7 Reasons Why Video is Now the Fastest Growing Online Ad Format

If you Google the phrase “fastest growing online ad format” you’ll see there’s not much debate about the answer. It’s video.

As an online ad format, video is now more popular than search, more popular than email marketing, more popular than blogs and more popular than Facebook. The facts related to that growth are staggering.

For example, in 2011 the Internet Advertising Bureau reported that in the UK alone, the online video spend was up 90%.

When you think about it, it’s not that surprising. Online video has always been popular. And with the growth of smart phones and tablets and the ease of creating and sending video content, it makes sense that Web video is only becoming more popular.

If you’re a small business owner or manager, there are tons of facts to support adding more video to your website and marketing efforts. Below I’ve listed what I consider to be the top 7. After reading them, please feel free to add more reasons of your own.

1)  People Retain More With a Visual and Auditory Combination

People retain 58% more with both visual and auditory stimulation according to Forrester Research.

2)  Video is Now More Searchable

Via Google AdWords for video, video is now more searchable by search engines. In fact, a video in Google’s index is 53 times more likely to appear on first page search results according to Forrester Research.

3)  Video Has More Potential

Versus other media, video has more potential to be shared and go viral.

4)  People Take Notice

65% of senior executives have visited a vendor’s website after watching a video according to Forbe’s Video in the C-Suite report (PDF).

5) People Prefer Video Over Text

According to the same Forbe’s report, 59% of senior executives prefer to watch video instead of reading text and 80% are watching more online video today than they were a year ago.

6)  Video Increases the Likelihood of Purchasing

People who view a Web video are 64% more likely to purchase than those who don’t according to Comscore.

7)  Video Provides Purchasing Confidence

According to Internet Retailer, 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in their online purchase decisions. When a video is information-intensive, 66% of consumers will watch the video two or more times.

In a 2012 keynote address at CES, YouTube’s VP of Global Content, Robert Kyncl, predicted that video would soon be 90% of Internet traffic. While Mr. Kyncl may be slightly biased, I wouldn’t bet against him. In the next decade, Web TV will be a game changer contributing to even more explosive video growth.

No wonder why Social Media Examiner reported that 76% of marketers say they plan to add more video (PDF) to their marketing effort.

Are you?

Video Photo via Shutterstock

Senior management do not understand security metrics as it is too technical

Half of IT professionals do not believe that their metrics adequately convey the effectiveness of security risk management efforts to senior executives.

According to a survey of 1,321 professionals by Tripwire and the Ponemon Institute, 49 per cent did not believe or were unsure that their organisations' metrics could convey security risk management efforts to senior executives.

When they were asked why metrics were not created that could be understood by non-technical management, 53 per cent said the information is too technical to be understood by non-technical management; 42 per cent blamed pressing issues; and 43 per cent said that they only communicate with executives when there is an actual security incident.

A third (35 per cent) said it takes too much time and resources to prepare and report metrics to senior executives, while 13 per cent said that senior executives are not interested in the information.

Rekha Shenoy, vice president of marketing and corporate development at Tripwire, said: “These results correlate with the dozens of conversations we have been having with CISOs across the globe.

“CISOs talk about the importance of leveraging metrics as a way to influence business leadership and build a risk management practice within their companies. Unfortunately, they struggle with the bigger challenge of producing meaningful metrics, while those they use are rarely aligned with business goals.”

Dr Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, said, “Even though most organisations rely on metrics for operational improvement in IT, more than half of IT professionals appear to be concerned about their ability to use metrics to communicate effectively with senior executives about security.”

4 Ways Your Business Can Get Personal Online

So you’ve got an outstanding business and you’re beginning to develop an online presence? Keep in mind that when you move forward in cyberspace, you’ll need to follow a few rules.

One of those rules is not to let the electronic barrier between you and your prospective customers prevent you from becoming more personable in your marketing efforts. You want everyone in your target market to feel like you are reaching out to each one of them individually, rather than constructing an online presence meant to appeal to the proverbial masses.

1. Responsive Web design

Marching forward in the 21st century, you’ll find that responsive Web design is no longer an option. It’s an absolute necessity if you want your business to stay competitive.

