If you are on my newsletter list you would have realised that last week I flew home early from Melbourne with the flu and hence during my four days in bed managed to catch up on lots of TV shows and watch the movie comedy “The Guilt Trip”.

It’s a recent release movie starring Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand as a mother and son.  Seth is an inventor so they spend 8 days driving across America so he can try to sell his new cleaning product to a variety of companies including Kmart, Costco and the Home Shopping Network.

Seth Rogen character’s Andy is an inventor so it he is fabulous at inventing product but not so good at marketing them.  I see this with a lot of business owners.  Can you relate? You are an awesome web designer, coach, consultant, naturopath, hairdresser or widget creator but you just can’t seem to get enough people to buy your product or service.

I remember years ago listening to one of my first online mentors, Ali Brown, and she said “Marketing is More Important Than the Mastery”.  This has guided me throughout my business ever since.  It’s doesn’t matter if you have the best widget or are the top hairdresser in the world, if no one knows you exist or aren’t clear how you can help them, then no sale is made and you don’t have a business – just a very expensive, time sucking hobby!

So back to The Guilt Trip. Andy started his first few sales pitches talking about his background and the natural products which he included in his new cleaning product and he got a whole lot of “thanks for coming in, we will be in touch”.  It wasn’t until his mother pointed out that his product was confusing and unclear that he changed his approach.

Instead of starting his pitch with his background and products he asked the people he was talking with if they had any children or pets.  He then follow up with, did they want to keep their children and pets alive whilst reducing the toxins around the home.

So instead of focussing on what he thought was important he was focussing on what his customers wanted and what their concerns were. Then to seal the deal, he drank the cleaning products – just to prove that it was completely safe!

It’s time to have a look at your marketing message and see what you are focusing on.  Are you focusing on what you think is important or what your customers think is important?  Remember focus on customer benefits and you can’t go wrong.

Listen in as I share with you my recent shopping experience and answer the questions – Are you making it easy for your customers to buy?

We live in a day and age where a new ‘social platform’ is created almost every day and as business owners it can be hard to keep up to date with exactly what they are and if and how they can actually work for your business.

I also think that because I’m in the ‘industry’ I forget that not everyone reads the same blogs, magazines, etc. as I do so they might not know exactly what each platform is.

Now of course I can’t cover every single social platform but I’m going to cover the ones which have the most Australian’s represented.  …. or “which have a large number of Australian

In the image below you will see the Statistics for Australian users as at April 2013 for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

So, what is…?

Facebook

Facebook is the world’s largest social networking site which allows users (once they create a free account) to interact with their friends, groups and pages.  Pages are created to represent companies, brands and causes.  Worldwide there are over 1 billion active users on Facebook with 11,489,380 Australian users.  Facebook has the most amount of Australian users of all social networking sites.

Users interact by sharing a variety of media including; text, links, images + videos.  They can then join in conversations by ‘liking’, commenting or sharing others’ content.

For business owners the power is in having their own Page in which they can facilitate conversations with their current and potential customers.  When using a Page to it’s full potential, not only can you reach the people who have ‘liked’ your Page, you can also reach their friends, who help you spread the word about your business.

Connect with me on Facebook

If you want to know more about using Facebook for your Business view my Free Webinar – Effective Facebook Marketing

Twitter

Twitter is where the world shares their view in 140 characters or less.  Hailed as a micro blogging site, registered users share their message in text via Tweets.  With just over 2 million Australian users, Twitter is all about sharing ‘real time’ information so is very popular with news sources, journalist and celebrities.  Twitter also introduced the ability to share links, videos and photos which add to the overall experience.

Due to the ‘real time’ interaction, Twitter runs at a quicker pace than Facebook and I’ve personally found it handy for support and customer service.  Within Australia you can get feedback relatively quickly from the major telcos and airlines.

For business users the benefits of Twitter is the real time interaction which allows you to share information and gather real time feedback and of course build relationship with current and potential clients.

Twitter is more represented by a ‘techie’ crowd (i.e. have more online experience) than Facebook.

Connect with me on Twitter

YouTube

YouTube is an online video portal where users can upload, rate and view millions and millions of videos.  Each month over 11 million Australians view a video on YouTube, and YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world after Google.

