Why am I cancelling most of my blog subscriptions?

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I just don’t have time.

I signed up for them for all the right reasons. And there are many I’m going to keep a subscription to–because they have good insights or I enjoy reading them. But there were many email subscriptions that I was hanging on to that I never even opened. I felt bad, like it would be rude to cancel them or that if I really organized my time well that I would be able to read them. But to be honest…I just didn’t care about most of them. So I cancelled them. It took me about half an hour and I felt bad, but now I don’t have to feel bad on a daily basis when I skip over them.

Am I no longer reading blogs? Of course I am. But I’m a little choosier about what I’m reading. I’m going to try new blogs out still, but I’m not going to keep hanging on to those I lose interest in.

What will I do instead to learn new things? Use Google Alerts! I find the specific content I’m interested in by setting daily alerts for it. Then I don’t have to slog through numerous blog posts to find a few educational nuggets.

Do I think blogging is dead? Absolutely not. Do I enjoy getting to know other bloggers still? Absolutely. But do I feel like I have to subscribe to every blog that might someday be of use to me? Not anymore. I can be a little choosier about my blog reading and know that I won’t miss anything of interest to me. Now I can be more social and less reluctant to find new blogs, because my basic needs are covered and there’s more time to find fun new stuff to read!

Filed Under: Blogging, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Finding topics for your blog

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How do the best blogs create consistently good content?

Here’s the top three ways:

  • Good niche topic

Having a solid topic that sets your blog apart from the rest is key. Make sure you have a somewhat narrow focus that doesn’t have a lot of competition. Then, stick to it most of the time. If you are blogging for your business website, this topic can either be about what your business does or something about your products or your business in general. Either approach can work, but many businesses have even started creating separate websites that talk about the product their business creates or something that relates specifically to their business to create more interest. This is a lot more work than a traditional blog attached to your website, but creates great results for certain types of businesses.

  • Mix of topics-business, local, and personal

A traditional business blog needs to have some variance. Make sure you don’t drone on and on about accomplishments, awards, and staff. But make sure you don’t avoid those either. Create some personal content that highlights staff or customer gatherings. Make your customers feel special and show them that your employees are special to you. Talk about local events to get the notice of the community. Create a mix of topics that relate to your blog, but don’t bog the reader down with focusing on one thing all the time day in and day out.

  • Consistent use of an editorial calendar

If you are trying to create variety, yet still consistently blog, you’ll need to have an editorial calendar. If you make notes about ideas and posts for upcoming months, you can visually organize it into great content. It allows you to create consistent themes and blog post series. It easily shows you when you are needing another personal post or two or when you can blog about a holiday or local event. Overall, a well-organized blog starts with an editorial calendar.

Try these three things to create a more successful blog–and let me know how it works for you!

 

 

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Is there such thing as too many tweets?

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How often should your small business tweet?

Ideally, you need to make your presence known on Twitter every day. We all get busy, but this is the beauty of a scheduled tweet. Spend an hour or so and pre-schedule tweets in advance for several days or months in advance. Then, you at least have a few tweets ready to go. The pre-scheduled tweets should be supplemented with spontaneous tweets. Also try posting at different times of day to make sure you hit different audiences.

If you find yourself strapped for time, perhaps you should use Facebook instead of Twitter. Twitter is a very transient medium–the tweets fly through people’s streams at a blink of an eye. Whereas, Facebook posts live on your page forever. While Facebook will state the date and time of your posting, it will not be something that everyone pays attention to.

If you feel you cannot post on both networks well, try alternating networks. You could also connect your Facebook page to your Twitter feed to achieve a presence both places. While this is often frowned on, it is better than nothing most of the time. It’s best to be on the social networks most used by colleagues and customers, but it also needs to fit in with your time schedule.

Try experimenting to see what gets you the best results.

 

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Should you schedule that tweet?

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Using an editorial calendar for your social media efforts

You’d be remiss not to create an editorial calendar for your social media campaign. But should you schedule every tweet and post? Absolutely not. Should you organize your social media posting? Definitely!

The editorial calendar for your social media efforts should coordinate your social media campaign with your website and blogging editorial calendars. This can largely be done with scheduled tweets. But, there is still plenty of room for personal social media interaction. That comes in the form of likes, RTs, @ mentions, comments, and more. What you are looking for is a nice balance between scheduling and spontaneity.

So, what should you schedule?

  • Links to new posts
  • Links to old blog posts
  • Quotes from old blog posts
  • Quotes from famous people
  • Reminders about Twitter chats
  • Reminders about contests, sales, and giveaways
  • Reminders about local events
  • Links to information about other local businesses and organizations that are relevant to blog posts on your editorial calendar
  • Tweets and Facebook mentions about topics, people, and places you will be mentioning in the blog posts you have scheduled
  • Relevant content to fill in blocks of time when you will be unavailable

What shouldn’t you schedule?

  • All your tweets and posts
  • RTs past a day or two of posting
  • Replies past a day or two of posting
  • Replies to potential customers or clients that are obviously scheduled
  • The same thing again and again in a short period of time–spread things out!

Will people know you are pre-scheduling? Some pros will–even if you do it well. But, everyone will know if you don’t do it well. So be careful.

To make your social media channels interesting, you need to also talk about some personal stuff and converse with others too. These types of things can’t be pre-scheduled–so you must spend some time on social media every day or every other day so your content doesn’t look forced and robotic.

Mixing scheduled tweets with spontaneous tweets is the best strategy for your business Twitter feed, Facebook page, and other social media channels. Coordinating scheduled tweets and posts with an editorial calendar is the best way to make sure your website and blog content is spread through social media channels the best way it can be.  And make sure your editorial calendars for social media and blogging work together.

But don’t schedule everything–because that is definitely not fun or interesting or social. Mix it up and have fine, because if you aren’t having fun then your customer isn’t either.

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Go local with your blog content

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How the “Go Local” movement applies to your blog

If you run a small business that serves local customers and clients, discussing local events on your blog is definitely a good strategy. Why? Because your customers are doing internet searches about local events and places.

Discussing them on your blog helps two ways: you help your clients learn about the local things they are searching for and your website will be a top hit for those local terms. You’ve increased your value to your client and boosted your SEO.

What local things should you discuss? Anything relevant to your customers, your business, and the community  in general. It’s practical to shy away from politics or really controversial events if they don’t apply to your business. But fun topics that would catch the attention of local residents should definitely be a part of your blog. Discussing local events or timely subjects is especially good for quick posts when you need filler topics.

If you sell to a certain part of the population, make sure you are addressing ideas and topics that applies to them. If you are working to attract new customers, give some thought to what  they might want to read about too.

If you sell local products, why not interview the artists or fabricator. If you are looking for new products, why not announce it on your blog? Does your town have a farmer’s market or shopping area or restaurant that is really popular? You shouldn’t miss incorporating information about those areas.

Blog posts about local subjects are the perfect way to vary your content and make sure your blog doesn’t fall into the trap of selling products directly or overtly sticking to topics strictly about your products. It’s also a nice way to give back to your community. What’s to lose?

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Helping Communities Through Your Business Website

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Building business websites that help communities

Building a community resource within a business website is an up and coming idea. The hope is that it will create interest in the services being sold by the website when the community might need them.

