Is time management an issue for you? In a recent blog post on social media and ROI, Candace Davenport of Our Little Books asked some fabulous questions: “Is there a point where it is better to use someone like a VA to do your SM stuff (not exclusively of course, but the main postings that don’t actually require direct connection) and do you use someone like Jan to do so? It would seem, if people start having numerous pages that at a point, either SM takes over or the quality goes down. Maybe future blog posts?”
I absolutely believe that there are ways to manage your time effectively when using social media as a marketing tool! And, there is one place that I believe you cannot outsource your social media! This is when it comes to actually developing the content to ensure that it represents you’re calling, your values, your voice. Even when I work with larger companies like BMW Concord located in the East Bay of California they have learned, even the hard way the importance of this. Even when you have a team of people in your company willing to participate in social media marketing, consistency in the voice and message is very important and it needs to match the flavor and feel when the customer shows up! Only you can create that voice in your marketing content.
Once you have created content there are great ways to get help and support and making sure you consistently post fresh information. Fresh information is critical in social media!
1-Work to expand the current content you already have. I find with many of my clients they don’t realize they already have content that can be reused and repurposed in multiple ways for social media marketing. Have a staff person or a virtual assistant work to pull tidbits out of your blog, your newsletters, your radio shows, and places you’ve already posted so that you can reuse it in social media.
2-Write your content to different buying styles. This is one of the most powerful ways to get more bang for your buck just by taking the content and repurpose it to different buying styles. This has the potential to quadruple your content to post! This is e primary service I do for my clients, they just have to get fist draft to me (so it’s in their voice) and I work my magic!
3-Use schedulers! Yes this still requires your time to get them scheduled once your content is written but they save you the hassle of having to remember to post. Go in once a week and schedule your posts for the entire week. I recommend Post Planner for Facebook and Twaitter (Twitter scheduler) or HootSuite (great for for Twitter and LinkedIn).
4-Hire people who will post and stay on top of FRESH and CONSISTENT posting! I actually have a team member do mine! (And I have team members who can do it for you! We post up to 2 accts, 3 times a day/7 days on Twitter and 2 times a day 5 days a week on Facebook for as little as $50 a month!) Then all you need to do is be YOU and engage!
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
As a successful person who has helped with business development, I have worked with entrepreneurs who have become a “business owner” often by accident. Accident or not, if you truly want that business to thrive there are things that will help! Every Tuesday I will do a simple tip on video for you. Please feel free to comment and ask questions!
This shift will help you see the importance of doing this task as part of your daily ritual!
Want more specifics on using this tip and others in your business? Join my monthly Sabre Series calls where you get SPECIFIC support![/box]
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
Partnership is one of my BIGGEST business goals, in this video I talk about what partnership is and means to me:
Several years ago I partnered Adryenn Ashley to make a CD series about Social Media. We created a workbook, 6 CD’s and a bonus DVD with tools we love. Each of us were able to sell it separately in our business, to use it as a gift, a prize at events, or to package with other offers. Individually, we incurred the profits and costs associated with doing so. Here is why this created such win/win: every time I sold one my customers also learned about Adryenn. And the same was true for me, every time she sold one they learned about me. To this day, it still generates business for me.
I desire more BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) partnership thinking like this, I believe there are tons of creative ways to do this as entrepreneurs! Do you partner with others? Have you had success? Have you also struggled with partnership?
In 2012, The SNCC Way grew up and gained two business partners to help it thrive with new energy and ideas.
I have definitely learned some lessons over the years about partnerships, some the hard way! I have also learned that it’s easy to think partnership won’t work with”what you do” which is why BHAG thinking and masterminds really work!
Interested in Joining a Mastermind to learn more about partnerships in your Business? Participating in this mastermind in NO WAY requires you to partner with anyone in the group, including Ann. This is a place to learn and improve the partner experience for entrepreneurs! We are ALWAYS taking applications to join us!
***Please note that the investment you are willing to make will not be the ONLY determination for selection into the mastermind, so share honestly and openly! [/box]
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
I am often asked about my sword. The whole thing began more than 10 years ago when traveling and teaching conferences with my colleagues Randy and Barry. After an event, while we were sitting at a bar, Randy commented that my new nickname is Zena. When I asked him why he said “you do not let people play victim. When they come to you and wine and complain about the things that are wrong in their lives, you whip out this invisible sword and tell them to cut the crap.”