Just in viewing videos alone on YouTube, the information, education and entertainment would be huge.  However for business owners the power comes with producing and uploading your own video via a channel.  Again, it’s a free service where registered users create their own branded channel which stores their videos.

Depending on your account you will have different options in terms of video length and customisation, however sharing videos is an excellent platform for building your brand and expert position within the industry. Due to the nature of a video you can build rapport and relationships with viewers very quickly.

Visit my YouTube Channel

The best training for creating videos I’ve found is iVideo Hero which teaches you how to produce high quality video with your iPhone or iPad.  And for more specifics on YouTube check out Video Traffic Academy

Instagram

Instagram is an app based social networking and photo sharing site which was acquired by Facebook in 2011.  Mainly based on your smartphone, they have recently released a web based platform, however it doesn’t have as many features and is mainly just for viewing rather than uploading your own images.

One of my favourite features of Instagram is the photo filtering.  Instead of just uploading a standard photo taken from your camera you can apply a huge range of filters including; borders, colours, exposure and shades.  They are already pre built into the application making it really easy to apply.

Users of Instagram then follow others’ photos where they can like and comment.  The main viral spread on Instagram is by #hashtags.  Hashtags are words or phrases which are searchable.  For example if I uploaded an image of a bird and used the hashtag #bird.  Other users can either click on my hashtag or search the hashtag bird and find other images.  This allows users to find other people who are sharing images which are relevant to them.

For business owners, it really depends if your market is represented on Instagram.  Currently there are just over 1 million Australian users and I have found that they are mainly creative, spiritual and foodies types such as graphic designers, life coaches, health coaches and chefs.  Well at least the people I’m following.

Follow me on Instagram or by searching @nalaimo

Google+

Google+ is the social network created by Google.  Dubbed as the second largest social network, it has about 235 million active monthly users.  As it’s owned and operated by Google, all users with a Google Account automatically have a Google+ account, therefore I believe the numbers are somewhat skewed.

Google+ offers a full range of features including personal profiles and company pages.  User can interact via text, links, video and images.  They also have more interactive features such as live “hangouts” which are live video chats.

Mainstream users haven’t hit Google+ yet as they have other social sites such as Facebook, however  as Google+ is linked directly to Google, it will become more and more important for business owners in terms of them ranking in the Google search results.

At this stage business owners should at least create a profile and company page and aim to share fresh content as least weekly.

Connect with me on Google+

To find out more about Google+ join the Ask Natalie Academy

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the world’s only Business to Business social networking site which has over 2.7 million Australians users and 200 millions worldwide. Users create a free account which allows them to create their own profile and connect with other profiles.  Users can then interact via sharing status updates (either text or link based) and via groups, company pages and private messages.  LinkedIn also offers a range of premium plans which offer additional features.

LinkedIn has a more professional white collar feel compared to other sites and conversation topics are of a more ‘serious’ nature.  Personally I don’t enjoy hanging out on LinkedIn, but I can see the benefit for my business.

For business owners it’s vital that you have an account set up and optimised.  From there it would depend on if your primary target market is on LinkedIn.  If yes, then you should commit to spending more time, building relationships and connecting with people.  If no, then just check in every now and again.

Connect with me on LinkedIn

For more information on setting up and optimising your profile join the Ask Natalie Academy.

Pinterest

Pinterest is an online virtual pinboard where users can create their own boards and share images they love.  Their images are grouped together on the boards they create.

Users interact with each other via liking, commenting and repinning others’ pins.  A pin is an image which users either upload or share from a website.

Pinterest currently has 48.7 million users with 630,000 Australian users.  The average users is spending more time on Pinterest than on any other social networking site.  When users click through to a website from Pinterest, it’s been found that they spend more money on average than when coming from other social sites.

Therefore for business owners, if your market is on Pinterest, or if your product is visually appealing then you need to be on Pinterest.

Follow me on Pinterest.

And to learn more about using Pinterest for your business join the Ask Natalie Academy.

