Social media can be scary in the best of times, especially when you are:
Trying to figure out what to say.
Not really confident you know how to say it.
Putting you and your business “out there” online for the world to see.
Not to mention social media can be doubly scary when you are worried about the occasional “social media dream squasher” aka the Negative Nancy’s that surf the internet waves looking for their next big “reason to rant”.
Fears like this can cause even the most confident Social Media Maven to freeze up and shrink a little, and boy do I understand!
But I don’t want you to fall victim to their power. As a social media expert and one who has seen and dealt with countless “crazy” posts online I want to give you some tips and techniques to keep you confidently in the online networking mix, focusing on finding your next client or customer without worry.
[Tweet ” Tips and techniques to keep you confidently in the online networking mix.”]
6 Easy Techniques to Successfully Deal with Toxic People Online
First:Set boundaries and limits. When a toxic person shows up commenting on your blog post, in a thread on your Facebook business page, or anywhere else on social media limit yourself to one response at most. Don’t engage in a long back and forth debate about values, what your perspective is and why, as this will just waste your time and energy. Those who post toxic rants are not to be reasoned with and you should not even try.
Second: Take appropriate action. I love Periscopes ability to instantly “block” a troll who pops into your ‘scope with off-color comments. On Facebook as owner of your page and profile you have every ability to delete, block and report a post, and the same is true for every social media platform out there. If it is somewhere online where such action cannot be taken, such as in a LinkedIn Group post, there is usually a moderator you can advise of the situation. Then leave it up to them to decide what to do. Just by taking action you will feel more “in control”, less stressed about the situation, and more able to concentrate on the priority at hand – keeping your loyal customers happy and engaged online.
Third: Trust in the power of social groups. In my experience, most toxic posters get shut down by other followers. Most people don’t want to see these kinds of negative posts in their online business either. The more people that get involved the more positive posts will drown out the negative ones. Often the toxic poster gets driven away by the sheer crushing power of others posting, defending a toxic free internet on your behalf.
Fourth: Tell a friend. No, not a friend who will take up arms in your defence and rant post right back, but tell a friend in real life. Go to coffee and chat about how this problematic poster made you feel and just get it all out. Then you can ‘cheers’ to the fact that you are having a lovely day drinking coffee and chatting with a friend and be grateful this toxic poster brought you back to recognizing what is truly important in life.
Fifth: Let go of control. In the end we can’t control anything that is outside of our own body and mind. Know that you will stay positive and happy in the face of a person who’s actions might steal this from you. Know that your next big client is just around the corner ready to post a comment on how much they LOVED your free opt-in and can’t wait to read more of your stuff. And know that stressing over what we can’t control is much worse (usually) than the imagined problem if it ever really comes to pass in real life.
Sixth: Practice compassion. This one is a biggie because it can be very difficult to do. Practicing compassion means being compassionate to yourself as well as to the person doing the online ranting.
Being kind in this way includes:
Not negatively judging what you posted, nor your reaction to the toxic comments.
Not negatively judging your toxic commenter.
Having a belief in the fact that this person’s negativity derives from a mindset that deserves empathy, and then giving them some.
One of the best steps to practice that I have ever heard is to, “try creating a feeling of love towards yourself. Wish yourself happiness, and an end to your suffering. Wish yourself a life of joy and peacefulness. This won’t magically cure the pain, but it’s a good place to start.” As Leo Babauta so eloquently states in the blog Zen Habits
Finally, to read about a few more ways to handle toxic people online and off, check out Dr. Travis Bradberry’s very well written article here.
Still need to vent? Need some ideas or support to just “stay out of it” online? Join my LinkedIn group! There you will find business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as myself, in your exact situation ready to support you and lend an “ear”. Come visit us today!
Do you have a blog post sitting there waiting to be published that you want to “re-work” again?
Are you waiting for the perfect social media brainstorm?
Have you been working on your LinkedIn summary trying over and over to get it “just right” to fit the character count “just so”?
If the answer is yes to the above questions, or to any question that remotely resembles those then it’s time to stop my dear business owner. It’s time to stop, hit publish, click promote, and move on to the next step.
I give you full permission to say “done”!
Listen, we will always be tweaking and re-writing, and re-formatting our business ideas, goals, to-do’s and systems structure. This is an endless yet exciting process and one we get better at as we go. But the key here is: we only get better as we keep moving forward.
