Tag Archives: YouTube

Building Your Brand on Twitter

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As a brand marketing coach, I am always interested in learning new ways to use my brand to enhance my presence on any client touch point. One such touch point is Twitter. Are you doing these things (some of them are admittedly no-brainers) to enhance and build your brand on this marketing vehicle?

1. Use your brand name as your Twitter name. 
(Many companies) use a cute Twitter name that isn’t related to their brand name.

2. Use your logo as your Twitter picture. 
Some companies don’t use their logo for some reason.

3. Send Tweets that provide useful information to customers and prospects.
Always add a link to more information on your website.

4. Send Tweets to new blog posts or videos.
You can also send Tweets to older blog posts and videos that are still relevant.

5. You should Tweet 10 to 20 times a day to keep your brand name in the Twitter stream.
You can schedule the Tweets that have links to valuable content and complement that with five to 10 personalized Tweets where you are interacting with other Twitter users.

6. Create a persona for your Twitter presence so people will get to know your brand.
Investopedia defines brand personality as “A set of human characteristics that are attributed to a brand name.”

via Building Your Brand on Twitter.

Your brand personality is a living, breathing part of your business. You need to shout it out to the world to differentiate yourself from thousands of others who make their living doing what you do. Use every touch point that you can to make yourself memorable and different. Soon enough, you’ll find yourself in the enviable position of never having to market yourself again.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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Spend Money to Make Money

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Canadian 2 dollar coin

Canadian 2 dollar coin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the biggest objections I get from entrepreneurs when I introduce the concept of hiring me as a marketing coach and consultant is that they don’t have enough sales to justify the spend. They want to get some clients in the door before committing to a 6 month coaching contract. What this article so clearly shows is that companies in trouble get better when they spend money on marketing. See the stats below:

Here are results from a survey of 600 U.S. companies whose revenues increased after the 1981-82 recession, and what they did with their advertising during the recession.

  • Companies that increased their advertising saw revenues increase 275%.
  • Companies that decreased their advertising saw revenues rise only 19%.

It couldn’t be much clearer. You have to spend real money to make money.

via Spend Money to Make Money.

If you are a new business or things have slowed down for you, you need to have faith that you need the help in improving your marketing to be able to move forward and get more clients. When I left my fulltime job, my last pay cheque went to my coach. I had no clients, I had no prospects, and I was darn scared. Here I am a year and a half later and I have a full practice, confidence and direction.

I mean, is it really the chicken or the egg that comes first?

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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Too scared to lose your (video) virginity?

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The 40-Year-Old Virgin

The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you know that YouTube is now the #2 search engine after Google and feel guilty of still not having made your own video, you need help to lose your video virginity and I’m here to help!

Video’s the way

I don’t need to convince (I hope) that you need to put your mug on your marketing and show it to your business community to make a bigger impression.  You probably are aware of your competitors doing it. Video is the most cost effective way for you to reach complete strangers in large masses.  Visibility connects you to people emotionally (and to some pets).  There is no substitute for video except your actual presence and you’ll need a serious travel budget to see and talk to as many people as your video will online!

Why still a Virgin?

Just like Andy, the electronics salesman on the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin hilariously portrayed by Steve Carell, you probably never had the right setting, the right opportunity and the right time to actually lose your video virginity. I mean if you don’t have the toys or the knowhow, you probably think it will take lots of money and time to do it.

Hate your face?

The other reason why you’re still a virgin could be that you just don’t like your face, your voice or the way you talk.  Well, I’m here to tell you that whether you like it or not, it’s who you are and when you meet people in person, that’s what they get. What’s the difference if that same face you show in person is now talking to people who aren’t in front of you but are in front of their own computers?

Accept (if you can’t love) the limitations of your physical appearance and pretend that the camera is your best client who is in the throes of pain in relation to what you help them with.

Get cracking

Here’s your plan of action if you’re still a video virgin—get a 14 year old grandson or neighbour, doesn’t matter—and get them to show you how it’s done.  While together, record at least 3 different blog topics and post it on YouTube as soon as you’re done.  You will feel so much better for improving your marketing by 100% in just 1 stroke in exchange for 0$!

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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Are you lazy?

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Lazy Cat in the sun at Tum Bur in Hattingen

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whether you truly are ‘lazy’ or not, I don’t know nor do I really care. What I’m here to help you do is to get you to a productive state from that comatose one that you might be in right now.

Lazy is as lazy does

If you’re always busy and exhausted, you sure don’t feel ‘lazy’ but your business results aren’t anything to write home about. This maybe because you’re following the wrong business strategy to get clients.  This happened to me when an unfortuante coach kept assuring me that I was doing the right things to get clients.  I wasted 4 months exhausting myself with not even a single client to show for it.  If that is you–you’re not ‘lazy’, you just have a plan that’s not working. Get a new one.

Burned out

If your ‘laziness’ is only a recent phenomenon, you might just be burned-out and recuperating. Think about what went on in your life prior to this vegetative state you’re in now.  Anything burnout worthy busy, anything traumatic? You could simply be taking a breather.  Make sure you get help though, your recovery could take way longer than it needs to.

Born this way

If like the Lady Gaga song, you’ve always been considered ‘lazy’, I’ll bet my favourite baby blue Patagonia fleece jacket that you’re in a line of work that doesn’t excite you.  Find the music in you and make sure you don’t die with it still in you.  You don’t want to go through life not caring enough about anything to actually work hard at it–do you?

Whatever your reason, there’s always something you can do to un-lazify yourself, even if it’s just to figure out why.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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10 Dumb Sales Tactics to Avoid

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When you’re a small business owner trying to grow her business like me, you are selling 24/7 to everyone you meet all the time. At least it feels that way sometimes. So here are some really sound tips to avoid:

1. Answering Objections the Customer Hasn’t Surfaced

Fix: Never start any sentence with “You may be wondering …” or “Perhaps you’re asking yourself …”

2. Leaving the ‘Next Step’ to the Customer

Fix: Keep the ball in your own court. Try substituting a closer like this: “I will call you next week to discuss whether it makes sense to discuss this matter further.”

3. Selling Features Rather Than Results

Fix: Figure out why a customer buys your product, rather than somebody else’s. Then sell that result, using the features to buttress your ability to deliver that result.

4. Faking Intimacy

Fix: Remain personable and professional–but no more–until such time as you actually forge a friendship, which typically takes weeks.

5. Writing a Sales Proposal Too Soon

Fix: Only write a sales proposal after you’ve got a verbal agreement.

6. Talking More Than Listening

Fix: In your mind, redefine selling as a passive activity that consists mostly of listening, considering, and reacting to what the customer does and says.

7. Wasting Time on Dead-End ‘Opportunities’

Fix: Within the first five minutes of your first conversation, ask questions that will reveal whether the customer has a real need–as well as the money to satisfy it.

8. Failing to Follow Through

Fix: Get religious about your to-do list and scheduling specific events. Only make commitments that you’re 100% certain you can keep.

9. Treating a “Close” as the End of the Process

Fix: Always aim for long-term relationships rather than short-term revenue. That way a “close” is the beginning, not the end, of the process.

10. Asking for a Referral Too Soon

Fix: Only ask for referrals after the customer is delighted with the products or services that you’ve sold.

via 10 Dumb Sales Tactics to Avoid.

Everybody buys, fewer people sell. Even fewer are good at it and even fewer than that actually crave it to be happy. It is however, a solid fact of life that if you own a business you have to attract and sell to other humans. Learn from those who are good at it and stop making dumb sales mistakes so you can earn the respect and liking of those humans you’re trying to attract.

Need more chicken soup for your biz? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook or connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk!

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