Getting Your Message Out

Getting Your Message Out

Everyone is bombarded with incoming information and advertisements so how do you get your message through?

Marketing text books many years ago said that people need to see your advertisement 7 times before they decide to buy from you.  Definitely it is worth getting your message out to people multiple times so that they know you and remember you.

1 - consider sharing helpful tips which help prove you are an expert

2 - share often

3 - use multiple communication techniques

- in-person

- email

- social media posts

- pictures on social media

- videos on social media and your website

- presentations

4 - be memorable

- being helpful and not just being a pushy sales person helps create a positive image and in many cases a memorable one

- do you have a catchy slogan that people will remember?

- can you help your prospect before they hire you?  Consider inviting them to your business networking group as your free guest.  Consider liking, commenting or sharing one of their social media posts.

- excellent pictures or videos can leave a strong impression

- take the time to connect with people and not just give your sales pitch (have coffee with any prospects; have coffee with any possible referral sources)

5 - be consistent

- Stay focused on your business message and avoid sharing pictures of cute cats or dogs if your business does not involve cats or dogs.  

- Use the same words.  It is amazing when someone else can repeat your 1 minute business introduction and pass your message along.

Remember that a single post is not the magical solution.  Market in different ways and often.  Be sure to stay on topic so that you can be memorable.

Please reach out if you would like a complimentary chat to see how we can help your business.

Cheryl Rankin

www.fitforbusiness.ca

info@fitforbusiness.ca

647-287-0320

20 Tips for 2020

20 Social Media Tips for 2020

1 - Keep your business and personal posts separate.  A few posts that show you have personality are great but if every second post is personal then your target market may get distracted and forget what you do for business.

2 - Build your list.  Posting to 20 people means that only 20 people will see your post - grow your list.

3 - Start a group - use your business name and start a group.

4 - Start a business page - use your business name to start a business page.

5 - Join other groups and review their guidelines.  Can you post tips and hints?  Can you post advertisments?

6 - Join other business pages, especially the ones of business friends who may help share your messages.

7 - When someone asks you to join their group or follow their business page - do it and then send them a private message "I followed your page, please consider following mine at https://www.facebook.com/FitForBusinessConsulting/ "

8 - Be helpful in 9 out of 10 posts.

9 - 10th post can be an advertisement.

10 - Use pictures and /or coloured backgrounds.

11 - Stay positive - if you always complain then you send out negative energy and people prefer to buy from people who are positive.  

12 - Be timely - if it is the holiday season then include that in your post.

13 - Try videos - they can be short and sweet - 2 minutes.  Whether it is a facebook live or a You Tube video link, they add extra energy and attract more viewers  to your post.

14 - like / comment / share - if you help your contacts share their information then they will help share your contact info once in awhile.

15 - Set up an event - you can set up a facebook event and you can invite your contacts to the event.  They will receive an email to the event but may not receive emails for individual posts.

16 - Post regularly - try to post daily.

17 - Post a link to your blog or newsletter articles.

18 - Be sure to remind people to go to your website and sign up for your newsletter.  If the social media site ever closes down you do not want to lose all of your contacts.

19 - Check the inbound messages in your account regularly in case you have a lead.  You can also send private messages to people who seem interested in your posts.

20 - Remember that social media is part of your marketing plan - not your whole marketing plan so you should still meet people in person, phone people and email people individually.  Consider getting a booth at a business tradeshow or a commuity event to introduce your business and use your social media accounts to stay connected and build your business relationships.

Fit For Business can take care of your social media accounts for you.  Call today to get our introductory social media services rates at $60 plus tax a month.

Cheryl Rankin

Business Consultant

Fit For Business

info@fitforbusiness.ca

647-287-0320 

 

Social Media

Social Media -

Everyone is excited about having social media as a way of promoting their business.  Focusing on it as your only source for marketing will limit your options for your business.

In real life when you see a neighbour once in awhile in the winter and you wave at each other -- these moments in time help you stay connected during the cold winter when no one sees their neighbours as often as the summer.  In the summertime, we have BBQs and invite them over; stop and chat in the driveway and even invite each other over for a coffee.  Friendships are built on the longer conversations and chats but the winter waves and quick hellos, help bridge the time in between.