Getting stuck trying to write the perfect post, or craft the perfect connect request, or share the perfect viral video only keeps us spinning and delays the gold mine that is called: learning. We must try and make mistakes, try again and have successes in order to thrive in our businesses today.
[Tweet “3 steps to help you overcome perfectionism as you face a task you just can’t complete, today.”]
3 steps to help you overcome perfectionism as you face a task you just can’t complete, today
1. Take it one step at a time. Have you done all the steps in the program? Have you filled in all the major points in your post? Do you have a link and an image and given credit where credit is due? Whatever you are working on you know the steps to complete it. Write those down and then check them off. Know that once you have done all the “steps” you are golden and ready to hit print or post or publish so you can move on to the next best thing on your list.
2. Get a 2nd opinion. Not 3 opinions, not 10, just one other opinion from someone you trust. Take their edits, incorporate the ones you like, and leave the rest. Trust that this person did not steer you wrong (of course because you picked the right one to ask) and forge ahead with their blessing. If you need some extra oomph ask they give you a deadline or an “it’s done day” and a pep talk to see you through to making it happen.
3. Set a date. Set a date in the future when you can re-visit your work and edit/review/revise or revamp with new information after a bit of space. Do not hold your work captive until this time, but set it free to get comments, inspire others, and create market research of its own. Know and trust that when that future date comes you have permission to edit one more time, but then promise yourself it goes right back out to the real world! Setting a date can give you relief knowing that although it feels ‘not perfect’ you have a chance to make it so again in the future, but for now you save time and money by moving on.
So I’m calling everyone out: to all my fellow business owners and entrepreneurs who read my blogs: “Take the plunge and move on!”
What has you stuck today? What little piece of the puzzle keeps gnawing at you feeling incomplete? Need some inspiration or a pep talk to get you over it and ready to take the plunge to move forward? Join my LinkedIn group where all of us, myself included, will be there to cheer you on to the next step. ‘Cuz we all know there are many more exciting steps ahead!
I talk a lot about how to use Social Media for online marketing, but it can be very powerful for brick and mortar businesses as well!
Here are some quick, easy and instantly engage-worthy marketing ideas for your business that isn’t online, but still needs to show up there.
[Tweet “Quick, easy and instantly engage-worthy marketing ideas for your brick and mortar business.”]
Facebook Check-ins
As a brick and mortar business you are probably already on Facebook. Facebook business pages, while declining a bit in popularity due to Facebook algorithm changes, are still popular to get cheap advertising. But for something completely freeand fantastic at engaging your clients – incentivize the Facebook checkin. Advertise that any person who walks into your store and checks in on Facebook gets a 10% off coupon, or a half price entree, or a free dessert. The list goes on. Be as creative as you want to be! Because every time someone checks in, it tells a few hundred people that your business rocks. And that is a LOT of social proof for one small step of social media marketing.
Instagram Geo-tagging
Make it a part of the job requirement that your staff take a few pictures of today’s specials, sales, or other noteworthy events and send them out over Instagram. Make sure they geo tag them (their location services have to be turned on when they take the picture) when they upload them to your Instagram thread.
Are you a deli? Take a picture of the best looking sandwich of the day, geo tag it and send it out.
Are you a sit down restaurant? Take a picture of the daily specials board, geo tag it and voila.
Twitter Hashtags
Hashtags have many purposes and one that is certainly helpful for brick and mortar businesses is the searchability these tags can create by town or location. Tweet out some of your best pictures of the day, you could include food specials, sales, or employee of the month, but make sure to hashtag it with your city or town.
Are you a pizzeria? Hashtag those pictures of your wonderful looking (I can almost smell it!) pizza pies with your town name so people know where to find you easily and quickly.
YouTube Video Shorts
These 30 second or less videos can be huge for certain brick and mortar businesses because of how engaging they are for customers. Not to mention that because YouTube is a Google company, after only a few videos your search rankings will climb.
Are you a realtor? Whip out your smartphone and take some short videos around town (not to mention short videos of houses for sale). Tell your prospective buyers how awesome your town is! Why would someone want to pick up and move? Show them. Then upload them easily onto your YouTube channel.
P.S. This content can also be repurposed on Instagram or Facebook as well.
