Marketing

  • Knowing What to Share in Social Networking

    Understanding your target audience and finding your unique positioning are crucial first steps to become a social media success and once you have those items a bit clearer in your mind, you’re ready to start experimenting with how you’ll participate in social media.

    The nice thing about working online and in social media is that you can reshape your plan as you go along. So don’t worry about having your target market and unique positioning engraved in stone. It’s not necessary as you will find that even if you have it figured out now, your audience and their needs change over time. And since your smart, I know that you will want to evolve with your audience.

    So with all that in mind, let’s look at our big 5 networks to see how you can fit in.

    Facebook

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    This is a pretty visual social network with a lot of possibilities for sharing. Images and video do well, and while you can share text, you might find that if you add an image to your text, you’ll get more views and responses to your status update.

    Facebook also offers the ability to poll your audience which can be a lot of fun for participants and insightful for you. You can also share your company history through the Milestones feature, keeping in mind what would interest your audience most.

    Facebook offers pretty in-depth analytics and gives you plenty of clues on which content does well and which type of content doesn’t. Use these analytics to figure out how to hone your presence.

    7-b-twitter-repliesTwitter

    Twitter is a more text-based social network that requires you to be brief in your sharing, as you only have 140 characters to make your point. You can post images and link to videos, but users will generally need to click through to view them.

    One of the biggest opportunities with Twitter is to use their @ replies and RT (Retweet feature). Place an @ before a username, allows you to communicate directly with users on Twitter and can pave the way to new connections. RT allows you to share someone else’s useful update with your audience, which is another way to foster goodwill among like minded users.


    Google+

    7-c-hangoutGoogle+ is another visual network with a lot of images and, in particular, videos being shared.

    While using Google+, definitely take advantage of their Circles feature, which allows you to categorize your contacts in any number of ways. This allows you to keep friends and family separate from business contacts. It also allows you to categorize your business contacts as well. For example, you can make circles for your customers, affiliates, mastermind groups and more.

    One of the most unique opportunities at Google+ is Hangouts, which offer a group video and/or audio chat. It’s perfect for brainstorming groups, planning and getting to know your audience better…so take advantage.

    Pinterest

    7-d-pinAs you probably know, Pinterest is the most visual network of all because it is simply a collection of images. Videos can also be shared, but aren’t in as much abundance.

    Images that you share on Pinterest should be categorized appropriately and include a description that adds to the user experience. Choose images that are visually striking that make people feel like the item in the picture is in the same room as them.

    LinkedIn

    7-e-ln-groupsYour approach to LinkedIn should be that of an information sharer and connector. Connect people who should know each other and offer help through groups and answering questions. For LinkedIn, the key isn’t in the number of connections you make, but the quality of those connections so put your focus there.

    As you can see, each network is a little bit different. A lot of people attempt to use social media integration tools that simply broadcast their updates across all networks, but this is a short sighted approach. While I do encourage the use of social media integration tools, it’s important to use them wisely. Take the time to deliver the right information to the right audience on the right social network and you’ll have much better results.

    At Strategize Your Success we help women entrepreneurs, coaches and small business owners with online strategic goal setting, marketing and planning.  We know what struggles you face and offer solutions to help make your business THRIVE.  

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  • Know Your Uniqueness and Score Big on Social Media

    6-a-uniqueSocial media marketing requires unique positioning just like the rest of your marketing. In fact, it might be even more crucial in social media because you’re competing with hundreds or even thousands of other voices vying for attention at the exact same time. 

    When someone comes to your website, you still need to grab their attention, but there aren’t a bunch of other people shouting their latest tweet or status update all over your page. Unfortunately, that’s how it is on social media. Whether it’s your personality that shines through or the type of information you provide, there needs to be a reason your audience looks forward to your social media updates. 

    Start by thinking about why your readers are drawn to you. Why do they like and share your stuff? How are you fulfilling their wishes, helping them achieve their goals or how are you easing their worries? If you don’t know why, simply ask them. 

    If you’re still not sure what makes you different, take a look at your competition or other companies that you follow on social media. What do they do that makes them unique? Write a list of about 10 companies and determine their unique social positioning. That doesn’t mean you have to copy what they do, but by exploring it and being able to recognize uniqueness, you can find your own too.

