The Importance of Sharing – in a Social Media World

Hey women entrepreneurs. It’s Dawn Billings and I want to talk to you today about the importance of sharing. Yes, just like your mom used to tell you, it is good to share. But sharing has taken on a new meaning in our world today.

Today, when we share information most of the time we are no longer gathering people around us to listen to a proclamation. Instead, sharing has gone viral. But why is social media and “inbound marketing” so important today?

The answer is simple. More than ever before people are finding what they want and need on the internet. With gas prices sky rocketing and the ease of buying online, it simply doesn’t make sense to spend the extra time and money getting in your car and driving, when you can sit in your pajamas and shop. So how do you increase your online presence so that it is easier for people to find you.

One of the most effective methods to increase sales and gain new customers is to get people talking. If you can gain the attention and ultimately the trust of others you can create an online conversation with them. More and more, conversations are going online.

Social online networks are ideally suited to this task allowing you to market you products, services or information directly with customers who are looking for it and want instant information and feedback.

So now more than ever you need to blog. Share your expert information with others who need it. You also need to consider ways to inexpensively, but powerfully advertise online. This is easier said than done. But now Trova Business Directory.com and Trova Women Business Directory.com are hear to serve you. With Platinum and Elite advertising mini-sites you can easily put yourself in the middle of the highway of traffic looking for you. No longer to you have to stand isolated in the Sahara Desert. Learn about how you can advertise and optimize simultaneously for just pennies a day.

It is time to share your way to success.

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,  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

Take the opportunity to attend a Heart Link Women’s Network networking event. Check out our women networking events and find a gathering near you! You will be so glad you did. 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

6 Steps for Successful Content Marketing

The Following is a guest post by John McTigue, the co-owner of Kuno Creative, a Certified HubSpot Partner agency based in Avon, OH.  You can read more from him on his blog or follow John on Twitter.

Unless you are consistently feeding your inbound marketing machine with good, creative content, chances are you’ve seen a slow-down in traffic, search engine results and leads. Why? Because getting found online is about competing for peoples’ attention and consistently delivering the goods. There are very few one-hit wonders surviving on the Internet these days. Let’s do a brief reality check, then work on our content creation strategy.

How many blog posts or videos can you remember within the past 30 days? A handful? Out of the hundreds you probably read or viewed, most of them have either disappeared into the ether or you’ve tucked them away in a bookmarking site, never to read them again. How many tweets grab your attention? Most of us probably ignore 99.9% and retweet the rest, never to be seen again. Why are we so fickle online? As Emily Yoffe writes in a Slate article,

“…we actually resemble nothing so much as those legendary lab rats that endlessly pressed a lever to give themselves a little electrical jolt to the brain. While we tap, tap away at our search engines, it appears we are stimulating the same system in our brains that scientists accidentally discovered more than 50 years ago when probing rat skulls.”

So we’re fighting this instinct we all have to just tap, tap, tap looking for visual or auditory stimulation. When we find something interesting, we usually scan it, then throw it away. How do we overcome these zombie-like impulses and grab someone’s attention? Even if we get the hallowed click-through, how do we keep them in their seats? What about videos? Aren’t they the key to viral marketing? According to TubeMogul, “ten seconds into a video clip a little over 10% of viewers have abandoned it, rising to over half at 60 seconds or more.” So, content must not only attract your eye, it must also have the power to interrupt what you’re doing and keep you transfixed. To most of us this is a huge challenge. Here’s my content marketing strategy.

1. Figure out who you are trying to attract. Chief Marketing Officers? Soccer Mom’s? First-time homebuyers?
2. Figure out what makes these folks tick. Go to their social media sites and blogs and see what they’re talking about. Socialize with them by commenting and asking questions. Become a regular.
3. Create blogs, videos and webinars that address your target market’s concerns. Do this as often as you can, ideally three or more times per week.
4. Ask for comments by asking questions, and respond to the comments you receive. Ask for your readers’ involvement. What would you guys like to see in my blog? This engages and rewards your readers and gives them an incentive to follow you.
5. Mix it up. Your content should not be monotonous. Alternate serious with fun, helpful with commentary, research with reviews. Use creative titles, images and short video clips.
6. Be your own worst critic. If you’re getting stale, change the subject. Find some new way to communicate your ideas. Expand your own thinking, and you will expand theirs. If content creation becomes a chore, it will read that way. Step away from the keyboard and brainstorm some new ideas.

