Successful Blog

How to tame social media’s sound and fury

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“Out, out, brief candle! Social media’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” (almost) Macbeth Quote (Act V, Scene V).

You’re building a business, right?

That means you should be spending most of your time making your product or services as amazing as they can be. You need to focus.

single black dot on red field

Social media is one little piece of your marketing puzzle, so it shouldn’t be absorbing large chunks of your day, even if you’re a solo entrepreneur who’s running everything.

“But I’m getting alerts across my screen all day long,” you say.

In the immortal words of Chef Gordon Ramsey: Shut. It. Down.

If you truly are building a business, you must create space for innovation, planning, face-to-face contact with customers, and other things that take you away from a computer screen.

Tips for Putting Social Media Back in its Place

  • Don’t let social status updates absorb time throughout the day. If you’re going to curate content, use scheduling tools like Buffer or Hootsuite, so that you can stay focused.
  • Start your marketing planning with your actual business goals, not with a new tool you just heard about.
  • Don’t get caught in the social media echo chamber. Be sure you read widely, on a variety of topics that support your business.
  • For each social network you use, have a reason why you’re using it. And be sure that reason is related to your business plan.
  • Stop saying social media is “free.” It’s not. Your time is worth money.
  • Dedicate blocks of time to your social media strategy, and the rest of the time shut off the alerts, close the Facebook tab, and set your phone to vibrate. You really don’t need to see the notification that Joe and Stacy are talking about Zac Efron on Twitter.
  • Remember that nothing is set in stone, particularly when it comes to social media tactics. Trust your own gut more than some “guru” who doesn’t know your business.
  • If you have a choice between Tweeting a customer and talking on the phone, choose the phone. Better yet, meet for coffee.

Above all, keep it in perspective. It can seem as though everything revolves around social media, but your customers just want your fantastic product/service, delivered with a smile. Everything else is just “sound and fury.”

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Photo Credit: http://heretakis.com via Compfight cc

3 Tips for Gathering User-Generated Content To Write A Blog Post

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By Dorien Morin-van Dam

Creating content is a tough task, especially since everything you want to write about has already been written about. It’s tough to be original, isn’t it? In recent months I’ve seen a surge in articles being written about user-generated content and how to create it. I have also spotted more and more articles written with user-generated content.

river flowing through farmland aerial shot

There are many social media platforms that lend themselves perfectly for sharing user-generated content; two very well known visual platforms come to mind first. The first one is Pinterest and the second platform is Instagram.

On Pinterest, people re-pin pretty pictures other people pinned before them – 80% of pins are re-pins. On Instagram, using re-post apps, people can easily find and share other peoples pictures, too!

But what about written content? Can we use text-based user-generated content?

A perfect example of written user-generated content is, of course, quotes! Who hasn’t seen and shared quotes on social media? I know I have. It would be a stretch to write a whole blog post just with quotes (it has been done), but I am here to suggest several other techniques that may help you seek out user-generated content.

Here are my 3 tips for writing a blog post simply by asking the right people!

1. Ask your fans.

One way I use my Facebook audience, for example, is to give them two or three words and let them free-associate with those. I often get great ideas for blog posts based on their answers. It shows what is foremost on their minds. I also ask questions on Twitter, but since my audience is greater and more diverse, it has not been as effective for me as asking my Facebook fans.

2. Ask the experts in your circles of influence.

You can do this via email or dedicated Facebook group. Those would be my first choices as I recommend you reach out to each individual privately, and of course, offer to link to them once your write your blog post. Here are some ideas on how to crowdsource content from the experts:

  • You can give each of them the same question (or hypothetical) situation to answer in their own way.
  • You can ask them to give you real life questions (sourced from their audience) about a specific topic you provide i.e Pinterest, LinkedIn profile, Twitter Cards.
  • You can ask them for a solution to a problem you are having. If you ask five experts you will be sure to get five different solutions.
  • You can ask for an interview from an expert. Whether you have created a set series of questions, or you make it up as you go, interviewing someone in your industry, a leader, is a great way to get user-generated content. You will be using their words, their thoughts, to write your blog.

