Multiple Platform Posting Strategy

It’s challenging to keep up isn’t it?  There are so many platforms to be on!!

This blog is going to assist you to create a posting strategy that covers multiple platforms in the least fuss as possible.

It’s important to establish something right away. 

WHICH PLATFORMS DO YOU NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON?

There is an abundance of platforms to choose from. The most popular platforms currently are:

Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google +

I would recommend you have a presence on all of the platforms above even if you are not actively posting on them all, it’s worth claiming your name on them before someone else does!

Researching your market is going to help you massively here. Where does your industry dominate? Where are your avatar hanging out? It’s ok to ask your clients what their favourite platforms are, conduct a simple survey via email or when you speak with them.

When you’ve decided which platform is core to your business you can then create or curate (gather from others) content that is a match for that platform. I’m going to assume that for most of you reading this it’s because you are Facebook users and your main platform is Facebook.

My best advice would be to join Buffer. This is an incredible tool for sharing content across multiple platforms.  You can share posts across Facebook , Twitter, Linked In and Google +  (and Pinterest is in trial mode but it will cost to use) …BUT… and yes there is a BUT… not all of your posts are going to be suitable for all of the platforms AND it’s not a good look to have the exact same content going out on each platform at the same time each day. This is where you need a posting purpose and strategy.

There are also other ways of connecting the platforms. There are ways to tell Facebook to post to Twitter for example. I’m going to strongly recommend that you do NOT link in this way. The posts that are designed for Facebook look crap on Twitter when it shares over especially if it’s too many words for Twitter or there is a pic which becomes a link etc. It obvious to your followers that you have automated the sharing of the post and they feel ripped off by the fact that you are not personally there to engage with them. So if you’re thinking about linking platforms together do a test post to ensure it looks sexy on the other site too.

COVERING THE BASICS

When your core platform is Facebook, Buffer is the go.

Facebook posting Purpose: to provide your audience with value or something interesting/inspiring, to inform of events, products & services. Generate leads, sales. Build the Tribe

Posting schedule: From 1 to 3 post maximum per day and only at times that you are able to be there to engage with people. 

Strategy: High engagement on quality content. All content is designed and optimised size, graphics and colours to appear dynamic and compelling specifically for Facebook.

Suitable content: Blogs with featured pic, Quote pics, Articles, Text, Video

Side Note: Blogs & Articles - schedule to Facebook, Linked In and Google + at the same time.  Do separately to Twitter as it creates a different display and requires a small portion of text before the link to look good once posted.

Linked In - the posts you want to share to this platform are the more formal and technical content around your business and industry. You need only schedule a couple of high value posts per week and check in on the days you choose for your posts to appear to engage with people, accept connections, endorse your friends and answer messages.

Google + - share your valuable content to Google + blogs, text posts, pics. The more you give Google, the more content, keywords and expertise to index in it’s search results pages. Aim for a minimum of 3 posts per week. 

Twitter - You can go wild on Twitter. You can post interesting tweets more often and use Buffer to schedule your more valuable links to your blogs each week. If you choose to use Twitter you will need to check in at least once a day to engage with your followers. 

As you can see your content can be shared to at least 3 additional platforms in one hit while having a main focus on Facebook as your core platform.

AS FOR THE OTHERS

Some of the other platforms require a more one on one approach. for example if you use Instagram as a big part of your strategy then you need to share the pic originally through the Instagram app where you are then given the opportunity to share your pics onto your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr profiles.

Similarly if Pinterest is your strategy you will need to share the original posts to Pinterest by uploading or pinning them to a board and then using the share functions from within the app to share to Facebook and Twitter.

By the time you cover all 6 platforms your strategy is quite large and complex, it’s easy to experience overwhelm at the thought of keeping up with all. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

The best strategy is to focus 80% of your effort into the platform/s that work for you. Do not try and create a winning strategy on every single platform (until you have a team of social media managers to support you). Focus on creating a presence that tells a story about your brand and directs people to find out more about you - in the place you’re hanging out.

Ensure that all of your profiles are complete with links to your website and links back to your core social profiles. 

Work more on creating massive value for your audience in the one place that they gather and then filter out that value across the other platforms for the sake of continuity and that odd person who will find you on your “other” profiles.

And remember just because you CAN link & share content from one platform to the next…doesn’t always mean you SHOULD.

Happy posting everyone :) Leave your questions in the comments below.

How-to Grow Your Facebook Likes

This is a popular question and there are so many ideas shared by so many people in so many blogs all over the internet so my mission is to make this the last one you'll need to read on subject.

