How to win by putting ‘social’ back into your social media
Are you a big sports fan, or do you know any? If you’re a sports fan, you probably know that the real pleasure comes from seeing an event as it happens. Recording a game and watching it later just doesn’t create the same excitement. Even some of the shine is taken off Olympic events when you know that they happened 12 hours earlier. The same psychology applies to your social media posts. I’m very grateful to have apps like TweetDeck, Hootsuite, Buffer, and the others that let me schedule social media posts. However, I notice something interesting every week when I review my statistics: My “live” posts are always among the posts with the best engagement rates – and they usually are at the very top of the list. The lesson here is to not rely 100 percent on “canned” posts. If everything you post is planned and scheduled well in advance, you take the “social” out of social media, and platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest just become “media.” For me, one of the best ways to engage my followers is to post an occasional live update about what I’m doing. No matter what your daily routine looks like, people like to get a behind-the-scenes view of your life, both personal and professional. Another way to inject the social back into social media is to make a point of having conversations via your social media channels. There are a number of ways you can accomplish this: Twitter chats. Organize and schedule a Twitter chat on a topic that would interest your followers. These are a great way to communicate with and strengthen your relationship with a wide swath of your followers in a condensed period of time. Pro tip: Study the transcripts of your Twitter chats. They can reveal problems your customers are having that you might be able to solve! They can also lead to relevant blog topics. Responding to comments. Take the time to read and respond to comments made on your posts, or even on other people’s posts. When I see a post with a lot of comments, I always read them because I want to know what has sparked so much interest. Further, even a short reply to a comment on one of your posts will demonstrate that you’re involved and care that people take the time to follow you. Working hard to keep “immediacy” in your social media posts is another important strategy to adopt. Social media was designed to “connect” people, and connections need to happen in real time. Here are some way to achieve this: Retweeting or sharing. While these tactics don’t sway large groups of followers, they go a long way toward strengthening your relationship with the original poster. Take the time to review your feeds on the social media platforms where you have a presence. When someone makes an insightful remark, honor it by sharing it with your following. This will also help you to keep up with trending topics, which brings me to my final point. Leverage the happenings of the day. Another way to show that your posts are personal and not the output of artificial intelligence is to make good use of trending topics. This strategy doesn’t do a lot to strengthen your engagement, but it...
read moreGoogle Googled ‘What makes a successful team?’ – here’s what they found
Outsiders have been trying to unlock Google’s secrets for attracting and retaining top talent for the last couple of decades. Is it the cafeteria food? How about the ping-pong tables or video games? Maybe it’s just that Google pays extraordinarily well. All of these factors certainly play a role, but when Google decided to carefully examine what makes their teams successful, five qualities were revealed: Psychological safety Dependability Structure and clarity Meaning of work Impact of work Items two through five on that list probably look familiar to anyone in a leadership position. But I believe it’s worthwhile to examine them in two contexts: How they relate to the group dynamic, and How they relate to individuals within the group. Let me start with that second point and make a statement whose truth is apparent to everyone, but is sometimes ignored: Individuals within work groups must shoulder their share of responsibility for the group’s success. Now let’s quickly examine those last four points in this light. Dependability. This is the most obvious attribute where individuals must take a great deal of responsibility. All of us have been in situations where we’re waiting for someone else to finish their work before we can begin ours. You have probably worked with someone whose inbox seems to be a black hole. Not only does this kind of behavior slow the process, it poisons the work group. It fosters an attitude of “Why bother?” within team members. On the leadership side, if teams can’t depend on follow through or implementation from management, it has an even worse effect on employee attitude. Structure and clarity. Teams need a healthy amount of structure and to achieve this, communication must be clear. Do you remember all the press Zappos received a few years ago when it bulldozed its org chart and implemented self-management through a system dubbed holacracy? I wrote about it here, ending my article with, “There are a lot of hurdles for Zappos to overcome as it makes this move and I don’t think success is guaranteed.” That Google found structure and clarity necessary for success goes contrary to the philosophy behind holacracy, and it turns out the Google is on the right side here. A follow-up article in Fortune revealed that after adopting holacracy, Zappos fell off the magazine’s yearly 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2016. The company had made the list for eight straight years. More testimony to the fact that Google’s structure trumps Zappos’ “flat management” system is evidenced in Google’s command of the number one position in the 2017 100 Best Companies to Work For list (Zappos is still out of the top 100). Providing structure and clarity doesn’t mean you have to burden your team with hidebound rules, regulations, and red tape. You should communicate goals, time tables, and provide direction. This could be as creative as “Bring back five off-the-wall, never-tried marketing ideas at the end of the month.” You may have some folks on your staff who are founts of innovative ideas. You might want to cut the loose and have them sometimes operate with little supervision. But remember that it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between a mad genius and a loose cannon! Meaning of work and impact of work. I’m going to...
