by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Aug 13, 2014 | Leadership, Marketing, Social Media
Status quo or stand up and command market share? It isn’t so simple to grab a piece of the pie when there are billions of social media users and companies searching for and sharing information. You need to find your niche, your voice or something that sets you apart from the rest of the digital ecospace to glean even a few minutes of visibility.
You don’t need to blend in with the rest of the crowd but rise above and be a little unique. Whatever that means to you, do it authentically. Do it from the heart.
Don’t think of social media as purely a soapbox to sing your own praises. It is a tool to connect, share, educate and network, imparting value and enriching the lives of others. Be that someone that people look to for information and problem solving.
As you begin to develop your relationships and nurture your connections, the ROI is a natural occurrence when you focus on the real inherent value and purpose of social media – fostering the connections.
In a recent interview with my good friend and client, Patti Blackstaffe, president of Strategic Sense Inc, her thoughts about rising above the crowd were that too many people focus solely on the competition which only leaves them sitting WITH the crowd. Her recommendation is to leave competition out of the equation and pay attention to relationships and collaboration.
In the interview she offered 3 ways to do this:
1. Analyze what kind of relationship the customers are really looking for
2. What they want to share
3. Getting to know them intimately
Here’s what Patti said about analysis:
“People are looking for connection, relationship – this is a relationship economy. If you are without a means or way of connecting with customers, potential customers and the public, you have no choice but to be left behind.
You don’t have to use every social tool available, but analysis of your market and the type of relationship your customers are seeking is vital for knowing what to choose.
Leadership is about connecting the dots from the lead seat in your company all the way to the customer, knowing what they are looking for from you, gives you the option of creating a relationship they can get from no one else.”
[Tweet “It’s all about customer interaction, not fancy webpages or how often you post #RelationshipShare”]
Patti goes on to talk about sharing:
“Looking for market share? Look for relationship share.
One example is NAISH a kiteboarding company – they understand how to market, how to reach their customers. Do they sell kites? Sure, but that isn’t their main market, their market is building an experience, and their customers cannot build an experience without the relationship factor. Looking for video from them? They share the video of the adventurous customers who buy their kites. How did they know how to do this? They know their customers, intimately!”
Pertaining to customer intimacy, Patti gave this prime example:
“Does your executive, or even your sales team visit customers? Knowing what questions to ask is great, but what if you created a “day in the life” program where you spend a day in the life of your top 4 customers, what would their work-day look like and what do they need? Imagine a database filled with suggestions and solutions to meet customer needs, selectively using the many tools available to you through social media and other marketing genius, interact with them and make a difference.
This is how you increase relationship share!”
If you really want to stand out from the crowd, then build relationships. People buy from people. Add the human touch. Pull your focus away from what you want to give and get to know your customers and your audience by what they really need.
[Tweet “YOU are the CRO: Chief Relationship Officer. #relationshipmarketing”]
“Too many business owners and sales people try to sell their product or service, neglecting the fact that their customer is a person. In fact, the customer is a person who has feelings, influences and a mind of their own. They want to be connected with, and to trust and believe the person from which they are buying.” Rebecca Wilson
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Aug 5, 2014 | Social Media
What do we know about those lurking in the background of our computers? Sure there are plenty of psychos but there are millions of would be friends, colleagues and partners. Sometimes it may seem like a microcosm of voyeurs or people jumping up and down screaming, “Look at me! Look at me!” But when you filter out the noise and crazies, you find some pretty awesome people.
People who are educators. People who become close friends, clients or business associates.
When Human Resources Expert (and an admired social media friend), Jennifer Miller recently messaged me inquiring about ‘resume tips’ for an article she was writing, I was delighted to comply! Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter.
One thing I’ve learned from colleagues I met through social media – they are a generous bunch. Case in point: this article started as a FB message and grew into this wonderful series of resume writing tips, courtesy of Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter. Thanks, Jacqui! Jennifer Miller
Take a step back and really review the inventory of your network. It blows my mind. There are people across the world that I never would have had the opportunity to meet or connect with if it wasn’t for social media. It is an extensive amount of work to live and maintain an online presence, but the benefits are beyond imagination.
