7 Tips for Seeking Out and Seducing the Best Influencers to Love Your Brand

The influencer marketing gold rush is underway, and recent surveys confirm that budgets are continuing to grow in this area. Unfortunately, when a lot of money is headed in one direction so quickly, some of it gets thrown out the window. To avoid wasting your budget, it's more important than ever to form relationships with the right industry influencers.

Through mistakes and many lessons, I've learned that remembering these seven things can help you seek out and attract the best influencers to become long-term advocates for your brand:

1. The best influencers aren't always well-known.

Sometimes, higher-profile influencers are in the business for themselves. They've had people cater to them for years and expect you to bend over backward for them, too. For example, one of my more well-known relationships emailed me on a holiday weekend just days after my daughter's birth to ask me to do something for him. That's not a healthy relationship. But lesser-known influencers usually aren't sidetracked by self-promotion or fame, which makes them more likely to become true brand advocates for you.

2. The one thing influencers love more than money is more influence.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

Influencers are naturally attracted to influence, so do everything you can to build your own influence before seeking partnerships with them. In your own content strategy, do what you can to include these influencers in your work. Source their content, quote them in an article on your blog, mention them in your speeches, etc. My approach is to draw attention to those outside influencers who deserve more influence--those who are leaders and experts in their industries. As a result, I've formed solid relationships with many of these people.

3. Seek out influencers who are helpful people.

In one conversation with someone, I'm able to determine whether he or she is a helpful person. Helpful people listen to you and lend a hand because it's the right thing to do. They value the relationship and want you to succeed--and that makes them great influencers to work with. But if ego is involved or they clearly have an agenda, they probably won't help you unless there's something in it for them.

4. Earn the relationship before you pay.

Think about this: If you pay somebody $10,000 to be your best friend for six months and then ask him to stay your best friend even if you can't pay him again, do you think he'll be there for you? No. You should do all you can to naturally earn an influencer relationship before spending thousands of dollars to buy it. (Note: Sometimes, you have to pay up if there's no option, but at least attempt to earn it first.)

5. Make sure they actually have influence.

One of my friends who consistently shares my content on Twitter has about 250,000 followers. Fortunately, there are tools to help me track engagement, and I can see that almost no one interacts with our brand or my content when this person shares my content. However, I have another friend with about 5,000 followers on Twitter, and some kind of opportunity always comes when this person shares my content. Don't be fooled by the perception of influence.

6. Care about people beyond what they can do for your business.

One of our clients, John Ruhlin, is one of the leading appreciation specialists in the U.S. He and I had lunch recently, and I told him that my wife was having a birthday party. From the same conversation, he remembered a certain type of gift he once gave us that I told him my wife really enjoyed. On the day of her party, that gift arrived at my doorstep with a handwritten note to say happy birthday and that he appreciated our friendship. John Ruhlin is cemented in my mind as someone who cares about me beyond what I can do for his business and vice versa. And in return, I'll probably always be an advocate for him.

7. Remember the small things.

Just like any relationship, the small things matter most. The other day, I noticed that Jay Baer received his speaker's certification. Jay's received a lot of recognition in different ways as an influencer, but this time, he was being recognized for all the hours he's spent on planes and speaking to people and the positive reviews he's received for putting the time in. Right away, I sent him a personal note to congratulate him. I like to do small things like this for people because when someone does something small for me, it always sticks out.

Influencer marketing will only continue to grow, and it's up to you to make sure your budget is spent on building the best relationships with the right influencers. Whether it's mentioning an influencer on your blog or sending a small message about an accomplishment, it's important for you to build trust and stay top of mind in the right way to seduce influencers into becoming your long-term brand advocates.

Source : http://on.inc.com/2b0QZSC

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3 things you're doing on Facebook that make people dislike you immediately

We all love to hate the Facebook friends who use their status updates to describe in detail the almond crunch granola they had for breakfast. 

But as it turns out, that's only the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of habits that can turn off your Facebook friends and potential friends, even on a subconscious level.