]]> http://www.nataliealaimo.com/social-media/what-is-a-guide-to-social-platforms/feed/ 0 http://www.nataliealaimo.com/blogging/what-to-do-if-you-cant-find-a-topic-to-blog-on/ http://www.nataliealaimo.com/blogging/what-to-do-if-you-cant-find-a-topic-to-blog-on/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:30:08 +0000 Natalie Alaimo http://www.nataliealaimo.com/?p=3376

I haven’t written a blog post in two weeks and I’ve been thinking about what topic to write on. Usually something will spark and a topic and half written article will appear in my mind.  However over the last two weeks I’ve gone back and forth on topics, stories and angles, but couldn’t really find anything I liked or was a solid idea.  Then I decided I would share with you what I do when I can’t find a suitable topic to blog on.  Below I’ve shared the 7 steps you can do to get your blog post rolling.

1. Just Start

It really annoys me when people say this. As you are probably thinking, if I knew what to write I would.  But sometimes you just need to open the document (I like to use notes on my iphone) and just jot down some ideas – anything really.  And often before you know it, you have something which semi resembles a blog post. I think the process of intentions just gets your mind working.

2. Business Brainstorm

This is an activity I do heaps with the Ask Natalie Academy members and private coaching clients.  Break your business down into bite size pieces and keep going further.  Start with your products and services.  For example if you are a hairdresser it would look like this;

Now that you have these topics you can write a blog post on each of them, and how they benefit your client.

3. Set A Timer For 20 Minutes

Similar to the just start step – set a timer for 15, 20 or 30 minutes and just see how much you get done.  I know I work better on deadlines, so by giving myself 20 minutes to write a blog post I’m going to at least get a rough draft out.  This way the bulk of the article and idea is done, from there it’s just a process of refinement.  I don’t personally do a lot of editing on my blog post, however I know that many people do.  I find the more I write, the better it becomes and the easier it becomes.

4. Keep A Running List Of Topics

Some weeks you will have a hundred ideas for blog posts and others times none.  So when inspiration strikes, write it down.  Using either a spreadsheet or a blank document write down your idea plus a few notes about it.  I used to just write the idea and when I went back to write the actual blog I’d forgotten what I was talking about.  However by writing the topic plus some bullet points, when you’re ready you can get straight into the writing.

5. Read Books/Magazines/Blogs/Website From Your Industry + Outside Your Industry

Reading others’ writing can provide you with the inspiration you need for your own blog post.  Did someone write something you don’t agree with? Or did an idea from another industry make you think about how you can do better in your industry.  If you are going to do this to get your writing started, make sure you set a timer for about 20 minutes, otherwise you can get lost down the rabbit hole.

6. Listen To A Podcast

I love podcasts. They are handy to listen to while walking and it stops me from feeling guilty if I’m walking in ‘normal’ work hours.  My favourite at the moment is Derek Halperns Social Trigger Insiders.  Over the weekend, while listening, he was interviewing Charles Duhigg on his new book “The Power of Habit”.  They shared this great story about how Starbucks uses the process of habits to show recognition to their team, plus keep their customers coming back.  This was just one of about five different stories and I could use this as an inspiration to write a blog post on a full range of topics; review of the podcast, review of the book, ideas from Starbucks, how are you keeping your customers coming back, etc.  The list is endless, and you never know where inspiration will strike.

7. Frequently Ask Questions

Your customers are already asking questions, so why not answer them via a blog post.  Look through your emails, Facebook Posts, Facebook Groups, Twitter Feed, etc. and see what questions you can answer.  Using this strategy has two major benefits.  Firstly you are answering a question that your customer actually want to know.  Secondly you have your answers pre written next time someone ask the same questions, saving you time.

At times you will find it really easy to write and the topics will just flow, other times use one of the these 7 step to get you on the right track.

I’ve done a lot of travel lately, Sydney and Adelaide in just the last three weeks and then coming up is Melbourne in May and Europe in June/July.  One of my favourite parts of domestic travel is reading the Virgin Australia Magazine. Often it’s filled with interesting article and tidbits which are perfect for a short one or two hour flight. You know the ones where by the time you can turn on your iPad you have to turn it off again?

My other travelling essential is my Bose Headphone. They are by far the best investment I have ever made.  You don’t realise what you are missing, until you have them.  I can be lying in bed watching a movie or an episode of Bones, Criminal Minds or Body of Proof and literally jump.  When using your Bose Headphones, not only is the sounds crystal clear – there are just so many of them.  I’ve been know to swiftly turn my head as I think someone is coming into the room, only to discover it’s the sound in the show which you would have never previously heard!

