare industry is going to be one of the next big disruptors in the digital space. Right now, you may be experiencing a lot of pain in the healthcare side, but the days are not far when digital solutions will enable you to have better experiences in fulfilling your health needs.
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Professional Services
With technology exposed to more innovation, you will soon find that the tasks that were originally done by people in the professional services industry will be done by computers and robots. You might already know that this is what will happen in the future, but here’s the deal: think about booking your flight tickets through an artificial intelligence-driven app/website.
This is how digital will disrupt the traditional professional services industry by making use of computers to do the work. In the future, the professional services industry will extend towards advisory and consultancy services as well.
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Experiential Marketing
Imagine it’s 2040 and the customer loyalty, hyper-targeted, and brand loyalty marketing strategies are all exhausted. In fact, you do not need to go that far. After a few years, these tactics will lose their effectiveness. And businesses are fully aware that the engaging tactic that works well today will not work tomorrow.
While everyone is talking about hyper-targeted marketing strategies and segmented data, did anyone notice the huge growth in the online presence of experiential marketing? It’s the online engagement, online presence and online splashes that everyone can share and talk about, which makes experiential marketing a digital prodigy.
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Manufacturing
What’s a world without manufacturing? This industry has been powerful for a very long time now. The manufacturing industry is controlling what you are holding in your hand, what you are using to communicate with, and how you are keeping yourself entertained. The manufacturing industry is pretty much all about how you will go about your lives.
Think of smart home appliances facilitated by the use of the internet, which is where manufacturers decide to play their role in the digital world. With the technological advancements that are currently pacing through, it will be exciting to see what the manufacturing industry has in store for us.
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Insurance
When you see a guy selling insurance, you are almost always in a hurry trying to get away from him! A few years from now, you won’t have to do that. In fact, the change has already started. Startups like Insurify use the Facebook Messenger chatbot to provide automated insurances.
Furthermore, Lemonade’s smartphone app gets their user’s rental insurance done in minutes. If you are worried about falling victim to fraudulent activities then fret not! These companies spend more than $40 billion a year to fix these loopholes. Artificial Intelligence is changing the way insurance companies run their business.
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Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the real game changer. To tell you the truth, this is the next big digital disruptor. Have you seen the impact it has already created in the society? While you may be frustrated by the way a customer care executive has behaved, AI can change all of that.
It aims at helping to deliver a more conversational experience with the company’s consumer, creating conventional dialogues by building connections. AI is already helping you with your digital marketing by delivering more personalized ads to the right consumers at the right place and at the right time to drive in more customized experiences.
How can you Succeed at Digital Disruption?
Don’t get terrified if your business is on the verge of facing digital disruption. Here are some solutions that will help you thrive during digital disruption:
- Don’t Be Afraid to Bring in Changes: Was your business structured during the pre-digital economy? In that case for you to survive, you need to adapt to new processes and habits. For example, Uber has changed the entire taxi industry by remaking a more personalized mobile experience. If the taxi industry wants to survive, they need a complete surgery in providing their service.
- Focus more on Solutions, Not Products: It really doesn’t matter what products you are selling. What matters is how you are selling it. If you are selling something highly profitable, it will bring in more competitors in the industry. To battle such competition, you may consider changing your production style or improving your quality.
- Step Ahead with a Digitized Platform: Move a step ahead with a digitized platform. The best companies are learning on grasping their market with a great digitized platform that enables a high-quality transaction, efficiency, innovation and consumer intimacy. A good example of this would be Amazon. They are constantly raising the bar for their competitors by still remaining the top choice for their customers.
- Hiring a Digital Officer Won’t Solve Your Problems: If you think that hiring a marketing head, HR head, and a chief digital office would bring you success, then you may be wrong! That’s because the problem of digital disruption is bigger than that. It requires all the part of the business to work closely together, something they might never have done before. Instead of hiring a chief digital officer, learn the capabilities of your business. You might need to initiate changes and bring in new roles in a department itself and restructure the goals of your business to make success happen.
