More employees are opting for laptops because they’re compact and easy to carry around. However, small frames mean less space for computer chips, transistors, RAM, hard drives, and other hardware components. This leads to overheating.

Causes of overheating

Laptops generate heat when in use. That’s why they have internal fans that blow out hot air and suck in cooler air. So when your laptop keeps shutting down or suffers some serious slowdowns, chances are it’s overheating.

Some causes of overheating are:

Damaged or malfunctioning fans are due to dirt and grime clogging up the fan, preventing it from rotating properly.
Blocked air vents prevents air from flowing into the laptop.
Old laptop battery rely on lithium, a chemical that naturally decays over time; as the battery gets older, it becomes less efficient and generates more heat
Running too many software programs in the background can cause your processor and fans to go on overdrive.
Bad habits when using your laptop, such as using uneven or soft surfaces as padding, can block the air vents, leading to overheating.

What to do if your laptop’s overheating

If your laptop starts overheating, the first thing you should do is turn your laptop off and check if the fan is damaged in any way. This can slow down its rotation. Next, inspect the vents and fan for any dirt, grime, or other possible causes of blockage.

Also, check how many software programs or apps run immediately after switching your laptop on. If your laptop is overheating or shutting down after a while, you may have to disable applications on startup.

Keeping it cool

Always make sure that there’s adequate airflow when you’re using your laptop. Avoid using your laptop in bed or on a carpet. And never use pillows as padding as they can block the air vents of your laptop. Better yet, invest in a cooling pad. They lift your laptop and have built-in fans that facilitate better airflow.

Other ways to avoid overheating are limiting the number of programs that run when you start your laptop, changing your settings to power save mode, and shutting down your laptop when you’re not using it.

Users often take their laptops for granted because they’re built as plug-and-play devices. However, with a little extra care and attention, your laptops can last longer. If you want to prolong the lifespan of your hardware, call our experts today.

Source: Pronto

One of the biggest innovations in business and technology is marketing automation. Previously reserved for well-funded enterprises, marketing automation is now accessible to small businesses, thanks to affordable cloud solutions. Here are five profitable benefits to automating some of your most mundane marketing tasks.

Instant responses to email requests
If a customer or prospect sends your business an email via your website or a “Contact Us” form, any delay in response could ultimately cost you a client. But if you have a marketing automation plan in place, you can customize automatic email responses to respond to these leads as soon as an email is received. This either provides potential customers with the information they requested or informs them that you will be responding in greater detail soon.

Stop leaving voicemails and start closing deals
There’s a reason most people prefer to communicate via email: Keeping in touch over the phone can be tough if both parties are always busy. An automated system solves this by logging when you’ve contacted leads and automatically emailing them about follow-up times. The call, email, and its response are all logged in your CRM and calendar without a single minute wasted on inputting mundane information.

Inbound lead assignment
When you have phone calls, emails, and meetings piling up, it’s hard to keep track of which customer goes where and who is working with them. With marketing automation software and tracking, customer service representatives are automatically assigned to inbound leads based on specialties and demographics so they can begin working on building profitable rapport right away.

Give and you shall receive
Potential clients and leads get dozens, sometimes hundreds, of business emails every day. You need something to set your business apart from the rest. By offering valuable content such as how-to guides and total cost of ownership tools in exchange for contact information, you can provide prospects with content they actually want.

All it takes is a web form and some creative writing that ultimately leads visitors back to your products and/or services. Your automation software delivers content to anyone who provides contact information, and it downloads metrics that can be tracked and analyzed by your solution.

Never type another phone number again
Networking events mean new contacts and new leads. They used to mean having to keep track of thick stacks of business cards, but cutting-edge marketing tools now make it possible to take a picture of contact information and automatically store it as part of a cloud-based database. Call-ins, scanned business cards, and received emails all get organized into a single digital Rolodex with recommendations on whom to contact and when it is best to do so — without one minute of tedious data entry.

