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That’s when I decided, it’s time to change. I still wanted to be a working mum but I needed something I could do and be here for my kids. There aren’t many corporate roles that allow you to work fun time from home so I needed to create my own. And I did it!! I am still a working mum , but I decided for me to get that balance that I would build a business that would allow me to be a work from home mum. I love it and would never ever go back to an office job.

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Don’t just use Twitter to just make connections: use it to stay on top of the latest trends in your industry, learn new skills, and become the entrepreneurial star you’ve always wanted to be.

Setting up your Twitter account
Set up your account. Go to Twitter to get started. Enter your name, email, and a password. Click Sign up.
You will now be taken to a second screen where can select a username. This is the name by which you will be known on Twitter. What name should you use?

Your real name is best—if it’s available. If not, you can try using a middle initial or prefacing it with something like “the” or “real” (e.g., “TheFrankDavis” or “Real FrankDavis”).

Also, I recommend using initial caps and in-word caps. It will make your username more readable and memorable. For example: I use “MichaelHyatt” rather than simply “michaelhyatt.”

Now click on the Create my account button. That’s it. You are now official a member of the Twitter community. Congratulations!

Next, Twitter will assist you in getting started. It will explain what a tweet is and give you the opportunity to “follow” a few friends, popular people, or brands. You can opt out of these steps for now if you wish. Simply click the Skip this step link.

Twitter will also give you a chance to see if some of your friends are on Twitter by checking your online address book. However, your contacts will have to be in one of the supported services: GMail, Hotmail, Yahoo, or AOL. Also, you’ll only see users who have allowed their accounts to be found by email address.

This wasn’t that helpful to me when I initially started, since my contacts resided in Microsoft Outlook. However, I had a GMail account, so I just exported my contacts from Outlook and then imported them into Gmail. It worked flawlessly. However, if you get stuck, forget this step. You can add your friends later.

Twitter And Why Your Business Needs To be On It.  You can use it for sending your promo viral.

• Tweets with links
• Tweets that are between 100 and 115 characters long
• Tweets containing news and trendy content

• Twitter And Why Your Business Needs To be On It.  Timing is crucial for modern users. They want to get help here and now. That’s where Twitter becomes essential, as your customer reps don’t need to dig through contact information data and can shoot immediate replies with links to FAQs or a respective help information section.
• Twitter And Why Your Business Needs To be On It.  You can increase your brand visibility with the use of special hashtags, re-tweets and mentions by your customers. Your brand will get organic promotion and also appear more approachable and human.
• Twitter And Why Your Business Needs To be On It.  Building new leads.  Here’s the trick. If you start offering customer support to those users who are not your clients yet, they are likely to become them. Set up alerts for search terms with the most relevant words to your industry. Answer the questions that pop up on Twitter now and then. When you just help people out, a lot of them naturally check out what you are doing and become potential prospects.

Email me at racquel@homeentrepreneur.com.au

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/racquel.courtney

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehomeentrepreneur/

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To start…… Instagram throws a punch. It connects.

Snapchat is a completely different platform but both have their space in the “Social Media Arena.”

Marketers and influencers have been actively trying to shift their Instagram audience to Snapchat. Why? There are two reasons: partly, because mid-year Instagram moved to an algorithm-driven feed.  Whereas posts appear not in the sequence they were posted, but rather in the order Instagram “thinks” is most relevant to you. The changes were met with widespread outcry and downright panic from the Influencer community.  This lead for a call from every sexy celebrity to your local barista, urging you to “turn on notifications”. Influencers were worried that you – their audience – would no longer see their posts and they would become, well … less influential.

The other reason for the shift was that Instagram brand didn’t retain the cool-factor it once had.  Snapchat had been soundly identified as the next BIG platform. Influencers and brands replaced their profile pics with their Snapchat QR codes, posts were tagged as being taken at “Snapchat”, and then something else happened …

The Story Behind Instagram Vs Snapchat

Instagram Stories happened. Instagram’s new feature moves closer to giving users all the features of Snapchat in one platform. Instagram users can now share a series of photos or videos with their followers that will disappear after 24 hours.

How have Influencers reacted to Stories? Very well. Since the release, some major Influencers have described it as the death of Snapchat. Pai Muehlenbeck – boasting 1.3 million Instagram followers – posted a status to her Facebook saying, “I surpassed my total 24 hour Snapchat views in under one hour on Instagram Stories”.

“I surpassed my total 24 hour Snapchat views in under one hour on Instagram Stories”.

