Archives for May 2014
Some Every Day Habits of Successful People
Have you struggled with motivation at your business lately? Chances are, the reason for that is tied to a recent plateau in success. When you first start your business, it's natural to have a honeymoon period that carries over for the first several months. But sooner or later, everyone hits a snag and finds their first true test of their motivation as a business owner.
One of the best ways that you can get yourself back in the groove is to emulate some of the practices that the most successful business owners use every day. Here are a few of them:
- Wake up early. There's nothing like the feeling of having accomplished a lot of work before it's even lunch time! Get up early, get started on work early and you'll find it easier to sustain your motivation longer into the day.
- Move. Don't feel like you have to sit at your desk all day to get a lot of work done. Everyone needs to recharge their bodies, even if your work isn't physically demanding. Take time throughout the day to take a
walk, exercise, do some yoga or whatever it is that will get your blood flowing and give you the mental boost you need to make it through the work day.
- Meditate. Spend some time alone every day to meditate on what you need to accomplish, what your goals are, what your priorities are as a person and a business owner, and just to take a breath. Even 20 minutes like this every day will go a long way toward recharging your motivation levels.
- Track everything. It's important that you stay as organized as possible in all of your business practices. Track every expense that you have, as well as every dollar that you make. Know where money and time is going at all times. This will make it easier to track your success and figure out what makes your business tick.
- Spend time with your loved ones. This is the most important tip of all. Remember what's most important: your family and close friends. Spending time with them is a great way to get recharged for your next day at work.
Do you have any other recommendations on simple practices people can do every day to find more success as business owners? We'd love to hear them!
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100âs of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.
Trending Topics: Whatâs in it for You?
Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks display trending topics, allowing you to quickly see what people are talking about at any given time. Whether a catastrophe has struck, a political scandal has been revealed, or a beloved TV character has met an untimely end, topics receiving the most buzz rise to the top. While trending topics may skew heavily toward pop culture and sports, the occasional opportunity for your business may present itself. If so, using the associated hashtag could give you a great deal of exposure.
Benefits of Hopping on a Trending Topic
When a hashtag starts to trend, it means that lots of people are using that hashtag. Not only are people tweeting and posting about that topic, they are also most likely viewing streams that are dedicated to that hashtag. Thus, if you use that same hashtag, a huge audience is likely to see it. Your hashtag will reach beyond your follower base. In order to be effective, the trend should be relevant to your business in some way. For example, if you run an office supply store, tweeting about the latest celebrity gossip wonât likely result in an influx of new followers and customers. On the other hand, if a topic related to saving money or getting organized starts to trend, you probably have a lot to say about the topic and could position your business as a solution. In addition to potentially getting more exposure by hopping on a trending topic, trending topics may also give you ideas for creating fresh, topical content. If you notice a particular topic is hot right now, it may make sense to tie that topic into your next blog post. For example, if everyone is buzzing about the latest NFL draft picks, how could you tie the NFL draft into a business blog? Maybe you could compare and contrast business recruiting with the NFL draft.
Twitter Trending Topics
Currently, Twitter displays its trending topics directly on your dashboard. When you sign into Twitter, youâll see a short list of trending topics in a box on the left side of the screen. You can change these trends to a specific city or let Twitter âtailorâ the trends specifically for you based on your location and who you follow. For example, if you will be attending a trade show in a different city, you might want to change your Twitter trend list to display trends for that city leading up to the event. Keep your eye out for relevant trends and join the conversation.
Facebook Trends
Facebook lists its trending topics on the upper right side of your newsfeed. Like Twitter, you may find a lot of trending topics related to sports or celebrities. However, the occasional business topic may find its way into the list. For example, in the screenshot below, youâll see that International Nurses Day is trending. You may not have known about this day had it not been for Facebookâs trending topics tool. After seeing it trend, you may be inspired to create a special one-day Facebook promotion for your customers who happen to be nurses. If youâre not in a position to offer a special discount, you can still spread goodwill by wishing nurses a great day or expressing your appreciation for those who choose nursing as profession.
Trending Topics Aggregates
In addition to looking at trending topics on the various social media platforms you use, you could also check out trending topics across multiple platforms all at once by using an aggregation system such as TopTrendingTopicsNow.com or WhatTheTrend.com. The first site lists the latest trending topics by Google, YouTube, Twitter, Yahoo!, and Instagram while the second one is focused only on Twitter. Trending topics provide you with instant insight into whatâs on social media usersâ mind at any given time. Though youâll often find irrelevant topics trending, keep an eye on trending topics nonetheless. When you find a topic that makes sense for your business and your followers, jump on board, start using that hashtag, or write a fresh blog post around that topic.
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100âs of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.
Spread Goodwill and Share Content
Sharing content on social media sites is a great way to interact with your followers, customers, and prospects â and you donât necessarily need to be the author in order to look like an expert on the topic. Not only can you share articles, videos, photos, and info-graphics that communicate relevant ideas with your followers, sharing content has other benefits.
Why You Should Share Content
Why share content created by someone else? Sharing content created by others signals that you are an active learner who likes to stay well informed. It also shows that you are generous in helping others who share your interests. In addition, you can also spread goodwill by sharing content created by those you follow. Some will even return the favor which could lead to additional exposure for your business.
Sharing content also builds trust and authority as well as keeps you relevant. For example, sharing the latest government report affecting your industry shows that you know what 
you are talking about and that you have access to the latest information.
Imagine a customer having to choose between two companies, one that constantly posts âbuy nowâ messages but little else and one that regularly demonstrates current knowledge and authority about issues affecting customers. Which one would you feel most confident in?
