Marketing yourself is, in my opinion, one of the hardest parts of having a business. Especially when your business is not a brick and mortar storefront. You learn, over time, to embrace opportunities that may come by involvement with organizations and most importantly by the networking available through entrepreneurs you meet. It surprises me, sometimes, to learn that others have the same hang up about promoting what they do. We are all capable, professionals who support each other, and in doing so, we market the heck out of each other whenever we get the chance.
Almost everyone has a Pinterest account. It’s a place you’ve set up to gather all the things you like, dream about and are interested in. Personal use of Pinterest is staggering. Believe it or not this trendy, sometime bling catcher and recipe hoarder is the perfect social media platform to promote a business. Let’s assume, for this exercise, you already have six or more boards set up in your account. How many of those boards actually pertain, in some way, to the business or product you are trying to promote? Weather you choose three or four, one, or all six is a topic I will discuss in a future post. The idea of using Pinterest to market your business may come as a surprise. Your account doesn't have to have a business name, although having a board named after your company is acceptable and not a bad idea. I will use my Pinterest account as an example. I have forty-one boards. Of those, I can confidently say seven reflect on my business which includes being a published author/writer and photographer. The next three or four are related to these topics; however, their use has now been relegated for gathering research material. That leaves the rest as boards that have been set up because . . . Why? Personal interests, I suppose, along with the fact that I like to have information in a manageable file like environment. All of my boards, at one time, I thought to be important. That was until I discovered I could make my personal account into a Pinterest’s Business Account by following their conversion steps. This is a free option, and comes with some good perks, takes a few minutes to do and worth looking into if you have any kind of business, home based or brick and mortar. The best part, you can use your existing account. There is no need to open a business specific account unless you choose to do so. Through this sign up, I now receive a suggested selection of possible pins. These come by email and are based on the relevancy of topics I pin the most (with a few more thrown in for enticement). These suggestions have quickly shown me the majority of my boards are just there to catch fleeting whims of personal taste and could/should be amalgamated, switched to a private setting or discarded. The thing to remember is you don’t need to spend hours scrolling through the masses of pins to find something, anything, that tweaks your interest or has any baring on your business. Your preferences can be handed to you in an email a few times a week, thus improving time management to do other projects of importance. You don’t need 1000’s and 1000’s of pins to be noticed. You do need to be consistent. Pinning material that showcases you, your product, your business AND, re-pinning pins from other like minded people. Slowly, at first, you will see the number of followers, re-pins and likes increase. As the numbers grow, so does the exposure of your business. Increasing Traffic to your business boards in Pinterest is one of the many topics I will share with you in future posts about Pinterest and Business. Ann Edall-Robson Author, Photographer, Lover of Life If you have found this information helpful or would like to learn more about Pinterest for Business, please let me know.
Interpretation ~ Allowing the creative mind to see and record a vision prompted by written and artistic works. Each telling their own story by way of words and various mediums. Since May 2016, twenty-four people have been part of the inaugural Airdrie Voice and Vision 2016 project. Twelve writers. Twelve artists. Paired randomly to interpret each other’s work. Each creating an additional set of artistic and written impressions. The deadline for completion, Sept 1, yet it was three weeks later that all involved could come together to view and share. An exciting evening for everyone! The volunteers who worked hours to co-ordinate and keep everyone informed also presented the icing for the cake - a mock up Voice and Vision book that will be published. Taking the arts to yet another level. Showcasing interactive pieces from all who participated in the project. This is only the beginning of the end of this journey. On Oct 1, artist and writers will come together for an evening of the arts at the Airdrie Public Library. The months of creating interpretations will be on display. The artisans will be available to discuss their work. After this first public display of Voice and Vision, framed prints and corresponding writings will be on display around the city at various venues yet to be determined. My vision partner for the 2016 Voice and Vision project is Carrie Leigh. Her original piece was un-named and I chose to call it Deer in the Woods. My interpretation of her work is called, Do You See Me?
