How Important is Social Media?

Hey Women Entrepreneurs. If you are not receiving emails from Hub Spot, you need to. They are my personal favorite source for social media up-to-date information. We can’t be experts on everything, so we have to rely on experts on various subjects. Hub Spot is our favorite for social media.

We are experts on face to face marketing with The Heart Link Women’s Network and we are truly excited about how we can help small businesses optimize their presence on the Internet with Trova Business Directories, Trova Small Business Directory and Trova Women Small Business Directory, but social media is a complex beast and we want to provide you with information from many sources to help you keep the business you love in front of your customers. So enjoy the information below.

The fastest-growing private U.S. companies have discovered something that’s taking larger, more traditional companies some time to figure out – social media matters.

Research conducted by the Center for Marketing Research , shows that the Inc. 500 recognizes the critical role social media plays in an online world. One hundred forty-eight companies responded to the late 2009 survey of companies named by Inc. Magazine to their list.

In fact, an incredible 79% of respondents to the nationwide telephone survey indicated social media was very or somewhat important to their business and marketing strategy. Indeed, 43% ranked social media as very important, compared with only 26% two years earlier, a 65% increase.

Clearly, these successful, smaller companies have discovered that leveraging social media tools and technologies plays a valuable role in their business and marketing strategies.

How about your business? Do you consider social media important? What results have you seen from using it?

Women Definitely Warm to Social Sites and Online Purchasing

Women Warm to Social Sites and Online Purchasing

Social networking has become a must for women this year, according to a new edition of the SheSpeaks “Annual Social Media Study.” Social networking profile penetration climbed from 58% of Internet users in 2008 to 86% in 2009.

Asked about brand-related activities on social sites, 80% of female Internet users said they had become a fan of a product or brand on a social network. In addition, 72% had learned about a new product or brand, or joined a group around one. Web users were less likely to participate on Twitter in all the product- and brand-related activities. SheSpeaks chalks this up to women being more active on social networking sites overall than they are on Twitter.

67% of women reported they actually commented about products and 50% of women interview reported that they actually purchased a product online.

Users seemed more receptive to social network advertising than they were in 2008, with 9% saying that they always look at ads and often click through, compared with just 2% last year. Thirty percent look sometimes, versus 13% in 2008, and fewer users felt annoyed by ads or actively ignored them.

Dawn L Billings is an the author of over 20 books and hundreds of articles on parenting, relationships, entitlement and networking, and an ardent advocate for women’s and children’s issues.  Dawn is the CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Women’s Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory and The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organizations and communities.

Dawn is the creator of the NEW Parenting Tool called Capables, a revolutionary parenting tool and Toddler toy that ends whining and tantrums for good. In 2008 Dawn was selected by Oprah Magazine and The White House project as one of 80 emerging women leaders in the nation. Find out more and buy Dawn’s books, Dawn is also the architect of the Primary Colors Personality Test

Also check out - TROVA NOW Women Business Directory, and TROVA Business Directory for all small businesses. TROVA in Italian means “Find”. Would you like for your business to be found easily both locally and nationally? That is what our new business directories TrovaBusinessDirectory.com and TrovaWomenBusinessDirectory.com are all about. For more information about how to get your women owned business listed for FREE visit: TrovaNow

11 Ways to Become a Great Listener

11 Ways to Become a Great Listener

by Dawn Billings

Want to really accelerate AND sustain your career success? Listen up.
In order to be a successful and effective communicator, you’ve GOT to be a highly effective listener.  As a leader, LISTENING skills are MORE IMPORTANT than your speaking skills …. No question.

Here are 11 ways to become a great listener…

1. Shut up! This sounds rude, but I do not mean for it to be. It is simply a fact that if you want to develop into a great listener you must first learn to shut up to make a space for you to listen.
2. Listen for ideas and central themes. Whether you are listening in church, class or someone you are speaking directly to, it is a good idea to listen for the speaker’s central theme or main points instead of getting lost in, or reacting to, confusing or provocative  details. I used to tell my sons, “Mine for the gold nuggets.” If you are a great listener, you should be able to mine at least one great nugget from every encounter.
3. Judge content, not delivery. This is a challenging skill to develop. But if you teach yourself to focus, to your best ability, on what a speaker is saying and try not to get bogged down by their way of saying or delivering the message, you will find that every encounter will carry with it a gift for you.
4. Challenge yourself to be engaged and engaging. It is extremely easy to tune out from a speaker. Challenge yourself to stay engaged, but even more importantly to use the speaker’s content to make you more engaging. Examples: “Oh my goodness that must have been a surprise to you. Do things like that happen to you often?” or“I understand. I certainly have been in a similar situation. What is the biggest take-away you learned from that experience?”

