The MUST-HAVE Mindset for Social Media

by | Dec 19, 2015 | guest posts

 

Guest post by Simone Craig

I have to admit, I love Social Media. I’ve connected with some wonderful colleagues, influencers and ideal clients there. Thanks to Karen Y’s tutelage with LinkedIn, I enjoyed almost immediate results by getting a new client within a week of updating my profile. And of course, the awesome Twitter. It’s incredible how one succinct message in less than 140 characters can serve to inspire, connect with like-minded people, and share our business’ unique message with the world. And, last but not least, my beloved Periscope. I love the direct interaction with people. It’s helped me to decrease the time it takes to build the know, like and trust factor with potential clients. Every time I scope my email list increases and I’ve generated sales for my digital products and private coaching as well.

Why is social media so good to me? The answer’s revealed in the first sentence of this article… I love it. It’s the mindset I have in my approach to it that has set the foundation for my results with it.

Here’s the thing…

We can receive the best social media strategies in the world but unless we have the right mindset, we won’t enjoy the results we want from the time we invest in Social Media. The Must-Have Mindset for Social Media is to engage with a positive Emotion-set.

[Tweet “The Must-Have Mindset for Social Media is to engage with a positive Emotion-set. @simonecraig”]

Emotion-set is a term I coined that speaks to how you predominantly feel. It’s said that one of the key ingredients to success is having a positive mindset. And there’s some truth to that, of course. But it’s not the complete truth.

What I’ve found to be more powerful and effective towards success than a positive mindset, is a positive Emotion-set. What emotion or set of emotions are you set to? Feeling positive emotion during your time on Social Media is vital to having success with it. The powerful Law of Attraction tells us that like attracts like — like energy attracts like energy. So if you want Social Media to bring you sales, but you mostly feel frustrated by it, and your thoughts about Social Media are that you don’t like it, you don’t want to be doing it and you don’t care what other people are saying in just 140 characters, then things won’t likely go well for you.

Your time is yours and your business is yours. It’s 100% your choice what you do with it. What if it were possible to enjoy interacting on Social Media AND makes money in your business? Sound good? Here are 3 ways how:

  1. Set an intention for how you want to feel after spending time on SM.
  1. Bring heart, passion and excitement to every interaction Social Media.
  1. Only post something that excites and delights you. Every time you ReTweet something or Reply to someone, infuse it with joy, excitement and kindness.

When you make this emotional shift in your approach to Social Media, people will FEEL that and take notice. They’ll want to hear more from you. They’ll want to stay connected with you in some way. They’ll share your message with others. And, it can increase the chances of them wanting to buy from you.

In the comments, tell me one mindset shift you will make related to your time on social media. Then share how it feels!

Good luck!

 

simoneSimone Craig shifted her mindset in 2007 to deliberately create over $7,000 a month in her first business, after only 15 months, by leveraging the Law of Attraction. She helps entrepreneurs manifest quick money wins with her Free 3-page PDF report: How to Manifest a Money Win in less than 24 Hours. Click here to download her Free Report.

 

Create Pictures That Sell Your Brand

by | Jul 19, 2015 | guest posts


Guest post by Larissa Rolley

You know how when you have a few minutes to kill, you find yourself scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat? Scroll, scroll, scroll, and then you stop. The image pulls you in, gives you pause. It evokes an emotional connection and you find yourself responding. You remember other images by the same person that created the same pause. You begin to comment. You find yourself looking for their posts. When they post about a new program, you register. They have converted you!

The photos you choose to use are telling your brand story visually. You only want to post pictures that further your brand story. Remember, you are showcasing your brand in the most beautiful way possible.

[Tweet “The photos you choose to use are telling your brand story visually. @larissarolley”]

How can you have fabulous eye-catching images?

You can hire a professional photographer, look for stock OR with a few basics you can DIY following your own inspiration to create compelling unique images that showcase your brand. It doesn’t matter if you use a DSLR or a phone.

A few simple guidelines before we get into what you are going to photograph.