    Some of the things that might make you and others unique include the ability:

    6-b-questions– to make people laugh
    – to inspire people
    – to make people ask themselves tough questions

    …and just about anything else that evokes a strong emotion or thought. How can you get your audience feeling and thinking about something?

    Your uniqueness can also be found by the type of media you are known for sharing, whether it’s:

    – Video
    – Images

    …but there needs to be something unique about those videos, images or other media. After all, everyone and their dog has their own YouTube channel, but what makes your production different than everyone else?

    Well, one way to ensure your content is different is to understand that uniqueness requires some self-development as well. It sounds airy-fairy, but it’s absolutely true. Offering something deeper doesn’t come because you want it to, it comes from being deeper yourself. That includes:

    – Sharing an opinion: Don’t be afraid to say what you think, even if it’s not conventional wisdom. It doesn’t matter if people think you’re wrong, you’re getting people to think and you’re showing yourself as someone who is able to think for themselves.

    – Look at things from different perspectives: In addition to having an opinion, take the time to understand different perspectives. The more you understand the opinions that oppose yours, the stronger your opinion will be.

    – Avoid simply copying what everyone else is doing: Just because ABC Company is doing a series of videos on gardening tips, doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. The more you can pay attention to your own audience’s needs and disregard your competition (unless you’re in a one on one battle of some type), the more likely you’re to find your uniqueness.

    – Experience things: Don’t just talk about stuff on social media, get out and do it. By doing more, you have more valuable content to share with your audience. Whether it’s opinions based on your experiences, photos, videos or something else, by getting out and experiencing life, you bring more to the table for your audience. 

    If you look at all this again, you’ll see that being unique really comes from bringing your best self forward.

    If you want to stand out from the crowd, dig deep to find your best self and serve your audience faithfully. The benefits will be worth it.…and just about anything else that evokes a strong emotion or thought.

    At Strategize Your Success we help women entrepreneurs, coaches and small business owners with online strategic goal setting, marketing and planning.  We know what struggles you face and offer solutions to help make your business THRIVE. 

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  • 5 Reasons Marketing Should Be a Business Priority for the New Year

    HatsSmall business owners wear many hats.  They are often the accountant, receptionist, secretary, repairperson, and much more.  They multi-task like there’s no tomorrow, tackling administrative, sales, and all sorts of other functions.  Even if they hire employees or contractors to handle some of these things, they still have a lot to do.  So it’s easy to forget about marketing.

    But marketing is one of those things that it pays not to forget about.  It is essential to every business, no matter how large or small.  Here are five reasons that marketing should be one of our top business priorities for the New Year:

    • Marketing can bring us new customers.  Doing a great job is wonderful, but if you don’t have any customers in the first place, who’s going to know what great work your business does?  Marketing introduces your business to new people who may be interested in your products or services.
    • Marketing keeps current customers happy.  Customer loyalty promotions and sales keep those who have previously done business with you coming back for more.  Those happy customers are also a good source of referrals.
    • Putting forth the right image is crucial to our success.  Large companies often spend a huge portion of their budgets making sure that their image is just right.  Smaller businesses may not have the big budgets that larger ones do, but it’s just as important that they present themselves in a way that is pleasing to their target markets.
    • Marketing is not all about advertising and finding other ways to market effectively can lead to higher profits.  Word of mouth marketing is one of the most effective ways to get customers, and the costs associated with it are low in comparison to paid advertising.  Taking the time to examine customer service policies and other factors in customer satisfaction can pay big dividends in the long run.
    • Good marketing can keep you a step ahead of the competition.  If your competition is running large marketing campaigns and you’re not doing any marketing, you could be left in the dust.  That doesn’t mean that you should try to outspend the competition, it just means that you need to make sure that they’re not the only visible player in the game.

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    If you don’t have the time or inclination to deal with marketing, you could hire an assistant to handle it.  Having someone who can dedicate a fair amount of time to marketing efforts is more economical than letting it eat into your work time, and it can pay off generously in the long run.

    Marketing is an important part of any business and should always be a priority.  Without it, no one would know that we exist or what we do.  By making marketing one of our top priorities, we give our businesses the opportunity to grow and prosper.

