This is How you Cross-pollinate using Social Media

Social Media

Think Referrals

Don’t you just love to recommend a restaurant that serves the most delicious pasta or steak dishes, and rave about the service and atmosphere… Social media takes word of mouth to a totally new level… we can now share these feelings of gratitude with our followers and fans as it happens.

If your favorite coffee shop has a Facebook Business Page you can give them a complimentary mention tying your post into their news feed as a thank you.. how about the best produce store, butcher shop or hairdresser. People are always looking for recommendations from friends & social media has made it extremely easy. @keepitsimplesocialmedia

Caution

There are however a few ways in which mentioning another business could back-fire on you…. sometimes the experience you’ve had is completely different from the one someone else has had… life is like that sometimes…. it is probably a lot better if the establishment knows of its short comings and has the opportunity to fix the problem…  the other faux pas happens when people abuse another persons wall… and when this happens you are probably causing more damage than you realize…Most people allow you to post directly onto their wall… this how you create the engagement.

Just yesterday I saw this great advertisement for a penthouse suite for sale…it was very provocative…sexy..I wanted to share it with my friend Phyllis Stelting PS Homes who sells real estate in Coquitlam & Burnaby … so I put it on her wall… now she might not have appreciated me doing that… I don’t know yet…the verdict is out..

The point I am trying to make is don’t abuse somebody elses wall and don’t just say anything to get onto someones wall… be genuine and sincere…

It is easy to take pictures while enjoying a great meal at one of your favorite spots or letting everyone know you just bought a great pair of shoes at such and such with a 25% sale going on… these tib bits of information are valuable news posts for people and the store will appreciate your marketing on their behalf…

This is a great idea

A friend of mine in Whistler hosted a social media party for ten local businesses… she never attended the event but allowed us to teach a clinic in her stunning office…Ten local businesses with completely different products took 3 hours to build a Facebook Business Page… this sharing and educating these businesses on how to integrate social media as a means of marketing was a very powerful move on Maggi’s part…even thou she did this out of the kindness of her heart.. simple yet very effective..Thank you Maggi from Thornhill Real Estate Group

Consider throwing a costumer appreciation party and get all the business establishments you frequent together and give them the gift of social media engagement…once everyone is up and running you have created a community of like-minded people and you can cross-pollinate with their followers…Authentic and highly “Referral” oriented…

One last note…always consider the wants, needs and perspectives of others when engaging in using your new social media tools…some people take offense to having their picture taken and having their private life made public…ask for permission..

Cheers!

How to Manage Your Time on Social Media – Is it possible?

Time is Money

You and I have exactly the same number of hours in a day, but how is it you get so much more accomplished? You have children to care for, work 8-10 hours a day, cook dinner, clean the house, and still manage to look great.

The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever she is.  ~C.S. Lewis

Time Management

I remember at a Brian Tracy seminar many years ago when he said “You cannot manage time”.. what does that really mean? I know one thing for sure I can manage my time because I am highly disciplined. Yet sometimes I can get caught up in a social media site and end up with a burnt dinner, over boiled the eggs or I’ve even let my daughter try to reach for a glass and break it because I am totally zone out on the computer…. Sound familiar?

My friend  Maggi gave me an agenda daytimer for Christmas and I am pleased to say it works really well, before going on-line each day I decide how much time I will need to carry out my social media goals for that day; because each day the amount of time spent on the computer may vary.

I strongly suggest you begin with one social site such as Facebook at least until you feel confident using and posting on it, you need to spend time building a loyal following. There actually is a secret to all this communicating, you can now link your social media platforms and only post once, it will feed into all your social media sites. Yes they have streamlined the marketing for you, by utilizing applications such as Tweetdeck and Hootsuite you simply make one post and it will automatically feed into each account. Facebook Business Pages allows you to post on Facebook and then it will Tweet that post out. In-fact today you can be on vacation and auto select the date with which you’d like specific posts to go out and no one would even know you weren’t at the office.

I personally use Tweetdeck on my i-Phone and Hootsuite on my home computer. You are able to create independent streams to check when people mention your name or company, also if your posts are re-tweeted, you can even specifically follow your favorite peeps, and glancing at all of them within minutes. Quickly reading into your news feed only takes a few minutes, about 5 – 10 minutes can be dedicated to responding to comments, liking people’s posts, while friending people and building quality relationships.

Time Wasters

This statement is highly subjective and to tell you the truth I find television to be a waste of time, where as the internet may be used as an educational tool. If you are on-line reading blogs during work hours I hope they are related to your business. Watching video after video can suck up 1/2 hour in no time… reading through the copious amount of e-mails we can get in a day is another way to lose valuable time. I suggest un-subscribing any e-mail that you haven’t read in weeks.

