Business Lessons from Hanging with Hoda

by | Jan 18, 2016 | Uncategorized

 

businesshoda

This past Friday I spent the morning hanging out with Hoda Kotb, of Today Show fame. I wanted to share this story with you and talk about how this all came about and what it’s doing for my business!

By now most of you know Christina Daves, my Co-Host in my Get Seen Be Heard interview show. Let me take you back a few years.

I listen to EVERYTHING I can find about LinkedIn. I wasn’t born knowing this stuff, and I like to hear what every single LinkedIn expert is saying! I learn something from everyone, and then I can determine if it’s something I can implement and incorporate in my teachings. So I’m listening to a webinar, and Christina was the guest. She was talking about how important LinkedIn can be for your Public Relations efforts. As she was talking, I was thinking “every word that’s coming out of this woman’s mouth is something I would say”. I LOVED the interview, and reached out to her after the interview to tell her that.

backstageI was working on Portraits and Profits at the time and we were looking for someone to facilitate the PR piece of the training. Now remember, I didn’t know Christina AT ALL, but went with my gut. She loved the project and agreed to be a part of it! Portraits and Profits doesn’t have anything currently on the calendar, but Christina and I became fast friends and we’ve been working together on projects ever since. Oh and we have some fun too! Check us out backstage at the Rockefeller Center Christmas Spectacular with the camel.

Business Lesson 1 – JUST ASK.

I reached out to a perfect stranger, introduced myself and asked her to be a part of my project. She agreed.
Since that time, Christina and I discovered how much more powerful our individual work was when we combined our efforts. We started bringing each other in on private client projects, she does her PR magic, feeds me names of journalists and publications she’s targeting, and I incorporate it into the social media strategy. MAGIC happens folks, I’m telling you. Our clients are getting amazing results.

Which led to Get Seen Be Heard. Working privately with us is an investment, it’s a ton of one-on-one time with us both. We wanted to find a way to bring these techniques to more people! #GetSeenBeHeard was born and we’re interviewing AMAZING smart successful people each week. They’re sharing their secrets on how they’ve grown their businesses, and we’re loving every minute of it. Join us live on Blab each week! Check either Christina’s profile or my profile to subscribe and get to chat with us both directly.

When Christina called me a few months ago to tell me she landed an interview with Hoda Kotb, I was THRILLED for her. She works her tail off to get these kinds of opportunities for her clients and I loved that she landed this one for herself. For months I saw her planning this event, getting amazing sponsors, pulling together the event of a lifetime.

About two weeks ago I said to her “I want to come”. I wanted to go, not only to be there to experience the amazing event, but to support Christina. I had (and still have!) no idea how or if this would benefit MY business, but I knew I had to be there. So I offered to come and do all the social media for the event, for free. Christina went into action, getting me a front row seat next to Hoda’s mom, getting me unlimited access to all of the individual events, and getting me my first press pass.

And it was unbelievably amazing. Christina knocked the interview out of the park, and I was running around like an ant taking pictures and posting them all over PR for Anyone’s social media sites. Somehow, I was the only person allowed to post, everyone else had to repost MY stuff! The event was held in the Capital One corporate offices, the Capital One social media team worked through me to get their stuff posted. The Virginia Tech people worked through me to get their stuff posted. The other sponsors worked through me to get their stuff posted. It was SO MUCH FUN.

And Hoda was a doll. As was her mom and her team. They were so fantastic and warm and friendly. Here are a couple of pics.

hoda       hodamom

Business Lesson 2: Be generous with your expertise, even when you’re not sure how it’s going to pay off!

And then my girl Christina. Holy Macaroni. She ROCKED the interview with Hoda. She came up with a big idea and made it happen. Christina and Hoda are both graduates of Virginia Tech, and she found that commonality and made it win-win for them both. She created an event in Hoda’s book tour that is sure to stand out from the rest, and got to know and interview Hoda personally. Amazingness. How did she land this gig? She asked for it.

Check her out.

interview

Business Lesson 3 – ASK for what you want.

Yup, it bears repeating. If you don’t ask, it’s a no. So in your business, what big dream do you have? Who can you ask today to take a step towards making it happen?

