There is no denying that the popularity of social media is increasing by the day. For sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (herein known as "The Big Three"), the fastest growing demographic consists of users 35 years and older. Though social media was once considered a fad for kids, it has evolved into a viable marketing opportunity for business.
For the casual user, social media is a way to connect with friends and family. For the business user, social media works by sharing compelling content to capture the attention of your target audience. When you do this well, you can count on generating website traffic, client leads and even media attention.
"The Big Three" revolve around the concept of a status update. When you update your status, everyone in your network can view what you have to say. This is where the real opportunity lies. Instead of updating your status to report what you're having for dinner or that it's time to pick up your kids, share interesting content and watch the magic of social media unfold.
Type of Content to Share on Social Media Channels
1. Your new blog posts
2. Someone else's blog post
3. An article you've written
4. An article from somewhere else
5. A video demonstration
6. A funny or controversial video
7. Before and after photos of work you've done
8. Humorous or inspiring photos
9. Client success stories/case studies
10. Free ebook
11. Special report
12. White paper
13. Upcoming event announcement
14. Live reports from an event you are currently attending
15. Book reviews/recommendations
16. Recommended products
17. Recommended services
18. Tips for doing something better
19. How-to suggestions
20. A series of related posts
21. Recent media coverage you have received
22. Inspirational advice (preferably your own, motivational quotes are over-used online)
23. Forward someone else's update (with proper credit attribution)
24. Breaking news alerts
25. Leads for opportunities (media, clients, etc.)
26. Requests for participation (guest posts on your blog, speaker for an event you're hosting, etc.)
27. Interesting photo from a recent event
28. Teleseminar/Webinar invitation
29. Contest announcements
30. Special sales, offers and discounts (delivered sparingly)
31. Request for audience feedback
32. A compelling question you want answered
33. Anything offered for free
34. Insider tips that people won't find anywhere else
35. Your opinion on just about anything with target audience appeal
Secrets to Success
1. Content should appeal to your target audience and provide value.
Also, it doesn't always have to be directly related to what you do. For example, a mortgage broker might share community resources, local event announcements and family-related tips. This type of information would likely be more appealing to the broker's target audience than current interest rates and articles about mortgage insurance (though you can occasionally include those too). The point is to become a valued resource.
2. Follow the 90/10 rule.
Avoid selling online and you will achieve more sales. That's right; we're all tired of being sold to. When you provide value, you build loyalty and trust. It's fine to include sales offers up to 10% of the time, but make sure you are primarily serving up useful content.
3. Use compelling titles and descriptions.
You only have a limited amount of space to share information which means that a good title can make the difference between a reader who clicks through or completely ignores your post.
4. Track your results.
Pay attention to user response. If you're receiving comments and your content is being forwarded to others (for example, retweeting on Twitter), that is evidence that your efforts are working. Also, your network should be growing steadily as a result of the value you're providing.
5. Use links wisely.
When you share compelling content, it provides an opportunity to link back to your website or blog. This is great for building website traffic. However, not every post needs to have a link. Mix up your posts so that some simply offer something short and sweet. You can also shorten links and track the number of click-throughs with a service like http://bit.ly.
6. Be consistent.
You will get the best results from marketing content through social media by participating on a regular basis. Ideally you should share something every day, even multiple times per day, to stay visible. You can automate some of your updates with services like http://ping.fm, http://socialoomph.com and http://hootsuite.com. But don't automate everything! Keep reading...
7. Engage with your audience.
Social media involves a two-way conversation. It's not just about shoving data out into your network and waiting to reap the rewards. Reply to people who comment, forward and share useful content from others and make sure you have a human presence in social media land.
8. Build a social media plan.
You can venture into social media haphazardly or you can form a plan that makes sense for your business. A plan should identify your target audience, include a strategy for ongoing content generation, should identify frequency of updates and indicate the amount of time and resources you are going to allocate to managing your social media strategy.