Firstly I'm going to take it right back to something that you may not have been advised on in any other blog.

I'm going to suggest to you that the most important thing you need to know is your AVATAR (your customer) you need to know this person so well and with incredibly specific detail.

If you haven’t got a clear picture of the perfect customer for your product or service then how can you possibly create a Social Vibe that attracts that person to your tribe?

Identifying your Avatar and getting super clear on how to communicate with them is going to help you in ALL areas of your business not just the Social part of it. This is a step that you cannot miss, it's a MUST DO.

You may be thinking...well where do I start with THAT...well ...lol... here’s a FREE Design Your Avatar worksheet for you to download. You're welcome :)

Once you have that amazingly clear picture of who you are speaking to then you can create an effective strategy that actually works to attract the right people to you.

I'm assuming you are reading this blog because you are serious about building your business on Facebook, so it won't surprise you to know that you need a serious marketing strategy.

This does not need to be some fancy 20 page report but it does need commitment to doing what it takes.

That being said...the number one strategy for building your likes on Facebook is...

#1 Put your money where your post is!

The fastest way to grow your page consistently - is to allocate some money to paid Facebook advertising. If you are serious about growing your page for your business then this is the way to get in front of the right people.

LIKE ADS

Facebook has THIS PAGE dedicated to giving you the info you need to get a "Like" ad started. It even lists the size of the pic you will need, how much text you have available to you and shows you what this kind of ad will look like to everyone

Now you do NOT need to spend lots of money on this. You can grow your Facebook page likes by as little as $20 per month.

You'll notice you get to choose details about your target audience, so it's a good thing you know your Avatar well enough to be able to refine your target audience enough to capture their attention.

BOOST POSTS

If you write a blog then this is a brilliant strategy for not only getting new likes to your page but also more views to your blog.

Again you do NOT need to spend a lot of money to get this going. Decide how much and how often and boost the blogs that offer massive value to your audience. Not only will your $$ get your blog viewed by the right people but they'll share it too and spread the word further than your initial investment took you.

RUN COMPETITIONS

People love competitions and they jump at the chance to be in them. You do need to comply with legal rules to do it right and not have it pulled down or be fined or worse still your business page suspended.

I found this awesome blog that explains it really clearly so if you wanted to explore that option then check it out here - How to run a (legal) Facebook competition

#2 Network like crazy 

Join with other people who are doing the same as you - looking for likes and support for their Facebook business page.

LISTS

I recently created a "List" on Facebook called Tribe Builders where we have come together to support each other by liking, commenting and sharing posts on each others pages. Not only does this boost engagement for the pages involved it also generates new likes from new followers networks who are seeing their friends activity on these pages.

GROUPS/PAGES

There are a myriad of groups and pages for small business owners/Entrepreneurs that do something called Follow Friday where you get to share your page in return for liking the other pages shared.

If you want to find groups you can search Facebook or ask me for ideas. I belong to Blog Chicks - For Aussie Women Bloggers and I am a business owner in Victoria, Australia.


INVITE YOUR FRIENDS

I know some people think it's weird inviting your friends to like your page but it's really not. You'll find they will be honoured to support you. They may not be your ideal customer but they will add to your like total, like the things they like and engage with you by commenting on your page. All of that tells Facebook that your page is valuable and that it should let more people see it in their news feed.

#3 BE Irresistibly Valuable 

Give, Give, Give and then Give some more.
Be helpful.
Be kind.
Show that you care.

People will be drawn to you.

Everywhere all over the world that person [your avatar] is looking for you.
YOU have the answers they want.
YOU have the cool thing that they need.

And then when they find you they will find someone so irresistibly valuable they will want to share you with their friends and they will invite their friends to like your page.

And this is the moment where your tribe builds your tribe.

Simple and powerful.

I trust this has been extremely valuable for you and you now have some simple and effective ideas to use to create a strategy for generating likes to your Facebook page.

At the end of the day always ALWAYS come back to #3 - because it doesn't really matter how much money your throw at it or how many places you hang out, if you're not valuable then you won't be valued. The market is swimming in a sea of content, products, services. Stand out. Be memorable.

#BuildYourTribe

It's up to YOU. Lead the way!

How you show up online counts. Just because people cannot see your face, doesn’t mean they can’t SEE you.

There is more written and photographic evidence of you, your history, your behaviour, your everything online, than if you had a store that people only met you briefly off the street in.

“Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand.” A.Martin

So I'm wondering...

How are you showing up? 

Are you showing up to serve your community?

Are you there to give?

Are you there to take care of the big and the small?

What is the digital footprint you are creating for yourself?