Below, we've highlighted three common, research-backed Facebook behaviors that people find off-putting.

1. Sharing too many photos 

You may want to think twice before posting a dozen photos of your baby niece taking her first steps.

In one study, researchers looked at the Facebook behavior of about 500 people around age 24. They asked them to fill out questionnaires about the quality of their relationships with different people in their lives: friends, close friends, colleagues, relatives, partners, and general Facebook friends. 

Then they asked participants to indicate how often those people posted everything from selfies, to family photos, to pictures of friends on Facebook. 

Two interesting findings emerged. One, people tend to have less supportive, intimate relationships with family members when they post lots of photos of friends. And two, people tend to have less supportive, intimate relationships with friends when they post lots of photos of family.

In other words, instead of releasing that baby photo to the masses, consider texting it to your sister instead.

As study co-author Ben Marder, Ph.D., put it: "Be cautious when sharing and think how it will be perceived by all the others who may see it. Although sharing is a great way to better relationships, it can also damage them." 

2. Having too many or too few Facebook friends 

Consider taking the time to prune your Facebook friend list — or to add some more connections if that list is looking sparse. Research suggests there are perils to having too many or too few friends. 

In one study, researchers asked about 150 college students to look at fictional Facebook profiles and decide how much they liked the profiles' owners. The study took place in 2008, and the students had an average of 395 friends each.

Results showed that the "sweet spot" for likability was about 300 friends. Likability ratings were lowest when a profile owner had only about 100 friends, and almost as low when they had more than 300 friends.

As for why 300-plus friends could be a turn-off, the study authors write, "Individuals with too many friends may appear to be focusing too much on Facebook, friending out of desperation rather than popularity."

On the other hand, the researchers acknowledge that if you look at a population where the most common number of Facebook friends is 1,000, the sweet spot for likability could be 1,000.

Keep in mind, though, that one survey found that the average number of Facebook friends among adult users was 338 in 2014.

Interestingly, the study also found that participants weren't consciously aware that they liked people less when they had too many or too few Facebook friends. 

3. Posting a close-up profile photo

It doesn't matter how gorgeous you are — it's somewhat awkward to post a profile photo in which there's barely any space between your face and the camera.

In one small study, 45 participants looked at grayscale photos of 18 unfamiliar white men, displayed on a computer. They were asked to rate each person on trustworthiness, competence, and attractiveness.

Results showed that faces photographed from within what the researchers call “personal space” (45 centimeters, or about 1.5 feet) were rated lower on all measures than faces photographed from at least 135 centimeters, or about 4.5 feet, away.

Bottom line: It's easy to thoughtlessly post an entire photo album or send friend requests to your entire company — but doing so can have some negative consequences for your relationships. So be as cautious online as you are in crafting your persona IRL.

Source : http://read.bi/1Sh0CuT

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5 Super-Simple Social Media Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners

Using Social Media for business is like anything else you use online to increase your business, you need to learn how to use it properly to achieve the best results. Social Media is a powerhouse of lead generation and brand building; but also not using it wisely can give you problems you don’t need.

Taking that into consideration, below is some Social Media tips you can follow and hopefully soon Social Media will become one of your most used tools for lead generation and keeping in touch with your customers.

1 - What To Post And Where To Post:

Try to keep controversial topics off the Social Media accounts you use for business. The only exception would be if the controversial topic pertained to your industry. In that case, that would be a great opportunity for you to brand yourself as an expert by posting relevant and interesting comments on the topic.

2 - Post To Social Media Consistently:

Keep your posting consistent so your visitors know they can come back for new information anytime. Not only that, Google and other search engines seek new and relevant information to give their visitors and each post you create on any social media site will get indexed.  If you can’t keep up with posting, there are many freelancer sites you can search (freelancer.com, fiverr.com, hirewriters.com), to find ready and able writers that will help with the task of posting at very affordable prices.

