Blogging can be hard. Let’s face it we don’t always know what to write and I’m always told to write what I know… sorry reader I don’t think you would like to read about a secret world under the ocean or a forest elf battling a ferocious dragon. You are here for a better understanding of the marketing universe. I’m well versed in social media and 9 times out of 10 that’s what I’ll provide; a wealth of knowledge in the social media realm. Today, however, I’m going to try and help you get your brain gears going for writing your next blog or article.
Some of you might be able to pump out a 15 page article with no effort, but if you are like me you struggle to put thoughts and ideas down on paper. I’ve been writing since elementary school and my stories varied from thesis’ to fantasy stories, but for me it’s hard to just sit down and write. We all get writers block from time to time. It can be the worst thing when trying to finish an article or blog for next day delivery. EEKS! So what do you do? Many times I’ll take a step back from thinking about it to much, I know time is money, but racking your brain for words and getting a headache over something probably won’t come out as nice as it would if you took a break. It isn’t worth it.
I love to read and most of my inspiration comes from my favourite authors. You’d be surprised at what these guys… and girls, have to say about writing. So here are my top 10 author quotes to get you motivated; in life or in writing!
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. – Ernest Hemingway
I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book. – Roald Dahl
I do not over-intellectualize the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story. – Tom Clancy
People say, ‘What advice do you have for people who want to be writers?’ I say, they don’t really need advice, they know they want to be writers, and they’re gonna do it. Those people who know that they really want to do this and are cut out for it, they know it. – R.L. Stine
Follow your passion. Stay true to yourself. Never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. By all means, you should follow that. – Ellen DeGeneres
I don’t believe in being serious about anything. I think life is too serious to be taken seriously. – Ray Bradbury
Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative. – Oscar Wilde
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go… – Dr. Seuss
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. – J. R. R. Tolkien
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing you can do is keep your mind young. – Mark Twain
So blog on! Hopefully one or more of these quotes got you thinking and if you know of any more quotes that really help you focus post them in the comments! I would love to hear them.
So your business made it off the ground, you’re generating revenue, but you’ve hit a roadblock with your growth and revenue. Perhaps it’s too niche or misleading, or tied to a geographic location – what to do? Re-branding your company requires careful consideration and planning in order to achieve a successful outcome and take your business to the next level. But this also involves a lot of risks.
Be aware of all the risks of re-branding before you start the process. As a marketer I know how quickly you can get caught up in design and other issues, just don’t let it get you! Re-branding is more than changing a logo or adding bolder images. It is also about researching and understanding the consumer, analyzing changes in target markets when exploring opportunities for brand expansion and repositioning.
Yet, even when forewarned, many still make some common mistakes. Here are the top 5 mistakes to avoid:
Re-branding without research
Put money and time into researching the consumer’s perspective on the product or service. What do (don’t) they like, what attracts them etc.
Wrong assumption “A brand is just a logo”
Your brand is more that just a logo. A brand integrates all aspects of your business; everything from look, feel, culture, tone, voice, product quality, customer care… leading to consumer perception.
Getting started without a plan
Make sure you have a plan from start to finish. From research and analysis to setting up time frames, to identifying metrics for assessing results (ROI).
Not leveraging existing brand equity
A company with high brand equity may not need to undergo a big transformation… or rather, shouldn’t need to go through a huge transformation. When you have a strong brand equity… tread softly and lightly. However you do it, make sure the current brand equity stays strong!
Getting buy in internally prior to external.
Getting employees to understand the reason and goal of re-branding is very important because they will have to sell it to the consumers. This is equally more important in lieu of social media. Internal branding is increasingly important as each employee is a brand ambassador. In short, if they don’t believe it, neither will the consumer.
Going through a re-branding is and can be very challenging. It’s not so much setting the goal, but reaching it successfully. Having gone through a major re-branding I can only say that walking the talk is monumentally important. The re-branding that I was involved in failed miserably on convincing internal people that the change was necessary. The bigger the company, the more time is needed to make sure everyone is informed and all understand why there needs to be a change. If they understand, they will be able to explain it to the consumer. If you believe it, you will show it!
A successful re-branding requires a vision that inspires consumers, investors and others to see the company in a new light. We can learn from other companies who have gone through re-branding. This could be a successful re-brand or even a failure, if we learn from them we will not make the same mistake. Check out the 10 most successful re-branding campaigns ever. This article not only shows how they did it, it also let us know the lesson to be learned. Very interesting!
