by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 8, 2014 | Content Marketing, Customer Service, Social Media
Online success isn’t just about generating rich, relevant content and being on social platforms. While all that creates the basic foundation for success, you need to build your relationships and nurture your network.
[Tweet “Your community is your greatest asset; your megaphone of social proof.”]
Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation. This effect is prominent in ambiguous social situations where people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior, and is driven by the assumption that surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation. Wikipedia
The Internet is a social environment; a tremendous force for buying decisions. The information gathering process is performed online, everyday. 80-95% of purchases are made because of online reviews. You, as well as your customer base, are influenced by your peers and community. We listen for the good, the bad and the ugly. It’s the social way of doing business.
BrightLocal’s 2013 Local Consumer Review Survey found that:
These statistics alone are good enough reason to enhance and promote your own social proof in your digital environment. Build your digital reputation with authentic engagement, outstanding customer service and selfless connections. While there may be a method to your madness, ulterior motives are pretty transparent so don’t waste your time with disingenuous actions.
Be real.
Be the person you’d like to do business with.
Your service, not services is one of the key factors that can be your unique selling proposition. Your competitor may sell the same widgets, but it’s YOU who has the opportunity to rise above and offer something superb and personal.
Relationships are like muscle tissue… the more they are engaged, the stronger and more valuable they become. Ted Rubin
Truly connect and go the extra mile. 100 miles even. Don’t stop there. If you want something bad enough and believe you’ve got the best there is, then give it. You can’t go wrong.
What can Social Proof do for you?
- Build credibility
- Foster trust
- Grow loyalty
- Increase brand exposure
- Substantiate your products and services
- Empower your prospects
- Cultivate a community of influencers
Typical forms of Social Proof
- Social mentions, shares and likes
- Case studies
- Testimonials
- Online reviews
- User generated content
The Crazy Egg: social proof in the marketing community simply refers to using these crowds and their input to create positive connections with a brand or business.
How can YOU use social proof in your marketing?
- Share client case studies
- Embed tweets and mentions in your posts and social channels
- Add customer testimonials to your website and newsletter
- Show social endorsements from industry influencers
- Engage with interested online influencers who may help to promote you
- Add the Facebook “like” box to your blog
- Incorporate “As Seen In” logo boxes
- Save shout outs in your Twitter Favorites
When someone lands on your landing page, they don’t know whether your offer is any good — which gives you the opportunity to sway them using quotes from customers, embedded tweets, and so on. HubSpot
“The proof is in the pudding.” People can buy followers and likes so don’t depend on numbers to build your credibility or to make your own buying decisions. Unfortunately, just because you saw it on the Internet does not mean it’s real. Large numbers don’t equate to authenticity, dedicated fans or genuine relationships. Stir up real relationships.
Too many websites only talk about their products and services. Blah! Blah! Blah! While it may be important to talk about your company, offerings and services, it isn’t enough to sway your buyers. They showed up on your site for a reason. They have a need. You have a service. Make the decision process a little more comfortable and create the confidence and trust they are seeking.
Social Proof is your key to more magnetic marketing [KISSmetrics]
Showcase your undeniable true network of connections and clients with valid social proof that you produced with honest hard work.
You earned it.
Demonstrate it.
If you want to elevate your sway, develop strategies to put social proof to work in your online communications. Barry Feldman
What are your tips to foster and share your social proof?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 1, 2014 | Entrepreneur, Small Business
Starting and growing your business is an exciting and at times, an overwhelming endeavor. The entrepreneurial spirit is a driving force to hang your shingle and as you know, it requires a specific mindset and continued effort to sustain and expand in your marketplace.
Break away: There may be several other businesses like yours and it is up to you to set yourself apart from the competition. It isn’t your widgets that generate the business. It’s you. Your service. Your commitment to your stakeholders.
Business ownership can be a 24/7 job and necessitates forward thinking and as Michael Port says, “thinking big.” Just because you opened your doors and provide a product or service, your job doesn’t end here. Build it and they will come is not enough. You must live in it, on it and breathe it.