Keep your workflow simple and easy:

  1. Lighting: Shoot with lots of outdoor light. This will give you bright photos with clean, crisp colors.
  2. Composition: You can research plenty on google about the law of thirds. Essentially, you want to imagine a grid over your photo that divides it vertically and horizontally in thirds. For a square image for instagram, it would be like a tic-tac-toe board. The compositional elements are at the intersection of 2 lines, or follow along one of the lines.
  3. Minimal filters: You want to keep your process as simple as possible, so I don’t recommend relying on a lot filters. (if it really suits your brand, OK)

Now, what are you going to photograph?

Keep in mind that your photos are the first step of the conversation with your followers and are an extension of your brand. They are the conversation starter and you want to show up through your photos authentically. You want to communicate your brand values through images.

Use these guiding questions to create campaigns that convert:

  • What benefit does your customer get?
  • How does your service or product make her feel?
  • What does your ideal customer want to see?
  • How can I help her through her day?
  • What does she wants to read? (hint: you can include type or words in your photo).
  • How can you represent these things in images?

As you answer these questions, they should all be in line with your brand’s values, your WHY. Create and post more photos of your WHY than your WHAT and you will be presenting real value to your followers. Now, go brainstorm visual ideas that communicate your WHY and start taking (and posting) more pictures.

Larissa RolleyLarissa is an artist and photographer helping make emotional connections visually, and connecting cultures through creativity and travel.  www.LarissaRolley.com. 

Curated & styled stock photos for solopreneurs. Tell a better visual story of your business. – Follow here to sign up – launching soon!

Fess Up! You Have No Marketing Budget

by | Jul 12, 2015 | guest posts

 

Guest post by Beth Donalds

Fact…Very few small businesses have dollars allocated to marketing in their budget. And if they do it is a calculated number (probably based on a % of sales) with no real strategy backing it up.

Why? Because every business is different and unique and many of us really don’t understand how it works. How do we know are doing it “right”? Are we being effective? How do we start?

[Tweet “5 simple steps to creating a Marketing Budget @BethDonalds“]

So here are the 5 simple steps to creating a Marketing Budget:

Sales

All roads start with sales. What is your sales strategy for the current year? What are your pillars of revenue? Where do you see the growth? How much? Spend a lot of time on this…make it is detailed as possible.

Customer

Tell me about your customer for each revenue stream. In detail…age, gender, demographic, etc. You can’t market to someone if you don’t know who they are.

Focus

Based on your sales strategy and your customer profile, decide where you want to focus your time, dollars and energies. What makes sense for your business?

Plan

Now how do you reach that targeted customer? What marketing tools will you use? Social media, direct mail, electronic communications…? There is no right answer.

Dollars

Now that you have the components, figure out the dollars. What is the reward vs. risk? How much can you afford?

Now you have a Marketing Budget that is more than just a number. Now go and Execute!

 

beth donaldsBeth Donalds provides big business solutions for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Equal parts CFO, marketing strategist and operations guru, Beth combines 30 years of corporate finance and operations experience with a practical approach to resolving your business challenges. She provides the know-how and hands-on support needed to improve day-to-day operations, shape sales and marketing strategy, and implement tactical plans to drive bottom-line results. To improve the health of your business, contact Beth at beth@businessdoctornj.com or visit http://www.businessdoctornj.com.

Write a Book, Run a Business: Social Media Advice From Author Bloggers

by | Jul 5, 2015 | guest posts

 

Guest post by Kate Traci

You have a 75% better chance of getting a book published if you already have a thriving social media platform. At least that’s the word on the street for first time authors, and truly authors in general these days.

A social media foundation filled with followers takes time to build, as every good business person knows as well. Authors are generally told to start building that foundation at least 3 years ahead of their book release (or hope-to-be book release date). Yes three years!

As a business owner and entrepreneur you already know the power of the platform. You are probably in the thick of it: engaging prospects, finding fans, and partnering with more powerful people in your niche to grow your reach.

