Imagine Your Reality

In the previous two posts, I focused on identifying your audience and your business model. After you’ve done these two steps, your next step is to focus on learning what your audience needs. Ideally, you already know this since you have clients you are taking care of, but it doesn’t hurt to spend some time checking in on what they need.

First spend sometime writing down key words and phrases that you believe sum up the need that your business meets. You can also include words that you believe people would use to search for your business. You want to think about this in term of need, because what you’re doing is solving a problem of some form or another for the people who are your clients. They may like your service, but what they love is that a problem is being solved.

Next, ask some existing clients what need it is that your service or product fulfills for them. See if what they say matches up to the words you’ve already used to describe the need your business fulfills.  You might also ask them at the time, how well you fulfill their needs and/or what complaints they have. Your reason for asking that question is to learn how to be more proactive with your customer service, a must for using social media for marketing your business.

Finally, compare what you wrote with what your clients told you and determine if there is a trend toward using certain phrases or words to describe what your business does. You’ll then want to get on Twitter or Facebook and search for those same words to see if people on social media sites are using them in context to the problem your business solves. If they are then you can use those phrases for your SEO, and also for finding people on social media sites who need your services (and don’t know it yet).

I finally did it: I did another Imagine Your Reality Radio show, where I interviewed Donna Maria of Indie Business. You can meet Donna this Saturday in Portland, where she’ll be putting on an event for indie businesses.

The Latest episode of Social Media Coach Radio discusses the new and upcoming upgrades that Twitter is putting out.

Upcoming class Networking: How to Turn Me into We

Do you ever wonder why some people seem to be really connected, always giving and getting referrals, effortlessly attracting more clients, while also building stronger relationships with everyone they network with? Learn the power of we first thinking and how applying it to your networking efforts dramatically increases the positive results you desire. If you want to improve your networking results do not miss this class! Click here to register for the class.

Wed, Dec 9, 6-9 pm
Fee: $49
Location: Whole Foods Market – Fremont

Review of Purple Cow by Seth Godin

This is a very good book, but it’s not remarkable. However it is about trying to be remarkable, and while what Godin says is very useful, it’s also nothing new. I’ve seen this book get a lot of hype, and I can see why it has gotten such hype, especially with the current economy, and businesses wanting to stand out and be more relevant, and certainly Godin exemplifies what he talks about, as is evidenced by Squidoo and his books. At the same time, what would have made Purple Cow remarkable would be more than just telling stories of what other people have done. Providing some exercises, or some in-depth case studies, as opposed to brief anecdotes provided, may have made it remarkable. Unfortunately, and ironically, with this book Godin has fallen into the very trap he discusses in it: His ideas have become so commonplace, they are no longer remarkable.

3 out of 5

When I talk with businesses about social media I see one of two reactions to it:

The first reaction I see is one of resistance and fear. The new technology seems intimidating and the idea that the business needs to learn how to use social media to promote themselves, on top of whatever else they do just feels like one more task on top of an already sizable list. These people feel overwhelmed and also simultaneously hostile and resigned to social media. What they really want is someone who can explain how to use it and make it more manageable for them.

The second reaction is one of confusion and over eager enthusiasm. These are the businesses that have jumped on the bandwagon of social media, without developing a consistent message or strategy for using social media. Their use of social media is either inconsistent, or worse they come off as spammers. They don’t really understand why they aren’t getting responses from people, and are starting to get frustrated by using it.

Both reactions are valid ones to have. The problem, however, is that businesses approach social media with a desire for an automatic guarantee of business, but often don’t implement the strategy or tactics that will allow them to actually get business from social media. They also get caught up on the technology, while forgetting that the technology is only facilitating communication in a different medium.

Ultimately the problem boils down to developing a realistic social media marketing plan that allows a business to successfully communicate with people in a consistent and non-spammy way. To create such a plan you’ve got to spend some time answering some questions that can help you figure out what social media sites you should be devoting your time to.

The first question to consider in your social media strategy is simple: Who is your ideal audience/clientele? In other words, who are the people who come to you and what problem are you solving for them? You’ll want to spend some time looking for specific patterns for these people, such as age range, what kind of business or profession they are in, do they have hobbies relevant to what you do for them, etc. Until you know your audience, you can’t really know if they are on social media sites, and just joining any old site won’t necessarily put you in touch with them.

And added question to ask is: Who are my power partners, aka, the businesses that tend to refer clients your way. Again identifying these types of businesses may be very useful in determining what social media sites you should be on.

In part 2, we’ll discuss the next question to consider in your basic social media strategy.