On my recent flight to Sydney I was flipping through the Virgin Australia Magazine and saw an ad for Bose Headphones.  I first heard about these headphones at a conference in Las Vegas.  The speaker had them and said they were amazing and not just for the sound quality but for the noise cancelling ability. He would often wear them, with no sound, so he could concentrate on his work in pure silence.

In 2010 as mum and I were running through the airport in Las Vegas for our return trip home, we found a Bose shop and of course we purchased a set each.  Mum loves music and got her set to enjoy more music and I really like the noise cancelling feature.  Since that day my father and his wife both have a set as does my brother.  That’s 5 sets in one family and I can tell you that while we are all very similar, we are all very different as well.

So how is it that Bose was able to talk to us all and sell us their product.  One of the biggest mistakes I find people make in business is that they are trying to reach too many people and have too many conversations.  Just because your product or service is ideal for many people doesn’t mean you should market to all of them.

In this video with Marie Forleo and Sally Hogshead, Sally shares a story about ice cream. In her house they always buy Vanilla Ice Cream.  Why? Because everyone ‘likes’ vanilla and will eat it, but no one really ‘loves’ Vanilla ice cream.  They could buy Pistachio ice cream but not everyone will like it, in fact some people actually hate it!

If you have a big marketing budget like Coca Cola then you can market your business like Vanilla ice cream, aiming to be liked by everyone.  However if you are like the rest of us who don’t have a huge marketing budget then you need to find your smaller market who will love your Pistachio ice cream.

The one thing that we (me, mum, dad, step-mum and brother) all have in common is travel.  We love travelling and do it often for both work and pleasure.  It was via our love of travelling that Bose was able to ‘communicate’ directly to each of us.

The Bose advertisement in Virgin Australia Magazine didn’t focus on all the benefits of their headphones.  Just the ones you would be interested in right now, whilst you are flying.  They used phrases like;

“Fly more quietly than ever before”

“Enjoy in-flight entertainment undisturbed”

They didn’t say enjoy watching crime TV Shows in bed with sounds you have never heard before or your music will sound amazing.   Even the testimonial was ‘flight’ related;

“… a solid investment for frequent travellers”

I’m sure if you saw their ad in Music Monthly or Women’s Weekly it would use phrases such as “discover notes in your music never heard before” or  “block out your noisy kids, and relax”.

So what should you do in your business?  Start with one clearly defined target market and communicate just to that person. This is going to be the easiest way of getting fast results. Once you have mastered that market then you can find other segment of your market and add them to the communication mix.

I would love to hear if you found an ad either online or in print which you felt spoke directly to you or a market segment you can identify.  Let me know on Facebook.

Without a doubt the first question I get from business owners when they learn that I help business owners with Facebook Marketing is how can I get more fans.  It’s like the number of your fans will determine your self worth.  It won’t but I understand that for many people it’s a measure of their results.

Here is the deal – You need to build a community – yes it’s important. But more important than getting heaps and heaps of fans is getting the right fans and get them to engage with you.  Please bear that in mind when implementing these strategies.  It’s more important to get the ‘right’ fans instead of just any fans.

So what are the 7 proven ways to increase your fans on Facebook;

1. Know Your Market
As I’ve said before it’s more important to make sure you get the right fans not just any fans, however to do this you must determine who your ideal market is.  If you don’ t you could spend a lot of time marketing to the wrong people who either don’t have a need or want for your product.  To get started think of your current clients and then determine who is the client you would absolutely love to work with.  Profile this person; are they male/female? age? married? kids? etc.  Be as specific as possible.  If you deal with other businesses then work out who you deal with in that business and then work out their specifics.  People buy from people not businesses and they want to be related to as a person.

2. Share Attraction Based Content
In my trainings I share the four different types of content you can use online.  The first and my most favourite is Attraction Content. With attraction based content you need to provide information which is highly relevant to your market and not your business.  Why? Because your market hangs out with other people who are also your market, therefore they will share your attraction content and help you grow your fan base.  One of the examples I share in my Free Effective Facebook Marketing Webinar is from Pure Indulgence Beauty Salons.  They are sharing tips on how to make sure you don’t break out in pimples after you workout at the gym.  As you can imagine their market is young professional women aged between 25 – 30 who are interested in health and fitness and have some disposable income to spend on their beauty routine.  These tips talked directly to them and their friends – expanding their reach and their fans.

