by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Dec 16, 2013 | Social Media, Time Management, Virtual Assistant
Social media marketing is not fading away. As 2013 comes to a swift close, SM Marketers are looking back at the year in review and projecting some potential future trends for the coming year.
Brian Solis: “This year marked social media’s move into the mainstream. Social media is now part of our fabric of society, like mobile phones and computers — it’s a staple of our everyday life.”
SMM continues to expand exponentially and you should be on board with the 2014 trends; otherwise you may just be shouting noise with a plugged up megaphone or simply lost at sea. Since its inception, SMM has exploded the opportunities and platforms for both B2B and B2C. The online digital office provides YOU with a GLOBAL reach but only with the right strategy and planning for your brand. It is a mandatory tool for businesses of all sizes. You can’t NOT have a presence if you want to be found, talked about, and grow your revenue. You will want to be “linked in so you are not left out.”
2013 offered a great deal of tools, tips, platforms, and innovations, but what still stood out?
Content Marketing! It is a must have, must do, in your marketing arsenal. Uberflip’s infographic clearly outlines the trends and potential for CM. Remarkable content reaches your audience. It is shared. It is talked about. It has the potential to reach pain points and have an impact on your buyer. As one of the main 2014 trends, you need to consider how YOU will bump up your efforts, your blogging, your website and all of your content, to seize the attention of your audience. If you don’t, your competition will be serving the entree.
In a recent study by MarketingProfs and the Content Marketing Institute their results demonstrated that 93% B2B organizations now use content-based tactics for their marketing promotions and 73% specified they now produce more content than the previous year!
Other projected social media trends
Justin Pearse:
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Brands will start investing in the people, processes and technologies to deliver truly compelling content.
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2014 will be the year job titles such as head of content and content director become common at brands, both B2C and B2B.
Juliet Stott:
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2014 will see more brands embracing social media as an integral part of their content marketing strategy.
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There will be a race for engagement on social across all the channels.
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Brands that delight and reward their followers and harness the invaluable (user generated) content they create will be the most successful.
Ben Barone-Nugent:
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Businesses and agencies are going to more formally recognize distinctive types of content strategists.
Jayson DeMers:
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Investment in social media will become a necessity, not a luxury.
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We’ll see even more companies hiring social media strategists or full-time social media managers.
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Businesses who are finding themselves spread thin with their social media efforts will increasingly turn to Google+ as the closest thing we have to a ‘one size fits all’ social network.
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Visual content will increasingly become a critical piece of any solid content strategy, and social networking site.
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LinkedIn is positioning itself as one of the largest sources of content creation and curation for professionals.
TwinEngine
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Content marketing is the key to attract and retain customers.
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Images outrank words for engagement.
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Companies engage with consumers in real-time.
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Hashtags become a leading search tool.
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Mobile marketing surpasses traditional marketing.
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Digital exceeds a traditional marketing budget.
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Building relationships with inbound marketing is critical to long term growth.
WOW Isn’t that an extensive list of social media projections!? How can a business possibly manage to stay on top of the trends, research the current tips, tools and best practices, never mind maintain all of the social platforms? It sounds so painful and extremely time consuming when you need to run your business, attend to your clients, troubleshoot and every other day to day task. That is just way too much for one person to consider.
BUT what if you had a team?
A vested partner perhaps to help you:
- deal with the overwhelming social media trends
- with your social media plan for 2014
- to execute and manage ALL of it
- invest your valuable time where it should be spent
- become more productive and efficient
- scale your business!
While you are very cognizant of the FACT that social media is a necessity for your business, it may not represent the best use of your valuable skills and talents. It isn’t your core genius! Your passion! Your job! BUT it is a requirement to help promote your online marketing efforts and generate income.
CONTACT us today to discuss how we will kick off 2014 and make it a more profitable and productive year.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Nov 5, 2013 | Entrepreneur, Productivity, Time Management
image credit: spokesman.com
Time management is always a hot topic as we seem to think we have so little time to effectively manage our days and have some semblance of work life balance. You too want to get more things accomplished while the clock keeps ticking and more tasks seem to pile up.
