When marketing your small business to the world it is most important to keep constant contact with your audience. Engagement marketing can help you obtain and grow customer relationships. As you know, each customer/client relationship is valuable; without them there is no bread or butter. Not only does trueITpros lead the race in small business IT solutions, we also have a unique grasp on marketing strategies that help small business owners compete in an ever changing market. To stay at the top of the marketing game, trueITpros has recently taken their marketing ventures to the next level by partnering with Constant Contact . If your company has the voice of a shrinking violet, trueITpros and Constant Contact can help you sound more like a blooming rose.

Constant Contact specializes in email, social media and event marketing as well as online surveys local deals and digital storefronts. Maybe you need a new method to get your monthly newsletter out to customers. Email is the answer. Everyone checks their inbox throughout the day. Increase your client reach through weekly or monthly emails that will deliver results such as new business relationships and more revenue.

Perhaps your Facebook or Twitter page needs a boost in likes or follows. Constant Contact can help you turn fans into customers through running special promotions. Keep your current audience engaged while picking up new fans. All it takes is a little free coaching. With Constant Contact you never have to wonder if your efforts are working. You can track your success with real-time reporting. Stay one step ahead of other companies in your industry by planning your next move and keeping your ideas fresh.

At trueITpros, we are solutions providers. Sometimes managing marketing can become overwhelming. It truly is a full time job making sure your company has an active presence online. That’s where we come in. trueITpros manages several successful email marketing and social media marketing campaigns through Constant Contact. We have a formula that can give any small business high traffic and a far reach. To learn more about how we can help you stay in constant contact with your audience, call us at 678-534-8776 for a consultation today!

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Three generations of technology travel behind us and still light years away, Samsung is back with its new creation the Samsung Galaxy S 4. This new super smartphone is considered to be – well- brilliant! BY now, smartphone user should be used to the touch screen feature. Samsung has come a long way from its first attempt with the Samsung Behold and so has the android data system. Follow this broken down version of the Samsung Galaxy S 4 from trueITpros to see if this smartphone lives up to the hype.

The Samsung Galaxy S 4 is a smartphone fit for Captain Kirk. Instead of a touch screen, it has Air View/Air Gesture. Now you can move through phone applications by simply waving your hand over the screen without touching it. It can also respond to your hand through gloves. As you might recall, the GS III has Smart Stay which followed your direct eye contact with the phone to keep the screen on while in use. However, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 has its cousin, Smart Pause. This new feature not only follows your eyes, it follows your every move and full body motion. While you’re looking, it’s watching, but when you look away it pauses whatever you were watching. What a smarty pants move!

For users that like all their entertainment under one umbrella, the Samsung Galaxy S 4 offers HomeSync. This app turns your phone into the ultimate personal device. Store all of your pictures, movies, games and TV streaming here for when you are at home or on the go. Your family can always have access to their favorite form of entertainment, and it can hold up to 1TB of files. Since the Samsung Galaxy S 4 is synced to all your entertainment, might as well keep handy a TV remote control. No more digging in the sofa cushions or looking under coffee table when the remote goes missing. The GS4 now has the WatchOn feature which turns the phone into a remote control for your home entertainment system. With a 5 inch screen, you’ll feel like you’re holding a real remote except this one has a mind of its own. WatchOn can suggest TV programming and provides schedules based on your preferences. Just set it up.

These are just a few of the spectacular features offered by the Samsung Galaxy S 4. There are other apps for tracking workouts such as S Health and Group Play for sharing games with friends. The Samsung Galaxy S 4 has something for any and every lifestyle because it’s a phone that adapts to you, placing it at the head of the class.

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The web design and marketing team at trueITpros loves to boast about one particular WordPress plugin. Yoast offers an amazing WordPress SEO plugin that bridges all the gaps in search engine optimization. As one of Atlanta’s best kept IT secrets, trueITpros offers SEO services to various clients. In order to slide your website into great organic rankings, yoast can help simplify your SEO tactics all within a few steps.

This is for the bloggers, strictly for the bloggers. Ever wonder how your blog posts can get great organic listings like others do online? Most likely your competition is using yoast. This WordPress SEO plugin allows you to add in all the important information needed to find your blog post on major search engines. You can write in your focus keyword and drive it home in the meta title and description just the way Google likes it. But how do you know it will work you ask? Well – this lovely WordPress SEO plugin comes with Linkdex Page Analysis. Think of it like a checklist. This portion of yoast provides simple checks to ensure all SEO specifications are met so the blog post reaches optimal performance.