Instagram Hashtags
Instagram is made up of hashtags for popularity and searchability. Start searching the hashtags for pictures of your local area, or anything that relates to your business product.
Do people share pictures of their favorite homemade pizzas? If so and you run a pizza joint – comment and share the love.
Are you a bait and tackle store? Search out hashtags of lakes and rivers near you and comment on all the pictures people post of fish they catch. People LOVE to take pictures of their fish.
Are you a camping store? Search out hashtags of people traveling, camping, using their gear etc. Comment away.
There are many more ideas where these came from – and I’d be glad to help you generate more! Just join my LinkedIn group, tell me what premise-based business you run and I’ll come up with social media marketing ideas for you to get your wheels turning and and your social media message spinning. I look forward to seeing you there.
As a social media expert I feel it’s my job to be the bearer of… “less than ideal for busy entrepreneurs” news.
Did you know that the new trend for consistent blogging is to be blogging 2-3 times a week? With blog posts from 600-2000 words each this can be a formidable task of content production. A task I have been trying to keep up with myself, so believe ME I feel your pain!
[Tweet “The new trend for consistent blogging is to blog 2-3 times a week? Here’s how to do it.”]
One way I have been accomplishing this is through inviting more guest posters to my blog. This brings variety, a fresh voice, some new eyes through other people’s lists, and expands my content for my viewers to areas that I might not be as well versed. It’s a win for me and a win for my readers.
Though the demand for that much writing is stressful, I will say that having all of that content at my fingertips is helpful when used the correct way. This content can be repurposed, reused and recycled on all of the other platforms on which, busy online business owners, need to be seen and heard.
That’s what I’m going to focus on today: how to repurpose your content so it keeps working for you long after you’ve written it the first time. It’s time to be efficient people!
If you are a business owner who can hire a team of writers – raise your hand and then get the heck outta here because this post is for all of us “one-stop-shoppers” who do it all, juggle it all, jack of all trades entrepreneurs with maybe none or one – two team members to keep it all afloat.
So let’s begin!
10 of my favorite ways to repurpose, reuse and recycle content you have already written.
1. Find the post you wrote that was just a list. Take each item of the list and expand them into individual social media posts each with their own image and mini “lesson”. OR use each of these items in the list as a future blog post topic. When you dive deep on an idea or topic you become more of an expert and your reader gets so much value, they will be praising your knowledge in the comment stream for sure.
2. Take a series of blog posts and turn them into a digital download. Cruise through your blog titles and look for a series of posts that complement each other well. I’m sure you have from three to a dozen on a similar topic or topics that all feed into each other. For example how many times have I talked about LinkedIn on this blog? I could take all of those and turn them into a clean downloadable product that would teach, educate, and have impact when all put together in one place for easy reading.
There are many ways you could structure this:
Create a PDF with some branded graphics.
Add a few transitions from post to post or “chapter to chapter” and make it into an E-Book.
Make it a freebie give away to encourage opt-ins.
Give it away as a bonus during a webinar.
Hire someone on Fiverr to read it and upload it as a podcast.
3. Choose one of your most popular blog posts that shows you teaching an idea or concept step by step. Grab an image for each of these steps, add the text to explain each image and upload it to Slideshare. From there you can link to your Slideshare on social media and people can share it from Slideshare to their social media. Thus creating a whole new way to engage with an audience and a new market to expand into.
4. For a quick turnaround on #3, take those slides, edit them a bit and turn that into an infographic! Repost and reuse this infographic in email marketing, as a social media posts on Pinterest and Twitter, or add it to your worksheets or downloads for new customers.
5. Turn your top 5 most popular blog posts into an email auto-responder or newsletter campaign. Grab new prospect clients just after they opt-in and lead them through your best content. Don’t wait for them to find it on their own, show them!
6. Syndicate your best blog posts onto popular sites that allow you to repost your stuff as-is. No need to re-write or re-format anything, just copy and paste your post into a new home.
7. Take your best blog post and turn it into a series of questions. Post these in LinkedIn groups to promote discussion, grab some market research, and see who engages and why. You might find a few new ideas to explore or a few new prospect clients to reach out to!
8. Turn your Slideshare, or your series of posts, into a video and post on YouTube. Since YouTube and Google are fast friends you will gain some status in search results and potentially nab another large audience who likes to take in content in a different way.