Responsive Web design refers to the principle that the website is easily viewed and used on a screen of any size. It uses a technique known as a “media query” to determine the screen resolution of the device on which the viewer has called up your site. Then it renders the output appropriate to the screen size, so every user sees a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate Web page on his or her device, no matter how big or small.

As you might have guessed, responsive Web design is implemented primarily so people using mobile devices can view websites without “paying a price” because they are not on a traditional PC or Mac.

Given the overwhelming growth of the mobile market, your website absolutely has to feature responsive Web design.

2. Customized User Preferences

Enabling customized user preferences is a great idea. It’s especially useful if your website is meant to cater to differing target markets. For example, your Web presence might be an online auction site for various types of fine art.

Some bidders might only be interested in paintings while others are primarily seeking finely decorated pieces. People with disparate tastes should be able to configure their preferences on the site so that when they log in, they see only the kinds of art they are interested in purchasing.

You can also go the extra mile with this principle and allow people to change the actual look and feel of your website to suit their own tastes, at least to some extent. The important thing is that you market to customers in a way that they find easy to customize. That’s a very good thing.

3. Use Social Media

Social media goes by that name for a very good reason. It’s an online means of becoming more social. This provides no small amount of benefit to businesses that wish to cast aside the corporate persona and opt for a more approachable “personality” in their online marketing efforts.

You might be surprised by how many of your customers take to social media with customer service inquiries. Make sure that you monitor your various social media channels consistently, so that you respond to those inquiries. If visitors see that you’re perform responsive customer service on social media, they will swiftly accept you as a business person.

4. Personalized Birthday Gifts

Perhaps you have an online business that asks for people’s date of birth when they register with your site. If that’s the case, then use that information to boost online interaction.

How?

You can provide personalized birthday gifts. This is a great way to say “I care” to someone who is interested in your products or services. It will pleasantly surprise the recipient, because the odds are great that your competitors aren’t doing the same.

You’re giving your prospects a warm, fuzzy feeling about you as an individual and that will likely pay off for your business.

Online Gift Photo via Shutterstock

Business Desktops Need Security, Too! 10 Tips To Staying Safe and Virus Free!

Brought to you by AVG Technologies, the provider of Internet and mobile security, privacy and optimization to 150 million active users. There’s nothing small about small business in our eyes. Get more information on how AVG can help your small business stay protected - go to http://www.avg.com/us-en/internet-security-business. 

Business Desktops Need Security, Too!
10 Tips To Staying Safe and Virus Free!

In an era when technology has evolved to the point where we’re depending more on mobile and portable devices, we’ve come to rely on the desktop computer as a solid block that’s impenetrable. In fact, the focus of malware (malicious software) developers has shifted significantly towards the mobile sphere. However, this doesn’t mean that they’re going to pipe down on attempting to infect desktop computers. The war over your desktop isn’t over.

Even if your business relies entirely on laptops, it’s still running software made chiefly for desktops. The threats that knock on their doors are the same ones that can infect desktops. Even worse, some malware could infect entire networks, and all they need to do is land on an employee’s computer.

So, what do you do to prevent this?

• Keep an up-to-date antivirus program on each computer. This is a no-brainer, but it always helps to make sure that all virus databases are up to date everywhere, which will help keep those pesky viruses out of your precious network.
• Use the “principle of least privilege.” This principle engages against security problems in a system by implementing the practice of avoiding administrative user accounts when they are unnecessary. Do not give employees administrative access to their computers. Create a separate user account with enough privileges to get work done. Administrative accounts are for system administration, not daily use.
• Keep Windows/Mac/Linux up to date. Even if it may seem unnecessary and sometimes inconvenient, keeping a computer’s operating system up to date will put a lid on some vulnerabilities. Windows XP once had a vulnerability where hackers could tap into the remote access protocol and take control of a computer. These kinds of problems exist even in the latest operating systems. Viruses shouldn’t be your only worry!
• Never allow employees to share passwords with each other. Avoid sharing one account for anything.
• Work computers are for work. While you may want to let employees browse around their social networks and check personal emails in their leisure time, you must not allow them to open any attachments or download anything to their respective computers.

