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.

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Clarity is everything.  People hire, promote and buy from people and companies that

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they know and understand.  How clear are you?  Today’s podcast offers 3 ways to get clear on your brand.

Are you clear on your company, organization or personal brand?  Brand clarity is critical to growth, efficiency and budgeting.

Below are some signs that you may not be clear on your brand:

• Do you struggle to articulate what your company sells?
• Are you unsure of what makes your company/organization (or self) stand out?
• Do you waste a lot of money on marketing?
• Are you not sure what to say “yes” to or what to say “no” to?
• Do you find yourself offering various products or services with no clear connection to your brand?
• Do you struggle to know or understand your target audience?

If you answered yes to 3 or more of these statements, you may need more clarity.

Why is clarity important? 

Below are just a few reasons why everyone should focus on brand clarity and revisit it in their marketing and branding strategy regularly:

If you need any assistance, feel free to reach out to me for a strategy session!

P.S. Have you missed some of my other newsletters? To catch up on my blogs and writing, visit my website and blog by clicking here. Or if you are not following me on IG or Facebook, be sure to click the link and follow me to stay updated!

So, have you taken advantage of the latest features of Instagram and Facebook Stories.  There has been a huge increase in viewership and use of the “Stories” features on Facebook and Instagram.  As a brand owner, you should find ways to make it work for you.  (Key point: always notice trends and think of how to use it for your brand.)  How can a small business, or solopreneur use this feature to increase their marketing and branding?

Below are 6 ways to use Stories for your branding and marketing:

1.) Authenticity:  Authenticity is key to growing your brand.  Your audience wants to

connect with you.  With Stories, you can provide behind the scenes photos or videos of your product or work, or provide a tour of your office space or business.  But don’t limit it to just your business.  What are other aspects of your life that are connected to your business and brand that you can also highlight?  Use Stories to add more authenticity to your brand.

3.) Ask Questions: Instagram has a poll feature.  What questions are you dying to ask your followers?  Simple questions that can give you more insights on future products, services or trends?  Aside from learning more about your followers, it is yet another way to connect with your audience.  People like being asked their opinion.  Use the poll feature to connect to your audience and gather more opinions.

4.) Give More Value: Do you know why they choose you and follow you?  What do they like about you?  Whatever that is – give them more of it in Stories.  Teach or talk about an important piece of your business.  Show them how to do something that will make their lives easier.  This will keep them clicking on your stories.

5.) Give them Directions:  What do you want your audience to do?  What do you need more of to grow you brand?  Use the  Stories feature to tell them.  Often as brand owners, we expect our audience to know what to do. But Stories is a great way to point your audience in the right direction.  Call to Actions (CTA’s) are great in Stories.  If you want them to click on the link and buy or register, tell them.  If you want them to listen, tell them and show them.  If you want them to watch your video, lead the way.

6.) Gain more followers:  On Instagram, always use hashtags!  Hashtags and IG go together. It helps create and pulls together your community and followers.  In addition to using hashtages, have fun with the colors, arrows, gifs and the other cool features of Instagram.

These are small things that you are most likely doing already as part of your marketing and branding.  The key is to take it to Stories and do in consistently.  The key is to not overthink it.  Keep it fun, simple, inspiriting and entertaining. You will slowly begin to see your audience increase and your current followers become more engaged with your brand.

If you need assistance with using IG or help with your branding or marketing, feel free to contact me.