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5 Reasons Why You Should Have a Social Media Plan for Your Biz

February 2, 2011

The use of Social Media has literally exploded online. Many people are using this medium for personal reasons to post pictures, provide updates (like, hmmm I took the dog for a walk J), re-connect with friends and family and of course socialize. Who hasn’t re-connected with someone from grammar school or high school that you haven’t seen in 20 years?

All of this is great…well within reason – certainly some people don’t necessarily censor what they are posting and maybe they should – but that’s for another discussion.

What I have noticed and personally experienced is the tremendous benefit that comes from incorporating the use of social media into your overall business strategy. Now, I don’t advocate using social media as your only marketing tool – but it should definitely be considered as a part of your overall marketing strategy.

I have personally loved creating a community for my business through social media over the past several years. I am so passionate about the authentic connections that can be made. It’s a great way to build relationships, establish yourself in your niche, and find your ideal clients and customers.

My Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Have a Social Media Plan for Your Biz:
  1. Establishes You in Your Niche – by providing valuable content and information while at the same time engaging with your ‘followers’ you are establishing yourself as a knowledgeable and valuable resource.
  2. Creates The Viral Effect – I have experienced this one first hand. It’s always fun to see what really goes viral getting shared, re-tweeted and spread around the social media space. One update can be so far reaching!
  3. Drives More Traffic to Your Site – Plugging your social network in to your big picture for your business will ultimately drive more traffic to your website. It’s very powerful and for me personally, Facebook is my #1 source for traffic coming to my site. That’s pretty exciting!
  4. Communication – There is no better way to learn about your clients and prospects than simply asking and getting real time answers. You can also easily share information about events, special offers and promotions, and product launches. It’s never been easier to communicate than it is now through Social Media.
  5. It’s FREE! – I’m stating the obvious here, but it’s true! Social Media is FREE – why not use these free tools, which are high impact to build your business and your brand.

I’m nearing my 3 year anniversary in the social media space. I love using it both personally and professionally and have seen the tremendous benefits that it can have for a business. It’s interesting to note that my husband’s then college aged cousin had suggested that I sign up with Facebook those 3 years ago. I never would have imagined how much I absolutely love connecting in this way and the vast amount of reach it has created for me and my business.

Are you looking for ways to genuinely connect online with your marketing and social media to find your ideal clients? Let’s connect to see how I can help you grow your biz and get to your ideal clients, click here.

Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine? No problem! When you do so, please include:

Deanna Collins, Authentic Marketing & Social Media Strategist, is a Coach, Speaker and an Author helping women business owners create authentic connections through marketing and social media to grow their businesses, increase their profit and build better relationships with their ideal clients all while having a great time doing it!

To learn more, go to www.DeannaCollins.com

Filed Under: Authentic Marketing, Social Media Savvy Tagged With: , , , , ,

3 Ways Your Compelling Story Gets You Clients

January 25, 2011

I’ve had the pleasure of studying with Fabienne Fredrickson, THE Client Attraction Expert.  I first met Fabienne well over five years ago when she was speaking at an event I was attending.  She is known for high value, high content in everything she does – she really delivers.  I’ve learned quite a lot from her through the years.

Today, I’d like to share with you an article from Fabienne that talks about Your Compelling Story.  It is essential that you are connected to your own compelling story.  It is an integral part of your business and allows you to speak from an authentic place about your business and why you do what you do.

Enjoy the article and be sure to do the assignment below!

Many of us entrepreneurs are drawn to our particular profession by a specific defining moment or series of events that changed everything in our lives. Because of that moment, some of us dropped everything and decided to dedicate the rest of our professional lives to doing what we now do.

My compelling story is my before-and-after scenario: how I went from not enough clients and struggling to pay the bills, to learning everything I could about marketing, networking and business management. As a result of creating my own ‘Client Attraction System’, I turned my practice from a mediocre one to one bursting at the seams just 8 months later, thereby eliminating my “3-A.M.-I-don’t-have-enough-clients-sweats.”

My own ‘compelling story’ is something I tell to establish instant credibility with new prospects, in front of an audience or at the beginning of my ‘Client Attraction Home Study System’. Clients and people in my seminars have repeatedly told me that hearing it was one of the first reasons they then hired me. It spoke to them because I’d been in their shoes too, at one point, and now I’m on the other side of the Client Attraction challenge. They tell me they too have tossed and turned at night with the “3 A.M. sweats,” and that to see someone having survived it and now thriving, they feel they can too.