• When storing sensitive data, make sure it’s in a password-protected directory and, if possible, encrypted!
• Establish and enforce a policy in which employees will lock their computers or log out of them when leaving, even if they’re leaving for a sip of coffee.
• If possible, disable any remote access. Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance are big vulnerabilities! The “if possible” is there for File and Printer Sharing. If you need these to function, then by all means keep them active.
• In Windows computers, restrict user accounts’ abilities to use the registry editor (regedit.exe) and the command line (cmd.exe). Both of these can lead to accidental mismanagement of the operating system, which can cause catastrophic failure.
• Don’t forget to install and configure a firewall. A proper firewall will prevent most malware that gets access to a computer from connecting to the network and doing more harm.

After you’ve reviewed these policies and best practices, sit down with your employees and discuss them. They must know that you’re serious about running a tight ship. And to ensure that no one forgets how to stay safe, here’s a good idea: Get mouse pads with your computer use guidelines printed on them. This way, your employees will always have a reminder!

How to Re-Package Quotes Into Viral Content

Quotes are powerful. They pass the test of time, surpass the expectations of those who said them and even survive the fall of empires. One statement made by a figure in history, regardless of who they are, can resonate just as strongly hundreds or even thousands of years later. Well into the future, you can be sure that a good quote will still be circulating, both from antiquity and from what is today modern.

How can you use this to your advantage?

If you have a social media presence, you will notice that content containing quotes are quick to go viral. But even better, they have a timelessness that allows them to stay there. While relevant to a current event, the entire point behind one of these sayings is that it is applicable well after the events they are applied to pass.

Know Your Market

Who are you aiming to market this content to? Not knowing who your chosen demographic is will be a quick path to failure. Viral content has been shared and reshared, capturing the attention of a group so they feel they just have to spread it. If you don’t even know who that group should be, how will they know they were the intended audience in the first place?

Once you know your market, you will also be able to catch their eye through direct reference. One great way is by using modern experts in your field for the quotes. Not only will this stroke the ego a bit and give you a line into a possible connection, but it will make the quote recognizable to others in the industry. Helping to solidify who the message was for and who should be passing your content on.

Repackage With Fresh Media

Viral Image

If there are quotes on your site already, perhaps from interviews or even reader comments, you can repackage it into new content for a fresh perspective. For example, if you asked for opinions from your readers on a certain issue, you could cherry pick the best. Then take those quotes and make them a text-over-image for easy sharing and appeal to social networks like Facebook and Pinterest.

Quotes look fabulous on the image. Look at how Quoto makes its quotes flye with its picture quotes feature, for example.

Tool: Quotes Cover + pick sources of free blog images for the awesome backgrounds.

Infographics

Another way is by creating an infographic with the details you quote from a past piece of work. Statistics take on a whole new and effective meaning when presented more visually. The same goes for slideshows, videos and other visual media.

Tools: Piktochart and Infogr.am.

PowerPoint Presentations

If you have a series of quotes, they can be easily re-packaged into inspirational presentations.

Tool: Haiku Deck (free).

Videos

PowerPoint presentations are easy to convert into a video and will some nice music, you have a great piece of content to enrich your Youtuve Channel.

Expand Your Reach

Once you have repackaged your content, it is time to expand the reach of that content. Social media is going to be your best friend in this regard. Both Pinterest and Facebook have been mentioned already and they will be your primary networks for gaining visibility thanks to their popularity and frequent use of image sharing. But don’t discount the help that sites like Google+, Reddit and even LinkedIn can provide, depending on your demographic. Then there are other media sharing sites, such as Youtube and Vimeo.

Share all content often and in many places at once. There are tools out there that will let you post to all of your social networks from a single dashboard, such as Hootsuite. While not necessary, it can be helpful and more productive than doing each one manually.

Be sure to encourage your followers to ‘like and share’ your content. Sometimes that little call to action can make all the difference.

Collect and Curate

Start sharing other quoted content. You can do this on most sites, but Pinterest is going to be your main source. Since you are pinning images from other sources, you will be gaining attention each time. People will be more likely to follow your boards when you collect and curate content - and quotes are especially big there.

Do you have any tips for repackaging quotes for viral content?

Confucius Photo via Shutterstock

Image: Quoto

Reach Photo via Shutterstock

Business Desktops Need Security, Too! 10 Tips To Staying Safe and Virus Free!