Social media is like the winter bridge - it helps you stay connected with people in between your real life meetings or phone calls.

It is possible to start business relationships on social media websites as well.  In this case, you are best to take the relationship even slower than in real life.  When you interact in a meeting, you can watch for reactions that will help you communicate with the person.  On the phone, we sometimes ask for clarification if we are unsure how the person is reacting.  On social media, most communication is done in slow motion -- one post out and then a reaction could be an hour later or a day later.

I wish there was statistics to guide everyone -- traditional marketing takes approximately 7 marketing touches to get someone to seriously think about buying from you.  Social media interactions need ____ touches to get someone to call you and get serious about buying your product.

So back to the basics - social media should be one part of your marketing plan.  Not your whole plan.  Do not stay hidden by your computer and try to run your business - get out and use other marketing strategies to build up your list and work on the relationships and of course close the deals.



Cheryl Rankin
Fit For Business
647-287-0320

Social Media and Your Business

My goal for social media and my business is:


1 - increase my number of business contacts (mostly in the GTA)


2 - build up my credibility and demonstrate my expertise


3 - create some community




Obviously it is a goal of the majority of businesses to increase the number of contacts so in turn they have more prospects and in the long run more clients.  Just having more friends or followers does not necessarily make it useful.  One twitter contact that I have posts a quote everyday.  The followers of this twitter account (myself included) enjoy and appreciate the quotes.  At no point in the past two years have I noticed the business owners explaining what she does.  It does not matter how many contacts if no one knows what she does.  I also think it is extremely ridiculous to have thousands of contacts in other countries unless there is a chance that you could buy from them; they could buy from you or you could learn from them.  If none of these things are possible then that contact is only a number and is not helping your business.


Building up credibility and demonstrating your expertise is important for almost all businesses.  Even businesses that sell products can demonstrate expertise.  9 out of 10 posts should be helpful - tips, events that your target market may be interested in, product introduction / highlights, and of course staff introduction.  Including articles that you have written in your social media will highlight your knowledge and including articles you find on the internet, in newspapers or magazines highlights the fact that you keep up on the industry.  Documenting your speaking opportunities definitely demonstrates that other people believe and understand that you are an expert.


Community is a big deal when you live in a small town.  The new comer takes awhile before they are accepted.  In the social media world, community can help get your message out to more people.  It is extremely tough to make enough deals to have specific contacts like, share and comment on every post and you in turn comment on theirs -- so you need to post things that people will like, share and comment on without you prompting them every-time.  The posts that seem to get the most attention are the ones that start a discussion.  Post your opinion in a statement and then watch other people react.


If your sole focus on social media is to get sales then it will be a very difficult adventure.  It takes many other factors to build your list, build your credibility and build your community before the sales part becomes easier and more consistent.


If you need help with your social media then call Cheryl Rankin, Fit For Business at 647-287-0320 or email info@fitforbusiness.ca


facebook / linked In / twitter - let's connect!

Building Social Media lists

Building Social Media Lists

 

 

 

Social media seems to be one of the tools small business owners are using to

build their contact lists.  Is a large social media list actually useful or not?

 

 

 

Social Media things to consider -

 

1 - are you connected to people / businesses that are your target market?

 

2 - are you able to service your contacts or are they on another continent?  It is hard to give a massage to someone in Europe if you are in Toronto.

 

3 - does anyone ever 'like' or comment or share your info?

 

4 - is your list growing?

 

5 - is anyone responding to your posts?  calling you / emailing you / signing up for the newsletter / visiting the website

 

 

To build your list

 

1 - follow / connect with people who are your target market

 

2 - follow / connect with people who can help you with tips or articles that you can share with your clients

 

3 - invite / follow people - write a short note with the invite that explains how you found them

 

4 - help other people - "like' or comment on a post when they have an event and help them share the info with more people

 

5 - occassionally ask people to 'like' or comment on your post (private email or phone call)

 

6 - let facebook, linked in or twitter search through your email list for friends / contacts who are on social media and send them an invite (you are already connected to them so why not connect on social media?)

 

7 - go through any new business cards to see who you can connect with on social media

 

 

To make your social medai work for you - call Cheryl

 

Cheryl Rankin

Fit For Business

647-287-0320

info@fitforbusiness.ca

www.fitforbusiness.ca