Every business owner knows that automating mindless tasks is a worthwhile investment. But not everyone knows just what sort of tools are available to help you cut down on wasted work. Our team specializes in using technology to add value to your business, and we believe that if you’re not utilizing any of the solutions above, that’s the best place to start. Get in touch with us today to make your marketing technology work for you.

Source: Pronto

Instagram has become one of the most popular social networks to date. One billion active users consume its image-heavy content every day. Aside from it being a photo-sharing app with fun filters, Instagram has demonstrated its capability to turn your followers into customers. Make the most out of your Instagram account with these practical tips.

Ensure your posts are shoppable

This simply means providing a convenient path where your followers can buy the products posted on your page. With the right Instagram tool, you can direct users to your online shop where they can make an actual purchase. Instagram is, arguably, not the best eCommerce platform to use if you depend on clickable media, but if you know how to tweak the app to your advantage — and provide an attractive presentation of your products — you can turn likes into sales.

Give away discount codes or coupons

Encourage followers to engage with you and share content with incentives such as discount codes or coupons. You can do this by running contests with an interesting concept, cool prizes, and a sharing or voting element that encourages participants to share your content with their friends. Better yet, engage followers with user-generated content via photo contests, resulting in free promotion for your brand.

Come up with a strong call to action (CTA)

Instagram doesn’t exactly have the most mobile-friendly CTAs, but don’t let this prevent you from sending followers to your sales page. Whether it’s telling them to go to the link on your bio or simply incorporating a shoppable Instagram feature on your page, specific instructions on how to buy or learn more about your product can spell the difference between making a sale and being ignored.

Post frequently and make the most of all available tools

Post photos using stylish filters, create snappy and quirky videos, or let your followers take a friendly behind-the-scenes peek at your organization using the Stories feature. Come up with a catchy and relatable caption that encourages participation and engages your core audience. Also important: always use hashtags on your posts. Any business Instagrammer worth his or her salt knows that a simple hashtag can pave the way for other users to reach your content and, ultimately, buy your product.

Repost content from brands in your niche

There may be instances when you won’t need to create your own Instagram content (especially if you lack the time to produce your own). Other accounts may already be successful in their efforts to engage your target audience, and there’s nothing wrong with reposting content from similar brands as part of your strategy to earn exposure for your account, as long as you ask permission and give credit where it’s due.

Search for brands in Instagram that inspire you and your target audience but are not direct competitors. You can use hashtags to help narrow the search and display the most relevant accounts. Follow these brands, and save any share-worthy posts in a collection with the bookmark icon.

When you find an Instagram post that is worth sharing, either comment on the post or send a private message to the account, and mention that you like the content and you think your followers will enjoy it too. Ask for permission to share the post on your feed, and assure the owner you’ll give them proper credit.

With some creativity, visual flair, and a well-defined strategy, these tips can help transform your Instagram feed into an attractive online sales generator. If you need further advice on how you can make the most of your social media presence, contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Source: Pronto

In today’s world, staying connected means having a strong internet connection and a feature-packed smartphone. But you may discover that your internet-based apps are loading much more slowly after using your handset for just a few months. Learn four possible reasons why your phone’s internet speed is lagging.

Router location

One simple yet overlooked reason why your Wi-Fi-connected phone may be experiencing internet lag is because of your router’s location. Although Wi-Fi has a range of up to 230 feet, the farther away you are from the router, the weaker the signal. Large objects like doors and walls situated in between you and the router can also weaken the transmission.

It’s recommended to place your router in a centralized location, preferably away from concrete and masonry walls or other big objects like a chimney. As the router signal radiates from all sides, blocking any side with big objects will impact your Wi-Fi’s signal quality and as a result, your phone’s internet speed is impeded.

Wi-Fi noise

Did you know that home electronic appliances emit wireless signals at a frequency similar to your router’s (2.4GHz)? So before deciding on your router’s location, determine whether there are any wireless devices nearby, as they emit signals that can interfere with your router’s signal. For example, even if the ideal location for your router is at the center of your house, you shouldn’t place it there if there’s a cordless phone nearby.

