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Category: Our Ideas

Digital in the New Normal

Going Digital to Thrive in the “New Normal”

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The coronavirus outbreak has made a huge impact in today’s economy. It has created a huge disturbance in different industries such as tourism, retail, transportation and on all other types of businesses big and small. For a business to keep going during this “New Normal” period is to consider going digital. If you have never had the chance to update your business online, now is the perfect time to brainstorm and to ramp up your digital operation in order to help your business thrive during the global pandemic. 

 

Here’s some reasons on why you should be going digital now!  

 Many consumers shop online 

 Many people have relied on online shopping not only to keep them safe but also SANE during this pandemic. The quarantine has not only kept people home but has forced them to purchase their needs through available applications and websites who have continued to keep their operations going despite not having a physical store open. Just look at the hundreds of businesses marketing their products on social media! Count the number of promotions you’ve seen on the latest delivery apps!  

Your competitors are probably online… since before the pandemic  

If your business doesn’t have a website yet, well guess what? Your competitor probably has one already and you’re missing out on potential customers who are looking for your product or service while at the safety of their own home. While you were sitting at home waiting for things to happen, your competitors were eagerly drafting up online strategies and working with digital agencies on how to move their operations online. So, if you haven’t considered coming up with a digital marketing strategy just yet – well, you should probably start now.  

Many people are working from home… and will likely continue to in the next few months 

Many businesses, just like ours, have implemented work from home setups for their employees since the beginning of March. In order to get tasks done, working remotely and online has been the only option in order to continue the workflow of employees. Going digital doesn’t only have to mean taking your business online, but also taking your work processes online. This means that you business also has to adapt to using efficient software and online tools that will help the productivity and collaboration among employees. Here’s some suggested business tools you can look into: https://imanila.ph/hosting/office-365/. 

 It’s the best way to conduct business during the pandemic 

 Like what we said, the coronavirus outbreak has made an enormous impact not just on businesses but also in the health, safety and welfare of all employees and consumers. At this time, employers cannot force their employees to go back to the office given the limited availability of public transportation and even to a certain extent, public healthcare. These past months, businesses have learned to survive by showing compassion not only to their employees, but to their customers as well.  

 

Going digital is one way to solve the many concerns of employers and employees throughout this global pandemic. As we continue to face these challenges, we can also see this as an opportunity to change and move forward in a different manner. Together, we can help you take your business online and keep your business going despite the circumstances. Here at iManila, we are equipped to keep your business moving forward no matter what the situation is. Reach us through https://imanila.ph/lets-talk/ or drop us an email at [email protected] for more information! Stay home and save a life!

Unknown Senders

Be wary of emails and messages from unknown senders!

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On May 04, 2000, Windows computer users received an email with a malicious attachment. Then in just ten days, fifty million infections were reported. An estimated 10% of the internet-connected computers were infected by the ILOVEYOU virus. 

The infamous ILOVEYOU virus created a massive effect on internet-connected computers that costed more than $10 billion to remove the infection and to recover deleted files from backups. As big as the economic impact, even the Pentagon, the CIA and the U.K. Parliament all closed down their email systems in response to this pandemic computer virus. 

The ILOVEYOU virus controlled the news headlines globally left and right. The spread of the computer virus quickly affected the victims because at that time no one knew about the threat in the first place.  

How ILOVEYOU became the first global computer virus pandemic 

The ILOVEYOU virus, known as the Love Bug at that time, is described as an infectious virus that was being spread differently. Just like all viruses, it requires a ‘host file’ that needs to be activated in order for the infection to take hold. Copies of that host then need to be activated for the computer to be ruled out as “infected”. Computer viruses are also known as worms. For while a worm is self-replicating – it can spread itself by scattering multiple copies of itself across a network without any activation or human intervention. 