3 - Use Keywords In Your Post:

As mentioned above, your posts become indexed by Search Engines. For example; when you post your short blurbs on Twitter, that ‘Tweet’ becomes an indexed page almost instantly! So you want to use keywords that pertain to your business, and you need to be clever and put the keywords in relevant sentences. If you are not sure what that means consider hiring a professional writer to help you.

4 - Keep your Social Media Profiles Complete & Up To Date:

Make sure you have your Social Media profiles complete. Social Media profiles are opportunities for you to share your website address, hours of operation, location, and contact info. They are also great for boasting an impressive ‘About Us’ paragraph or two. Hire a writer if you have no idea how to write an effective ‘About Us’ description.  Make sure your info is accurate: There is no easier way to lose business by displaying a phone number that is out of service!

5 - Don’t ‘Sell’ On Social Media:

You need to be stealth like with your sales pitches on Social Media. People get turned off by blatant marketing and Social Media is an escape for many of us during the day. Post helpful advice and tips for your Social Media followers – this keeps your visitors engaged while supporting your image as an expert in your field.  Then post sales, specials, and links to your website last and fewer in between.

Be positive and helpful on Social Media, use common sense, and you will find great success promoting your business using Social Media!

Source : http://bit.ly/1Rdfjyu

7 Worst Mistakes That Are Eating Up Your Content Marketing Success

We’re all rushing to create piles and piles of content to serve our customers, upkeep an online image, and create more brand awareness. Despite that, few organizations have it really figured out when it comes to content marketing. The people they’ve targeted aren’t “taking action”. Visitors come and go and analytics aren’t as great as they should be. What could have gone wrong??

Content marketing is a tricky game and unfortunately, there are a number of ways you could mess up your content marketing success. Here are some of the worst and most common mistakes made by content marketers that you should avoid making.

• Not Writing up Your Goals and Plans: First of all, you need have clear goals and content marketing strategies to begin with. Secondly, you need to make sure you outline and document and every single one of these goals on paper. The importance of taking this step is to have a clear idea of what worked, what didn’t work, how long it took to work, etc. Not only will you know which goals to focus on currently, but you will also have clear idea of when to change your methods and stick to the ones that are actually working.

• Not Being Consistent: Whether you are writing up blog posts, uploading a fresh stream of videos, or promoting a new product, it has to be consistent! They say consistency is the key – and in this case, it couldn’t be put more accurately. It takes months, maybe even several years, to create regular fans of content and not being consistent means that you’re not being predictable enough for your loyal fans to come back regularly.

• Not Providing Value: If you’re too focused on sales and conversions, you’re missing the point. Content marketing cannot be all about your company and fulfilling company needs. Agreed, that this is the “ultimate goal”, however, that’s not how it should seem to your online visitors. Get rid of excessively promotional content because that is a major turn off for an online audience. Instead, focus on providing value to customers by knowing exactly what they care about. What issues, challenges, and problems does this target audience face? What makes them tick? Choose those topics and write inspiring content that somehow solves, addresses, or capitalizes on these issues, ideas, or topics.

• Choosing Only One Form of Content: Sharing inspirational blog posts is definitely a plus for content marketing, but since online visitors are particularly fond of diversity, it’s not always enough. The idea behind content marketing is not only to craft large chunks of text, contrary to what many amateurs may think. Quality content can be in the form of videos, images, infographics, and other forms of visual content. A large portion of online visitors prefer visual content to readable forms content. By ignoring that lump of potential visitors, you run the risk of alienating them completely.

• Participating on Every Social Media Platform: Believe it or not, but content marketers actually run the risk of damaging business reputation by signing up for more networks than they can manage.Trying to occupy as much “social media space” as possible is an overwhelming and ineffective strategy. Not every social media platform is best for a particular business.  Instead, start out with just one or two social media network(s). Give some time, thought, and consideration to answer questions such as, “How does this platform contribute to my end goals?” and “where would I expect to find my target audience?” Pick one that fits the needs of your business and customers best. Posting frequently and consistently on those selected networks is important to ensure that your customers stay in the loop.

