Collaborate for Social Media Success
March 10, 2011 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
When it comes to social media and small business, we’re all figuring it out, really. (Figuring out how to drink from the fire hose and not get drenched!) 
Three words set dramatically different action parameters:
Abdicate: to give up formally
Delegate: to entrust to another
Collaborate: to work jointly with others
Consider these words as they relate to social media.
Every business owner I know is talking about some failed foray into social. In most cases, abdication played a part in the failure. For example:
Abdicate
Like many employers, Sheryl (not her real name) prefers to abdicate when social media comes up. She rolls her eyes and tables the discussion. “Let’s get on the street,” she snaps. And with that phrase she shuts the door on progress.
Leroy is more understanding. He listens as his second-in-command makes the case for social. Then, decisively, he says, “Assign it to the new intern.”
In reality, both Sheryl and Leroy are abdicating a position on social media. Leroy has just prettied it up.
Small business owners wear entirely too many hats to be 100% in charge of their business social media plan.
So, one option is delegate the duties to someone trustworthy in-house. There are several advantages to delegation:
Delegate
Cost-effectiveness. Social media duties can be absorbed by someone in the organization. No additional monies need be paid for this responsibility.
Accessibility. Because the CEO or top company officials are available, decisions can be made quickly, over a water cooler conversation if necessary.
Flexibility. If necessary, tactics can be changed quickly.
Although this option works for any number of organizations, I maintain it’s a bandage.
In my opinion, the most effective solution is collaboration with a professional who brings an outside perspective to the question. Consider these advantages:
Collaborate
Eliminate overwhelm. Solidify your strategy and assess your options with someone who knows the medium.
Add a partner. Few subordinates can completely grasp the CEO perspective. Hire someone who “gets it” and can quickly translate your ideas into actionable tactics.
Develop a plan. Time put into planning your social media foray will result in a systemized, stronger presence.
Set goals. Your professional should be able to help you set measurable goals and develop tactics to achieve them.
Move forward. Check references. Look at track records and determine the person you hire can truly collaborate with you and your business. (Finding the right person is a whole other post.)
The crux of social media offers your business the opportunity to authentically connect with an audience. Don’t abdicate your chance to make a terrific impression. Don’t delegate it either, unless you’re confident that your employee has the time and expertise to make it happen.
First, collaborate. What’s worked for you?
Increase Content Effectiveness with Strategic Pre-Planning
November 22, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Strategic planning involves defining scenarios, allocating resources and setting a pathway. It’s a comprehensive review, from the top down.
Complicated? Not necessarily. Thorough, is a better choice of words.
For example, if you get strategic with your website content planning, you’ll actually do more with less effort. Let me explain:
A designer interviews experts in a series for her membership site. Each month she talks with a different professional, key to the design process. Her strategic outline could look like this:
Month: January
Topic: Increasing importance of design for mobile and tablet viewing
Potential Guest: Award-winning designer and author
Month: February
Topic: What does your choice of fonts say about your business?
As experts are identified and scheduled, each month’s topic gets promoted on the home page.
Once the outline for the next twelve months is complete, the content can be leveraged for other usages and visibility during the month. Consider these nine additional communiqués produced from a single content expert:
- Press release about upcoming interview
- Email announcement, tweets, online invite, general info about interview
- Webinar
- Podcast of the event archived on the website, with announcements driving visitors to find the event
- Newsletter featuring highlights from the interview, perhaps a picture
- Slide Share summarizing “best of” tips from the interview
- Blog post discussing questions, comments or controversial suggestions from the interview
- Facebook or forum discussion from the ongoing conversation
- Tip Sheet with supporting information, resources, expansion of ideas presented available for download
How many different ways can you think of to get the word out? Doesn’t it make strategic sense to concentrate on and leverage one specific topic for the month?
Need a different approach to your marketing? Today’s topic is day forty of a 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan. Choose to take your business to a new level topic by topic, day by day, with specific actions, based on clear worksheets. Act now to maximize your time and return on time invested. As a result, you’ll be in an entirely new position this time next year.
What do you know about a track?
November 19, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Negative reactions are a dime a dozen these days. Here’s one unsolicited comment:
“If you use the p-word one more time, I’m going to vomit. I hate planning!”
You may feel differently about planning. Yet, something else could elicit a negative response from you.
When you have a powerful reaction to something, stop. Think, what’s pushing my buttons? What else?
If you allow yourself to think quietly about the resistance, a revealing answer may surface.
Does fear play a part in your reaction?
Are you afraid of failure?
Do you fear the limit you create if you commit to one thing? After all, what if it’s the wrong thing?
Why does playing large scare the crap out of you?
Plans, like railroad tracks, provide a framework to support and guide progress.
