SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING – PLAYING CATCH-UP?

Are you being left behind in the fast changing business and social media marketing arena?

Are you not sure about this? Then ask yourself the following questions…..

• Are you using social media marketing for your business?
• Is your social media activity planned and integrated with your marketing strategy?
• Do you regularly analyse your social media marketing activity for its Return on Investment (ROI)?
• Is your website responsive, working perfectly on all mobile technology?

If you answer no to one or more of these questions then it may be time for you to do some ‘Catch-Up’ Marketing.

Why is this? Because many of your competitors are poised to steal your market share by being social media marketing savvy and website responsive. With 80% of internet users owning Smartphones (Smart Insights, January 2015) the increase in searches for local businesses and services has gone mobile. Social Media is now the marketing tool of preference as it is instant and cost effective. That is the case if it is used well social media marketing terms.

So, are you in need of some social media marketing help? If so here are a few tips to help you move forward…

1. Do not run away and bury your head in the sand because social media marketing is scary! Some years ago I was faced with having to get on the social media marketing bandwagon. My jewellery customers were no longer using emails. They were all on Facebook and Twitter. Having discovered this I rebelled against this new technology! I was 60 years old and comfortable with my old marketing ways. The thought of learning something new and alien was daunting. Eventually I joined the social media marketing revolution and found an evening course. This led to me to completing a foundation degree in Social Media. It was either that or loose business! 
2. Make sure your website is responsive. Whilst out with my daughter, recently, we wanted to find somewhere for lunch. Without hesitation she used her mobile phone to search for local restaurants. All restaurants with slow and unresponsive websites were rapidly rejected. Those without easy to read menus and prices were also rejected. Can you afford to loose business to your competitors by not being social media marketing savvy? 
3. Choose the social media marketing platforms that are right for your business. Learn how to use them well. Every day I see businesses wasting time and money following bad social media marketing practices. They have no idea how to use social media marketing effectively. For example, on LinkedIn I regularly have people endorse me for my business skills. Many I have never met or worked with and yet they write me an endorsement. Would they go up to a perfect stranger at a business event and tell them how wonderful their product or service is? No! So why do it as part of a  social media marketing strategy? 
4. Find experienced people to do your social media marketing for you if you do not have the time. Always choose very carefully who you use to outsource your social media activity to. Make sure you manage what they are saying or doing as your business reputation is at stake. I know a business who outsourced their social media to someone who had no idea how to handle a complaint on Twitter. There defensive attitude was seen by millions and quite clearly damaged the businesses reputation. 
5. Plan and implement your social media marketing campaign well. Include a content strategy that integrates all your other marketing activity. Often I see small businesses who use social media marketing only as a tool to shout about themselves and promote their goods and services. Why do they do this? Probably because that’s what the big brands do and these people just follow blindly. The point they are missing is that the big businesses have already built their brands and customer relationships. For small businesses, social media marketing is about engaging with potential customers, building relationships and being genuinely endorsed by regular customers. This takes time and strategic planning to achieve successfully.

Start your game of social media marketing catch-up today and give me  call if you want any more help.

GOAL SETTING SUCCESS – DREAMER OR ACHIEVER?

PLAN YOUR GOAL SETTING Many years ago I was introduced to the concept of written goal setting in December for the year ahead (although you can do this at any time of year). This meant being very specific about the actions I would take to achieve business success. My friend explained that before you write your […]
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7 Tips to Be Happy at Work – Shake off The Back to Work Blues

Monday morning tips to be happy at work …

1. Greet your colleagues with tales of the positive things you did over the break.
2.  Organise your work and prioritise the list to include tips to be happy at work .
3.  Choose something you love to do which has a ‘quick win’ – now get stuck into it!
4. Work through your list starting with the high priority work and DO NOT skip anything.
5. Priorities all the interruptions so they do not impact too negatively on your planned workflow and your tips to be happy at work .
6. Evaluate your achievements at the end of the day and feel the motivation factor.
7. Make your plans for another great day tomorrow with lots of tips to be happy at work !