I want to know! Comment below, tell me what your big ask is this week.

And if I can help YOU, just ask.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Social Media?

by | Apr 28, 2014 | Uncategorized

 

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of “Social Media”?

Do you think…

  • “It’s only for twenty-somethings ‘selfies’.”
  • “Facebook is the only way I keep up with my grandkids!”
  • “Instagram…Insta-what?”
  • “Tweet, twits, it’s just too much at once!”

Actually internet users over the age of 55 are driving the growth of social networking. (Nielsen Social Media Report)

“The fastest growing segment of social media users is now adults aged 45-55,” says (social media today)

And that means there is a huge opportunity out there for women my age and older who are transitioning from kids to empty nest, creating a 2nd (or 3rd) chapter in their lives and careers, to jump into the social media stream feet first! Heels and panty-hose thankfully optional.

Social networking, including blogs, account for over 25% of Americans time spent online and as you savvily create this new career, or revive an old one that you loved, this is a gold mine of time and attention ready for YOU to use to your advantage.

“77% of buyers are more likely to buy from a company if it’s CEO/leadership uses social media.” (war of words)

People research, discover, read and engage via social media order to make decisions about what to buy, where to eat, and whom to trust. No matter your business or service I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the best way to establish expert status in your field is by generating a solid presence online.

I have talked about how to do this on LinkedIn and on Twitter. Really, any platform you choose to focus on will benefit you and your business.

LinkedIn is more heavily trafficked by the 45 and over crowd, even outpacing Facebook. It is where business goes to do business, with the highest percentage of users having college degrees than any other platform.

  • It is where you can stake your claim on what you know and why people should listen.
  • It is where you can research freely amongst peers to form smart marketing decisions.
  • It is where you can find future partnerships for your ventures.
  • It is where you can gain the confidence to finally pursue your passion.

Being in transition is a fantastic, albeit scary, place to be. Plant your feet firmly in Social Media and gain strong business footing as you step across the threshold into a new life.

Your business success awaits!

What is Social Media Optimization?

by | Mar 12, 2014 | entrepreneur

We all know we need to play nice with Google to have the favor returned in the online world.

There are two ways you can work to do that as you build your business on the web: SMO and SEO.

Today we’re going to tackle the basics of SMO, how it can help you and what to do about it!

SMO is Social Media Optimization.

Google tracks how many shares, comments, re-posts, clicks and link backs to your website/content are done across the web. High numbers establishes “social proof” that you are an expert in your field and thus Google recognizes this and rewards it with higher ranking. You can easily optimize this process by helping your content be visible and easily “re-purposed” across many social networks. You want to continually be feeding the Google Beast! Here’s how…

Steps to increase SMO:

  • Expert, expert, expert. Show that you either know what you are talking about or have great resources that point to others in your field that do. Hopefully a mixture of both! You want people to see your content, your website, or your blog as the one-stop-shop for information they might need relating to your industry topic.
  • Do some keyword homework, and use those same keywords across all social media sites. This brings consistency to your online presence, and helps Google present you to the right people.
  • Engage with your audience. Ask for comments, respond to comments, set up social share buttons on every post/page, and then ‘push’ these posts out to all your social media platforms. Make it EASY for your readers to engage. Just like the rest of us if your reader is more comfortable on LinkedIn then make sure you are sending your content there to be seen and commented on from the comfort of their own ‘home’.
  • The nitty gritty. Keep your title tags short and shareable, make it twitter friendly! And as we all have heard a thousand times… A picture is worth a thousand words. Use them!
  • A quick tip. Finally there is some research that states certain platforms are more optimization friendly, notably Google+ and LinkedIn. Both will show up very high in your search rankings. Make it a goal to define a presence on one or both of these platforms in the next few months of
    2014!

[Tweet “5 easy steps to increase your SMO, every time.”]

There you have it…SMO basics, pick one step to try this week and make it happen! Which one will you choose?

As always I’m here to help.

Want a free mini Social Media Diagnostic? I’m doing 10 this month! Email strategy@socialmediaandpr.com to apply.

Photo credit: Bob Massa on Flickr