Facebook’s 13-to-17-year-old users are declining despite the overall growth of the social media giant’s subscribers. A new survey by Pew Research Center found that only 51% of US teens are using Facebook, compared with Snapchat (69%), Instagram (72%), and YouTube (85%). Reasons for user demographic shift The same survey found that only 10% of US teens use Facebook most frequently, unlike other platforms like Instagram (15%), YouTube (32%), and Snapchat (35%). There are two main reasons why Facebook is no longer the first social media choice for US teenagers: visual content and control. #1. Visual Content The current youth demographic group favors visually appealing posts. As a result, teens prefer platforms like Instagram and Snapchat that allow them to beautify their photos and instantly share them with their friends. This is unlike Facebook where users can only upload, share, read, and like curated posts, which is deemed “uncool” by teenagers. #2. Control Youngsters are known to be highly expressive, but this is impossible to do if they’re friends with their mom, dad, or other adults on social media. Snapchat and Instagram solve this by allowing teens to control who’s able to see their posts. What’s more, Snapchat and Instagram stories allow users to send time-limited messages. Unlike regular Instagram posts, Instagram stories allow users to share images or videos on their app immediately. These images and videos will then be removed from the platform after 24 hours, similar to how Snapchat works. These two features mean users can upload more “adult-oriented” posts without worrying that their parents will see them. Users can also get peace of mind knowing their uploaded photos or videos will be removed from the app after a period of time (usually 24 hours). The next steps for SMB marketing It’s crucial for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that have a limited marketing budget to understand which platforms reach which demographics. For example, SMBs targeting customers aged 13 to 17 years should rethink their marketing strategies if they’ve invested mainly in Facebook ads. They should consider reallocating their advertising funds to Snapchat, Instagram, or YouTube where their target customers are most active. Is this the end for Facebook ads? This doesn’t mean companies that have invested in Facebook marketing won’t see any more benefits. The survey discovered that 70% of US teens from lower-income households use Facebook, a much higher figure than those from middle income families or wealthy families. But if you do decide to move your Facebook ad spending to other platforms, keep in mind the different preferences based on gender. More girls (42%) identified Snapchat as their go-to platform compared with boys (29%). On the other hand, more boys (39%) identified YouTube as the platform they used most frequently compared with girls (25%). It is highly recommended that businesses of any size use more than one type of marketing channel to attract customers. Not only will your company’s search engine rankings increase naturally, but having more than one approach can also help you reach more of your target demographics and compete better with similar companies. We help SMBs make the best of their marketing funds by tailoring marketing strategies that reach the most teenagers, so if you’re interested in social media marketing, send Multi IT a message today.

Amazon’s Alexa has come a long way from performing basic functions like setting alarms, streaming music, and providing weather updates, to an all-around office assistant superstar. As Amazon continues to develop Alexa, businesses can expect to see her become more relevant in an office setting. Create and manage to-do and shopping lists You have meetings to attend and deadlines to meet. Alexa has a straightforward To-do List feature that helps you stay on top of all your tasks. It’s ideal for busy professionals who prefer a no-frills checklist that allows them to simply view completed items, or to edit or delete items on the list. You can also seamlessly sync third-party applications like Any.do and Todoist, which offer more features for organizing tasks, adding subtasks and folders, creating reminders, setting due dates, attaching files, and prioritizing items. To connect to a third-party app: Go to alexa.amazon.com or access the Alexa app Go to Settings > List, click Get Skill Click Enable Log in to authorize the app Alexa also has a default Shopping List that works exactly like the To-do List. It lets you add or delete items that can be browsed in the Amazon store and searched for in Bing. Reorder office supplies Ordering supplies on an Amazon smart home device is especially convenient because you would have already set up an Amazon account. When voice shopping with Alexa, you can either add items to your Amazon cart (“Alexa, add toner to my cart”) or directly order a single item (“Alexa, reorder toner”) without having to lift a finger. When you place an order, Alexa checks product availability, walks you through Amazon search results, and asks you to confirm or cancel the order. Voice shopping is enabled by default, but it can be disabled in Settings > Voice Purchasing in the Alexa app. Sync your calendars One of the best ways to maximize Alexa in the office is to sync it up with your calendars. You can view scheduled appointments, set meetings, or have Alexa read the day’s entries with simple commands like “Alexa, what time is my next meeting?” or “Alexa, when is the company barbecue?”. To add a calendar: Go to alexa.amazon.com or access the Alexa app Click Settings > Calendar  Select a calendar from the available platforms: Google (Gmail and G Suite), Apple (iCloud), or Microsoft (Office 365 or Outlook) Log in to your account Set a timer A Pomodoro timer is a productivity enhancement tool that works by prescribing ideal work intervals and breaks. For example, you can set a timer that reminds you to take a 15-minute break for every hour worked, and setting this up in Alexa is easy. To set a single timer: Say “Alexa, set a work timer for 60 minutes.” After the work timer finishes, say “Alexa, set a break time for 15 minutes.” To set several timers at once, say: “Alexa, create a work timer for 60 minutes.” “Alexa, create a break timer for 15 minutes.” The commands we’ve included here work for simple instructions, but you can modify them and use tons of other Alexa commands to suit your purpose. If you need recommendations on how you can work smarter with AI and other productivity tools, get in touch with Multi IT today on 011 435 0450.

The Equifax breach in 2017 exposed the personal information of 145.5 million people in the US and some parts of the UK and Canada, but the number of victims keeps increasing. In the beginning of March, the credit-reporting company revealed that more personal information was leaked. Read on to find out more about this latest development. What happened? On March 1, Equifax reported that the names and driver’s license numbers of approximately 2.4 million Americans were stolen. According to the company, sensitive information like home addresses, home states, or the license issue and expiration dates were not leaked. Equifax said these breaches were discovered only recently because their forensic investigations primarily focused on stolen Social Security numbers. In response, the company said that anyone affected would be notified directly. They’re also now offering a security program designed to prevent identity theft and credit tampering. However, given the company’s poor track record, not many are willing to enroll. When the company first announced the breach in September last year, the tool used to check whether an account had been hacked didn’t work and came up with false positives. Fortunately, there are other things you can do to protect yourself. Monitor your credit Consider looking through your credit reports for any suspicious spending. If you spot any new accounts, loans, and other payments you don’t recognize, contact your credit card company to report fraudulent transactions. Check the dark web Compromised data is often sold to the highest bidder on the dark web, so most  data can probably be found there in the case that it is breached. Sign up for dark web monitoring services to cover this outlet of information. Place a credit freeze One way you can prevent hackers from opening credit cards and making payments in your name is to freeze your credit. When you implement this, anyone masquerading as you will be required to provide a PIN to unfreeze your account. Contact the credit bureaus to activate this service. Set fraud alerts When you set a fraud alert, credit card companies and businesses must verify your identity before opening an account or making any payments. Together with a credit freeze, alerts will make it extremely difficult for hackers to steal your identity. Learn to identify phishing scams Because Equifax is notifying data breach victims directly through email, hackers could take this opportunity to send fake messages that direct users to dangerous websites. As such, knowing how to identify phishing scams (suspicious URL links, attachments, and spelling errors) is vital. Dealing with data breaches is a long and frustrating process, especially for businesses that just want to focus on growing their operations. So if you have any security concerns, call Multi IT today on 011 435 0450. We have the cybersecurity expertise to protect you.