All manner of railcars – from luxury sleepers to utilitarian cargo boxes – use the tracks. The tracks facilitate trips, carving out one pathway to a destination. You can change the path. You can travel more quickly or more slowly. You can adjust your rail track to suit. What’s key is that you have a track.
If you’ve begun to think about your upcoming year, use this analogy to support your efforts. Build a track to your destination.
Sample Question: How will you use a track to plan for your blog posts? Here’s one exercise:
1. Decide how often you will post (2x weekly equals 104 posts per year)
2. List 10 blog categories
3. List 10 topics per category
4. Voila! You have a general outline for your blog posts for the year
Get strategic with your content planning. Leverage your time. Generate greater results. How does your track look?
Need a different approach to your marketing? Today’s topic is day thirty-nine of a 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan. Choose to take your business to a new level topic by topic, day by day, with specific actions, based on clear worksheets. Act now to maximize your time and return on time invested. As a result, you’ll be in an entirely new position this time next year.
Does Your Marketing Suffer From Shiny Object Syndrome?
November 12, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Ever watched a child play? Toys are strewn about, discarded when a flash of brilliant color or a special shape or a new sound captures attention. It’s shiny object syndrome. And it’s not just for kids anymore.
Consider the current shiny-marketing-object of social media. BIG attention. Little planning.
In my experience with local clients, the all-consuming Facebook page dominates thoughts. Instead of strategic questions, the owner asks:
“How many fans did we get today?”
“Are we at our goal of 500 fans yet?”
“Did you post on Facebook this afternoon?”
It’s not much different with Twitter. Again, I hear non-strategic comments:
“Build a following. We’ve only got nine people.”
“Did anyone retweet your comments about Black Friday?”
If there’s an owner question at all, it’s this one:
“You don’t think our audience is on Twitter, do you?”
Informal tests conducted by my mastermind group confirm audiences spend more time planning a vacation than planning their marketing.
We avoid planning because we don’t know how to plan. No one teaches the art of planning. No one encourages you to hold the enthusiasm, get the plan down. Instead, the word “plan” causes a freeze in thinking and analysis paralysis sets in.
I think of plan avoidance as shiny-object syndrome. Playing with a shiny object is far more gratifying than planning, at least on a short-term basis. It’s easy. It’s entertaining. It’s fun.
A shiny-object, like a new app, makes the present all-consuming, and lets one avoid thinking about the end result, the consequences of current actions.
While a plan doesn’t provide all the answers, it certainly outlines a path and lets you measure and track success or the lack of it. Your plan could begin as a series of milestones, fairly detailed for the next month or two, less detailed for the following quarter, and merely outlined after that.
Give yourself permission to avoid shiny-object syndrome. Build a simple, one-page marketing plan.
This seven sentence Guerrila Marketing plan from Jay Levinson, the father of Guerrilla marketing offers some good choices:
- What is your marketing asking people to do?
- Which benefits are you going to stress?
- What is your audience?
- Which marketing weapons will you use?
- What is your niche or positioning in the marketplace?
- What is your identity?
- What is your marketing budget?
Take just a moment to reflect on your last 12 months of marketing. Suffering from shiny object syndrome?
Need a different approach to your marketing? Today’s topic is day thirty-six of a 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan. Choose to take your business to a new level topic by topic, day by day, with specific actions, based on clear worksheets. Act now to maximize your time and return on time invested. As a result, you’ll be in an entirely new position this time next year.
Outline Content to Generate for Your Website
November 8, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
I find it more difficult to upgrade a website than to start over. For that reason, I scheduled a day in the Six Week Marketing Master Plan in which participants look at their website content and outline the changes they intend to make.
Instead of tackling this project on your own, I suggest you look at your site with a trusted advisor, expert vendor or good customer. An opinionated colleague who has done well with online marketing makes a good choice. Key to the success of this project is new, objective information.
Expect questions such as:
“What does the visitor get from your website?”
“Why do you have…?” In one case, the critic asked, “Why do you have a duplicate signup box for your newsletter?” The client hadn’t even noticed.
“How come you’re giving so much space away to Facebook when you aren’t offering something particularly useful to the reader?”
“Why doesn’t your photo show on ‘About Us’?”
Look for this kind of input:
“Your menus don’t display properly. When I scroll over them I don’t see the whole word.”
“I like the examples you give in your testimonials.”
“You need a better sales page. Why do you introduce your products? If a buyer is already there, let them see what’s available.”
Get the good, the bad and the ugly in 30 short minutes.
Following your conversation, list each item noted for change, estimate the time to rewrite and re-do and establish a deadline for completion.
Put this outline in a spreadsheet. Then, prioritize your work.
Still waiting? It’s not too early to review your website.