In Conclusion…
…there are exciting times ahead! Digital disruptors are affecting each and every industry. While you might not be acting on it right now, your competitor might have already believed in the changes and started working on them. You see, it is important to have enough technological skills for individuals to tackle the new technology in order to succeed.
Whatever happens, you can count on these 7 industries to become the next digital disruptors. Do you agree with us? Let us know what your thoughts are on this in the comment section below!
Sources:
The Coming Wave of Digital Disruption, Strategy-business
7 Industries That Are Headed to Be The Next Digital Disruptors, Business 2 Community
11 Industries Poised To Be The Next Digital Disruptors, Forbes
The Flint Tech Solutions digital marketing team is expanding, and ready to help you move to the next level of success, Marketing, branding, social media management, content creation, and copywriting are the things we’re known for, and if you ask us about Intelligent SEO, you’re going to hear something that might surprise you. Hit us up at info@flinttech.com, or use the chat over there on the right!
Congratulations on launching your startup! Now that you have reached this far, you should be placing your brand in front of every single eye possible. There might be a hundred other launches, selling the same product as you, so what makes you stand out? Everyday consumers are bombarded with the same kind of generic marketing messages. Although you should be working to create a unique image for your brand, don’t stop there! You must simultaneously look for popular digital marketing platforms to market your brand.
Let’s Talk Social… 
Undeniably, social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to publicize your startup that will leave an impact on your audience. Not only that, it’s a platform that allows your brand to grow by offering an easier way for promotion and customer services.
Here are 8 affordable and valuable digital marketing tips and tricks for your startup, that are heavily recommended by entrepreneurs.
- Facebook
Most digital marketers use Facebook to advertise for their clients. In fact, Facebook is the most favourite platform of digital marketers because of its grainy targeting ability to find the perfect target market. Facebook is the only platform that allows such in-depth marketing capabilities. By 2018, Facebook has counted to have 1.9 billion users, 75% of whom spend more than 20 minutes on Facebook every single day! It’s the best platform to reach Millennials and Generation X (ages 18 – 49) as it has been accounted that they spend over 7 hours a week on social media. With the constant improvements to its algorithm, Facebook is becoming more and more user-friendly that gives a better user experience.
- LinkedIn
Did you know that LinkedIn is highly customizable? As a digital marketer, you can target your buyer persona as its unique features allow you to target your ad towards a person’s profession instead of making it available for a group of people, unlike Facebook. With almost a monthly user of 106 million, typical LinkedIn marketers are less likely to use other social networks. That’s because the new Lead Accelerator tool enables lead nurturing for marketers to show their ads only to the people who are targeted at the right time (depending on where they are buying and what they are buying). There, LinkedIn is very organized with their ad campaign strategy and optimizes the best way to move towards their targeted audience. LinkedIn has been accounted to help numerous companies all over the US by decreasing their costs-per-lead and increase their transfer rates by 50%.
- Google AdWords
Google AdWords is increasingly gaining its popularity and there’s no way you can embrace digital marketing without the use of Google AdWords. Whatever you learn from Google AdWords campaign will help you tackle your campaigns well on other digital marketing platforms. Google AdWords is an incredibly powerful advertising platform that you can use easily to almost every type of business. Don’t insist yourself on comparing Facebook Ads to Google Display Network because they are two similar platforms and show should be used in harmony, not in opposition.
- Instagram
Whether you believe it or not but Instagram has paved its way to the best advertising platform for sales. Instagram is all about influential marketing. Once you have your product and know your market, Instagram will help you target the suitable audience and increase your engagement. Plus, all the other platforms will require you to spend on huge ad budgets while you get very little in return. Out of 600 million unique users, 53% of them follow brands, whereby 90% of them are below 35 years of age. There you go! This is an amazing platform if you want to target the millennials.