Brought to you by AVG Technologies, the provider of Internet and mobile security, privacy and optimization to 150 million active users. There’s nothing small about small business in our eyes. Get more information on how AVG can help your small business stay protected - go to http://www.avg.com/us-en/internet-security-business. 

Business Desktops Need Security, Too!
10 Tips To Staying Safe and Virus Free!

In an era when technology has evolved to the point where we’re depending more on mobile and portable devices, we’ve come to rely on the desktop computer as a solid block that’s impenetrable. In fact, the focus of malware (malicious software) developers has shifted significantly towards the mobile sphere. However, this doesn’t mean that they’re going to pipe down on attempting to infect desktop computers. The war over your desktop isn’t over.

Even if your business relies entirely on laptops, it’s still running software made chiefly for desktops. The threats that knock on their doors are the same ones that can infect desktops. Even worse, some malware could infect entire networks, and all they need to do is land on an employee’s computer.

So, what do you do to prevent this?

• Keep an up-to-date antivirus program on each computer. This is a no-brainer, but it always helps to make sure that all virus databases are up to date everywhere, which will help keep those pesky viruses out of your precious network.
• Use the “principle of least privilege.” This principle engages against security problems in a system by implementing the practice of avoiding administrative user accounts when they are unnecessary. Do not give employees administrative access to their computers. Create a separate user account with enough privileges to get work done. Administrative accounts are for system administration, not daily use.
• Keep Windows/Mac/Linux up to date. Even if it may seem unnecessary and sometimes inconvenient, keeping a computer’s operating system up to date will put a lid on some vulnerabilities. Windows XP once had a vulnerability where hackers could tap into the remote access protocol and take control of a computer. These kinds of problems exist even in the latest operating systems. Viruses shouldn’t be your only worry!
• Never allow employees to share passwords with each other. Avoid sharing one account for anything.
• Work computers are for work. While you may want to let employees browse around their social networks and check personal emails in their leisure time, you must not allow them to open any attachments or download anything to their respective computers.

• When storing sensitive data, make sure it’s in a password-protected directory and, if possible, encrypted!
• Establish and enforce a policy in which employees will lock their computers or log out of them when leaving, even if they’re leaving for a sip of coffee.
• If possible, disable any remote access. Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance are big vulnerabilities! The “if possible” is there for File and Printer Sharing. If you need these to function, then by all means keep them active.
• In Windows computers, restrict user accounts’ abilities to use the registry editor (regedit.exe) and the command line (cmd.exe). Both of these can lead to accidental mismanagement of the operating system, which can cause catastrophic failure.
• Don’t forget to install and configure a firewall. A proper firewall will prevent most malware that gets access to a computer from connecting to the network and doing more harm.

After you’ve reviewed these policies and best practices, sit down with your employees and discuss them. They must know that you’re serious about running a tight ship. And to ensure that no one forgets how to stay safe, here’s a good idea: Get mouse pads with your computer use guidelines printed on them. This way, your employees will always have a reminder!

Business Desktops Need Security, Too! 10 Tips To Staying Safe and Virus Free!

Brought to you by AVG Technologies, the provider of Internet and mobile security, privacy and optimization to 150 million active users. There’s nothing small about small business in our eyes. Get more information on how AVG can help your small business stay protected - go to http://www.avg.com/us-en/internet-security-business. 

Business Desktops Need Security, Too!
10 Tips To Staying Safe and Virus Free!

In an era when technology has evolved to the point where we’re depending more on mobile and portable devices, we’ve come to rely on the desktop computer as a solid block that’s impenetrable. In fact, the focus of malware (malicious software) developers has shifted significantly towards the mobile sphere. However, this doesn’t mean that they’re going to pipe down on attempting to infect desktop computers. The war over your desktop isn’t over.

Even if your business relies entirely on laptops, it’s still running software made chiefly for desktops. The threats that knock on their doors are the same ones that can infect desktops. Even worse, some malware could infect entire networks, and all they need to do is land on an employee’s computer.

So, what do you do to prevent this?