My blog entry on The power of social media generated some interesting discussions on both Linkedin and this blog about what the true power behind social media is. Most people agreed that the true power is people themselves, but several people argued persuasively that technology was the power behind social media.

In a discussion I had on Saturday with a close friend of mine, I pointed out that the role of technology is really to solve problems people have. Sometimes we think of these problems as technology problems, but underlying the surface issue of a buggy application or a leaky faucet (both are examples of technology) is the human problem. The fact that the buggy application doesn’t work or the leaky faucet is causing a higher water bill ultimately impacts a person on a personal level, if only in the sense that these problems have impacted the person emotionally. In fact, it’s fair to say we make our decisions based off our emotions, and after wards rationalize our responses with a layer of intellect that explains the issue from a cerebral perspective.

And how does this apply to social media? The choice for a business to get involved with social media is ultimately based on a perceived need for social media that originates on an emotional level. That emotional can be as primal as wanting to survive or as sophisticated as wanting to enjoy the company of others. Business that want more clients in the door want those clients because the income the clients bring in pays bills and continues to allow people at those businesses the lifestyle they prefer to live. Social media is one method for reaching out and connecting to potential clients.

But what people forget, caught up as they are in their own problems, is that every person has a problem or emotional need that informs their motivation for doing what they do. And forgetting that very important facet of business can ultimately harm you, regardless of what medium, you use to connect with clients.

Social media provides businesses an unprecedented ability to stay visible to the public, but the methods for staying visible involve much less advertising and a lot more engagement with the people they are in touch with. Businesses need to realize the medium of social media puts them in touch, closer than ever, with the very real problems and needs people have.

My latest article on Biznik talks about the necessity of Gen Y and Z learning how to use the phone for more than texting.

The latest radio show is on Video in social media.

Book Review

Social Media Marketing An Hour a Day by Dave Evans

While I don’t think it’s realistic to try and do social media marketing on one hour a day, especially with the amount of work involved, what I appreciate about this book is the attention the author gives to the strategy behind social media marketing. The author provides resources and worksheets that the reader can use to help them plan out their social media strategy, and also details what the reader will need to do in terms of actually engaging their audience as opposed to just advertising to them. Best of all what this author writes about can be applied across a variety of social media technologies, even if and when that technology changes.

5 out of 5

Upcoming Events

How to Take Your Networking to the Next Level

Do you ever wonder why some people seem to be really connected, always giving and getting referrals, an expert at what they provide, and effortlessly attract more clients, while also building stronger relationships with everyone they network with?

What are they doing that you aren’t doing?

Believe it or not, they probably are only doing a couple of things differently than you do, but what makes it EASY for them to do it is cultivating a certain mindset about networking that allows them to become problem solvers.

How you help others when you network impacts how often they will think of you and whether they will work with you. If you’re only thinking of yourself, this will become apparent to others quickly. If you turn your thinking from me to we, you will excite your network with how you help them, and create a we-focused network, where everyone collaborates to succeed! Here’s How:

• What: How to Take your networking to the next level
• When: 3 hours 2-5pm PST, November 5th
• Where:Bravo Conference Room 630 B Avenue Suite 205 Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034
• How much: Not much at all! Just $65 gets you my attention, guidance, and support, as we work on taking your in-person networking to the next level.

To register go to the Imagine Your Reality website

The latest episode of Social Media coach asks What is social Networking? Next week’s episode is on blogs.

Upcoming Events

I have two upcoming events.

Social networking for Businesses 101

Already have your social networking profiles setup and optimized to market your professional identity? GREAT!

Then PLEASE forward this message to your colleagues who are overwhelmed by invites to social networking sites and have only the bare bones of a profile set up on the sites they are on.

But if you want to leverage your social networking profiles on Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook, and other social networking sites to market your business, this message is for YOU:

Join us on Monday October 26th, 2009 at 1pm for a special 4 hour class on how to set-up and optimize your social networking profiles, where you will learn the following:

• How to claim your personalized url for Linkedin and Facebook, and why it’s important to do it.
• How to optimize your social networking profiles for search results and as a way to market your business.
• How to connect your social networks to each other.
• The key to developing effective connections on different social networking sites.

And that’s not all!

Social Networking for Business also teaches you how to write profiles that get you noticed.

You’ll learn how to:

• Organize your thoughts, pick a key message
• Use current events to keep your status updates relevant.
• Write DREAMY, attention-grabbing copy

Social Networking for Business: One half day delivers killer writing and optimized social networking profiles!

For more information and to register please visit the Events page for IYR.