By creating content about the community where the business is located, Internet users from the community will find out information about their community through this business’s website. There will be information about community events and services. Information that is helpful. Information that people are looking for. Information that relates to them and their family. This will also be mixed in with some topics that relate to the services the business provides. Necessary services that many people in the community might someday need.

These sections aren’t meant to directly sell to consumers, they are meant to create content that is interesting and informative and relative to the community. The idea is that this part of the website will help citizens of the community when they need it for free. And then when they might need some paid services that the website offers, they will think about the website they already turn to–one they already trust.

Social media marketing will bring users right to the community section. They won’t have to click around to find it. If they want to find out more about the business, they can. If not, they don’t have to. If someone finds the business on their own, they will also be able to find the community section. It’s a win-win for the business and the community.

Users will know they are on a business website.The services offered by the business will be obvious and easily located from the community section. But, viewing those will be at the user’s discretion. They have the choice to click outside the community section if they want to.

Choice is what the Internet is about these days. The strategy for this type of website section is choice.

Creating information for and providing information to the community your business is in, within your website, is a great way to help it and market your business at the same time. Nothing will be pushed on anyone. It’s completely accessible for free, yet has some opt-in features. Name recognition for the business will only grow.

Why not consider establishing a community section within your website? Become known as a community helper.

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What’s the secret ingredient your blog is missing?

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An editorial calendar is the secret ingredient your blog is missing

Some companies publicly publish their editorial calendar, and some don’t. But the best blogs have this secret ingredient in their blogging cupboard. Don’t publish without it!

What is an editorial calendar? An editorial calendar organizes a blog’s posts for the month, quarter, or year. It lets you visually see what content will be published when.

Why do you need an editorial calendar? It helps prevent duplicate or off-topic content. It also helps you plan, so you are never wondering what posts you should be writing. It’s the best way to make sure your blog is populated with great content. It also helps you with any series of topics you plan for your blog.

Can my blog’s editorial calendar change? Sure–it’s not set in stone. It’s simply a starting point to help you plan. If you need to switch content, you can move the planned posts to another part of the publishing calendar.

How specific should my editorial calendar be? It can be very specific–down to details for each post. Or it can be more vague, like “business post” or “local post” or “client-related post”. For best results, I recommend that you create categories for your content like business, local, client-related so you can visually see that your content varies enough. Then include a few bullet points for each post and some keywords that you want to use in the posts. This provides you with a starting point ahead of time.

Now go and get started on your editorial calendar. Let me know how it shapes up. Don’t be shy-send me a comment if you have questions.

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Short on cash?

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A blog is a great way to achieve good SEO results for those short on cash

Notice I didn’t say those short on time though? That’s right. Maintaining a blog can be time-consuming. That’s why it’s so great for SEO, because all your blog posts contain keywords that relate to your business. If you use proper SEO writing, you will achieve great success in increasing your rank in search engines. You can use your budget for SEO experts elsewhere. This can saves thousands on ads, consultants, software, and more.

So, that’s pretty easy right? Slap up a few posts a year and there you go. Instant success. Wrong! The blogosphere has exploded with content galore! Your posts have to rise above all the other stuff floating around out there. This means consistent posting with engaging content.

See the problem? Corporate bloggers need to post at least weekly, preferably at least three times a week. They need to pay attention to SEO and also make content that engages real humans. Then, this content needs to be fresh and new and keep people coming back and the rankings high. That’s a lot to keep in mind!

It’s not enough to post up random happenings at the office, or news about events, or your latest products. You need to be sure and pay attention to content marketing rules and create engaging content in addition to corporate speak. Make sure your posts are cohesive and relevant to your business. Editorial calendars are wonderful for blogging strategy. You can create series and features better with an editorial calendar.

Stay tuned for more tips about blogging this year!

 

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What is content marketing anyway?

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Content marketing is using relevant and interesting content to indirectly market your business to new and existing customers. You are providing information relevant to the customers you are trying to attract, without a strong sales message. You are striving to become a source of information they can’t find elsewhere.

Content marketing happens through blogs, newsletters, emails, social media, and website copy. It is not always devoid of marketing messages, but it is in no way a hard sell or direct marketing message. Wikipedia defines content marketing as “an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases.” Click here to read the full explanation on Wikipedia.

I like their use of engaging. That’s exactly what your content should be and exactly what it should do. Your customers should be interested in further interacting with you. They should get the sense that you have something interesting to say, not that you simply are trying to sell something to them. And this becomes obvious really quickly. The key to good content marketing is giving away information for free, for the purposes of entertainment or educating and not requiring anything in return. Done right, the typical reader will return the favor by clicking on more text or finding out more about your company. They may not ever come back to your site or use your business. But, then again, they might come back again and again.

And how do you keep them coming back? This is where identifying your ideal customer as specifically as possible comes into play. You need to focus your energy on attracting and engaging specific customers for the best results. While no one wants to offend, sometimes you need to focus in order to achieve greater rewards.

If your content marketing is done correctly, you will be helping others and attracting raving fans.

 

 

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Google Alerts

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Google Alerts are a perfect way to create good, consistent content

Looking for good content for your social media channels? Looking for a good way to make that content consistent? Try Google Alerts.

Google Alerts are sent as emails with links to content across the web containing your search term. They can be sent to your inbox every day. So, day after day, you’ll get information on the same topics sent directly to you, with no effort. This is a perfect solution to finding info on your niche topic. It also can work for your personal interests and for monitoring your own brand.

You’ll never run out of content again!

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Strategies for Small-Business Media Strategies, LLC.

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A  strategist should reveal their own strategies, shouldn’t they?

I think so. Or I hope so. Keep in mind this is a work in progress, as it should be for all businesses. This is also specific to 2012. Here goes:

[Business Name]: Small-Business Media Strategies, LLC

[Business Location]: Florida

[Owner]: She’

[Type of Business]: Small business providing media strategy, creative strategy, social media management, pr, and writing. Creates online content for businesses. Carries out media strategy and creative strategy.

[Typical Clients]:

  • Small businesses, medium-sized businesses, and individuals new to social media or requiring comprehensive media strategy services.
  • Businesses seeking new customers in new markets.
  • Businesses or individuals seeking to create an online identity
  • Businesses seeking to further promote themselves with the use of new media.
  • Individuals such as artists, writers, or authors seeking to create a comprehensive online presence.
  • Clients needing print promotional pieces.
  • Clients needing copywriting, SEO writing, blog writing, and website copy writing.
  • Clients needing social media management.
  • Clients needing refreshers on social media tools.
  • Clients needing training about social media and blogging.
  • Clients needing editorial calendars.

[Creative ]:

  • Create a slogan that makes Small-Business Media Strategies, LLC synonymous with first-aid for businesses needing to improve and promote their new media presence.
  • Develop a logo.
  • Keep improving and developing the brand of helpful strategist for small businesses.
  • Create a local community that follows through to the online community.

[Website]: Continue with www.smallbusinessmediastrategies.com

  • Reevaluate content about services, business, and owner.
  • Improve use of SEO writing to improve search results.
  • Create blog content that uses SEO writing to increase search results.
  • Create blog content that explores topics relevant to customer needs.
  • Teach others through good content.
  • Consider Google advertising.