Zena stuck. The sword came as the true symbol of my brand years later.
I was at a conference where MaryAnn Halpin and was taking pictures for her Fearless Women book. At that conference there was a video with all these women getting pictures with her sword, a Scottish Claymore (I am holding it in the blue dress). I thought it would be great to have my picture taken and then it dawned on me why I should take my picture with that sword.
The sword is the symbol of my life, and it has represented so much for what I have done in my career. But to honor and respect the sword I chose to study the many powerful things that the sword symbolizes:
1- the manifestation of purity in the physical form. Coming from a violent abusive place, this manifestation has been a powerful journey. My husband has been the biggest part of it, giving me my Katana as a result.
My Katana
2-being grounded and having clarity of thought. Honestly, when I do not meditate, I loose this. I see my sword as a tool for deep thought and contemplation.
3-a way of protecting with strength to conquer those things holding you back. Therefore the iron of the sword is the true warrior within you. It represents so much of finding your true voice.
4-in many cultures it’s meaning is to cut through confusion and ignorance surrounding you.
5-honor and to possess one and is considered a symbol of transition, which life is in constant transition. It is the extension of true warrior spirit in many cultures.
6-The sword and it sheath are actually seen as the balance between the masculine and feminine. Masculine represents an active driving force for life and the feminine protective supportive element of life.
It’s amazing how much it has represented for myself and what I do with my clients over the years for the inner warrior and discovering your real edge. Each picture I have taken demonstrates one of these meanings when you look at them.
Ann M. Evanston is a “Chief Breakthrough Officer” teaching other Business Warriors how to slow down, and find the most unique part of their business that makes them stand out among the crowd. She has been named one of the top marketing consultants by About.com, is a guest blogger for Showcasing Women and takes pride in moving you from “blah, blah, blah” to “BOOM, BOOM. BOOM!”
Great question Robbie! In one of the three books I highly recommend to entrepreneurs and small business owners CJ Hayden’s “Get Clients Now” shares traditional marketing methods, amount of time spent and return on investment (ROI). The basic premise of the model (in the picture) is that direct contact and follow-up, although it takes more time, yields a greater ROI. Those that may cost more, like advertising, take the least amount time but often result in a lower ROI. When looking at this model you can see that social media marketing can actually fall on either end of the spectrum.
Since 2007, I have been teaching my clients to treat social media like direct contact and follow up. I recommend that they spend 30 minutes two times a day seven days a week until they are viral and then they can go down to 3 to 5 hours a week.
The Social Media Marketing Industry Report authored by Michael Stelzner shows a significant 56% of businesses marketing are using social media for six hours or more every week with significant return on investment. If you combine that with last week’s blog post about lead generation and closing business that is a great ROI.
One person in the same blog I wrote, Abigail Gordon, stated that she spends an average of eight hours a week in referral marketing, which is direct contact and follow up marketing strategy. She even wondered what would happen if she shifted even 2 of those 8 into social media marketing…interesting!
So here are my questions to you:
1-Are you developing a social media marketing strategy that is direct contact and follow-up, or advertising?
2-Are you developing your time accordingly based on that strategy?
3-If you have chosen direct contact and follow-up, as your social media marketing strategy, have you developed your strategy to include “follow up” (lead generation/relationship building) from social media?
Remember I am known for saying: “your job is to market.” Marketing can take many forms– it’s the consistency in your plan, the diversity of your plan, the correct content for the correct plan, and the ability to follow up with the time spent that creates significant return on investment.
Ann Evanston, MA, has been named by About.com as one of the Top Six Marketing Consultants, Feb 2011, and recognized in the Huffington Post for her unique approach in using Facebook to increase profits though giving. In October 2008 Ann created the Social Networking Coaching Club, a forum where you get personalized support to learn how to “discover your REAL edge” and make more online in less time with integrity. Ann works with clients who are tired of being blah, blah, blah and want to be BOOM BOOM BOOM!