• Keep an up-to-date antivirus program on each computer. This is a no-brainer, but it always helps to make sure that all virus databases are up to date everywhere, which will help keep those pesky viruses out of your precious network.
• Use the “principle of least privilege.” This principle engages against security problems in a system by implementing the practice of avoiding administrative user accounts when they are unnecessary. Do not give employees administrative access to their computers. Create a separate user account with enough privileges to get work done. Administrative accounts are for system administration, not daily use.
• Keep Windows/Mac/Linux up to date. Even if it may seem unnecessary and sometimes inconvenient, keeping a computer’s operating system up to date will put a lid on some vulnerabilities. Windows XP once had a vulnerability where hackers could tap into the remote access protocol and take control of a computer. These kinds of problems exist even in the latest operating systems. Viruses shouldn’t be your only worry!
• Never allow employees to share passwords with each other. Avoid sharing one account for anything.
• Work computers are for work. While you may want to let employees browse around their social networks and check personal emails in their leisure time, you must not allow them to open any attachments or download anything to their respective computers.

• When storing sensitive data, make sure it’s in a password-protected directory and, if possible, encrypted!
• Establish and enforce a policy in which employees will lock their computers or log out of them when leaving, even if they’re leaving for a sip of coffee.
• If possible, disable any remote access. Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance are big vulnerabilities! The “if possible” is there for File and Printer Sharing. If you need these to function, then by all means keep them active.
• In Windows computers, restrict user accounts’ abilities to use the registry editor (regedit.exe) and the command line (cmd.exe). Both of these can lead to accidental mismanagement of the operating system, which can cause catastrophic failure.
• Don’t forget to install and configure a firewall. A proper firewall will prevent most malware that gets access to a computer from connecting to the network and doing more harm.

After you’ve reviewed these policies and best practices, sit down with your employees and discuss them. They must know that you’re serious about running a tight ship. And to ensure that no one forgets how to stay safe, here’s a good idea: Get mouse pads with your computer use guidelines printed on them. This way, your employees will always have a reminder!

NEST reports £1.4 million lost to fraudulent incident

The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) has reported a £1.4 million loss due to fraud.

In its annual reports and accounts, chief executive and accounting officer Tim Jones said that it lost £1.4 million in 2012/13 from a single fraudulent attack, involving the diversion of a supplier payment.

He said: “One adverse event of significance during the year was the discovery of a criminal fraud against the organisation. We responded immediately and have strengthened our defences, although we are chastened by the experience.

“A series of actions to seek recovery of the monies, tighten our controls framework and review business processes across NEST have been undertaken.”

Jones also said that following this event, he asked NEST chairman Lawrence Churchill to remove him from consideration for any non-consolidated award for 2012/13. Churchill called the fraud a "timely reminder of the need for continuous vigilance in the modern world".

The report claimed that the attack occurred in December 2012 when a supplier bank mandate fraud was perpetrated, involving the diversion of a supplier payment. It said that it was notified of this in January 2013 and it was directed at NEST, resulting in a loss of £1,446,000 from its operating budget.

It confirmed that no money was taken from members' retirement pots. “As soon as we were made aware of the fraud, we ensured that all relevant regulatory authorities and the police were notified and worked closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand how this had happened and to independently investigate the incident,” it said.

“We also initiated steps to strengthen controls over the payment process.

A wider programme of work has since been agreed to further improve NEST systems, people and processes. As part of this, we asked Deloitte to undertake a detailed assessment of the design and operating effectiveness of key internal controls across NEST.”

It is also reviewing its fraud awareness training and has carried out additional training to appropriate staff and has put in place arrangements to identify and monitor emerging fraud risks and to address any control requirements.

“As part of this we are also enhancing our financial crime expertise within the risk team. We will also arrange regular fraud awareness training to ensure our employees are aware of this type of risk and know what action to take,” it said.

Jones said: “I am proud of what we've achieved this year - we have faced significant challenges and hurdles but have delivered for members and employers. We won't always get everything completely right, but we continue to learn and evolve our services to ensure they meet the needs of employers and members.

“The fraud loss NEST incurred represented a serious failure in our system of internal controls. We have taken rigorous and immediate action to strengthen our control environment.”

Facebook to patch email address flaw

Facebook has confirmed it will patch a vulnerability that allows any account to be compromised.