[Social Media outlets]: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn

[Social Media Strategy]:

  • Twitter Keep www.smallbusinessmediastrategies.com as the website on Twitter, but continue to make Twitter profile more about owner as person. Tweet approximately 30% personal, 20% business-related (specific to Small-Business Media Strategies, LLC ), and 50% helpful content for customers and others (related to business but not specifically about it at all). Make sure to include plenty of RTs and @mentions. Network and be involved. Be helpful to others. Use hashtags more for recurring topics. Start a recurring chat?
  • Facebook Make a Facebook page for Small-Business Media Strategies, LLC. Create a resource for customers. Similar strategy to Twitter with content. Be helpful to others. Try and connect via likes with local businesses. Start commenting on local businesses and share their status and content on the Small-Business Media Strategies, LLC page. Consider Facebook advertising. Develop Facebook profile a lot more.
  • LinkedIn Create a LinkedIn profile for Small-Business Media Strategies, LLC and a personal profile for myself. Highlight personal accomplishments on personal page, make connections. Consider starting a small business group in general or for Florida. Explore the benefits of LinkedIn more.
  • Google+ Make a Google+ page for Small-Business Media Strategies, LLC. Create content about business. Showcase business. But apply similar strategy as Twitter and Facebook to it. Also develop personal profile.
  • Consider developing the Tumblr account.
  • Network with colleagues and customers on all social media sites.

[Print Media Strategy]

  • Need to reach local businesses that want to expand into new media but have not yet.
  • Consider advertising in local magazines and papers. Small advertisements.
  • Find new papers and magazines that I haven’t seen before. Consider trade magazines and papers.
  • Skip radio or TV at this time.
  • Develop brochures and flyers.

[In-person Networking]:

  • Attend local networking events for businesses and individuals.
  • Join the Chamber of Commerce? Seems to be a great group of people and a great place to market.
  • Reach out to more local businesses and individuals, ones that need to move into the online world.
  • Meet new customers where they live and work.
  • Create a local community that follows through to the online community.

[Business Goals]:

  • Increase online and social media presence.
  • Continue developing www.smallbusinessmediastrategies.com into a helpful resource about media strategy for businesses and individuals in the Florida area. (Perhaps expand outside of Florida.)
  • Create proposals for local businesses and perhaps individuals and approach them.
  • Make sure individuals know my services are available to them.
  • Consider developing a true niche of client to best develop strategy that works.
  • Continue learning new things: continue with app development classes, continue with learning about ebooks, continue learning about website programming, continue practicing writing.
  • Try and add some nonprofit clients to add back to the community.
  • Keep abreast of changing SEO practices.
  • Practice avoiding the passive voice in my writing.
  • Meet more people in-person. Network in person more.
  • Further develop Facebook presence.
  • Have a little fun!
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Blog Editorial Calendar Worksheet for Organizing Topics

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Blog topics worksheet for an editorial calendar

Here’s a handy worksheet for #worksheetwed that will help you create an editorial calendar of blog topics.

Blog topics worksheet for an editorial calendar (pdf)

Blog topics worksheet for an editorial calendar

Blog topics worksheet for an editorial calendar

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Strategy is more than planning

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Strategy is about using a good team to grow your business.

Operating with strategy keeps your business running like a well-oiled machine–because all the parts of the engine know what to do. When everyone on a team knows what to do, everyone knows how to keep the business running smoothly.

Hiccups happen when strategy isn’t created, when it isn’t well-executed, and when it is changed without warning. This is not to say that strategy isn’t a work in progress sometimes, but it is to say that all the parts that keep the engine running need to know the main engine status and compensate or change to keep up. Malfunctioning machines occur when certain parts start working or aren’t notified of change. Don’t let this happen to your business machine.

Seth Godin recently wrote about logistics and strategy–how sometimes the strategy and the logistics happen together and sometimes they happen at different times. As long as the strategy is good, he feels logistics will happen as needed. I think this can be true, but requires the right team.

So, make sure you hire the proper team for your strategy. Find people you work well with and who work well with each other. Make sure your team is informed of your strategy and stays informed of changes. The days of keeping employees in the dark are fading, as transparency is more important than ever and is less avoidable than ever.

Perhaps you will develop your business strategy and then hire a team to run it. Or perhaps you will develop it with a team. The choice is yours. But once you make that choice, make sure your strategy works with the team you have to implement it. Otherwise it will fail.

If you choose to pick your team after you have developed a strategy, they need to know how much input they will have in the end result. Make sure this is clear and constant. Also make sure they stay informed (with enough warning) of how your strategy is changing. I’d also suggest some sort of process for allowing employees to give constructive ideas. Once implemented, this suggestion process needs to continue and contributions need to be acknowledged in some way. Even if nothing comes of it, people like to feel they are being heard–and those actually doing something day after day usually have the best ideas.

If you pick a team and then develop a strategy, chances are they expect to create the strategy with you and change it with you also. (If not, this also needs to be made clear.) By default, they should know of strategy changes since they are helping develop it.

So, there are two types of teams: those along for the ride and those creating the ride.

Overall, one thing needs to happen for a successful strategy–the rhetoric and the reality needs to stay very close. If they are drifting too far apart–chances are something about your strategy needs to change. I first came to realize the importance of this idea when I  heard a radio program mention that most people become unhappy when these concepts are too far apart, therefore causing dissent. Unhappy workers are the quickest way to kill your strategy and have the logistics fail. Companies need a reality check and a rhetoric check often, to keep their strategy alive and their team members happy.

Don’t neglect the team: because without them the engine falls apart and the business machine doesn’t even run, much less grow.

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Why I Learn More from Twitter than Any Other Social Network

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Twitter is a fountain of knowledge.

Twitter is a great way to follow a diverse group of people with varied interests. It’s easy, simple, and quick to learn small snippets of information. We know this.

But, so is Facebook, right? Well– Facebook is a great way to connect to people and brands. I learn what my friends are doing and where they’re going and what their kids look like. I learn about sales and discounts at retailers I like. I also learn about school events. But, I’m not increasing my knowledge about things outside of my already established life, with few exceptions. A lot of the brands and pages I follow are because I learned about them from Twitter.

Google+ has been a great way to see quirky pictures and learn some industry knowledge. But many times I’m learning from some of the same people I follow on Twitter. I find the user interface of Google+ clunky and it seems like it take a lot of time to find new people to follow. I need to devote more to it though, because it’s growing everyday and the new addition of the business page is changing things up. It’s supposed to be better than Twitter once you get immersed.

