Can Your Social Media Voice Be Heard?

The world is listening to the online communication called Social Media. Social Media is a powerfully effective marketing tool for building online presence; grow a loyal customer base, to create powerful communities, and to develop productive business relationships.

Once you start discovering the power of Social Media it becomes an integrated part of your personality, business and daily life. And I mean, you cannot be without it anymore – you develop a love relationship with it. In the beginning you are a little scared because it’s so NEW, but once you understand the power it creates a lot of curiosity. Even to the point where you loose some sleep… (you know the times at night that you are very tired, but you just want to do one more thing on Twitter or Facebook).

We all want to belong …. Social Media tools like Twitter, Facebook and The Master Business Builders Club (MBBC), give us the opportunity to be part of communities where we can belong. We start building quality relationships with people, read and learn from their online communication, share our knowledge, products and services and grow our business.

Let’s take Travis Greenlee (Founder MBBC) as an example. Travis created a MBBC group on Facebook. He started creating awareness, people noticed him, it increased the traffic to the MBBC website, they made use of his free 1-month trial, discovered the power of the group and signed up. Isn’t that cool?

Tips how to manage your unique “Social Media Voice”
• Create a Social Media plan. We have many choices of joining groups, and it can overwhelm us. Explore, and select groups that will fit in with your personality, strengths, business goals and objectives. Remember to always be visible in areas online where you can reach your target audience.

• How much time do I spend on Social Media?
When I started exploring, I was so drawn to all these fabulous tools that I have lost some sleep! Learning all these new tools over stimulated my brain, especially when I realized the power of building quality relationships and getting new clients through Social Media. Then … reality kicked in and I realized I have a life other than Social Media! Now I spend 20 minutes early morning and 20 minutes in the evening interacting with my online communities. Develop a time frame that fits in with your schedule.

Social Media Workshop Corte Madera, Marin County, CA
http://www.SocialMediaMappers.com

How are you showing up in Business? Are You Memorable?

What is your style of communication? How are you showing up in your business and personal life, and on the Internet?

I have just listened to Mitch Meyerson, Founder Guerrilla Marketing Coaching, and he shared with us in a very powerful way "How to show up and be memorable". The call was part of the Master Business Club expert calls (every Thursday). Sign up today! http://tinyurl.com/3qu7bn

What are you saying about your business, and how are you presenting yourself?
How do you tell people what you do that’s meaningful to them.

You will find the following exercise valuable:

Set aside time to meet with peers, customers, staff members and friends whose opinions you trust. Ask them how do they see your brand. What do they think of your business? Get them to be brutally honest. Write down all the feedback.

Now, what do you want your customers to think? Exactly, what is it that you do better, and differently, from the rest? What is your niche?

In the process also study your competitors. This can be done by reviewing their websites. Determine their strengths and weaknesses, and also do your own SWOT analysis. This is a great exercise to determine your competitive advantage.

After collecting the ideas and determining your competitive advantage, put it in writing, and reduce it to a single sentence. Test it, especially at Networking meetings.

I have a client who refers to herself as

• The acupuncturist with the light touch (great slogan because many people do not enjoy the acupuncture needles)

Like Mitch said "Create a powerful message that will encourage prospects to take out their credit cards"

Don't shy away from presenting yourself in a confident way. It's a cluttered market we need to stand out and be MEMORABLE!

Happy Marketing

Ursula

With web literacy you can increase your Presence, Efficiency, Effectiveness and Profitability

Align with the Power of Web Community

Learn how to align your vision with the power of the web and grow your business. Use SOCIAL MEDIA ONLINE --- the biggest global trend -- as a marketing tool to:

1. Create awareness and increase your web presence
   

2. Drive traffic to your website
   

3. Build a loyal web family around your brand
   

4. Build online trust
   

5. Develop productive long-term relationships
   

6. Produce compelling content for online communication
   

7. Learn how to personalize a professional blog
   

8. Communicate your programs, products or service
   

9. Learn what your strategy should be for YouTube, Facebook and the blogosphere

SOCIAL MEDIA WORKSHOP, SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

SIGN UP BEFORE DECEMBER 31, 2008 and receive the following:

1. More Authentic Approach to Marketing
   

2. Website Design Checklist
   

3. The ebook “Before you begin” - The world’s gentlest guide to beginning a blog

SIGN-UP WEBSITE

http://www.thepowerofwebcommunity.com

Hello Friends! Spontaneous humor is a wonderful way to connect with an audience. Read more about John Kinde's Humor Power
http://ping.fm/0tW33

Achieve success in 2009 with a well-designed Marketing Plan

It’s that time of the year. We are preparing for a festive Holiday Season and it’s also a time to reflect on our 2008 achievements and challenges that we experienced.

It’s also a good time to review your marketing plan. Evaluate your 2008 marketing strategies and determine which strategies helped you to generate leads, create awareness and to be profitable.