- Quora
Whenever you type and search a question on Google, there are high chances that the first few results that appear are likely to be from Quora. That’s what Quora is all about! This question-answer social media platform is easy to navigate, making it a great way for companies to create a network with the industry influencers and boost their company’s image. Marketers use this platform to gain a reputation as a skillful industry expert by answering relevant questions that were posted by users. Not only that, they connect with other people in their space who can help them with word-of-mouth marketing about their brand. Just so you know, Quora has 190 million users monthly – and it’s growing more than ever. They launched their ad features in 2016, but only for a limited number of advertisers. If you combine Facebook and Google through remarketing, this will go a long way to fulfill your marketing needs.
- Twitter
How can we not mention about Twitter! Digital Marketers love it because of its ridiculously easy growth with so less effort. Since not many people are on Twitter, hence, it allows you to connect with the most influential people all around the world. Take advantage of Twitter Ads for letting your brand grow with the most influential people in your space. Twitter will give you the same visibility that you are looking for, but with a better return on your investments.
- Reddit
If you have heard about Reddit and never thought of it as a digital marketing platform, it’s high time you start considering it as one. Why? Reddit is digital marketers one of the best-kept secrets. With over 250 million users, this content-based social platform runs entirely on its user’s activities. Sounds strange, right? The user’s activities are separated precisely into content communities known as “subreddits”, where the users themselves can post their own content and “upvote” or “downvote” another people’s post to make it appear in a higher or lower place on the trending list. And there lies your advantage! Upvote your sponsored posts that turn up in different subreddits for effective branding for your own brand. This makes it easier for you to interact with potential consumers of your brand.
- Pinterest
Pinterest is on its way to achieving its position among the well-established social media platforms. It is said that people on Pinterest are 10% more likely to make online purchases via e-commerce than other social media users. From 18 – 64-year-old, Pinterest offers a huge collection of over 5,000 interests and categories that allows digital advertisers to be more specific, obvious and niche. You’d be surprised to know that Pinterest can be very effective in terms of advertising by increasing brand awareness, traffic, engagement and thus boosting sales for your brand. By clicking on your ad, users will land into your e-commerce page, making your campaign successful.
Additional Tips:
Here are some tips on how you can do your best with your startup in terms of Digital Marketing:
- Influence your followers and keep them engaged
Make your followers feel like they are valuable members of your brand. If they have any complaints, don’t be afraid to approach them. Showcase your brand’s customer-service competencies. As a brand (or even a startup), strategically win your customers over with the best products and good customer services and you’ll go a long way!
- Don’t go for big investments on social media yet
We know how keen you are about spending on digital marketing to get the best exposure for your brand. But don’t go for big investments yet! Take baby steps and make use of Facebook ads, LinkedIn Premium, and Sponsored Tweets. These will provide a higher engagement with lower investment.
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Your content still matters
You may wonder, why is content so important? Well, it’s because, through your content, your message is being conveyed to your audience. If your message is not well formulated, there are fewer chances for you to succeed.
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram might be known as the powerhouse of social media, it’s still a good idea to make noise and connect with other potential customers via the lesser-known platforms alongside the most popular ones. Who knows, your competitors might not be using them and you could be the ruler of that platform? As a startup, you might have to worry about your budget, but keeping your marketing costs moderately low and financing proper digital opportunities are likely to bring you success. Improve your brand’s visibility without suffocating yourself on large budget campaigns.
Sources:
8 Tips for Bootstrapped Startups, Entrepreneur
8 Customer-Rich Platforms Your Marketing Efforts May Be Overlooking, Entrepreneur
8 Reasons Facebook Will Beat All Other Channels This Year, Entrepreneur
The Flint Tech Solutions digital marketing team is expanding, and ready to help you move to the next level of success, Marketing, branding, social media management, content creation, and copywriting are the things we’re known for, and if you ask us about Intelligent SEO, you’re going to hear something that might surprise you. Hit us up at info@flinttech.com, or use the chat over there on the right!