The Weekly scheduled Plan – 30 minutes a day

Select your specific goals for why you want to be on-line. Create a strategy.

Spend the first week watching other people and liking their posts, commenting and work towards what feels right for you.

Always post on your personal profile and start building your relationships there.

Keep your personal profile personal.

Keep your business page strictly business.

Try tweeting twice a day at different times.

You must add friends everyday to build your following

Set up Google Alerts with your name and your company name – Google will send you an e-mail notifying you once a day if that name is mentioned on the world-wide web.

Make sure you are adding value and answering your clients problems – have fun!

One last note: to create cross-pollination or viral marketing all that needs to happen is someone (one of your friends) posts or comments on your wall, this then allows that persons friends to view your posts and you theirs….so particiaption is really investing in possible future dollars, providing your product and service is something that person is looking for.

That is enough for this week, enjoy what you’re doing and encourage others by participating on their wall….

Cheers!

Have you ever wondered about the Women of Whistler?

The Women of Whistler or WOW is a monthly gathering of women aimed at providing an opportunity for Whistler businesswomen to network, gain knowledge through a variety of hosted speakers, and share ideas in a friendly, open and relaxed enviroment.

Mariana-Lynne-Barb-Maggi-Janet

What do they do?

The meetings begin with about an hour of socializing, walking around the venue, appetizers, wine if you choose, and a chance to view the sponsors tables. The women are then seated in a theatre style and the meeting is opened, the agenda for the evening is layed out and usually the sponsors will have a moment to review their product or service. A surprise guests will speak, a small break and then a round robin… This is where all women are given about 30-60 seconds to introduce herself – like an elevator speech.. (It is wise to practice this on your drive to the venue or in front of the mirror at home). Then the main speaker will take the stage and thrill us with the topic of the evening.

  

  

Overview

 I have attended many a meeting for WOW and each time I go with an open mind, I try to meet someone new, listen to see if I can help someone with what I can offer as a person or as business women, and I try to find the nugget through the guest speaker…. I have never left a meeting without feeling it was well worth my time and money…$30 if you’re wondering… best $30 a girl could spend…. Last night was no exception…WOW – I mean really wow, I drove down the new road over the concrete bridge into the enchanted forest… my mind was becoming mystical and curious… where was I? Is this real? I couldn’t believe my eyes… What an incredible asset to Whistler…..You couldn’t have paid the good lord for a more gorgeous evening – the sun was radiantly shinning down on all 80 women… a sold out venue…no kidding, if you didn’t get a ticket I can say you did miss out….Big time.

    

Scandinave Spa Whistler   http://www.scandinave.com/en/whistler/ 

Here was the new spa in Whistler and for most of us women our first visit… now my good friend Kelly Foran told me it was amazing, but unless you go there yourself you just can’t imagine. Scandinave Spa is nestled next to Lost Lake Park – although the entrance is off Mons Road near Riverside Camp Ground. The spa can accommodate group parties both corporate and private. The general manager is Annique and she would be more than happy to speak with you.

The appetizers were creatively crafted by Melissa Craig, the award-winning Executive Chef of the Bearfoot Bistro, and I can tell you the food was delicious and visually appealing. Oysters on the half shell, chicken brochette, mini burgers, cheese plates; just to mention a few.

http://www.bearfootbistro.com/bearfoot/chef.html

This venue went well over the women’s expectations – after a brief tour each women received a gift card to return to the spa – like we wouldn’t… Thank you…With my gift card I will return to Scandinave Spa Whistler, I’ll bring along my flip video and write another blog….

The guest speakers

Cathy Goddard – http://www.lighthousevisionary.com/

This woman is a force to be reckoned with, absolutely as professional and fun as they get…. a wealth of knowledge and her energy is infectious… Cathy’s topic for our evening was Clarify your values. As values should be our foundation from which to build our lives around I really enjoyed the exercise and discussions. The main nugget I took from Cathy’s talk was about our mothers and how they selflessly dedicated their lives to the family…. My mother was the same….and after we as children (7) all grew up and left they were left very lonely…because we were their lives.

Surprise Guest Mercedes Nicol – Olympic Snowboarder with 6 World Cup Medals…

flip video link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–ryAwLlszE

This was a fun blog to write and I look forward to the next Women of Whistler meeting in June… stay tuned! http://www.womenofwhistler.com/

Cheers!  [tweetmeme source=whistlerheather only_single=false]