As the day progressed, I continued to recognize the truth in this simple statement.

Of course, in rare instances failures end up becoming monumental successes. However, assuming you’re not the next Leaning Tower of Pisa, the following should be of some use.

Planning is one of the cornerstones of success, both on the micro and macro level. Any successful person will likely tell you that one of the first things they do to begin their day is jot down a quick list of tasks to accomplish, ideally in order of importance. One such example is our very own uber-planner Lisa Twenter, who knows this better than most. Planning out one’s day allows for better time management, efficiency and a way for the more absent-minded among us to stay on top of various projects.

While beginning a day with a game plan in mind often results in a more productive day, the same can be said for any business in the long term. With options for communicating brand messaging appearing left and right, it can be easy to get lost in the mix and begin firing blindly with a spread shot approach a la 90’s Schwarzenegger (excluding “Junior”). However, this equates to going through a day without having first established priorities and measurable goals. While it may seem as though much is being done, it is likely that a handful of important aspects are being neglected. As such, we here at M3 Group stress the value of assembling a research based, strategic communications plan before embarking on the all-important implementation phase.

For any marketing and communications plan to be successful, factors such as main goals, target audience, proper media mix, cost-effectiveness and more must be considered. For “maximum impact,” integration is a huge component. Reaching the target audience through a variety of their most used media increases the odds that the message will resonate and leave an impression, particularly in today’s era of constant clutter. Once these building blocks have been established, the fun part ensues. All that’s left to do is put the plan into action and watch the results speak for themselves.

For a free consultation on how your business can build a strong foundation for a high impact, integrated communications plan; contact me (sean@m3group.biz) or one of the many other capable members of M3 Group. Until then, Brand Forward.

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Now, I will give a few quick tips on how to improve your page’s Edgerank.

Stats from Facebook

1. Get to the Point
Posts between 100 and 250 characters get 60 percent more likes, comments and shares than posts more than 250 characters.

2. Use Visuals
Posting visuals increases user engagement. Photo albums get 180 percent more engagement. Photos get 120 percent more engagement. And videos get 100 percent more engagement.

3. Post Every Day
Since 96 percent of fans of a brand never return to your page after the initial like, posting frequently is a great way to consistently reach fans within the newsfeed.

4. Ask Your Fans
Asking questions or fill in the blank posts see an increase of engagement by 90 percent.

5. Photo with a Link
To keep chances of engagement higher, when posting a link, upload a photo and then include a caption and the URL in the caption space.

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1. Users spend more than a quarter of their time on Facebook scrolling through their newsfeed.
2. Most fans of a brand will never return to that brand’s page after an initial Like.

So what do these two facts mean?

The newsfeed is the best opportunity for brands to reach their fans. Since users spend so much time scrolling up and down the newsfeed checking out all the latest happenings in the “Facebook world,” it is important for brand’s posts to show up in their fans’ newsfeed.

Unfortunately, but understandably, not every single post is seen by every single fan, much like you won’t see every one of your 500 plus friend’s posts.

So, how is it determined what shows up in whose newsfeed? It’s determined by something called Edgerank. Edgerank is the algorithm used by Facebook to determine where and what posts appear on each individual user’s newsfeed. The three variables that make up this algorithm are affinity, weight and time-decay.

AFFINITY
Affinity measures the relationship between the viewing user and the creator of the post. The closer the relationship, the higher the score of the post. It’s important to note that affinity is one-way. For example, if user 1 interacts often with user 2, but not with user 3, user 2’s posts are more likely to appear in user 1’s newsfeed.

WEIGHT
Different types of posts hold different weights. The higher the weight, the higher the score of the post. Photos and videos rank the highest, followed by links, followed by plain text updates. It is important to note that engagement from other users also determines the post’s weight. Which means, a plain text update has the possibility of holding more weight than a photo or video.

TIME-DECAY
As a post ages, it begins to lose value, keeping your newsfeed fresh with recent news.

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Below are a few tips/life experiences I hope will help to prep and overcome those interview butterflies.

1)      Appearance:  An opinion will be formed of you before you even open your mouth to say “Hello I am…” The first thing I do before walking in to meet with a prospective client is check my teeth, pop a mint (preferably enroute to the meeting, no gum, no need to show off your chewing skills), check clothes and hair. Walk in with a confident smile no matter how hard your knees are knocking.

2)      Preparation/Presentation:  Knowledge is power: never a truer statement. Have you done your homework on the company? For all prospective clients there is research to be done prior to meeting.  In order to sell them a product I need to know how it will benefit them. In order to land the job, you need to know how you will benefit the company. Make sure you have all the necessary tools at your disposal, a note pad, pen and updated resume will be helpful, no cell phone, leave that in the car. The person in front of you deserves your undivided attention.