My business partner and I at bloggingyourbook.com teach authors the same, but there is so much resistance there! Authors want the book to speak for itself, they write so much each day the thought of writing more words seems almost impossible. Often they don’t acknowledge the power of the platform and say “Oh I will just self publish.” But an author is actually a mini-entrepreneur in training. I’ve never met a fiction author who wouldn’t want to support themselves solely by writing books, and as every entrepreneur knows, if no one knows about you you won’t make any money.

So at Blogging Your Book we approach “building a platform” from a different angle in order to entice and cajole first time authors into seeing and doing what they don’t really want to do.

[Tweet “Authors social media advice: build you foundation and find your fans. @katetraci”].

First: Keep it simple!

Pick one platform and stick to it. We teach that blogging is the #1 spot to tackle first for authors as it establishes their presence in multiple ways.

  • A blog showcases the authors background, personality and life which every fan wants to know.
  • A blog establishes the author’s ability to write, their genre and quality of their book.
  • A blog also works with an author’s natural talents of long-form writing. Which is key when consistency is the name of the game.

 

So how does that translate to business owners? Pick one platform that showcases your natural talents, be it Instagram (photography), Twitter (short witty phrases), or Facebook (connecting with everyone as a friend). Because when you need to be creating and posting consistently, you want to like it more than just a little bit.

 

Second: When in doubt use a prompt!

Prompts are big in the writing world for many reasons.

  1. Prompts are helpful because they assist a writer in developing their creativity and idea generation. Which IS a muscle that needs to be exercised or it does atrophy.
  2. Prompts also take some of the fear out of “What if I say something dumb?” or “I have no idea how to connect with my followers today.” Looking at a daily prompt takes a lot of the pressure off of what to say and how to say it on social media.
  3. Prompts clear writers block. Writers block is real and very distressing when all you want as a writer is to tell that story…but you can’t! It’s stuck and won’t come together, the characters aren’t working, the timeline is off, something is A prompt can be a way to keep those juices flowing, or start them up again, just by turning away from the problem at hand and writing about something completely different and unrelated.

Translation for business owners? Get help – use social media prompts! For a few years I worked with clients who just could never think of (nor did they want to) a thing to say on social media. So I created a prompt book for everyone who has ever had that issue. You can find it here. It’s an easy download and has enough prompt ideas for every day of the year! You can pick and choose or go day by day. Never feel stuck again.

 

Third: Have a plan, be consistent and use a social media calendar to schedule your posts

For wannabe professional writers who read about real life professional writers, the advice is the same: don’t wait until the muse strikes, keep writing! Plan ahead, do a little everyday and create a schedule for yourself. Just like everything else, even writing a book, needs attention at least 15 minutes a day to see progress happen. Some famous authors say: “Write one page a day”. Others swear by: “Write for 45 minutes a day.” Whatever the habit, whichever rule works for you: use it for social media too. At Blogging Your Book we teach how to schedule posts ahead of time, just getting started with titles and tags goes a long way toward getting that post finished faster.

Translation for business owners? A plan always helps. Just writing down topics ahead of time and scheduling them into a calendar starts your brain working on the topic way ahead of time. Jot down notes here or there. So when you finally sit down to write that blog post or newsletter, the bones are already there. Taking the time to jot down Tweets in a spread sheet as you go makes it a hell of a lot simpler, and allows you to save time with bulk uploaders and schedulers like social oomph or hootsuite. Efficiency is key when you run a business AND when you write a book. See Karen’s great blog post HERE (link) on editorial calendars for some great advice on how to get started.

 

To all authors and entrepreneurs my advice is the same: start building your platform today! With Karen’s expert help there’s no shortage of ideas and advice to get you moving one step at a time.

And if writing is not your thing… hire one! There are a ton of starving writers out there that would love to help you talk about you and your biz.

Good luck!

kate traciThis is a guest post from Kate Traci.
Kate Traci is a California raised beach girl at heart who now finds herself residing under the hot desert sun. Thankfully her sister has a pool. A writer by love she believes the internet is a place to be heard and started on an adventure that lead her to create KateTweets and Blogging Your Book where she helps others spread their amazing message online and off. Trying daily to coax clever words, her German Shepherd to fetch, and herself to the gym, Kate can be found patiently waiting for her next adventure under the star-filled desert sky.