Ann Edall-Robson Author of Moon Rising: An Eclectic Collection of Works Join Carrie and I on October 1/16 at the Airdrie Public Library (7 pm - 9 pm) for an evening of the arts. Listen to the stories and see the artwork that inspired them. The Voice and Vision 2016 committee has announced that copies of the published book can be ordered at this event. If anyone is interested in purchasing a copy of this collection of arts, please contact me. Ann Edall-Robson
Author, Photographer, Lover of Life
Choosing a platform for your blog or website can be a daunting exercise. There are so many out there to pick from.
It has been over twenty years since social media has become a part of my life. With guidance from a cousin, I learned to write basic html code while she helped me build my first website. Moving on with a vision, of something more than my ability was capable of, we out sourced to build what we call our mother ship site. It was soon into this relationship that we realized we had made a mistake. We were given the ability to change out text and some pictures, but we had no control over the overall look. Each time we needed to add a page or make a change to the presentation of the site, we required their expertise. Why? Because they had written the guts of the program in various forms of coding along with some trial and error of their own. The final straw came when they decided to close up shop. Giving us control over a site that still only gives us access to minimal changes and a definite need to either find someone to decipher their code or re-do the site in its entirety. In my research, I had stumbled across Weebly. It was one of the platforms endorsed by our web host and it looked to be fairly easy to navigate. It was on my radar for upgrades to our websites when the use of the program came to me through another project I was working on. Perhaps our experience will help others to decide a website or blog program.
We have decided to share our Weebly experience with you through a series of blogs over the next few months and beyond using question and answers.
Q. Why did you choose Weebly for your AnnEdallRobson.com website platform?
A. I didn’t. Using the Basic level, it was built for me as part of my publishing package for Moon Rising. The publisher asked me questions about what pages I would like and made suggestions. They did the rest and then turned its complete control over to me. Q. What did you think of the result of the website the publisher had built for you? A. Truthfully, I didn’t like the look at all. But knew I was going to be able to make changes once I got comfortable with the program. Q. Did you find it easy to use? A. Yes. It’s a drag and drop system. Put in what you need/want. Take out what you don’t. Q. Did it do everything you wanted it to? A. That depends on what you mean by everything. There are several levels of the program. Basic is just that, basic. No access to adding videos, audio or store. If these are not important to you, then the Basic is the way to go. Q. Was Weebly easy to learn? A. I think it is. The Basic level is a good opportunity to cut your teeth on website or blog building. Q. Are you still using the Basic level? A. No. I now use the Business level. Q. Why did you change from the Basic to the Business level? A. The Basic level had given me a good training ground for the Weebly program, but I needed to expand on the vision for the website and the Business level was the next choice to fulfill that vision. Q. Would you recommend Weebly to others looking to start a Blog, Website, Business? A. Absolutely! It has all the capabilities needed to sell your product, blog about the things that are important to you and build your dream.
If you have questions about Weebly you would like us to address, please send them to us. We'll do what we can to find your answers or share our experience.
Pricing and information on Weebly.
Whenever I hear mention of a social media Tweet, the song Rockin’ Robin comes to mind. If you are of the generation that recognizes the word play between the two, you probably now have the lyrics bopping around in your head. Modern day Tweets are the things you write on Twitter. Sharing with all who follow you and who have found you through those followers and use of #Hashtags. Getting to know Twitter so it works to your benefit is quite easy. You have up to 140 characters/spaces to get your point across. Become creative in wording can pay off. For example the sentence, Start with steps 1, 2 and 3. Condensed to Strt w/steps123. Offers up more character usage in the overall content of the Tweet. There is an etiquette to follow. One of my favourite lists of so called rules comes from Author/Blogger, Molly Green talking about Tweets You Should Never Send. Yet, some of these Tweets come from the fact that you were raised with manners, and thanking someone is a natural thing for you to do. Get over being overly polite. It’s just not appreciated by the vast majority of the Social Media world. Save it for your emails and private messages to friends. So now you know how many characters you can use. You have read up on the Tweets to never send, and it’s time to review the #Hashtag. How many hashtags (words) should you use? Since Hashtags are incorporated more and more in every social media platform, I found this article by Leanne O’Sullivan to be useful for Twitter as well as those who use Instagram. Her post outlines some of the basic protocol use of #Hashtags: The rule of thumb is generally no more than five. They should not be long-winded or a complete sentence. They should not make up the whole descriptive monologue (one hashtag word, after another hashtag word, after another). Most importantly, they should be relevant to the topic of the Tweet. You don’t want too many #Hashtag words cluttering the view. Making them all the reader sees. The message you are trying to convey is quickly lost and the reader moves on to other Tweets without paying any attention to you. Soon, they gloss over your Tweets and eventually, they either don’t bother at all with what you are Tweeting &/or they quit following you. In summary: 1. Utilize characters/spaces to your advantage; 2. Don’t send out tweets that are not appreciated; And 3. Be smart about your #Hashtag use. What do you think about using Tweets to promote your business?