3)      Communication/Speech:  Be sure to annunciate all words, making sure to use yes and no in place of yeah or naw. I am not suggesting that you sound like a robot by any means, but you do want to be aware of your audience.  Practice with a friend and if you are able tape yourself, we are our own worst critic. You will be able to see if you are fidgeting or generally look uncomfortable. Proper speech and confident body language speak volumes, no pun intended.

4)      Follow up/Follow through:  There is a debate on whether you should send a thank you card, or a thank you email. I am more old fashion and prefer to send thank you cards to my prospective clients. I think it is great to receive items in the mail and I feel others have that same opinion. Although convenient and more utilized, a thank you email does not give you the same warm fuzziness as a card.

5)      Social media:  As a professional who wishes to be taken seriously that is the image I wish to project. Make sure your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn accounts are all family appropriate.  Most employers are going to Google you to see what pops up and most likely it will be prior to your meeting, what image are they are going to see?

I hope these items are helpful and keep in mind a rejection isn’t finite, it just means not at this moment.  If a prospect tells me “no,” I follow up with them in a couple months.  Situations change and there may be an opportunity at a later date.

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Facebook offers marketers the ability to target their audience very thoroughly. The following is a list of exactly how detailed the targeting of a Facebook ad can be.

LOCATION
Choose between ‘Country,’ ‘State/Province,’ ‘Zip Code’ and ‘City.’ If you choose to target as detailed as city, you are then given the option to target with ’10,’ ’25′ or ’50′ miles of that city.

AGE
Choose an age group from ’13′ to ‘No Max.’ You can also check a box that requires exact age matching. If you leave the box unchecked, your ad may be shown to users slightly outside of the selected age range.

GENDER
Choose ‘all,’ ‘men’ or ‘women.’

PRECISE INTEREST
Choose your audience based on what users have listed as an interest on their personal timeline.

BROAD CATEGORIES
Target your audience by reaching groups of people who share similar interests and traits.

CONNECTIONS
Choose to have your ad shown to anyone or only to users who are not already connected to your page.

INTERESTED IN
Choose ‘all’ unless you want your ad to be shown to users who are interested in a specific gender for dating, networking, friendship or a relationship.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS
Choose your audience based on people’s current relationship status. Choose between ‘all,’ ‘single,’ ‘ in a relationship,’ ‘married,’ ‘engaged’ and ‘not specified.’

LANGUAGES
If the audience you are targeting uses a language not common to the location you chose, you can then add additional languages.

EDUCATION
Choose between ‘anyone,’ ‘in high school,’ ‘in college’ and ‘college grad.’

WORKPLACES
Enter a specific company or organization to target those who work for that business.

If you need any help determining the right audience and setting up a Facebook ad for your business, give us a shout!

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Earlier this month, I discovered a list management app called Trello.

With Trello, you create boards to organize lists, then create your lists within each board. In my case, I created a separate board for professional projects, personal projects and reminders.

Upon opening a board, you will see cards, one each for ‘to do,’ ‘doing’ and ‘done.’ As with any list, you add actions to these cards, things that you need to do, those that are in progress and those that are completed. When you’ve finished a task, Trello’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface allows you to simply drag an action from its current position onto the ‘done’ card.

Beyond standard list-making, Trello allows you to add itemized checklists to actions as well as attach images. You are also able to network with other members, add them to boards and send out reminders.

Developing lists are extremely helpful for those all-too-frequent times when it seems like there are a hundred things to do and not nearly enough time to accomplish them. A list helps to visualize tasks at hand as well as easily identifying tasks that have already been completed.

Trello has allowed for a more streamlined and portable method for managing to-dos.  What usually involved scraps of paper and rogue Post-It notes, is now collected and organized on my Trello page. Even more helpful, Trello is always at hand when you download their app for the iPhone, Android or Windows. Anywhere you can access Trello.com or the Trello app, you can access your lists.

Check out Trello and you’ve already conquered the first step in boosting productivity!

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Going into the first day of my internship at M3 Group, I wasn’t sure what to expect. My older brother gave me one piece of advice for the first day, “Don’t mess anything up,” he said. After four years of college and two years of graduate school, that is the advice he gives me. But he was right–for the first day all you can do is soak everything in and hope to not step on any toes.

That is how to survive the first day, but to get the most out of the rest of an internship; here are a few do’s and don’ts.

Do

Branch out
When you have time, ask around the office if someone needs your assistance. It can be nerve racking to talk to someone you do not often work with, but you never know who will assign you a task that can help you grow as a person or in your career. Branching out will also help you find out activities you do or do not like and introduce you to things you have never tried before.

Keep organized

A day in the office can be chaotic, especially if you don’t stay on top of things. Staying organized will help keep you focused and productive when you need it.

Network

Shake hands with as many people as possible while you have the opportunity. An internship is a chance to get your name out in the world and make positive impressions on possible future employers.