Remember, you have a few seconds to get someone’s attention, and getting there is only half the battle. You must reward their attention with good, creative content that keeps them engaged. It’s a tough nut to crack, but if you’re reading this post, you’re no doubt up for the challenge.

What are your content marketing strategies and experiences?

Posted by Kipp Bodnar on Wed, Apr 28, 2010 @ 12:30 PM

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

6 Ways to Brand your Business with Content

Hey Women Entrepreneurs: The following is a guest post by Corry Cummings, owner of Content Customs.

When companies spend thousands of dollars developing a specific brand name or logo, they do so for a reason. This simple personification of the company’s image is often the one shot that businesses have to give their potential customers a quick and simple view into their business practices, goals and services. A company brand builds trust and credibility as well as focuses on specific demographics to drive traffic.

Why should content be any different? In fact, branding your business with content is a way to show your web site visitors that you are the only solution to their problem. If you are in a competitive market saturated with “only solutions,” you need to, at the very least, use content to show your potential customers why you are their very best solution.

What are the distinguishing features of your services? What do you offer that your competitors cannot match? Are you a small business that can treat clients with personality or are you a super-business that prides itself on speed? Nail down the unique aspects of your business and your brand can be created with effective and interesting content.

1. Avoid Hyperbole In Your Business Content Brand

Some hyperbole is fairly obvious when it creeps from casual conversation into web site content. However, hyperbole can also creep into business content without you knowing it. These are broad statements that any company with a solid business plan could use to promote their services. They may not be as obvious as statements like “I could sleep for a century” or “Making this web site will kill me.” However, they can often be just as detrimental. Consider some examples:

We offer quick and easy customer service that is accessible to everyone.

How? This statement is nowhere near specific enough to brand your business with content. Almost every business could make this claim – and many do. Exactly what about your customer service makes you special? Can you post any specific testimonials or statistics about your service?

Our online order form takes mere seconds to fill out.

Consider whether this is a true statement. If you have multiple fields requesting payment information and order confirmation, this statement is probably not true. It may seem like a very small detail; however, honesty and clarity are always better than sales pitches. Tell your potential customers what information they will need before ordering.

2. Discover the Strengths of Your Business and Use Them

Above all, the content on your web site should have a purpose and it should drive home the reasons why potential customers should buy from you. Perform some research and discover what your business does best. More often than not, such research reveals regional strengths. Without knowing it, you might be the only business in the area that sells a specific product. This could set you up to offer same-day delivery to your region. That is a selling point that sets you apart from your competition. Your content should highlight that aspect of your business.

3. Make Your Content Match Your Brand

Take the image that you want to present to the public seriously, no matter what that image may be. When you talk to another person face-to-face, you have a distinct advantage. You can exchange ideas, ask questions, receive feedback and formulate your pitch based on what you know they want. A potential customer can more easily decide whether they trust you or not when they are actually looking you in the eyes.

However, this isn’t quite as easy with content. You must use your content to express yourself to your chosen demographic in a way that they will understand.

Suppose that you are a business that sells surfboards primarily to an 18-24 college student demographic. Beyond taking social media seriously, your content should be designed to grab their attention and convince them that you are their best choice. Try doing the following in this market:

• Use clever and humorous language designed to grab the attention of your audience.
• Avoid listing too many facts and statistics. These will often turn your demographic off.
• Use simple sales pitches to which college students can relate.
• Include personal statements about your experiences with a product.

4. Create Flawless Content

Nothing turns web readers off faster than content saturated with spelling or grammatical errors. Such mistakes show that you did not feel the need to invest much time or money into the face of your business. This can have a detrimental effect on the image of your company’s reliability and credibility. Check and recheck your content for errors and make sure that it stays focused and centered on your main ideas. Follow these steps for error-free and professional content:

Do a pre write. What information will you include in your content? How will you structure your words to be the most effective? What research materials will you use?

Use lists and short paragraphs. Readers will most likely be scanning your content to get the main ideas. Use these ideas as your headers and create content that can be easily summarized.

