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March Dates for Social Media

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 19:04:09 GMT

Free March Social Media Calendar

March Dates for Social Media

Searching for some idea's to fill your automated Social Pilot Calendar ? No problem, we've got you covered. From National Employee Appreciation Day to the First Day of Spring, here are seven dates in March to help your social media campaigns.

Take Control of Your Social Media

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sun, 01 Mar 2020 21:31:13 GMT

Plan the work and work the plan!

Social Media Scheduling for Posting Strategically

Plan the work and work the plan! We've practiced our motto since early on in our professional careers and continue to do so today while managing our small business.

We believe in developing a cost effective strategy that not only saves you time, but rewards you with valuable and insightful data. Scheduling your social media posts will significantly Make A Difference in your business and personal life.

Your time is valuable so let's get right into my 4 Top reasons why we Use and Recommend Social Pilot .

Clear View of Your Schedule; easily schedule and edit posts to Facebook, Google My Business, and many other sites from ONE calendar! No more jumping between sites to post your content.

Audience Engagement - view your engagements in one location, Likes, Shares and Comments by day, week or month.

Active Fans - Learn when and how many of your fans are on Facebook at each of the day!

Customer Interactions - Learn the kind of actions taken on Google My Business, website visits, maps and phone calls made to your business!

Want to learn more about Social Pilot and our FREE local on-site training program? Reach out and contact us we'd love to hear from you.

TLS Update

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:25:49 GMT

Site update

The Amazon Web Services that we are using for our client websites have been updated to the latest TLS technologies to keep our customers’ websites fast, secure and modern.

Website visitors will now be connecting to the website using TLS 1.3. This improved protocol speeds up the time it takes to connect to the website through a secure connection.

If you aren't familiar, TLS stands for Transport Layer Security, which was first released as TLS 1.0 in 1999 and since then, TLS has been the standard of what’s used on the web. TLS 1.3 is a step forward and is the first major industry improvement in over 10 years (TLS 1.2 was released in August 2008).

This update is just one of several improvements scheduled for 2020.

If your small business is considering updating your website, reach out and contact us , we'd love to hear from you and learn about your business.

Instagram for 2020

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 20:24:34 GMT

The social media platform continues to grow and benefits businesses

Instagram the social media platform continues to grow and benefits businesses. Recent Insights:

Gender Mix. According to the platform 52% of users are female and 48% are male.
Approximately 63% of Instagram users login at least once per day.
Instagram users are forecasted to spend an average of 28 minutes per day on the platform in 2020.
200 Million Instagram Users visit at least one business profile daily.
75% of U.S. businesses will use Instagram in 2020

Flexible Integration

Are you interested in a simple photo gallery? We can integrate your Instagram feed directly into your website to feature your tagged content. Does integrating Instagram eliminate the need for your own product, service, project or professional work gallery? Absolutely not. Adding and maintaining your content greatly benefits your sites ranking and performance.

Want to learn more about displaying your Instagram feed on your website? Reach out and contact us we'd love to hear from you.

Many believed that nothing happened on Y2K

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 14:13:53 GMT

There were actually hundreds of Y2K-related incidents.

The tabloids published fake news and stirred the public into a frenzy. "Planes falling from the sky, the electrical grid failing and food supplies will be depleted", they said.

Despite all that, we had a job to do, and we were expected to do it well.

Y2K, one of the longest projects I worked on up to that point in my career. We knew what needed to be done, it wasn’t about the complexity it was the long hours and tedious work with precise focus to complete the task of reviewing, testing, and implementing new code into applications and the supporting infrastructure.

Recently, publishers have tried to recall the events of 20 years ago, this article captures what happened the way I remember.

"A legion of programmers and IT professionals squashed the millennium bug by checking and rewriting millions, if not billions, of lines of code. Best practices and solutions were liberally shared between the government and businesses, and carefully constructed contingency plans were put in place just in case the bug was still lurking in some systems.

And while many believed that “nothing happened,” there were actually hundreds of Y2K-related incidents. These included problems at more than a dozen nuclear power plants, delays in millions of dollars of Medicare payments, ATM issues worldwide and problems with the Defense Department’s satellite-based intelligence system. That problems were fixed quickly is largely attributable to the small army of programmers who spent the first hours of the year 2000 monitoring sensitive systems.

People rose to the challenge in 2000. That’s not something to laugh at, that’s something to celebrate."

Follow the link below to learn more about the days leading up to and after Y2K.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/12/30/lessons-yk-years-later/

3 Reasons to have a Google My Business Listing

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 13:43:29 GMT

Google has reported that a higher percentage of all searches is for a local purpose.

Google has reported that a higher percentage of all searches is for local purpose, 46% in fact. However, despite this fact, most small businesses aren't taking advantage of the free Google My Business platform. So, if you're debating about this or just starting fresh and want to know the best ways to increase local results, here are three top benefits of using Google My Business listing.

Show Up In Google Map Searches - Next to online reviews, the second most important factor that consumers take into consideration when searching for a local business is their location. Sure a quick Google search is certainly effective for focusing in on options, especially on an iPhone and any Android device - use Google Maps to locate businesses nearby. Whether searching for local breweries or a popular place to eat, Google Maps will quickly populate with multiple markers, each indicating a local business. By simply creating a Google My Business listing and completing the verification steps, your business location will start to showing up on local searches too. This is a great way for users to instantly see how close you are to their location, increasing the likelihood that they’ll reach out.
Earn Trust From Customers - There's an inherent trust and confidence most people have using Google products, whenever your business pops up in a local search, people will most likely trust your business. In fact, businesses that show up on Google are 2.7 times more likely to be considered reputable by consumers. This is primarily due to the thorough process businesses must go through before being listed on Google My Business. Google creates a trustworthy environment that people rely on.
Boost Website Traffic - Having and maintaining a Google My Business listing can benefit your website traffic and customer interaction across the board. Just by having a listing and maintaining it results in improved local searches, Google has found that businesses are as much as 70% more likely to attract location visits from browsing potentials.

Need help? Don't have any extra time to manage your Google Business Listing? We can handle this for you. Contact us and let’s get started planning a strategy for your business today.

Video Drives Awareness

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 20:24:45 GMT

Video is consumers’ #1 favorite type of content to see from brands.

If you’re not using video to market your business, there’s no time like the present to get things started. Video is a cost effective tool for driving awareness, engagement, traffic, and sales all components of a solid marketing strategy.

Video also provides businesses with a unique opportunity to build trust and personal relationships.

Check out how we combined tips and product to create this video for our friends at Tuckerton Lumber Company .

Rayveon Video Solutions

Need help? Don't have any extra time to create a video? We can handle this for you. Contact us and let’s get started planning a video strategy for your business today.

Benefits of Verifying Your Local Facebook Page

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 18:27:17 GMT

The page verification check mark signifies to visitors that your Facebook page is legit.

Facebook introduced verification badges for local businesses. They confirm your page is the authentic one for your business. Even though Google hasn’t directly stated that having a verification badge will help your page ranking, it is one more signal of your page’s location and authenticity. Even if it doesn’t boost your business on Google, the verification will help you show up higher on local Facebook searches.

Benefits of Verifying Your Local Facebook Page

The main benefit of the page verification check mark is that it signifies to visitors that your Facebook page is legit. If an unauthorized person tries to create a fake page for your business, the lack of this badge will signal to visitors that the page is not authentic. Beyond being the legit verification, it also provides implied endorsement and stature.

Additional benefits you’ll notice right away:

The gray badge adds instant credibility to your business page.
Users will know they’re getting updates directly from your business rather than from a former employee, fake account or another unofficial source.
If users choose to communicate directly with your business about hours, service, products, or general information, they’ll know they’re in the right place.
Your Facebook page will rank higher in search results.

Do you know how people find your company? You might think most of them are finding you in some newspaper ads, free magazines or while driving 60 mph passed that billboard you have on the highway. It's 2019, the facts are most people are relying on what they see and read on your website and your social media presence.

Your website and social media provide today's consumers access to timely information including, your business’s phone number, address, services, gallery, videos and reviews that billboards, free newspapers and magazine just cannot provide. Millennials, Generation X, and Baby boomers all rely on this information to make an informed decision about doing business with your company. If you're not using Social Media, you're missing out.

Here's how you can boost your business Facebook presence very quickly.

There are tens of thousands of business pages on Facebook, some of which are inactive or just have terrible content. Once you have an active page that consistently publishes quality content, the easiest thing that will set you apart from the others is that little check-mark to the right of the business name.

If you see a gray badge on a Page, it means that Facebook confirmed that this is an authentic Page for this business or organization.

How do I request a gray verification badge for my Page?

To be eligible for a gray verification badge, you must be an admin of your business Page and your Page must:

Be published
Have a profile picture and cover photo
Have posts

To verify your Page (from a laptop or personal computer, not your mobile phone):

Click Settings at the top of your Page.
From General, click Page Verification.
Click Verify this Page.
Enter a publicly listed phone number for your business, your country and language.
Click Call Me Now to allow Facebook to call you with a verification code.
Enter the 4-digit verification code and click Continue.

If you prefer to verify your Page with a business document (example: phone bill), follow the steps above and click Verify this Page with documents instead at the bottom left of the window that appears, then upload a picture of an official document showing your business's name and address. Facebook will use that information to verify your Page.
After they receive your business document, Facebook will review your information to confirm that it matches public records and send you a notification or email about your verification status within a few days.

Keep in mind that you're not required to verify your Page.

Rayveon Social Media Solutions

You may not be a fan of it but social media is one of the most cost effective marketing channels for small business owners. So many business pages get set up only to become forgotten, neglected a few months later when the busy season hits and resources unavailable.

Need help? Thinking about creating video? We can handle this for you. Want to see a consistency with your local social media presence? Contact us and let’s get started planning a social media strategy for your business today.

There's Joy in that Jingle

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 14:45:22 GMT

Together, we can make the season bright

Apart from having a hands-on relationship with us, our small business partners share values that are important to us, their commitment to customers and the community. From fundraising to donating toys, the emotional support that families in need receive during the holidays go beyond measure.

Whether you're a boy or girl, there's little that can beat the joy of your first bicycle. The beauty of the bright colors, the freedom and the feeling of adventure brings back the best childhood memories that will last a life time. On December 10, 2018 team Rayveon donated a new girls bicycle for the Stafford Chamber of Commerce Jingle & Mingle . During the chamber's Annual Jingle and Mingle Holiday party, members donated new unwrapped gifts in support of and to benefit the Stafford PBA Toy Drive.

Did you miss the Jingle & Mingle and want to donate? No worries, the Stafford PBA Toy Drive continues through December 21, 2018. Donations can be dropped off at the Stafford Recreation Center located at 775 East Bay Avenue in downtown Manahawkin.

Together, we can make the season bright.

Marriott Data Hack: 3 Ways to protect yourself

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 14:18:38 GMT

An investigation determined that there was unauthorized access to guest information.

Have you stayed at a Marriott's Starwood hotel? Well, I have some bad news for you if you haven't heard. Marriott's Starwood was hacked and they disclosed a massive data breach on November 30,2018. Believe it or not, the hotel chain said around 500 million guests who booked reservations at their properties could have had personal information like their birth dates, addresses and even passport numbers stolen.

Let's jump right into it, your personal data is once again in the hands of criminals. That being said, don't sit around doing nothing, take at least these three steps to protect yourself.

1. Change your passwords

First, I can't even believe they it's almost 2019 and so many people use the same password across multiple sites. Do yourself a favor and change your passwords now, including and especially on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Yahoo, Google, Bing, your mobile phone carrier, your ISP and Alexa.

Make sure your passwords are unique, hackers are smart they use automated scripts for logins across different sites.

2. Monitor your credit cards

Report all unauthorized charges immediately, regardless of the size. Take it a step further and contact your credit card company and ask about what extra measures can be added to your account to protect you and your family.

3. Don't Open suspicious emails

Scammers and hackers may have access to your email address because hotel chains rely on this information to create a personalized experience, including your significant others name, even the number of children you have, room service and more.

Need more answers?

Marriott has as dedicated website and call center at info.starwoodhotels.com to answer questions you may have about this incident.

About Rayve on

We work with local brands across a wide range of business types. Apart from having a hands-on relationship with us, the goal these small businesses share is their commitment to customers and community.

Get in touch, contact us today.

Photo Galleries - 3 Reasons I like them

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 12:47:43 GMT

The most useful images on your website accurately represent your business services, products and offers.

The most useful images on your website accurately represent your business services, products and offers. If you are unable to take quality photos which are useful, professional stock photos are available online and can be very helpful.

One - Education

Your images can be used to educate visitors who are considering to do business with you when they visit your website. We have all heard the overused phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" but nevertheless, it is true. What better way to educate someone about your food, brewery, product or service than with a picture.

If you are a new business in the area your are serving, such as a surf lessons business in New Jersey, I don't recommend using stock photos of surfers which were taken in Hawaii (believe it or not that has been done). Instead, I recommend asking your friend if they would like to be on your surfing website and plan your own photo shoot before launching your website.

Two - Call To Action

There’s no better place to add a call to action than in your photo gallery or carousel slideshows. What types of actions could be added you ask? "Get a Free Estimate, Call Now, Learn More" are all Calls To Action that I recommend to customers to encourage to utilize on their website. When a prospective customer takes the time to complete the a contact form, they have basically made the sale for you unless you fail to follow up. Tap and Dial a phone number is great Call to Action. Although this action is limited to business hours, it fulfills an immediate need your website visitor may have at that time.

Three - Creating Impressions

People tend to trust what they can see. When a prospective client or customer visits your website and see your product or work they immediately begin to build an impression about your business.

For example, ManaFirkin Brewing Company , we used a combination of photos and videos to create the impression of what looks and feels like inside their Manahawkin brewery.

Get in touch to learn how we can design a unique photo gallery to your website. Contact us today.

About Rayve on

Get in touch, contact us today.

Cost Effective Brand Awareness

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 17:37:15 GMT

Using print ready digital material for promotions, offers you a great opportunity to utilize your content on or offline.

Flyers and posters are very cost-effective forms of increasing awareness for your event, sale and business. Using print ready digital material for promotions, offers you a great opportunity to utilize your content on or offline.

For offline, it works particularly well for walk-in customers at businesses like stores or restaurants. You can track different areas with a variety of offers and coupons to find out which location they came from. This way you gain a deeper insight into flyer distribution and response rates.

When starting a new approach, keeping it simply eliminates a lot of obstacles and allows for measurable adjustments in the future.

Three Ways to Keep Your Website Relevant

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 21:15:48 GMT

Here are updates you should consider for your website if you find it's out-of-date in any of the following areas.

1. Data Security

In 2019, security will continue to be a top concern of your website visitors, especially if your site requires them to provide personal information. After the numerous well-publicized data breaches in 2017 and 2018, your users will be especially wary of how interacting with your site could affect them.

At a minimum, you should be using HTTPS to protect confidential online transactions and even online info-request forms. But today's users now expect a trusted certificate on any webpage they visit, so be sure all your pages have up-to-date certificates. The addition of basic SSL-level security will also aid in your SEO efforts.

For e-commerce sites, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance, while not in and of itself the law, is the standard required by the major credit card issuers (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, and JCB) for all merchants accepting payments online. Merely using a PCI DSS-compliant processor cuts down your risk, but it doesn't eliminate your compliance obligations. Merchants still must validate compliance, and the usage of an

2. Click to Call

Marketers understand the importance of making it easy for customers and prospects to find contact information. Websites often have prominent "contact us" sections, chat apps that pop up in a corner of the screen, and promises of quick response times.

But some small business owners may be overlooking one contact channel: the phone. Despite the belief that customers don't want to talk or don't have time to call, offering a click-to-call option is a useful way to help customers reach your business.

And the technology is more track able than it's ever been, with click to call data built into our websites, Rayveon click-to-call analytics help small business owners better understand the volume of inbound calls.

In fact, in 2016, global click-to-call revenue was estimated at $7.41 billion, and that figure is expected to grow to $13.70 by 2020.

3. Embedded Background Video

Fully 60% of website visitors will click on a video if one is available. Video is the newest component of website literacy, with more "stick" value than any text or picture you might have formerly used. Moreover, video is one of the simplest and most effective ways to engage site visitors at that all-important emotional level, so be sure your to ask us how to include video iinto your site.

Facebook Breach

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 21:18:52 GMT

A massive security issue which impacted nearly 50 million accounts.

Yep, here we go again, another large scale privacy problem escalated on Friday September 28, 2018 when the leading social network confirmed a massive security issue which impacted nearly 50 million accounts.

Facebook stated the bug has since been patched but you should know that attackers could see profiles which contains a lot of personal data about you. Who knows if that even included a users private messages, that is still unclear.

So what should you do? First and foremost, if you haven't already done so change your Facebook password immediately. Second, if you're on Instagram, change that password too, because if didn't already know Facebook owns Instagram and your accounts are most likely linked together like so many other social media accounts.

For more information and the latest updates, go to the source, visit the Facebook newsroom on their website.

Stay informed.

HTTPS Everywhere: Powered by Google. Supported by Rayveon

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 14:27:26 GMT

Google Chrome started marking all non-HTTPS sites as ‘not secure’ July 2018

In case you haven’t already heard, Google Chrome started marking all non-HTTPS sites as ‘not secure’ July 2018. That means if you visit a site that is not encrypted with an SSL (or TLS) certificate, Google will let you know that the site is not secure by displaying the words ‘ Not secure ’ in the omnibox on Google Chrome.

This update coincided with the release of Google Chrome 68, on the path to a safer, more secure web where HTTPS is the default standard for all websites.

Where it began

Google’s push for ‘HTTPS Everywhere’ began in June 2014. During an informative session facilitated by Ilya Grigorik (Webmaster Trends Analyst) and Pierre Far (Web Performance Engineer), Google announced its vision and laid out the necessary steps one should take to properly secure a website – including how to make the switch to HTTPS, best practices, user benefits and more.

That same year, after a series of ranking signal tests yielded positive results, Google officially began using HTTPS as a ranking signal in its search algorithm . With this change, HTTPS sites got a slight Google ranking and index boost (which might increase in the future) over non-HTTPS sites.

The next big development arrived in January 2017, when Google began marking all non-HTTPS sites that received passwords or credit card information as ‘not secure.’ And by late 2017, Google added all non-HTTPS sites on which data was being entered and all non-HTTPS sites being visited in incognito mode to its roster of sites to mark ‘Not secure.’

Last, but certainly not least, in Feb 2018 , Google announced its plan to start marking all non-HTTPS sites as ‘not secure’ by mid-2018, bringing us to where we are today. If Google’s announcements and developments seem to have arrived steadily and gradually, it has been 100% intentional. Google wanted to give site owners plenty of time to migrate their sites to HTTPS as painlessly and seamlessly as possible. In essence: “Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

SSL explained if you aren't familiar

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and puts the ‘ S (which stands for secure )’ in ‘ HTTPS .’ SSL encrypts data being transferred over a server so that it will be protected, particularly as it travels from sender to recipient.

Any time you send information through an HTTPS site, its server will issue a certificate and use it to verify that the recipient is legit (authentication), encode your information so that it’s readable only to the recipient (encryption), and send it to the recipient, who will have to use a key to ‘unlock’ and read your information. Any information you send is viewable on every computer that passes it along to the recipient. Encryption prevents your information from being compromised or stolen along the way.

In short: get on board or get left behind

The end of HTTP is near. If you’re not convinced by the fact that the world’s largest and most trusted search engine is backing this endeavor (and rewarding HTTPS sites with better SEO), you should also consider the fact that many new website features require SSL encryption to even function in the first place. For example, sites that accept any type of card payment are required by the PCI (Payment Card Industry) to have SSL/TLS encryption. Count on HTTPS being a M-U-S-T if you want to stay current, or you’ll run the risk of being left behind.

Sound Blaster

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Tue, 22 May 2018 20:56:30 GMT

Not the sound cards made by Creative Labs from the mid 90's.

We've all experienced that dreaded moment when visiting a website for the first time when suddenly music starts blasting out of your speakers but you cannot find the mute button fast enough. Why anyone would think that is a good experience is beyond me.

Thankfully, the most popular browser in use, Chrome, solves that problem.

Recently Google started rolling out a new version of Chrome that addresses the problem with the latest update of Chrome, version 66. This should eliminate audio randomly blasting out of your speakers at the absolute worse time, like at work or at home in the middle of the night. Don't get me wrong, videos are great for your business. Visitors are able to learn more about your service, an event or a product. Auto-play is just not a good experience.

The good news is you will be able to continue to watch your favorite cooking channels on YouTube as they won't be affected by this change and will continue to auto-play sound if you're a frequent visitor and have watched videos.

So let the word go out, blasting your visitors with audio is not a good experience. The message from Google is clear, you can choose to turn off auto-play or the sound or Google will flag it and do it for you.

For a complete list of Chrome updates, visit the Chrome Releases blog .

Microsoft fixed new critical rated vulnerability in IE browser

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Mon, 14 May 2018 13:40:27 GMT

Attackers could exploit the vulnerability by hosting an exploit on a website .

On Tuesday May 8, 2018 Microsoft released patches for two Windows vulnerabilities, that according to researchers allow attackers to install malicious apps on the computers of unwitting users.

The first vulnerability is in the VBScript Engine included in all currently supported versions of Windows. When Windows users are logged in as the admin, attackers could take complete control of the system. In the event users are logged in as a standard user with limited rights, attackers may be able to exploit separate vulnerabilities.

CVE-2018-8174, discovered by antivirus provider Kaspersky Lab reported observing the following exploit:

Targets receive a malicious RTF Microsoft Office document
After being opened, the malicious document causes the second stage of the exploit to be downloaded in the form of an HTML page with malicious code
The malicious code triggers the use-after-free memory-corruption bug
Accompanying shellcode then downloads and executes a malicious payload

Kaspersky Lab security researcher Anton Ivanov wrote the following in an email:

This technique, until fixed, allowed criminals to force Internet Explorer to load, no matter which browser one normally used–further increasing an already huge attack surface... We urge organizations and private users to install recent patches immediately, as it won't be long before exploits to this vulnerability make it to popular exploit kits and will be used not only by sophisticated threat actors but also by standard cybercriminals.

In an advisory published Tuesday , Microsoft officials indicated attackers could also exploit the vulnerability by hosting an exploit on a website or in website ads and tricking a target to view the malicious content with the IE browser. Microsoft is rating CVE-2018-8174 as a "critical," which is the company's highest severity rating.

Microsoft fixed new critical rated vulnerability in IE browser.