read moreExplore these new free business courses that start soon
Several new, free, online courses were recently announced. I’ve gone through them to find the ones that would benefit business owners and leaders the most. Many of these start soon, so don’t delay in checking them out. Of particular interest to me were the courses on intrepreneurship, computer science for professionals, innovation, and writing for social media. I think virtually every business owner would find at least one of these to be extremely helpful for supporting growth in 2018. Also, as you look at the list, don’t forget the others on your team. One of the best ways to build loyalty and strength within your company is to actively support and encourage your employees to grow within their roles and become prepared to take on greater responsibilities. Finally, who wouldn’t be happy to take a free class from Harvard or UC Berkeley? PS – If the timing of these doesn’t work out for you, look over this list of free self-paced business courses. School Course Title Provider, length Start date University of Virginia Innovating with the Business Model Canvas via Coursera: 1-2 hours a week , 2 weeks long 29th Jan, 2018 Politecnico di Milano ORG101 – Organization via Polimi OPEN KNOWLEDGE: 4-5 hours a week 1st Feb, 2018 University of Virginia Managerial Accounting Fundamentals via Coursera: 2-4 hours a week , 4 weeks long 12th Feb, 2018 Harvard University CS50’s Computer Science for Business Professionals via edX: 2-6 hours a week , 6 weeks long Self paced Australian National University Evidence-Based Management Capstone via edX: 4-12 hours a week , 2 weeks long 22nd Feb, 2018 mooc.house Intrapreneurship – Make your Business great again via Independent: 5 hours a week , 6 weeks long 26th Feb, 2018 Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship Business Models for Social Impact via +Acumen: 2 hours a week , 5 weeks long 8th May, 2018 University of California, Berkeley Writing for Social Media via edX: 3-5 hours a week , 4 weeks long 21st May, 2018 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Financial Reporting Capstone: Comprehensive Financial Statement Analysis via Coursera: 6-8 hours a week 1st Jun, 2018 University of Queensland Innovation: From Plan to Product via edX: 8-10 hours a week , 10 weeks long 2nd Oct, 2018...
read moreHow to make your blog posts breed like rabbits
Wouldn’t it be a great trick if you could turn one blog post into 10 blog posts? Using a gallery post can accomplish something quite similar to that kind of magic. I know that you’ve seen these posts. They are most often used to show you the pictures of 10 child stars and how they look today or similar posts. However, they can be used to deliver useful information – they don’t have to be totally relegated to the click-bait world. Almost any list post can be translated into a click-through gallery. Here’s the magic: When you post a standard list post, your visitors see one page on your website. When you make a gallery out of the list post, every time they click to see the “next” image, it’s almost like they are seeing another page. You need to have images to accompany your points, but they don’t need to be literal “how-to” images, they can simply set the mood for the points you’re making. Further, not every slide in your gallery needs to be a pure image. You can use type as well. Here’s a quick example of using a general illustration to express an idea, then using the same illustration as a background to make an editorial point: Below is a gallery post I recently came across that illustrates some important concepts and benefits. When you plan a gallery post, lay out your page in a way that keeps your social sharing buttons always in view. Maybe the fifth image or point you make will be the one that triggers the urge to share in your visitor. Further, if you run ads on your page, make sure they are always within sight. On a regular blog page, when readers scroll, sometimes the ads and the social share buttons disappear from view – or they are located at the bottom of the page and the reader may not even get that far! Do you have some list posts on your site already? Why not revisit those and see which ones can be easily converted into a gallery post. And, if you don’t have time to do this yourself, find a freelancer who will put them together for you. A good freelancer will simply need the URLs of the posts you want translated into a gallery to pull off your...
