The Four Things You’re NOT Doing (You Know Who You Are!) That Could Be Costing You Business
I hear it all the time from busy coaches, trainers and speakers, “I’m so busy working IN my business – there’s just not enough time to work ON it!” You’re not alone. That’s the ‘devil’s in the details’ dilemma for most people in your industry. Between travel and conference calls, speaking gigs and coaching calls – who has the time to TWEET for Pete’s sake – right? (Doesn’t that saying always make you wonder who the heck ‘Pete’ is? Me too!)
That’s why we do what we do for a select group of powerful speakers, trainers, coaches and business leaders. We handle all the small stuff that starts piling up that they know they need to do to stay top-of-mind and top-of-market but simply haven’t got too many moments to spare. From social media management to building a website that is both customer friendly and SEO friendly. (Now there’s a fun combo platter!)
What we’ve learned along the way is that connections are key to new clients, more referrals, greater exposure and extending your online reac
h. Here are four things that you should be doing to help keep those connections strong:
Social Media: Oh I can hear the groaning now! “But Julie – I’m just not a ‘tweeter’ and Facebook just scares me!” I know. But Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and now Google+ are all powerful vehicles for speaking one-to-many. They help you engage your audience base and clients like never before. How many of you have ever spoken at event or two (or two thousand) where you were not allowed to sell product or promote yourself? It’s a missed opportunity to not only earn additional revenue – but to stay connected and fresh in those people’s minds for the long haul – which in the end is great for not just them – but their organization as well. So how do overcome that? Here’s a great line to use from the stage or at the end of a teleconference or coaching call. “When we’re done here – I’m going to post a special note just for you on my Facebook page so you can take what you’ve learned today and more easily share it with your family and friends. Who would like that? (Me! Me!) Great – follow me today at www.facebook.com/insertyourfanpagenamehere and be sure to look for a message about today’s topic!” Now you’re turned one day fans into lifetime ones if you stay on top of your game in social media! Or you can use a great service called EZTexting.com to set up an account where connecting is as easy as saying, “Text Julie to 34567 to download extras from today’s talk!”
You should be posting at LEAST once a day on Facebook or Twitter or both. Keep it fun and conversational. About every third or fourth post – include a link back to your website – either to a blog post, a freebie, a quiz or something fun!
Blogging: More groaning. I know. I KNOW. But hey. You’re a speaker, or a trainer or a coach. You’ve probably got a whole big body of work to pull from. It’s time to RE-PURPOSE some of that. Break it up into bite size little pieces. You don’t have to write a novella every week. Even 100 words is better than nothing! A great length to shoot for that is enough to give people some food for thought without being too much is around 300-400 words. If it makes it easier — make each month a series. Week one can be an introduction to a four part strategy, week two tip number two, etc.
Reach Out: I can’t tell you how many organizations I know that DON’T stay in touch with their customers in any way. Even scarier are the ones that don’t keep a database at all. Business and referral relationships are just like your personal ones – they need a little care and attention to stay strong. You should be emailing your database at LEAST once a month. Many speakers and coaches are finding that a once a week or once every other week short & sweet type email bringing followers to a blog post is a great way to stay connected WITHOUT overwhelming them. It’s a great way to reaffirm what you’ve taught from the platform, remind them of upcoming events, share a way to leverage something timely in the news and remind them of YOU all at the same time! A word of caution though: If you’re NEVER emailed them – don’t hit the ground running and email every week. Start once a month and build that conversation and that relationship. Make sure too to have an opt-in on your site with a reason to join so that you are also BUILDING your database. Most email platforms make that integration fairly simple.
So make this the week or month that YOU get back to working ON your business – not just IN it. If you can’t do ALL of these connectivity activities to help you build your business – then start with at least one. If you need help – we’ve got you covered. We can manage your social media and blog for you with packages that can fit any budget. And we’ll even make it FUN for you along the way! Contact me today if you have questions at 813.957.2989.
Take care and have a great week!