5. Don’t jump to conclusions. It’s easy to assume that you know the rest of a sentence or message after hearing the beginning. Much of the time we are formulating our come-backs in our minds before someone has completed their full sentence. But if you teach yourself to avoid prejudging a message, you are a much better equipped listener if you wait and take time to evaluate the whole message.
6. Take notes. If you are learning something new, attending class, or at a conference, it is often a good idea to take notes that you can refer to later. By taking notes you enhance your memory and recollection skills, sharpen your reception, understanding, and, of course, retention of the information.
7. Concentrate and resist distraction. Distraction plays an enormous role in our inability to be great listeners. External distractions include non-related things you can see or hear, or which may be impacting your other senses, or you could simply be distracted by your own “too-busy” mind.  Internal distractions occur when your mind wanders into unrelated memories or shifts its focus to worries, plans, or anticipations. Practice staying focused.
8. Work to summarize the message being received. Most people can think three or four times faster than they speak.  Don’t let your quick mind indulge in all sorts of thoughts unrelated to the conversation.  Capitalize on your thinking speed by actively sensing, interpreting, evaluating, and summarizing the messages being received.
9. Control your emotions. First of all, take time to become truly aware of who you are and notice when things trigger your emotions. It has been said that the intellect is the slave to emotions.  Be sensitive to things that trigger your emotions and increase your efforts to focus on a clear reception and understanding of what is being said.
10. Exercise your mind. Like your body, your mind must be exercised in order to be strong. Listening is a skill of your mind as well as your hear. You must care enough to listen, but you must use a disciplined mind to learn to listen well. It is good for you to intellectually wrestle with complex information so that you will have a chance to grow and strengthen your own intellect.
11. Work at listening.  Be an active listener. Remember, listening is a skill and like any skill, we must focus on strengthening a skill with discipline, effort and heart. Follow the above suggestions.  Ask questions and seek clarification.  Actively share in the speaker’s efforts to improve your level of understanding, whether or not you think you agree.

Dawn L Billings is an ardent advocate for women’s and children’s issues, the author of over 20 books and hundreds of articles on parenting, relationships, entitlement and networking.  Dawn is the CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Womens Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory and The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organizations and communities.

Dawn is the creator of the NEW Parenting Tool called Capables, a revolutionary parenting tool and Toddler toy that ends whining and tantrums for good. In 2008 Dawn was selected by Oprah Magazine and The White House project as one of 80 emerging women leaders in the nation. Find out more and buy Dawn’s books,  Women Lifting the World inspirational videos to uplift the hearts of those you love, and the NEW Toddler Teaching Toys called CAPABLES Dawn is also the architect of the Primary Colors Personality Test

Got Insomnia? Get Up and exercise.

Hey Women Entrepreneurs, imagine my surprise when I was looking for information on the web that might help me sleep. If this is an article about sleeping better, why do I have a picture of a woman jumping in a ridiculously perfect toe touch jump about 6 feet off the ground? Well let me explain. Here I was rollin’ around in my bed exhausted and the only thing falling asleep were my feet, and I learn that if you want to sleep deeply you need a few sets of deep knee bends?

The article said that for most people who are having trouble sleeping, there’s a simple cure: exercise. In fact, when researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine asked sedentary adults with insomnia to exercise 20 to 30 minutes every other day in the afternoon, participants reduced the time required to fall asleep by half, and increased total sleep time by almost one hour. I’ll trade a half hour in my exercise tees for an extra hour sawing Z’s any day. It was difficult for me to believe until I actually tried it for myself. Yep, they are right. If you exercise, you sleep better. I sure do. Not only do I sleep better, I need less hours in bed because I am actually using the hours sleeping instead of rolling around.