Pia’s not alone, either; purely by the platform’s fundamental design, Instagram’s reach is far superior to that of Snapchat. And for businesses and brands, this could mean one less social media channel to manage if Snapchat Stories gets pushed out by Instagram Stories.

But hold on –Snapchat’s been going from strength to strength and has a dedicated fan base in Millennials, and is … well, pretty cool, so we can’t write it off.

All of this is background to the key question for your business: “which platform should I be pouring my marketing efforts into?”

When it comes to  Instagram Vs Snapchat for Business…… Is it Snapchat? Instagram? … Or both?

Instagram Vs Snapchat for Business – Instagram’s reach is far superior to that of Snapchat. Instagram has 500 million daily users, while Snapchat has 150 million (surpassing Twitter in June). That’s a large disparity in reach.

First point – Instagram Vs Snapchat for Business.

Instagram is structured as a much more publicly-accessible social media platform – meaning that it’s drastically easier to get the attention of new users on Instagram than it is on Snapchat.

Instagram Stories are very visible as they sit at the top of your news feed. You can also see, in real-time, how many people have viewed each post in your story and work out the depth of engagement you are creating.

What the Instagram Stories feature is bringing to the platform is the ability to share more authentic, real-time daily updates to user accounts. This is ephemeral, intimate content creation, as first envisaged by Snapchat.

Another aspect of Stories is the ability to update media that you did not necessarily take with the Instagram app, but have saved to your camera roll within the last 24 hours. In many cases, users have been exporting videos taken on Snapchat using lenses and geofilters and importing them into Instagram Stories. In other words, we’ve seen a lot of puppy tongues.

The early indications are that everyday users are engaging with the new feature. But we need to be mindful that Instagram Stories will only be as successful at drumming up marketing opportunities for you as it will be popular with everyday users. We already know that businesses are going to adopt Instagram Stories, but that’ll be for naught if there is no one engaging with the feature.

Whatever the outcome for Instagram Stories, this definitely was a move to slow down the momentum Snapchat had achieved. The bottom line is that Facebook has the money and the army to either buy you or emulate you and make you irrelevant. When Instagram unveil filters and lenses of their own it may be a further devastating blow to Snapchat, but it’s unlikely to kill it.

Instagram Vs Snapchat for Business. The key selling point for brands on Snapchat can be summed up with one word: community.

Building a community around your brand is absolutely key to driving enthusiasm, loyalty and engagement – and while it is easier to reach large numbers of people on Instagram, the people your reach on Snapchat are simply more invested in your business.

This is partly because on Snapchat users have to invest time and effort into following you. On Instagram, the user experience is much easier. Millennials find it cool that “adults” (being anyone over the age of 25) have difficultly navigating the user interface. This is all part of the appeal.

Further, Snapchat is the opposite of other platforms: it’s an intimate space where friends interact with friends that they have chosen to interact with. That translates into users only choosing to follow businesses and brands that they believe in and feel a genuine connection with.

That means if you can get them on board, they’ll go to bat for you in a way that followers on Instagram are less likely to do.

Snapchat is a young person’s game, and Millennials ignore and shy away from traditional ads. Instead, they’re expecting their favourite brands to engage with them in a fun, personal, and entertaining way. Authentic, visual brand storytelling is the future of marketing.

The other thing Snapchat has going for it is that it’s a social media platform in ascension. Engagement on Instagram, meanwhile, has slumped this year, according to many sources.

With you choice of Instagram Vs Snapchat for Business, then at this stage it is which age group is your target market?

If the majority of your target market is over 25, then when looking at Instagram Vs Snapchat for Business.  Instagram might be your best bet. With an “older” being over 25 years?!, this is the platform that your audience calls home – and the ease with which you can reach them on Instagram’s business-friendly platform is a definite bonus.

If your target market is younger, it’s worth considering Snapchat. It’s a tougher nut to crack, but that’s where your audience lives in 2016. How much Instagram chips away at that is a question for a later time, but at this stage you want to make sure you’re making use of a community that values a good brand with a good reputation.

If your target market crosses over between the two groups, then take a look at your existing marketing mix. Do you already have a Snapchat brand account? Have you been nurturing it, putting the hard work in to get engagement? Well, you should keep at it then. If, on the other hand, you’ve built up a loyal following on Instagram and the idea of trying to shift your audience to a new platform sounds exhausting, then stick with what is working. Instagram just gave you a break!