Here are some reasons Twitter is where I turn to most:

  • Conversing with others is easier, hands-down. It’s easier to fire off quick responses and greetings to others. It’s great for roundtable discussions too.
  • Breaking news happens on Twitter. Quick snippets in a place I already visit makes it easy to keep abreast of various news topics–you’ll learn a little bit about a lot of things. I don’t have time to read news lengthy news reports and I only hear the news on the radio while driving.
  • The people I follow are always talking about interesting things, separately. I’m learning something from lots of people all at the same time–each time I log in. I don’t have to wade through a 1000 posts from the same person to learn something new.
  • The people I follow are following interesting people. I like to take a look at their followers and who they follow. This is easier to do on Twitter than Facebook because you can have a split screen that shows their info and a bit of their stream. Facebook doesn’t make this as easy.
  • People are always posting wacky pictures and quotes on their feed. This is a nice diversion. I like looking at what others are seeing during their everyday lives. I enjoy posting pictures of my daughter’s lunchbox contents for the day. On my Facebook page, this would look repetitive and haunt other people’s news feed. But on Twitter, it zips by and no one has to look at it unless they want to.
  • Twitter is a nice mix of professional and personal interests. Facebook pages usually keep to the company status quo. Twitter’s quick pace usually lulls people into feeling secure enough to show a little more personality. That’s where some of the real gems of Twitter are.
  • Twitter points me to other resources more often, by default. I can see posts on Facebook and Google+ that I learn about on Twitter. I can do this on other networks, but they’re usually  interested in you staying there–so the experience is less likely to encourage you to click outside of that network.

Generally I turn to Facebook when I want to learn more about people and brands close to me.  But I turn to Twitter when I want to broaden my horizons and learn more about varied subjects outside of my usual status quo. I like variety more than comfort sometimes.

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Use Twitter to Attend an Industry Event for Free

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This Conference Will Stay Within Your Budget

Everyone wants to attend industry conferences. I get emails and flyers galore about them. Most of them look interesting and fun! But, their price tag does not. We’d go broke attending them all. So here’s a suggestion:

Use Twitter to attend! Now, I’m not suggesting Twitter will reap you all the same benefits of attending an entire conference. But it will get you some of the highlights.

Attending a conference using Twitter entails:

  • Finding good industry insiders on Twitter to follow. These are the peeps setting up conferences and/or creating content for them. Lots of times they are sharing some of their presentation through SlideShare in advance of the conference. If they don’t share it before, they almost always do after. These insiders are also the ones tweeting about the conference for months in advance. Sometimes they ask questions of their followers for tips and ideas of what they should talk about in their presentation. What better way to get your specific questions asked, than answering their inquiry on Twitter?
  • Creating a Twitter list titled by the name of the event. Use this to keep track of the people talking about the event. It will also catch the eye of those people and might even get you a follow back. It’s a great way to network.
  • Finding the hashtag for the event early. Don’t miss out on anything by researching this the day before. I’ve noticed some conferences advertise the hashtag with the literature for the event. Or sometimes those industry insiders create the hashtag while they are busy talking about the event.
  • Keeping up with the tweets, while the event is happening. (Or schedule some time to do searches later). Some attendees live tweet entire sessions. Some of them blog about it afterwards. Twitter is a great way to “hear” what’s happening in the event and to find bonus content tweeted by attendees and conference organizers. Sometimes this is time sensitive though.
  • Retweeting the important stuff. What better way to educate others on your list and network with other colleagues, than by sharing the info you learned by attending the conference virtually!
  • Asking questions. Why not try to find out more about a presentation or presenter by asking questions through Twitter? Some events even use Twitter as a way to get questions at the end of sessions.
  • Taking notes. Use your notes to keep track of ideas and tricks that you can use to grow your small business. Twitter moves so fast that sometimes its hard to go back and find the tidbit you are looking for.

Also-use Twitter  to find out early about discounts for attending the real event. Because maybe you could attend in person after all!

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Isn’t Twitter a bunch of people talking about the Kardashians and their lunch?

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Why Twitter is Useful for Business

Most people I talk to think Twitter is a big waste of time. There are plenty of twitter streams talking smack and not making any sense to anyone not in the author’s inner circle. But, there are lots of meaningful conversation and teaching happening too. Below are five reasons you should think about using Twitter for your business.

  1. Most industries have key players with a huge Twitter presence. Get a peek into their world and thought process.
  2. News is broken on Twitter–yours can be too. Whether it be political, gossip, or tech news–you can find it out pretty early on Twitter. Weekends, holidays, and the middle of the night are great times to break news on Twitter–give it a try.
  3. Find out if your customers are talking about you. They might not all be there, but some of them are. Five minutes will have a search set up for your business name that delivers a list of tweets that contain it. It’s quicker than a Google Alert.
  4. Attend an industry event for free. Most industry events provide Twitter tags for attendees to use. A simple search for this tag reveals content and quotes from the event itself. Cost of event: free! Now, every event might not be covered–but more than likely at least one attendee was frantically tweeting what she heard that day.
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Amazon’s Media Strategy for Black Friday 2011

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Amazon Black Friday ad media strategy

I didn’t just see bargains on Black Friday 2011

 I saw an excellent example of a media strategy: Amazon’s print ad.

Amazon Black Friday ad media strategy

Amazon's 2011 Black Friday ad

I have never seen an Amazon ad in the paper like this. But, what better way to capture more new attention than to have your ad where the other retailers have theirs? This is a great example of seeking out attention where your competition is already finding it.

It also illustrates the power that print still has. Everyone still expects newspaper ads for Black Friday. I saw many people clutching them in their hands at the store. And now, Amazon captured a new type of attention by being present there too.

In addition, their ads just gave a sneak peek of what you could find on the website. They had wording likes this: ”Price: Less than $300″. So, naturally everyone would want to see what the price truly was and go to the site. It also gave them wiggle room for pricing if they needed it.

Amazon also pointed out that they carry more than just books. There was probably still a large part of the population who might not have known that. This ad drove that point home.

One other thing I noticed is that the ad was stark white and had a clean look to it–just like their site. It also used similar colors and phrases that you’d see there too. It was already getting customers used to their site’s look.

In short, Amazon is a perfect example of an ever-evolving media strategy. Definitely take notice.

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Social Media Silence

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Silence on social media could kill
your small business.

I’m not saying that if your small business doesn’t use social media that it will fail. I think social media will grow your small business, but  that’s not what I mean here. The message I am sending this time is that a social media presence that is neglected or suddenly ceases will affect your business.

Customers and other businesses will wonder what happened. They’ll wonder if you went out of business, if you cut your staff, if you are having cash flow issues, if you are not interested in gaining new customers, or perhaps even that you don’t care about your business anymore. That sounds drastic, doesn’t it? It might be a bit so for some businesses, but many businesses have such a following that their customers would miss them. You want to have those rabid fans who can’t get enough of you.

Customers only care about themselves. If they can’t find their favorite brand anymore or the stream suddenly stops, they might get nervous. Then they would feel like their needs weren’t being met. They’d probably switch to the nearest competitor’s brand to meet their needs, especially if they are easy to find on their favorite social network. Social media junkies pay attention. Your social media presence created that fan base and it can just as easily kill it. You have to keep it up.

I mentioned competitors in the previous paragraph. Who’s waiting in the wings to snatch up your fans? They are. Do you want that to happen by abandoning your social media presence? That’s like handing over your mailing list to them. They’ll find your customers. Wiley competitors will run a successful campaign to do so.

So back to your small business. You may be saying you only have 300 followers and 10 fans. That might be true for now, but if you run the right social media campaign you will get more every week. It can take months to get the right customer following. Don’t give up! It will happen. Slowly you will network your way to more and more of a following.