Small business isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for the brave, the patient and the persistent. It’s for the overcomer. Unknown
There is no room for stagnation or complacency if you intend to experience the full benefits of your company, aspiring greater revenues, satisfied customers, WOM marketing, new products/services and success. Embrace your business, your skills and your team on your journey as an entrepreneur.
Small Business Success Tips
- Have a passion for your business, service and product
- Solve an issue or problem, don’t just sell a widget
- Create blueprints to outline your goals, vision and action steps
- Set up systems for components of your business: i.e. marketing, sales channels, customer support, project management, social media and use them consistently. There is too much time and money lost searching for information or testing new tools and systems. Find one and use it
- Provide the service you expect from your own vendors
- Understand that response time to inquiries is very important. Don’t keep the prospect or customer waiting because your competitor is on your heels
- Stay connected and be available
- Never stop learning or reading for ways to help your business, network, customers or prospects
- Learn from failures and push forward, making new inroads
- Underpromise and overdeliver
- Be open to change and new directions based upon the market and your customers
- Know the difference between working ON your business, rather than IN it
- Why are you making yourself busy? All of the back end, low payoff, admin activities do not represent your core genius or generate income. It is important to allow delegation to become a strength, in order to grow and expand a business
- Social media and online marketing are here to stay – create a strong presence, understand the medium, know where your customers are
- Authenticity wins. If you aren’t true to yourself and your prospects, it is easily visible or soon to be discovered. Be real or don’t play at all
- Maintainable and consistent growth results from doing more of what produces progression and less of what seizes your time in the name of growth
- You must define the most profitable use of your working hours
- Focus your valuable time on the high payoff activities
- Limit distractions and stay centered on the task – you will be much more productive.
- Create collaborative teams within your company and industry
- Realize that every online action you take lasts a lifetime as your digital footprint. Your personal online brand represents you AND your company. Be cognizant of your posts and comments as your reputation may be determining your social impact
- Giving is better than receiving. Stop singing Me, Me, Me. Share the rich and relevant content of others in your network, industry, trusted circles, family, friends….. you know who. Reach out and ask how you can help. If you find a pertinent article to someone you know, email it. Go the extra mile
- Learn effective time management skills while you can’t manage time per say, you can manage yourself in terms of your priorities and scheduling. Never be late and don’t miss deadlines
- Maintain an organized office and life with productivity tools that work for you; whether it is a pen and paper, an online PM system or a spreadsheet, keep track of what you are doing, the milestones, results, action steps and To Do list
- Have some fun. Laugh a little and most of all, revel in your success as a business owner
Small business success doesn’t just happen overnight with a wish and a magic wand.
What is your secret weapon for success?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Sep 24, 2014 | Content Marketing, Organization, Productivity, Small Business, Time Management
Bleary eyed and reaching for your coffee, you boot up your computer and start your daily diet of content consumption. It is a filling nourishment of words, intel, fired up neurons and brain overload. Or at least it can be. Personally, I can spend hours reading all of the articles on social platforms, news aggregators, daily digests, emails and newsletters. Sometimes I think my head will explode.
Research demonstrates that we take in five times as much information as we did 30 years ago, raising huge challenges to organize it all.
We are drowning in data.
In a 2010 LexisNexis study, 62% of workers felt as though their quality of work suffered at times because they couldn’t sort through the information they needed fast enough.
There is so much to digest and learn. I could be bookmarking and saving content all day long. There are hundreds of talented bloggers and business owners sharing their incredible knowledge of tools, tips, recommendations and experiences. It can be overwhelming. Think of how many times you get sucked in to the black hole searching, clicking, and redirecting. It’s a vortex.
How do you manage all of the content? There are tools to organize your content or to help you search and save but you also need to decide what you are going to do with the information. Daniel Levitan, author of “The Organized Mind,” says “Whenever we feel overwhelmed by everything we need to keep track of in life, we talk about wanting to get organized.”
You’ve chosen your sources, thought leaders and industry favorites to follow and “study” in your own college auditorium of higher learning. That’s what it sometimes feels like for me and without the outrageous tuition costs.
What is the purpose? Business or personal? How does it apply to your business? Customers? Colleagues?