• Ignoring Your Customer’s Questions: Ask yourself what could your target audience want to know—not from About.com or Wikipedia—but from you and you only? These are the topics, problems, or questions you should be addressing. For example, if your business provides auto-repair service to customers, you may write about the latest car event, which is fine. But there are some crucial questions your customers may have about your business which should be a number one priority. For example, they might want to know about your service plans, how long a certain repair service would take, or who you’ve partnered with for your products. Never ignore this type of useful, valuable, and audience-oriented content.

• Promoting Only Once: There is no rule that says you have to share a certain piece of content only once. Given that your subscribers could be following tons of other individuals as well, there is no guarantee that your message has been heard by all of your followers. Consequently, there is nothing wrong with giving your blog post or video a second or third round. Share it in different ways on different times, using different platforms. Share it again a month later. There’s no reason to put down a valuable piece of content just because has already been shared once.

Source : http://bit.ly/1QNjAZ9

5 Ways Tech Startups Can Save Money

 For a tech startup, one of the biggest challenges you face is, well, starting up. Getting out of the gates and developing your first product or selling your first service takes money – something most young entrepreneurs don’t have a lot of floating around. 

The good news is that you don’t need unlimited resources. With a little strategic ingenuity and common sense, you can reduce your upfront costs, save money, and better position your startup for long-term success. Here are a handful of methods:

1. Run a Virtual Office

If you’re really serious about saving money, you’ll learn to do without a traditional office with a hefty rent. There’s no reason a fresh startup needs a physical location. Depending on where you’re located, even a small office could run you anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars each month. By running a virtual office – or setting up workspaces in your own home – you can get just as much work done without the added expenses. Don’t forget, office space also calls for insurance, taxes, utilities, and other overhead expenses.

From a marketing and advertising perspective, you probably don’t need physical space. A domain name, website, and really good hosting should do the trick. If you run a virtual office for a few months and discover that you absolutely have to have a physical office, then you can start your search. “Should you need to expand your business to accommodate for staff and expansion, there will always be locations for rent and purchase,” says Zac Johnson on Credibly.com.

2. Hire Freelancers and Independent Contractors

Wouldn’t it be great to have a company full of motivated employees getting paid full salaries and benefits? Certainly! However, that’s not the best strategy for a startup – even if it fits into your budget. In today’s economy, there are ample opportunities to hire freelancers and independent contractors. And while these job titles may have come with negative connotations in decades past, many of today’s most talented professionals label themselves as freelancers or independent contractors.

The great thing about contractors is that you pay them for their output. If you don’t need them for a month, you don’t have to pay them for that month. They scale as you scale, and you’re not responsible for benefits or taxes. It’s extremely advantageous and allows you to develop business relationships outside of your business.

3. Rethink Automated Subscriptions

How many subscription services do you have? We’re talking about industry periodicals, software programs, online programs, website memberships, etc. The problem with these services is that they automatically rebill each month and you don’t even think twice about paying them, when the truth is many aren’t necessary.

Just ask serial entrepreneur Matt Mickiewicz about his experiences with recurring subscription services. “In the past we’ve uncovered a mobile phone account that no one had used for six months, a website optimization service that was overbilling us, and a CRM that we had switched away from months prior,” he said.

Set a goal – let’s say $100 – and see if you can eliminate unnecessary subscriptions adding up to this amount. While $100 a month may not seem like a lot, it adds up to more than $1,000 over the course of a year. What could your business do with an extra $1,000 laying around?

4. Buy Used

As a startup, you should never think about buying anything brand new. You don’t need expensive furniture, top of the line equipment, and shiny accessories. Instead, buy quality used items that work well and hold their value.

Think of it like a car. While there is a faction of people that buy new vehicles, the large majority prefer used cars. That’s because a new vehicle loses roughly 11 percent of its value as soon as it’s driven off the lot. Why pay that premium when you can find a gently used version at a much lower price point? The same is true for office equipment, machinery, furniture, etc. Buy used and stash away the savings.