When the infection started on May 04, 2000, it was also the same arrival of a spammed email message in the Philippines with the subject line of ILOVEYOU with an instruction to read the attached document from a supposedly love letter from the sender. Moreover, ILOVEYOU was one of the first major computer virus outbreaks and was one of the first to determine how spam can be a time-wasting annoyance. With just an executed Visual Basic script, the opening of that love letter attachment was not a document at all and used as a smart trick to hide the effect from the victim at that time. 

The Visual Basic script file extension of .vbs was hidden by default from Windows computers. A file called “LOVE-LETTER-FOR-YOU.txt.vbs” appeared to all its targets and tenacities to be a text document as the last file extension was not shown. By the act of opening the document, the execution of the script and the ILOVEYOU worm was set free on that computer and others it was connected to. The ILOVEYOU virus would also look under the user’s Microsoft Outlook Windows address book and send copies to all contacts. 

Historical warnings about global virus dangers were imposed way back 

According to Colin Childs, senior security architect at Octopi Managed Services, they have compiled a historical hacking archive aimed at the security researchers and members of the broader InfoSEC community. Childs was able to find a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) advisory document dated as early as September 22, 1989 – eleven years before the spread of the ILOVEYOU virus! 

As viruses spread quickly and cause widespread damage, they created a bigger risk especially for personal computers which have fewer protection features and are often used by non-technical-oriented people. To date, this has changed the way we view the Internet and how we need to be wary when it comes to opening emails from unknown senders.  

ILOVEYOU virus in today’s pandemic situation that caused a fundamental shift in cyber-threat landscape 

The ILOVEYOU virus caused a big fundamental shift in the cyber-threat landscape for all the reasons known. It is an act of cyber-attack through emotions by tricking users into a false sense of trust. The subject alone brought about curiosity from the user if it’s from someone he/she knew – and to make it worst, falling for the trick automatically affects the rest of your contact list without anyone’s knowledge at all.  

As for today’s pandemic situation, many businesses are shifting to the digital space in order to connect to their customers and continue their business operations. One such popular marketing tool companies use is email marketing, which, with one click of a button, allows mass sending of emails to a client database. But with the history of ILOVEYOU comes the downside of email marketing. Instead, others have resulted to email marketing as a means to spread misinformation or to steal personal information and contact details.  

Using a Secure Hosting Solution for your business website 

Apart from personal email threats, business website owners should also know how to protect their website from malicious viruses.  

When it comes to your website security, we recommend integrating Sitelock, a malware detection software that can give website owners a heads up whenever your website is experiencing any threats.  

Just as well, and as all websites are constantly at the risk of crashes and data loss, a backup service called CodeGuard, assures that your entire website will always have an updated backup on standby, ready to be recovered in case of any losses in data. 

For businesses looking for secure business email solutions and for teams who are looking to collaborate seamlessly across different platforms and programs on the Cloud, Google’s G Suite or Microsoft’s Office 365 might just be the solution for you. Not only can iManila help set up your business emails but we can also provide 24/7 support for any technical needs and concerns. 

And finally, for good measure, always make sure that your website is secure by integrating a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. Having a valid and integrated SSL on your website gives users the security they need when leaving their contact details on your website.  

Having been in the IT industry for more than 23 years, iManila can help you improve your website security and your business emails with a variety of solutions. Trust that with us, you can sleep soundly knowing that you have a partner to help you keep your website and emails secure. Know more about our Hosting solutions here: https://imanila.ph/hosting/. If you want to learn more, drop us an email at [email protected].  

Online Collaboration Tools

iManila’s Favorite Online Collaboration Tools during ECQ

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With most parts of the world on lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak, many companies have been forced to shut down their doors and establish a sudden shift to remote work to stay operational.  

This also includes us in iManila. With most of our services revolving around the digital landscape, we were lucky enough to have started using various online tools to keep up with the trends and requirements of our clients, even before the pandemic.  

However, since we have started fully working remotely for the past two months, we have also discovered new tools to ease out of our usual business processes and to enhance team collaboration.  

Here’s a couple of online tools that we have found helpful during the lockdown period. Maybe you can try them out too!  

