by Julia D. Stege, MFA
@MagicalMarketer
It's Twitter's birthday. The social network is three years old today. At 8 million strong, Twitter is a force to be reckoned with in the online marketing community. It's getting to the point where you cannot afford to ignore the little bird any longer.
I am going to come clean with you. The past few months I haven't really been on Twitter at all. I was pinging posts from ping.fm to all my social networks and not logging on to see what was up in the twitterverse. I was kind of blocked, a one way tweeter without the bandwith to watch all those disjointed conversations streaming past my screen.
I was in love with Facebook anyway.
Even though they're often lumped together, Twitter is a totally other universe from Facebook, and I was grooving on the Facebook friendly. On Facebook you get to see great pictures and tag each other in pics and notes and easily see what's up with each other in a variety of forums, catch up with old friends, and play fun games, that in addition to all the cool marketing tools you can use on Facebook. It's not called 'crackbook' for nothing! It is addicting. I read on Mari Smith's blog that the average Facebook member spends 20 minutes a day on the network. That's a lot of time for a website which translates into a captive audience like none we have ever seen.
But back to Twitter. As I said, I was a one way tweeter. I only sent out messages and didn't read the ones coming in. Looking back on it, I'd have to say it was poor networking etiquette. I don't just go to a networking lunch and say my pitch without listening to and responding to other people, and the social networks are just an extension of the live networks I attend. OK, I'll forgive myself, now that I know better.
You see a couple of things happened to change everything. First, my RL (real life) buddy, Karen Clark (@funfelt), told me she has over 3,000 Twitter followers she's attracted by RT (re-tweeting) other folks' tweets and being an all around tweeterific gal! I'm intregued, but don't know who to RT!
Then I got a VA (Virtual Assistant = Sherene Alexis Curley @VASherene ) who introduced me to a boatload of Twitter apps and explained some basics to me, the most important of which was 1) how to magically unfollow everyone in my list who wasn't following me, and 2) learning what the hey a #hashtag is so I can find and follow simpatico friends.
Now I'm in #Hashtag Heaven!
I knew that a tag was a way to mark a topic with a keyword, but I didn't realize that you could follow and contribute to specific Twitter conversations using #hashtags. First I followed @hashtag on twitter, then I visited hashtags.org and put in a search for various phrases, like #loa (law of attraction) and #fb (facebook) to see not only what people are saying about these topics, but who's saying them. This is a way to find and follow and then RT the most eloquent tweeters in the topics I'm passionate about.
This is great because now I can tweet on topic, and I can click to follow folks based on our common interests and build a more authentic network of like minded people. What a relief. Now I just spent 3 hours on Twitter to commemorate Twitter's 3rd birthday and I'm feeling the love!
So my answer to the title of this post is a resounding YES. I have been reborn as a tweeter. Follow me at http://www.graphicgirlz.com/magicalmarketer and I'll tweet you to heaven too.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com See Julia's Law of Attraction Marketing Blog at http://magicalmarketing.blogspot.com
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Is Your Marketing Uplifting?
I'm a pretty sensitive gal, and it hurts me to see so many people freaking out these days. According to the news, most Americans are experiencing a lot of fear and stress over current events. This is made even worse by a fear-mongering trend in media and advertising. I want to counter that trend with a bit of inspiration.
I want to thrive just as I want my prospects and customers to thrive. But thriving depends on maintaining a positive outlook and achieving happiness no matter what's going on in the world. To contribute to the thriving of my contacts, prospects and customers, I must maintain an uplifting spirit and send out only positive, inspiring messages to them in my conversations, my ezines, blog posts, and social media updates.
What can you do to help uplift your prospects and customers right now?
1) Understand their Challenges: To help uplift your prospects and customers you first want to learn what their challenges and problems are, and meet them there. You will want to ask them what they're dealing with and start noticing trends. You can survey your elist and/or folks registering for your free classes regarding their biggest challenge. You will give people an immediate feeling of relief just by asking, and if you can offer hope of a solution, your customers will start feeling better right away.