Content gets all the glory because content tells the story. Linkdex Page Analysis can help you write better, stronger content. For example, if you don’t have keyword rich content in your blog post, yoast will let you know. In fact it will let you know if you don’t have enough content at all. Remember that checklist, well…there you go. If content is the bread, then each link is like butter. Yoast is an awesome WordPress SEO plugin for building outbound links. Linkdex Page Analysis will let you know when to aad links to generate traffic to your post. A WordPress SEO plugin wouldn’t be fancy without a little social media integration. Check one box and poof, your post is on Facebook. There is also room for Google+ tags. Watch your circle grow as more readers find your writing styles online.

So there you have it. trueITpros is always perfecting a client’s brand online through our unique websites and marketing strategies. Now you know one of our secrets, but you don’t have to keep it quiet. Call us to build a WordPress site for your business, and we will be sure to add in the WordPress SEO plugin yoast so the clicks from organic traffic can start rolling in. If we build it, they will click.

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Windstream Communications outage has users on edge.

For all of you Windstream Communications users, they are currently experiencing an outage with long distance service. Unfortunately you can’t reach out and touch anyone at the moment. Of course they are working diligently to fix this issue. There is no estimated time of when services will be up again. Oh yeah, the website is down too, but don’t panic. Everything will back online before you know it. Windstream Communications will provide updates as the issue is handled.

Windstream Communications is headquartered in Little Rock, AR. Known for their product line which includes phone, high-speed Internet, high-digital TV and data solutions, Windstream provides services to small and mid-sized rural areas in 23 states. Small business owners can also count on them for advanced phone systems and equipment including long distance, voice mail and conferencing services. Business telephone lines are cost-effective and have great call quality. Don’t let one little Windstream Communications outage turn you away from their amazing telecommunications services. Storms happen and there is nothing you can do to stop nature.

trueITpros is always available with important news concerning small business IT, new technology and communications. Stay tuned to the Windstream Communications Facebook page to stay updated on today’s progress.

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trueITpros upgrades to ShoreTel VoIP phone system and integrated software package

Before we took the plunge and invested in a ShoreTel VoIP phone system, the office ring tone was a lengthy and digitized rendition of Pachelbel’s Cannon. The classical melody often resulted in less phone answering urgency, and transferring or holding a call was a frustrating and clunky task. ShoreTel has received countless awards for its user-friendliness and customer satisfaction. In fact—98% of ShoreTel VoIP phone system users are highly satisfied with the system.

ShoreTel has included a dynamic and exciting new aspect to the office phone: software. That’s right—you can place calls, check voicemails, transfer to another line, or scrub through a voicemail (think visual controls, like an iPhone). When a caller phones in, a caller ID pop-up box shows the name and number of the caller right on your desktop. With one click, you can easily divert a call to a coworker. The software also gives the user many options for intelligent call forwarding, greetings, and voicemail box settings.

Market researchers at Nemertes report that ShoreTel’s unified communications (UC) will play a major role in future telephony systems and user satisfaction. ShoreTel has received the highest rankings from Gartner’s “Telephony Magic Quadrant”, a research-based analysis that focuses on numerous factors including pricing, innovation and overall company viability. Thankfully, trueITpros has a few technogeeks on staff, making training quick and painless.

The new Shoretel VoIP phone system has made the constant phone calls, transfers, and messages easy to manage through the visualized software counterpart. Version 13 offers new settings such as file-based music while on hold and extra handy iOS device compatibility. This means you can forward calls to your iPad or iPhone and have a video or conference call anywhere you have a signal. UC is the dominant objective for the ShoreTel VoIP phone system and future updates are expected to enhance the system’s cloud foundation.

Check out how it works by calling us anytime at 678-534-8776. You can look up your party by first name or extension number.

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The new Windows 8 update finally enhances user access and controls

We’re back with more news about the anticipated summer release of a Windows 8 update. We talked about a few things earlier this month, but have learned a great deal more since the platform has undergone recent tech trials. The Windows 8 update focuses on many critical back-end fixes that will surely enhance the Microsoft user experience.

Faster startup

New technical advances have finally been introduced to the Windows platform to boost reboot time, including:

• HybridBoot writes a copy of the disk to the drive before going into sleep mode.
• Upon restart, Windows reads the disk copy for instant startup.
• This feature can be easily disabled.

Managing and fixing disk errors

The new Windows 8 update establishes an advanced system for repairing New Technology File Systems (NFTS).

• NFTS disk errors can be targeted and repaired
• Instead of scanning the entire system, weak disk areas are isolated, targeted, and fixed
• This increases disk health, system speed and virus protection

Enhanced update management

The new Windows 8 update has tackled the aggravating task of managing updates. Windows only forces reboots for crucial security updates. All other updates are executed automatically at restart.

New task manager

Possibly the most exciting new feature on the new Windows 8 update, this update offers better user controls for dealing with task management, such as:

• Improved graphical interface for task management
• New graph feature visualizes disk, network, and memory usage
• Task manager has updated controls and one-click access to common features

Explorer updates

A new ribbon-based interface makes browsing cleaner, faster, and increases usability. With some nudges from the Apple platform, Windows is finally offering:

• New file history manager similar to Apple’s Time Machine
• 1-click zip will be added, similar to Apple’s control-click zip feature
• 1-click access to Computer, Network, and HomeGroup configuration

Data, storage and security

A new Storage Space Manager illustrates disk capacities and app storage. The new Windows 8 update has also enhanced data and security features to assist in higher data and security standards:

• Ability to combine drives, making storage management super easy
• BitLocker supports full disk encryption (FDE) for Windows Professional and Windows Business

New connectivity

Better integration of SkyDrive and DropBox are major selling points on the new Windows update. The majorly enhanced platform allows synchronization of multiple systems to duplicate content, features, and settings. App content can be automatically replicated across multiple devices for easy tablet-to-PC syncing.

Small business updates

New Windows To Go can copy an entire operating system (OS) to a USB or hard drive through an easy setup wizard. Users will be able to manage how information and data are cached. A one-click status check on all active domains can now actively predict disk propagation errors.

Phew!

You can anticipate the new Windows 8 update sometime this summer. With our team of Certified Microsoft IT Professionals, you can rely on trueITpros to deliver the latest news in IT and small business management.

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Definitions

Want a fast term defined as quickly as possible? Type “define” before your word and Google will immediately render a description. You may never have to feel outsmarted by your friends again with this unknown Google trick.

Google Local

Search a specific area for a business, bank, or store using Google Local. Want to find a diner in Chicago or a barber shop in New York? Have Google Local use your exact location to determine the closest spot that fits your criteria.

Direct FedEx and UPS package tracking

You can plop your FedEx or UPS tracking number directly in a search bar—Google does the rest.

Site specific search

We’ve all been here before:  you read something on venturebeat.com about Kim Dotcom and you want to share that specific article with a co-worker. Type “Kim Dotcom site: venturebeat.com” into Google and it only display results from within that particular site.

Search refinement symbols

The age-old parentheses (“”) can be used to refine a search to very specific terms. On the contrary, you can use the minus symbol (-) to avoid specific words from showing up in your results. If you wanted to find an Art supply shop in Atlanta, but didn’t want to go to Michaels, your search would look something like this: “Art Supply Shop Atlanta” –Michaels.

In addition to these spectacular and unknown Google trucks, the web giant also offers advanced options for analytics and AdWord marketing. Our advertising specialists are Google AdWord Certified who will dedicate their knowledge and services to help better your business. Check out more unknown Google tricks here and here, or give us a call and let us handle the heavy lifting.

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A virtual backup server is worth every penny for IT stability

Do you have a virtual backup server? The Vault system operates on two major platforms—a physical server and a cloud-based server. The two are integrated to prevent downtime and enhance your internal IT infrastructure. Technology blurps happen—with The Vault, you can be prepared to answer its sometimes frustrating and always inconvenient hiccups. When disaster strikes, will you have the necessary backups in place and ready to deploy? The Vault is designed to copy your network every 15 minutes and store the network contents automatically.

When The Vault copies your server, trueITpros engineers monitor the backups for virus, malware, and spyware protection. Instead of using full backups, the VAULT virtual backup server copies the entire server one time (the first time) and then creates incremental snapshots. These images are then transferred to the cloud where we can supervise for suspicious activity. The cloud enables our engineers to easily access the backups to analyze the content on a constant basis. Our virtual backup server system is proactively monitored 24/7/365 to ensure IT stability and long term functionality.

Just last week, one of our clients experienced a server crash that could have resulted in hours of downtime. Thankfully, our client had installed the Vault virtual backup server just days before the breakdown. In ten minutes, trueITpros engineers had successfully restored the server and all of its contents and connections. Thanks to The Vault, the client server was repaired and back to business with virtually no downtime at all. The Vault is configured to prevent downtime despite any type of server failure, including fires, floods, and theft.

The Vault is the small business solution to avoid IT catastrophe. The best part? We can access your virtual backup server remotely. If your system ever fails, we can have you back online without waiting for an engineer to get to your business site. If you have questions or walk to talk details with a member of our staff, drop us a line.

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As we move further into the cloud for our personal and business data management, how can anyone avoid cloud security issues? Cloud and Dropbox users across the globe are surely becoming aware of possibly being hacked. Who is responsible for these attacks? Can we ever feel that our data is truly secure and that our clouds are impenetrable? We have a few tips to help you avoid cloud security issues if you’re managing your own cloud.

1. Use highly encrypted and different passwords for different accounts

All too often, hackers gain access to one account, which invariably leads to access on all accounts. Back in August of 2012, Gizmodo’s twitter feed was hacked when an employee’s seemingly secure alpha-numeric iCloud account was breached. A general password rule of thumb: change your passwords often. Use symbols and capital letters. We know it’s a pain to update every device to reflect this kind of security protocol, but knowing your vital information is safe is a priceless asset to behold.

2. Make sure your server has a dynamic SSL (that’s Secure Sockets Layer)

The SSL method of encrypting your cloud access will save your server the potential threat of a hack. SSL protocols enhance your ability to avoid cloud security issues by ensuring all information sent between servers and browsers remains private. trueITpros uses SSL certificates on all our servers, meaning your IT assets are always locked within many layers of internet security.

3. Do the “mud puddle test”

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes of Forbes calls “the mud puddle test” the ultimate way to avoid cloud security issues. The test goes as follows:

1. First, drop your device(s) in a mud puddle.

2. Next, slip in said puddle and crack yourself on the head. When you regain consciousness you’ll be perfectly fine, but won’t for the life of you be able to recall your device passwords or keys.

3. Now try to get your cloud data back. If you can “get your cloud data back,” it means your service has failed the test.

If you want more information on our secure cloud services and remote IT support, drop us a line. According to Network World, Gartner predicts that by 2015, 10% of overall IT security enterprise capabilities will be delivered in the cloud.

trueITpros uses the strongest encryption devices and IT technology to manage your business in a virtual fortress. Happy clouding!

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Windows Blue expected to release this summer

Like its namesake, the latest Microsoft update—Windows Blue—sounds cooler than a polar bears toenails. News has leaked that the new UI will be dubbed Windows Blue or Windows 8.1, and no one is really sure which it will be. What is known? Windows Blue has added necessary features for total connectivity, customization, and easy access to advanced user settings. We’ve got the rundown of the major improvements you can anticipate on Windows Blue (8.1?).

Customization

Microsoft has added new tools to personalize the Windows Blue UI, including:

• Custom colors and backgrounds
• Live tile size management – make your tiles bigger or smaller
• Quick access to most common settings, such as resolution and screen brightness
• New “Movie Moments” app lets you add captions to videos

Connectivity

Windows Blue has finally integrated SkyDrive to mirror the Windows Phone. Other features to look for are:

• Auto backup of your tablet to SkyDrive
• Auto import of your photos and videos
• Enhanced network, proxy, and home group settings
• New IE 11 features include 1-button sharing of screencaps

Advanced User Settings

There are plenty of needed updates included in Windows Blue, but the most important is the user-friendly access to enhanced setting options.

• Manage app alerts with “Quiet Time” setting
• View app sizes for easy content management
• Control how/when apps launch
• Quick access to projector settings
• New drag-and-drop “Snap View” lets you run up to 4 apps on a split screen layout
• Updated numeric keypad input for fast number plugging

Now, all we have to do is wait. Windows Blue 8.1 is expected to be released around August. With these options and potentially many more to surface after tech trials, it is sure to be a giant leap forward for the Microsoft user experience; we can’t wait to get our hands on it.

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