Posted by Melissa Thompson

While there are plenty of things to appreciate about the Internet and social media, there are also things about these platforms that can be very disruptive. One of the biggest things that can cause people and business stress online is trolls. 

If you’re unfamiliar with what an Internet troll is, it’s someone who interacts with people or businesses online in the hopes of getting a rise out of them. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to identify when someone is a troll and when someone is just being mean. So to better help you in making this distinction, especially for those who may be older and may not have a lot of experience on social media due to accessibility in assisted living facilities and other such places, here are three tips for recognizing trolls online. 

They Don’t Seem Like A Real Person

While some real people who have real accounts on social media platforms will act like trolls, the more malicious online trolls tend to really try to hide themselves from the people that they’re trying to interact with.

One way that they do this is by creating social media accounts and profiles that don’t show who they really are. So if you see an extremely rude or incendiary comment from someone online, before you respond, take a look at their profile to see if they appear to be a real person. Some signs that they aren’t is that they don’t use their name in their username or that they don’t have a real picture attached to their profile.

They Comment On Everything

Another sign that you’re dealing with a troll online is if they seem to be commenting on everything that’s being posted online. This could include posting on all kinds of posts by other people or replying to multiple comments on the same post.

Usually, if someone feels impressed to comment on something online, they’ll share their opinion and then move on with their lives. But if someone is trying to troll people, they won’t allow any exchange to stop until they feel like they’ve gotten the reaction they wanted from the people they were interacting with—and these interactions usually devolve rather quickly. 

They Attack People Personally

When someone is trying to troll people, they will usually go straight for the jugular, meaning that they will resort to all kinds of name-calling, assumption-making, and personal attacks. And while these things can be jarring to read from a perfect stranger online, try to keep in mind that this person isn’t actually making a judgment call about you. Rather, they are just trying to get attention for themselves and rile people up. 

If you’ve had some uncomfortable interactions with people online, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you sniff out the trolls from the genuine users of social media platforms.

Posted by Melissa Thompson

Twitter can be an overwhelming place for anyone, but more so for a senior. There’s a lot of noise from a lot of people talking all at once. Yet if you take the time to learn how to use it, Twitter can be a great social media platform to be a part of. Here’s how to get started with Twitter and make the most of its features.

Creating an Account

The first step is to create a Twitter account. You can do this by going to twitter.com and clicking on the “Sign Up” button.

Enter your full name, email address, and chosen password. Your password needs to be strong. This means that even if you choose to use the name of your assisted living facility because you’ll remember it, add some numbers and punctuation marks for good measure.

You’ll also need to choose a username, which is what people will use to mention or reply to you. Keep it simple and easy to remember.

Once you’ve entered all the necessary information, click “Sign up.” Twitter will send a confirmation email to the address you provided. Click on the link in that email to confirm your account and start using Twitter.

Navigating the Interface

The next step is to familiarize yourself with Twitter’s interface. The main way you’ll interact with Twitter is through your timeline, which is where you’ll see all the tweets from the people you follow. 

You can also compose new tweets by clicking on the “Tweet” button. This will open up a new box where you can enter your tweet. Once you’re happy with your tweet, click “Tweet.” Your tweet will now appear in your timeline and be visible to your followers.

If you want to see what other people are tweeting about, click on the “Explore” tab. Here, you’ll find trending topics and hashtags that you can follow. Hashtags are a way of categorizing tweets and make it easy to find tweets about specific topics. 

The “Notifications” tab is where you’ll see any mentions or replies to your tweets. Mentions are when someone includes your username in a tweet. Replies are when someone responds directly to one of your tweets. 

The “Messages” tab is where you can send direct messages to other Twitter users. Direct messages are private and can only be seen by the sender and recipient. To start a new direct message, click on the “New Message” button and enter the username of the person you want to message.

Finding People to Follow

One of the great things about Twitter is that you can follow anyone you want. To find people to follow, click on the “Search” button in the top navigation bar.

From here, you can search for specific people by their name or username. When you find someone you want to follow, click on the “Follow” button beneath their profile picture.

Now that you know the basics of how to use Twitter, you’re ready to start tweeting! Now you can connect with friends and family, stay up-to-date on current events, and even follow your favorite celebrities.

Posted by Melissa Thompson

Most people would prefer to avoid having to deal with crime. Even the most skilled theft defense lawyer in Boulder, or anywhere else, would enjoy some time not having to deal with the law, so if you’ve got a budding security business, you should have no shortage of potential clients for your services. The question is, how can you get your brand in front of their eyes? 

How do you make them aware of your business and start bringing in those sales? How do you keep them coming back for repeat business? It all starts with a clever marketing plan, and for a security company, there are definitely some particulars you’ll need to be aware of.

First, let’s talk about branding. Every business needs a look—their logo, their emblems, a visual aesthetic that you display to the public and potential clients. For a security company, your visuals should project strength, all while remaining distinctive, memorable, and clear.

Start by having a designer craft your logo and associated elements, and when you’ve reached something suitable, you can start updating your marketing materials and social profiles to match that aesthetic. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though, because now you’re going to have to start coordinating your marketing collateral across all of your digital channels.

