Posts By: LyleH
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Using social media for marketing
Using social media in business all comes down to two things:
- Who are you targeting?
- What is your strategy?
Start with your strategy that you are using on your blog post. Then, post your info from your blog on your social media strategically. By strategically, I mean to post on the social media where your audience is.
How to use social media for business to connect with people
- If you have a younger audience 18-30, you want to be sure to post on Youtube and Twitter. Follow trends and relate to celebrities. Use catchy titles and fast-paced information.
- If you have a median age 30-50, post on Facebook. Share your blog post. Include pictures with thought provoking images.
- If your audience is primarily women, post on Pinterest. Use lots of bright colors and post pictures and videos. Focus on ‘how to’ and make that part of your strategy.
- If you focus on B2B (business), focus your efforts on LinkedIn. Relate to the people in your industry and leave relevant comments on trending posts. When you post something, make sure it is high value and makes you sound like a comfortable expert.
- If you have a techy crowd, focus on GooglePlus. Sponsor hangouts, set up communities and join communities. Be where your niche is hanging out.
The key is to do your research to be where your target audience is, and when they are there.
Best times to post (from my experience…and lots of research):
- 11:55am, right before lunch
- 5:00 pm, right as people are leaving work
- 7:00 pm, as people are ending their meal
- 10:00 pm, as people are ending their day
- Thursdays seem to be high traffic days
- If you are national or even global, take into consideration the different time zones.
Now, if you use these times and rotate your content through the day and days of the week, you will have a strong strategy. You can review our series on social media for lost more tips and strategies for using social media for business:
- Which Social Media should you use for business?
- What to post on social media
- When should I share on social media
- Creating Social Media Greatness
- Why do people share on social media
Key points for using social media for your business:
- Think Snippets: News, Headlines and quick quotes (motivational or humorous). You want your headlines to grab the attention of your audience. Then, have one call to action to get them to click through to your web page.
- Be visual: Use pictures on everything you post. Don’t use the same pics, come up with creative things that makes people stop their forever scrolling and read what you have to say.
- Videos Rule: We are programmed to watch videos since we were a child. Use that to your advantage. Tell stories, show behind the scenes, or do a walk through of your product or service. Remember, videos can be posted on all social media outlets!
- Consider Paid ads: Google, Youtube and Facebook all allow for ads to be posted. These can get quick response, but you want to know what you are doing before trying these. Be strategic and make sure you are fine tuning your targeting. You want to reach just the people who are most likely to find your product/service valuable. You don’t want a million people to see your ad because you have to pay for all of them. You want the hundred or thousand who will take action to see your ad. Then, it is effective and you will have a good return on your investment.
I hope these tips help you in developing your strategy for using social media for business. Feel free to go over to my business page if you need help setting up a strategy.
How is social media strategy working for your business? Share it on our Youtube or GooglePlus.
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Using a blog for business
You need a blog if you are in business. In today’s consumer driven society people want to know that you know what you are talking about. Many times consumers will research a topic before going to a business.
Just talk to a doctor and ask how many of his patients are suggesting the medications they may need. With all the commercials and websites, it is easy to find the pills that will help what ails you. That means consumers are looking for solutions and going to the doctors with an idea of what they want. Rather than listening to the doctor, who is the expert, they listen to a commercial because it relates to them.
Imagine now that they doctor created a blog that had relevant information. Now the consumers go to his blog to find his expert opnion. He becomes the expert in his field so when a patient suggests something, he points them to his blog and tells them what they should do instead.
A blog allows you to show that you are relevant to potential customers. They want to see that there is more to your business than just selling things. They want to get to know you and the culture of your business. The key is to educate and hook your customers. If you look at a site like Trader Joes you will see a culture. They relveal information about health and cuisine while having fun with the ideas.
Business blog tips
- Blog about news in your industry and give your opinion about it.
- Blog about new developments in your industry.
- Blog about stories that customers tell you about using your product/service.
- Blog about things your employees say. Include wise things and funny things.
- Blog about sales and discounts.
- Blog about a product. If you have an abundance of one item, do a review of that product.
As you can see there are lots of things you can blog about. Just pick one day a week and keep the content simple. Use the power of curation and let free services find the information for you. I suggest writing between 250-500 words. Plus, you want to post a picture each day so it catches attention when you post it on social media. This keeps your webpage ‘fresh’ in the eyes of Google and helps you get found when people search.
If you need help writing, view our series on writing:
- Finding your voice
- Power of your words
- Creating a call to action
- Create your tribe
- Build your platform
- Writing is a journey
HANDY TOOLS:
WordPress is a site that allows you to create a blog for free. You can also add it to your webpage if you have your own hosting. It is easy to use and many businesses rely on it for their blog.
