So many organizations and businesses spend a lot of time and money in hosting events, but do not see the results they would like.
In today’s podcast, I offer 3 ways to grow your business through events.
Working From Home, but Always On: Personal Branding Tips for Video Conference Meetings
Below are a few tips to remember before jumping on a video call with your team or a client.
1.) Look Behind You. When setting up your work space, look at what your viewers will see behind you. We are human; therefore, we will be distracted. Does your background represent what you would want your clients and colleagues to remember about you? Take a moment to create an atmosphere that serves your professional brand and values, or choose a simple, clean wall background. The some video conferencing platforms will allow users to choose a background. Choose wisely. The bottom line is that you do not want your background or surroundings to be so distracting that people are not able to pay attention to the value you are offering during the call.
With our current crisis, many of us are faced with new work from home (“wfh”) strategies and routines. Video conferencing has been an essential component to working effectively. However, are we putting our best foot forward when jumping on a call with colleagues and clients? With so many team meetings and work being done via video conference, it is still important to be professional and consider your personal brand.
2.) Professional Grooming. Although most people are more relaxed right now, we should be careful not to be too relaxed. We are not on vacation, we are still working. When you show up for work on a video call, be sure you still are well groomed and casually professional. A disheveled team member and can result in less trust and credibility from a client or colleague.
3.) Know Your Angles. Understanding the best camera placement is important. The wrong placement can be awkward, and again distracting. I was recently on a video call and one of the participants had the camera very low on the ground, with the camera facing up… sigh. Try to place the camera as close to eye-level or shoulder-level as possible.
4.) Let Your Light Shine. Lighting is important on video calls. You want viewers to see you and not a dark shadow. Make sure the majority of the light is behind the camera or side light for the best lighting. Natural light is always best. Also, take a moment to clean your camera to ensure there is not dust or a fog on the camera.
5.) Hit that Mute Button. As soon as you enter the video conference, be sure you are familiar with where the mute button is located and able to use it. When you are not speaking, as a courtesy, stay on mute. There are noises around you that you are likely not aware is happening. Microphones will pick up typing, movement, sirens, etc. In addition, when it is time for you to contribute to the call, you want to be able to do this seamlessly.
6.) Eat and Drink Later. Just as we would not likely come to a client meeting with a large Big Gulp fountain drink or eat a full course dinner during a meeting, be discreet with eating and drinking on video calls. It can be distracting to see someone turning up a bottle or struggling to keep lettuce from dropping on his or her lap.
7.) Join the Party. If the majority of the team is joining via video, try your best to also join via video. Try to avoid being the team member that decided to not turn on video and only join via audio. Engaging and showing a friendly face is important during these times when people are craving connection.
These are just a few fun and practical tips to remember when jumping on a video call and remaining professional during this time of working from home.
Let me know if any of these tips were helpful to you.
Podcast:When You Don’t Know What to Post on Social Media
So many people get stuck on they type of content to post for their business or organization. This podcat will provide you with a few ideas on the type of content to post.
Tips & Tricks to Facebook
Facebook. It is still around and still relevant, specifically for a specific age group or brands that have significant content. This social media platform continues to be the standard. However, like other social media platforms, the algorithms continue to change and throw us off. If you have a brand, business page or fan page, knowing best practices of Facebook is critical.
Below are some tips and tricks on how to work with Facebook algorithms.
1.) Engage. I know we have heard this many times, but it important. Think of Facebook 
like a person… you can’t expect them to “like” you or show your page, if you only come to talk about yourself and leave. Set a timer and spend time liking and commenting on other posts. Facebook is watching.
2.) Respond. This is another one that seems obvious.. but when people comment on your posts (personal or business) respond back. The longer a post stays “active” – the longer Facebook will keep it living on the feed.
3.) Good Content. Most of us believe all our content is good – right? But Facebook favors those posts that actually engage others and add value or education. Posts that are simply selling product or services – with no real value – FB will not promote as much. Their goal and mission is to create conversations among users.
4.) Live Video. Seriously. If you are a brand and not doing some sort of video (specifically live) you are missing out. This is one of the best ways to generate engagement and work with Facebook’s algorithms. It supports the essence of who they are… engagement. So they will continue to keep video (lives) on the feed.
5.) Be careful with links. So here’s the tricky think with Facebook… it wants you to keep people on their platform. So when you do too many links encouraging people to go away from Facebook, it hurts engagement. This is not for every post that includes a link – but if you review your business page and notice all your content is sending people away from FB, develop a new strategy.
So there we have it – five Facebook tips and tricks for you. The important thing to remember is to see Facebook as a friend; would your friend like you if you never said thank you when they said “nice outfit”? Would you want a friend to come to your house for a party and then ask everyone to go somewhere else? Remember the goals of FB and learn to work WITH the algorithms and not against them.
Which Social Media Platform Is Best for You?
I know… social media can be daunting.
Today, there are so many social media platforms. In addition, there are so many features ON each platform. It all can be overwhelming.
However, if you are in business, a solopreneur, author or speaker, social media is a 
necessity. It is the fastest way to reach your audience, establish your voice and create a brand. It is a critical vehicle for promoting your products and services and taking your brand to the next level.
But which platform should you use? Below are a few tips when figuring out which platform to use:
1.) Focus on One. Yes, I’m on several social media platforms, however, I put most of my energy and strategic efforts on one platform. You will make more impact and can dig deeper instead of going wider.
2.) Know Your Audience. Once you know your audience and what they really want, then you can make a decision about where to plant your social media feet. Some platforms are more visual, some rely on more content. How does your audience consume information? What do they want?