What can you do? Get a handle on your time, your interruptions and your distractions. Thanks to technology and the digital world, we are always connected and being bombarded with data overload. Crush the chaos. It can take all of the discipline you can muster to tune out the influx of information coming at you. Time can be an elusive mystery when you are in a constant struggle to find more of it, so it is up to you to invest in your time, in your life, in your business. The best thing you can do is learn to manage yourself to better manage your time. “Choice management.”
We are repeatedly bombarded by data overload via our push notifications, social media notices, text messages, phone calls, e-mails, Skype chats and news alerts on a daily basis. It is marvelous to always be connected, in touch and just a mere keystroke away. You are never alone and continuously up to date in both your personal and professional life. But there is a hitch and that is the negative impact it has on our concentration and stress levels. It hurts our brains!!
As a technologically in-tune society, we must learn to filter the urgency of our incoming communications in order to remain devoted to the tasks at hand. The constant interruptions have a pronounced impact on our productivity and efficiency level, never mind time management. If we continue to allow outside distractions to compete for our time and focus, we are unable to give our absolute attention to our present moment and activities. Interruptions because of too much data in the workplace costs US businesses $650 billion a year!
Computerworld reports that we are now living in a world of “interruption technology.”
In a 2012 study by The University of California, Irvine and the US Army, it was found that frequent email checkers were less productive, less focused and more stressed. On average, these types of email users averaged 37 switched windows per hour compared to a non-email checkers who only switched 18 times per hour. The second group of workers engaged more deeply with teammates, were focused on their tasks, increased their productivity and were less stressed.
Limit Distractions
- Schedule time on your calendar to tune out and turn off
- Let others know you are “off limits” during certain working hours
- Close the door or put on ear buds
- Silence your Smartphone
- Just say NO to social media! (Facebook and Twitter updates are always accessible).
- Shutdown everything that notifies you of an alert, sound, or other announcement (your e-mail will still be waiting for you).
- COMMIT to your decision to focus and jump in with gusto
- Once your project is completed, come up for air, stretch, respond to voicemails, text messages and other communications.
- Grab an energy snack to refuel for your next session
- Hide your tech gadgets
Remember, being offline is an industrious act toward completing your projects, achieving your goals and remaining on task. You will see a considerable increase in your productivity as you continue to shield yourself from outside disruptions and digital noise or as Stewart Baines says: “infobesity.”
Turning off isn’t just for the business world. We are electronically tethered 24/7 and this crosses into our personal boundaries. It becomes too much when we allow technology to consume our time and energy away from the present moment, sacrificing the things that truly matter. In a consumer survey last year, Qualcomm found that 37% of people use their phones while attending a party, 36% do so while eating at a restaurant and 35% use their phones while playing with their children.
Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply. Thich Nhat Hanh
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 10, 2013 | Productivity, Small Business, Time Management
You have heard it before, being busy is NOT an indication of being productive. Sure, the time goes by, but what did you really accomplish? Did your tasks and projects get you closer to your goals or just help to pass the time.
Organization is one key component to your productivity and time management. You may be hearing: blah, blah, blah, but it is the truth. We read about it all of the time, but do you implement any measures to bring you back to focus?
What are your daily objectives? Trolling Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter updates don’t really count. They may be good distractions and provide entertainment, but how do they help you operate your business?
There are some simple straightforward, no brainer things you can do every day. They don’t cost anything, they will only help you invest more in yourself, your business and your time. Maximize your time to work smarter, not harder.
Productivity KISS
- Wake up early
- Establish morning rituals
- Determine your goals
- Create a To Do list
- Make action steps
- Plan your strategy and priorities: do the most important/most difficult task first.