2) Offer Words of Encouragement: Let your prospects and customers know they aren't alone in their suffering. Offer examples of those who have overcome similar obstacles, and encourage your peeps to be confident. Inspire them with stories of success from you and/or your mentors.
3) Give Away Effective Tips: Offer your contacts free tips through your ezine, social networks, articles, and free teleclasses / podcasts. Give them enough information to help them to get moving in the direction of their goals and dreams. Consider the information you normally exchange with all your customers at the beginning of your relationship, and see if you can develop that into a free offering that helps people whether they hire you or not.
4) Develop Inspiring Articles - whatever uplifts you will likely uplift your peeps too. Write about what uplifts you and send it out to your contacts. If even just one or two people are helped by your article, it can start a viral campaign of sharing. You will become known as an uplifter and your popularity will grow.
GOT UPLIFTING TIPS OF YOUR OWN? Please post your comments by clicking "Comments" below. We'd all love to hear your ideas.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com
See Julia's Law of Attraction Marketing Blog at http://loamarketing.blogspot.com
I want to thrive just as I want my prospects and customers to thrive. But thriving depends on maintaining a positive outlook and achieving happiness no matter what's going on in the world. To contribute to the thriving of my contacts, prospects and customers, I must maintain an uplifting spirit and send out only positive, inspiring messages to them in my conversations, my ezines, blog posts, and social media updates.
What can you do to help uplift your prospects and customers right now?
1) Understand their Challenges: To help uplift your prospects and customers you first want to learn what their challenges and problems are, and meet them there. You will want to ask them what they're dealing with and start noticing trends. You can survey your elist and/or folks registering for your free classes regarding their biggest challenge. You will give people an immediate feeling of relief just by asking, and if you can offer hope of a solution, your customers will start feeling better right away.
2) Offer Words of Encouragement: Let your prospects and customers know they aren't alone in their suffering. Offer examples of those who have overcome similar obstacles, and encourage your peeps to be confident. Inspire them with stories of success from you and/or your mentors.
3) Give Away Effective Tips: Offer your contacts free tips through your ezine, social networks, articles, and free teleclasses / podcasts. Give them enough information to help them to get moving in the direction of their goals and dreams. Consider the information you normally exchange with all your customers at the beginning of your relationship, and see if you can develop that into a free offering that helps people whether they hire you or not.
4) Develop Inspiring Articles - whatever uplifts you will likely uplift your peeps too. Write about what uplifts you and send it out to your contacts. If even just one or two people are helped by your article, it can start a viral campaign of sharing. You will become known as an uplifter and your popularity will grow.
GOT UPLIFTING TIPS OF YOUR OWN? Please post your comments by clicking "Comments" below. We'd all love to hear your ideas.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com
See Julia's Law of Attraction Marketing Blog at http://loamarketing.blogspot.com
Monday, March 2, 2009
Don't Believe the Hype!
I think the worst thing about hypey marketing trends is that they rob people of an opportunity to connect to what really matters. Marketing can be a platform for both sharing and receiving pertinent information and inspiration. But more often than not, the advertisements and websites we see every day are either a generic description of services or an effort by advertisers to lure us away from our intuition and brainwash us into buying something we don't really want or need.
What is Compelling About Hype?
Many people who come to me for help with attracting their perfect customers have been told that their marketing must be slick, professional, and targeted to a specific audience, but they haven't been encouraged to create authentic marketing or share things that are important to them. In fact being personal and vulnerable has been seen as antithetical to professionalism. Even though we have created our businesses as a reflection of our true purpose, many of us strip our marketing of any passion and fall in line with the trends. When we do this, we are holding back what is most compelling about our business.
How Will They Know You When They Find You?
Just imagine your perfect customers who are out there seeking you right now. They are not just looking for that specific set of services or products you are offering. They're looking for someone they can like and trust, someone who understands their problems and can relate to their goals and aspirations. They are looking for the real you. But if the real you is not showing up in your marketing, your perfect customers will not recognize you when they find you. They will only recognize you when you are transparent and real as you market yourself.