As our company’s official central communications platform, we have used Microsoft Teams more than any other online tool in the past few months. Microsoft Teams’ various features enable us to chat, call, and collaborate whether individually or through its “teams” feature, which allows us to create separate channels within each department or team specifically dedicated to a particular concern, project or purpose. One feature of MS Teams that we really like is that it enables team members to edit MS Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents within the app – allowing for easier collaboration and real-time edits without having to jump from one application to another.  

 Another thing that makes MS Teams great is that it also allows us to set-up separate “team” channels that our external clients can also access, view and be a part of. This allows us to have a secure private channel with our clients, allowing everyone to have a unified communication thread that’s easy to access whether on mobile or on desktop.  

We’ve been using Trello for a few months now to monitor and track tasks for specific projects. So far, this has been an effective tool to manage deliverables and timelines, especially for our creative design and website development projects.  

 Trello’s user-friendly and fun interface allows all of its users to keep track of deadlines easier, and easily prioritize tasks on-the-go. It also allows multiple people involved in multiple projects to be notified when a deadline is coming up. To add, Trello also has a user-friendly mobile app which is also easy to view and update via mobile phone.   

While Microsoft Teams also has a video call feature, we prefer using Zoom for calls involving a bigger group. 

 Zoom has been extremely helpful for big team meetings of more than 10 attendees and for company-wide townhalls called by our CEO for monthly company announcements. What’s great is Zoom can also be accessed either through your browser, desktop, or mobile app, and on top of that allows screen-sharing – making it easier for us to present pitch decks or webinars to clients or to other members of the team.   

Google’s G Suite platform is another one of our clear favorites as it has greatly allowed us to collaborate across multiple solutions – Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Hangout, Meet, etc!  

 Our entire team has been using G Suite for a few years now, as it gives us better solutions to collaborate, store, and share files within one consolidated platform. It allows us to have real-time updates on Google Docs, Sheets and Slides while sharing this with everyone (including clients) for easier collaboration.  

 Google Drive, on the other hand, serves as a repository for many of our working files as it likewise allows us to share these files with our clients, while Google Meet is another platform often preferred by our foreign clients when it comes to kick-off and coordination meetings.  

 These are just some of our favorite and most used online tools during the enhanced community quarantine. Other systems we use include our self-made and highly customized iManila Sales Portal, our HR Payroll System and our Technical Support’s Online Ticketing System, as well as a subscriber-based type of software called Zoho for time keeping and invoicing.  

 As one of the leading full-service digital agencies in the Philippines, we offer various digital services – from web and apps development, hosting, digital marketing, and technical support. 

 Need help in setting up your business towards the shift to the digital space? Looking to learn more about G Suite or Office 365? Get in touch with us today and let us improve your life through technology. #iManila #WorkFromHome 

4 steps to an effective social media marketing strategy

4 Steps to an Effective Social Media Marketing Strategy During Covid-19

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The world has been tossed upside down. This pandemic pushed every businessman at the edge and now are forced to make the toughest decisions. Will they give in or thrive? 

Come to think of it, people are at home, tied to their phones 24/7, going in and out of social media sites, browsing all websites of their interests out of boredom, ad competition is relaxed and ad costs are decreasing. So why stop marketing your brand? Don’t let this crisis sink your ship by keeping your business in a box waiting for this pandemic to end without doing anything.

Given this critical time to market, you need more than just a good-to-go social media marketing strategy. It needs to come out strong, intelligent and should strike the right tone for your brand and audiences. But before that, here are a few data points you should know.

  • Facebook saw a 70% increase in usage of all of its apps in the month of March, according to eMarketer.
  • Facebook CPC has decreased, making the cost to advertise much lower for nearly every industry. 
  • Ads are cheaper now. Similar to cost per click, there’s been a decrease in CPM across the board of all industries that Socialbakers analyzed. 
  • The brands that are making contributions to their communities and employees have seen the most engagement on Facebook and Instagram.

 

These facts prove that this pandemic isn’t all dark times for businessmen. Now that you get the clearer picture, the goal is to help you create a concrete social media marketing plan during this severe crisis. Here’s how you can do it.