You may also have a compelling story that no one else has. Your compelling story may be that you overcame a serious challenge in business, in your health or in life that caused you to change your course and do what you do now to help others with the same struggles.

You can use your compelling story several ways to attract clients:

  1. First and foremost, it helps the prospect bond with you. If you’re in a business like mine, it’s the know-like-and-trust factor that you need to really establish with your target audience. People aren’t buying a “business.” They’re buying a solution first and a relationship second.
  2. It can be the beginning of your signature talk or your teleclasses, helping you to “earn the right” to be up there speaking to an audience that doesn’t know you yet.
  3. If you don’t have a lot of credentials, it can give you instant credibility. You’ve been through what they’ve been through too, you’ve experienced success, and now you’re back to tell them how to solve their problems.

Client example: A travel agent who once attended one of my Full Day Client Attraction events had a breakthrough in figuring out what makes his seemingly non-descript travel business different from the competition and it was his compelling story.To paraphrase it, his travel business focused on cruises. During a group coaching moment in the workshop, I asked him what brought him to focus on cruises, and he painted a scenario for us that no one in the room will forget. You see, a few years ago, he was diagnosed with a very serious health concern and he intuitively knew that his current corporate job was literally making him sick.

One day, because he couldn’t take the toxic environment, this unhappy employee signed himself up for a cruise. He came back having experienced what felt like heaven to him and he continued to vacation on cruises regularly and was shocked to see his health condition was getting rapidly better. According to him, he has now healed himself of his health concern, and it all started by taking care of himself and his soul by going on a cruise regularly.

He decided to quit his job and dedicate the rest of his professional life to helping people break free of toxic lifestyles by experiencing the wonders of the cruise lifestyle.

I tell you, there was not a dry eye in the room. THIS was a compelling story and everyone there was truly compelled to take a cruise after hearing him, even if they’d never considered taking a cruise before. Best of all, they wanted to work with HIM to book the details of the cruise, not their regular travel agent. Had we not gone through this exercise in person, he says he would never have considered this story something that would attract clients and give him an advantage over other travel agents. But it does.

Your Assignment:

What is YOUR compelling story around your business? What brought you to do what you’re doing today with such passion? What is your before-and-after story and how did you overcome your situation?

Sprinkle this in your marketing materials or in conversation. Creating your compelling story to share with others can be a catalyst and one of the most powerful ways for you to attract clients through the know-like-and-trust factor.

Fabienne Fredrickson, The Client Attraction Expert, is founder of the Client Attraction System™, the proven step-by-step program to help you attract more clients, in record time and consistently. To learn more about Fabienne’s Client Attraction Home Study System™, sign up for her FREE client attraction tips and no-charge teleclasses on attracting more clients, visit http://www.ClientAttraction.com

Filed Under: Authentic Marketing, Blog Tagged With: , , , ,

How Do You Show Up in Your Biz?

January 24, 2011


All of the best marketing in the world won’t make up for you not “showing up” in your biz.

Many people get caught up in so many of the details. They get caught up in doing the “right” marketing, having their blog perfect, the technicalities of setting up a list or an auto responder series and on and on. Essentially they lose sight of showing up and being present in their business, getting bogged down by so many details. It doesn’t make you feel very client attractive – more like confused, frustrated, burn out and overwhelmed.

Honestly, it’s not all that uncommon today especially with all of the pressures that many people are facing. Many find it difficult just to keep up.

So, what about you?

Why is it that you do what you do in your biz?

Is that something that you connect to everyday? Even multiple times a day?

It’s absolutely essential to keep that connection and continue to show up even when you don’t feel like results are showing up for you. Keep moving forward, keep taking action, keep asking yourself what you can do next. How can you do something different?

Your Assignment:

Get yourself a notebook or a journal. Each day give yourself five minutes (morning is best) to sit down and simply ask yourself these questions:

  • How am I showing up today in my business?

  • What do I need to change or alter in the way that I am showing up?

Keep this handy so that you can refer to it during the day when things may (and probably will) TRY to derail you. Remember, you have the power to choose how you react to anything. So be clear on how you want to show up and let nothing stop you from creating it.

In abundant gratitude for you,

Filed Under: Authentic Marketing, Mindset Tagged With: , , , , ,

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