According to details from Dan Melamed, if a victim is logged into Facebook an attacker can lure the victim to visit a website link and once the link has loaded, the attacker is able to reset the victim's password.

He said that the vulnerability exists in the ‘claim email address' component of Facebook and when a user tries to add an email address that already exists in the Facebook system, they have the option to ‘claim it'. However when claiming an email address, Facebook does not check who the request came from and this allows an email to be claimed on any Facebook account.

In order for an attacker to conduct this, they will need two Facebook accounts: one account with the email address (that you want to claim) already added to it; and another account to initiate the claim process. Once the victim clicks on the link, the rogue email is instantly added to their Facebook account.

Melamed said: “The victim does not receive any notification whatsoever that this email has been added.

“The hacker can then reset the victim's password using the newly added email address. Thus allowing the attacker to take complete control over the Facebook account.”

According to security blogger Graham Cluley, Melamed was awarded $1,500 (£993) by Facebook's bug bounty initiative for responsibly disclosing the vulnerability to the social network.

He said: “Dan Melamed says that the link does not expire for approximately three hours, giving plenty of time for abuse. He has made a video demonstrating how the attack works. I recommend watching the video full-screen in HD to get the most out of it, and note that there is no soundtrack.”

HP updates ArcSight range to thwart APTs

HP has updated its enterprise security portfolio with specific designs to meet the challenge of advanced persistent threats (APTs).

According to the company, the updates to the ArcSight range help with process events at scale, provide deep insights out of the box, correlate user context and provide actionable intelligence to reduce the risk of APTs.

It said that HP ArcSight Threat Detector 2.0 now comes with built-in threat profiles and threat profile intelligence that use heuristic analysis on common areas of threat such as browsing patterns, distributed attack detection, early-stage attack detection and activity profiling.

Secondly, the HP ArcSight Threat Response Manager 5.5 now has cloud-ready, closed-loop capabilities for threat detection and response to mitigate APTs. It said that this enables users to automate the entire threat response process, while providing an end-to-end network security and monitoring solution that addresses accelerated threat detection through proactive response.

Finally, the HP ArcSight IdentityView 2.5 has been enhanced with expanded correlation of user identity, roles and activities across events and security incidents. In a single instance it can now monitor by 10 times, helping organisations correlate security incident and event data across an expansive user base to reduce insider threat risk, HP claimed.

HP said that if a user's activity on the network does not correspond to permitted access controls and baseline behaviour based on historically correlated data, the solution will flag the profile for further investigation. As a result, a company's security operations team can identify intentional versus unintentional activities and mitigate potential threats in real-time.

Haiyan Song, vice president and general manager of ArcSight enterprise security products at HP, said: “With solutions designed to enhance threat detection through improved security analytics for big data, HP enables customers to quickly identify potential attackers and take action proactively to minimise business impact and prevent disruption to critical client services.”

Microsoft denies allegations of leaks and encryption bypass to NSA and FBI

Microsoft has denied that it provides any government with ‘blanket or direct access' to any of its products.

In a recent article in the Guardian, it was claimed that Microsoft had collaborated with the US intelligence services to allow users' communications to be intercepted and that it allows the National Security Agency to circumvent its own encryption.

Microsoft responded in a statement that it has clear principles to guide the response for government demands for customer information for both law enforcement and national security issues.

It said that it only provides customer data in response to legal processes and its compliance team examines all demands very closely, and it rejects them if it believes they aren't valid.

Finally, it said that it only ever complies with orders about specific accounts or identifiers, and would not respond to the kind of blanket orders. “To be clear, Microsoft does not provide any government with blanket or direct access to SkyDrive, Outlook.com, Skype or any Microsoft product,” it stated.

Microsoft said that when a product is upgraded or updated, legal obligations might require that it maintains the ability to provide information in response to a law enforcement or national security request.

Files provided to the Guardian by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden claimed to show that: Microsoft helped the NSA circumvent its encryption to address concerns that the agency would be unable to intercept web chats on the new Outlook.com portal; the agency already had pre-encryption stage access to email on Outlook.com, including Hotmail; and Microsoft worked with the FBI to allow the NSA to have easier access via Prism to its cloud storage service SkyDrive, which now has more than 250 million users worldwide.