Also evaluate your Core Marketing Messages. Let’s look at 3 Core Marketing messages:

Target Market
Who are your messages directed to? Be specific about the gender, age group, areas where they live, etc. If you cater to a broad target audience, it will be costly to reach them all.

Problem Solution
What is the concern of your target audience? What solutions do you offer? This is at the heart of your Core Marketing Messages. If you can clearly articulate the concerns of your target audience, and you can demonstrate in a credible way that you offer solutions to their concerns, they will listen to you.

Benefits
As soon as you clearly determine what your target market wants, you can orchestrate a marketing campaign based on addressing those needs. Marketers often confuse features with benefits. It’s important to differentiate between them:

I want to share with you three secrets how to successfully communicate your benefits

• The first secret is to determine your competitive advantage. What do you offer that your competitors do not offer? Consumers are overwhelmed by advertisements. It is a cluttered market, and we have to find a way of standing out, and be more visible and memorable than our competitors.

• It leads me into the second secret “The style of communication". You need to be crystal clear and focused when you communicate our benefits. I will recommend that you use direct and straightforward language, and do not use fancy words that consumers will not understand.

• A third secret is to be so powerful in your communication that the consumer will visualize the benefits in their mind. Let me give you an example. Recently I was looking for a stronger moisturizer for my skin. The following Esteee Lauder advertisement captured my attention. It said “See skin glow with a fresh, flawless radiance”. It was so powerful that I visualized my radiant skin, and I immediately purchased the product. Everybody’s needs are different and when it comes to products or services people want to feel happy, younger, desirable, and successful.

Stay tuned for more discussions about your Core Marketing Messages.

Happy Marketing!
Ursula

Networking - Don't be a "Cave-Dweller" BE VISIBLE

As I am preparing to attend a Networking event in San Francisco, I am thinking about the "Magic" of connecting with other people. With Technology (like Macbook - no surprise, everybody knows I am a walking billboard for Apple), and Social Media tools like Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Membership Sites like "Master Business Building Club, we have the wonderful opportunity to globally connect with people on a daily basis. No excuse to be a "Cave-Dweller".

Be visible! We have so many opportunities to build relationships, and I would like to share a few tips that will help you to be a successful Networker (online and in person).

• Authentic interest in people - develop a natural curiosity to learn more about the world and people you connect with. Ask questions that will light up people and that will spark their interest. Show genuine interest in their business and daily activities.
• Give First - When you connect with others, don't think about what you can receive from them, have a "give first" attitude. Give them the gift of being in the moment, to be a good listener and to show genuine interest.
• Small talk - Shape small talk. It's not so much about knowing the best opening lines as it is about being observant, and learn how to comment on what you observe.
  
• Be happy and joyful - joy shows and it is contagious! We all experience challenges, but learn how to deal with it and forget about it when you network. Joyful and happy people attract others to them.
  
• Diversify your networks - participate in different kinds of groups (online and in-person).
• Not everyone will be interested in you - accept that NOT everyone will be interested in your products or services. How many billion people are on this earth? Not everyone will want to hire you or purchase your products. By understanding and accepting this, you will get over your fear of rejection.
• Follow-up with prospects. Always remember to take a business card or contact details, and follow-up within one day via email, direct mail or a telephone call.
  

The current economical challenges do not give us an excuse not to Network. Business Owners who are developing strong networking skills during these times, do grow and prosper. So .... "Cave-Dwellers" get out and become VISIBLE!

Happy Networking.

Ursula

Creating your own happiness and success

Lately I find more and more people’s joy being tarnished by the current economical challenges. My first reaction is “don’t switch on the TV when you wake up”! People are nervous and when they wake up in the morning, they are eager to get the latest news updates. Rather listen to your favorite music, meditate, take an early morning hike and get energized by sunrise …. but don’t let the media set the tone for your day.

Currently we might feel troubled and unsure about the economy, but always remember that happiness exists in the present. Our brain is capable of finding the resources to help us to see the good side of life, and hope for better days. If you believe that happiness is a function of your brain, you will have hope. If you have hope you will not allow current circumstances to paralyze you. You will still dream, plan, generate more business, do even more networking, design creative and unconventional marketing strategies and be happy.

Happiness lowers the heart rate, release tension, motivates us and brings balance into our lives. By creating balance you will experience much more happiness. What do you enjoy doing? Do you love the outdoors or do you enjoy doing volunteer work? My father died a month ago, and after reflecting on the meaning of my life, I made a decision to live life with even more zest, and to use my talents and gifts to make this world a better place. I used the death of my father to reinvent my life, to live in the moment, to hope, to love more fiercely and to make a big impact in this world.

What are your goals, objectives and your strengths? What can you do today to make a difference in this world? How can you help your clients to meet their goals, or to generate more visibility and sales? What new plan can you implement today to create growth in your own business?

What will you do in these challenging times to energize yourself and people you come in contact with?