FaceBook Makes it Hard to Lie

“Facebook…it’s not like being at home and writing in your diary. It’s out there for the whole world to see.” - Nathalie Blanchard

Are you FaceBook friends with your boss or colleagues? At my previous job, I was. And that made it extremely hard to lie or hide details of what I did on weekends or vacations. Not that I wanted to be deceptive, I just preferred to keep some parts of my personal life...personal. Also, I was sure that if I ever even considered calling in “sick,” it would be Murphy's Law that the one time I did it I would be outted accidentally by a FB friend or family member. Not only did I have to be careful what I posted on FB, but what my friends posted. I am 28 but I still flinched when a friend recently posted several pictures of me with a beer in my hand at a local Atlanta bar for a birthday party.

In light of this it was no surprise when I read an article in the AJC, “Facebook photos cost Canadian her benefits.” Basically, a Canadian woman was on sick leave for depression and receiving monthly benefits when an agent found her FaceBook photos partying it up on vacation. Her benefits were promptly cut. FaceBook photos showed her at a Chippendales bar (sounds fun!), at a birthday party, and on a sun holiday. Recently, a teacher in Atlanta was forced to resign because of European vacation photos showing her holding a glass of wine. An anonymous “parent” (who is more likely a disgruntled colleague) complained about it.

I can easily see how occurences like these came about. On my FaceBook account, one former classmate posts endlessly about his unraveling marriage and impending divorce, often heavily cursing. Another girl posts about how much she hates her life and how hard the dating world is. It’s very depressing and I don't think that will get the guys to line up. But again, both examples are of people who should be writing in their diary instead of FaceBook.

My husband, who refuses to get a FaceBook account, constantly harps on the fact that people are giving way too many personal details out and it’s going to bite them in the butt. I expect that situations like this Canadian girl and the Atlanta teacher find themselves in are going to be occurring more and more. This is not a new concept by any stretch but people still aren't getting it. My take? Zip it, people.

Thoughts?

The Must-Read Books For Women Entrepreneurs

I recently had a chance to participate on a very popular website by sharing my favorite book for women entrepreneurs. It was so hard to pick just one book; I’ve read so many and refer them to people who are in different stages and processes in their career. As I was forced to narrow it down though, I chose one that I still think about often and has really made an impact on me. The site, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, just went live and is already ranked on Google’s first page - very exciting! Check out the tip from #92 - she seems very smart. :) "The Must-Read Books for Women Entrepreneurs" is brought to you by Toilet Paper Entrepreneurs (great blog for small business owners).

Meanwhile, this picture of the stacked books represents the pile on my kitchen table that I need to get through. Ugh, how do you squeeze more time out of the day?

Trends in Sales, Web Marketing, and Business Development

Last Thursday I attended B2B Marketing University in Atlanta that was sponsored by Silverpop. It was an interesting concept – invite your target audience to an educational seminar in which there are NO product pitches whatsoever (having it at a top-notch hotel and feeding attendees doesn’t hurt either). Genius. Certainly companies and backgrounds were mentioned but it seemed done more so from the standpoint of establishing credentials.

Over the course of three hours I took five pages of notes, front and back, which I’ll be sharing on this blog. Although I’m no longer in B2B Marketing, it was important for me to be there to learn what the “big boys” are talking about and see how this translates to Small/Medium Businesses (SMB). It is ESSENTIAL in this day and age to stay updated on trends that affect a business owner’s market. One of the speakers even uttered my mantra: “change is the only constant.” Companies that resist change and evolving are going to quickly get left behind.

A few themes developed for me as I was reviewing my notes, and instead of writing one gi-normous post I’ll write a future post on “Tips and Information for SMB." So below are a few of the trends that everyone should become familiar with, according to Silverpop and its comrades:


• The buyer is changing – companies/freelancers are shortlisted before they’re ever called
• Social media is critical to making buyer decisions. So why should a business owner have a blog, submit articles to content-sharing sites, have a Twitter account? Because if he/she doesn’t and their competitor does, it’s an easy decision for the buyer.
• If you can’t be “found” easily, it sends up red flags. When I google a company and can’t find it, it screams out “sketchy” to me.
• There is a fundamental shift focusing on raw leads to managing buyer dialogue to nurture sales-ready relationships
• A trendy new term is “inbound marketing.” Inbound is the ability to 1) Get found and 2) shape community dialogue (this is done via a blog, social media site, etc)
o A fictional example, but one that people can identify with is Dunder Mifflin’s failed “Infinity 2.0” social media project from the popular TV show The Office
• Static websites are dead; websites need fresh, relevant information for SEO purposes. What does this mean for people who have to continuously pay webmasters to update? I don’t know. But for those who don’t have sites yet, keep that in mind.
• Trending words are “manage,” “manage,” and “manage.” Manage the process. Again, back to entrepreneurship 101 of having a proactive not reactive business model.
• Change is the only constant. Get onboard and stop resisting/whining. I tell my husband this all the time as he hates FaceBook, LinkedIn, etc.
• More ROI pressure is being put on vendors. Example: I gave you a $1, now how much is your service giving back?
• Marketers have to adapt, but it is not completely out with the old, in with the new
• Buyers want relationships
o I disagree. I think the word ‘relationships’ is getting old, fast. Buyers want a company with personality. They don’t want you to be their best friend and you shouldn’t like that. But you should stand for something, know how to communicate that, and show up (meaning, be found). • Trend: do to your customers what you’re doing to them. If they mention you on twitter, you do the same. If they comment on your blog, you do the same. Mirror
• Lastly and very important, the difference between “Email Marketing” and “Marketing Automation:”
-EMAIL MARKETING: is more B2C
-MARKETING AUTOMATION: B2B or Complex sales process

eWomen Network Event with Robyn Spizman: Is Your Business Gifted?

Last night I attended the eWomen Atlanta Network meeting at the Ravinia Club. I attended for two reasons: because I have always been curious about this organization and to hear Robyn Spizman give a presentation on “Is Your Business Gifted?” The overall event exceeded my expectations. I have spent the last seven years in sales (which means I’ve been to hundreds of networking events) and can maybe count on one hand the number of events in which members walk up to you proactively to greet you and walk you around to meet other people. It was a very friendly, engaging group.

My notes from Robyn’s speech are below, but first I wanted to highlight the non-verbal features of her presentation which were equally impressive as her message. And I’m not saying this just because I work for her at The Spizman Agency.

Here are a few things worth mentioning:
-Robyn’s words were so effective in part because of her presence. She used NO notes or teleprompters and walked around the entire time.
-she was present; meaning, in her presentation she wove in names, situations, and stories from people she interacted with that very night. This resulted in a very engaged audience.
-we left the event with actionable takeaways. That’s the difference between a good speech and a great speech.
-Robyn elicited a lot of emotion in the audience through her storytelling. It was excellent.

And now, to share a few highlights from the presentation:
-before launching into her content, Robyn promised to increase our business platform and help us find out what our gifts are. This is using the inverted pyramid approach that I use in copywriting – “tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em.” People’s attention spans have evolved and you have to capture their attention and know what they’re getting out of something from the beginning.
-she began with such a simple, yet powerful (and underutilized) practice: learn people’s names and use them which she broke down into simple steps:
1) Learn someone’s name
2) then practice
3) then rhyme it
-know that tomorrow is a gift
-examples of personal gifts can be as simple as the ability to say hello and make friends to the ability to make the best chocolate chip cookies
-people need to concentrate on “budget conscious gifts that reflect our ability to sustain them”
-how does your business serve someone? That’s your benefit.
-leave a message of goodwill; do something out of the box that says “I love you.”
-business building words: How May I Help You?
-people have to communicate and show up
-show up by giving
-Robyn’s gift is her enthusiasm
-in your life, where do you involve what you love? Start there
-you don’t always know what to give, but study the person, study the business
-tell a story, don’t sell a service
-you only succeed if you find out what someone values; ex. Give their PET a gift if they are a petlover
-play with words – ex. “you’re the smartest cookie I know” and give cookies or Starbucks gift card saying “I love you a latte”
-wake up your words, your business
-you’re not selling a product but building a relationship
-when we give, people see us as a leader
-you have to love your service; otherwise you’re doing the wrong thing
-give before you get
-finally, don’t be shy; know how people can help you and communicate that

2-Minute Video Book Review: The Adweek Copywriting Handbook

2 Minute Video Book Review: Search Engine Optimization

I hope you enjoy my first video review! I really enjoyed this book, Search Engine Optimization: Your visual blueprint for effective internet marketing. Highly recommended if you want to learn more about SEO.