Dragon Mobile Assistant will transcribe information for you. Just record something one your computer, play it back while holding your phone with this app installed on your smart phone (Android, IPhone)
AllTop – Has topic categories. Pick a category that relates to your business and you can find the most talked about topics in your industry. If there is not something directly about your industry, find something related to share.
Google Alerts – Set up a free alert. This program will alert you anytime a specific phrase is mentioned in a news source or new content online. It is a great way to keep track of your industry as well as your company. I suggest setting an alert with your company name and your personal name.
PS: When you hear the word Web 2.0, it just means that you can interact with the content. For instance, you can leave comments on things like social media. You want your web page to be interactive. Think of ways you can get your potential customers to interact with your brand.
How are you using your blog? Share it on Youtube or GooglePlus.
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CREATE USEABLE and USEFUL Content
As an entrepreneur, you want to create content that is irresistible to your customer or clients. You want to have a no-brainer offer that entices them to take the action you want. In essence, this content should be part of your selling ‘system’ which guides your leads into your business.
Some content is used for marketing and some is used to gain customers. Here are some really quick content that you can create pretty easily in today’s digital world. I will give some tips on how to use them as well.
Interview experts
Interview some people in your field. Imagine calling another person in your industry and asking for an interview. Many will be proud to share with you, especially if you have a good reputation and relationship with that person. If someone called you an expert, would you want to grant them the interview?
With GoogleHangouts you can do this interview on the internet and have it recorded and posted for you. How cool is that!? Just get your interviewee on Google, introduce yourself and your guest, then ask a few pertinent questions.
You can literally interview any business and have them share tips relevant to what you offer. Do 2 -3 of these and offer them as a free download to people who give you their email address.
Guest content
You can post on other people’s pages. Find a relevant blog and ask if they take submissions. You can even submit to local newsletters through apartments, HOAs, banks and more. Be diligent and find the opportunity where you can let your expertise shine! Remember, any kind of guest appearances make your company look big even if it is just an article with ten quick tips. This will bring people to your page so make sure you include your web address, email, physical address and phone number at the end.
Case studies
People love to hear success stories. Share a story from a client who had great success with your product or service. You can interview them, have them send you the story, or you can write it yourself. Make sure you have their permission and follow up to see how they are doing. I bet they would want to share the story with their friends on social media…hint, hint.
Review something
Review a product or service in your business. You can review your employees telling about their specialties. Offer this on your about page. You can review your products, but be careful, you may be biased. I suggest reviewing products that you can cross market with other companies. If you have a gym, you may want to review sportswear from the athletic supply place down the street.
Challenge Overcome
This one can be a tough one. It involves you sharing your personal story. Here is where the power comes in though. Share a story with relevant tips that pertain to what you do. I recently had a marketer share his story about his religion. He then promoted a product based on the same ideas.
Trending News (Newsletter??)
Recycle good information. Put together three postings from reliable sources in your industry. Take the compiled info and format it in a way that is interesting. Use lots of pictures. The, you create an article that ties them all together. Now people see your name along side of people they know, like and trust. That will raise their opinions of you. Have people give you their email or physical address to send the newsletter.
FAQ
Create a frequently ask questions list. Take the list and create a tips sheet. Call it something like “how to get the most out of . . .” It will save you some headaches and help your clients feel like they have gotten some really important information. Keep the design simple, but make it look good.
Quick tips
Offer a short list about 5, 7, or 10 tips to get the most success with …People love to get the insider’s scoop. You may even want to call it the “Insider’s Scoop to …” Make it sound valuable, be short and to the point…much like this list.
You can take it one more step. You can share 10 tips, but reveal 2-3 of them. Tell them they have to sign up to get the rest! People hate not knowing what they are missing. If you don’t believe me, just ask them to turn their phone off!
Have a customer strategy
As you can see, there are many options to create content. This is just touching the tip of the iceberg. You can do a lot of research to find valuable content for your business. But, let me warn you, you MUST HAVE A STRATEGY.
Content or any kind of marketing is useless if you don’t have a well oiled system to bring your customers in to. I tell marketing clients that I can’t bring them new customers until they can show me the process their customers go through in their system. It may sound harsh, but I am helping them.
Could you imagine only preparing for ten people and one hundred people show up? Without a strategy, you can get people to come, but can you keep them satisfied. There is nothing worse than an unhappy customer who willingly shares their experience.
What is your system for gaining new customers? Share it on our Youtube or GooglePlus.
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How to create content quickly
If you want to create valuable content quickly, you must start with a good strategy. What is it that your customers or clients will find valuable? How can you entice them to take action and give you their contact information?
Real Life Example
Let me share a real life story. I was visiting with a client yesterday. I shared with him how easy it is to create content. He is a real estate agent, so that will be our example for today. Here is what I shared with him:
- Create a video: just shoot something quick from your smart phone. Tell something important like tips for getting your home ready to sell, tips for selecting the right neighborhood for your family, or tips for getting the best deal when buying a home.