The Difference between Sharing and Copying
Before you start sharing content, itâs important to recognize the difference between sharing and copying. Sharing a link that points to the original content is the right approach. It gives credit where credit is due and takes users directly to the source. There is no doubt as to who the author is.
In contrast, copying and pasting information into a post could give the false impression that you are the author. If itâs a short snippet or quote, this is permissible as long as you cite it properly. Unless you have sought permission with a valid working relationship (see notice below).
Where to Get Share-worthy Content
So, where should you get content to share with your followers? You can start right on your favorite social media networks by following thought leaders in your niche and re-tweeting or sharing their content. You can also keep your eyes on trending topics.
While youâll often have a wealth of share worthy content at your fingertips, you may want to venture outside of your social networking sites periodically to find the latest information that hasnât already made its rounds. Subscribe to RSS feeds relevant to your business or set up Google Alerts so that you are informed any time a given topic makes headlines. You can also use news and business aggregator sites such as Alltop, Google News, and News360.
Sharing content on your social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter can position you as an authority, build goodwill, and extend your reach. Finding good sources of relevant, authoritative information and then sharing links is easy, and your followers will likely view your business favorably as a result.
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100âs of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.
Creating and Sharing Your Own Images
No doubt, images are popular on social media sites. In fact, two of the most popular sites, Instagram and Pinterest, are dedicated to image sharing. Sharing images on your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest pages can increase engagement with your followers. In addition, images are more likely to be shared. While the Internet is filled with images that you could conceivably share, creating and sharing your own images can set your business apart.
Advantages of Using ImagesÂ
Sharing interesting, engaging content on social media sites is a must. Sharing images can do the trick. When people see an image that makes the smile or feel inspired, they tend to click the like or share button. How often your followers interact with your content often affects whether or not they will be shown your future content, especially with Facebook.
When you share your images on your website and favorite social media sites, you may also get an unexpected boost from Google. Your images could appear in Googleâs image search results.
Creating Your Own Images
If youâre a talented photographer or graphic artist, they you have an edge. If not, donât despair. For example, you could use a stock photography site or the Creative Commons section of Flickr to source images. From there, use an image editor such as Photoshop or Pixelmator to add text such as an inspirational quote.
- Always be sensitive to copyright issues. It is not acceptable to copy images you randomly find on websites, social media sites, or Google image search results. You could get in serious trouble for copyright infringement. Stock photography sites are your safest bet, and theyâre surprisingly affordable. For the web, you can get away with buying one of the lower resolution versions offered.
- Donât assume you can use any Creative Commons image. Creative Commons images have various requirements. Some may restrict commercial usage. For example, when searching for images on Flickr, make sure to look under the license type filter and check âCommercial Use Allowed.â While youâre at it, avoid Creative Commons images that feature recognizable people or copyrighted imagery as you canât be sure that the photographer obtained permission.
- Add branding to your images. Whether itâs a watermark with your company name, the URL to your website, or a company logo, branding your images with your company information ensures that when others share your images, your branding will come shining through.
- Include keywords in your imagesâ metadata. To help Google index your images, include relevant keywords in the file name and description.
- Include hashtags when sharing your images on social media sites. For example, if youâre sharing an image on Instagram, choose a relevant hashtag as that will make the image searchable across the entire network.
Creating and sharing your own images is a fantastic way to engage your followers and potentially extend your reach. Make sure to respect copyrights. After creating a beautiful, share worthy image, add branding, keywords, and hashtags and then share it with the world!
Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer | Viral Solutions LLC
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100âs of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.
How to Better Your Chances of Going Viral
Anyone who has engaged in any form of internet marketing knows how big it can be for a video, article, image or other type of content to “go viral.” It's a big example of the snowball effect; as one person shares your content, they allow more people to see it and share it, and it can all happen extremely fast. This can have a huge impact on your brand recognition.
Unfortunately, there's no single tried and true method for betting your content to go viral. But there are ways that you can increase your odds. Here are a few tips:
- Have some sort of value. A lot of content that goes viral has some sort of perceived value to it. It could be instructional content, breaking news, contests, giveaways or simply something humorous. But whatever it is, it should be interesting and valuable. Not all content is meant to go viral.
- Make your content easy to find. You can't expect to post a new blog and have it go viral automatically. Advertise your content across multiple channels. Social media is particularly important for helping contentÂ
to go viral. Be sure to share your content on your Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. You should also have an easy-to-use search feature on your website so that people can easily find content there. You should also be sure to have share icons on all your website content.
- Share other links. People are more likely to share your content if you share theirs. You'll notice that followers on social networks will tune out quickly if you only spend your time plugging your content and asking for them to share it with their friends.
- Be selective as to what you share. As previously mentioned, not all content should be made with the intent to go viral. Pick and choose what you feel are the most interesting or useful pieces of content to share. Your followers will appreciate it.
- Take advantage of timing. If you have content that is newsworthy or capitalizes on a big cultural trend that has taken the nation by storm, then you need to be sure that you share that content before it's too late. The only thing worse than not sharing any content is sharing content that is behind the times.
- Appreciate the degrees of “going viral.” Chances are that you're not going to get a million views on your YouTube videos, or 300,000 clicks on your blog post. But you can learn to appreciate the milestones that you hit and the fact that you're increasing your exposure.
Take these tips into consideration, and you'll have a much better chance of reaching out to new potential customers with your online content.
Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer | Viral Solutions LLC
Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100âs of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.