Business Communications - Copyediting, Copywriting, and Proofreading: A girl's dream work!

I recently took a Copy Editing and Proofreading class with Jack Smith of The Smith Group. It was a day-long class through Evenings at Emory and I highly recommend the program. Jack specializes in working with nonprofits and focuses on grant writing. We spent the morning talking about the business side of writing/freelancing and the afternoon focusing on the meat of copyediting/copywriting.

The class was 99% women, very Type-A who love pointing out grammar mistakes other people make and who each had an opinion in a highly-charged conversation about whether or not the serial comma should be used. Yes...it was that type of group.

I furiously took notes all day and for those interested, have compiled some useful trends, information, and tips about copywriting, copyediting and proofreading.

-Many people incorrectly and interchangeably use the words copyediting and proofreading. The real definitions are that copyediting means to compile existing/already written material. It is the content and organization of material to cohesion. Proofreading is the final check before launching.
-Content and organization is the meat of copyediting.
-know your grammar weaknesses. Mine are trying to put together words that should not be compound words, such as pot luck, grant writing, table coth, etc. My natural inclination is to make all those words one word. I also always go back and check my subject/very agreements.
-When working on a project for a client, it is extremely important to know what they’re looking for before you begin. That means making sure the client explains exactly what result they want achieved so you both aren’t working on a gazillion drafts.
-It’s also important to know how many pages you can copyedit in one hour. Copyediting is a very tedious task and it’s important to schedule breaks, so factor that in.
-The business has evolved. Gone are the days when copywriting used to mean coming up with advertisements in the paper and copywriters worked on staff. Now the work is more contractual and a large portion of it is online vs in print.
-this doesn’t have much to do with copywriting, but Jack stated (and I wholeheartedly agree), that the opportunities for an employee to stay with the same organization for 30 years are gone. Organizations have evolved, and people need to do the same to stay marketable. As an employee, have a proactive plan, strategy, and purpose. If you are freelancer, multiply this times ten.
-when freelancing, understand your niche and how you fit in. What is your USP? What differentiates you?
-trends that are important to know: the prevalent use of bullet points, italics, and bold to categorize text. NEVER underline a word online unless it is hypertext.
-trends in formatting: one space after the period, not two, and we’re not indenting paragraphs anymore but flush left and ragged right. Double space between paragraphs.
-it’s also interesting to pick up on small nuances and make sure you’re adapting to the language of your clients. For example, if you’re still putting a hypen between “non” and “profit,” that’s the sign of an amateur. The trend is to spell it without the hypen (nonprofit). Small things like that will differentiate you from your competition and show the client you fit in.
-when beginning to freelance, it’s important to have a robust portfolio. Do this by working pro-bono, bartering, or charging a very low rate and then build up from there.
-these days, it’s important to write in an inverted pyramid structure.

We learned a TON more and I’d be happy to share some of the handouts – just reach out to me!

Sales/Prospecting tips and ideas for small businesses and entrepreneurs

This week I attended a meeting with ReFocus on Careers, an Atlanta-based group that helps people practice their networking in a comfortable environment and provides great educational content for a reasonable price.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Circulation Director, Michael FitzGerald, spoke to our meeting and offered these tips for people looking for jobs or sales prospects:

-the paper offers an index of all companies and people that are featured. If you see a prospect, send them a congratulatory note or follow call. Most importantly, tell them what about the article caught your eye.
-handwritten notes are an extremely under-used tool; people don’t always read their email, but they will read a note sent in the mail on professional stationary.
-who is advertising these days? These companies have money.
-this is more of a publicity tip, but if you would like to get your company featured in the paper, call up the appropriate contact, and in a very non-salesy manner, tell them you have a unique idea you would like to share with them and then in 30 seconds communicate your idea and why his/her readers would be interested.
-if there’s an interesting article (book review, leadership article, industry trends, etc), send that article to the client and write a handwritten note WHY you thought he/she might be interested.

Other tips for the holidays
-clients are doing their budgets in December and will budget in your services or position
-business is slower – this is a great time to make some personal calls
-people are happy!
-look up “odd” holidays and send your prospects/friends/clients something interesting about it
-January: send New Year’s cards
-to create a relationship, ask your contact “how can I help you?” Don’t make it all about you.
-crash holiday parties – it’s a great way to meet employed people.
-it takes 7-8 times before someone will give you a referral or lead.