3. Don’t use Social Button On Your Website
Jump onto most website these days and you will see their social buttons – the little Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn + Pinterest Icons.  But you know what happens when someone clicks on these? They leave your website.  I’ll say it again because I don’t think you heard me the first time. They leave your website! That’s right, you have spent time, effort and money getting them to your website and then you are encouraging them to leave your website and get lost in Facebook. Don’t do this. Instead add a Facebook Like Box. This way your website users can connect with you on Facebook without leaving your website.  The added bonus is that if any of their friends already like your Facebook page they will see their faces (in the like box) and be more likely to connect.

4. Run A Competition
Competitions are amazing at creating a buzz about your brand and products, and therefore increasing your Facebook fans.  To make sure your competition is successful in attracting the ‘right’ fans your prize must match your market.  By this I mean don’t give away an iPad unless it matches your market.  iPads are a very popular prizes however they attract everyone to your competition instead of just the ‘right’ people.  Ensure that you follow the competition rules on Facebook and make it easy for people to share your competition with their friends.

5. Use Facebook As Your Page
One of the cool features of Facebook is that you can use Facebook as your Page instead of in your personal profile.  What this means is that you can comment, like and post on other Pages and instead of your own personal name coming up, your Page name comes up.  I’m assuming that when you are doing this you would be contributing to the conversation and adding value instead of just spamming your info around.  When you are adding value first, other people will see your updates and if interested will click through and become your Facebook Fan. For best results find 3 – 5 pages where your target market is and regularly contribute (like a couple of times per week).

6. Join Groups
Just like when you are using Facebook as your Page and contributing to conversations – you can do the same when you join groups.  The main difference is that when participating in groups you are using your personal profile instead of your page.  Again you must be adding value (not spam) and post consistently.  I personally find that most groups on Facebook as big fat waste of time so make sure you determine who your market is first and then ensure that they are in the group before spending your time there.  If needed set a timer and get off Facebook (and out of the group) when it rings.

7. Invest In Facebook Ads
Of course Facebook Ads would have to be on a list of proven ways to increase your fans.  They are of course the quickest way to increase your fans but they will cost you.  Again before running ads, make sure you know who your market is and then craft an ad which will talk directly them. If you are just new to Facebook Ads I would start with Promoted Post which can be created directly from your page and will get more of your fans seeing your content, as well as your fans friends

How many fans do you currently have?  What strategies did you put in place to gain them?  Jump over to my Facebook Page and let me know.

Let me start by saying I love love love coffee.  I have a Nespresso coffee pod machine and it’s not unusual for me to kick back 2 – 3 cups before 11am.  Maybe it’s my Italian heritage but it doesn’t affect my ability to sleep.  I remember for years when I was working at the family restaurant having a espresso at 11pm after all the customers had left and being able to fall straight to sleep when I got home.  I find it funny now when people order a skinny decaf coffee – I think why bother? Anyway, I’ve diverted off topic here!

For some reason (maybe it’s the message I’m sending the universe) I get emails from people asking me to catch up with them for coffee to chat about Facebook, Social Media or whatever (you get the idea). And I know this approach works for many businesses but not mine – any more.  Years ago when we had a printing business we sold most of our work via networking and word of mouth referrals.  The same was true for our web design business.

I remember one day spending four hours (I know ridiculous, right?!?) with one potential client.  During this free meeting I had explained the whole process of online marketing: building an email database, blogging, providing a taste of your services, keyword optimisation  - really the lot.  I then left the meeting feeling confident I would get the website I quoted on – and from memory it was really cheap – like under $2000.

A couple of days later I saw an email in my inbox and got excited – fully expecting it to be the go ahead for this amazing website we had spent so long talking about.  I’m guessing you know that I didn’t get the order – otherwise I wouldn’t be telling you this story – but what is even more surprising was the message.

I’m shaking just thinking about it now – it’s even hard to write after all these years – but she basically asked me to look at a website she built – FOR FREE – using VistaPrint (or some service like that) and the comment was something about using her dollars most effectively.