read moreThis week in small business: Productivity, management tips to make 2018 your best year ever
The emphasis this week seems to be on management and productivity, and with competition heating up to claim the riches promised by this growing economy, we can use all the tips we can find. Leadership, management, and productivity With hiring and retaining employees one of the critical challenges today, this article by Liz Greene on successful onboarding is timely indeed. You’ll find practical advice in 4 Things to Know About Ecommerce Returns to Minimize Lost Profits and Keep Customers Happy, by Rafael Zimberoff. You need to keep your relationships healthy in business. Lewis Howes discusses how to set boundaries to build thriving relationships. When Michele Buck was tapped to run Hershey in March 2017, she became the first female CEO in the company’s 123-year history. Susie Gharib profiles Buck in this Fortune article. Aashish Sharma gives us sound advice on how to outsource to boost productivity. Marketing and sales Do you ever ask your Facebook followers to share, like, or comment on a post? If so, watch out, because Christopher Hutchens says Facebook will penalize your page. Chris Parbey delivers 10 social media marketing tips in this Edgy Labs article. Number eight is easy and should be a staple. Writing for Ecommerce Times, John P. Mello Jr. outlines the trends he sees for 2018, including voice, subscriptions, and personalization. Mello isn’t alone forecasting 2018 ecommerce trends, Ann-Marie Alcántara has five she thinks you need to pay attention to. Entrepreneurship, startups, and innovation We’re past the official time for New Year’s resolutions, but readers found Alyssa Wright’s The New Year’s Resolution Every Female Social Entrepreneur Should Make, compelling reading nonetheless. How about boiling success down to four steps? That’s what Erin (Pink) Mosley does in this article. (BTW, each step is summarized by one word! Couldn’t be more straightforward.) The off-term elections are looming big, so you might want to take a look at Lyneir Richardson’s piece on how entrepreneurs can make sensible political donations. Politics, government, and the economy If you think the economy is good now, Jonathon Trugman says it’s in store for even more success in 2018....
read moreDiscounts, deals, and advance access: Keys to increasing sales
Are you shooting all the different kinds of ammunition you have in your sales arsenal? I’m going to go over what I believe are three of the most important ways to achieve a sale. For the purpose of this article, I want to focus on the initial sale, so I’m going to skip upselling and cross-selling. As I wrote in the headline, the three topics I want to cover are: Discounts, Deals, and Advance or exclusive access. But, before I flesh out some details, I want to point out another important reason for using each of these strategies. If you have a system that connects customers to the offers they have accepted, you have another way to segment your list. For example, you might find some people are extremely receptive to getting advance access to offers and products, while others never bite on these offers. That knowledge gives you the power to better target your sales and marketing communications. Now for some specifics. Discounts Getting a product or service for less than its usual retail price is the most fundamental way to encourage a prospect into making a purchase. However, there are many ways to “package” a discount and understanding which ways work best with your customers is critical knowledge. Do your customers respond best to a percentage discount, dollar amount reduction, coupons, Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO), or quantity discounts? Take time to uncover the answer to that question so you can determine which one or two are your biggest producers. Deals A BOGO discount, might be considered a deal, but let me give you the way I like to classify an offer as a “deal.” Every deal in life hinges on the word if – as in If you do this, then I’ll do that. So, sales deals can be things like: If you buy this, then we’ll give you this other thing half off. If you buy now, then we’ll extend our warranty one year. If you upgrade, we’ll give you three extra months for free. If you buy today, we’ll lock in your pricing for as long as you continue your service. Take some time brainstorming “If” deals; you might come up with some original applications that your competitors haven’t yet considered! Advance or exclusive access Being able to obtain products and services before everyone else is a huge motivation to buy. In the same way, being singled out as part of an exclusive group that is being given access to a product or service will often boost sales. You could give your “best customers” early or exclusive access to a new product or service. Or, you could share some inside information with a “small group” of your customers because you aren’t yet set up to handle the demand that would result if you let everyone in on the offer. Combinations of these strategies Why not shoot two barrels at one time? How about an offer like: Get 20 percent off with your preorder! In boxing, the “old one-two” can be a knockout punch; stacking up a couple of these strategies can be very powerful Important: This article expires in 10 days! Along with combining two of these strategies, you can add time elements to all of these to boost their power. A ticking clock is always a...
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