Working out regularly has been shown to reduce episodes of insomnia, and improve sleep quality by producing smoother, more regular transitions between the cycles and phases of sleep. What’s more, exercise offers many other mental benefits:

• Reduces stress
• Sharpens your brain (Now this I definitely need. My brain isn’t sharp enough to cut soften butter sometimes)
• Eases tension
• Produces “feel good” brain chemicals (endorphins)
• Releases epinephrine, the happiness hormone (Wohoo, as women small business owners, we all need more of that one don’t we?
• Increases deep sleep

Moderate exercise lasting 20 to 30 minutes three or four times a week generally results in better sleep and more energy. You may have to find your own exercise rhythm–some people can exercise any time, while others do better if they work out in the morning or afternoon. But, vigorous exercise during the day and mild exercise before bedtime will not only help you fall asleep and stay asleep more easily, but will increase the amount of time you spend in the deepest sleep phase. Now that would be sooooo nice.

Well, there you have it. Go out and exercise and if any of you can jump like the women in the picture above, send me the picture and we will figure out a great way to reward you.

Dawn L Billings is an ardent advocate for women’s and children’s issues, the author of over 20 books and hundreds of articles on parenting, relationships, entitlement and networking.  Dawn is the CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Womens Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory and The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organizations and communities.

Dawn is the creator of the NEW Parenting Tool called Capables, a revolutionary parenting tool and Toddler toy that ends whining and tantrums for good. In 2008 Dawn was selected by Oprah Magazine and The White House project as one of 80 emerging women leaders in the nation. Find out more and buy Dawn’s books,  Women Lifting the World inspirational videos to uplift the hearts of those you love, and the NEW Toddler Teaching Toys called CAPABLES Dawn is also the architect of the Primary Colors Personality Test

[Offtopic: by the way, have you had the opportunity to attend a local Heart Link Women's Network networking event? If not, check out our locations and find a gathering near you! You will be so glad you did. Also  TROVA NOW Women Business Directory, and TROVA Business Directory for all small businesses launched in April 2010. TROVA in Italian means "Find". Would you like for your business to be found easily both locally and nationally? That is what our new business directories TrovaBusinessDirecory.com and TrovaWomenBusinessDirectory.com (launched April 1, 2010) are all about. For more information about how to get your women owned business listed for FREE visit: TrovaNow]

Everybody reading this blog can write a blog. Or can they? Or should they?

Hey women entrepreneurs. It’s Dawn Billings with The Heart Link women’s Network. So many of us have heard how important blogging is and that we should all write a blog, but should ALL of us write a blog? Maybe not.

This is a guest post written by Dave Clarke, editorial director for Hologram Publishing. Dave is an award-winning writer and editor with more than 25 years of experience writing consumer and marketing content. He also does business blog-writing projects.

Everybody reading this blog can write a blog. Or can they? Or should they?

As social media marketing proliferates and permeates consumers’ consciousness, marketers, business owners, and tech-savvy entrepreneurs wrestle with the ‘content thing‘ more and more each day.

C’mon, everyone can string together a few coherent sentences, right? We’ve all been writing since kindergarten; by now it should come as easy and natural as, say, sitting on the ‘throne.’ So, how come it’s not?

The Write Stuff

Asked if good writing skills can be taught, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Stanford University creative writing professor, Wallace Stegner replied, “Yes, but not to everyone.”

Some folks can write stuff people want to read, and some can’t.

Sometimes your business needs a professional writer, other times it doesn’t. How do you know which is which? Equally important, how do you know a good writer from a bad one?

Consider hiring a writer if:

• You just don’t like to write. Some people shun exercise, some the dentist, others writing. For them, it’s tedious, troublesome.
• Time is money. Yes, you have the skills and knowledge to pull together a blog post, but it may take you hours to do it and you’re already pressed for time. What’s your time worth?
• It’s all Greek to you. People who are multilingual rock. But even the most fluent speakers of foreign tongues often have difficulty writing in them well enough to be clearly understood.
• Your writing skills are so-so. You could do a serviceable job, but business circumstances dictate that “so-so” doesn’t cut it. You’re not just competing for readers’ time and attention against your competitors, but against thousands of other media trying to do the same thing with the same people. Your stuff better be good enough to grab their attention, hold it, and get them to act on what they’ve read.

Consider writing it yourself if:

• You know the topic inside and out. You’ll have no trouble coming up with blog article ideas on a regular basis — weekly, biweekly — for as long as you intend to maintain the blog.
• Spelling counts. Grammar too. Your knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar are good enough that you won’t embarrass yourself or tarnish your organization’s reputation by appearing amateurish due to misspelled words or grammatical errors.
• You can step away from the story. You can distance yourself from your writing to critique and edit it objectively or you have a friend or colleague who can.
• Good job! People comment favorably on your writing or you have been published (and not just on your own website).