Need a different approach to your marketing? Today’s topic is day thirty-four of a 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan. Choose to take your business to a new level topic by topic, day by day, with specific actions, based on clear worksheets. Act now to maximize your time and return on time invested. As a result, you’ll be in an entirely new position this time next year.
Edit and Fine Tune Your Website
November 1, 2010 by Mary Ellen · 4 Comments
Seth Godin, bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change, riffed on the difference between process and events:
“Dating is a process. So is losing weight, being a public company and building a brand.
On the other hand, putting up a trade show booth is an event. So are going public and having surgery.
Events are easier to manage, pay for and get excited about. Processes build results for the long haul.”
Although Godin was referring to the process of social media, his definition of process applies also to websites. In today’s world, your website is a process.
Just as you change, just as your relationships change, just as your business changes and evolves, your website must change. Get over the fact that it’s “finished,” or “re-designed.”
Case in point: A company stopped making changes to its website when a new developer took it over. The home page’s headline copy, “coming soon,” took the business through five weeks of build out, grand opening and the first month of business.
Do you agree or disagree with this solution? Did anyone notice?
Edit and fine tune your website copy on a regular basis. (HINT: Update the copyright to reflect the current year. People notice.)
Spruce up your site. Clean it up. Change the links. Freshen the copy.
Evaluate your offer. Is it still compelling? Ask the opinion of an expert.
Here’s the question for the day: Does your website accurately reflect who you are and what your business can do? If not, edit and fine tune.
Need a different approach to your marketing? Today’s topic is day thirty-one of a 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan. Choose to take your business to a new level topic by topic, day by day, with specific actions, based on clear worksheets. Act now to maximize your time and return on time invested. As a result, you’ll be in an entirely new position this time next year.
ProfitMeister Founder completes the Ultimate Blog Challenge
October 31, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Never, since starting the ProfitMeister blog in 1996, have I blogged for 30 straight days.
The Ultimate Blog Challenge proved itself motivator enough for that to happen. I finished. I graduated a better person. Let me explain.
In summary:
I found discipline. In spite of the commentary in my head about my posts, I continued, posting through doubt and questions each of which stopped me previously.
I found momentum. The exercise of a daily write with the #blogboost tweet forced production. I couldn’t let myself down. I chose to complete my personal challenge.
I found a way. The editorial calendar of my 45-day plan opened my mind; it was no longer a question of what I would write. Instead, it was when. Many of my posts were written early in the day. A couple of times, however, I forced myself to finish a post as my final exercise of the day.
I found feedback. Responses from other members of the challenge caused me to delve deeper, think more clearly and in the end, write more. I appreciate input even more, thanks to the comments I received. Thanks to those comments, I made and will continue to make specific changes on my blog.
I found inspiration. Because of UBC I read new posts, discovered new topics, met new friends. I moved outside my comfort zone, even if for just a bit.
I found results. I discovered, thanks to looking at Google analytics, which posts got more readership and when.
I found celebration. I’m proud to say I finished.
Bottom line: I made it! Thanks to Michelle and Michele for putting the idea out there and encouraging all of us to get it done. Woooo Hooooo!
Today’s topic is not connected with my 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan, except that finishing any plan is a necessary component. For those who are following this series, I’ll complete it in a slightly less intense mode. I’ll blog three times per week beginning tomorrow.
Audit Your Website and Upgrade Accordingly
October 30, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
A student mentioned “The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles,” by Steven Pressfield. I owe a debt of thanks for the suggestion. Like many entrepreneurs, I look for signs. I opened the volume to a sign, an excerpt from page 154:
“The Territorial Orientation
4) A territory can only be claimed by work. When Arnold Schwarzenegger hits the gym, he’s on his own turf. But what made it his own are the hours and years of sweat he put in to claim it. A territory doesn’t give, it gives back.
Your website is important territory.”
As I prepared this post, I noticed something on my own site: the old company name (Connecting Point Communications) showed at the top of a lesser page more than nearly a year after I’d changed my brand. I’d missed it.
That, more than any admonition I might make, says it best. Audit your website.
Make certain that every link works. Dial every phone number. Click every icon. Have a professional proof each sentence. Review the privacy policy and make sure it’s still so. Check the copyright.
Ok. You probably get those pieces of an audit. (I digress. Here’s a post I wrote a couple of years ago about Internet Respiratory Infections.) The words “Audit your website” from a marketing pro are comparable to the doctor who says, “Take two aspirins and go to bed.” Without action, both are meaningless commands.
You know bigger challenges exist. A website is a 24/7 storefront. Some questions to uncover your challenges include:
1. Does the content of my website work for me? Still?
2. Is the structure good so that visitors can quickly and easily navigate each page? Have I looked at this navigation in different browsers?