One last thing. If you think you will not be able to keep up 20 posts a week on Facebook or tweet 100 times a week, don’t start it that way. Start with what you think you can sustain for the next 6 months. If you can tweet 2 times a day and post twice a week on Facebook, start there. Try to keep it at a regular rhythm. Customers begin to expect things, the worst thing you can do is take them away. If, after a few months, you can do more…slowly increase your posting. Keep it consistent.

Do you have an opinion about this? Let me know by leaving a comment.

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Sell, Sell, Sell

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You should use social media to
grow your small business.

But does that mean you should sell, sell, sell on social media. NO! Don’t do it.

This is not to say you shouldn’t promote, mention, or display your products from time to time. That’s a really good reason to use social media. What you shouldn’t do is post after post about why your business or product is the best. Don’t bombard your customers about your product and business all the time.

To temper the posts about your small business, you need to create interesting content that enhances a customer’s experience. They want to know about you and your business, but they also want to read about things that interest them. It should be all about the customer. So you need to interact with them and other businesses. You’ll learn more about what your customer needs and wants. You’ll also have some fun. And that’s really important. Droning out a marketing spiel day after day will not grow your small business. Why? Because you won’t be having fun with it and customers will notice.

Social media is meant to be social, hence the name. It’s easy to tell when someone isn’t enjoying the method. So have some fun! On Twitter you can joke around a little (in a low-key and professional way of course). Talk with people. Retweet others, reply to others, find good content to share, etc. Facebook is a similar process. Both are great places to share fun facts and interesting content. You could run contests (make sure you follow any rules that are required) or ask people to share photos with you or ask for feedback about something you are working on. Make it social. Network with your followers like you would with guests at a party.

Another way to kill your social media efforts is a lack of participation in it. We’re all busy. But make sure you keep up your presence. You can pre-schedule posts and tweets, but you need to be careful about that. It gets obvious pretty quickly. So try and devote ten minutes a day (at least) to Twitter and Facebook to interact with others. Your blog needs to be updated at least once a week. Hopefully you can devote at least that much time to it.

Any questions? Leave me a comment! I’d love to hear from you.

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What You’re Buying When You Hire a Media Strategist

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What a Media Strategist Can Do
For Your Small Business

  • Evaluate your marketing strategies, especially those that use media.
  • Suggest marketing plans that use different or new media resources.
  • Introduce you to social media or expand your use of it.
  • Create social media marketing plans.
  • Help you maximize your social media efforts.
  • Explain how simple videos and podcasts can boost your marketing potential.
  • Create graphics and websites for you, or put you in touch with someone else who can.
  • Manage your social media efforts.
  • Create and manage blog content.
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My Personal Take on Worksheets

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A worksheet helps organize your marketing efforts

Are worksheets necessary? No. Do they help everyone? No. But my personal take on worksheets is that they are very helpful for organizing your thoughts and methods. A good worksheet helps you remember all the parts to something. They are a great organizing tool.

I’ve created several worksheets. I’ve placed them below. Here is the link to my worksheet collection from Scribd.

First Steps in Media Strategy worksheet

First Steps in Media Strategy worksheet

Blogging for Clients Worksheet

Blogging for Clients Worksheet

Assigned Blog Post Worksheet

Assigned Blog Post Worksheet

Website Creation Worksheet

Website Creation Worksheet

Worksheet for organizing client pictures

Website Picture Worksheet

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Copywriting Worksheet

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It’s #worksheetwed again. Here is a worksheet to help you while copywriting. Here is the link to my worksheet collection on Scribd.

Copywriting Worksheet

Copywriting Worksheet

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What Matters Most

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What matters most to your media strategy
is your support.

A media strategy cannot sustain itself.  You need to support it and tend to it throughout its life. It also cannot create itself. Consulting with a professional will gain you many tips, techniques, and much support. But, all the consultation in the world will not create a successful media strategy if you’re not able to support it.

You are your company’s best media strategist. Professional strategists are great for generating ideas, creating content, making schedules and plans, researching, and more. But we rely on you for the ground rules. We need to know what you are comfortable with, what you can’t abide by, what you dislike, and what you are willing to try. We can’t do it without you.

What matters most to your media strategy is you.

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Common Mistakes in Media Strategy

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How not to grow your small business

One of the surest ways to have your business fail is to totally disregard any sort of media strategy. Another big mistake is abusing social media to broadcast your message and not using it to socialize and network—it’s called social media for a reason.

Perhaps the biggest mistake is not being where your customers or potential customers are. Let’s explore this.

  • If you cater to an older group of people, are they on Twitter? Probably not. Are they reading the newspaper and listening to radio or TV? Yes-so advertise there. Are they beginning to explore the internet? Yes–so have a website and a blog for sure. If you want to capture new customers, I think Facebook would be a great place to begin a presence. It’s becoming more and more popular every day.
  • If you cater to young professionals, where are they? They’re everywhere. So you’ll need to maximize your dollars. I’d probably skip the radio, because there are so many ways to listen to music without listening to the radio these days. TV might be good. A website and blogs is an absolute must, as is all other forms of social media.
  • If you cater to young adults, teenagers, and children—watch out! You’ll need eye-catching content. They expect even more bells and whistles like video, sound, and exclusive content. It’s challenging to know what will be popular the next month, something this age group demands. You’ll have to be up on new trends and new techniques just to stay afloat.
  • If you cater to all age groups in some way, then you’ve got your work cut out for you. A media strategist is a must!
You know your business better than anybody. You are the best media strategist for your business.  Pay attention to what your competition is doing and what your customers expect. Research, research, research!! Don’t fail your business with a poor media strategy.
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Brainstorming for Copywriting Worksheet

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Worksheet Wednesday is back! (#worksheetwed). Here is the link to my worksheet collection on Scribd.

Here is a worksheet to help you brainstorm while copywriting. This is best suited for a tangible product.

Brainstorming Worksheet for Copywriting

Brainstorming Worksheet for Copywriting

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Tools Of My Trade

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What’s in my media strategy toolbox?

Here’s a peek:

  • Twitter My favorite social media tool! It’s a quick way to socialize and network. It’s also a great method for broadcasting news, promoting blog posts, and advertising new products.
  • Blogging Blogging is a fantastic way to tell the world about you and your expertise. Talk about your products and services, but also talk around your subject matter so you’re not just broadcasting about yourself. You can gain customers without beating them over the head by talking about stuff that interests them.
  • Website A website is a must. It’s the best way to let people know what you are about and what your message is. You can integrate all the other methods on this list with your website to create a comprehensive media strategy.
  • Facebook I love Facebook for personal networking, of course. But it’s also a great way to gain search rank and advertise to your customers. You want to be where your customers are, and this is the place!

 

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Great Post on Building Brand Advocacy by @kuno

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I wanted to share this fabulous post about building your brand. It talks about finding your brand advocates and how they can help you build your brand. Pay close attention to what they’re doing! :)

http://www.kunocreative.com/blog/bid/65028/best-practices-for-building-brand-advocacy-in-social-media?source=BlogTwitter_%5BBest%20Practices%20for%20B%5D

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Benefits of Creating a Media Strategy for your Small Business

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How a media strategy helps
grow your small business

  • You’ll save money. Your dollars will be focused on the media that yields results. There’s no need to spend your money on advertising that won’t yield results.
  • Your advertising will be focused. A little planning will help you create a media presence that is appropriate for your small business, not one that is hit or miss.
  • Your platform will be specific. Your message will be broadcast appropriately. It won’t be sent out on a platform that doesn’t yield customers.
  • You’ll be reaching new customers, using new media that is right for your message.
  • Your detailed strategy will be trackable. You’ll know what’s working and what’s not. You won’t be guessing what’s working and what’s not.
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Creative Strategy

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Creative Strategy is Brand Strategy

Create your brand. Showcase your brand. Reap the benefits.