3. Ask your peers.

Your peers are the people in your industry, your co-workers, your fellow bloggers and entrepreneurs. I love involving them and asking them questions or get input from them on a certain topic. People also love to be quoted.

If you go to your peers for a quote, at least they will be aware your are writing something that mentions them and will look for your article to be published.

Alternatively, you could read a series of articles written by your peers and take quotes, and link back of course, highlighting their take on issues.

Your Turn:

• Have you used any of these techniques to get content for your blog?

• Do you enjoy reading these types of blog posts?

• Can you think of other ways to gather user-generated content?

Author’s Bio: Dorien Morin-van Dam is owner and social media marketer at More In Media, a social media consultancy in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dorien provides social media consulting, management, training and education; she is passionate about teaching social media to small business owners. She services clients all over the USA and has worked in many different industries as well as with several NPO’s. In her spare time, Dorien manages four kids, three dogs and a husband. She runs marathons and loves to bake, travel and read.

Photo Credit: eutoxeres via Compfight cc

Train Your Brain Like a Boss

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One of the most important pieces of equipment you need as a business owner is a healthy brain. You have to be able to make good decisions, think creatively, and respond to new challenges on a daily basis.

We don’t understand a lot about our brains. For example, we’ve been told we typically only use 10% of our brain. According to this myth-busting video from asapSCIENCE, we use all of it, all of the time. (So we don’t have to worry about Lucy happening any time soon.)

My favorite way to keep my brain sharp is doing the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle. It’s available in digital format, but I love the paper version.

But you’re not limited to puzzles; the brain training trend has resulted in a variety of cool methods to keep your mental facilities in shape.

Brain Training Apps

Lumosity is a brain training and neuroscience company that offers both web-based and mobile apps. They will design a specific training regimen for you, based on a questionnaire, and provide statistics to show your progress. The games within the apps are fun and challenging.

focus@will App claims to be able to increase your attention span by 400%, using neuroscience based music channels. Their research shows that by listening to a specific type of music, your brain will respond by focusing more deeply on the task at hand.

Fit Brains from Rosetta Stone (the language learning folks) is another website that offers games tailored to training your brain for problem-solving, concentration, and memory skills.

Brain Training on TV

Wait. I thought it was called “the boob tube.” Perhaps it’s not so stupid after all.

The History Channel’s “Your Bleeped Up Brain” is a one hour show (currently on hiatus) that offers a light-hearted take on brain-related research. Find out how your brain separates fact from fiction, why some people have better memories, and how humans are often fooled by simple deceptions.

National Geographic Channel has Brain Games, an Emmy nominated series that uses intricate experiments to demonstrate the inner workings of the brain. Many of the experiments on the show are also available on the interactive website. Do you know whether a lightning strike or a wild bear is more likely to kill you?

Brain Training in Your Living Room

We bought a Mindflex as a gag gift last year, but it turned out to be fascinating. You wear a headset that makes contact with your temples, and power the movement of a ping pong ball through a series of obstacles. You can also go up against an opponent and try to push the ball over their goal line while they push in the opposite direction.

Physical exercise has been shown to increase your brain power too. So while you’re doing your Zumba, you’re training your brain!

How are you taking good care of your brain?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

I Am Not A Blogger

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

I believe in blogging. Just not for me.

Female silhouette

Every 7 days I sit down to write a post here. Against almost every bit of social media/blogging advice to the contrary, my own blog – for years aptly titled The Occasional and Erratic Blog – has sat sparse and neglected. But I’m just now understanding why.

Self-employment wasn’t so much a carefully considered selection for me as it was a response to circumstances that required immediate action.

My two kids and I had decided to leave everything and start a new life together. I’d held a job I loved at a state college for almost 10 years. With benefits the job paid enough to cover a fairly modest life for a family of three. As my son said at the time, “We might eat hot dogs and ramen forever, but they’ll be our hot dogs and ramen.”