New to the realm of social network? Do you spend more time trying to figure out the menagerie of alphabet soup letters than you do promoting your business and product. One such acronym is worth knowing about. Learning how to take advantage of its existence to boost your name up the ladder of the search engines. Search Engine Optimizers or SEO as it is fondly referred to in the soup can, is important and not that hard to master. SEO is a modern buzzword for the old fashioned, but still used term, Keyword. Basically making sure your site include words that are recognized by search engines. Wording to improve rankings and send traffic to your site. SEO’s not only use words in your written pages, but also identify with links to and from your pages. If you were to do a search for SEO on the internet, you will receive a result list of over 523,000,000 options to chose from. That in itself can turn you off of finding out about this important marketing tool. One of the better articles I have found to explain SEO in layman’s terms also offered a printable PDF version of The Beginners Guide to SEO. Marketing yourself can be a little easier if you have the use of some good tools and references. Share your SEO and marketing experiences with us. Silent Sunday. Mindless Monday. Travel Tuesday. Wordless Wednesday. Throwback Thursday. Foodie Friday. Sunny Saturday. All of these are meant to get your attention on any social media platform they show up on. So lets have a look at each day of the week and its quirky heading. Silent Sunday
Post nothing more than those words. Post a picture that reminds you of silence. Talk about what silence means to you. Mindless Monday Post nothing more than those words. Talk about how the mind wakes up idle after a weekend away from the real job. Use a picture to get your point across. Travel Tuesday Post nothing more than a picture of travel to somewhere. The thing is, travel could be a walk down the block or a trip across the sea. Talk about a trip you want to go on or have been on. Wordless Wednesday Like Silent Sunday, say nothing at all. Post a picture. Any picture. Be sure not to add any words. Let the picture say it all. Throwback Thursday Allows you to re-post something from a past time. Post a picture of reminders of your childhood. Talk about the good old days. The “Remember When” times. Foodie Friday Share a recipe. Post a picture of food. Share your favourite restaurant. Talk it up. Diss what you thought was your favourite place to eat. Tell what has turned you off from eating here. Sunny Saturday Talk about what Saturday means to you. Post pictures of your Saturday’s In review, we know there are days when it is deemed to be slow times on social media. These are the days when few words or little information is shared. The common denominator in the list is post a picture. Visual anything is an eye catcher. Whether you add words or not is up to you. If you don't have the time to post everyday, choose the one or two days that suit you best. Just get it done! Consistency is the key to promotion of anything you do on social media. Make up your own attention grabbing title for the days of the week and see if it helps to boost your views. It isn’t often that one can say they are involved with an organization that provides both gratification and gratitude. A few years ago, I was given the privilege of becoming a member of such a group. Dames on the Range - Not Your Momma’s Social Club. Oh, how true this is! The original group of women, all from Southwestern Alberta, partnered together to promote their businesses through each other. In doing so, they became destinations for those visiting the region. These Dames paved the way for what the Dames on the Range has become today. Women from all over, who in one way or another, support the mission statement to share the culture and heritage of the western lifestyle. The women who are part of this group are as diverse as pebbles in a stream. What is it that they have in common?