Creative strategy is the way you define your brand, promote it to the world, and grow your small business. Every business benefits from defining their brand as completely as possible. The brand is found in the elevator pitch, on postcards, on the website, and in social media profiles. A brand goes above and beyond just creating a logo and slogan.

Creative strategy was once seen as an advertising term. And it still is. Your creative strategy is still carried out through advertising on proper media channels. But, now it is also seen on your website, your social media profile, in person, and anywhere else your small business is. That’s a big change from years past.

If you are seeking brand development, brand identity, brand management, brand architecture, or brand building you need to invest some time in creative strategy. This is the surest way to develop a marketing strategy that goes beyond just company branding or regular advertising.

The traditional branding route goes like this: Brand strategists or branding companies create your brand. Then you carry your brand identity to marketing and advertising agencies who promote this brand through advertising. Then you have to hire a marketer, webmaster, blog writer, and social media manager separately.

Here’s the new way: Hire a creative media strategist and get everything mentioned above all in one place.

Hiring a media strategist that develops your entire creative strategy is a great way to maximize your dollar. We all need to save money in this economy, and this is a great economical solution. A good creative media strategist can do all of this:

  • birth your brand
  • firm up your small business’s creative strategy
  • develop and carry out your media strategy
  • market and promote your small business
  • help design your website and help you find other website vendors
  • do SEO writing
  • do copywriting
  • manage your social media profiles

What could be easier than that? No running around to various developers, vendors, or companies. A helpful media strategist is also willing to do just part of this, while working with other vendors. Why? Because the creative media strategist you want to work with can be flexible in their job responsibilities. They want to help you grow your small business the best way they can.

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Three Important Things

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Three Things You Need to Successfully Use Social Media for Your Small Business

  1. Willingness to learn new things.
  2. Ability to communicate with others.
  3. Desire to change your current marketing strategy.
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Why You Are My Favorite Customer

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You say you aren’t my customer yet?

Maybe not. But I like customers like you. I like the customer willing to learn about new ideas…the one who knows they could do more for their business. I like to work with people who aren’t afraid to try something new, who are willing to make even a small change to how they advertise their business. The array of low-cost marketing techniques is larger than ever, and there’s no reason not to take a few hours to learn about them. I’d be happy to answer your questions. Leave me a comment and let’s talk!

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11 Secrets I’ll Share With You About Social Media Strategy for Business

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Use these social media tips to grow your small business

  1. Sharing interesting and unique content is a must.
  2. It pays to be friendly and network, just like you would at a party.
  3. Openly sharing is best, not TMI but no use evading in this digital world.
  4. Talking about others and their projects a lot more than yours will garner more interest in you in the long run.
  5. Paying attention to how your favorite contributors share is the best way to learn, someone else is always doing it better than you.
  6. Linking to exclusive content from social media is a great way to get more followers and fans.
  7. Corporations aren’t cuddly—it’s about people on social media, so don’t forget to be a little personal from time to time.
  8. Nothing you do will be perfect or suit everyone, so be ready for criticism.
  9. Something new will always come along and be the best and shiniest new toy. Keep up your knowledge.
  10. Not everyone tweets, Facebooks, or blogs…so vary your presence.
  11. Having fun responsibly is the surest way to succeed with social media.
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Trapped

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Do you feel trapped by your inability to keep up with new trends?

Trends of all types come and go. Every day there are new technological inventions. How can you keep up with everything? How do you know what will work?

Sometimes, it’s hard to know where to spend your time when you are looking to grow your small business. You are not alone.

Here are some good places to start with your small-business media strategy:

  • A website. A website is incredibly easy to create these days. Website designers have come down in price due to the myriad of designers that are now in business. WordPress is another great option for low-cost or free websites. Their easy to use templates and the large amount support available makes it a great place to start. A website that is self-hosted is ideal, but starting with a free website is a great place to start if you don’t know where else to begin.
  • A blog. If you already have a website, why not expand your online presence by creating a blog? This can be separate from your website if you prefer, but it really needs to be part of your website or connected in some way. This is because a blog is primarily used to drive traffic to your website or physical location, so you don’t want people bouncing all over the web to find you. A blog is a great place to talk about topics that will be interesting to your customers. If they find you because of the conversation on your blog and then seek out your website, they are more likely to buy because they know more about you. They know that you are truly interested in what you sell.
  • Facebook. Almost everyone knows what Facebook is, if they aren’t on Facebook already. What better place for you to have a business presence? Facebook is free, but also offers easy ad plans and other applications that will help you enhance your Facebook presence. Managing a Facebook profile or page for small business can be tricky though, and often requires some research and/or consulting on your part.
  • YouTube. I’m not suggesting you begin producing videos right off the bat, but it’s really easy to create a channel. YouTube is great for search rankings, so getting a feel for the site while you work up the nerve to make a video is a great idea. Start adding videos to playlists that relate to your business, customers, town, or products. When you’re ready, start making videos. Customers want to know more about you and your business in less traditional ways. You can be really creative on YouTube!
  • LinkedIn. This is the number one place you will find other business professionals. Don’t neglect this free place to network! It’s easy to get started. Creating and joining groups is key because you will converse with potential customers there. You can gain many insights and opportunities here.

 

Filed Under: Marketing, Small Business, Social Media

Some Things to Avoid When Using Social Media for Business

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Five Social Media Blunders That Might Lose You Some Business

  1. Shouting out 12 times a day about your newest service or product.
  2. Talking about your business all the time—never retweeting, reposting, or talking conversationally with others.
  3. Failing to contribute something interesting to the conversation–something newsworthy, fun, educational, or generally worth reading that doesn’t relate to your products or services.
  4. Failing to ever connect on a personal level–no one can connect to a corporation that never shows a personal side.
  5. Failing to respond to direct messages, wall posts, comments, or tweets.
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How a Media Strategist Is Like a Cordless Drill

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Are you building your business a little at a time?

Of course you are. You’re making your presence known through print advertising, internet advertising, in-person networking, and your website. You want everyone to know that your small business is the best one to go to for your particular product or service. You know there are all kinds of new strategies that you could use to promote your business, but it’s hard to keep up.

You could research every new strategy, every new tool, and every new site yourself. Of course you could. But how do you know it will work for you? How do you know how to do it properly? How will you have time to learn it all? You won’t. That’s not what you specialize in. You need to consult with someone about these new ideas. Hiring a media strategist, even for a few hours, will increase the power of your strategies ten times over. It’s like changing from the old-fashioned drill you inherited from your dad to the newest, biggest cordless drill. Anyone who’s made that switch knows that there is no comparison. You can try to keep up, just like dad’s drill, but eventually you might lose the battle to those using the cordless drill. So why not get a little help?

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Are You Rushing Into Picking Your Media Strategist?

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In a rush to grow your small business?