I was devastated to say the least – but after my initial shock – came anger – and in true Gen Y fashion (I’ve learn better now) I shared it on my Facebook Profile (before Pages in those days) and asked how I should respond.

It was then that one very smart man – Gulliver Giles – commented back and said “Coffee Dates are for Friends”.  I really think – looking back now – that was a very defining moment for me. And really the catalyst for changing my business model.

Was it the right decision? Would we get more clients if I had more ‘coffee’ meetings? Maybe – but I’m really loving the business I have now and not spending hours and hours spending time with the ‘wrong’ people.  I’ve made the decision that I’m going to build my brand online + position myself as an expert in my industry (personally I think I’m doing a good job of this) and use my own Social Media Blueprint model to attract clients to me.

Making the decision is one thing – but sticking to it can be a whole new ball game – which I’m sure you can appreciate.  At times you feel that you should – maybe just this once – met someone – but it just never works.  A few months ago I meet with a lady as, based on our emails, I thought it would work out better and she would become a client – but no.  Every time I go back on my word – and cave into ‘what someone else thinks i should be doing’ – it doesn’t work out in my favour.

I honestly believe that as business owners we need to set up our businesses and ‘teach’ clients how we like to operate and be treated – then the right clients for us – will want to work with us on our terms (because it suits them as well).

To help combat this “let’s meet for coffee approach” I’ve done the following in my business;

• removed my phone number from my business cards
• list only the office number on the website (where I’m not based)
• coached Leonie (my wonderful mother – who also has to answer the phone) on the best way to deal with enquires – this really frees me up to focus on my online community and creating outstanding training for my clients
• create a series of standardised responses to send back to people – this way I don’t have to feel bad, think about what I’m saying or potentially cave into something I don’t want to do.
• changed my mobile message bank to a very long message asking people to send me an email (my friends and family know that I’ll call them back and most ‘other’ people will send an email)

Whatever the process are in your business, make sure they are on your terms + you stick to your decisions (as hard as it might be).

Along with using your email newsletter to provide people with an invitation to your Facebook Page you can also get Facebook to invite them for you.  By uploading your email database to Facebook (don’t worry it’s safe and they don’t store it or use it), they will email an invitation to like your Page to all the connecting email address.  They match up the email address you upload to the ones connected to Facebook accounts.

When using this strategy you must ensure that you are using Facebook as your Page (not Profile) this way the invite will come from your Page name and not your personal name.  When you are using Facebook as your Page follow the instructions below to invite your email list to Facebook:

1. From your Page’s Admin Panel select “build audience” then “invite email contacts”

2. If you are using your email database you will want to export them from your email program as a csv file. This is the file you want to upload to Facebook and you can upload a maximum of 5000 at a time. You can also use this method to invite contacts from Skype and other email programs. Click on ‘Invite Contacts”

3. Upload your CSV File and Click on “Upload Contacts”. Facebook will now do the rest. 

They will send a message similar to the one below to your email contacts.

Many business owners jump onto Facebook and expect that all their ‘likers’ are going to come directly from Facebook, however you want to make sure you let your existing customers know about your Facebook Page. This is vital for a couple of reason. Just because you send a regular newsletter doesn’t mean that every single person is going to open it. The same is true for your Facebook Page – not every liker will see your updates, but by having your audience connected to you on both email and Facebook, you are increasing the chances of them seeing your content.

When asking your database to join you on Facebook you must do it more than once – a gentle reminder each time is awesome. Plus make sure you give them a reason to join you on Facebook. What additional benefits are they going to receive.

In my own newsletter I often use my Facebook Page as an area they can interact back with me based on the information in the newsletter. For example “if you have used this strategy in your business jump over to my Facebook Page and let me know what you did”.  Remember to include the direct link to your Facebook Page in your newsletter – don’t make people go looking for it.

Some of your Facebook friends might be interested in your business but don’t know about it. The easiest way to see if they would be interested is to “Invite” them to your page. Facebook as an inbuilt feature for this. Ensure that you are using Facebook as your profile, and follow the instructions below:

1. From the Admin Panel click on “build audience” then “invite friends”.

2. Select your friends from the list and click on “submit”. Facebook will then send the invites for you.