Top 3 Reasons NOT to use Facebook as your Business Website

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 15:15:00 GMT

Facebook is a key tool in any business’ online marketing toolbox.

The butcher, the baker, the furniture maker. All have a company page on the leading social media platform, Facebook - and so they should.

Facebook is a key tool in any business’ online marketing toolbox. However, it is NOT a website. Or, more importantly: it is not YOUR website.

Small businesses should continue to leverage social media for online marketing, but should you toss the most important online asset, your website out the window? Absolutely not!

Here's why:
Facebook is not a search engine

Facebook is a Social Network for Friends and Family and not a search engine. How many times have you heard someone say "Google It"? Decades ago when a consumer wanted to search for a business their go to tool was the local telephone directory. Today, the term "Google It" is now synonymous for searching for any business on the internet from anywhere in the world. What happens if someone searching for your business and discovers you do not have a website? Believe it or not, they will skip your business and move on to the next small business who has a website with up to date information.

Facebook is the OWNER.

Facebook owns your business page. At any time, they could shut you down for not adhering to their enormous list of rules and guidelines. Additionally, they could change their page ranking in way that further minimizes the visibility of your content being shown in the news feed. Anything could happen at any time! Bottom line is that it’s not yours and more importantly it is not your own domain.

There is a lot happening on Facebook!

Baby photos, dinner recipes, birthdays and happy hour fill the daily Facebook news feed. Constant distractions and sponsored advertisements make it very difficult for your content to be seen and shared across the leading social network. Owning your own website, ensures visitors have a focused view of who you are, what you do and why they should do business with you and your company. The bottom line is you are in control.

When you have your own domain name, it establishes a higher level of professionalism especially when making first impressions while handing someone your business card. Don’t get me wrong. Facebook is vital to your small business marking plan and we are an advocate for leveraging the platforms feature tool set — but they’re most effective when used in conjunction with your small business website and not in lieu of it.

Want to learn more? We are experienced local professionals who bring distinct strengths and specialties to each new customer project. Everything we do is at a fair price. From creating professional, responsive mobile friendly websites to full service small business operational solutions. Let us help you get started. Contact us today .

Wings! Glorious Wings!

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 20:52:25 GMT

We love being a part of a local tradition with seasonal business owners when they re-open.

We love being a part of a local tradition with seasonal business owners when they re-open. We were honored again to be part of opening day at the Chicken or the Egg. Very grateful of all our clients and partnerships. I hope you enjoy this short video as much as we enjoyed working on it.

Shore Good Donuts

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 22:44:15 GMT

I've been dreaming of donuts all week.

I am super excited to see local seasonal shops re-opening and honored to be part of the big day at Shore Good Donuts . We are very grateful of all our clients and partnerships. I've been dreaming of donuts all week after working on this video project.

10 Reasons You Should Love Blogging

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 18:56:25 GMT

Blog posts are a great way to get recognized within your community and share your voice. Here are the top 10 reasons you should love writing blog posts.

Anyone can make one:
For better or worse, anyone can write a blog post about anything they want. Everyone has a voice and the best voices will rise to the top.

The writer can show their personality:
In blog posts, the writer has more leeway to add in their voice and personality than other types of writing.

Blogs are a great form of mass communication:
You can help people, learn new things, entertain your audience—the possibilities are endless and amazing. Blogging opens up all of these to a very wide audience.

You can make money:
Get the right blog going and you can make a lot of money through advertising and sponsored posts.

It allows people to craft better thoughts:
Instead of reading haphazard, uneducated Facebook statuses, it’s much better to see people’s thought process in a well-written blog post.

You can establish a community:
Blogging allows you to connect with other individuals who share the same interests. Sharing ideas and opinions within your community helps establish yourself as a thought leader.

Good for SEO:
Keeping content on your site fresh and relevant, you can use your blog to boost the search engine ranking (SEO) of your site and your business.

It brings people back to your site:
If your blog is strong enough and updated regularly, people will come back looking for more and bring traffic back to your site as well.

It’s free:
It costs you a grand total of zero dollars to post to the blog, so if you have something to say, there’s nothing to stop you.

You can establish yourself as a thought leader:
A blog is a great place for your original thoughts, and it can be a wonderful way to show off your individuality. If people like your ideas, you can become a thought leader in your industry!

What else do you love about blogs? Let me know!

Cloudfare Data Leak

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sun, 26 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The latest data leak to hit the internet

Tech sites and news outlets like Newsy are reporting on the latest data leak to hit the internet.

Websites and iOS Apps running on Cloudfare were leaking data between September 22, 2016 and February 18, 2017 through session tokens, API's, passwords and private messages to random requesters.

Familiar names like Dropbox, Yelp, ABC News, Meetup, OKCupid, FitBit, Fiverr, and Uber are all on Cloudfare customers.

Click the button below to view and download a list of iOS Apps which may be affected and click here to learn which websites may have been affected.

To be on the safe side, I recommend changing all of your passwords at least once per year and never use the same password twice. For an extra level of security, use two factor authentication .

Losing Big!

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The once untouchable internet company, Yahoo continues to lose in a big way.

The once untouchable internet company, Yahoo continues to lose in a big way. Despite these loses, Verizon is continuing with their plans to buy the tech company.

Once again, Yahoo issued a warning to some of their users that their accounts "might have" been breached. This time it was forged cookies, which allows access to private information without knowing users' credentials.

Cookies are those pieces of code stored by browsers to keep track of whether a user is logged into a password-protected account or not.

Does this sound familiar? Last December, Yahoo made public a separate intrusion resulting impacting more than 1 billion accounts in 2013.

If you haven't already taken the time to secure your account by adding 2-Step Verification. This extra layer of security requires you to sign in with something you know (step 1 - your password) and something you have (step 2 a code sent to your phone).