    At Strategize Your Success we help women entrepreneurs, coaches and small business owners with online strategic goal setting, marketing and planning.  We know what struggles you face and offer solutions to help
    make your business THRIVE.

     

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  • Using Articles to Market Your Business

    The Internet is filled with content. Content of all types can be found on websites and posted on forums. Just about any subject you are looking to learn about can be accessed on the Internet. Using articles to market your business is a free promotion that is highly effective.

    What have you spent? You may have spent a few hours doing research on your topic and then you sat down to write some interesting content. The content was posted on your own site or sold to other sites that deal in buying articles.

    The best way to use article marketing is to write about something that you know. A topic that is familiar offers a host of different spins on one subject that can be marketed in a variety of places. You can submit articles to online sites, e-zines, print magazines, and newsletters. Any one of these places will give your work more exposure.


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    Come up with several ideas for article content. Keep a notebook with you so that you can jot down article subjects and titles. If you are putting together several “how to” articles, keep a list of what to include in the articles. The more information that you have on hand, the quicker you will be able to produce an article.

    Surf the Web to see what types of articles are out there. If the subject that you have chosen is pretty much done to distraction, choose something else to focus on. Most of us have more than one area of interest or expertise so we can use that to find another marketing avenue.

    What about rewrites? If you are the owner of the content, exercise your right to use it again and rewrite it from another angle to get more use out of the subject. Tailor your articles to the specific guidelines of the site or publication where you will be submitting them for consideration.

    Above all, don’t forget to plug your website or product at the end of the article. Most sites will let you have a small bio at the end. If they do, use it to the hilt. Always, always include a hyperlink to your website so that people can find you easily. They will want to read more on the subject and this can’t be done if they can’t locate your site.

    A hyperlink will take them directly to the website. If you forget to use the http:// at the beginning, they will have to copy and paste into the browser. People want things to be as easy as possible and so do you if you want their traffic.

    Article marketing is free and fun. Use the knowledge that you have gained on a particular subject to enhance your business and make you some money. People are always looking for good sources of information.

    At Strategize Your Success we help women entrepreneurs, coaches and small business owners with strategic goal setting, marketing and planning.  We know what struggles you face and offer solutions to help make your business THRIVE. 

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  • Top Tips for Advertising

    As with any industry in its day-to-day life, such as advertising and business, there are always tips on how best to deal with situations, how best to approach people depending upon the circumstances and the reason for approaching.  

    For the world of advertising, here are some basic tips that will help you along and help you achieve your desired goal more expediently and effectively.
    Coach showing the right way to follow
    • Find your target audience.  You will have to do some initial research.  For online advertising you’ll want to use an ad tracker, as this will give you an idea of where your ad is going and what industry setting you get the most views from. 

    • Know your competitive edge.  What can you offer that others can’t?  Maybe they can offer the same thing but can you find a different spin or edge to make your product more appealing?  Maybe you can go one step further in offering up just a little bit more.  Maybe you have more experience or knowledge.  There are a lot of ways to form a competitive edge.  Know your market and your competitors and be creative.

    • Establishing your image can be the best or worst thing for you depending on how you project.  If you project a bad image for yourself or your company, then your sales will most definitely not be where you want them to be.  Always be professional.  Be careful of what you say, whether it be on air or in print.  Use a catchy logo and tag line.  Make your image good and consistent so that it becomes recognizable.

    • Spend and make money – many people don’t like this age old adage – You have to spend money to make money.  But it is very true.  You will eventually spend money on advertising, even with free advertising as time alone is money.  
    The more money you spend, generally the better your reach.  You don’t want to lower your effectiveness in sales by cutting corners.  The cheaper and free advertising may be a good short term solution when you’re starting out but eventually you will want to look into different advertising options that may require more money. 

    While most advertising is budgeted, don’t be a stick-in-the-mud with that budget.  All industries have “seasonal” times.  Learn the best times and season for your product or service and during these time increase your budget.  Look at places such as Wal-Mart for back to school or holiday sales – they don’t stay within their set advertising budget.

    Knowing when your high and low sales points are will be will become a cornerstone in determining when to go over budget.  Keep in mind as well that these seasonal times can change according to economy and market changes.

