From time to time, I’m asked the following question by clients and friends and nice people on the street:
“Heather,” they say (or sometimes they call me Ms. Villa… just kidding, most of them don’t), “I’ve got a business and I want to market it with social media. What do you suggest?”
In a couple of days, my calendar is going to ping me with a reminder. It’s going to say “One month in – how’s it going, Heather?” This reminder is for me to review the new business strategies I intended to integrate into my business this year.
Each year, I list out a bunch of strategies I want to integrate into my business. Some are marketing strategies, some are productivity strategies, some are customer service strategies; that kind of thing. I always have a really bold and vibrant vision of the year ahead and it’s easy for me to actually create so many strategies that I simply can’t implement them all effectively.
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Paying it forward is a great idea: When someone does something nice for you, you don’t repay them but you pass it along to by doing something nice for someone else. Although the concept has been around for a long time, it was made popular in the movie “Pay It Forward” with Kevin Spacey and the kid who can see dead people.
But I’m going to get selfish for a moment and talk about how paying it forward is actually good for your business. This concept I’m about to describe to you is espoused by sales gurus like Jeffrey Gitomer. It works and it is the perfect social media strategy for your business, even if it seems counterintuitive at first.
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Twitter has recently unveiled the ability to create lists. Basically, you sign into your account and find the “lists” link. (It’s in a couple of different places). From this link you can create a list of whatever you want (and you can also see what lists you’re on).
It’s kind of a Twitter-based version of setting up customized columns in TweetDeck because it gives you the ability to categorize specific groups of people. In a way, it helps to cut through the noise. If you are following 300 people, and 50 of them are really good but 250 of them are extremely prolific (but with less to say), this is a way for you listen more closely to the higher value ones.
I’ve put together a list of 8 ideas for Twitter lists that you might want to create.
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I love reading about small businesses and freelancers who find tricks that allow them to do what they do better. I cover a lot of this kind of content in my Tips In Ten newsletter where I try to provide the business “hacks” that have worked for me.
In a recent blog post at LocationIndependent.com, a site for businesses that can work anywhere (i.e., freelancers or web-based entrepreneurs), they listed a number of really useful things to do to automate business.
Great discussion today on #businesslunchclub (on Twitter; but see BusinessLunchClub.com for more details).
The conversation today centered around delegation, and specifically around something that @IAC_Heather calls “the 3 Strikes, You’re Out” rule. The conversation was primarily between @IAC_Heather, @askleo, and myself (@AaronHoos), with @Hazewalker chiming in towards the end.
You can read our entire conversation on BusinessLunchClub (If you’re not reading this on the day it’s posted, go to BusinessLunchClub.com/users/archive and select July 13 from the calendar).
If you’re a business owner who is stuck at your desk for lunch, you might be getting work done but you’re missing out on the powerful networking opportunities of a business lunch. That’s where BusinessLunchClub comes in. BusinessLunchClub is where entrepreneurs on Twitter have lunch. If you’re stuck at your desk but want to do some networking, tweet while you eat and add the hashtags #businesslunchclub, #bizlunchclub, or #blc.
Read 8 Ways to Use BusinessLunchClub to Grow Your Business.
Here are a couple of tips to help you get more out of BusinessLunchClub: Click here to read more »
Everything you enjoy about business lunches is now available on Twitter with Business Lunch Club. If you find yourself unable to have a real business lunch, simply tweet while you eat and add the hashtags #businesslunchclub, #bizlunchclub, or #blc.
Here are some ideas to get the benefits of a business lunch from Business Lunch Club. Click here to read more »