5 Tips for Competing as a Little Guy in a Big, Busy Space

Chances are, if you and your company are doing something right, you’ve attracted the attention of a giant. That could mean you’ve spent years perfecting your product or service only for Google, Amazon or Microsoft to step in and launch their take on your idea. Then other companies catch onto the trend, too.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.

There’s nothing wrong with playing in a crowded space with leaders or even jumping in a little late on the action, assuming you’re playing your cards right. While it may feel like there’s a competitor waiting for you behind every corner, the key to your business’ success isn’t contingent on empty markets, but rather the strengths that drive your business forward in a validated market.

Instead of panicking when a giant enters your space, or at least after the initial stages of panic, reassess what this means for your company and how you can keep growing to push past the noise.

1. Move fast, release quickly and launch often. You’re way faster than the big boys.

While competing against the giants (and their seemingly bottomless budgets) may sound daunting, there are several benefits of being a bootstrapped startup and speed is at the top.

Change and refine your product quickly and often if it means enhancing the user experience. It takes big, public companies easily one full quarter to implement a product update and your team can have a modification up and running in just a few days â€" no politics involved. Use this to your advantage by responding to customer feedback immediately with adjustments and continue to push the innovation envelope.

The big guys put too much at risk when taking chances and are, therefore, too scared to make mistakes.

2. In terms of marketing, know where the puck is going.

Anticipate that giants are going to come after your booming market and coin the right terms as part of your core messaging. For example, let’s say “cloud” has been part of your tagline from the start. When Microsoft launched its “to the cloud campaign,” your search traffic easily doubled â€" if not tripled.

Stay current with the language relevant to your space so you can easily jump in the conversation.

3. Respect your customers by not just responding quickly, but changing the product. Please them.

We’ve all had that same burdensome experience when you wait on the phone for hours, be it with your bank, insurance company or an airline, to get the help you need. Even worse, you could be dealing with a robot telling you to “press 5 for more options.”

Customer service from corporate giants is notoriously frustrating and as a small business, you have the major advantage here. Your employees are not only more accessible to customers, they’re near and dear to the product, making their customer care more sincere and insightful.

And since customers have become a business’ best marketing tool, the impact of quality customer service is immeasurable.

4. Distribute your company under a giant’s brand through partnerships.

That’s right â€" giants can be your friends. While a direct competitor may not be a fit, another giant that could benefit from leveraging your services could be a great candidate for a partnership. Bigger companies that are outside your immediate industry are your best bet, as they’ll appreciate saving the time and effort that goes into building the product themselves, especially if they don’t have existing expertise in the field.

They benefit from extending their offering to include your services and you’re able to capitalize on the giant’s wide industry reach.

5. Lastly, the most important element of all - put forth an excellent product.

Of course, there’s no use competing in a big, busy market (or any market at all, for that matter), if you’re not putting forth an excellent product that people love. The product is the DNA of your business and you can’t pursue steps 1 - 4 without mastering it.

Ultimately, you don’t need to panic if an industry leader joins your playing field. And if you’re considering starting a business, don’t be disheartened if a lot of other companies are already offering a similar kind of service. If you carve your own niche, there will be room for your business to grow.

You should still look before you leap and do your research on how you can stand out, but play into your strengthens and don’t let a saturated market stifle your ideas.

Big Versus Small Business Photo via Shutterstock

5 Tips for Competing as a Little Guy in a Big, Busy Space

Chances are, if you and your company are doing something right, you’ve attracted the attention of a giant. That could mean you’ve spent years perfecting your product or service only for Google, Amazon or Microsoft to step in and launch their take on your idea. Then other companies catch onto the trend, too.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.

There’s nothing wrong with playing in a crowded space with leaders or even jumping in a little late on the action, assuming you’re playing your cards right. While it may feel like there’s a competitor waiting for you behind every corner, the key to your business’ success isn’t contingent on empty markets, but rather the strengths that drive your business forward in a validated market.

Instead of panicking when a giant enters your space, or at least after the initial stages of panic, reassess what this means for your company and how you can keep growing to push past the noise.