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    • Know your market; find your niche.  You do not want to advertise in the wrong “community”.  If you want to sell rodeo tickets you don’t go to a baseball game.  Do your research to find your niches.

    • Diversification is a great key to advertising.  You never want to use just one measure of attracting customers.  Generally the wealthiest businesses are the ones that use a many-fold approach in finding new clients and customers.

    • Keep in mind that your product or service will not appeal to everyone, no matter what you do.  If you spend the time and money trying to appeal to everyone, you stand a high risk of losing more than you are gaining.  This is especially so when you are a smaller company.  
    Even the major fast food chains don’t do this.  They have a market and they know who that market is.  

    While these tips don’t sound too difficult, you would be surprised at just how many people struggle with advertising. The key is always to diversify, be persistent and track your results ruthlessly so that you know what’s working and what isn’t. 

    At Strategize Your Success we help entrepreneurs, coaches and small business owners with strategic goal setting, marketing and planning.  We know what struggles you face and offer solutions to help make your business THRIVE. 

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  • Social Networking Gets Way Easier When You Know Your Target

    5-a-targetIf you’ve been operating your website and business for a while, you probably have a good idea who your target market is. But your social media audience could be considerably different. Plus, each network is unique, so how you approach each one might be quite different.

    It’s important to take the time to explore your target market because the more deeply you understand them, the easier it will be for you to create a connection and keep their attention.

    To get to know your social network target market, here are a few things to look at.

    Know Where Your Customers Are

    Ideally, you want your social media following to be reflective of your target customer base. There is no sense in building up an audience of people who have no interest in buying your products. It seems obvious, I know, but I’m always surprised by people who are more concerned with follower numbers than actually building a targeted connection.

    This report from comScore can give you some clues on how certain demographics of the population are spending their time online, giving you some ideas where your market might be. You can also gather this information by engaging your own audience on your blog and elsewhere to find out where they might be.

    Pay Attention5-b-pay-attention 

    Pay attention to what your current followers like. Take note of what they respond to, comment on and share. Look beyond their interaction with you and look at their own profiles. What is common to the people who seem to follow you?

    Ask Them

    Engage your followers in conversations, so you can get to know them better. You can even create polls and ask them direct questions about what kind of content they’re interested in, what questions they need answered and more.

    Shape Your Own Target

    You certainly have some control over your target market as well. If you share certain types of content, you are more likely to attract a certain type of audience, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

    Add to that, you can shape your following by following targeted people as well. Follow companies and individuals whose social network presence resonates with you. Get involved with their conversations and connect with their audience as well.

    Using This Information5-c-application

    Once you have a good idea about who your target is, you have to deliver the content they are looking for and this may take some experimentation. This is the time to put aside your personal preferences and find out what really gets their attention and engages them.

    To help you start formulating the right kind of content, ask yourself the following questions:

    – What are their key interests?
    – What beliefs are vital to them, as it relates to your niche?
    – What are their goals?
    – What challenges do they have?
    – What are their dreams and wishes? 

    When you have this deep understanding, you can start delivering things that satisfy the questions above. Remember, to experiment with different types of content. Whether it’s images, video, text, links to blog post or just about anything, find out what they like and deliver more of that.

    At Strategize Your Success we help entrepreneurs, coaches and small business owners with strategic goal setting, marketing and planning.  We know what struggles you face and offer solutions to help make your business THRIVE.

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  • True Freedom: Make Your Summer Business Plan of Attack Your Year-Round Approach


    Over the last little while, I’ve shared a few tips on getting more done with less time and obviously, our focus has been on keeping things together through the many wonderful distractions of summer. But keep in mind, the approaches we’ve discussed can certainly apply all year round.

    Most of us started our businesses because we wanted freedom and really, we have it right here for ourselves when we need it. I’d like to do a little wrap up of my previous posts, so you can create the schedule for your business that you want.

    • Be Disciplined: It may seem contradictory to tell you to be disciplined when you’re actually seeking freedom, but the more disciplined you are, the more time you will have to do what you really want to be doing. Setting your work hours and planning your work days go a long way to ensuring you have time to do everything you set out to do.