3.) Clarity Comes from Action. Your audience may be in several places. So if you are confused and realize they are all over the place, choose one platform and keep going. Stay consistent with one. You just need to put in the work and the effort… every day.
4.) How Do You Communicate? Perhaps you are not a writer and very short with words, but you like video – then you will know that YouTube is critical for your brand and communicating to your audience. Think about what works for YOU, your strengths and how you most effectively communicate.
If you are struggling with your social media platform choice and need to talk it out, feel free to contact me for a complimentary 15 minute session and let’s CONNECT!! Or perhaps you need a clarity session because you are unaware of your target audience or how you best communicate, contact me!
The Magic of Having Clarity
Life can get so busy, with a million distractions every day. These constant distractions can easily lead to a lack of clarity in our life, business and even relationships.
Each time I engage with a new client, my primary objective, despite their business or industry, solopreneur, author, minister or executive, is to help them find brand clarity.
What is Brand Clarity?
Brand clarity is the core values, feeling and purpose of your brand, whether it is your personal brand, business or organization. Once you are aware of your brand, your values, your purpose, your why… it is critical to make sure this is communicated throughout your brand consistently.
Why is Clarity Needed?
Confidence. I am convinced, that true clarity equals confidence. And when you have confidence, you also have courage. Just imagine where your business or career would be if you had ultimate confidence in yourself, your business and your brand. The things you would do, the people . you would approach and where you would network. How big would you dream? What would you go for? The words you would say to yourself. It would be the ultimate courage, right?
Storytelling. Brand clarity is also needed to to tell your story to your clients and customers. Storytelling is the foundation of branding. Have you ever heard someone tell a story and get lost in the details, miss the punchline or critical points to the story. You tune out, right? The story becomes less interesting and the storyteller loses credibility. You should know your story, connect your dots and tell it in a concise and interesting way.
Personality. You also need brand clarity because people buy from people. A buyer wants to fall in love with YOU. Your brand needs a personality and style. This comes out in your logo, your colors and even your content. But when you are not sure of who you are and your core values, then you may communicate several different messages and voices. You will talk too much, to too many people, in too many different ways. This creates confusion. When there is no clarity – people either do not buy or take longer to buy. Let the personality and style of your brand shine.
Time & Money. When you are clear in your branding (or any aspect of your life), you can easily make decisions. You know what to say “no” to and who to align with, which events to attend, where to invest your time and money.
Clarity is priceless. Take the time to find clarity with your brand, business, career, relationships and even your money. When you are clear, things change.
If you are struggling to find clarity, consider a session with me. Sometimes we are too close to our brand to see it clearly. Feel free to contact me for a session.
Tips on Managing Your Mailing List
So many of us spent time trying to figure out why our photos were not loading on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. This isn’t the first time major social media platforms crashed. It is happening more often, including issues with security and data privacy. This is one of the reasons why brand owners, companies and organizations cannot solely rely on social media to communicate with their audiences, nor rely only on social media for their marketing strategy. 
Below are some tips for managing your mailing list:
1.) Offer value. No one wants another email in their crowded inbox. However, the right audience is always looking for value. What kind of value can you offer in your newsletter.
2.) Collect Emails. Think of every communication you have with new contacts, whether it is at an event, trade show, answering questions or a transaction, make sure you collect email addresses.
3.) Focus on Quality. It’s easy to get caught up in the number of people joining the mailing list. However, the key is to focus on the quality of the contacts. Not everyone will be interested in what you have to offer. Getting quality contacts, even if it’s a low number, should be the goal.
4.) Make it Easy. Make everything easy for you customers and clients, this includes signing up for the newsletter. There are different ways to sign-up, but be sure to only capture information that is needed. Resist the temptation to have a long sign up form. Keep it simple.
5.) Don’t Ignore Them. It doesn’t matter how many people are on your list, take care of them and speak to them. Decide how often you want to communicate and provide value to your list and remain consistent.
If you need assistance with your marketing or branding strategy, please let me know. I would love to help you.
Was this article helpful? If so, let me know or be sure to share.
Get Your Business Ready for Summer
Summer is almost here! Yay!
Time for vacations and to slow it down a little. But hey, don’t slow it down too much. This is the time to build your pipeline so that you can finish strong in 2019. Time to think about what you will offer and sell for the holidays.
So how do you build a pipeline?
Below are some quick tips on building your pipeline to create momentum in your business for the rest of the year.
1.) Focus on a Few. You may have been doing mass marketing all year – social media, 
public speaking, etc. Who stood out during your efforts? Were some potential clients more engaged than others? If so, focus on those people for the rest of the year. What do they need? What services can you provide?
2.) Create Your Bag of Tricks. What are those things of VALUE that you can offer to your customers or potential customers that don’t require a lot for you to create? Perhaps its an audit or a top ten list. Create 3-5 “trick” or value adds that you use to create more relationships with your current or new audience.
3.) Use Your Referrals. Referrals are sooo important in growing your business. Using your referrals is a brilliant marketing strategy. Be sure to take time to put your referrals on your mailing list, check on them, talk to them, engage with them. The more they trust you, the more they will talk about you.
Don’t let the summer pass you by! If business is slow, that is the time to focus on marketing and growing your pipeline.
Podcast: How to Show Up for Yourself in Marketing and Branding
On today’s podcast, I offer three ways you can show up for yourself when marketing your brand. Marketing can be vulnerable. But there are ways to conquer it and do 
marketing with CONFIDENCE. Check out today’s podcast and SHOW UP for yourself.
Podcast: How to Smash Those Goals – 3 Tips for Goal setting
Many of us struggle with setting goals. When you are unable to set goals properly, it is 
difficult to grow your career, business or your brand.
In today’s podcast, I provide three of my favorite tips for goal setting.