On a recent vacation back home, I was blessed with meeting two amazing people that I only know from online. Across the miles, we have developed deep connections, shared intimate details of our lives and done business together. To finally meet in real life was a treat. We planned our 16 hour drive home around geography, highways and byways to make this happen.
The relationships you cultivate behind your keyboard can develop into some of the most joyful and satisfying connections, widening your authentic network. People get to know you via your posts, interactions, comments, circles of influence and platforms. They see a glimpse into your life AND your business. There’s no need to stand on ceremony or pretend to be someone or something you’re not.
The emphasis on content is largely due to it being a way to create human connections, an opportunity to present who you are as a company, as opposed to what you do. It’s an exciting time to be involved as the opportunities for creating real, meaningful relationships are there, waiting, and the audience is looking for engagement. Andrew Hutchinson
Be you.
Connect.
Share.
Over the last 8 years, I have watched my circle expand with some absolutely dynamic individuals and companies alike. My business has grown considerably, without traditional advertising. It’s all via word of mouth and building a solid online presence. It is always an honor when someone choses Ace Concierge as their virtual assistant partner because it requires a leap of faith and a great deal of trust to do business with someone you’ve never met.
My personal relationships are bar none. True treasures that are daily gifts imparting inspiration, laughs, real friendship and a shoulder when needed. There were many times over the years that these “virtual” people have been there when I needed them most. Irreplaceable. I am truly grateful and maybe indebted to social media for giving me the opportunity to meet such an amazing group of friends and actually, my virtual family that sometimes is able to move into one on one in person hugs.
While this may not be a standard blog post filled with trending topics and educational content, I hope it helps to display one of the more vital aspects of social media networking that makes all of your digital connections possible.
Whether business or personal, life online revolves around relationship marketing.
While establishing a presence across social media is important, making lasting relationships is the key to long-term success. Rebekah Radice
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jul 29, 2014 | Content Marketing, Social Media, Time Management
Turning on your computer or your phone is similar to opening the floodgates of hell for information overload. With daily bombardments of blog posts, news and websites, it is no wonder our brains haven’t exploded from over consumption. You can spend exhaustive hours reading, processing and filtering information every single day while just sitting at your desk or local coffee shop. It is an abyss or a dark hole that sucks you in and tightens the grasp on your brain. Fingers of words encapsulating your every thought, every move to retain your attention and drive you to take some kind of action.
The seduction and lure of content is the possessive lover of our society. The soft caress of the enticing paragraphs tickling your mind to keep you reading, distracting you as the hours tick by unnoticed. Until the end of the day when you wipe the sweat off of your brow, wondering where the hours went.
“Information overload” is one of the biggest irritations in modern life. There are e-mails to answer, virtual friends to pester, YouTube videos to watch and, back in the physical world, meetings to attend, papers to shuffle and spouses to appease. A survey by Reuters once found that two-thirds of managers believe that the data deluge has made their jobs less satisfying or hurt their personal relationships. One-third think that it has damaged their health.” The Economist
This may seem a little melodramatic, but think about the time you actually spend consuming all of this intel. It is the nature of the beast in your digital environment, trying to garner the newest, the latest, the greatest, the biggest, or the best, for your business, yourself, your clients and your community but heck, what a job in and of itself.
How would we conduct our businesses or gain knowledge and insight into social media without the research and reading? We need it. We do it. But at what cost?
With each article or piece of content, you must consider what to do with it next: like, comment, share, purchase, join, blog about it, bookmark it, or even search more about the topic. When you share it, you will think about where you will repost it and not just your own social channels but what about places like bizsugar.com or inbound.org? The possibilities are numerous.
Researching and reading isn’t just a simple process in your online world. There is more action to be taken which helps to build your engagement and community. It’s strategy and tactics. Sure you enjoy reading the content and probably learning something new, but it is what you do after that which counts even more.
You have a business to operate and make successful yet you must operate online as well. How much time can you invest or do you invest in maintaining your presence, building your reputation, connecting, networking, sharing, reading, commenting and engaging?