Is there going to be a shift in social media this year? Do you think that there will be a new competitor making its way to our computers this year?
Being the fore front of social media can be key to targeting and gaining more reach for your brand. We all strive for the newest and hottest change in social media and we want to be the brand with the most knowledge of it.
From all of the blogs I’ve read it seems like 2013 will be a big year for social media, like every year there is something new and I’ve taken the time to sort through many blogs about the potential 2013 social media trends and I’m bring them to you!
Here are the shifts in social media to watch for:
1. A picture IS worth a 1,000 words:
We saw a huge growth in picture story telling. From tumbler to Pinterest, users are being more interactive by posting their life via images. Pinterest will continue to soar because it allows users to collectively use images along with their links to depict their likes. Also a new app called SnapChat is making headway by allowing the user to snap a picture for a friend as a way to chat. You collect points for people taking screenshots and a timer can be set for the duration of the images showcase.
2. Mobile
This really is a given and won’t go away for a while. With the growth of mobile and as the need to be more efficient continues; having everything at our finger tips, expect 2013 to see the rise of mobile over the computer. Most are seeing huge number increases with accessing mobile webpages and apps over computers.
3. A better Facebook for your business
From an article on The Social Media Examiner one blogger is expecting to see premium version offered for Facebook Pages. With content creation and more analytics it will be strictly business focused.
4. Podcasting will make a comeback!
We might see a rise in podcasting this year as more and more businesses are trying to give back and be more interactive with their consumers. It’s all about knowledge and educating the consumer. We’ve become so fast pace that rather than reading about trends, the world, or even how-tos we can now listen. It’s on the go and can be downloaded right to your phones and ipods.
5. Augmented Reality
With the prospective launch of Google glasses this year we will see a huge rise in augmented reality, not that we haven’t already. Mostly games like Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast that launched this year and Google Skyview are taking advantage of this technology. Expect to see Social Media integrated more as A.R advances.
We all know social media isn’t going away anytime soon. It has a powerful voice and it allows our consumers to have a big voice. If you aren’t already taking advantage of these sites, you’re missing out. There are huge benefits to being in the social game and I advise you to take your brand on Facebook or Google+. Be aware of the new up and coming social media and don’t turn your nose up to the change. Understand the the World Wide Web evolves quicker than a Justin Bieber tweet and we need to stay in the loop all the time.
Here’s a great video to sum up the 2012/2013 social media evolution, enjoy!
Have you noticed you’ve been losing Twitter followers and you don’t know why? Did you work hard to gain your followers and find yourself struggling to keep them? Do you have numbers but a very small engagement ratio? If you’re losing followers, then there is a good chance you need to adjust some Twitter techniques to stop this from happening.
Let’s take a look at how to gain and keep more Twitter followers:
Retweet like you mean it-One way that you can build and keep more Twitter followers is to retweet posts from other people. But be deliberate about it- don’t just spam RTs down your feed. Instead, take time to spot good posts from your network and share it, retweet from the blogs that you read and other great content you find on the Web.
Send @ Replies-Retweeting and sending @ replies to people is another good way to get them to follow you back. You don’t have to be following someone to talk to them or to see their tweets (unless they have a protected feed) so a good way to get more followers and to keep the ones you have is to take time to talk with people. Comment on their tweets, something interesting you read in their profile or tweet their blog post and you will find more people following you back and those who do follow staying around longer.
Follow Friday-Although it’s been around forever and is sometimes abused, Follow Friday (#followfriday) is still a good way to gain more followers and to keep the ones you have. If a follower sees that you are recommending them to your feed, they are much more likely to continue following you.
Buy some Twitter followers- It’s not enough just to buy Twitter followers though. You need to engage with those targeted users to keep them around. Did you buy Twitter followers and then fail to do anything to boost engagement? Buying followers will only get you so far if you don’t provide something for them to interact with. Even targeted fans will grow bored if you’re not using your Twitter stream correctly.
Create a Twitter content plan-Finally, the best way to get more followers to your Twitter is to create a Twitter content plan. Sit down and think about your target audience and your goals for using Twitter. What do you hope to accomplish with your Twitter account? What will your target audience want to read about from you? What types of content can you produce and share that will be of most value to them? Spend some time researching and planning and then you will have a Twitter feed that’s full of regular followers.
Twitter is a fast-paced micro-blogging social platform. If you’re losing Twitter followers, there’s a good chance you’re just boring them. While it only takes a few minutes to type out 140-characters or less, it pays off in the long run to put some thought into what you’re sharing.