And in addition, there are many ways to make use of Snapchat WITHOUT building a following of your own.

Whatever you decide on with Instagram Vs Snapchat for Business, a great way for brands to expand their reach is to include user-generated content in their marketing arsenal. Consumers who post photos and videos of brand products are valuable Influencers in their own right. Marketing teams can then re-share some of these posts through Snapchat and Instagram to create an authentic, grassroots feel to your content.

It’s that authentic approach to branding that is going to yield you greater results in the long run.

Email me at racquel@homeentrepreneur.com.au

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/racquel.courtney

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehomeentrepreneur/

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Fun Fact: Did you Know…. Everyone is afraid. I know I am, I am sure you are, everyone is! The only difference between you and the successful people you admire is that they are willing to work and move through their fears in order to get where they want to be.

If you don’t learn how to face your fear or it will grip your mind, body, and spirit. It will wage a war against you and your dreams. Know this need not be. Once you understand how you can dissipate fear, it shrinks and is no longer a threat.

Face Your Fear With These Simple Tips

Do the things that frighten you. Take one small step, then another. Action builds courage. Tell yourself, “This fear will pass.” Your world expands as your courage and willingness to grow expands. Open up your world, today to face your fear.

Meditation and coming from a place of peace is really great to reduce fear. It absolutely helps relax you and help calm your fear. By unclenching your jaw, relax your forehead, open your hands (no clenched fists) and just breathe. Another great tip is to take mini relaxation breaks throughout your day and learn to live in a relaxed state.  I have found that Mindfulness app’s are great for this.

Face Your Fear – Surround Yourself With Abundance

Come to love all you have and what surrounds you. Learn to think, speak, and live as an abundant person to face your fear. Stop paying attention to all forms of negative that surround you. Participate and celebrate your life. Be generous. Give. Donate. Share.

Focus your attention on being ready, willing, and prepared for the success, joy, wonder, connections, good fortune, and awesome circumstances that are yours if you are willing to work and be open to it. You deserve the best no matter what. Accept that fact about yourself.

Do you lack information or direction? Develop your intuition. Get a mentor. Join Toastmasters. Be a life-long learner. Give it your all. Burn the midnight oil. Take action on what you learn. Fear fades in an environment of this kind.

Help others. Give to the beginners. Be a good leader. Take others with you and help them succeed as well. What would life be like if we believed in, “All for one, and one for all?” We all want the same things in life. Let’s help each other move ahead.

View life as a creative and wild adventure Life can be brimming with good times of beauty and adventure or overwhelming with challenge and tragedy. Choose to stay present and breathe through it all. Be grateful for the varied landscape, hold onto your hat, and enjoy the ride.

Email me at racquel@homeentrepreneur.com.au

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/racquel.courtney

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehomeentrepreneur/

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Then you have to find money to advertise….

You can definitely learn how to grow your business on a budget, you just need to know where to start.

Complimentary Businesses as a Partnership

Tip 1:  To grow your business on a budget is by seeking out businesses that are complimentary to yours. This allows you to look at partnerships for online and offline advertising.  Offline distribution of pamphlets most businesses will agree because the cost is only that of a catalogue.  This can help eliminate the expense of extra mailing fees. You can look to join with a business that has been around longer than yours. This will send your catalogues and ship in the other company’s orders and can place your products front of lots of new customers.  It can really give you the extra benefit of a silent endorsement from a supplier whose products were already well-regarded in our industry.

This distribution can also be done digitally, just ask to do an email exchange. This is where you send an email for the other company to your list and vice versa.  You can also trade advertising space on each other’s respective sites.

Customer Referrals

Tip 2: To grow your business on a budget is customer referrals.  Ensure your website has a way for customers to write reviews. You need to have links to allow them to share the products they like with friends. You can add a little comment on your receipts telling your customers about the website and offer a Reward Program. Offer a reward for a customer with a credit or freebie when they contribute a review that is detailed enough to help other customers make a buying decision.

Giving a referral credit towards a future order is an inexpensive yet powerful way to grow your business.   This is great as it is encouraging the current customer to try new items with the credit, and bringing a new customer on board. A customer referral is worth far more than any ad because it eliminates buying objections as it is a personal seal of approval on your products.

For further options on how to grow your business on a budget grab our FREE E-book on Facebook post ideas.

Grab Your Copy Today 17 Free Facebook Post Ideas

Email me at racquel@homeentrepreneur.com.au

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/racquel.courtney

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehomeentrepreneur/

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