Eight Steps to a Successful Social Media Marketing Plan

This is a 12 Week Webinar for Business Owners who are great at what they do, but feel overwhelmed when it comes to Social Media Marketing

If you’re like most business owners you’re frustrated by social media technology and having to fit it into your already busy schedule. Additionally having to learn how to market yourself on social media can be intimidating because it also involves learning the correct social media etiquette as well as the tools.

You feel discouraged because you know social media is becoming more important for marketing a business but don’t how to use the technology or you do know how to use it, but wonder why no one ever responds to your posts.

How does the Eight Steps to a successful Social Media Marketing Plan webinar work?

We meet twelve times over four months and will go through the 8 steps to a success social media marketing plan. You’ll work on setting up your social media presence and gradually develop a successful social media marketing plan.

You’ll be part of a powerful group of entrepreneurs who own businesses, just like you, who want to get unstuck with social media. You’ll learn the technology AND the marketing together.

The sessions will be a very focused combination of teaching, sharing, feedback, and support.

At the end, everyone will have a completed social media marketing plan and presence to take into 2010!

Begins October 30th and ends January 22nd (no class December 25th and January 1st) We meet Fridays 11:30-1 PST on the phone and website. Every class will be recorded, but you can call in from anywhere and access the website from any place with an internet connection.

This seminar includes:

• Training on the technology for the social media sites. You’ll learn how to optimize and automate your social media presence.
• The Social Media Marketing Plan handbook.
• One individual 30 minute coaching call with me.
• 12 group sessions over four months.
• Seminar Discussion Blog where you can share information and ask question with each other.
• Feedback from other professional, motivated business owners.

You know you need help with your social media marketing presence, and you are also smart enough to know that all successful people get help!

For more information and to register for this class, please go to the Events page on IYR.

Social media is sometimes touted as a replacement of traditional media. Some social media strategists even say that traditional media is dead and that traditional marketing is going the same route. I disagree with both assertions and feel that if anything discounting traditional media and marketing is foolish. Social media is here to stay but traditional media and marketing are also still viable parts of a business strategy and likely will continue to be.

What needs to be realized is that social media is a complement to traditional media and marketing. Social media enables businesses to create closer relationships with consumers, while allowing those same consumers to research businesses, but part of that research inevitably will deal with how the business also shows up in traditional media and marketing. To discard that piece of the equation would be to ignore the effect it has on the research people do. It’d also ignores older generations who still rely on traditional media to get their information.

Traditional media is adapting to social media, but social media also needs to adapt to traditional media. This means that social media users need to recognize when using using traditional media can be useful as part of their marketing strategy. While Yellow Pages will probably not be a viable marketing method anymore, sending a greeting card can still be just as powerful as having a twitter presence, and in some ways moreso, because it’s much more tangible.

Social media allows us to participate in the conversation, share ideas, and otherwise educate and inform each other while strengthening relationships. At the same time, it can’t replace in person networking or traditional marketing. Social media instead increases the frequency of connection you make with people, so that you can stay visible and build stronger relationships with them. So it has it’s place, but it’s only one tool among many

Hospitality is a lot like marketing. Depending on the quality, it can leave a lasting good or bad impression. I just had a guest over for a couple days. He needed to pick his parents up from the PDX airport and had to drive up from Eugene to do so. I offered to let him stay the night and he was happy to take me up on the offer. Getting the opportunity to see him in person was a precious gift to me. I got to enjoy his conversation, a nice gift of wine and also a bit of gaming. In return I wanted to give him the gift of my hospitality: A comfortable place to sleep, good food to eat, and most importantly time to spend together. And all of those aspects of hospitality add up to something else, namely a relationship created on the establishment of trust, of looking out for each other.

Marketing that works is also based on creating a relationship between yourself and your client or audience. You aren’t just trying to convince them to buy a product from you or even a service. You’re also asking them to create a relationship with you, and of course the strength of any relationship is based on how each party treat’s each other.

So what makes a relationship in marketing:

1. Respect: Respect for yourself and your services and respect for the people you interact with. Whether it’s someone coming up to you to have a book signed, or someone trying your services out for the 50th time, you want those people to come back and respect definitely factors into it.
2. Communication: Communication is a two way street. The quality of communication however depends on how careful people are when they drive on that street. Taking time to be clear and coherent can save you time down the line.
3. Trust: Following through on what you promise to do is how you show someone that you’re willing to look out for him or her.
4. Consistency: Be consistent in your actions and words

Following these simple guidelines will show people that you’re willing to create a relationship with them. They will realize that they aren’t just numbers to you, that in fact you care about them and their welfare.

Much like hospitality, and a friendship, a marketing relationship is based on taking care of the people you work for.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for:

the opportunity to see good friends

The opportunity to have good conversation

My clients and their faith in me.

