Woo hoo!!! Did you see the new Schedule Send option Gmail added!! I’m so happy!! You can now schedule your emails to go out at a specific date/time. Working at 2 am? Schedule emails to go out at 8 am. Working on Saturday afternoon? Schedule emails to go out Monday morning. You need to have boundaries for your work day. If you CHOOSE to make an exception, don’t train your recipients to expect it. It’s better if they don’t know you’re working on Saturday. Then they won’t expect you to work on Saturday. Stay in charge of your life by using technology wisely.

I want you to be a bit intimidated by this article. Why? Too many times we think of social media as making a post. And yes, make it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn,… But there is more to social media than just making a post – IF – you want it to be a major part of your marketing campaign. There is a difference in having a “social presence” and really marketing via social media. This article is specifically about how to use Instagram but the concepts are the same for any social media. If you want impact, you have to customize to the specific platform. And you have to customize to the platform’s audience. So look at your marketing plan. Do you need a presence? Do you need real social activity? Then we can plan appropriately. Click here to read the article. 

Customer reviews are becoming more important on social media platforms. It isn’t just Yelp for restaurants! I started my research for a new dentist at Yelp last weekend. More and more of my retail clients are telling me about business coming in after reading reviews on Facebook, Google or many of the other sites. You need to response to good reviews and to bad ones. Don’t be afraid of bad reviews. If you have 20 5 star reviews and 1 griping chippy, people are going to downplay the complainer. We all know people like that. But note in this article how few people respond to good reviews and how responding increases sales!! If you need help putting together your action plan, call Your Computer Lady.

Email Automation is a great tool! You can set up a series of emails to introduce all of your services to a new prospect. You can provide follow up details to new clients to help them use your services better. Gently draw someone into your community! And it’s automated! You create the messages. You set the timing for the emails. Then you only have to add the new email to the list and there go your emails!! Time after time. Client after client. Contact YCL today to set up your automations.

A new emphasis from Facebook is Groups. They want us to form “meaningful” groups to communicate with. Posts from Groups will have higher priority in News Feed. Groups can be connected to your Business Pages. If you don’t have a group, set one up today!

I just received this email from Social Media Examiner. They are one of the experts I follow regularly to stay informed on all things social media.  Michael’s article is quite serious and is a wake up call. Yes, it is also a sales opportunity. However, Social Media Examiner has always educated first then made sales so I trust his opinions.  Read on…  And get prepared to change your game.

Last week at Facebook’s developer conference, they officially announced a re-design of the desktop and mobile user interface. Goals: more emphasis on stories, groups, events. Mobile roll-out started last week. Desktop roll-out will start any day. The News Feed has been moved and “demoted” in priority. What does this mean for Business Pages? Less visibility if you aren’t paying to play.

“The difference between evangelism and sales is an evangelist typically has the other person’s best interest at heart. It’s not about fulfilling a sales quota and earning commission.”

I want to be an evangelist, not a salesperson. I’m not knocking salespeople. Raised by one. Married to one. Surrounded by them. Always looking for one at Lowe’s. BUT… being an evangelist is better because it is more satisfying in the long run. As a salesperson, I might make 1 sale. As an evangelist, I make a client for life.

Both Michael Stelzner and Guy Kawasaki understand this. In this podcast, they share their knowledge. I encourage you to listen in!

Product Evangelism: How to Evangelize and Create Advocates

I had the great privilege of appearing on a Business RadioX segment as the guest of Chon Pugh, Spirit Led Life Coach. Karen Nowicki, Studio Partner, led the interview. Karen Camblin, Sr. Loan Officer with Guild Mortgage, also joined us. So two of my favorite women and WSRG (Womens Success Referral Group)  members had a little chat about Chon’s work as a relationship counselor. Karen N, Karen C and I have all had the privilege of sharing with Chon and have benefited from her wisdom. The hour flew by with a couple of tears and lots of laughter.

Hope you enjoy the discussion!  Listen here.