Are you showing up as a leader?

It may not seem like it, or it may not have occurred to you but your own leadership development is essential to your businesses success online.

Great leadership means you openly respect and show gratitude for your online community.

Great leadership means you appreciate the little things are just as important as the big things, and you don’t wait around for someone else to take care of them YOU take care of them.

Great leadership means you can articulate what’s valuable to your online community and share it with them.

Great leadership means you know how to manage your language and tonality through the tough times as well as the fun times.

Great leadership also means you have standards that you show up with, are a shining example of, and are uncompromising about.

What standards do you have in place for:

- Answering questions

- Expressing gratitude

- Celebrating your communities successes

- Respecting peoples beliefs

You are the leader of your online community. You set the standard. You teach everyone else how to treat each other. 

It’s up to YOU. Lead the way!

If you hadn’t thought about your position as a leader online then I trust this blog has inspired you to take a moment to reflect on how you are showing up and the standards you have in place for yourself and your community.

If there's anything you would like me to blog about to assist you in your online business developments then please leave me a message in the comments below.

If you find my blogs valuable hit the share button and help me reach more people.

With gratitude

Teash xx

Are you compelled to stop?

Are you trying to get people to STOP and look at your business by throwing it in their face?

CHECK OUT THIS COOL THING!!

HERE'S WHAT WE OFFER!!

STOP!!

LOOK HERE!!

In this day and age people using Social Media are absolutely drowning in a raging torrent of content before their eyes. Have you watched yourself as you scroll through your home page? Have you ever stopped to appreciate the sheer speed at which you process information? The only way to keep up with it all is to develop your “scanning muscle”.

You know what you like, the words, the picture, the expressions, the story, so you’re only going to stop scrolling when it catches your eye and compels you to stop.

For a business owner to compel you to stop long enough to “come in and stay awhile and get to know them” is a really tough gig.

That’s why this check list is crucial to consider. How you set up your virtual business environment is everything. 

Ask yourself these 4 questions

1. Are you driving your MISSION with burning PASSION?

2. Does your mission embrace others with a sense of BELONGING?

3. Do your followers feel as though they can significantly CONTRIBUTE to that mission?

4. Are you rewarding your followers when they do contribute and making them feel SIGNIFICANT?

Mission, Passion, Contribution, Significance, Belonging - these words alone create a compelling feeling inside of you - can you feel it?

Imagine the virtual environment you can create for your followers and the stories they would be compelled to share when they feel passionately about belonging to a significant mission that they contribute to.

I would love to hear what your mission is. Leave me a comment below :)

5 Simple Steps to creating your Advertising Masterpiece

Advertising is an art and the best ads really are like Masterpiece’s. You see it, you know it’s an ad, but you can’t look away. It sucks you in. 

There are top marketers and human behaviour specialists that have done extensive research into what languages, sounds and images to use for each product and person out there. They know what we want to hear /see and they set out to tell/show us exactly that.

For those of you just getting started on creating advertisements for your business, here is a great structure to get you started into creating great ads. This could be useful for brochures, flyers, online video ads…

So here are the 5 simple steps to help you create a Masterpiece Ad of your own.

1. KNOW who you’re talking to. 
- What picture or graphic is going to make them stop? 
- What keywords will spark their interest?
- What’s their main concern that if they had an answer to it all their christmases would come at once.

2. State the PROBLEM they’re experiencing.
- Don’t you hate it when…?
- Is this happening for you?
- Are you tired of…?

3. Demonstrate your expertise.
- Show them that you know what you’re talking about. 
- Give examples of the results you have achieved for others.

4. Present the solution.
- What’s your cool thing that will help them?
- Give them an opportunity to know if it’s a match for them.
- Let them know who it’s not a match for.

5. Call to action
- Show them how to find out more
- What do they click on next?
- Who do they call?

Have a closer look at ads next time you’re flicking past them on Facebook. Have a go at identifying which parts of the structure they’ve used.

What made you flick past it? 

What made you stop?

What sparked your interest? 

What turned you off?

Notices which ads have the most likes, comments and shares. 

Notice the colours that stand out the most.

Notice the emotional trigger an image gives you.

Which video ads get the most engagement?

There’s so much we can learn and model from what’s out there. Allocate some time especially to discovering what’s working and what’s not.

Observe, play with it, test it out, tweak it up, learn & grow.

Happy Creating!

Hater's gonna hate.

There are some really nasty people out there - as you know.

There are people who make it their life’s mission to misbehave on people’s Youtube video’s, Facebook Ad’s, Photo’s, Blog’s you name it they’ll defame it.