5. Trade Services with Other Companies

Many successful startups make a habit out of bartering with other startups. For example, a restaurant startup may offer free food to a new accounting firm down the street that’s willing to meet with them for one hour each week. It’s a win-win for both businesses. Are there startups, or even established businesses in your area that would be willing to barter? It’s worth a try.

Operate Within Your Means

You’ll often hear people say it’s smart to “live within your means.” Well, it’s also smart for a business to operate within its means. This looks like spending smartly and saving money whenever possible. With these five tips, it’s easy to see that saving money isn’t as challenging as it may initially seem.

Source : http://bit.ly/1NPTjM7

Social media isn’t just for youngsters anymore, new research finds

While senior citizens are often perceived as lost and uninterested when it comes to social media, new Pew Research Center data suggests that social media isn’t just for 18 to 29-year-olds. Although young adults do make up the age group most likely to use social media, 35 percent of seniors (65 and older) are not only using social media, but state they are comfortable with it.

When compared to the 90 percent of young adults utilizing social media on a regular basis, 35 percent might seem low. But that is not at all so if you consider that in 2010, only 11 percent of seniors used social media, and 2 percent did in 2005.

One explanation for the growth is the increasing use of mobile devices among seniors. Other explanations include workplace requirements, and the ability to connect with friends and loved ones — especially when family members don’t live nearby. Social networking, in general, is also impossible to avoid considering the popularity of Facebook, which now includes nearly 1.5 billion users and still accounts for a large chunk of time spent on digital media.

It isn’t just this demographic that is increasing, either. According to the Pew Research study, overall social media use has increased across nearly all groups between 2005 and 2015. 

The group showing the most growth includes non-college graduates, increasing from just 4 percent in 2005 to 54 percent in 2015. And, in the past, while men were more likely to use social media than women, the numbers are now nearly even, with 68 percent of women and 62 percent of men reporting.

The survey found, however, that people with lower levels of education and lower incomes are still less likely to use social media.

Of those with a high school diploma or less, 54 percent say they partake, versus 76 percent of those with higher-education degrees and 70 percent of those with some college education.

When looking at households with incomes of less than $30,000, 56 percent say they use social media, versus 78 percent for those with more than $75,000. Still, even in these groups, the numbers have increased sharply since 2005.

Source : http://bit.ly/1NKd0VD

7 essentials for gauging the real value of PR and social media

Despite what we've said elsewhere about the difficulty of determining ROI for PR and social media, gauging the value of what you do is eminently doable and highly recommended. You just have to do it right.

Follow these seven steps, and your calculations will resonate with your top executives:

1. Count all costs.

Calculate ROI as an accountant or CFO would: Use "all in" costs. Take into account all costs, not just your paid ad spending or what your agency billed you. Factor in internal time and resources, as well as any miscellaneous expenses and, of course, salaries. It's better to be accurate and transparent than appear to be fudging your numbers.

2. Be conservative with your counting.

Always err on the downside. You don't want to appear to be massaging numbers to make them look good, so take the low end of any estimate on the "results." Be conservative; let senior leaders do the inflating if they want to.

3. Explain everything.

Even if it seems obvious to you as a professional communicator, it will not be as obvious to those green-eyeshade guys. We throw around terms that CFOs may never have heard of. So make sure you can explain your "engagement index" or "quality index" to your mother before you bring it to a meeting. Always include that explanation on any chart that has an index.

4. Make sure the value matches the objectives and/or goals.

There is no point in demonstrating value in terms of leads if the goal was to change perceptions. Make sure that whatever value you are assigning reflects the goals of the program. Just as important, the value you are claiming must be relevant to the priority stakeholders or business objectives. So if saving money isn't a priority (and I've worked for clients for whom it hasn't been), then measuring cost efficiency won't be perceived as a value.