9. Implement a 30-day challenge.
Use the suggestions outlined here and focus your efforts for 30 days. The results should be obvious. If they aren't, then there is something amiss with your strategy. Ask others for input or solicit the help of a social media expert.
There is opportunity for every kind of business to benefit from social media. You simply need to find the strategy that works for you
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
THE KEY TO OUTSELLING YOUR COMPETITION
Imagine you just obtained a business loan to open up your own storefront in a popular shopping center, prime real estate.
However, just two shops down is a business that’s been around for thirty years and they sell the same products you do.
How can you compete with a business that is established and whose products are identical to yours?
This scenario is identical to a new online business professional who is just starting their business over the Internet, except instead of just one competitor you have thousands. For that reason you have to know how to compete and how to be the best you can be when it comes to your niche. The only way to do this is through understanding and researching your competition, and creating a following of your own.
With more than 6 million people utilizing search engines on a daily basis, you have the potential to earn hundreds of dollars in just one day, and that is just though the proper utilization of SEO tactics. The right content for your page can mean the difference between the first page of results (above all your competition) and the last page, where no one will know you even exist.
Take a look at the content of your competitor’s site, and (without copying copy written material!) create content related to your products and niche that offers more information and more connection with the consumer.
The creation of a strong splash page and the incorporation of a strong autoresponse system is the perfect way to keep clients that you have and increase your subscriber list. Who would you rather do business with, the business that sends you offers monthly or the business that you have to track down to find some sort or deal?
Precisely, you want to be the business that stays in touch with your clients and builds a rapport with those who are interested in your site. Taking your site to the consumer, rather than having them search for you, is being competitive.
While these are just a few ways to boost your presence among consumers you have to think about how you can get the upper hand over your competition constantly. Like young children competing perhaps, you have to stay on your toes and forge a true relationship with your consumers.
So, once your new store is set up and open for business put yourself in the shoes of the consumer, that is the only way to compete with your competition, and to win!
However, just two shops down is a business that’s been around for thirty years and they sell the same products you do.
How can you compete with a business that is established and whose products are identical to yours?
This scenario is identical to a new online business professional who is just starting their business over the Internet, except instead of just one competitor you have thousands. For that reason you have to know how to compete and how to be the best you can be when it comes to your niche. The only way to do this is through understanding and researching your competition, and creating a following of your own.
With more than 6 million people utilizing search engines on a daily basis, you have the potential to earn hundreds of dollars in just one day, and that is just though the proper utilization of SEO tactics. The right content for your page can mean the difference between the first page of results (above all your competition) and the last page, where no one will know you even exist.
Take a look at the content of your competitor’s site, and (without copying copy written material!) create content related to your products and niche that offers more information and more connection with the consumer.
The creation of a strong splash page and the incorporation of a strong autoresponse system is the perfect way to keep clients that you have and increase your subscriber list. Who would you rather do business with, the business that sends you offers monthly or the business that you have to track down to find some sort or deal?
Precisely, you want to be the business that stays in touch with your clients and builds a rapport with those who are interested in your site. Taking your site to the consumer, rather than having them search for you, is being competitive.
While these are just a few ways to boost your presence among consumers you have to think about how you can get the upper hand over your competition constantly. Like young children competing perhaps, you have to stay on your toes and forge a true relationship with your consumers.
So, once your new store is set up and open for business put yourself in the shoes of the consumer, that is the only way to compete with your competition, and to win!
Friday, October 7, 2011
YOUR WINNING TEAM
Periodically I hear the term "solopreneur" to describe
professionals and micro-business entrepreneurs, and I
appreciate whoever coined the phrase because for many
professionals, it feels like we are in business "solo" --
all by ourselves. The truth, of course, is very different.
Every successful salesperson, doctor, writer, consultant or
entrepreneur works with a huge team of colleagues, and we do
even better when we recognize and appreciate the members of
our team, whether they work in our offices, or support us in
some less direct way.