Do you have some tips of your own to add to the list?
Lisa Mason is a Twitter addict, content marketing specialist and lover of all things social. Drop by and say hi @writerlisamason.
In marketing it’s not always about strategies or the latest trends, it’s also about creating a more productive, organized and positive work environment. Your business or clients need to see that you’ve got things under control no matter how much life can get chaotic.
We’ve all struggled to keep up with our work loads and I would even hazard to say, sometimes, it seems that life often gets in the way! Yes, I know it should be the other way around, but there are days that just don’t work out that way. The work-life balance is increasingly becoming a trending topic of conversation…both online and at the office. Technology has made accessibility and availability a non-issue. Employers expect employees to be on… whenever and wherever. Reports show that with the increase in technology it’s causing our lives to be more stressful in the work place.
Since I’ve been here with 3H Communications there are many things I’ve learned and one key item is organization. It’s important to maintain control over your work and you achieve this by being organized with emails, time sheets, paper work etc.
Ask yourself, how can I make my job and life easier? What are some key steps I can take to managing my work life to make sure I can be at my best?
Well here are 6 tips I’ve found while scouring the internet that may just help:
1. Make a list. But don’t put it on your computer. Write it out, you will remember things more and the ability to physically cross off an item can boost to your productivity.
2. Minimize clutter. If you haven’t touched it in a month. Get rid of it! Unless it’s for clients or work for later down the road, all the clutter on our desk is causing a distraction which can also cause work anxiety. Alleviate stress by de-cluttering your desk and organizing it.
3. The rule of once. Hilary Clinton says that once a piece of mail is on her desk it gets taken care of once and only once. The same thinking applies to your email box… the new online desk. Leaving emails to build up in your inbox can be a daunting task when sorting through them. Even going through 25 emails can be annoying. Organize your email with folders. Once you’ve read it plop it into the appropriate folder.
4. Perfection isn’t always the best.We all strive to be the best at our jobs, however, when you aim for perfection all the time your stress can become overwhelming. I often apply the 80/20% rule. If a job is completed at 80% of perfection… is the 20% going to make a difference or be noticed. More importantly, how much more time will it take to get the job done. Accept imperfection on the lesser tasks. I order to do that, you must get an understanding of which tasks are the most important and focus on those to be the best. It’s not perfect, but stressing over it won’t help you in the long run.
5. Take a load off. Taking regular breaks can help clear your mind or push past a mental road block. When I have writer’s block I head down to our kitchen and work on a sudoku or crossword puzzle for a few minutes. It can help decrease your stress level, so unless you’re working on a down-to-the-wire project get up stretch and walk around.
6. Say no. In my research to understand the realities of work life as they exist today, the art and ability to say no is among the most important. I have a hard time saying no. I’m very friendly and I always think I have the time to help out a friend or coworker, even when I’m swamped with work. Understanding what your tasks are and how much you can handle is the most important lesson I’ve learnt.
In today’s world, we are connected 24/7 … but we do need a break. Do yourself a favour: Turn off your phone and don’t check your emails. Coming to work stressed or unhappy will have a negative affect on your work and the people around you. If all else fails watch a video with baby animals. Science has proved it decreases procrastination!
Enjoy life, laugh and love. Do you have other ways to help you with your work life? Let me know!
It’s really interesting to examine how major companies compare to each other when social media becomes the interest. What makes for a good social media ranking? Any company can create a Facebook page or Twitter account. Getting people to interact is another issue. While some companies are skilled at attracting this type of action, others seem to muddle around in the social networking realm. You might be surprised at some of the top names in social media rankings. However, you’ll find others that make a lot of sense.
Viacom is ranked first in social media use. The media company is just slightly ahead of the more familiar Walt Disney Company. News Corporation ranks third. These three media companies together are doing something right in engaging their fans and followers. Zynga is one of the least surprising companies that ranks well in making the most of social media. The entertainment and games software company develops many of the popular activities used on Facebook and smartphones.
Some of you might be able to pump out a 15 page article with no effort, but if you are like me you struggle to put thoughts and ideas down on paper. I’ve been writing since elementary school and my stories varied from thesis’ to fantasy stories, but for me it’s hard to just sit down and write. We all get writers block from time to time. It can be the worst thing when trying to finish an article or blog for next day delivery. EEKS! So what do you do? Many times I’ll take a step back from thinking about it to much, I know time is money, but racking your brain for words and getting a headache over something probably won’t come out as nice as it would if you took a break. It isn’t worth it.