What are your content goals?
- Self-education
- Curation
- Repurposing
- Inspirational
- Research
- Love of reading
If you’re like most of us, you have a business to run and can’t spend every waking moment culling and sifting through information. It’s a full time job. Who has the time to sit and read all day when you are trying to live the entrepreneurial dream?
Use filters and keywords help to refine your searches.
This will help to save time and improve your overall content management. If you have some systems in place, it will be much easier to sort through all of the posts you want to read and combat your information hangover.
Researchers tend to agree that it’s not the volume of information that is the problem; it’s our inability to organize and process it all without experiencing “information overload, or what neuroscientists like to call “cognitive overload. Saga Briggs
| Research |
Organize |
| Social Media |
Evernote |
| BuzzSumo |
Readability |
| Scoop.it |
Spreadsheets |
| Tagboard |
Swipe files |
| RSS feeds |
Bookmarks |
| ContentGems |
Files and folders |
| Hootsuite Content Feature |
One Note |
| Flipboard |
Feedly |
| Alltop |
Google Drive |
| Inbound.org |
Dropbox |
| Biz Sugar |
Pocket |
| Topsy |
Ubernote |
| Feedly |
Powerpoint |
Design a system that works for you to enhance your time management and productivity as well as minimize on the extreme overload of data and what to do with it all. A method to your madness is guaranteed to keep you on track and focused. Systems and processes are the architectural structure of your success and productivity.
Establish some routines; otherwise you hit a wall, letting things go and opportunities are forfeited. The routines could be time limits or specific times you will be searching, saving and filing. Time block when you will surf. If you discover something important during the day, “save” it somewhere to revisit later. Don’t let it be a distraction and take you away from your current task at hand.
Decide what to keep or implement NOW based upon it’s perceived impact on your goals. Prioritize to your needs. Is it something you must have or must know? If so, how soon will you be needing it? Use your organizing tools to keep track of the data, being mindful of how you will use it and when. Some articles may have a more immediate use while others are purely for reference. You decide, but take action.
Declutter: remember to go through your folders or storage options so they haven’t blossomed into an overload of organized data. Purge the old to make room for the new. There’s no sense in just letting everything pile up and multiply as that will defeat the purpose of your systems.
How do you challenge your content zombie? What helpful tools can you suggest?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Sep 17, 2014 | Delegation, Virtual Assistant
How often do you just want to collapse at the end of the day; falling into the couch like you’ve become an integral part of the fibers? Letting it absorb all the day’s hectic work, demands, challenges and headaches? It’s like a warm embrace from a heating pad.
I know you’re wiped out…
Oh come on! You know that feeling. You heave a huge sigh and every muscle seems to release while you close your eyes in a moment of tech-free silence. Yes, you DID turn off your devices, even for just a few minutes.
You’ve stolen a few minutes of luxurious bliss. You’re content and relaxed.
UNTIL… suddenly, your mind hops back into overdrive; reviewing your day, your ‘To Do’ lists and what needs to be done ON and IN the business.
It’s exhausting and exasperating.
Does it ever end you ask? Is there a break from the rat race? A few minutes? A few hours? …Anything??
Brain Diversion
Try this, visualize yourself on an island retreat in the Caribbean where gentle breezes sway your hammock under a palm tree and your chilled glass leaves condensation on your fingers. You take a sip as your tongue savors the tantalizing fresh island coconut, pineapple and rum combination while the tin sounds of the steel band lulls you into a sense of comfort and relaxation.
Then, reality slaps you on the forehead and you open your weary eyes to sadly see the evidence all around you of mounds of work needing attention. Ack.
Get a grip and take a look at your options.
- You can return to working for “The Man” giving up your entrepreneurial dream, punch a time clock, be an employee, and live by his rules. (Sigh)
- You can commit a heinous crime where the feds pay for your housing, meals, healthcare, clothes, gym membership and maybe even a law degree. (Yikes)
- Lastly, you build a solid strategy leveraging your time and focus your core skills so you aren’t burnt out and dragging at days end. YAHOO = You Have Other Options.
