by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Apr 10, 2014 | Communication, Social Media
The digital landscape is abundant with incredible industry thought leaders sharing the knowledge and best practices in social media. The circle of influencers crest the lists of who to follow and how to engage them.
- You admire them.
- You follow them.
- You learn from them.
- You implement their suggestions.
- You share and comment on their posts.
- You believe it is a mutual give and take to build deep relationships and connections.
Social media is BEING social not doing social. Right? It isn’t an automated robotic act of verbal diarrhea to gain and maintain a following. You will surely lose if that is your strategy. You are dealing with real live human beings behind the keystrokes. While we are a push button society, get things done, do it fast; building relationships is a one on one personal endeavor and no amount of sterile replies or automated apps will generate authentic connections.
If your job is content and social media marketing then try to live as a good example of a digital citizen. Christian Vanek
Get real. Be real.
BUT, how does the little guy fair in this vast sea of legendary experts? Is it like swimming with the sharks or do you have the same opportunity to engage in unpretentious dialog?
Are you able to be noticed or shuffled amongst the minnows until you become one of the bigger swimmers?
You will find that many will respond in kind, a quick thank you but there isn’t always an extensive amount of back and forth. Maybe more courtesy replies if you will.
“I firmly believe that respect is a lot more important, and a lot greater, than popularity.” Julius Erving
Your challenge may be to continue prompting the conversations to further deepen your experience and connection with your esteemed colleagues. Have the empowering discussions, becoming more educated and learning from “the best” in the industry. It helps you and your business.
- Be engaging
- Add value
- Ask questions
- Share other people’s content
- Express gratitude
- Be a giver
- Make introductions
- Connect within your community
- Emulate those who inspire you
- Remember to always respond to others
What happens when there is no reply? (Don’t take it personally!)
The Social Disconnect
Does that influence your impression of the individual or impact your level of engagement?
It seems like it would be a dichotomy.
How do these respected professionals write and talk about the essence of social media and relationship marketing, yet they don’t put forth the same? Shouldn’t their actions back up their words? Like Daniel Newman said: Social Media Pundits (Mostly) Suck At Engagement
The problem is the proclamation of engagement as a key part of success in social media. If you think about it when it comes to this group that talks engagement but doesn’t really do it, it starts to just sound like a bunch of kumbayya stuff and not at all like a real strategy. Almost like a “Wag The Dog” strategy for the small circle of elite that want to keep you looking left while they are building their empires on the right.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Mar 6, 2014 | Business Values, Communication
You believe yourself to be a professional but are you professional? There is a difference.
You may be deemed a professional because you operate a business but being professional is an action. It is a choice. In business and life, there are plain and simple human courtesies that should be extended to everyone. It shouldn’t matter who initiated the contact but when you choose to no longer engage or ignore any form of correspondence, you are no longer “being” professional.
What has happened to the Golden Rule in this age of technology? Does it allow or justify actions that would not be normally accepted in an in-person venue? If you were at a networking event, engaging in a conversation would you suddenly decide to turn your back and walk away without notice or a word? I think not. That would be extremely rude and thoughtless.
Can you imagine calling someone of interest, exchanging a few words and then they hang up without forewarning? What would you think? How would you feel?
For some it may present a challenge to be completely forthright and honest with feedback and responses but if you expect the same from your network, then give back what you want in return. Everyone deserves an answer. Communicating is the foundation of every single relationship, whether business or personal, online or off.
What message are you sending to your audience, your potential buyers if you aren’t responding to social comments or posts? Your brand and reputation may suffer. As you know, word spreads fast and if you aren’t satisfying the human need for a reply to a query, you may be opening yourself up to negative reactions. Make the time to respond.
“If you’re not engaging customers during the entire product life cycle through social media, you’re missing out. Because someone else will.” –Dennis Stoutenburgh
If you ignore emails because you don’t know how to respond or are apprehensive about expressing your opinion about a product or service, don’t expect to retain a follower or gain a brand ambassador. People can deal with rejection and feedback; extend thoughtfulness with a reply.
“We’ve seen an increase in the nonresponse rather than just politely declining. You delete it and hope it goes away, just like if someone comes to your door and you pretend you’re not home.” Adam Boettiger, digital marketing consultant.