You know the drill. It is an extensive, arduous process that takes you away from truly focusing on your core business. While all of this is a “requirement” for your business, you need to develop some systems and processes enabling you to balance your time and efforts to be more productive and efficient.
Tips for Romancing the Data Overload:
- Make a list of the blogs, platforms, thought leaders and news aggregators you like to visit on a daily basis. Keep track of any daily content alerts you receive – more data to be consumed. You hopefully have created targeted lists or groups on each of your social media channels so you can easily locate those thought leaders and colleagues whose content and engagement you value most.
- Create a schedule of when you will interact, search, curate and share content. Allot yourself a specific amount of time so you don’t get sucked into a worm hole of reading and distractions. Use a timer if you must.
- Stay focused and resist the temptation to jump around from one platform to the next. Multi-tasking your reading and activities is not only a time waster but harmful to your health. Bookmark posts or use a “read later” tool like readability.com if something really sparks your interest. Add it to your swipe file if you feel it is a great idea generator for a later blog post.
- Unsubscribe from content that is no longer of interest or just clutters your inbox
- Set clear boundaries on your time – tune out and stop crunching the content
- Understand that it is physically impossible to read and digest every byte of data that is pushed your way. You are constantly inundated with new content every nanosecond. Can you really process it all? No and you don’t have to.
Staying current is important for your knowledgebase and success of your business, but if you are buried in the content surplus every day, then who will run your business? Your clients?
Managing your social media, online reputation, digital space, community and marketing is a full-time job, BUT so is running your business. Your laundry list is a mile long to effectively manage each of them and it is pretty much a catch 22 to be able to marry the entities together without being a drain on your effort. Don’t let your data overload seduce you away from your company, your life or your goals. Learn to filter what you need and when. Execute an effective plan with time restraints and a set strategy.
It’s time management. It’s teamwork. It’s about creating a balance.
The systems and processes you design for your business and social media workflow are key toward scaling your company as well as creating the optimum online community.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jul 23, 2014 | Business Values
What does a Senior Director of a Jacksonville Florida real estate agency have in common with Ace Concierge? Not a hell of a lot except copyright infringement of an old blog post of mine. I was doing some research to repurpose a post and there it was; with the exact same title and contents. While I have read that copying and/or mimicking are forms of flattery, I personally find that stealing another’s content is very unethical, lazy and unprofessional. There is no moral compass.
In today’s high tech world, it isn’t all that difficult to search and locate those who have violated copyright laws. This certainly isn’t the first time I have found my words stolen and I’m sure it won’t be the last. It is extremely frustrating and quite disheartening that people can’t create their own content or at least ask for permission and give credit. I have even had client testimonials copied word for word. What does it say about their morals?
While there is a bit of gray area and some of the laws are open to interpretation, it still stands that pirating content crosses the boundaries of professional behavior. If the offender can do this without thought or care, what other practices are instituted within their business? It is humorous when they post their values and mission statements about ethics yet they have stolen content or they have copyrighted their own site. What irony.
I have written various cease and desist letters, included the DMCA as well as the TOS from website hosts regarding their policies on copyright infringement and fortunately all of the content has been successfully removed.
The Copyright Act provides two primary remedies: (1) it allows the owner of the copyrighted material to stop the infringement and (2) obtain damages and attorney fees from the infringer. Both types of relief are available even if the copyrighted material has not been registered with the United States Copyright Office before the infringement occurs. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides additional rights. Specifically, it allows the copyright holder to require the Internet service provider (ISP) hosting the infringer’s website to delete the plagiarized contents. If the ISP does not comply, it can be sued for “contributory infringement.” 2. In case the offending webmaster does not take the prospect of the above action seriously then you should also clearly state you intend to file a notice of Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DCMA) infringement with search engines such as Google and Yahoo. This action can potentially ruin a web business as the search engines take a dim view of plagiarism and can remove an offending site from their search results should an infringement claim be justified.
What can you do to locate and reclaim your content from these dishonest offenders?