- Use an app to transcribe the audio from your video for your, hire someone to transcribe the audio or type it up yourself.
- Post the video on a site like Youtube or Vimeo. Post the text on your blog.
- Share the video on social media one day. A few days later at another time of day, share the blog on the same social media. A few days later share them both again at different times and put a different headline on them. Use a handy tool like Hootesuite to schedule the posts for you.
- Encourage friends and previous clients to share this valuable information on social media.
As you can see, from simply posting something from your phone, you can come up with a mini strategy to get content. With the right tools, it will take you about 10 minutes to do one of these quick videos, get it transcribed and posted. Imagine the power of doing that once a week for your clients or customers.
Power of Strategy
Now, here is where the content strategy comes in. Create three or four of these little helpful tips for your customers. Package the blog posts in a pdf and offer it as a free download if a customer will share their name and email. Use a catchy title like “The Three Greatest Tips You Need to Know Before Selling Your House.”
You can also share the videos the same way, maybe even do both. Use a catchy title for these as well: “FREE – Three Part Video Series Share the Secrets of How to Get the Best Deal When Buying a House.” You just create an email sequence using an autoresponder and this goes on autopilot for you. (I personally use GetResponse as my autoresponder.)
IMPORTANT: Include a specific Call to Action
Make sure at the bottom of your report or on the last video in the series, you give a single call to action. Tell the customer/client exactly what you want them to do. “Now that you have seen how to get the best deal on a house, give me a call at 555-5555 so I can share a couple more tips and negotiate the best deal for your new home.”
What is your strategy for connecting to clients and customers? Share it on our Youtube or GooglePlus.
Are You Serving God in Your Business?
As Christians, it is easy to get sidetracked, especially in our business. Just like in baseball, you need to know how you are doing. If you look at the news, you might think that the ‘other’ team is winning, but keeping your eyes on Christ keeps you focused on what is important.
With this in mind, I created a handy ‘scorecard’ for Christian entrepreneurs. You can use the scorecard to quickly evaluate your day. There are 7 check-up points for each weekday. Just do a quick check up and you are good to go.
Download your free Christian Business Scorecard Here
If you want a more detailed run down, feel free to continue to read here. . .
I have done a lot of research and tried to make this scorecard as simple as possible. I could have included hundreds of different topics, Bible verses, ideas and areas of Christian growth. I paired it down to the essentials and you will see that it pretty much covers everything when taken in context.
Each of the follow questions corresponds with the the 7 Step Scorecard that you can download above.
1. Did you pray for direction in your business? Praying for direction in your business means that you are putting God first and humbly committing your business to Him. You are looking to Christ and the Holy Spirit to give you the power and guidance you need to have a God-honoring business.
2. Did you pray for at least one employee, vendor or client by name? When you are praying think about the person’s spiritual life (Do they know Christ?) as well as their personal and business life (Do you know them?). The better you build relationships the better you can pray for people.
3. Did you take time to read your Bible? If you are a Christian you should want to know what God has for your life. The best place to seek God’s will is to look directly to His word. Spend a little time each day seeking God’s will in the words of the Bible.
4. Did you mindfully act like a servant leader? Christ was the greatest example of a servant leader. We should take His cue in our business and learn to be a humble but firm leader. If we base our lives on Christ, then how we lead will come through as a true servant leader.
5. Were you a good steward of your time, resources and money? Everything is God’s and having an attitude of a good steward we watch how we spend our time in our business. We look at what our money goes to and how we use all the resources we have at our disposal. If we give everything to him, including our business, we take care of everything as though ‘working for the Lord.’
6. Did you hold yourself accountable to a God-honoring life? This is where it gets personal. You must quickly and honestly evaluate your life. Spending time with family, being an active part of your church, helping those in your community, etc…these are all things that God has called us to do. It is simply called being a disciple.
7. Did you do your best to Glorify God in your business? Each day we have an opportunity to represent Christ. We are His ambassadors to this world. Offering kindness, gentleness, and all the fruits of the spirit as a person will overflow into the values of your business.
Lastly, I put a column for “What one thing can I improve for God tomorrow?” Choose just one row, one of the questions above, to do a little bit better the next day.
Example: Perhaps you realized that you did not know your vendor very well. It was hard to pray for that person. You plan to give them a call to get to know them and build a better relationship tomorrow.
The entire Scorecard is for your benefit. It is meant to help you keep your mind on Christ as you go about your daily business. You may want to put a reminder copy on your wall or near your computer where you can see it each day and keep the one with all your notes on it in a folder or drawer.
I pray that this little scorecard will help you keep your mind focused on the Kingdom of God as you build your business empire.
Blessings,
-Lyle