You are online, participating in your social networks, building your brand, credibility, community and network. Is it truly worthwhile or beneficial to disregard the voice of others? Deliberate silence is a poor communication strategy demonstrating a lack of respect and interest and also has the capabilities of reinforcing potential miscommunications.
Your active choice NOT respond is a very loud statement. With all of the techie gadgets sitting on your desk or in your lap, click a few keys. There is always time and a tool.
“Mobile communications and pervasive computing technologies, together with social contracts that were never possible before, are already beginning to change the way people meet, mate, work, war, buy, sell, govern and create.” Howard Rheingold
Simply put: BE Professional
- Be kind.
- Be courteous.
- Be responsive.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Feb 13, 2014 | Business Values, Communication, Small Business, Social Media
In this cattle drive of digital marketing it is easy to get trampled amongst the hooves of the masses. The pasture is astronomical in size and you may feel like a speck on a “patty.” Literally hundreds of millions of people are clamoring for space to be outstanding in their field, to have their voice heard; their brand recognized.
Jumping on a soapbox with a megaphone sure sounds like a great idea, but just how can it be accomplished in the stampede?
As you have read, it takes time, painstaking effort and a hell of a lot of energy, every single day, to retain and maintain your online presence. It is time consuming and can also divert your focus away from your core business.
There are dos and don’ts and best practices published every second. Let’s just say it is information overload, enough to make your brain explode. Your most esteemed colleagues, industry thought leaders, marketing organizations and the like are continually evaluating, suggesting, studying and pushing content on what to do and how to do it best in order to achieve your social media marketing goals and business success.
You sometimes may feel the urgent need to test the suggestions, add new plugins, try the tools but it gets to a point where it is almost impossible to dedicate your time ON your business because you are so entrenched with the current recommendations for a positive, productive online experience, both for you and your customer.
- Step back.
- Take a breath.
Step above the herd:
- Evaluate some of the tips and tools
- Implement some – test and measure results
- Be cognizant of YOUR strategy and goals
- Realize you can’t try everything and not everything works for everybody
- Know your real value proposition
- Educate your followers about your solutions, not your widgets
- Sell VALUE not cost
- Be authentic
- Engage in real-time, one on one conversations
- Continue to educate yourself
- Nurture relationships
- Write QUALITY content
- Consistency counts
- Share and syndicate your posts
- Be passionate about your business and your customers
- Never make promises you can’t keep
- Share and retweet others
- BE social, don’t do social
- Give without expecting something in return
- Express your gratitude
- Join in community discussions, offering valuable insight, not just idle chatter to get noticed
- People buy from people – let them see you’re human, not just a brand
- Think: RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
It certainly isn’t easy and some days may feel a bit rougher than others but never, ever give up. You’re an entrepreneur. A business owner with a dream and THAT is worth pursuing. You’ve come this far just figure out what works best for you and your company. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel by any means but you do have to take action everyday. I am not saying to bury your head in the sand and ignore some of the main premises and practices of digital marketing; that would be social suicide. Try and manage the overwhelm of the influx of data and suggestions. We all have different ideas, strengths, and opportunities to play upon. Pay attention but you don’t need to feel the craze and institute every single post you read.
Let your true passion tell your story and connect with the hearts and minds of your audience. While some others may just be link pushing or talking in the wind, YOU build and cultivate the relationships based upon integrity, value, character, trust, gratitude and of course some of the basics above. Be patient. Be present. Be you.
“When you’re about something that benefits others, you’re more believable and trustworthy. People want to know you’re not just in it for yourself.” Mike Henry Sr.
This all sounds pretty touchy feely but again, people buy from people they know, like and trust. Your reputation will precede you and your brand advocates will share, promote and talk about you. Word of mouth is your most powerful marketing tool.
What makes you stand out from the herd?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Feb 6, 2014 | Business Values, Communication, Entrepreneur, Small Business
Your business can’t survive online without the trust from your consumers. They won’t buy unless they feel the know, like, trust factor. You must earn the trust and loyalty of your audience; your community. Cultivate your relationships through authentic communications and reliability. Your network is always looking for validation to ensure that a potential partnership or connection is dependable, trustworthy and “real.” Remove the feeling of vulnerability and risk of doing business with someone behind a keyboard. There can be an uneasy feeling and some have been burned, which is something you must understand and respect from the customer’s point of view. It is up to you to help them develop a comfort level and place of safety to do business online.