- Engage or create your team
- Brainstorm and mindmap
- Don’t lose focus: maintain discipline and work ethic
- Figure out where you waste your time
- Time block to batch process your tasks and projects: for example, set aside 30 mins each morning to attack your email. Do this 2-3x per day
- Create an editorial and social media calendar
- Set aside time each week to write your blog posts and content curation
- Keep and sync a calendar with your mobile devices
- Use a timer or app to stay ON task
- Tune out distractions and notifications: every interruption adds more time to your task.
- Know and set time/space boundaries
- Never stop learning new tools or methods. Times change.
- Network with like-minded people
- Maintain a positive attitude about work and life
- Take timed breaks to refresh, but get back to work: no zombies allowed
- Keep everything in its place. An organized workspace is an organized mind with no wasted time.
- Think quality productivity
- Be aware of your core genius and outsource your low payoff activities
- Use project management tools that work for you! If you don’t like an online program, then at least use a basic spreadsheet. I love Teambox.
- Update and use your policies and procedural systems to maintain efficiency
- Do NOT multi-task: it is distracting, harmful to your brain and impedes productivity
- If you telecommute or work from home: change up your office environment: try a café or library
- Automate daily routine items: no need to continually recreate the same efforts every day. This also applies to SOME of your social media efforts. Notice I said some. Never automate personal engagement. That is not social at all
- Store things in the cloud so you can access them when you are away from your computer
- Learn some keyboard shortcuts
- Remembering passwords is a PITA: store them online and keep them safe with LastPass
- If you are working with a team, utilize Dropbox or Google docs to share content and easily review revisions
- Procrastination kills time!!
- Use news aggregators with keywords, favorite RSS feeds and topics to avoid hunting for your daily digital news. It is a time waster. Suggestions: Feedly, Prismatic, Tagboard
What tips can you add to this list?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Sep 19, 2013 | Time Management
Time management is always a hot topic as we seem to think we have so little time to effectively manage our days and have some semblance of work life balance. You too want to get more things accomplished while the clock keeps ticking and more tasks seem to pile up.
What can you do? Get a handle on your time, your interruptions and your distractions. Thanks to technology and the digital world, we are always connected and being bombarded with data overload. Crush the chaos. It can take all of the discipline you can muster to tune out the influx of information coming at you. Time can be an elusive mystery when you are in a constant struggle to find more of it, so it is up to you to invest in your time, in your life, in your business. The best thing you can do is learn to manage yourself to better manage your time. “Choice management.”
Determine where you want to be and who you want to be when you grow up and then, start planning.
4 Steps to Effective Time Management
Step One
Release your tie to your inbox.
It seems so simple, yet as soon as a notification pops up, off we go. Let’s see what came in. Every email does not need to create a sense of urgency. By continually monitoring your Smartphone and inbox, you generate a stop/start cycle in your work. It distracts you from your most current focus. You can let it go. Schedule specific times during the day to read emails. You can create an autoresponder letting your senders know the times you will be checking your email. You can also apply this to your phone, text messages and other IMs. Each time you stop to read a new message, you not only interrupt your work flow and concentration, but you tack on more time to complete a project, thereby decreasing your efficiency and productivity.
You must manage your Blackberry; do not let it manage you. Many executives check their smartphones throughout meetings and during off-hours. This is not good for concentration, and has a negative impact on decision making. Use it only in bursts: check emails for an hour or so and then put it away so you can focus on the task at hand. Richard Branson
Step Two
Have a plan!! A blueprint for success
Your outline or goal sheet will help to give you a roadmap to accomplish your objectives. When you don’t create a plan or at least a daily To Do list at minimum, your days are spent “willy nilly,” putting out fires, managing what you can remember, they daily influx of projects or the To Dos that are most current. You need a clear direction and plan, outlining your short term and long term goals for success enabling you to prioritize your tasks, projects and desired outcomes. You don’t want to wander aimlessly and miss an important oasis.
Prioritizing is the root of all small business evil. You must take the time to sit down and prioritize your day. Ideally before you leave the office, have a list written for the next day. Once you have a priority of daily tasks being organized becomes easy. Steve Freeman
Step Three
Tomorrow never comes! Tackle it now.