(Resources: http://workingmomsagainstguilt.com/back-to-the-office-for-me/)

7 Business Development Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Business

I don’t know what came over me the other weekend but I has the urge to sort out my office at home. This is definitely a business development activity that is rare for me! Spring was obviously in the air as I caught the decluttering bug. It didn't end there either. You know how motivating it feels to have good clear out? Well my motivation was so high that I went on to clear my box room, dining room, wardrobe and utility room all in one weekend!

This got me thinking about the importance of having a good spring clean in the business at this time of year. This is a great time to do a major review; clear the old things out and make room for new ideas and strategies. So here are some of the areas I am concentrating on in my Business Development Spring Clean…..

1.  Updating my Marketing and Social Media Strategy - creating a weekly analytics analysis and quarterly review updates for the year ahead as part of my business development.

2.  Tidying up my filing both in the office, on my computer and on the cloud - it is surprising how much this can trigger new thoughts and ideas.

3.  Evaluating the effect of projects on the bottom line - making decisions to change or close those that are not effective and listing new ones to be explored in the future.

4.   Evaluating the financials as part of your business development – making sure your weekly and monthly financial management was effective over the past year and highlighting actions for future improvements.

5.  Evaluating the sales activities – ensuring that the annual sales goals have been achieved and creating action points for further improvements and monthly reviews over the coming year.

6. Analysing the team skills and effectiveness – creating clear personal development plans for myself and the team, identifying any skills gaps and making decisions about how to fill them.

7. Undertaking a ‘What If’ Scenario Planning Session - this is where you look ahead, identify potential problems, market and political changes and create plans to overcome them as part of your ongoing business development. (Look out for a future blog when I will outline this in more detail}

Have a great time Spring Cleaning Your Business and let me know how it helped to raise your motivation levels.

4 WAYS TO STRETCH YOUR BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS

Staying in your personal comfort zone is the easiest thing to do but it won’t get you to where you want to be in business! Running your own business is about stretching yourself out of your comfort zone, taking personal risks and developing yourself.

This point was brought home to me recently at a networking event I attended. One of the other business owners was a young man who has run his own IT business for several years in Lancashire (near where I was born!). Due to circumstances he moved his family and business to South West England about 18 months ago.

This was the start of him stretching the boundaries of his comfort zone. Up north he had developed a successful business organically from the people he knew. He had not advertised or networked to gain clients. As for cold calling on potential customers that was way outside his comfort zone that he never gave it a go. Word of mouth had been his business development pathway. How excellent is that?

The new move meant that whilst he kept some clients in the north of England, working for them remotely, he still had to develop contacts and business round his new location. So he had no option but to stretch himself out of his comfort zone. He was lucky however, to meet a great mentor who has challenged his procrastination. We all need people like this who know how easy it is to put off the things we hate or fear doing. So what were the fears he has overcome and what can you learn from his actions?

1. Moving his business and starting up in a different area.

Nothing is ever impossible if you are willing to take a risk and have a well thought out plan of action.

2. Getting out and meeting potential customers through networking.

Businesses are grown through relationship development, be it face to face or via social media. To succeed you have to first put yourself in the right arena and ‘fish in a pond’ where potential clients want your services.

3. Cold calling on customers and following up

This is the one thing that successful business people do well but for most people it means a huge stretch outside their comfort zone. Be it face to face or via the phone the fear of rejection is a major barrier to business growth and success. Don’t fall at the last fence though by not doing the follow up calls or visits – this is where the prospects become customers.

4. Maximising his message delivery by giving talks and presentations

Fear of all fears, for many, this is one of the biggest ‘stretches’ anyone can do. It is only practice that will build your confidence and don’t forget to find a way of capturing the contact details of all those who found your message of interest.

What an inspiration he is! I have no doubts at all that his business will continue to go from strength to strength.

 

Resources: http://bit.ly/1bQpSZl