5. Don't try to measure a long-term strategy with short-term value.

Increasingly, social media is being dismissed as "not worth it" or seen as lacking a sufficient payout. The problem with this thinking is that, done correctly, social media can build long-term value in customer relationships, trust, forgiveness, enhanced perceptions and recruitment—none of which is measured by "likes," pins or follows. If the goal is building relationships, then you should measure that over time. If the goal is to sell stuff instantly, then social media probably isn't your best bet. (Hint: Email has been shown to be more effective in that regard.)

6. Don't use the lingo of accountants to articulate social change.

Unless you've done the math, borrowing the lingo of accountants will not help you articulate value to your senior management or board. Quite the opposite is true. If you use the term ROI improperly, you are very likely to confuse and frustrate your organization's leaders.

7. Don't fall for the "ROI" excuse.

Communications skeptics use "What's the ROI?" or "What's the dollar return we can expect?" as ways to resist new campaigns or any sort of change. They question the true value of these programs and seek a convenient way to reject them.

If you are feeling cocky, you might reply by asking whether they know the ROI of the potted plants in the lobby, or whether they demand precise ROI analyses for their lunches with potential big clients or donors.

The point is that ROI cannot be easily calculated for many investments, but that doesn't mean they are bad investments. So don't automatically accept "What's the ROI?" as a legitimate critique of a program that you propose. Be prepared for this tactic by presenting the value of your proposal in terms that are closely aligned with the social change and/or financial goals of the organization.

Source : http://bit.ly/1RIIaLr

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5 Lessons Young Entrepreneurs Mostly Learn the Hard Way

Starting a business is hard, and the difficulties often are compounded when you’re a young person beginning the entrepreneurial journey. There are many moving parts and resources you need but may not have access to.

Here is some advice I wish I would have known as a young entrepreneur.

1. You don’t know everything.

Young people, in general, struggle with a know-it-all complex. We may hear advice but too quickly dismiss it because we think we know what we should be doing. This can be a huge mistake.

Not all advice is beneficial, but wisdom from those that have gone before us is invaluable. No one can go back in time but learning from other entrepreneur’s mistakes is one way for us to avoid potential roadblocks. Be willing to at least listen and see if the advice can be beneficial for your business.

2. Don’t waste money on material possessions.

It feels good to own nice things. There’s nothing wrong with a nice place to live or a cool car, but material possessions will come and go. You can’t take them with you when you die. Eventually, they will bore you.

Entrepreneurship offers you benefits that extend far beyond the material. The chance to live a life of freedom and make an impact in people’s lives is priceless. The chance to live a life free of financial stress and to see the world is worth more than what you drive. Save your money and spend it on the things that you’ll look back on later in life and smile about. Choose experience over stuff.

3. Filter who you let in your life.

Who you allow in your life will either help or hurt what you’re trying to create. Negative people will feed into your doubt, fear, and self-limiting beliefs. Starting a business is hard enough without someone looking over your shoulder and pointing out what they think is “realistic.” Surround yourself with people who will lift you up and be the support you need to push through failure.

4. Stay humble.

Success can be something that encourages you to keep going, or it can go to your head. Having people share what you do and send you emails saying how great you are can easily make you think you’re bigger than you actually are. People connect with an entrepreneur they know, like, and trust. When you go around bragging about how great you are or how much money you’ve made, you will repel people.

5. Embrace what makes you unique.

Many young entrepreneurs waste time trying to be like someone they look up to. They conclude the key to their success is copying another successful entrepreneur. It’s not. When someone wants to do business, they will hire or buy from the original, not the clone.

People want to connect with you. They want to hear what you have to say and see how you can make a difference in their life. Embrace what makes you an entrepreneur. Dig deep and be honest. Just because a strategy or tactic worked for someone else rarely assures it will work for you.

Being an entrepreneur is hard, but it’s worth the struggle. You get the opportunity to live life on your terms and spend your time doing what is important to you. To get to that place of freedom, absorb these lessons from someone who’s been there.

 Your future is bright and full of opportunities that didn’t exist before social media and the Internet. Take full advantage by spending time each day learning what you don’t know.

Source : http://entm.ag/1LuQTeR