Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 19, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 19 V ideo marketing and advertising is nothing new. Just turn on your TV to realize this. In fact, the first official TV com- mercial aired back in 1941 – a 10-sec- ond spot for Bulova, a watch and jew- elry company. But since the dawn of video, this form of marketing has almost exclu- sively been reserved for larger compa- nies with deep pockets. Small to mid- sized businesses were often left out. Until now. A less costly alternative to TV ads is available for everyone these days: social video. I'd argue, in fact, that social videos are far more impactful than a TV commercial, because they focus on a smaller – yet appropriate – demographic. In other words, your dollars are spent more on the people who matter most. What's important about social vid- eos is they're not intended to advertise; rather, the most effective social videos break down barriers and help busi- nesses become more relatable. I can't help but think of the MetLife Hong Kong video about a daughter who lets her father know how much she loves him and how he toils behind the scenes to provide her with a better life. The video is an emotional roller coaster that demands attention and speaks directly to its intended audience 10 T H I NG S I know about . . . … C y b e r s e c u r i t y t r e n d s By Michelle Drolet Michelle Drolet is CEO of Towerwall, a data security services provider in Framingham. You may reach her at michelled@ towerwall.com. K N O W H O W Use social videos to excite an audience N obody likes a know-it-all, and in business, the ramifications can potentially impact your bottom line. Maintaining what Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos calls a begin- ner's mind is good for employees, good for leadership and good for innovation overall. Here are three things to keep in mind concerning what should be a continuous process – learning: Bring career paths to employees. Susan M. Heathfield at TheBalance. com says all employees should have opportunities to develop their skills through not only on-the-job learning, but education, as well. "Employees feel as if their manager cares about their careers and progress. This is one of the most significant factors that employees need from work," she writes. Whether workshops, online seminars or confer- ences, employees who are encouraged to continue to grow and develop tend to be happier in their jobs. Don't get jaded. Bezos, in an Adam Lashinsky article at Fortune.com, says it's not easy to maintain a beginner's mind, but it's imperative to inventing and pioneering. "You have to be an expert in the state of the art and then somehow let that expertness not make you jaded," Bezos is quoted as saying. Come into it with a naïve outlook, he advises, to open your mind to new ideas. Explore what's available online for your professional development, and encourage your employees to do the same. Online courses from LinkedIn Learning, edX, Khan Academy, Coursera and others are now offered in abundance, says Dan Schawbel at Forbes.com. "Pew Research reports that self-directed learning is driving the need for new credentialing sys- tems. More employers will be accept- ing different types of credentials as they seek to build diverse talent pools and expand their reach," Schawbel writes. BY SUSAN SHALHOUB Special to the Worcester Business Journal 10 1: F o s t e r l e a r n i n g 10) Data breaches. Nearly 5 million data records are lost or stolen worldwide every single day, or 58 records every second. According to an IBM report, the average cost of a data breach is $7.3 million. 9) Machine learning will play a bigger role in cybersecurity. Because the battle against cyber criminals moves so rapidly, machine learning models identifying attacks early could be a real boon for defenses. 8) Rise in ransomware. A growing threat claiming high-profile victims, ransomware is when bad actors lock access to your data, then demand payment for the key. 7) Patching & updating. Back up your sensitive data like customer records regularly, keep patching and updating systems – all simple steps. 6) Skills shortage. The dearth of skilled cybersecurity professionals is a major problem. Despite soaring average salaries, thousands of positions are vacant. 5) Hire a virtual CISO. Chief information security officers can be hired on a temporary basis to lay out a ground plan. Expect to see more outsourcing as employers fill the skills gap. 4) Application testing. If you don't test your security, then you don't know how secure your business is. 3) IoT is a weak link. We're rolling out more and more sensor-packed, internet- connected devices, but the Internet of Things remains a major weak point for defenses. All too often these devices lack basic security controls. 2) Handle with care. Lessen the blow by handling the aftermath correctly. Delaying disclosure, misdirecting potential victims, and failing to patch a known vulnerability will make a bad situation worse. 1) All is not doom. Positive developments in cybersecurity include adoption of models like the National Institute of Standards & Technology's cybersecurity framework. As more organizations and experts come together to develop a common language, our collective defenses grow stronger. BY KHAM INTHIRATH Special to the Worcester Business Journal W W – parents. Believe it or not, your local business can produce a video of this caliber and, thanks to social media, get it seen by thousands of people for a fraction of the cost of a TV ad. Facebook. YouTube. Instagram. The list is endless. Dollars no longer hand- cuff businesses from capitalizing on video. Now it's just about execution. Here are two tips to creating a powerful social video. 1. Connect with the heart. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to establish a personal connection within your video. When your viewer sees hardship or a relatable situation, they'll think, "I know this. I've been there." This established mutual understanding bridges the gap between audience and brand. 2. Don't talk about yourself. I said it earlier – social videos aren't ads. The more you talk about you, your products or services, and how you can help the viewer, the less engaged your audience will be. It may seem counterproductive to everything you think you know about marketing, but the less your video is about you, the more impactful it'll be. Your video should be about your viewers, in order to maximize the con- nection between your message and your audience. The stronger connection you establish, the more likely your viewers will share that video. And that's the name of the game – chances are you don't have an enormous audience waiting with bated breath for your next Facebook post. But you likely do have some people in your social cir- cles, and even a handful of followers are enough to make a single video go viral. But it all starts with quality content. So, how will you create your next great video? I'll leave you with this one final tip: Technology has made it easy to record and share video. Even your smartphones produce incredible images. That being said, I strongly encourage you to invest some of your money toward hiring a video production agen- cy to make your video. From lighting to sound quality, editing and more, there's no substitute for professionalism. W Kham Inthirath is the founder and president of InThink Agency, a marketing agency focused on helping local businesses find and connect with their target audiences.

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