A media strategist will help, but don’t rush into picking one. The best way to pick the proper strategist is to follow these steps:

  1. Read carefully through their website. If they don’t have a website, don’t hire them. Do you want to hire someone who doesn’t even have their own web presence? Every business, big or small, needs a web presence of some sort.
  2. Google them. Do they have a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, and a blog? Then you’re on the right track. But do they only have one follower? Are they simply shouting out that they are available for hire? Those are sure signs that you need to move on to another strategist.
  3. Call them or email them. Do they respond within 48 hours? That’s good, because you need to be sure they are available to you on a fairly regular basis.
  4. Talk with them about their print and web experience. You need someone who’s had both. Print advertising, even in our modern world, is still a viable option for many…so don’t neglect it by hiring someone with no experience with it. And on the flip side, see number 1 for why you need someone with a web presence. 
  5. Ask them for 2 ideas they have for marketing your small business. Don’t expect an answer without any research (you should be willing to wait a few days) nor ground-breaking strategies that you should have paid $1,000 for, but a good strategist should be willing to offer 2 free ideas. Make sure they reflect your industry and show a little initiative on the part of the strategist. 
  6. Ask for the names of other clients. Make sure that your strategist has the name of at least one person who is willing to talk about their experience working with them. 
  7. Read over the contracts or other operating arrangements the strategist wants you to sign. Don’t enter into anything you don’t understand. Make sure that the strategist is willing to explain every point.
  8. Don’t make the first contract period more than 3 months.  Make sure you can work together and the arrangement is working for both of you. Don’t waste valuable time working with someone who isn’t the proper fit.
  9. Make sure the price matches the experience. Don’t discount someone with minimal experience, but don’t pay them the prices of a larger firm. Ideas and the execution of those ideas are what you are buying, not the firm’s name. Don’t be blinded by the bright lights and name-dropping, they may not be the right fit for your small business.
A good media strategist is great at creating buzz and excitement. But purchasing this type of service requires research and time. Don’t be blinded by all the hype. Sometimes the real gems are smaller, boutique firms that take the time to know you and your business. They may not have the big clients, but they do have the big heart.
Feel free to comment with your own ideas! I’m looking forward to reading them.
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Grow your small business using social media

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Small business success using social media.

You may be wondering how to grow your small business in today’s tough economy. Many small-business entrepreneurs have turned to social media as a way to do this.

“What is Social Media?”

Social Media is a form of inbound marketing that uses online networking as its vehicle. Most social media is free or low-cost and has an easy learning curve. It allows businesses to connect to customers and colleagues using platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or GooglePlus.

“How are Others Creating Small Business Success Using Social Media?”

Social networks are the perfect places to meet and create new fans. Social media marketing methods are in-bound, meaning visitors choose to see your products and services. Companies who follow social media’s best practices allow people to learn about a brand or product when they want to, not when they can‘t avoid it. What develops that interest? Good content. This content may be exclusive or interactive or just a reiteration of a brand‘s message, but something about it keeps the visitor coming back.

Done right, social media will encourage readers to investigate a business’s products or services. It will also spread the word about an existing website, blog, or store and drive focused traffic there. The traffic will be more meaningful since the visits are done with intent. Sales will rise.

Merging social media with an existing media strategy is the key to small business success in today’s weak economy.

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When Things Get Busy at Your Small Business

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Sometimes things get so busy at your small business you say to yourself,
“How can I be expected to blog, Tweet, and Facebook in the middle of all of this?”

My friends, I introduce the concept of scheduling! Scheduling things for Twitter, Facebook, and your blog is an indispensable tool for your small business. You, or your social media manager, can create these items days or weeks in advance. For your Twitter and Facebook feeds, there are software programs like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck to do these tasks for you. Your blogging platform or website should have the capability already built-in.

So when things get busy at my place, I usually have some content ready to go. Do I always have it available? No, and I feel sad about that and vow to do better. But I try to have a few posts or tweets in the wings pre-scheduled for certain dates. It can be helpful to have quotes from earlier blog posts ready to tweet throughout the month. You can have some links to blog posts ready to go too.  These same things could also be programmed into your Facebook feed or you can have your Facebook feed hooked up to Twitter. (There are some pros and cons to connecting the two which we can discuss later.) Sometimes I have blog posts finished, but not scheduled so I can post them at the spur of the moment.

Scheduling all of your social media is NOT a good idea. But when busy times hit, having some scheduled content ready to go is a great way to keep up a presence. Then you can jump back in when you have more time and catch up on all that you missed.

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Some great tips for generating blog ideas using Twitter

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I saw this on Twitter yesterday (via @pammktgnut) , thought it would be a great article for those of you struggling to find blog topics.

http://www.mediavinemarketing.com/simplify-social-media/need-blog-ideas-3-quick-tips-for-using-twitter-to-get-inspired/

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What You and I Have in Common

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Simply put, what you and I have in common is that we are both small businesses.

I’m trying to help small businesses find a media strategy that suits their needs, and you are trying to create a business that suits the needs of its customers. We’re both trying to develop something great and purposeful. I hope we are both trying to have a little fun with it too.

I’m a business of one, so how much smaller could I get? It’s a whole different ball game to go from working in a small business to owning one. So I know that you are working with budgeting and time restraints. I know you are working around other obligations like family, friends, and maybe even other employment obligations. It’s hard knowing that you only have yourself to rely on to get things done. Or, if you have employees in your business, they are strapped for time and might not be experts in anything besides what you hired them to do.

But I’ve also found out that only having to rely on yourself can be exhilirating and meaningful. You can make all those successes and failures your own, and that’s kinda neat too. You can decide what ad to run or what blog post to write or what tweet to tweet or what website copy to write. There’s nothing that can replace that feeling of responsibility and power. Harnessing it is another matter though, and I think all small businesses could do with a consult or two with a media strategist for that reason. Consider it another step along the way, like talking with your lawyer or your accountant. You can learn by doing, but sometimes that little extra expense can save you money in the long run.

I hope our small businesses can work together someday. It would be lovely to meet you.

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Interesting video with Chris Brogan and Rex Hammock

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I recently watched a video interview (link below) with Chris Brogan and Rex Hammock. It caught my eye because it mentioned that it would be talking about the future of publishing. However, once the video started it was a lot about Google Plus and small business. Mr. Hammock and Mr. Brogan both agreed that small businesses should definitely think about gaining a presence on this new platform. It’s about 20 minutes long.

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/rexhammock/

If you are interested in learning more about Google Plus or talking with me about an invitation to join, e-mail me at shdesignfl@gmail.com. You can connect with me (and Chris Brogan and Rex Hammock) on there too, where I am listed as She’ H. (using the same e-mail address). I look forward to talking with you.

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Another Way To See the Current Business Environment

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Many of us are feeling downtrodden because of the state of the economy and the news about the debt deal. Many think it foreshadows another economic downturn and the death of small business. I see it as a way for small business to change and grow to adapt to the new market. It’s the perfect time to take chances, it could be do or die.

There are plenty of progressive small businesses that have no trouble adapting. These businesses can be old or new. And I applaud their ability to change and grow as needed. But, there are also plenty of small businesses who are operating using the same ideas they have for decades. There are also new businesses who are forming around old ideas because they think they should. All these business models could learn something from each other. However, in this new world I am pretty sure that if you don’t change, then you could wither.