1. Move fast, release quickly and launch often. You’re way faster than the big boys.

While competing against the giants (and their seemingly bottomless budgets) may sound daunting, there are several benefits of being a bootstrapped startup and speed is at the top.

Change and refine your product quickly and often if it means enhancing the user experience. It takes big, public companies easily one full quarter to implement a product update and your team can have a modification up and running in just a few days â€" no politics involved. Use this to your advantage by responding to customer feedback immediately with adjustments and continue to push the innovation envelope.

The big guys put too much at risk when taking chances and are, therefore, too scared to make mistakes.

2. In terms of marketing, know where the puck is going.

Anticipate that giants are going to come after your booming market and coin the right terms as part of your core messaging. For example, let’s say “cloud” has been part of your tagline from the start. When Microsoft launched its “to the cloud campaign,” your search traffic easily doubled â€" if not tripled.

Stay current with the language relevant to your space so you can easily jump in the conversation.

3. Respect your customers by not just responding quickly, but changing the product. Please them.

We’ve all had that same burdensome experience when you wait on the phone for hours, be it with your bank, insurance company or an airline, to get the help you need. Even worse, you could be dealing with a robot telling you to “press 5 for more options.”

Customer service from corporate giants is notoriously frustrating and as a small business, you have the major advantage here. Your employees are not only more accessible to customers, they’re near and dear to the product, making their customer care more sincere and insightful.

And since customers have become a business’ best marketing tool, the impact of quality customer service is immeasurable.

4. Distribute your company under a giant’s brand through partnerships.

That’s right â€" giants can be your friends. While a direct competitor may not be a fit, another giant that could benefit from leveraging your services could be a great candidate for a partnership. Bigger companies that are outside your immediate industry are your best bet, as they’ll appreciate saving the time and effort that goes into building the product themselves, especially if they don’t have existing expertise in the field.

They benefit from extending their offering to include your services and you’re able to capitalize on the giant’s wide industry reach.

5. Lastly, the most important element of all - put forth an excellent product.

Of course, there’s no use competing in a big, busy market (or any market at all, for that matter), if you’re not putting forth an excellent product that people love. The product is the DNA of your business and you can’t pursue steps 1 - 4 without mastering it.

Ultimately, you don’t need to panic if an industry leader joins your playing field. And if you’re considering starting a business, don’t be disheartened if a lot of other companies are already offering a similar kind of service. If you carve your own niche, there will be room for your business to grow.

You should still look before you leap and do your research on how you can stand out, but play into your strengthens and don’t let a saturated market stifle your ideas.

Big Versus Small Business Photo via Shutterstock

UK\'s communications sector most hit by DDoS

A quarter of UK companies have experienced a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, with telecoms and e-commerce the most targeted sectors.

According to research by Neustar, 22 per cent of the 381 UK businesses it surveyed had experienced a DDoS attack, of which, 53 per cent of telecoms, 50 per cent of internet/e-commerce and 43 per cent of retail were affected.

Talking to SC Magazine, Susan Warner, market manager for DNS services and DDoS solutions at Neustar, said that there is not a network that has not experienced a DDoS attack and asked what the cost could be if a site is down for a period of time.

She said: “Also consider the impact on IT, how many people are being consumed by a DDoS attack and what are they losing operationally? What we are seeing is a cost impact, but cost and risk management will feel the impact.”

The survey discovered that the IT team would be the hardest hit according to 69 per cent of respondents, while 57 per cent said customer service would feel the effect. In terms of how many people were required to mitigate an attack - 40 per cent said two to five people, 35 per cent said only one person, while 12 per cent said more than ten would be required.

The attack sizes being launched on UK businesses are not big; 40 per cent said that they are less than 100Mbps, while 30 per cent said that they are less than 1Gbps. However, 22 per cent can persist for over a week, although 63 per cent can last less than a day.

Warner said: “When you are being [attacked by a] DDoS constantly, there is an impact on the IT team. DDoS is not just taking down the website and interface, but also [affects] critical communications.”

Asked what companies use to defend against a DDoS attack, 72 per cent said a firewall, 40 per cent a router and 32 per cent switches. A third (34 per cent) has deployed specialist technology - 20 per cent a cloud-based DDoS service, nine per cent IP-based prevention and five per cent DDoS hardware.