 

Step 1: Know Your Audience 

 

Marketing your brand in these mad times relies heavily on empathy. Knowing your target market is more critical and important than it was before. You will be tempted to skip this step if you have been marketing your brand for a while. Well, you obviously know who your audiences are. But in times of a crisis, it makes an exception. This step will allow you to pause and re-acquaint yourself with your ideal customers. 

 

First, you need to create a basic outline of your target’s profile. Identify basic information like age, gender, location, basic interests, income level, etc. Now that you get an outline, you can ask yourself, “so what?”. Now assess what your target market could be thinking or feeling at the moment. This means you need to empathize with your audiences or ask some friends or your family in order to get real sentiments.  

 

Along the way, you might discover new opportunities to market your brand in a different light or to different people. So, zoom out and think of possibilities. This in-depth knowledge of your target market will set a tone for everything even after this disaster.

 

Step 2: Focus Less on You, More on Them

 

Business is business, yes, but in the middle of a global pandemic might not be the most appropriate time to retain your KPI’s and sales quota. Though it does not mean that you will have to disregard it entirely – you must set your priorities considering the crisis. This is nothing to worry about because eventually you will reap what you have sowed. What’s important is to assess what success looks like today than it was before. 

Before, return of investment was at the top of everyone’s KPI list. But now, the possibility of people making a purchase is skin-and-bones. So, clicks, engagements, leads, messages are things that you may be able to focus more on. For example, if before you were so wary of starting online giveaways or contests because they don’t provide an impressive ROI, this time you may need to consider and rethink. This crisis has prompted a time for giving. Giving away some free products to your audience at this time may result in higher engagement and a win-win situation.

 

People may not purchase now but they will again eventually. Ensure that your brand remains as number one on their list after this crisis.

 

Step 3: Try-out Different Platforms 

 

If you haven’t utilized your Instagram stories or haven’t done ads on Instagram yet, now could be the best time to dig in and go for it. Creating a YouTube channel for your brand may also be beneficial. You may start making tutorial, educational, or entertaining videos while at home. If you haven’t tried different approaches to catch your target market’s visual interests or content preferences, now is the time to try and see how they will react to it. In simple words, you need to find ways in order to build relationships with your audiences or connect with them in different and unique ways. 

 

How? Start by curating entertaining or relatable videos for your Channel or creating a story template for Instagram – a sure hit for millennials today. You can also utilize Instagram or Facebook polls to engage people and get their feedback. 

 

One most important thing that marketers often overlook is how they interact with people online. More than feeding people with content, you can spend some time listening or responding to them. Answer comments or create a post that will make them share their Covid-19 experiences. You must let them know you care more than making money. Try to also play around your content, focus on creating user-generated posts and don’t settle for static images alone.

 

While these efforts may not necessarily guarantee a direct increase in sales, at least it will help you stand out and stay in touch with your audiences. Whatever direction you choose, always look for new opportunities to connect. 

 

Step 4: Expect the uncertain and keep your eye on the prize

 

No one will be able to accurately predict the aftermath of this crisis, especially to small and medium enterprises. Yes, it is true that this pandemic will end eventually but no one knows when. This is why you need to think out of the bubble to survive. Put your idea of perfection aside for a while and instead, learn to get things right, move efficiently and quickly more than ever. When you’re free, read articlesor magazines, watch relevant videos or ask around to stay on top of digital and business trends. Do not expect anything from your audiences, just try to reach out. 

 

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The key for your business to continually thrive is creativity and connection. Consumers today are looking for ways to connect and get away from everything that’s happening. Your business must lend an ear to people and make them feel you care.

 

Overwhelmed by all these social media marketing plan adjustments? Don’t worry! Having the right agency partner can help you create compelling and relevant campaigns in line with the current crisis. Learn more about how we can help you here at https://imanila.ph/lets-talk/ or drop us an email at [email protected]. #iManila 

 

#DigitalAgency

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