The best gift, or gifts, are sometimes the ones you can give yourself. So as we come to the end of the year and the beginning of a fabulous new one, with all its great possibilities……. I ask you to consider this:
“Hard Now, Easy Later…… Easy Now, Hard Later”
When I heard the very wise Debi Silber, the Mojo Coach, say this at an event recently, it really left an impression on me. For example. Peace of mind and a sound, solid business.
Huh? You may be thinking. If you are one of those people who go to sleep going over your to do list….. instead of counting sheep… imagine being able to drift off to sleep, knowing your list is short, and that you have taken care of the most critical business details. That leads to good, sound and peaceful sleep. Awesome. I’ll take more of that kind of sleep, and I bet you will too!
That tech issue that sidetracked me this week- 10 of my websites got hacked. A malicious malaware was able to infiltrate them. Perhaps it was my fault, maybe there was nothing I could have done about it.
All I know is that when you went to one of my sites you got a red warning page…..not the way you want anyone to think of your brand. Ever. Even if they recognize its not your own fault.
You see, at times. I opted for Easy now……Not that planning publicity is hard……. or the tasks I am about to share…. What can be hard is allocating the time to JUST get it done!
My sometimes taking the ‘easy now’ approach, lead to this week when I paid the price. You see, on my list of to –do’s was to set up a backup process for my websites. For some reason my host company stopped backing them up… and despite knowing that I could lose all the content, the images, and my online business in a heartbeat….. I did nothing.
So when I got hit with the malaware….the first question the tech folks I consulted with to help solve the problem asked was…. Do you have your sites backed up?
Luckily, I was able to save the majority of my content without a backup, but that might not have been the case. Had I added additional security measures that had been recommended to me months ago, maybe I would not have been hacked. $425 later and I am back online, backed up and with additional security.
In an effort to insure you have a most joyous holiday season, as well as the most prosperous, stress free and wonderful 2015, I invite you to take the time to do the things that just tend to stay on your to do list…… do them now. I invite you to have an easy, joyous and prosperous 2015.
Whether its planning for your publicity and content for the year – now, or more basic housekeeping like website and computer back ups. Make them a priority. It’s like insurance for your business and you deserve to have peace of mind.
Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”
Bill Gates
What are you planning for 2015? I’d love to know. Please post in the comments below.
To your publicity success! And all things Joyous, Easy, Prosperous and a Sound Business in 2015
Jane
P.S. Here are two articles on backing up your site
The great debate amongst business friends of mine is about whether it is better to have a Linkedin network comprised of people that you actually know, or it’s better to have as many connections as possible. I don’t believe we’ll solve that debate today, as it’s a topic that people are pretty passionate about.
With the help of the tagging feature in Linkedin, you can benefit from employing both methodologies jointly. By being able to tag, or label your connections you have the ability to segment them into specific groups; one of which could be your ‘real connections’.
Tagging can be useful beyond segregating those you are personally acquainted with from those who you have not yet met or personally spoken to. It can turn your Linkedin account into a simple CRM system. Consider the following examples of potentially useful tags:
People I have spoken to: If you take the time to connect with and reach out to new people through Linkedin, it can be useful to track who you have spoken to. That way, you can build on the next interaction and deepen the relationship with this connection by referencing your prior communication, and not having to wonder if you had already spoken or risk offending a connection by not remembering your earlier conversation.
Ideal Prospects:
Business development and sales are most effective when you target ideal prospects and make them a priority. Identifying them can help you maximize your time and efforts in knowing which connections you want to spend time getting to know and cultivating relationships with.
Media:
Getting more publicity and visibility is part of your overall strategy – if its not, I probably don’t need to tell you it should be. Journalists, bloggers and folks who are active on social media, are also on Linkedin. This is another great way to not only build a list of media contacts, but to build relationships with them. That way when you have a story to pitch, you’ll have a warm network to offer first dibs on covering it. [tip – date before you propose…… build a relationship before you start to pitch them stories ]
Thought Leaders/Influencers:
You are probably already following some of your industry thought leaders and influencers. I use a tagged list of these connections to remind myself whose activity I want to check up on, so that I don’t miss any of their pearls of wisdom. I also use it when I need an interview subject, speaker, quote or tips for an article or event I am creating.
Interesting Profiles: For business or for fun, profiles that stand out can serve a few purposes; they can be examples of good LinkedIn profiles that grab your attention that you want to bookmark for future reference, or profiles of people you might like to get to know when your time permits.
Are you using tagging for another purpose? Let us know in the comments below
Here is how to get started tagging your Linkedin connections:
Content marketing—the strategy of creating and distributing content to a targeted audience—is a much talked about topic. It can be very effective for your business because it provides valuable information targeted to your prospects’ and customers’ interests and needs.
It engages without including a direct marketing message or selling, thereby positioning the company as a thought leader. But if you’re worried that this is just one more project you don’t have time for, fear not. There are some great, free tools to help you succeed at content marketing.
Of course, you’ll first need to create a strategy. Define your voice as well as your goals. Will you be creating original content, curating other people’s content, aggregating content, or some mix of the three? Are you looking to attract new customers, engage deeper and sell more to existing customers, or perhaps enter an entirely new market? Once you have all of the above established, it’s time to turn to these readily accessible tools to get the most out of your content. Here is our Content Marketing Toolkit for Small Business – originally printed in the NY Enterprise Report.