Check your content for spelling and duplicates. Don’t simply rely on a spell checker. Read your content several times over a period of a few days to catch every error that you can find.

Have someone else read your work. It is best to use a professional editor. However, having a few employees or friends read your work can bring some hidden errors to the surface.

Outsource your content. Sometimes it’s better to admit that you are not a writer and trust a professional writer to handle your content. If you have the funds in your budget and value the image of your company, it is best to make sure that your content brand is written well the first time.

5. Focus on Your Company’s Image

Take into account how you want your visitors to view you as a company as well as how you are currently viewed in the industry. Every piece of content on your web site needs to define who your company is and what you offer that caters to your market’s individual needs. Some key talking points could include:

Character: Who are you? Where do you come from? What are your stances? Be honest and authentic. One wrong move in trying to be something that you are not could destroy your company image.

Personality: Try to highlight the aspects of your business that make you human. Many companies use pictures of their employees to reveal personality. However, it might be a good idea to use content in the same way. Try including personal profiles written in the first person. You can also include quotes from your employees to highlight what they enjoy about working with your company.

Image: Depending on the strength and focus of your content, you might find that consumers begin to associate specific attributes with your business. By focusing on your image, you can quickly delegate your competition into a category that most people would consider bland.

6. Leverage Your Key Content Branding Approaches

Choose some aspects of your business that you can use to create a specific vision of how your company values certain fundamentals of good business. Try choosing from the following when drafting content:

• Product or Service Selection
• Your Business Experience
• Knowledge that You Bring to the Table
• Your Credentials
• Technology that You Use
• Your Resources
• Region From Which You Operate
• Speed of Your Service
• Tools Available to You
• Customer Service Value

Never forget that the words you use to express your company are your portal to a prospective customer’s world. You must show them how you can make their life easier, more profitable, happier and more productive. If you can convey this message in all aspects of your content-driven marketing campaign, you can be successful in convincing your customers of how valuable you are to them. More than anything, treat your content with great care. The value of your content to your consumers can create a brand that people want. However, if your content is produced poorly, it could spiral your business into mediocrity.

Corry Cummings is the owner of Content Customs, which is a professional team of SEO copywriters. For more great information about improving the quality of your web content, visit Corry’s Content Writing Blog. You can also follow Corry on Twitter.

5 Steps to an Optimized LinkedIn Profile

Hey Women Entreprenuers, it’s Dawn Billings. Having an optimized LinkedIn profile is more important than ever. LinkedIn is an important part of your overall Social Media campaign.

Whether you are a small business looking to connect with prospects in LinkedIn or an individual looking for a prospective new job, you have to make sure that your profile is attractive and attracting the right audience.

Follow these five steps to ensure success:

1. Tailor Your Profile Information

• You want to display your first and last name to ensure that people can find you. Plus, if you ask to connect with someone they need to know who you are. So keep the display name settings as “full name.”
• Customize your “Professional Headline,” which is also known as “current position”. However, the two can be separately maintained to make it more attractive to prospective clients or employers. You can simply edit the headline independent of your current job when in edit mode.

2. Add a Photo

• Here’s a fact, profiles without photos are rarely viewed and rarely used.
• Add a flattering image that you use throughout all other social networks.
• Adding a photo makes you recognizable and will help you brand yourself.

3. Customize Your Website Alt Text and URL

• When adding a new website choose “other” in the drop list of website types. This will give you the option to add a “website title” and voila your link now has an anchor text.
  
• Rather than saying “my website” it now says “inbound marketer”…or something like it.

4. Work History

• If you are self employed you have the opportunity to showcase some of your strengths. Provide a list of recent projects or services completed.
• If you are looking for a job you clearly need to highlight successes at past jobs.
• At the very minimum list your most recent work (hint: this gives you a chance to brag about yourself.)

5. Recommendations

• Want a chance to have others brag about you?
• Ask for recommendations – or to be endorsed as it’s called.
• Whether it be career highlights or reviews from happy customers…Having these recommendations does not only give you bragging rights but will also give your prospects a chance to hear good things from others who have worked with you.
• If you don’t any recommendations yet then go out today as ask someone you know well to write one.

So here you have it. In about 30 minutes time you too can have your LinkedIn profile optimized.

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