To learn more about multi-factor authentication, visit Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Imagination and Creativity the Lego Way

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT

You couldn't wait to show your parents "look what I did".

Remember that feeling you had when you finished building that special Lego village, car or truck? You couldn't wait to show your parents "look what I did".

While enjoying my first cup of coffee this morning, a big smile suddenly came over me while I was reading the latest business news on FoxBusiness dot com . Recalling years ago when playing with Lego blocks and searching for just the right piece.

Well, if you haven't heard the news, Lego is back! According to the annual Global 500 rankings report by Brand Finance , Lego regained the title of the world’s “most powerful brand,” beating out Google. Could you imagine beating Google at anything?!

The article continues on about massive earnings in the billions, sluggish sales at the box office, the Chinese Market, etc. I think you know where I'm going with this, bla bla bla.

For me the lesson learned is more important than the millions of dollars earned. But don't get me wrong, I could do a lot with some of those millions.

Peel away the layers of the article and you'll discover the most important point, the Lego Company, as big as it is, a global company employing thousands of people is focusing a lot of their attention to telling their own story, the heart of their business. We like to say it in another way at Rayve On , "getting back to basics."

Any business can do this, and should take the same approach by focusing on their own story. "But I build houses, I don't have a story." Yes you do, you just lost it along the way.

I'm not suggesting that you need a pile of cash to hire a film crew to produce an epic movie like " The Lego Movie ."

What I am saying is that your business strategy should always focus on your "story", marketing that message on and offline, being consistent across all channels. When you do this, the story will flow easily between you, your customers, their friends, their friends of friends and the feedback will be rewarding in many ways.

Your business is your brand, and your brand story is more than what you tell people when you meet them first. It's their experience, what they believe by working with you, shopping at your showroom, speaking with your associates and the signals they send during that interaction. Trucks, billboards, brochures and ads in the newspaper don't tell your story. The picture of your brand is made up of feedback, facts, feelings and experiences, which really tells your story.

IT'S YOUR JOB TO GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS A STORY TO TELL

During consultation with us, we will discover your brand’s mission and vision. We will work with you and learn about your special value proposition and what you would like to be perceived by your customers.

Our job is to work on communicating your story that will reflects all of that.

WE WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH YOU TO CREATE:

A BRAND STORY
A ONLINE & OFFLINE STRATEGY
A NEW WAY TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

Why Your Business Needs Email Marketing

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Traditional news paper ads means sending out an expensive blind message with no way of measuring the results.

Sure, we could just use marketing methods our fathers before us used in their small businesses; allocating a small fortune each year into local phone directories, free booklets that leave ink on your hands, fridge magnets, billboards and diner place mats.

However, you just don't know who is putting up your magnets or if anyone is actually reading the booklets or if it just gets thrown out in the recycling bin.

Basically, traditional marketing means sending out an expensive blind message with no way of measuring the results

Instead, email is very cost-effective, and it also allows you to measure your results in real-time.

When is a Good Time to Start?

That's an easy question to answer. Start Now! Are you planning a grand opening, working on a new product or service, preparing for a new season in your seasonal business or building your social media followers? These and many more types of business activities are perfect reasons to start working on your email marketing strategy.

Exclusive Rewards!

Consider the weeks leading up to your Grand Opening or your new product or service launch, everyone is excited talking about it on social media and looking forward to your big day. Leading up to an event is a perfect opportunity to build a deeper customer relationship by offering "VIP" Exclusive Offers , such as taking tours and purchasing special gear or gift certificates for those who sign up to receive news through your email marketing channel.

Keep them coming back for more after your big day through email offers, avoid being lost in the social media news feed and go directly to your loyal customers inbox!

Want to see how email marketing can work for you?

Sign up for a free trial of Constant Contact today!

Easy to use and understand email reports detail who opened your email campaigns, what links they clicked, and how engaged they are with your brand. Yes it is that great!

When you analyze and act on these metrics, you can potentially turn a simple email campaign into a lifelong client who can sign up for seasonal services, receive exclusive offers and more! This gets even better, you can test, iterate, and go with what works to get the most bang for your marketing buck while tracking who takes action by driving people to your website, your most valuable digital asset.

Email marketing isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity when it comes to promoting your business.

Brand new to email marketing? Sign up for a free trial.

Already using Constant Contact? Great! Contact me for your free analysis and best practices consultation.

Let's face it - it's 2017 and we are living in a world where people say "Google It" throughout their daily lives.

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Let's face it - it's 2017 and we are living in a world where people say "Google It" throughout their daily lives.

The term has become synonymous with searching for something online, from any device at anytime of the day, from wherever they are; at home, at work, on the job site, stuck in traffic, anywhere. In fact, I'm certain you know exactly what I mean. If you don't have a website, prospective customers and consumers will make a decision to dismiss you right from the start. They believe your business doesn't reflect the kind of company they want to do business with or spend their hard earned money at. It is this very reason you're missing out and your competition is beating you every day that your business doesn't have a website.

With this in mind, consider these five reasons why having a website is so important.

1. Your Customers Expect It.
If this was the only reason on the list, I think it would be enough. Consumers and future customers expect businesses to offer online content about who they are, what they do and how long they have been doing business, and most of them want to go straight to the business website for that information. They're not going to an ad in a free magazine, they're not going to social media or to Foursquare, they want to go to your website for your information.

2. It Provides Social Proof.
Ninety percent of consumers claim that online reviews influence their buying decisions.

You could rely on Facebook, Google, Yelp, and other review sites to provide insights into your small business reviews for your brand, OR you can kill two birds with one stone on your own website.

Potential customers are searching for your business online and including customer testimonials on your own website is a great way to make a first impression.

3. You're In Control.
Everyone knows that we cannot control what others say about us on social media, but we can have a significant influence on public perception by creating our own personal story through a business website.