Take some time to visit and like their Facebook pages. Follow them on Twitter. Read their blogs and sign up for their news feeds/newsletters. The Dames welcome your inquiries when planning a vacation or a weekend get-away. Researching locations to have a meal, take riding lessons, day classes, retreats, artisans, antiques and gifts? You will find this, and more, from the women of Dames on the Range. Promotion. A soft sounding word that rolls off the tongue conjuring thoughts of moving up in the world. It is definitely a less abrasive sounding word than marketing. Either way, they are necessities in life if you plan on becoming known in the business world. In an attempt to include everyone with great ideas and products, I use the term, business world, loosely. Focusing on ventures that have the drive, but all too often, not the time or funds to make that all important, flamboyant shove to introduce their brand. One of the highly touted ways to market your work is to surround yourself with a Tribe. These people come together to promote you and market your product. They are responsible for supplying an ongoing support base. Your Tribe is not necessarily a professional corporation. You know, the company that expects generous amounts of your time and money. Choose people you can trust to get the word out to the world. They come from all walks of life with many unique thoughts on generating sales. Their ideas may become the sound stepping stones you require to make a difference in your marketing strategy. The thing is, you do need a strategy. When it comes to your product, if you have no idea what you want, or where you want to be, you will float along like a seed lost to the wind. Fits and starts. Highs and lows. The air current will have you drifting and bouncing from one grandiose plan to another. Never settling long enough to take root and flourish. Taking on the world in an attempt to promote you and your product requires planning and foresight. Consider these ten points to get you started. 1. Are you happy with your current marketing format? If the answer is yes. There isn't much sense reading further; however, most people are always looking for tips to add to the current success they are having. If this is you, then it’s time to read on. Take in some thoughts and suggestions to enhance the transition. 2. Start small. THINK BIG. “Go Big or Go Home?”. Not always the case. Promoting options are many. Choose wisely from the avenues that fit your goals. Take small, quiet steps that encourage and gather momentum. Keep the quest for notoriety in sight and moving forward. The "Big" idles in the background waiting to materialize from want and perseverance. 3. Ask for help. Really, it’s O.K. to ask for help. Burn out, disappointment and sometimes failure comes to those who don’t reach out. Help is described as anything and everything that makes what you are trying to do, attainable. Marketing is a hard row to hoe. Assistance will make the job easier. 4. Organize a Tribe. A What? Make a list of no more than five people. This is the start your Tribe. These are the people you trust to help with the journey to fame. Don’t discount those that you only come in contact with occasionally. These people may have unique promotion ideas. Work them into your plan and distribute the result for others to initiate. 5. Do you have a plan of attack? Procrastinating does not get it done! Start writing a long list of hopes and dreams. Include things like: I want to become a household word. I want to get rich. These are realistic thoughts not to be stymied in an attempt to keep your true feelings in check. It’s nice that you want to show your modest, humble side, but it won’t help if you choose to keep these honest thoughts at bay. Realistically, your long list will become a short list and then a priority list. Work at it daily until the plan comes together. 6. Be flexible If the plan has to be your way or no way, accomplishments may be few. Flexibility does not mean giving up your dream to go with the flow. It's the ability to occasionally change direction to reap the rewards. 7. Communicate with your Tribe This group of people can be the lifeline to success. Meet with them all together and one on one. By telephone. In person. By email. Communication is the key. Talk with them often. Keep them in the loop. Listen to what they have to say. 8. Delegate Delegating frees up time to concentrate on the overall pursuit of success. You are still in control. You still get to oversee everything your Tribe does. You still make the final decision. To delegate gives you time to breathe, rejuvenate and be productive. 9. Use the tools you already have. Shy about talking and sharing your product, your accomplishments, you? Get over it! Use links to articles with your name in them as part of your social media campaign. Hand out business cards. Participate in public and group events. Join online forums. Network at every occasion possible. When asked, “What’s new?” Tell them! 10. Be Appreciative Recognize the people you encounter through this promotion process. Family, friends, customers, and supporters need to know you don’t take them for granted. A mere Thank You speaks volumes. These two words are all it takes to show your appreciation. P.T. Barnum sums it up best. "Without promotion, something terrible happens . . . Nothing!"
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October 2023
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