Editorial Calendar
Creating this will help you meet your strategic goals and manage your content marketing initiatives. Most of the work here is on the conceptual side, not in the implementation. A simple Excel spreadsheet, online calendar, or plug-in will make it easy to keep a schedule. If you have a content team, then a Google Docs or Google Calendar can allow multi-user access.
EDITORIAL CALENDAR PLUGIN: If your website uses WordPress, this plugin gives you an overview of when your content is scheduled to post. www.wordpress.org/extend/plugins/editorial-calendar/
Keyword Research
If you identify and use the correct keywords, your content is more likely to show up online where your audience is spending time, or searching on the topic. Tools to help you with this include:
GOOGLE KEYWORD TOOL: Gives you related terms, how competitive the term is, and how many times the term is searched for in a month. Results are more comprehensive if you are signed into your Google account. https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
GOOGLE AUTO-COMPLETE/SUGGESTION:
As you type in the search box on Google, the auto-complete offers searches that are similar to yours based on searches others are doing related to your term.
WIKIPEDIA:
This online encyclopedia’s listings offer related terms and links on a specific topic, which can provide additional keyword suggestions. www.wikipedia.com
Content Aggregators
Aggregators gather and deliver all the content related to your topic or keyword inputs, from whatever data feeds they use as sources, and compile it in one place.
ALLTOP:
All the top stories and top headlines on popular topics from around the web. www.alltop.com
SCOOPIT:
Aggregator of info on a topic or keyword. It crawls the web for you and aggregates content around a the terms you input. It then allows you to select the best content and easily publish in a magazine format. www.scoop.it
If you identify and use the correct keywords, your content is more likely to show up online where your audience is spending time.
What’s Trending
A word, phrase, or topic is trending if it is mentioned online and on social networks multiple times. Trending topics become popular either through a concerted effort by users or because of an event that prompts people to talk about one specific topic. Mentioning what’s trending in your own marketing will potentially give you more exposure, but make sure it’s relevant to what you’re selling. For example, a new product release in your industry is a great opportunity to create content and capture some of the volume of social mentions and searches on the trending topic.
Consider writing a product review, a piece on what this new product means for the industry, or a positive personal anecdote related to the product or its creators. It is typically best to steer clear of political or gossipy trends, unless you are in that niche, or can find a way to create related content that won’t be offensive to your audience and can be tied back to your company or product in a way that makes sense.
WHAT’S TRENDING: What’s hot in the news, YouTube, and on Twitter. www.whatstrending.com
GOOGLE TRENDS: Identifies the hottest searches on the internet. www.google.com/trends
Monitoring
This is a recommended strategy to find mentions of your brand, your name, a product name, and news about a competitor in the press and online. You can also use it to find content on your keywords.
GOOGLE ALERTS: Monitor the web for interesting new content, delivered to your inbox daily, based on your queries (by keyword or topic). www.google.com/alerts
HOOTSUITE:
This social media dashboard monitors social media presence and mentions, and also allows you write and schedule posts that will be dispatched to multiple social media platforms. www.hootsuite.com
SUMALL:
The only reporting tool that can visualize your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube accounts along with any other service you use. Know which of your tweets, posts, photos, or videos get the most engagement in seconds https://sumall.com/20ft
Clipping
Clipping is a great way to collect content that is of interest for later use. This is where an editorial calendar comes in handy; when you know in advance what topics you are going to be creating content about, as well as when, you naturally start to gather background info when you find it. Here are some clipping tools to help you with the process:
EVERNOTE:
Multi-platform note-taking application and bookmarking app. www.evernote.com
PINTEREST:
Online bulletin board for collecting, organizing, and displaying information and images. www.pinterest.com
DIIGO:
bookmarking, research, and knowledge-sharing tool with multi-user capabilities. www.diigo.com
Content Suggestion Tools
Content suggestion tools are great aids while you are in the midst of blogging or creating content online. They will suggest related articles, videos, and keywords based on what you are in the midst of typing.
ZEMANTA:
Suggests images, links, tags, and related articles while you write your blog post, and promotes your content. Also available as a browser add-on. www.zemanta.com
REVERB FOR CONTENT:
Makes your content even more relevant and interesting. Offers all the features of Zemanta as well as a built-in dictionary and thesaurus. Add text or thumbnail images. www.wordpress.org/extend/plugins/related-content-by-wordnik/
Schedulers
Streamlining the content marketing process is a must for busy business owners and marketers. Scheduling tools vary from a simple one like LaterBro for managing one brand, to something more robust for managing multiple brands and social profiles, like HootSuite. Here are a few tools that allow you to schedule content in advance.
LATERBRO:
Schedules Facebook and Twitter updates. www.laterbro.com
TWEETDECK:
Schedules tweets and posts and connects you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace. www.tweetdeck.com
SOCIAL TOMORROW:
Facebook and Twitter posts. www.socialtomorrow.com
HOOTSUITE:
Helps you monitor and manage multiple accounts and schedule posts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Ping.fm, and WordPress profiles. www.hootsuite.com.
PLEASE NOTE: You may want to watch this video I created on using Google Alerts for Content & PR Monitoring: http://youtu.be/9dD4JxtbT9Q
The best gift, or gifts, are sometimes the ones you can give yourself. So as we come to the end of the year and the beginning of a fabulous new one, with all its great possibilities……. I ask you to consider this:
