Password Statistics: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly [Infographic]

When was the last time you changed your email password? Your Facebook password? How about your bank account password?

If it's been a while, you may want to take a few minutes and change 'em up. According to a survey of 2,000 people in the U.S. and the U.K., almost three-quarters of consumers use the same exact password for multiple accounts. What's more, a large number of people haven't changed that duplicate password in over five years.

So it should come to no surprise that about 40% of people have had an online account hacked, a password stolen, or were notified their personal information had been compromised. But, although 8 in 10 people say they're concerned about the security of their online accounts, they’re still using weak, old, or repeated passwords that can be easily stolen or hacked.

How can you make sure your online accounts are safe? Check out the infographic below from TeleSign to learn more compelling statistics about password safety, common password mistakes to avoid, and how to protect your online accounts with more than just a password.

6 Science-Backed Playlists for Improving Your Productivity

When I first started at HubSpot I was welcomed with a fresh pair of orange headphones. Not to be dramatic or anything, but I was so excited you would have thought they handed me pure gold.

You might be thinking, "They're just headphones. So what?"

Well, for me -- and many others -- listening to music while working is the secret to my productivity. All it takes is the right Beyoncé track and I go from idle to uber productive. (Seriously, it works like a charm.)

Trouble is, finding the perfect playlist isn't always easy. With endless possibilities at my fingertips, it can be hard to nail down just the right tunes to get the wheels turning ... so I did a little research.

As it turns out, there are a ton of studies that explore the influence of specific types of music as they relate to your productivity levels. So to help you find just the right mix, I've carefully curated six Spotify playlists designed with specific studies in mind. Whether you're into Mozart or Jay Z, I've got a feeling you'll find something that will do the trick.

Note: Some of the playlists contain explicit language that might not be suitable for the office.

6 Psychology-Backed Playlists for Improving Your Productivity

1) Classical Music

One of the most frequently cited studies related to music and productivity is the "Motzart Effect." This popularized hypothesis that listening to Mozart would improve the intelligence of the listener stemmed from research conducted in the early nineties by researchers Gordon Shaw, Frances Rauscher, and Katherine Ky.

Their original study, which appeared in the October 1993 issue of Nature, employed 36 Cal-Irvine students who were divided into three groups. Group one listen to a Mozart selection, while group two listened to a relaxation tape, and group three endured 10 minutes of silence. Afterwards, all 36 students were issued the same test, in which the Mozart group averaged an eight to nine point increase in their IQ compared to the remaining groups.

Since then, many researchers have gone on to explore the mental benefits of listening to classical music. For example, according to a 2013 study from American Journal of Occupational Therapy, listening to classical music improved the visual attention of stroke patients dealing with unilateral neglect (UN).

Think classical music might work for you? Check out this classical-influenced playlist to find out for yourself:

2) Video Game Soundtracks

Whether you're a hardcore gamer or you've never picked up a controller in your life, video game soundtracks might just be the solution to your concentration woes.

Think about it: Playing a video game requires a lot of focus. To make it to the next level, players commonly have to avoid traps, dodge obstacles, and escape a handful of "near death" experiences. As a result, the music selection for video games is often very strategic, in that modern soundtracks tend to reflect epic, inspiring cinematic scores rather than just basic sound effects.

While studies have revealed mixed results, there is evidence to support that gamers can experience improved performance by playing a game with the volume on. For example, research from psychology professor Siu-Lan Tan and her colleagues John Baxa and Matt Spackman specifically honed in on the game "Twilight Princess (Legend of Zelda)" and found that participants who played with both music and sound effects off performed worse than those who played with it on.

Of course, the level of influence a video game soundtrack has on performance and concentration will vary from person to person. To find out if you benefit from the accompanying sounds of Halo or Legend of Zelda, check out the playlist below:

3) Nature Sounds

According to psychophysical data and sound-field analysis published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, listening to "natural" sounds could enhance cognitive functioning, optimize your ability to concentrate, and increase your level of satisfaction.

Think: Waves crashing, birds chirping, streams trickling, etc.

The research suggests that these sounds function similarly to white noise, which is often used in offices as a sound masking system. To explore the productivity benefits of these soothing sounds, tune into this nature-themed playlist:

4) Pump Up Songs

After realizing that many athletes arrive at the stadium wearing headphones or listen to music in the locker room, Kellog School of Management professor Derek Rucker and three of his colleagues -- Loran Nordgren, Li Huang, and Adam Galinsky -- set out to answer the question: Does listening to the right kind of music make us feel more powerful or in control?

By using a rating system to determine which "empowering" songs they'd used to conduct the experiment, the researchers deemed Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” 2 Unlimited’s “Get Ready for This,” and 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” as the winners. To gauge how the music would influence their behavior, they asked participants to listen to the music and then determine whether or not they'd like to go first or second in a debate. As it turned out, those who listened to the high-power playlist volunteered to go first almost twice as often as those who listened to a less powerful playlist.

The lesson?

"Just as professional athletes might put on empowering music before they take the field to get them in a powerful state of mind, you might try [this] in certain situations where you want to be empowered," explains Rucker.

If you're looking for some empowering songs to help you power through you next big meeting, presentation, or interview, check out this carefully curated roundup:

5) Instrumental Songs

A recent study by Carol A. Smith and Larry W. Morris of Middle Tennessee State University revealed that students who listened to "sedative" music during a test scored higher than those who listened to lyrical music.

This isn't to say that it's entirely impossible to cross things off your list while listening to songs with words (I actually prefer lyrical music), but if you're finding that the lyrics are becoming too distracting, you may want to experiment with some instrumental options.

For those times, check out these lyricless tunes (I swear they won't put you to sleep):

6) "Feel Good" Songs

Buried in projects? Feeling trapped in a seemingly never-ending social media scheduling session? Not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? Sometimes the best remedy for productivity loss is a solid dose of "feel good" tunes -- you know, the type that makes you reach for your hairbrush microphone.

Scientifically speaking, when you're listening to music, it's possible for your brain to release dopamine during peak moments of emotion arousal.

That said, I enlisted the help of my colleagues to curate a playlist that blends positivity with tunes that will motivate you to GSD (get stuff done). Here's what we came up with:

What are your favorite songs for getting work done? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Dark Side of Retargeting: How Retargeting Could Be Killing Your Sales

Retargeting is the holy grail of digital marketing. It’s the solution to shopping cart abandonment. It’s the end of wasted Adwords revenue. It’s the panacea for everything that ails you.

It’s awesome. Except when it isn’t.

Before I launch into what comes next, I want to make it clear that I am a fan of retargeting/remarketing. I use it. I recommend it. I think it rocks.

Whether you’re trying to sell a pair of shoes or marketing a SaaS, retargeting has major advantages. It works on social media, general web browsing, and even across devices. Remarketing is a smart technique with a ton of advantages.

But is there a dark side to retargeting? The short answer is yes. Let me explain.

Retargeting Can Be Expensive

Many marketers leap into retargeting because they assume that it would somehow reduce their overall advertising costs.

For a long time, PPC experts have been strategizing the means and methods for reducing adspend. The high cost of Adwords and the meteoric bidding levels for ultra-competitive terms have sabotaged some marketing budgets.

Based on the promises of many retargeting services, it seemed the obvious solution.

In reality, however, the way to reduce spending is to make a decision and stick to it. While retargeting may have a higher ad ROI, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you’re going to spend less on it.

Here’s one popular retargeting claim:

Sounds awesome, right? Well it is. But you are ultimately in charge of your retargeting costs. If you let things get out of hand, you can end up spending just as much if not more, and you may have diminishing returns on investment.

Don’t allow your excitement over retargeting to blind you to its real cost.

Retargeting Can Annoy or Anger Customers

When it comes right down to it, what does your customer think of retargeting? This is a significant issue, because ultimately, retargeting is about them (not you).

Take a look at the data. InSkin Media’s consumer survey found that the two main responses to a retargeted ad were annoyance and anger.

Source

Based on the data, the more frequently an ad is displayed, the more aggravating it can be. By the tenth time someone sees an ad, they get the message. More impressions aren’t going to compel them. You’ve driven them off a cliff. It’s too late.

What do these emotions mean for sales? Again, let’s look at the data. The news isn’t great.

• 55% of customers put off buying
• 53% get irritated
• Only 10% buy

Source

If you are retargeting, it’s probably not a good idea to increase the number of impressions. The higher your frequency, the greater the likelihood of ticking someone off.

The chance at gaining 10% is nice. But what about the remainder of your potential customers? Are you gaining a few at the expense of alienating a majority?

Rather than risk it, it’s best to err on the side of fewer impressions and happier potential customers.

Retargeting Can Create Concerns Over Privacy

One of the most common complaints about retargeting is that it’s “creepy.” This is why ClickZ had to try to explain away the creepy sentiment surrounding retargeting.