As you read this, I'll be in Tennessee meeting with some of
the best, brightest, and most interesting people I know. Our
focus is to share ideas and information, to support each
other, solve problems and make our lives and our businesses
even richer. Does it cost a few dollars? Of course. Is it
worth it? ABSOLUTELY!
This week, invite two or three of your most successful
colleagues to lunch. Talk about your situation and give away
your best ideas, your best skills, your best insights. It's
a way of building trust and investing in the relationship so
you can, in turn, ask for their help in building your own
business. I am a huge believer in masterminds. I am a huge
advocate of winning teams!
If you would like a personal coach to help you build your
business, get one! I have a few openings this fall, and
there are thousands of highly skilled coaches with precisely
the expertise you need. Find and use a coach! Every winning
team is well-coached and you deserve nothing less.
Quotes of the Week
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." -- Theodore Roosevelt
"The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The
great opportunity is where you are." -- John Burroughs
"Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a
distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." -- Thomas Carlyle
"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore
they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation
after generation." -- Pearl S. Buck
professionals and micro-business entrepreneurs, and I
appreciate whoever coined the phrase because for many
professionals, it feels like we are in business "solo" --
all by ourselves. The truth, of course, is very different.
Every successful salesperson, doctor, writer, consultant or
entrepreneur works with a huge team of colleagues, and we do
even better when we recognize and appreciate the members of
our team, whether they work in our offices, or support us in
some less direct way.
As you read this, I'll be in Tennessee meeting with some of
the best, brightest, and most interesting people I know. Our
focus is to share ideas and information, to support each
other, solve problems and make our lives and our businesses
even richer. Does it cost a few dollars? Of course. Is it
worth it? ABSOLUTELY!
This week, invite two or three of your most successful
colleagues to lunch. Talk about your situation and give away
your best ideas, your best skills, your best insights. It's
a way of building trust and investing in the relationship so
you can, in turn, ask for their help in building your own
business. I am a huge believer in masterminds. I am a huge
advocate of winning teams!
If you would like a personal coach to help you build your
business, get one! I have a few openings this fall, and
there are thousands of highly skilled coaches with precisely
the expertise you need. Find and use a coach! Every winning
team is well-coached and you deserve nothing less.
Quotes of the Week
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." -- Theodore Roosevelt
"The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The
great opportunity is where you are." -- John Burroughs
"Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a
distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." -- Thomas Carlyle
"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore
they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation
after generation." -- Pearl S. Buck
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
REPUTATION WINS CUSTOMERS
Definition: 'A Sales Legend is a sales person who stands above the rest. He or She will likely enjoy a great lifestyle, earn more and be less stressed than the rest. They will win, win and win again. They will be loved and recommended by customers. They are virtual team leaders, and well supported. They do not miss quota.'
The Sales Legend is always working on personal, and business, networks to be truly connected.
On the business level they will be incisive in knowing who really matters, no matter what level they are in society, the workplace, or demographically.
They are great listeners, yet only speak of things that interest their audiences. They inspire people with passion, energy and personal charisma. They will hear the rumbles of the underground but never engage in idle gossip. They often enjoy a good sense of humor and demonstrate high levels of tolerance. They are trusted by their company and their clients. They will protect and grow their reputation, even taking it as far as building a personal brand.
A Sales Legend knows that who they are, and who they are perceived to be, will dictate the level of access they can enjoy and the doors that are open to them. Your reputation often precedes you, particularly in the houses of power and influence.
Ensure Your Reputation is Solid.
A Salesperson's success and, to a large degree, their future career will be dictated by one thing only - their reputation. It is a profession where reputation matters more than most other professions. Doors are opened to you based on your reputation. You receive job offers based upon your reputation. You will be promoted or fired based upon your reputation (of course, your numbers also form part of your reputation). You will receive management support relative to your reputation. Thus a salesperson must protect and build their reputation as a priority in their lives.