    • Be Flexible: On the other hand, not everything has to be written in stone. Sometimes we take on more than we can chew. Other times, we focus on things that just don’t work and we need to make a change. Don’t be afraid to make changes that are good for you and your business.

    • Get Help: I can’t stress it enough, but don’t go it alone. If you’re doing everything, you’ll forever be chained to your computer. Hire an assistant, take on a business partner or even barter where you can.

    • Focus on What You’re Good At: When you have a team in place, it’s easy to focus on the stuff you like to do and do well. It’s much easier to stay disciplined and motivated when you get to do what you love.

    • Plant the Seeds Now: Whether you’re planning a vacation or something unexpected happens, having things in place will help you go far. That includes building your team, growing your mailing list, developing a steady stream of traffic and all the things that you need to keep your business moving along. So enjoy the rest of your summer and enjoy every moment of what you do.

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  • When Business is Slow in Summer: Think Seasonal

    A lot of people tell me that their business slows down in summer. And unless you sell vacation packages, swimming pools and water wings, I suppose it can happen. But here’s the thing…all you need to do is what those travel agents and swimming pool sellers do to get things revved up for summer. No, you don’t have to sell vacations and pools, but you do need to understand what your customers are thinking about in the summer months and cater your marketing to that.

    A few questions to ask yourself:

    What are your customers’ worries and concerns in summer?

    Are they concerned about the safety of their home while they’re away on vacation (perfect for home alarm and monitoring companies)? If you’re in the B2B market, are they worried about having time to get their work done in the summer? Grab a piece of paper and a pen to write down every worry you can think of and how it relates to your business.

    What are they busy doing?

    When you know what your customers are doing and what’s on their minds, you know how to speak to them. With a heat wave going on in a lot of places in North America right now, you know your customers are probably trying to find a way to beat that heat. How can you help them?

    What would they rather be doing?

    While we’d all love to be out lazing about on the beach, most of us probably aren’t. What do your customers really want to be doing, but can’t (but possibly could with the help of your product or services)? 

    Coming up with a summer marketing plan doesn’t require any magic or genius skills, but it does require some thought. Take the time to jot down your answers to the questions above and things become much clearer. When you know what’s on the mind of your customers, it’s much easier to deliver exactly what they want.

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  • Here’s Your Motivation to Keep Business Going This Summer

    Lost and Found: Here’s Your Motivation to Keep Business Going This Summer

    Just a short post for you today because I don’t want to keep you from getting your work done! 

    Summer should be about enjoying yourself, getting outside and hopefully getting away from it all.

    Of course, most of us don’t have the luxury of avoiding work all summer long. Sometimes, we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and get busy, but it’s not always easy if you work from home. I’m sure just about any home or Internet business owner can relate, so here are some tips to stay motivated this summer.

    Work hours are your friend: We talked about this in the avoiding distractions post, but it applies here too. When you know when you’re supposed to work, you’re more likely to do it. If you leave your days wide open and think you’ll squeeze work in somewhere, it’s less likely to happen.

    Focus on what you like doing: There’s nothing worse than dreading something on our to-do list. Not only do we procrastinate from getting that one thing done, but it can remove our motivation to do anything at all.

    Always focus on what you’re good at and enjoy. Hire others or take on a partner to do the things you despise, but they enjoy. I’ve never understood why some people love crunching numbers and doing the accounting, but I’m so glad that they do.

    Set summer goals: While you may not be working as hard in the summer as you do other times of the year, do set some goals for yourself. Set daily, weekly and monthly goals. Make them challenging, yet attainable and outline the steps you’re going to take to achieve them.

    Reward yourself: When you accomplish a goal, give yourself a reward. Whether it’s a camping trip, a weekend away or simply an iced tea on the patio, everyone likes to have their work appreciated.

    Appreciate yourself readily!

     Give yourself a break sometimes: As entrepreneurs, we can be pretty hard on ourselves. We try to pack so much in, create ridiculously long to-do lists, but it’s not really necessary.

    Always re-evaluate your work plan and adjust it to make sure you get the most important things done.

    I guess the real lesson here is to know where you want to go and how you’re going to get there.

    Always have a plan, but be prepared to adjust it where necessary.

    Of course, if your motivation has gone down because business has slowed down, we have another problem. We’re going to talk about reviving a slow business in the next post.

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