You can also set your router on a 5GHz band, as this frequency is less prone to interference from other appliances. But before you start tuning it, make sure your phone supports 5GHz; otherwise, it won’t be able to connect to the router.

Slow network

Another reason for your phone’s slow internet connection is fluctuating network speeds. Ask yourself these two questions to know the exact cause of this problem:

1. How many people are connecting to the router?
2. What are they doing over the internet?

You should increase your router’s internet bandwidth speed if you discover you have many users and all of them are either streaming movies, or downloading computer games or software updates. This will allow every phone to enjoy faster internet speeds.

If you’re outdoors, and you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network, consider using your mobile data instead. You won’t have to share your internet when you use mobile data, enabling you to experience faster connectivity at all times as long as you have a high-speed data plan.

Too much cache

Last, you should check your smartphone’s cache if fixing your router, network, and positioning doesn’t improve your device’s internet speed. Cache is a component in your phone that saves data from earlier searches in order to increase the speed of similar searches in the future. Although your phone becomes more efficient for that particular search, it also makes your phone much slower when you do other things that require the internet.

You can clear out your cache manually or use a cache cleaner app to thoroughly get rid of useless cache and optimize your phone’s internet speed. If you decide to download a cache cleaner app, make sure that it is reputable and trustworthy so you don’t accidentally download a malware-infected program instead.

There are more reasons to your phone’s lagging internet speed. If your business relies heavily on a speedy mobile internet connection and you’re unable to fix the problem, call our experts today. We’re always ready to help you.

Source: Pronto

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and certain parts of Louisiana the hardest. In the same year, Hurricane Irma devastated companies in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. During uncertain times, a disaster recovery (DR) plan is what saves companies from power outages and massive revenue losses. Let these tips guide you.

Determine recovery hierarchy

Certain parts of your IT are more mission-critical than others. Ask yourself which systems or data must be recovered in minutes, hours, or days to get your business back to running efficiently.

For example, you may find that recovering sensitive customer information and eCommerce systems take priority over recovering your email server. Whatever the case may be, prioritizing your systems ensures that the right ones are recovered quickly after a disaster.

Pay attention to location

First and foremost, your backup site should be in a hurricane-free zone. Ideally, your off-site facility should be located at least 100 miles away from your main location. If this isn’t possible, make sure it is built to withstand wind speeds of 160 mph (as fast as Category 5 storms), and is supported by backup generators and uninterruptible power supplies.

You should also request an upper floor installation or, at the very least, keep critical IT equipment 18 inches off the ground to prevent water damage.

Use image-based backups

Unlike fragile tape backups, image-based backups take “snapshots” of your systems, creating a copy of the OS, software, and data stored in it. From there, you can easily boot the virtual image on any device, allowing you to back up and restore critical business systems in seconds.

Take advantage of the cloud

The cloud allows you to host applications and store data in high-availability, geo-redundant servers. This means your backups can be accessed via the internet, allowing authorized users to access critical files from any device. Expert technicians will also watch over and secure your backups, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of enterprise-level backup facilities and IT support.

Back up your data frequently

Back up your data often, especially during disaster season. If your latest backups were created on the 15th of September and the next storm makes landfall on the 28th, you could lose nearly two weeks of data.

Get in the habit of replicating your files at the end of each day, which should be easy if you’ve opted for image-based backups.

Test your DR plan

After setting up your backups, check whether they are restoring your files accurately and on time. Your employees should be drilled on the recovery procedures and their responsibilities during and after disaster strikes. Your DR team should also be trained on how to failover to the backup site before the storm hits. Finally, providers, contractors, and customers need to be notified about how the hurricane will affect your operations.

As cell towers and internet connections may be affected during this time, make sure your company forums are online and have your employees register with the Red Cross Safe and Well website so you can check their statuses.

It’s nearly impossible to experience little-to-no disruptions during disasters like Harvey or Irma, but with the right support, you can minimize downtime. If you’re concerned about any natural disasters putting you out of business, call us today. We offer comprehensive business continuity services that every company should have.

Source: Pronto