A company blog helps business owners continue to bring their message, mission, and personality to the forefront of their target market way faster than any print advertisement.

Plus, future customers can take action immediately on your website, such as calling your business phone, completing a service application, sharing on social media and signing up for special offers only available through your email channel. Try to make all that happen in a tiny black and white ad!

4. Your Competitors All Have Business Websites.

Consumers consistently start their decision process with research and recommendations from friends, family, colleagues and social network connections.

Studies have shown that once a potential customer has an idea of what they need or want, they go online and start researching. In fact 72 percent of them will search online to find information related to services, products, reviews, and testimonials, according to a recent report.

Basically, if you’re not keeping up and staying competitive with your local competition, you’re giving the keys to success to another small business owner.

5. Showcase Your Products And Services.

Products, services, staff, service forms, and so much more can be displayed or outlined in detail with beautiful images for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can provide short video tutorials or easy to follow step by step downloadable PDF instructions to give customers every reason to do business with you and no reason to go anywhere elsewhere.

Need help getting started with a website for your small business?

If you haven’t created a website for your small business no worries, contact us now for your free consultation and together we will make and manage an affordable website that fits your needs.

Three Easy Ways to Success

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Before you know it, a month has gone by and you're knee deep into the daily grind.

We've all been there. We start the year off with a grand plan to organize our social media, email marketing, print material, annual events and budgets, only to be side tracked or derailed by the day-to-day operations.

Before you know it, a month has gone by and you're knee deep into the daily grind of staffing, inventory, budgets and preparing for tax season.

We often advise our new and existing small business owners about the steps they can take to break out of this cycle and get on the path to success.

Assign Ownership

Consider the saying " too many cooks spoil the broth", meaning when there are too many people involved in managing an activity the results will not be very good. The best way forward is to assign one person the responsibility to get things done , the easiest step of the three.

Avoid Outdated Strategies

Trying to be found in any local phone directory, no matter what they try to name it, is not a very effective way to market your business or a good use of funds. Who knows what could happen with that outdated business model, one day the company could file for bankruptcy without you even knowing it. Placing multiple ads in any free publication only results in missed opportunity to allocate your hard earned money across other channels. When you're stuck in traffic or stopped at a red light, what is the first thing you do? Start looking and reading the nearest billboard? Hardly, you and just about everyone else grabs their mobile phone and starts catching up on email, social media and what's happening.

You know the seasonal ebbs and flows of your business, so make sure your plan aligns with your changes throughout the year. Waiting until the season is upon you adds unnecessary stress to you and your staff. Our motto is "Plan the Work and Work the Plan", practicing this in marketing will lead to improved daily operations and increase company morale. An easy way to start is to create a calendar and plan your marketing campaigns for the year.

The sooner you begin, the easier it becomes to successfully market your business. Still need help? No worries, contact us now for your free consultation and together we will Plan The Work and Work The Plan.

Facebook's latest Video Update

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Facebook announced the social network will begin phasing in longer videos.

Facebook announced the social network will begin phasing in longer videos in the News Feed through an update to their algorithm.

The update was based upon more actions being taken on videos including duration of viewing, enabling sound and switching to full screen to name a few.

How does this impact My Page?

The social media giant continues to tune the platform to be more video focused and advises page admins to focus on the story they're telling and not duration.

Since October 2015, the company has added features like "Saved", to make it easy for a fan to return to the videos they're interested in, "Favorites" a dedicated section for the web, "Discovery" a dedicated place on their mobile app where you can watch videos, "Video Calling" through messenger so you can see that smiling face of those who matter in your life and the list goes on.

Next Steps

These changes will be phased in and rolled out gradually over time but some of them most likely within less than one month.

Still not sure where to begin with social video marketing? Contact us now for your FREE consultation

Big Priorities for Small Business

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Creating, Communicating and Delivering Value

Small business digital marketing is more important than ever. If you thought small business marketing was placing ads in a free publication, it's time to think again.

As defined by the American Marketing Association marketing is: "the activity and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."

Buying advertising space in any periodic publication is just one very small component of marketing your business, especially in today's digital age. Marketing begins with how you answer your phone, to how your service is fulfilled, to what you say and is said online, both positively and negatively.

An easy way to visualize marketing is to think about building a new home: First you'll need the property, then an engineer or architect, a carpenter, electrician, plumber, roofer, flooring contractor, painter and a general contractor. Each of them is unique in function and purpose, but collectively building your new home becomes a reality. Consider your general contractor as your public relations person, your electrician as your market research person and your painter as your advertising person. Individually each serves a purpose, together their consolidated efforts unify your message.
For most small business owners, running your day-to-day operation takes up most of your time. Staffing and work schedules, payroll, accounting, supplies and meeting deadlines during your busy day doesn't leave you with any extra time to plan and work on a marketing approach for your business.

A Big Priority for Small Business

Digital marketing has become a big priority for those small business owners who try to stay ahead of their competition.

Websites

Your company's website is an investment in your business and should always be considered your most valuable asset in marketing. Ensuring a user friendly, easy to read design which utilizes responsive layouts, are a perfect start. If you aren't aware, Google expanded their mobile first ranking order back in April 2015, so if you haven't switched over to a Mobile Friendly Google Approved Design, you should make it your top priority. Your small business website is also the place to include your business reputation, whether you have been in business for 40 years or have 10,000 Facebook Fans, and share this important information with the consumer, in an easy to find location and always available.

Testimonials or mentions in the press, as they establish a strong reputation by exhibiting recognized attention, are a valuable reference. Professional, accredited, certifications and nonprofit community organization seals confirm training, professionalism and community support. Visitors to your website trust businesses who are active on Social Media as it brings credibility front and center, aligning with your business website. Lastly, your Terms of Conditions or Privacy Policy brings everything together for visitors to trust your business as it openly describes website usage.