At minimum, your business should have a good website and few strong social media profiles. Much of what you do, in marketing, is getting people to check out the former so that they can see what you’re about and start buying your goods and services. They won’t want to stick around if your website is substandard, however, so make sure yours has at least the following:

• About Us—This is where you talk about the history of your business, your ethos, your goals, and everything else that makes your company a relatable entity.
• Services and Resources—Use this as the opportunity to show what it is that you offer and how your offerings differ from those of your competitors.
• Testimonials and Referrals—Hopefully, you’ve left a trail of happy customers in your wake. Use this section of your website to feature their tales, and provide some “social proof” that you are a credible, competent, and trustworthy business.
• Blog—A critical part of your content marketing strategy, your blog should establish you as an expert in your field while simultaneously serving as a draw for potential clients to visit your site. You can even use it to send out company info, news, etc.
• Contact Us—Of course, all of your efforts would be for naught if your clients couldn’t reach out to you. Be sure to include contact details so you can start making deals.

As for your social media profiles, you should stick to a few best practices on those as well. Use social media to connect with prospective customers in real-time, while also helping your company stand out and driving as many as possible to your website. It won’t all come together overnight, but with consistent effort, you can execute on a marketing plan that truly works.

Posted by Melissa Thompson

In today’s society, you almost can’t keep your kids and teens from wanting to be a part of social media. But while this is a part of life now, this is also a part of life that could be very harmful to your young children if you’re both not careful with how it’s used. Luckily, there are things you can do and teach to your children to help keep them safe as they learn how to use social media and integrate it into their young lives.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for keeping your kids safe while using social media. 

Share Your Concerns With Your Kids

While you are likely thinking about all the potential negatives that could come into your children’s lives by using social media, your child is likely thinking about all the positive possibilities they could now have with a social media profile. The trick here is to give your kids a bit of a reality check before you allow them to use these platforms.

To do this, talk with your kids about exactly what you’re nervous about with having them on social media. Share with them what they need to be careful with, what they need to be on the lookout for, and what some of the threats to them could potentially be. Hopefully with this knowledge, your child or teen will be more careful when they spend time on social media and will come to you when something appears amiss. 

Set Up Accounts Properly

Once you feel like your child should be allowed to spend time on social media, you should help them in setting up their profile so that all of the applicable safety settings are applied. 

For most social media platforms, you can set settings that make it so only the people they are friends with can speak with them or see their content. You can also help them with creating a strong password. Teach them the importance of a strong password and that they should only share the password with you so as to keep their account safe. 

Keep Time On Social Media Limited

While some kids will be mature enough to safely use social media, most kids, and even most adults, can easily get sucked into what they’re doing on social media and spend too much time on these platforms.

To keep this from happening to your kids, try your best to keep their time on social media, and screens, in general, limited. You can help to teach them this by setting a good example yourself. One good rule of thumb to follow could be not allowing them to use social media in their bedrooms as night before they go to sleep. 

If your kids or teens are wanting to get onto social media, consider using the tips mentioned above to help them stay safe on these platforms.

Posted by Melissa Thompson

It’s really difficult to run a successful business operation without the assistance and perks offered by a great marketing effort.  You need help getting the word out about your awesomeness, and marketing is the way to do it. 

While traditional marketing methods are still very useful today, digital marketing is where the exposure truly takes place.  The internet grants your business a shot at millions of consumers, and a solid digital marketing plan will bring growth to your operation. 

Understand the basics of SEO

Search engine optimization should be a part of every business owner’s vocabulary.  The term serves as a simple way to refer to a collection of design elements that make an impact on where your web pages fall in the results listing when users search relevant terms and phrases.  

SEO is about understanding the search engine algorithms that sort information when people use the service.  Good SEO integration will give your business content a better chance at being seen by the right people online.  

Refine your business website 

Focus on making your business website the best it can be.  A great business website is never truly finished, because regularly updating your content is a big part of remaining relevant to users online.  

It pays to invest in website development.  Make sure users can easily find information, connect with, and purchase from your business from the safety of your well-built website.  

Branch out on social media 

Social media can boost your digital visibility in the blink of an eye if you get the equation right.  Learning what it takes to draw the attention of users on social media can be a pivotal tool to the growth of your business as a whole.  

Claim your stake on all of the most frequented social media sites, and start working to build a larger following as soon as possible.  Choose social media sites that are a good fit for your niche of business to find a little easier path to popularity online. 

Consider a business blog 

Adding a business blog to your digital appeal will give users more content to explore.  If you do it right, you’ll have a group of loyal readers that will return time after time to see what’s new.  

Your business blog should have posts that tell people about your business or teach them something new about the industry at hand.  Relevance to your operation is the key to drawing readers who could benefit from what your business has to offer. 

Don’t eliminate traditional methods

There are still plenty of ways to reap the benefits of traditional marketing in today’s world.  If you have a brick and mortar business, signage is everything.  Handing out business cards is still effective.  Find ways to network in your local community to give your business a boost.