I venture to guess that number three is the most inviting? I hope so.
Delegating
Delegating has long been a success tool for growing your business. There are hundreds of articles focused on the positive power of outsourcing. The goal is moving the low-payoff activities from YOUR desk so you can focus on your core genius, the things only you can do.
Build the Team
Forming a team is a growth mentality. It can take an army to build a business. A team to orchestrate your success and manage each facet of your internal systems and processes. You can’t wear every single hat in your business and expect to experience forward movement. You can get stuck, stagnate or otherwise hit a plateau and that isn’t why you founded your business. Failing to off-load those low-payoff tasks also caps your income opportunity.
As others point out, delegating isn’t a fad or a quick fix but a time tested method to help you scale your business beyond yourself. Think about your business and your goals. What should you be outsourcing?
In order to grow a successful business, it’s important to let go of some perfectionism and delegate certain tasks so you can focus on your strengths. Diana Adams
“You cannot grow your business all on your own so stop trying to. It’s time for you to trust others to help you. Without delegation your business will be limited by your own time and energy.” Matthew Swyers
My advice for entrepreneurs who wish to expand their business? Simply let go. Take on only the responsibilities you and only you can do. And as for the rest, delegate. Jane Wurwand
If you want to grow your business past a certain level, you’ve got to add more people. You’ve got 24 hours in the day, and you’re never going to get more. So if you need to take care of more stuff… because that’s what you need to do to grow a business – do more stuff – you’ve got to add other people’s 24 hours. You’ve GOT to delegate. Laura Roeder
Most entrepreneurs have great talents but many times they think they can do it all. That can really stall the growth of the business. By outsourcing the day to day back-office tasks, the business owner has more time to focus on generating income. Laura Lee Sparks
Outsourcing has made a powerful impact on their growth, productivity and bottom line. Small business, augmented by a global pool of human capital, can compete directly with the biggest players in their space, and win. David Walsh
At first I felt like I was the only person who could do the work efficiently; I wanted control over everything. But I wanted my business to grow and in order to do that I had to let go and start delegating. Tonya Thomas.
When you outsource, you can focus your time, attention and resources on your company’s core competencies–and spend your time setting new goals and finding ways to achieve them. Nancy Mann Jackson
WOW. Those are some pretty impressive quotes, don’t you think? You may know some of these of these business owners or maybe you don’t, but no matter what, they are leveraging their skills, time and expertise with the help of others. They are creating virtual teams to outsource various aspects of their daily business competencies in order to grow.
If they can do it, you can too.
You may be digging in your heels, putting up your hands, saying you can do it all yourself. Take a peek at your perceived roadblocks and determine how to best overcome these hurdles. I know how it is as I was the same way but I knew:
- I had to practice what I preach
- If I wanted to grow, I had to delegate
- I needed to work more ON my business rather than IN it all of the time and outsourcing was the tool
I did it and I have never looked back. Yes, a virtual assistant also delegates to virtual assistants.
If you’ve ever thought about delegating or have a few questions, let’s talk about your options because you don’t have to build your company alone.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Sep 10, 2014 | Content Marketing, Organization, Productivity, Social Media
How many times have you started your day feeling a little discombobulated? Out of sorts or otherwise, a hot mess?
Maybe your alarm didn’t go off, you’re missing a sock, can’t find your keys or worse, your coffee pot died! Oh yes it did. It’s not even a Monday! This is a horror and seems to set the tone for the rest of the day.
You throw up your hands and opt for the bedhead look. If you’re like me, you might even have a little crazed Medusa look going on. No, I’m not doing an HOA or SKYPE video call with you.
HOWEVER, you cannot bring this uncoiffed mentality into your social media marketing world. Oh it is so tempting to just jump on board and start posting, commenting and singing your song. Who cares about the different platforms, best times to post, what to share, syndication sites, building relationships and the whole ménage of social etiquette, tips, tools and suggestions? Right?
A little chaos and messy hair feels good.
Close your eyes for me. Just for a second. Now shake your head from side to side. Flip your hair up and down. Run your hands through it. Yeah, you men too. Okay, gradually open your eyes. Doesn’t it just feel a little freeing to let go?
