News from Lacewing Communications
April 1, 2011 at 1:10 pm · Filed under Branding, Motivational, Strategic Marketing and tagged: carpe diem, great idea, manage a brand, meaningful engagement, positive thinking, relationship building, strategize, thought leader, useful content
Why put off tomorrow what you can do today? Great leaders don’t let opportunities pass them by, they seize the moment. This is a common trait of successful leaders because they don’t allow their fear of failure to define them.
They know this fear exists, and they overcome it. They define the moment with mental strength, faith and confidence, and they seize the opportunity to make a difference.
“You may delay, but time will not.” -Benjamin Franklin
Everyone has been there at one time. You come up with a great idea and set a goal for your business. You say, “I’m going to do this now!” Then a little fear may set in, and the next thing you know, you are talking yourself out of doing it.
You see all the obstacles that may be in the way and negativity blocks your mind to act and to achieve what you set out to do.
Either that, or you get distracted by things around you like tv, phone calls, and aimless internet surfing and surfing….yeah, you know what I mean. Pretty soon, your entire day is wasted and you haven’t accomplished what you set out to do.
With positive thinking and committing yourself to action, you can make a golden opportunity to break away from the limitations and make positive things happen for you personally and your business.
Complaining and doubting will only detract you from your ultimate objective, and drain the energy you will need to work and achieve success. It’s important to develop the positive attitude of seizing the moment when it comes along.
Here’s an idea…Evolve your marketing. Carpe Diem!
The evolution of digital marketing has forever changed the way marketers strategize and execute campaigns to build and manage a brand. Balancing traditional and digital communications channels requires effective strategy, writing, design and relationship building.
Let’s face it, entrepreneurs and micro businesses do not have the big budgets or the time to create and manage big integrated marketing campaigns. It’s critical to focus on the essentials of what you can do and what time can be given to certain tasks.
It’s through meaningful engagement and the introduction of useful content in the right channels that will help you influence your audience and earn ongoing relevance.
Seize the moment by evolving your marketing strategy.
Do it today or the opportunity may just pass you by.
September 14, 2010 at 3:06 pm · Filed under Branding, Social Media, Strategic Marketing and tagged: best practices, blogging, business advocate, integrated marketing, online referral marketing, social media, Twitter
Remember this if you remember anything about prospect conversion — Prospect-to-Lead, Lead-to-Client, CLIENT-TO-ADVOCATE. A business advocate is someone who speaks about you and your company on your behalf.
These are people who will sing your praises to others every chance they get because they have forged a solid business relationship and are very satisfied with your products and services – long-term business advocates.
By using digital marketing as a referral “platform,” online referral marketing can be much more rewarding than traditional face-to-face referral marketing. And, when used in conjunction with each other, it is even more powerful.
In the “olden days,” before the Internet was thriving, referrals were generated with an old-fashioned handshake to close the deal and then…they tell two friends, and so on, and so on – ahh, you remember.
Now, a simple, viral “check me out” will do the same and more. With Twitter, for example, you get to answer the simple question of, “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less. Quite the challenge for those with a little more to say (ummm…marketers…).
However, you will find many “soon-to-be” business advocates who want to follow you to hear more about you and your business and to show you a good reason to follow them.
A few quick tips:
- Try to tweet 5 to 8 times per day or how often you can manage
- Use HootSuite’s to schedule your tweets and to track your tweet clickthrus for measurable ROT-Return on Tweeting
- Use one or more of the Twitter directories (WeFollow or Twellow) to locate potential users to follow based on their interests and geography
Learn more about the rules of Tweeting and its viral role in generating referrals, and with just one little tweet, you’ll be on your way!
With the vast number of social media channels, the opportunities for referrals are endless. Social media gives you a voice to speak and be heard.
You can post your referral advertisement online and track your conversion rate very easily. As you create satisfied customers, the referral cycle builds a larger circle of satisfied customers and business advocates.
It’s through meaningful engagement and the introduction of useful content in the right channels that will help you influence your audience and earn ongoing relevance and referrals. Visit Lacewing Communications and learn more.
August 25, 2010 at 11:11 am · Filed under Motivational, Strategic Marketing and tagged: best practices, big idea, hitting the wall, marketing endurance, networking, PR, social media, stamina
If you want to learn more about maintaining stamina and endurance, look to a marathon runner. They must overcome a known phenomenon referred to as “hitting the wall.”
This is a major drain in energy that typically happens at the 20th mile when a runner has exhausted all of his or her energy reserves and is simply physically incapable of going any further.
It is a depletion of glycogen and carbohydrates that affect muscle operation. The preventative measure is to take in a lot of starches and sugars shortly before a race, but often runners will hit the wall anyway despite their efforts.
Hitting the “proverbial” wall can apply to many things we do in our business as well. Maintaining “marketing endurance” is a challenge. Here are a few tips:
- Watch the Walls. Be prepared to hit the walls a few times – because you will. Don’t give up and stare at the walls, watch them. This involves reviewing best practices in your industry, and learning from others’ mistakes and the walls they have hit. Keep updated on what is happening by joining blog communities, networking at events and local business meetings. Read business news that applies to you and your company.
- Break Through the Walls. Don’t get discouraged when you hit a wall. Put action plans in place to break through using your strengths in marketing, PR and social media. If you don’t have these strengths, surround yourself with experts that do. Take a course, join a committee or attend a webinar or seminar that will help you build strength in areas you may be lacking.
- Tear Down the Walls. You will find the right time and endurance to tear down a wall or two with a big idea. Perhaps you are ready to host a webinar, make a podcast or start a magazine or radio show? These are not that difficult to do once you find the right resources and methods that work best for you and your company. Maybe simply starting a small newsletter or blog can prepare you for a major tear down. Start small, but dream big and don’t be afraid of the walls.
Consider balancing traditional and digital marketing. Integrated marketing campaigns with a consistent message can generate the measurable results, which are essential to build your business and marketing strength quickly and effectively.
Whether there is a small hole in the wall to peak through or you knock it down, we’ll see you on the other side soon!
Older entries »