9. Check out Papyrus. It’s a fantastic site that will turn your blog into an E-book for you! I haven’t tested it out yet, but from what I can tell it is an almost one-stop-shop for E-book creation, cover art, e-commerce and more. Check out the full site here
10. Go back to the beginning. Did you start your blog or social media threads years ago? Go back and see what you wrote about when you first started. I’m sure it was important to your business why, but did you explain each topic as well as you could now? Have you learned a few more tricks and tips of your trade that you could add? Take one of those old posts and either re-write it completely and re-post it, OR add an addendum and talk about all the new insights you have gained since you started. People love to see growth, and when you show them that you have grown and changed with the times they trust you as more of an expert in the your field.
So whatcha gonna try first busy business owner? Keep this list handy, and every time you feel stuck for something new, just pull this post out and repurpose, reuse, or recycle something you already have just waiting to be used!
Wondering the best way to engage in LinkedIn groups? Need help deciding how exactly to recycle your favorite content? Join me in my LinkedIn Group and ask! Myself and others who are in your exact same boat are there to help you through to find the perfect answer for you.
Today we are in Twitter and I want to show you a fairly new feature in Twitter.
We’re going to go to my notifications. When you get a notification, if you want to respond to somebody, you have a couple of options. You can retweet, you can reply, you can just tweet at them, but you can also retweet with a comment.
Check out the video to see more about this feature.
It’s a great way to authentically connect with your Twitter followers and make it easier for people to see the conversation that you’re replying to.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel to see more videos!
When you sit down to write your social media posts how do you feel?
Are you just going through the motions?
Are you just trying to “get it done”?
Are your posts just boring and informative? (Yes informative can be good at times, but not ALL the time)
OR
Do your followers FEEL your passion in your posts?
If you want people to be excited to pay you money (YOU DO!) then they need to know you’re excited too. You’ve got to shine the love for what you’re doing and make that come through in your posting.
[Tweet “You’ve got to shine the love for what you’re doing and make that come through in your posting.”]
There are a few really easy ways to make this happen and bring some color, vibrancy and passion to your posts. Let’s get started!
How to make your love for what you do shine through in your posts.
First:Watch this Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy. She is a scientist who studies body language. Our body language, even how we sit and stand, affects our brains positively and negatively. I know social media posting can be scary. It’s scary because we are opening ourselves up to the world. So before you sit down to do the “chore” of social media. Follow some of her suggestions and get in a more confident, positive state of mind. It will come through – science has proven it!
Second:Make a conscious decision to open up. Reminisce about the past. Talk to yourself, into a recorder, or just start typing and type notes about how you got started in your business.
Talk about:
The epic struggle prior to the epiphany “this is what I must do” (every entrepreneur I have talked to has this story).
The epiphany and what that was like.
The epic struggle after the epiphany to finally move to doing what you really loved to do.
This information is your business “Why” and this is content that you can come back to again, and again, and again to light the fire for yourself and those who need what you have to sell.
Third: Use prompts! It never hurts to have help to come up with an imaginative topic to talk about, a prompt that will spark an idea worth posting, a topic to get you started on opening up. Prompt books and prompt web sites are everywhere. Find one that is focused on your niche or one that is generic to all business and use it! For an excellent prompt book that is a quick digital download that I recommend to my clients click here.
Fourth: Start to collect a list of quotes that inspire you. When in doubt post one of these quotes, use an image with the quote, or tell your fans why it hits home for you so well. Quotes have one of the highest response and engagement rates of all of social media (along with lists and memes and anything about puppies or babies really). Use these to get in the mood to post passionately or use them to create their own type of passionate post, either way just use them!
Fifth: Listen to music! Get your blood pumping! Run around your office or kitchen or living room. Have a dance party and dance with the dog. Get to laughing and be happy and ready to rock the most passionate, authentic social media post ever created. Helloooo Viral.
Ok so it’s not a perfect system, but it WILL work. If you have the right attitude anything is possible. Which you already know, because truly that is how you got into business in the first place isn’t it?
Do you have questions on how to get started, or just want someone to read your post to make sure it is “passionate” enough? Join my LinkedIn group! There you will have access to me and all my group members’ authentic opinions to get you going and keep you going collecting profits in your business niche.
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