There is no PhD in selling. If you damage your reputation, or built a poor one to begin with, then you will suffer, as you cannot just go and prove yourself with a higher degree!
Reputation is particularly important, as selling is a social career, you must depend on other people to achieve anything. It is your skill as the master of the matrix, to bring everyone together to achieve a successful sale.
You need to understand what you need to be known for, so that you stand above the rest. You need to be approachable, humble yet passionate, and exude a warm charismatic persona. You need to be focused on winning, and be willing to take total responsibility and follow up every one and every action, every step of the way. Yet, you must do this in a way that does not cause offence. People like to spend time with you because you are respectful, and you show this by actively listening and delivering your messages in an intelligent and engaging way.
You really connect with people. You understand and use the Law of Attraction to your advantage, you spend one minute more with everyone you meet, you astound people with your campaign strategy and regularly leave your competitors agog! You are known to be a trusted adviser to your clients, a truly professional sales person.
If you do the above consistently and over achieve your quotas, you are likely either a Sales Legend, or well on your way to becoming one!
This puts you amongst the top 5% of your profession. You need to protect this reputation at all cost.
This means that you need to manage yourself, so that you do not do anything too stupid that will destroy what you have built. This does not mean you have to be perfect. Perfect is pretty boring and irritating to most people. It does mean however, that you do know when to draw the line and pull back from the brink of criticism. This is particularly important when you are anywhere that your behavior can be observed by colleagues or clients. However, it is a good habit to develop generally.
Let me try and convey exactly what I mean here. This does not mean you may not enjoy a few drinks, or do wild and fun things, or be adventurous. It does mean that you do not fall drunken in the street! Never engage in inappropriate humor! Stay away from illegal drug usage, even if you know your client indulges. Never take part in anything that compromises you or your client! Now, I am not saying this because I am a 'girl' or because I am being boring - if you check my reputation you will hear that actually I am a bit of a wild child! I am saying this because, we are no longer living and working in an environment where behavior like this is acceptable to companies, or government organizations. People, including client employees, get fired for compromising their company's reputation, or if in the public sector, for behavior that could be criticized by the public.
Pre 1995, subject to cultural restrictions, you could probably take your client to a brothel, get very drunk together, streak at the football and it may all have been considered a good laugh! Today, that has changed.
High level salespeople just do not go there anymore, because integrity and respect are now accepted business ethics, and even fashionable!
Sales Kick Offs were notorious for salespeople behaving badly in the name of fun, and if you had good enough numbers, maybe you got away with it. In 2010 and the foreseeable beyond, you will not. You will also damage your reputation. You will unlikely have access to the corridors of power, you will be considered a loser. Colleagues are more competitive than ever, as employment becomes less available and reputations become more important. People will go after you, even if before they did not have a reason to. I do not condone this, or say that it is good, it is just cold, hard fact.
One could contend that it is a shame the fun side of work hard, play hard is vanishing from the workplace but regardless of our opinions one way or another, acceptable behavior to maintain a good reputation has dramatically changed in just a decade or so. I am still a bit of a wild child inside, but I understand that in 2010 and beyond I have to manage that wild child much more responsibly than ever before. My reputation opens too many doors for me!
So to be a Sales Legend, you will need to fiercely protect your reputation and beware not to slip up occasionally.
The Sales Legend is always working on personal, and business, networks to be truly connected.
On the business level they will be incisive in knowing who really matters, no matter what level they are in society, the workplace, or demographically.
They are great listeners, yet only speak of things that interest their audiences. They inspire people with passion, energy and personal charisma. They will hear the rumbles of the underground but never engage in idle gossip. They often enjoy a good sense of humor and demonstrate high levels of tolerance. They are trusted by their company and their clients. They will protect and grow their reputation, even taking it as far as building a personal brand.