Procrastination is a killer of all things; don’t be fooled by putting something off until you feel like it or think there is a better time to finish up. The time is now, not later. Does your procrastination resemble a little fun on Pinterest, trolling Facebook profiles and your news feed or other types of busy work? Well, just stop right now and realize what you aren’t accomplishing. You are setting yourself up for doom and gloom because when you take the time to review your completed list, nothing got done or was only half managed. Set a To Do timer and commit to it. Forget the non-essentials, your time robbers and FOCUS!! Know what is important and why. Make your list with action steps and stick to it. Create task reminders. Use whatever system works for you, but use a system.
Step Four
Organize!
Organization enhances your time management and productivity. If you have to consistently search for documents,you are wasting your valuable time. File documents, emails, bookmark websites, make lists of your logins and remember everything has a place so keep it there. The more time you spend searching for things, the more time you lose.
You can learn to be more efficient in your time management which will in turn fire up your productivity.
What steps will you institute today?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Aug 2, 2013 | Productivity, Time Management
Are you looking to increase your productivity and efficiency? Maybe get back on track to do more or better manage your time? There are hundreds of articles posted daily and it can be overwhelming to read and/or implement different tools or platforms. You have to find the one that works best for you and use it.
We can read and test with all best intentions but unless we begin to create new habits, committing to a goal, the tool won’t take effect. It is up to you to dedicate your time and energy to learning which one you will apply.
I know I have personally tested a variety of To Do lists, task reminders and project management applications. Some have fallen by the wayside while others have become SOP. I have made these part of my daily routine, for both myself and my clients. Without proper time management and organization, time would be lost and there could be a sense of chaos or overwhelm.
There are many professed gurus suggesting their best methods and time tested tools, but whatever you choose, it must work for you.
- You must want to be more industrious and systematized.
- You must be ready for change.
- You must utilize the application until it becomes second nature.
We search every day, every week for new articles and suggestions and here are few from this week.
6 Secrets Of Super Productive To-Do Lists
3 Threats to Effective Time Blocking and How To Solve Them
How To Manage Your Time
Project Lists: 8 Steps to Crush Your Chaos
The Science of Productivity (video)
Small Business Success Podcast: Time management, Delegation & Empowering Your Core Genius
Time management tips: 5 beliefs that limit productivity
Time Tracking for Productivity
So there you have it: a few tips, tools and commentary to guide you toward a little deeper efficiency.
Can you become a Productivity Maven?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jun 12, 2013 | Small Business, Time Management
How many hours do you spend online checking email, reading posts, searching for information, checking sports scores, reviewing competitors, tweeting, sharing content or setting up reminders? These activities are necessary but also very time consuming and at points, a distraction away from business. What if there was a simple tool to help you automate some of this work, have it delivered to your communication channel of choice and was at no cost to you?
Launched in 2010, “If This, Then That” is FREE service that allows users to connect 62 different channels with “recipes” to help optimize your business, your life and your content. You create triggers “if this” happens “then that” which is the action, pushes the data to your desired channel.
Sample recipes:
- Push RSS feeds to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Buffer
- Receive a text message, email or phone call when a particular hashtag is posted
- Have Facebook or Instagram images sent to Dropbox
- Receive a text message if there is a forecast for rain
- Star a Gmail and have it delivered to Evernote
- Add Foursquare check-in history to Google Calendar
- Receive a text message for new Gmail notifications
- Send email attachments to Dropbox
- Send an email to IFTTT to call your phone if it is missing
- Automatically create a Twitter list of new followers to review at a later date
- Twitter keyword search to your email
- Schedule tweets using Google calendar
- Have ESPN sports scores and breaking news delivered to your inbox
As you can see, the possibilities are almost limitless. By creating your recipes, you will save time and be a little more productive and organized. It is one of my favorite tools, simplifying content curation and automating a few of my daily projects.
“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose.’” – Thomas Edison
How do you use IFTTT?
Image credit: IFTTT