What Makes You and Your Perfect Customers Tick?
Recently I hosted a Branding from the HeartTM retreat on a beautiful property in Santa Rosa called Mystic Oak Gardens. I invited a circle of entrepreneurs to come to this cozy setting and share what makes them tick. We all brought good food and we sat in front of the fire drinking tea and sharing our souls. The tears flowed as we touched each other's hearts and acknowledged each other's struggles, our successes and our dreams. We shared like this all day and long past the originally scheduled ending time. As each person spoke, we all paid rapt attention because we were interested, drawn in and inspired by what was being said.
Vulnerable Marketing?
So I asked them why would we not share like this in our marketing? Why would we put forward some generic, polished sales message or image and leave hidden what is most compelling and inspiring about us: our true purpose, our real passions? It may feel uncomfortable at first revealing our vulnerable selves, but as we continue to share, we can build a network of connections who really get us and want to work with us for who we really are. They want to work with us because we are simpatico.
These are our most perfect customers, the ones who are on the same path in life. As we become more authentic in our marketing and share from the heart with those who are attracted to us, the more we realize that what makes us tick is what makes our perfect customers tick. We are here to help each other continue on the right path and shine our true light to the world.
In my next article, "Blogging from the Heart" I will write about how to use blogging as an authentic marketing tool that attracts your perfect customers online. Please follow or subscribe to this blog to be notified of new posts as they arrive.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com
What is Compelling About Hype?
Many people who come to me for help with attracting their perfect customers have been told that their marketing must be slick, professional, and targeted to a specific audience, but they haven't been encouraged to create authentic marketing or share things that are important to them. In fact being personal and vulnerable has been seen as antithetical to professionalism. Even though we have created our businesses as a reflection of our true purpose, many of us strip our marketing of any passion and fall in line with the trends. When we do this, we are holding back what is most compelling about our business.
How Will They Know You When They Find You?
Just imagine your perfect customers who are out there seeking you right now. They are not just looking for that specific set of services or products you are offering. They're looking for someone they can like and trust, someone who understands their problems and can relate to their goals and aspirations. They are looking for the real you. But if the real you is not showing up in your marketing, your perfect customers will not recognize you when they find you. They will only recognize you when you are transparent and real as you market yourself.
What Makes You and Your Perfect Customers Tick?
Recently I hosted a Branding from the HeartTM retreat on a beautiful property in Santa Rosa called Mystic Oak Gardens. I invited a circle of entrepreneurs to come to this cozy setting and share what makes them tick. We all brought good food and we sat in front of the fire drinking tea and sharing our souls. The tears flowed as we touched each other's hearts and acknowledged each other's struggles, our successes and our dreams. We shared like this all day and long past the originally scheduled ending time. As each person spoke, we all paid rapt attention because we were interested, drawn in and inspired by what was being said.
Vulnerable Marketing?
So I asked them why would we not share like this in our marketing? Why would we put forward some generic, polished sales message or image and leave hidden what is most compelling and inspiring about us: our true purpose, our real passions? It may feel uncomfortable at first revealing our vulnerable selves, but as we continue to share, we can build a network of connections who really get us and want to work with us for who we really are. They want to work with us because we are simpatico.
These are our most perfect customers, the ones who are on the same path in life. As we become more authentic in our marketing and share from the heart with those who are attracted to us, the more we realize that what makes us tick is what makes our perfect customers tick. We are here to help each other continue on the right path and shine our true light to the world.
In my next article, "Blogging from the Heart" I will write about how to use blogging as an authentic marketing tool that attracts your perfect customers online. Please follow or subscribe to this blog to be notified of new posts as they arrive.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Magical Marketer Julia D. Stege, MFA helps people attract their perfect customers with a unique combination of Law of Attraction, wildly attractive logos and websites, and smart Internet marketing techniques. If you're ready to start attracting your perfect customers now, get Julia's free Magical Marketing Toolkit at http://www.magicalmarketingtoolkit.com
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