A Sales Legend knows that who they are, and who they are perceived to be, will dictate the level of access they can enjoy and the doors that are open to them. Your reputation often precedes you, particularly in the houses of power and influence.
Ensure Your Reputation is Solid.
A Salesperson's success and, to a large degree, their future career will be dictated by one thing only - their reputation. It is a profession where reputation matters more than most other professions. Doors are opened to you based on your reputation. You receive job offers based upon your reputation. You will be promoted or fired based upon your reputation (of course, your numbers also form part of your reputation). You will receive management support relative to your reputation. Thus a salesperson must protect and build their reputation as a priority in their lives.
There is no PhD in selling. If you damage your reputation, or built a poor one to begin with, then you will suffer, as you cannot just go and prove yourself with a higher degree!
Reputation is particularly important, as selling is a social career, you must depend on other people to achieve anything. It is your skill as the master of the matrix, to bring everyone together to achieve a successful sale.
You need to understand what you need to be known for, so that you stand above the rest. You need to be approachable, humble yet passionate, and exude a warm charismatic persona. You need to be focused on winning, and be willing to take total responsibility and follow up every one and every action, every step of the way. Yet, you must do this in a way that does not cause offence. People like to spend time with you because you are respectful, and you show this by actively listening and delivering your messages in an intelligent and engaging way.
You really connect with people. You understand and use the Law of Attraction to your advantage, you spend one minute more with everyone you meet, you astound people with your campaign strategy and regularly leave your competitors agog! You are known to be a trusted adviser to your clients, a truly professional sales person.
If you do the above consistently and over achieve your quotas, you are likely either a Sales Legend, or well on your way to becoming one!
This puts you amongst the top 5% of your profession. You need to protect this reputation at all cost.
This means that you need to manage yourself, so that you do not do anything too stupid that will destroy what you have built. This does not mean you have to be perfect. Perfect is pretty boring and irritating to most people. It does mean however, that you do know when to draw the line and pull back from the brink of criticism. This is particularly important when you are anywhere that your behavior can be observed by colleagues or clients. However, it is a good habit to develop generally.
Let me try and convey exactly what I mean here. This does not mean you may not enjoy a few drinks, or do wild and fun things, or be adventurous. It does mean that you do not fall drunken in the street! Never engage in inappropriate humor! Stay away from illegal drug usage, even if you know your client indulges. Never take part in anything that compromises you or your client! Now, I am not saying this because I am a 'girl' or because I am being boring - if you check my reputation you will hear that actually I am a bit of a wild child! I am saying this because, we are no longer living and working in an environment where behavior like this is acceptable to companies, or government organizations. People, including client employees, get fired for compromising their company's reputation, or if in the public sector, for behavior that could be criticized by the public.
Pre 1995, subject to cultural restrictions, you could probably take your client to a brothel, get very drunk together, streak at the football and it may all have been considered a good laugh! Today, that has changed.
High level salespeople just do not go there anymore, because integrity and respect are now accepted business ethics, and even fashionable!
Sales Kick Offs were notorious for salespeople behaving badly in the name of fun, and if you had good enough numbers, maybe you got away with it. In 2010 and the foreseeable beyond, you will not. You will also damage your reputation. You will unlikely have access to the corridors of power, you will be considered a loser. Colleagues are more competitive than ever, as employment becomes less available and reputations become more important. People will go after you, even if before they did not have a reason to. I do not condone this, or say that it is good, it is just cold, hard fact.
One could contend that it is a shame the fun side of work hard, play hard is vanishing from the workplace but regardless of our opinions one way or another, acceptable behavior to maintain a good reputation has dramatically changed in just a decade or so. I am still a bit of a wild child inside, but I understand that in 2010 and beyond I have to manage that wild child much more responsibly than ever before. My reputation opens too many doors for me!
So to be a Sales Legend, you will need to fiercely protect your reputation and beware not to slip up occasionally.
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