They’ll post nasty comments, dumb comments, death threats, pornographic pictures, bad reviews that you just cannot get rid of and sooooo much more, yep I’ve seen it all.

In some instances you can delete the comments and in some you can’t. 

I would highly recommend you take nasty comments with a “grain of salt” and where possible DELETE & BAN. Do not hesitate to remove them from your space and if they keep finding a way back in REPORT them. And if you don’t know what to do ASK FOR HELP.

If you cannot remove them from the space (due to restrictions from the site you might be on) then flat out ignore them. 

Fires can only burn where fuel is provided. Douse it quickly, with your silence.

You owe them nothing.

You also cannot SAVE them.

Save your energy for those who are genuinely looking for your help.

If the haters want saving they will be inspired by your graceful example of calm leadership and they will come to you. 

Not sure which course of action to take?  Sometimes you need to:

Need further advice? Send me a message on my page Social Vibes. 

How a Rockstar was made.

Ok Ok not really a Rockstar LOL It's just me...Teash...the one they say rocks and they call Star...It's my journey from zero belief in myself to a list of skills I could never have imagined possible!

It was about 12 years ago where it all started for me. I was a single Mum with one child on the pension and it was challenging. I did not think I had any REAL skills, you know the ones that could offer me employment in anything other than waiting tables, washing dishes or cleaning hotel rooms.  

However a friend of mine saw the potential in connecting me to the world wide web and bought me a very basic computer for $200. To say I was grateful would be an understatement.

Life as I knew it completely changed from that moment. The first thing I did was enrol myself in a distance education course studying Information technology. In my holidays I would enter competitions to win my son the toys that I couldn’t afford to buy him. In 2 years I spent about 9 months of that entering competitions (I did quite well by the way, around $8000 in prizes).

What that gave me was so much more than some cool prizes. There was a massive online community around 20,000 people who were registered in the forum. I was really fired up and passionate about helping people succeed in that space. I would help people in the forum, teach them what they needed to know, make their lives a little easier and I did it because I loved doing it.

It didn’t take long for the team running the site to invite me to join the team and become a forum admin. I absolutely loved doing that and found I had lots of opportunity to use my new skills from my course in IT to assist the users and I loved being a part of the team keeping the site running smoothly, archiving old competition listings and moving things around if they were posted by a user in the wrong place. 

I completed another IT certification that was specifically for IT Support and then moved up again to the next level of certification and almost finished that too (life kinda found a new priority for me just before I finished the last module so I chose to let it go) then when the space was clear to study some more I found The Coaching Institute and enrolled in the Diploma of Life Coaching. 

That was 4 years ago now and at that time TCI did not have much of a presence on Facebook. One weekend a couple of us enthusiasts that were longing for the connection of other coaches gathered together and with the inspired challenge from Sharon Pearson to fill a Facebook Group with 1000 coaches in 3 days we set to work, and yes, by midnight Sunday we had filled the group.

Again I had a platform to do what I loved which was to help people get the most out of the space and connect them with the resources they needed. Within around 6 months of just being me and doing what I loved - helping people, I was invited to join the TCI Team.

Fast forward 4 years and I have been blessed with the incredible mentoring, teaching, opportunities and support of being a team member with TCI and employed to do exactly what I love. My skills have increased exponentially to include successful strategies in Social Media Marketing, Community development, Leadership development, Team Culture development, Brand Culture development, Content curation, production and design. TCI's Social Media presence and the standard it is delivered in is as world class as the service it provides. 

Now the space has opened up for me to do something more, I now have an opportunity to teach people these awesome strategies and help people learn and get the most out of Social Media for their businesses so they too can have outstanding results. 

And so Social Vibes has been born and with this new platform I want to help people create a business environment that cares for their clients no matter how much distance is between them. As the world becomes more digitally focused we must focus on learning how to draw our attention in even closer to serving from the heart even when it cannot be seen, heard or felt in real life. 

Via Social Vibes service I will do that by assisting small business owners to begin their social media platforms with great strategies in place that allow that servants heart to shine through setting up standards in communication and service delivery and bringing a Virtual WOW element in all they do. 

I will teach this without the overuse of tech jargon and make it simple and easy to do, no matter where they’re at, in terms of marketing or IT skills.

Using the hashtag #BuildTheTribe the tips out there are available to find easily if you know how (if you don’t know how to use hashtags or what they are you can find it out in my very simple explanation blog right HERE).

I look forward to making many many lives so much easier. Perhaps even YOUR life :) Please feel free to connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Pinterest & Twitter. 

Chat soon!