Dress the part

Like football legend Deion Sanders said, “Look good, feel good, play good.” The same goes for an internship. Always dress for the job you want and someday you’ll have it.

Don’t

Be afraid to make mistakes

An internship should be a learning experience, so treat it like one. There is no harm in answering a question wrong in class, so don’t take it too hard if you make a mistake. Focus on never making the same mistake twice.

Be forgotten

Flying under the radar will not land you many jobs in the future. Even if you may only be remembered for restoring a flaky printer to its former glory (like me), people in the office will have something to remember you by. Think about this, if you are forgotten soon after your internship, how can they hire you for a job?

Forget to ask questions

If you don’t ask your supervisor questions, they will not know what it is you want or need to learn. Asking more questions will always be better than asking none at all.

Give up

Often in an internship, you will be assigned menial tasks. But they aren’t pointless, these jobs need to get done and they make other people’s lives easier.

Follow these tips to avoid having an internship horror story.

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Needless to say, we’ve come a long way in those forty years, a truly mobile society. The statistics from the Pew Internet and American Life Project underway by the Pew Research Center back that premise up. Here are just a few findings from their surveys:

• 87% of American adults have a cell phone, along with 78% of American teenagers ages 12 to 17
• 44% of adult cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed
• 67% find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls even when they don’t notice it ringing or vibrating
• 29% describe their cell phone as “something they can’t imagine living without”

Although, as ground breaking as those first phone calls were to Martin Cooper, little did he know that in today’s world, talking on the phone isn’t even the most used function. Photo taking, texting, accessing emails and searching the internet all rank above having a conversation on a mobile device. See there, most of the time we don’t refer to them as a “phone” but rather a “device”.

And these devices are changing how people conduct their business, here’s an example:

Last week here at M3 Group we had a conference room filled with some clients. One of the topics we had to cover was a new logo design we had created for their organization. After presenting the group with a handful of options it was narrowed down to one logo, but the client wanted a slight color change.  While the meeting continued on with the multiple topics, a text was sent to our graphic artist sitting one floor above us. Direction was given for the color change and the revised logo was presented to the client while the meeting was still in progress. That’s one of many examples of how the world is doing business today with mobile devices.

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There have been many times where I have come across a font that I was unable to identify. However, since I have downloaded the free mobile app What the Font, I have not had that problem.

I recommend this app to any designer that has a smart phone.

Check out the video below to see how it works!

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — Nationally-recognized health and wellness speaker, Chris Johnson, debuts his latest book April 1 that reveals a formula for enhancing employee health and productivity, benefitting organizations of all sizes and their bottom line. On Target Living: Your Guide to a Life of Balance, Energy, and Vitality (Wiley; April 2013; $22.00), reveals what Johnson refers to as “the simple steps to get adequate rest, exercise and nutrition to reach one’s greatest potential.”

“I wrote the new book for two reasons,” Johnson explains. “First we were completely sold out of the last book, and second, we needed to expand the reach of this knowledge. I didn’t want to write a diet book, I wanted to write a book about diet, exercise and rest that increased people’s quality of life. My last books were self-published and to get more people to learn this information, I needed to go with a large publisher and that is why I chose Wiley and Sons.”
A voice of clarity amidst the myriads of competing health advice available, Johnson offers an engaging, balanced coverage of the lifestyle choices needed to attain maximum health, energy and productivity. The solutions presented in the book improve employee performance and change company culture. Drawing from his success training thousands of companies and individuals to live a life of balance, Johnson’s On Target Living leaves readers:

• Inspired to reach for higher levels of energy, fitness and overall well-being
• Equipped with reliable health and nutrition information as well a as better understanding of how wellness can affect productivity and retention
• Empowered to easily tackle the difficult task of healthy habit formation one step at a time
• Armed with knowledge and practical tools to take immediate action

Johnson enables readers to combat negative mentalities and form healthy habits to tap into their potential like never before, expanding their possibilities and attaining greater corporate and individual success.

Johnson is founder and CEO of On Target Living

(www.ontargetliving.com), a wellness consulting firm that helps companies achieve fitness goals and increase efficiency while reducing turnaround. In addition to regularly speaking to businesses on the health and wellness strategies needed to infuse energy into the lives of their employees and increase productivity in the office, Johnson offers health programs and one-on-one coaching. During his more than 25-year career, Johnson has earned and maintained the reputation of providing effective lifestyle modification strategies with integrity and compassion.

On Target Living is a guide for living a life in balance, with energy and vitality – meeting basic needs of nutrition, exercise, rest and rejuvenation enhancing our lives. Visit ontargetliving.com to learn more.
CONTACT:

Matt Johnson

Director of Business Development

(517) 881-0681

mjohnson@ontargetliving.com

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