3. What am I asking my visitors to do? Is the message clear? Do the results prove it? What do my analytics show?
4. Is the design up to date? Have I upgraded photos, and graphic presentation elements?
5. How do I know what’s true now?
Good luck with your audit. Let me know how it goes.
Need a different approach to your marketing? Today’s topic is day thirty of a 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan. Choose to take your business to a new level topic by topic, day by day, with specific actions, based on clear worksheets. Act now to maximize your time and return on time invested. As a result, you’ll be in an entirely new position this time next year.
Rework Your Email Signature for Effect
October 25, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Your relationships depend on how people view you. An e-mail signature contributes to all-important online perceptions.
I believe a signature block is a mini billboard. For that reason, I’ve always been in favor of using a line above the name to tell more about what you do.
Example:
Do-it-Yourself! “Six-Week Marketing Master Plan”
An easy, step-by-step action plan to boost your business in one hour a day!
Mary Ellen Merrigan
505-280-9772Blog: http://www.ProfitMeister.com
http://www.MerriganGroup.com
http://www.sixweekmarketingplan.com/
Given the proliferation of clutter, I’ve re-thought that strategy recently. The signature above is quite long. It includes three different URLs and a selling message.
In the interest of taking my own medicine, something I frequently suggest on this blog, I offer the following streamlined guidelines:
- Use a professional signature block. Provide enough information for people to contact you: name, position, company and contact info. Granted, most of us have multiple emails, phone numbers, social media contacts and URLs. Pick one of each. Use colons and pipes to shorten your information if need be. Include your mailing address only if you expect a snail mail reply. Include a legal disclaimer only if your company or position requires that you do so.
- Avoid HTML. (Although it looks pretty, it takes forever to download on the mobile!) I don’t need your Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, either. Send me plain text. All too often, special stationery and graphics clog up the memory in my email program.
- Shorten or drop the signature block for replies.
- Select recognized fonts. Some fancy fonts don’t come through on all platforms. And a graphics-only signature is also problematic because it sometimes doesn’t come through at all.
- Use an e-mail address with your domain name if at all possible. Since not all e-mail programs include the address in the heading of the e-mail, repeat it in the signature block for convenience.
- Show your full URL rather than a hotlink for effectiveness.
- Don’t attach signatures. A v-card or signature attachment is frequently seen as spam. When in doubt, leave it out.
Example: My new signature:
Mary Ellen Merrigan
Smart Marketing Strategist | Merrigan Group LLC
505-280-9772 | MaryEllen at MerriganGroup.com | http://www.MerriganGroup.com
Blog: http://www.ProfitMeister.com
Take just a few moments and check your signature. How does it shape up?
Need a different approach to your marketing? Today’s topic is day twenty-five of a 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan. Choose to take your business to a new level topic by topic, day by day, with specific actions, based on clear worksheets. Act now to maximize your time and return on time invested. As a result, you’ll be in an entirely new position this time next year.
Transform a Paragraph into a Foundation
October 24, 2010 by Mary Ellen · Leave a Comment
Sooner or later you’ll need an “About our Company” paragraph. This might be a part of a directory listing or the final paragraph in a press release. Your goal is to craft a short emphatic segment that adds credibility and summarizes your business.
If you are a service provider, this paragraph is particularly important because it conveys the heart of your business. It can offer information on your clientele, your specialty or your website. It provides a description that can be easily added to other information and in fact often is.
In a press release, your “About our Company” may or may not be printed. The more specific you can make it, the more effective it will be for your business. One non-profit client focused on number of businesses served and jobs created as a result of their services. In several instances, this tag paragraph, as it is sometimes called was picked up and published.
Example:
About Merrigan Group LLC
Mary Ellen Merrigan of Merrigan Group LLC is a marketing consultant and founder of ProfitMeister, a blog for DIY smart marketing strategies. She has developed sales-building D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) smart marketing strategies for a wide range of clients. Speaker, author and consummate entrepreneur, Merrigan recently collaborated with freelance graphic designer Maria G. Nozza of Design and Thrive to produce a content-packed e-book, The Six Week Marketing Master Plan. Discover the right blend of old school and new marketing for your business. Discover a smart marketing strategist at http://www.MerriganGroup.com.
Conclusion
Start planning your communications foundation today. Develop your “About Our Company” paragraph — you’ll be prepared for virtually any opportunity.
Need a different approach to your marketing? Today’s topic is day twenty-four of a 45-day step-by-step marketing master plan. Choose to take your business to a new level topic by topic, day by day, with specific actions, based on clear worksheets. Act now to maximize your time and return on time invested. As a result, you’ll be in an entirely new position this time next year.
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