And this could be the beauty of the current business environment. It’s the perfect chance to try something new! Companies who haven’t had to be resourceful for years now see that they need to modernize a bit to keep up. New companies can brand themselves in light of all the recent changes and use all the new technology and resources available. It might be the best time to start a side business if you are worried your full-time job will end. It’s easier than ever to do business on the side with the advent of social media.

There’s no better time than now to start investigating something new for your small business. This could be a website, printed mailings, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, and more. A good media strategy could be your surest way to survive.

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4 Traits I Admire In a Customer

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Here are 4 Traits I Admire in a Customer

  • Risk taking. You already took a risk when you contacted me about media strategy, so I admire all of my customers. It’s hard to take chances and expand and grow. I think it’s necessary for the growth of your business to take chances though and find out what’s new in promoting your business. We might talk once and you might decide it’s not for you. You might be afraid that I’m going to overwhelm you with all sorts of things you don’t want to do–but that’s not my intention. I want you to use some strategies you are comfortable with and that fit your business. You never know, what they are might surprise you.
  • Brainstorming. I think brainstorming is really helpful for both of us. If you approach me about a print strategy for your business, we will start by talking about what you have in mind just for that. I’ll be able to see what materials we need to create for you and what they need to say. If we extrapolate from some brainstorming we do, we will see what needs to go along with the print materials now or in the future. Perhaps we will figure out that you just need a simple website for now and then that you will move on to a Facebook page and perhaps a Twitter feed in a few months. If you see your business growing to a large company in the next few years, then we will slowly add a blog and some e-commerce too. Or perhaps we will see you don’t need to do a lot more right now, because you are already doing a great job.
  • Willingness to ask questions. I want to create the best media strategy we can for your small business. It’s easier to help you when you ask me questions about what you don’t understand. I want to be sure you are getting what you paid for and that the strategy will work for you. If you don’t fully understand what Twitter is or how it can help you, ask me. If you don’t understand how blogging will help you rank better in search engines, I’d be happy to explain it two different ways if I need to. I also learn from every question asked of me, it helps me clarify things for you and other customers.
  • Clear Expectations. I want to know exactly what you have in mind when you hired me to help you with media strategy, even if that is that you didn’t have anything particular in mind. These expectations might relate to time spent, final outcome, costs, or contact between us. Our first two meetings (whether by phone, e-mail, or in-person) are a great time to talk about expectations for my services. I need to know that you prefer phone contact or that you want me to combine all the questions I have into one email. Budgeting is a really important thing, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable suggesting things way out of your price limit. I need to know if you don’t want to expand past certain areas—like that you don’t want to consider print at all or you already have a vendor for that. I know that sometimes these priorities change, but I’d like to know what you set out envisioning. It’s important for us to start out in the same place and then hopefully grow together.
Filed Under: Blogging, Marketing, Small Business, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Ways I Help You

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It’s a whole new world out there where small businesses will be more likely to succeed than large ones. Larger companies may have more personnel, but they also have more people and systems that need to adjust. This is where the small guy can really excel.  Personalized service shines in social media. Less red-tape makes it easier to change and adapt as new technologies arise.

It’s hard as a business owner who does everything to manage all the new technology and new media, though. That’s where I step in, I’ll make your life easier. Small-Business Media Strategies can help you define your media strategy for this changing world. I can help you clarify where your business needs to have a presence—on the web, in the local paper, through the regular mail, or all three.

The answers to where you should market your business depend on your customers, your budget, and where you see your business going. I can help you clarify these areas and then help you decide where you should advertise, network, and generally make your presence known. Some avenues to explore include websites, social media, blogging, advertising on the web and in print, and in-person networking. We can discuss your ideas for where to find more customers and I’ll help you build on them by suggesting some new avenues.

There’s many free ways to get your business recognized for all it has to offer, you just need a little help finding them and learning how they work. If you would like just a few consulting sessions to learn how to manage Facebook profiles and Twitter feeds, I’m available for that. I can also help you build a small website if you don’t have one or help you find the right person to build a comprehensive website for e-commerce or other magical things. If you need print design, I have over 12 years in that field. We can make eye-catching brochures or postcards that are sure to showcase your work how you envision it. If books are your thing, I’m more than qualified to make you one. The same goes for pamphlets or other small booklets. If you need someone to manage your media for an indefinite period of time, I’m your girl too. I am here to help you put your best foot forward.

Small-Business Media Strategies was created to help business owners who need to find their way in this changing media environment. That’s how I help you.

Filed Under: Marketing, Small Business, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Debt Deal, Small Businesses, and Social Media

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I saw this article about small businesses from The Business Insider today and found it oh so relevant to my blog, I’m sure you’ll agree. (Thanks @BI_Contributors)

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-debt-ceiling-deal-and-small-business-2011-8

It might become a little harder for small businesses to stay afloat with today’s economy and the recent debt deal news. However, this only speaks to why small businesses need social media more than ever. Free platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogs are the best way to get free exposure for your business. You can influence others to find your brand, all the while meeting industry insiders and getting news first. Inexpensive tools like simple websites and free ebooks are other fabulous ways of attracting clients on the cheap.

Media strategy should not be overlooked in these tough times, you need to leverage your influence the most economical way you can. There is no longer a reason to ignore social media and websites for your small business.

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How Can I Help Your Small Business?

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Are there any topics relating to small business that you would like to know more about? I’d be happy to take suggestions on blog post ideas from my readers. I enjoy learning about new things and helping others.

Some topics I’ve covered so far include blogging, Twitter, websites, and LinkedIn (via a guest post). Feel free to suggest some ideas for this blog.

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Small Business Worksheets

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Here is a grouping of the business worksheets I’ve made. They are helpful for small businesses or individuals. I created these as part of Worksheet Wednesday (#worksheetwed),

http://www.scribd.com/collections/3165678/Worksheets

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Goal setting

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I came across this on Twitter. It’s a fabulous link for goal setting. It’s perfect for those of you trying to set your business and personal goals. Good luck!

http://www.businessbrief.com/12-tips-for-more-effective-goal-setting/

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Website Picture Worksheet

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Worksheet for organizing client pictures

It’s Worksheet Wednesday again! (#worksheetwed)

Pictures are an important part of websites. Many clients have great pictures to include, but you might not always know what the exact subject is. This is especially difficult if the client works in an industry you are not familiar with and you need to know what the picture is illustrating. I’ve created this worksheet for those of you in this situation, who need to know more about the  images or other media submitted by your client. It has spaces for a caption and how the client would like the image to be used. It would help with other media including video and audio.

Another good thing to talk with a client about is the alternate text for an image and the title they would like for the picture. This is especially helpful on WordPress websites.

I hope this worksheet helps you with website creation for clients,
whether they be small or large businesses.

Worksheet for organizing client pictures

Website Picture Worksheet

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Creating Websites for Clients

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Website Creation Worksheet

It’s Worksheet Wednesday again! (#worksheetwed)

Here’s a worksheet that might help if you are creating a website for your small business or if you create websites for clients.
It’s a starting point to see what direction the website might go.

Website Creation Worksheet

Website Creation Worksheet

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