Okay, you’re done. Come back down in your chair and focus!
If you’re like most small business owners, you think social media is just something you do versus a marketing tool that you MAKE time for. Remember, the majority of your customers and prospects are online and consuming information every day. If you aren’t online and making time for social media, you can rest assured that your competition is.
I will tell you this: YOU do NEED a social media strategy; a plan of attack. Nothing is accomplished by haphazardly flitting around tapping a few keys here and there. This goes beyond just the SMM goals for your company. You need more than that.
Focus on strategy, not tips and tools. It begins with your audience, their objectives, who are you connecting with and what they need from you. Pam Moore, CEO of Marketing Nutz
You should outline a daily plan for each of your social profiles, including goals for each one.
A daily routine will help to keep you focused and productive, otherwise, you will be spinning the hamster wheel of frustration. It is already so difficult to keep up with everything, figure out social media AND operate your business. Who has time for all of this??
Social media can be a tremendous time suck. Many business owners spend 12-20+ hours a week maintaining their online presence. Do you really have this kind of time? Can you afford to step away from the core of your business to search, write, edit, post, comment, share and otherwise be seen, be heard and engage?
Again, your routine and time management will keep you from wasting needless unplanned hours. Everything has a road map or a blueprint. Create one and stick to it.
Simply posting or tweeting a random thought without a strategy behind it is a recipe for disaster, and a complete waste of time. Rebekah Radice
Let’s assume (and I do hate this word):
- You have defined your SMM goals? Yearly? Monthly? Weekly? Daily?
- The tactics you will use to achieve them
- Understand your audience, their needs and their most used platforms
- You maintain a content or editorial calendar
- You search and curate content to meet the needs and questions of your audience
- You write weekly rich and valuable blog posts
One through six are the bare naked basics, part of your standard workflow.
Your daily schedule can make you or break you. If you find yourself with a knotted nappy head then you should probably revisit what you do every day and how deeply you sometimes get dragged into the abyss. You should be using time tracking tools or those that limit your website use, but that is a whole other post. Simply put, discipline yourself.
Ready. Set. Go.
- Outline your SMM platforms, include the URLs and logins
- Include the dates/times you will post on each.
- Type of post (examples): URL, quote, image, reshare, educational
- Create lists and groups in each channel of thought leaders, colleagues, friends or other important people in your network that you follow, engage with or want to share their content
- Gather a list of the RSS feeds of industry blogs or those VIPs above enabling you to read, share and discuss their content
- Curate information from the above as well as content that mirrors/supports your company products and services, buyer’s needs, drivers and pain points
- Search industry keywords and trending topics on sites like Triberr, scoop.it, buzzsumo, tagboard, Twitter search, topsy, paper.li, or pragmatic.com
- Find and implement time saving tools to curate and schedule content
- Automate: schedule some of your daily content
- Retweet, share and comment on posts
- Create relationships: engage in meaningful conversations (NEVER automate the personal touch. NEVER)
- Create relationships: yes I repeated myself because this is worth repeating. Don’t just shout out some content and run away. That isn’t social. Not by any means. If you want to see and feel a return then be personable not a conveyor belt of URLs.
- Follow your routine. Set aside time each and every day to accomplish these social media tasks, at a minimum. Even jump on at least twice a day to manage your digital space. Schedule this time on your calendar like you would any other appointment
- Most importantly: Shake hands. Smile. BE HUMAN. While cliche, be social, don’t do social if you hope to see any type of payoff.
Remember social media isn’t an overnight million dollar sensation. It’s almost a lifestyle. An investment. It takes time, nurturing, honest engagement, understanding and a hell of a lot of patience.
You’ve got this and with a little help from a few tools and perhaps a virtual assistant (Ace), you can manage a successful social media plan AND operate your business.
If you’re tired of doing it all or not having enough time in the day to do much of anything, let alone pour a fresh cup of coffee, simply click on the Contact Us button and we can talk.
Come on… it’s easy. You deserve a little sanity. A little hair product for a more coiffed look. We’re here to help YOU.