I believe fundamental honesty is the keystone of business. Harvey S. Firestone
You don’t need a contract to instill honesty and live by a moral compass. Give out what you expect in return and nothing less. Your business depends on it. Your reputation will either make you or break you. Credibility and a sound reputation is what gets you to the finish line toward establishing rapport and a long term relationship.
Each of your social platforms showcase you and your brand. You have the opportunity to personally interact with your followers – your potential customers on a personable level. Let them get to know you through your content, postings, engagement and dialog. Keep it real and keep it you.
Trust = Authority x Helpfulness x Intimacy / Self-Promotion Steve Rayson The New Formula for Social Media Trust
Your 10 Tips to Build Trust:
- Offer solutions: SHOW them you care and are truly interested in listening and solving their problems. Consumers have pain points that need care and understanding. Demonstrate that you you know what they want and need.
- Communicate clearly and responsively. No one likes to be on hold listening to ear bleeding elevator music. Engage. Whether you are responding to a post comment, email or client text message, don’t keep them waiting and wondering. Service them promptly.
- Be transparent. It helps to instill trust and shows the human side of your company and your brand.
- Be accountable. Do as you say; back up your words with actions and if you make a mistake, own it 100% and correct it. The customer is the one who writes your paycheck.
- Privacy and confidentiality. Respect a client’s proprietary information and discussions. There is no reason to share this type of data. You are being trusted with details or questions and they should not become public knowledge or water cooler chatter. Lock it up!
- Testimonials. When you receive recommendations, make sure they are openly displayed as they help to validate your service and your company. Add them to your website, email signature and other marketing collateral. If it is a tweet, then save it as a favorite so others can see “real-time” recommendations. Ask for them on your LinkedIn profiles.
- Under promise and over deliver. It may be a cliché but it is a premise of good business and service. There is nothing more disappointing or frustrating to be let down by a vendor missing a deadline.
- Educate and share valuable content. Enrich the lives of your audience without self-promotion and you become a trusted resource not a snake salesman.
- Feedback. Never bury your head in the sand. Always ask for feedback on a job, a post, a conversation. If you don’t ask, you don’t receive and you won’t know what you are missing. If you off point, you won’t be able to take charge and correct the course. Feedback is a valuable learning tool toward successful relationships and communication.
- Commit to your word. Very simple yet some have a propensity to fall back and forget such a courtesy. Do as you say without hesitation. There is enough misrepresentation in the world, especially online but if you intend to build your brand, your reputation and your business, then follow through with your verbal handshake.
How do you build trust and instill confidence with your customers and community?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Dec 23, 2013 | Communication, Organization, Time Management
The expansion of the digital global office is not just working in your pajamas and drinking coffee all day. It is an efficient and productive place of business to business operations. There has been a constant increase in the number of remote or work from home opportunities and it will only continue to escalate. It gives your business the benefit of assembling a top notch team of professionals, working in a variety of time zones, contributing to your growth and success.
At last count, that amounted to some 3.3 million people working remotely (not including the self-employed or unpaid volunteers), or 2.6% of the U.S. employee workforce. Global Workplace Analytics
Operating a virtual office can be simplified through utilization of many of the online/open-source productivity and collaborative tools ensuring a connected global workforce. Creating a virtual team is a cost effective and productive avenue to manage your business, maintain a low overhead; thereby increasing your profit margin.
Working remotely offers a more versatile environment, increased work/life balance, varied working hours, reduced stress, no commute and enhanced knowledge of technology.
While members of your virtual team may not meet face to face very frequently, they do regularly interact online for discussions, brain-storming and training sessions, requiring a variety of tools to enhance communications, collaborative efforts and teamwork. Effective communications, transparency and feedback are the building blocks of your successful remote environment. Email and text are two of today’s most widely used “communication” tools but remember, a phone call or video chat offers more of the personal nuances and relationship builders within your virtual community.