- Use copyscape to find your plagiarized content
- Locate the website owner on whois
- Send a cease and desist letter. It is advisable to include screenshots of your material
- Trace your content history with Internet Archive Wayback Machine
Under Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(3)(A), the Notification of Claimed Infringement must include ALL of the following:
- Physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or a representative list if multiple works are involved.
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing that should be removed or access to disabled and information reasonably sufficient to enable the online service provider to locate the material (usually a URL to the relevant page with description of items on that page claimed to be infringing).
- Information reasonably sufficient to allow the online service provider to contact the complaining party (address, phone number, e-mail address).
- Statement that the complaining party has “a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.”
- Statement that the information in the notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
Finding your content on someone’s website is quite unnerving. The gall they have to pirate your hard work and dedication to writing breaks the rules and crosses the confines of professionalism,integrity and character. People do it everyday, without a second thought, leaving their principles to be questioned. It may just represent a blog post but they didn’t write it, nor do they own it. A simple inquiry for permission to repost or repurpose is not a time suck but a professional courtesy. A sign of respect and value.
Plagiarism isn’t going away anytime soon but you do have options to recover your content as your own. Only you can decide if it is worth your time and energy to pursue.
What measures do you take to recover or protect your content?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jul 16, 2014 | Organization, Small Business, Time Management
We have all heard that time and again, but it holds true. If you live and work in disorganization, your mindset and output will reflect your surroundings. Sure, we have some disorder or “organized piles” of stuff, but when there is overload, it overflows.
Clutter influences the way you work and the way you live. It impacts your brain. Learn to effectively manage versus just restyling the mountains of possessions, papers, contracts, or whatever lurks in your office or home. Streamline your physical and digital environment for success and focus.
“A recent survey says a disorganized workspace can lead to decreased productivity and unprofessional behavior.” Inc Magazine.
When you create a more structured environment you become more efficient and effective. You are no longer scrambling to locate important papers, files, emails or even your keys. Your time management increases as does your personal and professional productivity. Your setting is not just about physical space but mental as well. If you reside in chaos or mayhem, it does transmit into your work habits and daily living.
Your surrounding clutter competes for your attention, distracting your focus and thought process. I personally must have a clean and organized environment or I will only be thinking of what may be in the sink or if laundry needs folding. Everything has a place and it must be there when I work. Sure, a little OCD but I run my business the same way.
“When your environment is cluttered, the chaos restricts your ability to focus. The clutter also limits your brain’s ability to process information. Clutter makes you distracted and unable to process information as well as you do in an uncluttered, organized, and serene environment.” Princeton University
According to the National Association of Professional Organizations, paper clutter is the No. 1 hindrance for most businesses. Some studies conclude that the average person wastes 4.3 hours per week searching for papers, which adds stress and frustration to the workplace while reducing concentration and creative thinking. Clutter creates chaos, untidiness and ineffectiveness in every aspect your life and has the great potential significantly influence your personal productivity.
When personal productivity declines, every aspect of your life will be impacted.
Fired up and ready to reclaim your productivity?
- Set aside time weekly to manage and organize information
- Clean out your inbox
- Use cloud storage
- Put things in their proper place when you are finished – don’t merely move away. Put it away
- Always organize your desk at the end of the day
- Establish routines for clearing the mind overload
- If you must file, then do it. Don’t let items sit on your desk, counter or inbox. It is disrupting
- Don’t keep things that aren’t necessary or vital to your existence. Aunt Betty’s tattered hair ribbon won’t garner money on on the open market. Loving memories last longer
- “More” doesn’t mean more – it translates into jumble and disorder which means distractions. Clear off counter tops and desk space so you can function.
- Donate to charity
- When you bring in one new item, throw out two
- Work on one room at a time until it “feels” good
- If you haven’t used or viewed it in 6 months, do you really need it?
- Know that your value is not your stuff. It does not define you
- Create deadlines to ensure you stick to your toss it and organize program
- Once you have cleaned and decluttered a room or space, maintain it
Decluttering and clearing out the chaos, both physically and spiritually will help you gain clarity toward a more productive life. Make the time to invest in yourself.