I consciously commit to:

Being the best coach I can be

Honoring my commitments

Believing in my clients.

What are you thankful for? What are you willing to commit to?

Last Chance to Register for How to Market and Publish your Book!

This is your last chance to register for the how to publish and market your book series of teleclasses I’m offering.

In this class we’ll be focusing on:

The differences between small press, big publishers, and DIY publishing
How to get in touch with three potentials audiences for your book: The Agent, the publisher, and the readers
How to successfully market your book on a small budget
and much more

All for the low cost of $250 AND if you don’t learn anything knew about marketing or publishing your book in the first class, I’ll refund you your tuition minus the 50 dollar classroom fee!

To register please go to http://www.imagineyourreality.com/schedule.html

Image Vs Authenticity

As an author and a life coach one challenge I’ve consistently dealt with for myself and also encountered with my clients is the conflict that can occur between the image you present and the authenticity you have. An image is the face you present to the world around you, the branding you use for your company, and also sometimes how you present yourself to others. The authentic you, however, is someone who could be somewhat different from the image you present. And when people who have only encountered the image see who you really are, things can get ugly really quick. Just look at the lives of actors and politicians to see examples of what happens when a carefully cultivated image is revealed to be false compared to the reality of the person underneath.

However the authentic you and the image of you doesn’t have to be at odds. In fact, they can be one and the same. By choosing to be authentic, you can show people who you are and still cultivate an image for your company. That image is based on your authenticity…your ability to be true about who you are, as well as showing that to others. It isn’t always easy. I can definitely say that sometimes I’ve stumbled in trying to be authentic. And yet where we stumble is where we learn. Authenticity really occurs when we can admit we have stumbled and then can choose to accept the consequences and learn from them. People who try to cultivate an image of being perfect won’t be in touch with being authentic because they won’t know how to handle those moments when they made mistakes and the image was revealed to be an illusion.

The image of authenticity is the choice to be true to yourself and let that shine so others can see it. Image and authenticity aren’t incompatible with each other. Sometimes they go hand in hand and can help us be true with each other and ourselves.

How to publish, market and promote your book

Want to learn how to get a book published, market and promoted? This is the class. You’ll hear how Taylor Ellwood, the Creativity and Wealth Coach and a published author, got started in the publishing industry, made mistakes, learned from them, and how you can take that experience and apply it to your own writing and the marketing and promoting of it.

TELECLASS How to publish, market and promote your book

INSTRUCTOR: Taylor Ellwood, The Creativity and Wealth coach

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, July 15, 2008, from 5 – 6 P.M..

PLACE: from the comfort and convenience of your own phone

TUITION: Free!

REGISTRATION: Sign up at http://www.imagineyourreality.com/schedule.html

So WHO is this teleclass for? Anyone who is writing a nook or is a published author who wants more insight about the publishing industry.

WHY would anyone attend this class? Because this is a chance to hear
exactly how the publishing industry works and what you need to know in order to effectively promote and market your books.

WHAT will you learn if you show up?

* Insider knowledge about how the publishing industry works
* The importance of word to mouth marketing and promotion.
* The reason most authors struggle with making their book a success-and how
to avoid it completely!
* And more!

Is this class a good use of your precious time? You’ve got Taylor’s
famous “Three Cups of Coffee Guarantee”: If you don’t feel that this
is the most profitable hour you’ve spent on publishing, marketing, and promoting your book so far this year, he will gladly buy you (and two friends) a cup of
coffee.

Register at Imagine your Reality

One of the hardest challenges that many new and even experienced life coaches face is marketing. In Four Steps to Building a Profitable Coaching Practice, Deborah Brown-Volkman’s goal is to show these coaches how to build a practice by following the steps she details in her book. As a beginning coach myself, I definitely knew it’d be a good idea to read her book.

This book delivers a lot of good marketing ideas and more importantly coaching assignments that can really help a coach both define and begin to promote his/her practice. I’ve incrementally been doing the exercises and found all of them useful in defining and enhancing my practice. Also I really appreciate that the approximate time and cost is listed to give the coach an idea of what costs are involved.

What I’ve really found useful is that the book breaks everything down into a step by step approach. This is especially important when you first start a practice, because it can be overwhelming to contemplate how you are going to get your business off the ground. With this book, it makes it much easier to take off and grow your business.

One thing I did find odd is that while the author did focus on a variety of ways to promote she left out things like promoting via flyers and where it would be a good idea to do so. Still this is one book I think every life coach should consider buying. I know I’ll be using it for a long time to come in growing my own business.

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Taylor Ellwood

www.imagineyourreality.com