A month after the divorce was final, I lost the job I’d held and loved for 10 years – statewide budget cuts were deep that year. There I was with custody of my 13 year old son, a 21 year old in college, a mortgage and no income to cover any of it.

It was at that moment I decided to truly support myself rather than once more place myself in a position of counting on something else that might dissolve.

I’d been watching social media evolve and participating for a while – hoping my Director would let me integrate it into our marketing – and I knew beyond a doubt that I could make this work for me and for others. So I took the leap and dove head first into finding my way as a social media professional.

I was extremely vocal on Twitter and Facebook, learned WordPress and taught myself the coding skills we needed back in the day. Because: no plugins. I spent every single day learning and building connections by being helpful wherever I could. I offered advice, pointed people to resources, donated my time and writing to non-profits and I went to conferences. Nothing has been as keenly painful to my introverted self as that seemingly endless cycle of self-promotion but I did it. The one thing I never settled into was blogging.

Disclosure: Random exaggeration ahead.

“But you MUST blog,” says everyone always.

Yes, well, five years later and I’m still here – and barely blogging.

Inconceivable? Oh, it’s conceivable, I assure you.

But how to explain that to people and prospective clients became the issue at hand. Two weeks ago, on the Main Salmon River in the middle of Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, it crystalized for me.

I don’t want to be an A-List blogger. I’ve no aspirations to write a social media or marketing book. I don’t wish to be recognized as a media personality. I’ve never pursued those things.

I define and execute strategy. I measure and analyze metrics. I engage on social media. I curate content. I design campaigns. I build relationships. And, I blog … for my clients.

I do the job I love in the best way possible for the clients I partner with. If my work isn’t the best example of my worth to a new or existing client, no amount of blogging on my own site will help.

Hi. I’m Lisa. I’m a social media practitioner and that’s all I want to be.

How does what you’re doing fit with what you want to be?

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+

6 Tools for Running a Successful eCommerce Business

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By Teddy Hunt

Running a successful business of any kind, whether it’s a brick and mortar store or an e-commerce website, requires the right tools. Before you launch your online company, make sure you have these programs and systems in place. Opening your digital doors without them is a risk your company should not take.

A User Friendly Purchasing Experience

Shopify

Unless your customers can buy your products easily, your e-commerce business will stumble out of the gate. A simple checkout experience powered by the right shopping cart platform can solve the problem before it starts. If you’ve never run an online retail store before, go with Shopify.

This software allows you to get your store up and running without needing to muck around with servers and complex coding systems. Adding products and changing prices is simple using their intuitive system. You can also process credit card payments the second you open it.

In order to keep your prices as attractive as possible, do a little comparison shopping of your own to keep business expenses low. Since utilities are among your company’s primary bills, you should compare rates through a website like powerexperts.co.uk.

Reliable Business Communication Systems

Establishing real world connections with your vendors and supply chain requires traditional forms of communication. Many business people won’t deal with you if they can’t reach you over the phone. They want to know you are a real person, which makes a business line an essential tool for running a successful e-commerce business.

Mitel Systems offers multiple enterprise solutions for shoring up your lines of communication, including cloud-based providers. Choose from a variety of devices, including digital phones and conference calling systems. “Softphones” allow remote workers to call in right from their desktop without the need for a separate device.

Social Media Account Management

Your online store is more than a website; it’s a brand. Customers expect your company’s brand to exist on social media, and not on just one or two platforms.

Promoting your store’s identity across the web requires multiple social media accounts and delivery systems, including Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. Posting to each individually can take up valuable time and hurt your company’s productivity.

To manage all your social accounts form a single dashboard, try Hootsuite. Their platform allows you to schedule posts to your social accounts ahead of time and gauge user interaction to your content. You can also set permissions that allow you as the owner to approve all out-going posts.

That way your brand message stays consistent.

