Why Do We Like A Page on Social Media?

Today, I would like to share with you about Social Media engagement around the globe.  Iybi (If You Build It) has compiled an info-graphic snapshot of  how consumers are engaging with business on social media, and may give you some insight into when and how to best engage with your current and potential customers.

So ask yourself these following questions:

• Why are you using Social Media in your business?
• Why do consumers engage with your brand on social Media?
• How can you optimise your social media strategy to most effectively engage with your consumers?
• How do you convert the interaction into sales?

Image & Source from

http://ifyoubuildit.com.au

Are you on board with the social media train?

Do you leverage Social Media in your business?

If you do, that's fantastic!

And if you feel that you’re not ready for social media marketing just yet, here’s some ideas to consider...

Social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to create a marketing buzz for your business, and promote your brand. It's an effective platform for you to reach out and stay connected with your ideal clients and with your peers.

If you think your business can work just fine without social media into the future, then you better think again.

Working with our clients as business coaches we have met many people who aren’t familiar with social media. They’re usually make many excuses about why they’re not engaging with clients and peers in social media.

We understand that social media can be daunting for some business owners. Especially if you don't know the difference between Twitter or Google+. But it's not the end of the world. The minute you admit that you need to learn about social media is the moment that you will open yourself up to learn and meet people who can help you build solid social media strategies for your business.

Once you understand the process you can put that knowledge to good use. You’ll see the change in your business. And you’ll see a change in your bottom line too.

"But where do I start?” is the question we hear from clients so often. “There are so many different ones. Which ones should I be engaged with?"...

Before we work with our clients on their social media strategies we ask these two questions:

• Why  do you want to use social media? and
• What are you trying to achieve through social media?

Once you know what you want to achieve, once you have some clear goals, you can find the right social networks that will help deliver the results that you want.  

In the fast paced world we live in there will always be a new social network popping up. But that doesn't mean you have to join all of them. The key is to match your interests and goals with the social network that will deliver for you... Find the one that will help you get the results you want.

We’ve written about some social networks in our previous blogs, and if you want to learn more about them you can click on one of the links below:

• Facebook
• You Tube
• Twitter
• Google+
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest (The new kid on the block)

These are currently the social media platforms most frequently used by people to connect with each other. What you need to do is to define which platform will suit your business and your audience.

Experiment with them and select those that you feel comfortable with. Find the ones that will connect you with, and help you reach out to your audience.

So don't be afraid to get help with social media. Find an expert who understands your business and who can work with you to develop a social media strategy just for you.

Just keep in mind, all these social networks are just communication channels.

Knowing about them is not good enough. You need to apply your knowledge and take action in your business. That’s what’s important...

So, are you on board the social media train, or are you still standing at the station?

Would you like to learn how to engage with Social Media the ArtSHINE way?

It’s as simple as 1...2... 3...

            1. Like  ArtSHINE's Facebook page

   

2. Send an e-mail to this ArtSHINE : info@ArtSHINE.com.au

3. Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching 

session:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ArtShineDiscovery

 

The Power of 5 - Part 4 : Google+

Have you ever wondered which social media outlet you should jump on?

Which one is effective and will benefit your business?

Where to start one?

What to do?

How to engage?

Three weeks ago we gave you a brief overview on how Facebook works,Youtube and last week we talked about Twitter and its pros and cons.

This week we are talking about Google+ and how you can leverage it into your Art and Design business.

Google+ has an audience size of 90 million. It is a relatively new social network operated by Google.

Advantages:

The great benefit of Google+ is that it allows you to share your content with a specific target audience. Google+ makes it easy for businesses to separate their audience and you can share your information only to the group or circle you want to share with.

Disadvantages:

Administration is strict: The business page needs to be created from an individual’s Google+ account, and you can't add additional admins or any other users to manage the account.

Where to start:

Set up a Google+ account which is free. You need to register for a Google+ profile and you can use your existing Gmail account to operate Google+. Like Facebook you can add pictures.  

You can create a business page later after you have established your personal profile.

How to engage:

The best way to engage with your audience like your clients is to leave a comment. Be sure to +1 their posts and comment on them. Try re-sharing posts to your specific circles. 

What to do:

To leverage what Google+ has to offer you also need to familiarise yourself with its key features:

  

"Circles" This feature allows you to categorise your people, friends or followers according to different criteria. You can share specific content just with a particular circle or group, and not bombarding others with non-relevant information. 

You can also create circles for different workshops, seminars or trade show, and can get people in those circles to connect and expand your network. You receive a notification when someone has added you to any of their circles, and then you can decide if you want to add them or not.

"Hangouts" feature is a great way to communicate and connect with others as you will be able to use it for conferences and seminars. You can have meetings with up to 10 people at the same time which is a fantastic feature to leverage into your business. There are many ways you can use this feature, such as exhibitor briefings and pre-conference chats with your speakers etc.

If you are seriously planning to connect with more people and your ideal audience online, then Google+ is definitely a great social media site for you to get involved in. Do not underestimate this new social network just because it is still young compared to Facebook. It does not mean that it is not going to be just as big in years to come.

You need to be in it to win it. So join Google+ now and start to build your circle of networks now before it becomes too big and saturated with millions of users and you won’t be able to make your presence known.

Want to learn more about planning your social media for your business the ArtSHINE way?

It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3...

1: Like  ArtSHINE's Facebook page

2: E-mail Quantum Compass: thepowerof5@QuantumCompass.com.au  for  your discovery session.

3: Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching 

session: www.quantumcompass.com.au/freecoaching.ph 

Phone: +61 0410 636 138

E-Mail: Vinh@ArtSHINE.com.au

Skype: VinhVanLam

The Power of Five Part 3- Twitter

Have you ever wondered which social media outlet you should jump on? 

Which one is effective and will benefit your business?

Where to start one?

What to do?

How to engage?

Two  weeks ago we gave you brief overview  how Facebook works and last week we talked about Youtube and its pros and cons.

This week we are talking about Twitter and how you could leverage Twitter into your art and design business.

Twitter has an audience size of 170 million (Australia 1.6M). It's an online social networking and microblogging service that allows its members to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters also know as "tweets". Twitter also known as the SMS of the internet.

Twitter is a real-time information network that keeps you  connects and up to date  to the latest discoveries, stories, ideas and news about what you find appealing. You can simply do a search and and follow the users who you find them interesting by following them and engage in a tweet.

Advantages:

Twitter give you the chance to quickly respond to your customers and clients. It's a great exposure platform for your brand, your products and your services. 

Disadvantages:

Twitter is fast pace media with massive stream of tweets and it can be overwhelmed to follow up and catch up with tweets. It has the largest followers drop of rate out of the power of five.

Where to start:

To open a twitter account is free. You can create an account under your business name or a name that your clients can recognise you.  After you have done this, the first step is create your profile to let people know who you are and what you business is. The second step is to follow users that are in your industry, interest and clients.

How to engage:

The best way to engage with your audience is to follow other users that you like and recruit followers by letting people know you've joined Twitter. Write a post to other social media platform and websites with links back to your website or blogs.

What to do:

To understand twitter's lingo, firstly you need to familiarise yourself with its key features:

  

"@"- Use this when you want to address a public message to a user.

"RT"- This highlight a posting is a retweet from another user.

"DM"(Direct Message)You can only send a direct message only if they following you.

"#" - Hash Tag use to categorise tweets and keep tweet group together.

Want to learn more about planning your social media for your business the ArtSHINE way?

It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3...

1: Like  ArtSHINE's Facebook page

2: E-mail Quantum Compass: thepowerof5@QuantumCompass.com.au  for  your discovery session.

3: Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching 

session: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ArtShineDiscovery

Phone: +61 0410 636 138

E-Mail: Vinh@ArtSHINE.com.au

Skype: VinhVanLam

The Power of 5 Part 1 - Facebook

Have you ever wondered which social media outlet you should jump on?

Which one is effective and will benefit your business?

Where to start one?

What to do?

How to engage?

Today, we are going to talk about the power of 5 in the social media world. We will give you a snapshot of each one and how you can learn to leverage the power of 5 into your art and design business.

Here is the power of 5:

• Facebook Audience size 950 million
• YouTube  Audience size 850 million
• Twitter  Audience size 170 million
• LinkedIn Audience size 150 million
• Google+  Audience size  90 million

These are the power of 5 we would highly recommend for you a designer, an artist, a crafter and a creative professional to participate in if you seriously want to grow your business and increase your ideal audience.

The next 5 weeks we will cover each of the five and provide you with a great foundation for your business lifestyle so that you can decide which social media route you would chose for your art and design business.

Now let's look at Facebook and it advantages & Disadvantages.

Facebook has the largest audience size of 950 million (Australia 11M). It's the largest social network in the world. You are there to connect with people by creating a profile and exchanging messages or chat with one another on line.

Advantages:

Facebook is fantastic in promoting your brand, your products and your services. Massive audience for you to target and a great opportunity to find your ideal customer for your business.

Disadvantages:

Not so SEO (search engine optimisation) friendly and strict T & C.

Where to start:

To set a business page for your business, you need to have a personal profile account first. You can't use your personal account for your business. If you do, you are breaching the T & C of Facebook.

How to engage:

Once you have a business page created, you can add your business information such as logo, photographs and videos. You can add your upcoming events and invite your audience to come along. You can link Facebook back to your own website too.

To expand your business and focus on your ideal customer you can join relevant groups on Facebook to build relationships with your ideal customer.

What to do:

To leverage what Facebook has to offer you also need to familiarize yourself with its key features:

"Like" button- click like if you want to let people know what you like, this could be a post or a business page you like.

"Poke" is more likely used for personal and we wouldn't recommend it for business use. It has a flirtation gesture and more suited for the personal.

"Tag" is use when you want to highlight a photo or a video with text to identify one of your friends.

"Status" is where you can let people know your thoughts and actions by posting a comment.

Tune in next week, we will talk about YouTube and how it can help you with your marketing strategy for your art and design business.

Want to learn more about planning  your social media for your business the ArtSHINE way?

It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3...

1: Like  ArtSHINE's Facebook page

2: E-mail Quantum Compass: thepowerof5@QuantumCompass.com.au  for  your discovery session.

3: Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching session: www.quantumcompass.com.au/freecoaching.ph 

Phone: +61 0410 636 138

E-Mail: Vinh@ArtSHINE.com.au

Skype: VinhVanLam

Twitter: @VinhVanLam

How to post a successful blog

If you’ve been reading a few blogs you’ll know that there’s no real "standard" approach. What really counts is how effective you are at communicating the messages or news you want to get across to your selected audiences. From personal diary to magazine-style blogs there are a lot of different approaches that can be effectively used to make your blog-work for you. Here’s some quick points that we use when we work with our Quantum Compass clients:

Stay on topic

Consider a single topic for each blog. Most of your audience will be interested in content that relates to a specific defined topic or a loosely defined area of interest. Your audience won’t care what you had for breakfast in the morning. However, they are more likely to be interested in handy tips or advice. Talk about what you know, and what you’re passionate about. Your audience wants to learn new things and gain personal knowledge. So define a topic and stick to it.

Themes

There are a number of approaches that you can take when you’re writing your blog. Here’s some ideas:

• Inspirational blog - you can talk about what or who inspires you to do what you love. It’s also an opportunity for you to welcome new fans, discuss other blogs or websites that inspire you too.

• Promote what you do blog - talk about your latest or up coming ranges. Share exciting new projects, collaborations with other designers, or joint ventures.

• Educational blog - Share your knowledge, skills, and experiences. Position yourself as the leader of your creative field by offering expert tips and advice.

• Trends forecast blog - What’s in and what’s in demand in your creative field? Materials, colours or techniques? What about new technologies or eco friendly applications etc? Do you have some favourite or useful websites that you can share with your audience?

• Useful information If you’re attempting to create the impression that you’re an expert in your creative field, then you need to make sure that you’re always up to date the most current news. If you’re endorsing or expressing an opinion, be sure to check your facts too. Your reputation depends on it.

Stick to a schedule

Plan your blogging schedule and stick to it. Blogging requires time and effort, so don’t set unrealistic expectations push yourself too hard. An occasional lapse or time off for a holiday is generally acceptable. But the real disappointment for your readers is when they return to your blog only to find old and out of date content.

Frequency

Have a think about how many blogs you would like to post each month. A good bench-mark would be two posts per month (fortnightly). Once you’re experienced and have built up a greater following (your fans) then you can post every week. When your blog is updated frequently search engines will tend to pick up your new pages at regular intervals. Set a regular day to publish your blog. That way your readers know when to come back to you and read your blog.

Keep it clear and simple

Keep your blog clear and easy to understand. It’s best to steer clear of jargon too. Tell your stories in plain English. And use the language that your audiences can relate to and understand.

Embed Keywords

If the objective of your blog is to increase visibility you need to include related keywords in the title and text of your blog. Use the title as a headline to attract interest. Each post needs a title that attracts attention. Aim for a title no longer than ten to twelve words.

Engage your readers

Your audience loves to know what you do; that’s why you want to interact with them and ask them to participate with you and the other readers. Ask for feedback or throw in a question or two. Ask for their opinions. Create a forum for your readers too.

Quantity matters

To attract the attention of search engines you’ll need to develop your content over time. A single headline or a simple sentence is not going to generate the interest of readers or help you with search engine ranking. Make sure you’re archiving old blog posts too. That way you’ll build a big portal of similar themed content over time.

Spelling checks and proof reading

Take a few extra moments and save yourself from having to make embarrassing explanations. Keep in mind that whatever you publish on the net can be found and archived. Think carefully about what you are going to write. Triple check everything.

Images and photos

“A picture tell a thousand words”. Pictures and images inspire your readers. A blog with lots of images makes for more interesting and inspiring reading than a long boring essay.

Would you like an invitation to attend the next Quantum Compass ‘Writing Successful Blogs "  workshop- contact us now here: Writingsuccessfulblogs@QuantumCompass.com.au

Want to know more? It’s as simple as 1... 2... 3...

1: Like  ArtSHINE's Facebook page

2: Send an e-mail to this Quantum Compass address: writingsuccessfulblogs@QuantumCompass.com.au and get more info about our workshops for creative professionals.

3: Contact Vinh for a no cost, no obligation coaching session: just call Vinh direct on 0410 636 138, Vinh@QuantumCompass.com.au, or go to: http://www.quantumcompass.com.au/shine/