Social Media
Social media has become the mainstream marketing channel. Facebook , Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest continue to compete for market share across all ages and demographics. According to Pew Research , 65% of adults used social media in 2015 including 35% of adults 65 and older.

Email
Email continues to dominate despite the popularity of Social Media. Email applications vary between mobile devices, desktop and laptop computers but one thing is certain, email apps are always front and center on the users home screen.

Research conducted by the leading internet, science and technology center, Pew Research Center stated "those who use the internet found email the most important digital tool at the workplace. Some 61% of workers say it is very important". There are many ways, both on and offline, to build a list of email addresses but never ever purchase a list, no matter how good the offer sounds. Purchased lists are often associated with spam.

Video
Telling your small business story was once only told by a local journalist who worked at a newspaper or magazine, which people paid to buy single copies and purchased annual subscriptions. Those days are long past and now you're in control.

Today, video is a massive marketing tool thanks to mobile devices and mobile apps. Small business owners, who leverage well thought out plans, discovered that video marketing is not a fad. Personalized, focused video content is very affordable, bringing much added value to your social media, website and email channels.

Keep It Simple
Let's recap and keep it simple. Begin by investing in your most valuable digital asset, your company website. Next, make your plan to include each digital channel into your website, encompassing all your brand assets to ensure you reach your goals. Still don't know where to begin? Contact us now and we will meet with you, free of charge.

Social Commerce and Millennials

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Millennials like over 60% of companies on Facebook

Millennials like over 60% of companies on Facebook, including Nike, Apple, Disney and Victoria’s Secret. What's motivating them? It's as simple as supporting the company or brand they like.

In fact, Millennials are more likely to act on a sale if a coupon or discount is offered on a social networking site and Facebook users are more likely to make a purchase online after liking or sharing something according to a recent study, conducted by the Center for Marketing Research (CMR) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth .

Additional findings include

Facebook users are more likely to make a purchase online after liking or sharing something than are the users of Twitter or Pinterest
Hair, Beauty, and Apparel is the top category of purchases made across social networking platforms
Pinterest users are more likely to use a “buy” button (or “buyable pins”) than are Facebook or Twitter users
More than 40 million businesses now have pages on Facebook making it a popular place to like a brand or company.
Twitter has seen a decrease of 7%

Purchase after Liking and Sharing
Millennials connect with social media purchases on Facebook. Forty-One percent of the surveyed with users accounts indicated they made a purchase of some type on Facebook after liking or sharing.

What are they buying?
Purchases were performed on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest after sharing something online and Millennials clearly prefer to buy goods in the category of Hair, Beauty and Apparel. This is the category where the most purchases were made across the three platforms studied, accounting for roughly half of all purchases. This is consistent with studies conducted in previous years.

The Conclusion
This is a normal way of life. Social Media is simply as normal as using a microwave in daily life. It impacts where they go, what they do, what they buy and where they shop. There is evidence that the companies and brands that they like and follow over time as does their preferred way to make purchases. Mobile devices have become central to their social influenced purchases since Millennials are now able to connect with companies/brands wherever and whenever they want.

Calling all Yahoo users

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT

By now you have heard the news.

Calling all Yahoo users. By now you have heard about the 500 million Yahoo accounts that we're hacked and the importance of changing your account password.

However, you may not know that you should also unlink all your mobile devices which are connected to your account.

To change, recover or reset your Yahoo password, visit their help page and follow the step by step instructions.

If you have forgotten your Yahoo password, you should use the Sign-in Helper to reset your Yahoo password and regain access to your account.

Remember, never use your birthday or a password from another account.

Life is amazing

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Tue, 23 Aug 2016 00:00:00 GMT

On August 23, 1991 the first website went live on the internet

Fast forward to September 1995 and I am very fortunate to be in Princeton New Jersey working with great minded entrepreneurs, PHD's, MBA's and visionaries building an online payment systems to process transactions to and from Fortune 1000 companies. Today most of you reading this are using its patented technology components to bank online.

Life has been amazing.

Happy Internet Day!

Thank you Sir Tim Berners-Lee

Critical Rated Bug found in Video Player

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Sat, 16 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Are you a Windows PC user who uses QuickTime video player by Apple?

If you are, you may want to consider uninstalling the software. According to TrendMicro a leading security software maker, a bug rated critical was discovered that could be used to attack computers when a user unknowingly opens a corrupted file or visits a malicious website.

Reports have been published that Apple is ending support for the product AND the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team has issued an alert that the un-patched software places users at an increased vulnerability to attacks.

For Windows PC users, your only option is to uninstall the software since support has ended. Mac computers are not impacted by the bug.

We're in this together

ray@rayveon.com (Ray Valladares) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT

It’s official, I have a blog and I know how to use it.

The first post after many site iterations, so here we go. After being on the right side of a corporate M&A in 2011 I found myself asking how I can best use my 15 years of corporate technology experience to help small businesses reduce operating expense.

From an old table in my laundry room, I began marketing our first app, My LBI Life , in 2012, creating a highly cost-effective mobile marketing solution for local small businesses. Demand outpaced our space and in 2016, we relocated our operation from a tiny room in Ship Bottom to our new headquarters in the heart of Stafford Township, New Jersey.

At the heart of our business; we are genuine, fun, community driven, customer focused and different in everything we do, at a fair price. And as we always say: “We’re in this together.” This is why we’re here, to help small business owners make sense of the whole social mobile scene.

We may periodically have guest bloggers, but for now just look for posts from yours truly. Your comments and feedback are welcome. Be nice, be considerate, and be friendly. It’s that easy. Any comment that I feel doesn't meet these simple rules can and probably will be deleted.
Cheers
Ray