How to recognize good writing and good writers:

Beyond looking at a writer’s technical skills — spelling, punctuation, grammar — also look at whether their thoughts follow a logical progression in telling the story.  Look at the softer, yet in every sense more important, skills a writer demonstrates.

• Does the writer’s writing engage you? Good writers know they have but a few, scant seconds to grab your attention. If you’re hooked from the first sentence and you’re not tempted by distractions along the way, the writer is doing their job. If the writing bores you, it will bore your audience, and they will click to another site in a nanosecond.
• Experience counts. Does the writer have experience in the subject matter and type of writing you need? Writing effective marketing collateral is not the same thing as writing a press release; writing advertising copy is not the same as writing a white paper or a product page. Good writers, like good singers or dancers, are versatile in numerous topics, formats and genres, and are not just one-trick ponies.
• Less is more. Good writing isn’t written, it’s rewritten. More specifically, it’s edited. Good writers prune their prose to be sure there are no extra words or phrases; that two words aren’t used when one will do; that redundancy, other than, say, product names or search keywords, doesn’t exist in the document.
• Success breeds success. One way to gauge a writer’s success is the number of clients they work with. See how many companies are using any writer you consider. There’s a reason some writers have many clients: They consistently do a better job.
• Good writers are invited back. One of the best measures of successful writers is whether or not they are hired back. If you see someone whose work consists of one or two assignments at dozens of clients, walk away. If a firm likes a writer’s work and working with that writer, they’ll invite them back time and again.

Dawn L Billings is an ardent advocate for women’s and children’s issues, the author of over 20 books and hundreds of articles on parenting, relationships, entitlement and networking.  Dawn is the CEO and Founder of The Heart Link Womens Network, Trova Women Business Directory and Trova Small Business Directory and The Heart Alliance.com international women’s networking organizations and communities.

Dawn is the creator of the NEW Parenting Tool called Capables, a revolutionary parenting tool and Toddler toy that ends whining and tantrums for good. In 2008 Dawn was selected by Oprah Magazine and The White House project as one of 80 emerging women leaders in the nation. Find out more and buy Dawn’s books,  Women Lifting the World inspirational videos to uplift the hearts of those you love, and the NEW Toddler Teaching Toys called CAPABLES Dawn is also the architect of the Primary Colors Personality Test

[Offtopic: by the way, have you had the opportunity to attend a local Heart Link Women's Network networking event? If not, check out our locations and find a gathering near you! You will be so glad you did. Also coming soon - TROVA NOW Women Business Directory, and TROVA Business Directory for all small businesses. TROVA in Italian means "Find". Would you like for your business to be found easily both locally and nationally? That is what our new business directories TrovaBusinessDirecory.com and TrovaWomenBusinessDirectory.com (launched April 1, 2010) are all about. For more information about how to get your women owned business listed for FREE visit: TrovaNow]

9 Secrets to Networking Success

9 Secrets to Networking Success

by Dawn Billings, CEO & Founder of  Trova Business Directory.com and Trova Women Business Directory.com

With so many networking opportunities, how do you make sure that the time, energy and money you spend networking increases your bottom line? Sales develop through the relationships we create with other people. Networking events can be a perfect resource for developing new relationships if you know how to use them to network for success. Networking with other professional gives us a chance to expand our circle of influence, particularly when we create and nurture quality relationships.

Quality relationships are not developed by a quick visit to a networking group. Quality relationships are not easily created when we are rushing to talk to dozens of people and gather as many business cards possible. Too many times when you network using the rush and gather strategy, all you will end up with is a hand full of cards from people you don’t remember.

Every networking event has tremendous potential for new business leads, but the best business leads come from referrals from people who know, respect and trust you.

Here are eight secrets or strategies to strengthen your networking efforts and create networking success:

1. Choose your networking opportunities carefully. Choose the networking group or event that best fits your business needs. The best results come from attending the appropriate networking events for your particular industry. This should include trade shows, conferences, and associations dedicated to your type of business. For example, if your target market is a Fortune 500 company, it does not make sense to join a group whose primary membership consists of individual business owners. If your ideal customer or client is female, it would only make sense to attend a women’s networking group like The Heart Link Women’s Network. If you are a community business, it would make sense for you to attend Chamber meetings and functions. If you are in a particular trade association, it would make sense to network with people who know and use that trade. You can also participate in groups where your potential clients meet. Several friends of mine are professional speakers, it makes very good sense for them to belong to their state chapters of the National Speakers Association, or to the online SpeakerSite.com.