The applications shown below are just a minute sampling of the available basic online solutions, helping you to manage your remote office. Source the ones that best suit your present needs as well as those that will support your corporate growth and future goals.
JUST THE BASICS: 14 Tools for a Productive Virtual Team
- Google Docs: office suite of online collaborative tools to create/share documents and forms
- Google Calendar: Web-based calendar to share and collaborate with your team
- Genbook: online calendar scheduling allowing colleagues and prospects to schedule appointments directly with you instead of continual back and forth emails
- SKYPE: VOiP for live chats, video or IMs. Also offers low cost calling options
- Viber: free calls, text and file sharing to other Viber users over WiFi or 3G. They also offer low cost calling options for non-Viber users
- Google Hangouts: group calls, video conferencing, file sharing, share on YouTube
- Mighty Text: simple tool to text from your computer and have all messages sync to your phone and other technologies. It even alerts you to incoming calls
- Ring Central: cloud based phone system – nationwide calling and fax
- JoinMe: screen sharing, send files, and share control
- Free Conference: set up free conference calls up to 150 attendees with call recording
- AnyMeeting: full featured online FREE meetings up to 200 attendees, video broadcasting, screen sharing, ext surveys, recording, invitations and more
- DropBox: free file storage, share with colleagues/friends. Simplifies sending or sharing of large documents that most mail clients are unable to accommodate. They offer two-step verification as an added security measure
- TeamBox: online project collaboration/management to streamline conversations and documents, keeping them in one central location.
- Awesome Screenshot: take full screen or partial screenshots: edit, annotate, save or send
Just do your due diligence to ensure the features and benefits match your goals and collaborative requirements.
- Work smarter, not harder.
- Embrace the cloud.
- Stay connected with your team.
- Foster a community of trust and openness.
- Remember to check-in weekly.
- Don’t simply rely on texting and emails.
- Use chat tools.
- Create online communities for your team
- Continue to research and review other collaborative tools.
When working with your virtual team:
What tools or applications do you find most effective?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 27, 2013 | Communication, Small Business
Communication is an essential human need as well as a right in order to exchange ideas, thoughts, opinions and meanings. It is the foundation for all types of relationships, whether professional or personal. It is a major player in our active lives, social activities and business networks.
Your voice needs to be heard and understood from a place of safety and consideration. Effective communication builds trust and creates an environment conducive to greater success and prosperity.
“Don`t communicate to be understood; rather, communicate so as not to be misunderstood.” Dr John Lund.
How and what you communicate will not only set the tone for your associations but afford you the opportunity to either nurture or hinder the growth. Both your verbal AND non-verbal sentiments clearly express your perspective. Many times what isn’t said speaks volumes because your “actions speak louder than words,” and if the two don’t match, your message screams indifference.
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” Peter Drucker
Everyone has separate ideas or feelings about the depth of communications during the initial building phase, but unquestionably, openness, honesty and accountability should be at the bottom of the pyramid as your cement.
Unless you begin building from a place of strength with direct communication, you can bet that confusion or misinterpretations will take hold, potentially collapsing your architecture. Structuring your beams should be so simple: just common everyday courtesies out of respect, honor and value for another human being.
Contribute what you expect in return and you will reap the rewards of a successful partnership. Honest communications begin with you.
“Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success.” Paul J. Meyer
Active listening is significant component of communications. If you are only listening to reply, then you aren’t hearing the other party. If you aren’t truly mindful and present at all, then you aren’t hearing the other party.
- Listen and hear what is being said.
- Understand their viewpoints.
- Put yourself in their shoes and think about what they are expressing and take a few minutes before you respond.
- Allow the speaker to maintain an uninterrupted voice.
- Do not communicate from a place of anger. Whether you are in person or attempting to respond through technology, step back, breathe and let the emotions slide until you are more centered.
Create deeper connections: avoid potential conflicts and frustration with clear communication, active listening, compassion and understanding. If you are to create long-lasting partnerships, avoid the common pitfalls of closed lips, closed minds and deaf ears.
“It’s not just hearing the words that are being said but also understanding and connecting with what the person is saying.” Syed Balkhi
Image credit: nitpickersnook.com