Retargeting may not be creepy in actuality, but that won’t keep customers from thinking it’s creepy. Saying it ain’t so won’t change the fact that they think it’s so.

In a New York Times article on retargeting, reporters quoted Julie Matlin who was innocently looking for shoes.

Her quick glance at a pair of kicks on Zappos.com turned into a recurring marketing experience:

“For days or weeks, every site I went to seemed to be showing me ads for those shoes,” said Ms. Matlin, a mother of two from Montreal. “It is a pretty clever marketing tool. But it’s a little creepy, especially if you don’t know what’s going on.”

The creepy sensation has been enough to increase the interest in Do Not Track laws rolled out by the FTC.

Retargeting Can Ignore the Buy Cycle

It’s ironic. One of the most fundamental of all marketing principles can be so easily overlooked in the frenzied rush towards retargeting.

I’m talking about the marketing buy cycle — the concept that customers go through a cyclical process that prepares them to buy.

It’s similar to the sales funnel, in that the process begins with more customers, and ends up with the converting few.

Source

Retargeting is intended to capture more of those consumers as they proceed through the funnel. If you’re not careful, however, you can actually damage conversion rates by ignoring the buy cycle.

The customer may simply not be ready to buy. They’re no longer leaning towards your alternative. They’ve chosen a competitor. Maybe they already bought the product from a competitor.

If you keep your retargeting window open for a long time, you increase the likelihood that you are retargeting a customer who is no longer in the right spot of the buy cycle.

Retargeting can cause you to abdicate control.
One of the major benefits of retargeting is that it allows a more hands-off approach to marketing.

One B2B blog describes the advantages of a managed retargeting platform:

Managed platforms are ideal for retargeting newcomers who are unlikely to roll up their sleeves and dig into the minutia of managing a retargeting campaign. Managed platform providers will help you run your retargeting campaigns based on the target metrics and settings you specify. These platforms offer account managers and automated optimization tools that help build and tweak campaigns to maximize performance.

Yet this perceived advantage can quickly become a disadvantage. Being hands-off of any marketing effort is risky, to say the least. At worst, it can turn into a sales-killing, prospect-aggravating, brand-ruining fiasco.

I have a very simple recommendation if you’re considering pulling letting your retargeting machine roll along on its own: Don’t do it.

It’s not just about losing control. It’s more about losing all awareness. If there’s one thing that marketers need, it’s a keen understanding of their data and the effectiveness of their marketing initiatives. What’s successful and what’s not. Who’s converting on what? Which method has the higher ROI? Which version is adequately reaching our target audience?

Setting up your retargeting, and letting it purr along without your oversight is a risk too great to take.

Retargeting Can Show You Only Partial Data

In the section above, I referenced data — the marketer’s best friend.

Any retargeting platform you use will give you plenty of data. You’ll feel like you are awash in a sea of data. But is it the right kind of data?

Keep in mind that retargeters show you the kind of data that they want you to see. It is in their best interest to compel you to continue purchasing retargeting services and impressions.

Source

Thus, their carefully curated metric presentation can blind you to some of the not-so-pleasant trends in remarketing.

Marketers run risk of overlooking the small customizations and refinements that retargeting requires. Are you presenting multiple impressions on a single page? Are your prospects seeing ads long after their original visit?

Beyond the metric-driven insights, it’s critical to stay aware of the non-data information. Every impression is either enhancing or tarnishing your brand. If your retargeting is ruining your brand’s reputation, the marginal uptick in impressions may actually be a net loss if you take the longview.

The Makegood group provides this cautionary comment:

While retargeting can create a lift in direct response metrics, what is the long impact on branding from being relentlessly stalked like this? It’s a question that smart brands are considering carefully.

Conclusion

Am I saying that you should stop retargeting? Absolutely not.

Retargeting is the modern wave of marketing, and we ought not neglect anything simply because of some attendant risks. We don’t give up on something just because it has risks.

There is risk in doing business. There is risk in life. The pathway to success is paved with bricks of risk. What we must do is be aware of the risks in retargeting.

It’s not the holy grail that some marketers claim it is. It’s powerful. It’s effective. But it does have a dark side. Know this dark side, and you’ll be able to use retargeting with maximum effectiveness.

Have you seen any pitfalls with retargeting?

About the Author: Neil Patel is a lifelong evangelist of Kissmetrics and blogs at Quick Sprout.