2. Learn the difference between quantity and quality. Learn the difference between BIG and “Just Right.” In the story of Goldie Locks and the three bears, Papa Bears bed and chair were big, but Baby Bears chair was “just right.” Just because a networking venue touts 100s of people does not mean it is the “right” venue for you. Many times, in order to focus on creating real relationships, a smaller intimate group like The Heart Link Women’s Network is better. If there are only 15 to 25 women attending, think of how well you have the opportunity to get to know one another.

Always focus on quality versus quantity. Most people have experienced the person who, while talking to you, surveys the room, seeking his next prey. This individual is more interested in passing out and collecting business cards than establishing relationships. It is better to leave after getting to really know 10 people, that spending an evening with hundreds and leaving not really knowing anyone.

3. Your first impression should be Fabulous. You have exactly one opportunity to make a great first impression. Factors that influence this initial impact are your handshake, facial expressions, eye contact, interest in the other person and your overall attentiveness. Develop a great handshake, approach people with a natural, genuine smile and make good eye contact. Notice the color of the other person’s eyes as you introduce yourself. Listen carefully to their name. If you don’t hear them or understand exactly what they say, ask them to repeat it.

Many people do not speak clearly or loudly enough and others are very nervous at networking events. Make a powerful impression by asking them what they do before talking about yourself or your business. Ninety percent of communication is non-verbal. The best way to influence your non-verbal communication is by preparing your heart ahead of time. People can sense the truth in your heart. If you attend an event dedicated to learning as much as you can about others, people can feel it. They like it and begin to trust you. As Stephen Covey states, “Seek first to understand and then to be understood.” Comment on their business, ask them for details, or have them explain something. As they continue, make sure you listen intently to what they tell you. Once you have demonstrated interest in someone else, they will – in most cases – become more interested in you. When that occurs, follow the step outline in the next point.

4. Know who you are and what you do. It is important that you are able to clearly state what you do. This sounds so simple but I cannot tell you how many networking events I have attended where people struggled with communicating who they were and what they did. Invest time and energy in developing a ten second introduction, and a thirty second commercial.

The introduction explains what you do and for whom. For example; “I work with pet stores to help them increase their sales and profits.” This introduction should encourage the other person to ask for more information. When they do, you recite your thirty-second commercial. If you attend The Heart Link Network for women, or The Success Link Network for both men and women, you get double and triple the time to showcase and advertise your business. But even then, you need to practice how to use this time powerfully and effectively.

5. Follow up. You must follow up after attending a networking event. I think this is where most people fail. Success is in the follow thru, especially when you need to increase sales. The follow-up is the most important aspect of networking. There are two specific strategies to follow:

Immediately after the event – typically the next day – you should send a handwritten card to the people you met. (This is a very powerful way to follow up and I highly recommend a company named Send Out Cards. Send Out Cards is a terrific and inexpensive way to follow up with people in a very personal manner. If you do not know about Send Out Cards please go to www.SendOutCards.com Cards are more powerful when you mention something from your conversation and express your interest to keep in contact. Always include a business card in your correspondence.

6.  Follow Thru. Within two weeks, contact that person and arrange to meet for coffee or lunch. This will give you the opportunity to learn more about their business, the challenges they face, and how you could potentially help them. This is NOT a sales call – it is a relationship-building meeting.

7. Be Consistent and You must be consistent. Networking does produce results. The more people who know about you and your business who trust and believe in  you, the greater the likelihood they will either work with you, or refer you to others. But you must be consistent. Marketing is all about consistent touches. When you decide to network, really decide to network for success.

8. Be Yourself. If you combine being consistent with being yourself, people have the time they need to get a sense of who you are and what you stand for.  Once people know you and understand the products and services you provide, the chances of your networking being a real success increase significantly.

9. Have Fun. If you are not having fun, you won’t keep attending and meeting people and as I mentioned in number 6, the most important thing about marketing and networking to grow your business is consistency.

If you are going to take the time to network, don’t just socialize, network 4 success!

Dawn Billings is the CEO & Founder of Trova Business Directory.com, Trova Women Business Directory.com and The Success Link Network for both men and women. Dawn is also the creator of the new parenting toy, the CAPABLES and the CAPABLES companions, ValuZ. Now you can insure that you children can have the valuZ you know they need in order to be successful in their lives.

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