Analytics Tools

Google Analytics

Image via Flickr from Panayotis Vryonis

Knowing how visitors behave when they visit your online store can serve as an invaluable asset for improving your product pages and increasing conversion. Google Analytics gives you this information, including user flows through social media, total web traffic, time spent on site and conversion goal tools, free.

Installing the program is a single-string code that you can copy and paste into the header of your e-commerce site. Adding code for Google Webmaster Tools (also free) helps you find errors, including pages that don’t load properly, before they turn into larger issues.

Customer Feedback Channels

Don’t ignore the people who buy your products. Providing them with an email address, blog comments section or social outlet where they can communicate with you is vital for your site’s success. Make sure you respond courteously and in a timely manner to build strong relationships with your customers.

When your customers believe they have a voice, they morph from people simply buying a product into cheerleaders for your brand. Cheerleaders do more than spend money; they leave positive reviews and encourage others to give your store a try. That type of advocacy is worth more to your business than any one transaction.

A Stable Website

Your e-commerce business succeeds or fails on your website’s reliability.

You want a site that uses streamlined coding for fast load times, runs strong security software to protect customer information, and that won’t crash during heavy traffic periods.

If you’re new to the e-commerce world, using templates generated by design platforms like Shopify and Magento can give you a solid basis to launch your store. Once you get comfortable with their system, you can customize features to suit your needs going forward.

Launching an online store is not a quick process. Skipping steps or rushing can leave you without the necessary tools needed for success. Build your e-commerce business the right way, and you’ll reap the benefits for years.

Author’s Bio: Teddy Hunt is a freelance content writer with a focus on technology. When not behind a computer, Teddy spends the majority of his free time outdoors and resides in Tampa, Florida.

Business Planning for the Time Crunched

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The other day, I caught myself after 7pm, listening to a business podcast, scanning through a research report that is relevant to my business, and periodically glancing over to my iPhone, which was buzzing to alert me about new emails and social media updates from my friends and colleagues.

Did I mention that the television was on in the background?

Even typing that paragraph, I’m getting a headache.

Pretty sure that none of those activities advanced my business one iota. In fact, they probably set me back because my brain was in a tortured, fractured state.

brain on Instagram

Deep breath.

Deep breath.

If you spend your “working hours,” roughly 9am to 5pm (haha) reacting to stimuli, you’re heading for a business rut.

How is your business going to move up to the next level if you’re spending your day putting out fires and your evening “catching up?”

You need to get ahead of the game and stay there if you want to innovate, use your creative juices, and make progress.

Practical Suggestions for Making Time to Plan Your Business

  • Schedule it. The same way you block out time for a customer phone call, make an appointment for your planning. Take a minute right now and block out one hour this week for business planning.
  • Stop multi-tasking. During meetings and conference sessions, leave the devices in your briefcase. Extract the full value of the relationships and information you invested in when you scheduled the meeting or registered for the conference. If you’re listening to a business podcast, really listen and take notes. There’s no award for doing the most stuff at one time.
  • Make a dashboard. Keep your finger on the pulse of your business metrics on a routine basis. Establish the numbers you need to track, and then pull them all into one spreadsheet. This will allow you to spot trends and take action before the fire flares up.
  • Narrow down your consumption. If you’re overwhelmed by your blog subscriptions, emails and social updates, hit the unsubscribe button on a few of them. Focus on quality, not quantity.
  • Move a big rock every morning. Start each day with a “win,” and knock off something that will actually give you progress. Do that before you answer the phone, before you check email, and before your colleagues start sending you Buzzfeed articles.
  • Have a business retreat You don’t have to have a large team, or go to a dude ranch for “trust exercises.” Plan each year to get away (even if it’s only virtually) and spend dedicated time working on the business. Evaluate the previous year, plan the upcoming year, and get your mind focused. Put an “out of office” message on your email, same with voicemail, and take a hiatus from social media. Emerge refreshed and ready to conquer the world.

How often do you step back and work on your business?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee