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Jan 29 2021

How To Use Pinterest To Drive Traffic To Your Blogs

There are actually some businesses out there that have great success online with their marketing on Pinterest, without ever blogging AT ALL. Some entrepreneurs and companies find Pinterest helps with promoting their business, even if they don’t have a blog.

Nike, Baskin Robbins, even Wayfair all don’t have a blog to their website, yet, they get millions of followers, create meaningful impact in people’s lives, and make profit.

If an everyday person like your or I were to go this route, our online presence would probably take long to reach the status of importance. Just think about it: these corporations have HUGE amounts of money and very sophisticated smart people working for them (not to say you are not smart!) that know all the best Pinterest tips to get their message out to the masses. What some of us don’t have are massive amounts of corporate money, but what we do have that just as good or even better is Pinterest.

Currently in 2020, there are roughly 600 million blogs circulating the internet waves and there are over 320 million active Pinterest users searching for content. These numbers are huge and only go to show the main question of this blog post: which one is best for our business – blogging or Pinterest? If interested in knowing, read on to find out more.

It has been shown businesses that have a blog get 67 percent more traffic to their site than a business that does not have a blog.

The term “weblog” was made by Jorn Barger in 1997 but the word got shortened down to “blog” by Peter Merholz in 1999 (a little bit of web history here for you!).

In quick form, a blog is an online journal that’s made accessible to the public. You as the writer or creator can document your thoughts to an online space and have other people from around the world connect with your blog, comment, share, and refer their family and friends to the URL you found informative.

You can have personal blogs or business website blog. You can have a blog that talks about your products, links to your social media account, or simply displays photo collages.

What’s the difference?

Some people use the word “blog” interchangeably with website. A blog is something that is updated frequently with new published written content at a scheduled time. This blog is also very interactive where visitors can read and comment on your posts.

A website is connected to the world wide web as a specific location with a URL. Websites are not as frequently updated, say on a weekly basis, like a blog post would be published.

Websites are generally updated every so often when an important change occurs to a businesses missions, prices, service agreements, links, or their bio.

Either way, we all have come across blogs, knowingly or not. One of the biggest things with blogging is knowing how to use SEO (search engine optimization) effectively.

In order to rank high in Google’s eyes, your blog post should be ranging around 2000-3000 words. it should be relatable, informative, and educational.

Consistent blogging efforts create credibility in Google’s ranking and over time (with amazing SEO practices), have your blog or website ranking high on the first or second page.

The more content you create, the more people will link to your site or post, refer your name, or sign up to your email list. In general, businesses with a blog do exceptionally well.

Numerous stories are swirling around of people who have built an amazing business from having a blog with their business.

Take for instance, take The Blonde Abroad who took a hiatus from her corporate management job, travelled the world, blogged about it, and make it into an amazing career.

What was it about her that skyrocketed for her? Quite possibly, it was her blog.

Her blog became the escape for many who couldn’t travel to the places she could, yet, with her amazing imagery and her relatable approach to her blogging style.

She has carved out her own space to attract the right viewership, gain their trust, and convert women to solo travel and experience life on their own terms.

A blog allows people to find you before they buy from you.

If someone visits your site and checks out your products, nine times out of ten, they will not convert into customers right away.

They need to trust that you’re an expert in what you do. These prospective clients/customers/ need to learn about you more before they give you their hard-earned money.

It’s usually not until they see your recurring blog post later on in their discovery that they may be convinced you’re the real deal.

See my friends, that’s when then they would most likely buy from you.

And that’s why having a blog is so important.

Blog posts also give you more “street credibility” in the online space and blogs allow you to showcase your knowledge on topics in your niche.

The beauty about blog posts are that you can customize them in so many ways!

You can add:

  • videos

  • graphics

  • quotes

  • images

  • guest posts

  • FAQs

The list truly could go on! In short, a blog is where a community of like-minded individuals can engage, learn, comment & grow together.

Having a blog is highly beneficial to all business owners so you can expand your reach and gain the trust of your audience.

Pinterest

Pinterest is called the “anti-social media outlet”, which I absolutely love. I’ll dive into this more in a bit.

Pinterest was co-founded by three amazing geniuses Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra.

Their sole intention is to get people OFF the site and discover the vast amount of content that is out there.

The reason why Pinterest has taken off over the years is because it speaks directly to people where they are in their life.

People want to be engaged, inspired, and motivated to live a better life. They want information that will help them achieve what they are looking for, instead of wading through piles of unwanted information. Pinterest delivers exactly what a reader wants at a greater reach.

Pinterest is called a visual discovery engine with over 100 Billion Pins floating around waiting for you to grab hold of and is reach a whole new audience.

Think about it like this.

You finish writing a blog post, then you create a few Pinterest graphics.

You take one of your graphic images and Pin it to your board.

Someone in your audience sees your newly created Pin graphic, sees that it speaks to their pain point, goes ahead and saves it to their Pinterest board.

To quicken up the analogy, your one Pin can easily now easily be turned into ten repins, simply because once a graphic image is saved to your board, it gets shown to all your audience members who are needing the solution to their problem solved!

That’s ten new leads in the matter of a short time span.

And if you’re a new blogger, influencer or business owner reading this post and you’re not sure how to start on your Pinterest journey, I highly encourage you to sign up for my The Power of Pinterest 5-Day Email Course.

This course is entirely FREE and gives you a solid understanding of what you can change right away to your Pinterest strategy to start seeing an improvement in your audience reach.

My free course has helped so many people really hone their Pinterest strategy for their business, and I want the same for you too.

Pinterest can help your business and blog is so many ways, I want you to experience the freedom that comes from a proper marketing strategy that will target the right people your way.

So what does this all mean?

Well, I know it took a bit to get to this point but I wanted to give you a thorough look into things before I really get down to the details of having a blog for your Pinterest success.

So, here’s the thing.

If you find that you really enjoy writing & you can connect your audience better through this medium, then I encourage you to write more blog posts!

Google will reward you with getting your rankings higher up the ladder.

If you are not a fan of writing blog posts (I some of you are out there, and guess what, I’m one of them!), then don’t fret my friend. There are so many ways you can re-purpose your content to Pinterest.

For example, if you are an Instagram user, I encourage you to re-purpose your posts, your Instagram stories, and your IGTVs to Pinterest! These all do amazingly well and can still work as effectively in reaching your target audience.

The only thing you should note is once you re-purpose your content, you do need to optimize your it to fit/suite the best practices on the new platform such as changing out the titles & adding in keyword-rich descriptions with a few broad & niched-down hashtags.

As we know, Pinterest is a visual search engine which means there will be generally less competition in ranking as compared to Google. This gives all brands and business a fair shot at reaching their target audience which I think is awesome.

If you are thinking of starting a blog for your business, I don’t want you thinking of it as another ‘thing’ you have to perfect.

The one thing that made me start my blog was literally taking ‘imperfect action’ and not worrying too much of anything.

I want you to think of your blog posts as a way for your audience to connect and convert with you, and your Pinterest as the place where your audience can aspire to be like you.

In conclusion, to obtain great results in traffic, saves and link clicks from Pinterest to your site, having a blog or a landing page that contains written information your audience wants, is key to what your business success.

Just write what you know and focus on providing the solutions your audience can implement right away as a quick win.

The research definitely lets us know that if your business has a blog, you will do better on Pinterest and build the LIKE, KNOW, and TRUST factor with your audience more than if you are without a blog.

Also I leave you with this.

You’re not expected to write a full APA-style research paper here as you’re not going to be graded. I just want you to write in your own style because the main reason why people started following you was because of your uniqueness.

Just own it & you’ll be just fine.

Christina

Christina Willis – West of 100 Interiors
 
Website: West of 100 Interiors | Pinterest Management & Strategy https://www.westof100interiors.com
Pinterest: West of 100 Interiors | https://www.pinterest.ca/westof100interiors/boards
Instagram: @cultivationlounge | https://www.instagram.com/cultivationlounge
Facebook: West of 100 Interiors | https://www.facebook.com/West-of-100-Interiors

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Christina Willis · Tagged: Pinterest, pinterest for blogs

Dec 29 2020

The New Pinterest Algorithm Changes for 2021: What You Need To Know

Oh, the good ol’ Pinterest algorithm. The Pinterest algorithm for 2020 has made so many changes that it has caused a lot of stress and confusion to many bloggers and business owners who use the platform to grow their online visibility and gain new followers, clients or customers.

A lot of people have noticed since Pinterest has been making shifts to their algorithm, it has resulted in a lot of drops in monthly viewers, saves, and link clicks. 

Because of this, I felt it was important to write a blog post about the new Pinterest algorithm changes for 2021 and what you need to know so your Pinterest account and audience can grow.

1 | Pinterest is Changing Much Like Social Media is Changing

Many people do not realize that as time goes on, Pinterest will start to shift and change much like all other social media platforms do too. 

Pinterest has taken on the term “social media” because there really is no separate term or classification for it, it really doesn’t interact in the same way as other social media outlets like Instagram or Facebook. Pinterest is sort of in its own classification.

Although it is good to know that Pinterest is not a social media platform, it actually is a social networking site where people come into contact with another person or business and interact with their brand in the form of saving their content, opting in to their offer, or reaching out to the brand to book their service. 

We have to keep in mind that much like other social media channels out, they are all changing and so will Pinterest. 

Pinterest has not remained the same that it was 5 years ago because business goals, consumer demands and the ever-changing social media landscape will shift and evolve.

If you are using the platform for your business and have noticed you are seeing a huge shift in your reach, it’s because the times are changing with the Pinterest platform and it’s something you may have to adapt to over time.

Pinterest is not out there “to get you” or “make you work harder”. Pinterest is still very much for the people that use it – a large proportion of the platform are small business owners.

Pinterest is all about making the user experience better, and with that, it requires a lot of shifts and changes with the algorithm to keep up with the demands.

2 | Take a Good Look At Your Analytics & Go Deeper

This step is something I find a lot of business owners overlook, mainly because they really don’t understand what it is they are looking for!

As a creative small business owner, we must analyze our data on a quarterly or monthly basis to get a better understanding of our business environment and efforts.

What I want you to do is go into your Pinterest Analytics tab >> Overview. Select your date range for 30 days or from the first of the last month to the first of the next month & don’t forget to change the selection to the claimed account you wish to analyze (in most cases, this would be your website).

From here, I want you to look deep into your top three boards that are bringing in high impressions and take note of the numbers. You can also use the dropdown toggle to analyze your link clicks & saves as these important indicators are what I use to track my very own analytics and that for my clients.

Once you gather all the important information from this screen, I want you to take a look at why your numbers are the way they are. Do you have your boards well optimized? Are your pin designs eye catching or do they look similar to all the other pins in the search feed? What type of text overlay did you use, or did you not use text overlay?

This is what I mean about “going deeper”. You need to almost be like a super-sleuth and really take a step back from your own account to figure out what & why your numbers are not as high as they used to be. 

Another analytic you should be looking at is your Google Analytics. 

Now I don’t want you to overanalyze your data until it drives you crazy that you end up checking your analytics daily or weekly (that’s not the point here so please don’t do that!).

I want you to remove your emotions from your account and look at it from the outside in. Use your detective abilities (I know you have some, friend!) and really try to piece together where you could be going wrong with your Pinterest strategy & try to figure out what you could be missing and where you can improve. 

As an online marketer and business owner, Google Analytics is one of the best tools for you to get familiar with. 

I remember when I was first starting out on my online journey and found out about Google Analytics, I was terrified! I never thought that I would have to know anything about it, but I’m going to break  what I know is important for you to keep track of when it comes to your Pinterest account and traffic.

In Google Analytics, I like to keep track of the traffic sources for my clients & for my business.  

I also like to look at the top 10 pieces of content that is driving traffic to the website and analyze how much traffic is coming into the website from Pinterest. 

What I’m looking for here is a trend. I want to see what type of content is resonating more with my client’s audience and I try to further understand what it is about the content that they are drawn to. 

From here, I usually will click further through to check out the pin design and the keywords used in the pin description.

This also causes me to start brainstorming other ideas of content that can branch off the highest traffic driver for their website as I want to help my client continue to bring in more visitors to their site from Pinterest. 

Is your content more educational? Or Inspirational? 

If you look at this, keep in mind what is working for you and determine what else you can create that will be in alignment with the audience’s interest.

I truly love analogies and because I love them so much, I’m going to share one with you.

Say you are a world-renowned athlete and you compete at your best every day. 

You strive to make a difference in the world through your amazing message of leadership, athleticism, self-development and discipline. 

You know the Olympics is coming up in the next year and you want to be outstanding. So what do you do to prepare for the Olympics? You practice your craft all day, everyday until it becomes second nature. You even go as far as recording your performance and analyzing your stats, performance structure, and how that connects you to your goals.

If you see where you need to make adjustments (whether it be minor or major), you know you have the data right in front of you to make the difference.

This my friends, is exactly how it is when you analyze your Pinterest account. You have to take a stand back and figure out where you need to make your improvements so you can grow your account, gain new email subscribers, and book out your services. 

If you find you’re not sure how to assess your Pinterest account, I encourage you to download my Pinterest Account Audit Roadmap or, reach out to me so we can collaborate together and I can provide you with an audit of your account to give you the in-depth analysis you’re seeking from a Pinterest expert.

3 | Fresh Pins and New Content Are Of Importance!

Once you’ve taken a critical look at your Pinterest account and gathered your baseline information that’s detailed in the Pinterest Account Audit Roadmap, I want you to look further at your Pin designs.

Pinterest defines a fresh Pin as a new image or video that has not been uploaded and seen by Pinterest’s AI (artificial intelligence). For example, Pinterest would see a new blog post or product page with a new URL as “fresh”, hence, the more new or “fresh” your content is, Pinterest will prioritize that content for distribution.

In addition to that, Pinterest also sees new Pin images count as “fresh” content even if it’s from an older blog post you’ve previously posted – hence, you providing newer fresh Pins for your pre existing blog posts that your new followers would be interested in.

I should also mention Duplicate Pins, as this practice of pinning the same pins to multiple boards over and over again is being seen as a no-no in with Pinterest & could actually hurt your Pinterest account.

This old practice can be seen as spammy and risk you losing followers or having your Pins reported. The point is to provide a great user experience for your audience and Pinning the same image multiple times every day does not account for that.

So for example, if you notice that a particular Pin design is getting a lot of impressions, saves or link clicks due to a particular style of pin design, of a particular color choice or due to a certain text, then create your Pins to highlight more of that! This is one way you can get to know what resonates with your audience and customers better than your other designs.

I also like to look into what boards my audience is saving my pins to. This provides me with a basic understanding about how my pins are resonating with them and most importantly, what keywords they are using to find my content. 

What this all means is that the importance of newer, fresh content is crucial to your Pinterest strategy.

If you’re serious about improving your Pinterest growth & reach and are looking for new Pinterest templates for your content, I highly recommend my 10 Free Lifestyle Pinterest Templates for Canva that you can download and start using right away! These templates were created with you in mind if: 

  • You love a clean aesthetic.

  • You want a Pinterest template that showcases your work beautifully.

  • You want something that is uniquely catered to your creative individual needs.

  • You want to customize your Pinterest graphics in a quick, efficient manner.

If you want to grab the attention of your audience, start using these 10 Free Lifestyle Pinterest Templates for Canva, just sign up below and you’ll get the link sent straight to your inbox.

In closing, it’s important to continually look at what’s working with your Pinterest marketing strategy if you really want to grow, go viral, sell your products or book our your services. If you are committed to your Pinterest marketing growth, remember to focus on:

  • Creating fresh pins for our new blog posts, pages, or products

  • Looking at our Pinterest & Google analytics

  • Assessing what’s working and where improvements can be made

  • Recognizing that social media changes are inevitable but the changes will provide our audience with the best user experience to increase engagement and growth of our brand and business.

Christina

Christina Willis – West of 100 Interiors
 
Website: West of 100 Interiors | Pinterest Management & Strategy https://www.westof100interiors.com
Pinterest: West of 100 Interiors | https://www.pinterest.ca/westof100interiors/boards
Instagram: @cultivationlounge | https://www.instagram.com/cultivationlounge
Facebook: West of 100 Interiors | https://www.facebook.com/West-of-100-Interiors

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Christina Willis · Tagged: new pinterest algorithm, Pinterest

Oct 01 2020

10 Pinterest Marketing Tips for More Website Traffic

Christina

Christina Willis – West of 100 Interiors
 
Website: West of 100 Interiors | Pinterest Management & Strategy https://www.westof100interiors.com
Pinterest: West of 100 Interiors | https://www.pinterest.ca/westof100interiors/boards
Instagram: @cultivationlounge | https://www.instagram.com/cultivationlounge
Facebook: West of 100 Interiors | https://www.facebook.com/West-of-100-Interiors

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Christina Willis · Tagged: 10 pinterest marketing tips, Pinterest, tips for more website traffic

Aug 29 2020

Pinterest Marketing Strategies – How To Get Started & Generate Leads Like a BOSS

Christina

Christina Willis – West of 100 Interiors
 
Website: West of 100 Interiors | Pinterest Management & Strategy https://www.westof100interiors.com 
Pinterest: West of 100 Interiors | https://www.pinterest.ca/westof100interiors/boards 
Instagram: @cultivationlounge | https://www.instagram.com/cultivationlounge
Facebook: West of 100 Interiors | https://www.facebook.com/West-of-100-Interiors

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Christina Willis · Tagged: generate leads, pin like a boss, pinerest marketing strategies, Pinterest

Oct 13 2016

Business Startup 101: 10 Steps to Startup Success

FB Pic

Starting a business can be a daunting process for some.  These steps will help you take make your idea a reality. All you need is an idea and motivation.  Now dive in!

  • Review your business idea and see what problem it solves. You want to ensure that it is a business that is not saturated in your market.  If there are an abundance of businesses of your type, you need to address how you will market your business so that it stands out from others in your business plan.  That brings us to our next step – the Business Plan.
  • Make a Business Plan: I usually get a lot of flack for this because a lot of potential entrepreneurs do not see the value in preparing a business plan.  Your business plan doesn’t have to be 20 pages long, a simple 2 page plan can be just as effective.  You essentially need to have your business goal, marketing plan, and your financial plan in order and the rest will come into play.
  • Register your business:
    • Determine your business type. This is a good place to consult with your accountant or your tax advisor.  They can help you determine with pros and cons for each business type and how it will affect you and your finances.
  • Business Name: your business name is VERY important. The worst thing to me is having a business that does not tell your potential clients anything about your business.  Don’t get me wrong, if you have a very large marketing budget and you have a plan type that solves a huge industry problem, people will get to know who you are.  Choose a name that will help your business propel
  • Logo: Not essential, but it does help with your branding
  • Online presence: ensure that your name or handle is available on all platforms. Try to understand the importance of online presence, Google ranking and SEO.
    • Website Domain
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
  • Licenses and Permits: If this applies
  • Set your launch date and start planning getting the buzz going
  • Find partners who have similar target audiences and develop strategies that can benefit both your business’
  • Business Development Plan: most small businesses forget this stage.  Having a successful business requires constant development.  As a business owner, you must figure out ways that can keep your business relevant.  A part of your development should involve polling your audience to see what their needs are and figuring out how to satisfy those needs.

Have start-up questions?  As us.

Dwania is the Founder and Executive Director of Canadian Small Business Women Contact Canadian Small Business Women:

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Canadian Small Business Women · Tagged: 10 steps to startup success, business development, business name, business plan, business startup, Canadian Small Business Women, Dwania Peele, Facebook, Instagram, license, Linkedin, logo, permits, Pinterest, Problem Solving, register, success, Twitter

Apr 09 2015

“I need a social media person” – Do you really need a social media person? – Part 1

Karima

After reading the recent article “Is Social Media Worth It For Small Businesses?” on Forbes.com, I realized that one of the reasons small businesses are disappointed with their social media hires is because they don’t know the roles and skills required to set themselves up for success on social media.

In the 15 years I have been dedicating my practice to helping businesses expand their online presence and (in the last 6 years) growth utilizing social media, I have heard business owners and top-level executives say “I need a social media person”. To me, this affirmation equates to saying “I need doctor” and once you’ve said it, chances are you will need a specialist. It’s the same with social media.

Social Media as a tool for growth

Unlike large organizations who typically have a social media (senior) manager and 1) with multiple direct reports or 2) agencies who manage specific areas of social media, small and medium organization are left to hire a jack-of-all trades who scramble to do EVERYTHING on social media.

Let me back up a little… Although a lot of young people hold Social Media positions, the top level positions are usually given to more seasoned marketing or digital professionals because although social media is about Facebook and Twitter, and blogs and Instagram, it’s also and primarily about business and strategic thinking. Now that the wonders of social media have spread to the world of business, engaging on social media has become a necessity for survival. And your business needs to jump on that bandwagon before your competitors overtake you!

Social media allows you to respond to your customers’ wants and needs immediately. You can boost sales, and people will be more receptive to your message. And let’s not leave out the most important fact of all: your competition is already there.

So, how do you build a solid team while maintaining cost-effectiveness?

You must have a business-focused social media professional come and do a diagnostic of your needs. Whether your company is just launching or is already in business, our program is designed to support you and help grow your online presence.

Identify and define roles

By identifying the roles and skills it takes to make your business successful, you will better reach out to the right people and organize their time based on needs and objectives. Below are some of the primary social media roles and skills that will get you going fast.

  • Strategist: A strategist, pretty much like all strategists in every industry, researches, benchmarks, and creates a plan and tactics. The strategy, when done well, identifies opportunities for growth and for It also determines how and where to invest to meet business objectives. A social media strategist is no different.
  • Project coordinator/manager: A project coordinator is someone who will keep you on budget, on time, and within scope. A fabulous project manager will also identify opportunities along the way and allow you to expand your reach and objectives. Hiring a part-time social media project manager is the key to your success.
  • Content producer: Online content can be blogs, videos, Facebook updates, Tweets, Instagram and Pinterest pictures or even YouTube videos. There is a plethora of types of content and platforms ranging from real-time to scheduled, from on the go to scripted, and from organic to paid. The importance of content is to identify your objectives and build a strategy around them.
  • Community manager: A true community manager builds and grows online An online community is a virtual community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet (Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Forums, etc.). Those who wish to be a part of an online community usually have to become a member via a specific site and necessarily need an internet connection.

I will explore other roles and skills in an upcoming blog post.

Why are online communities important for businesses?

Being a member of online communities for businesses and continually establishing and maintaining online relationships is critical to the success of your business. With the extreme popularity of social media, many people are excited about interacting and developing relationships with others whom they feel they can trust and who they consider experts in their industry.

At the heart of your success is the human element. Once people get to know you, and you get to know them, they will want what you are offering and will gladly tell others about what you are offering too.

Karima-Catherine is the co-founder of Red Dot Digital, a digital agency that strives to deliver top-notch solutions to various clients.  Red Dot Digital drives real, meaningful, quantifiable business outcomes for companies. Karima-Catherine is also the co-moderator of #MMchat, a Twitter weekly forum which focuses on business, marketing and social media.  

Connect with Karima-Catherine:

karima@reddotdigital.net

Website, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest

 

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Karima-Catherine Goundiam · Tagged: benchmarks, blogs, boost sales, Budget, business thinking, Canadian Small Business Women, Community manager, competitors, Content Producer, cost effectiveness, customers, define roles, diagnostics, entrepreneur, Facebook, Forbes.com, human element, identify roles, Intagram, Karima-Catherine Goundiam, online community, organizations, Pinterest, plan, Project coordinator, Project manager, Red Dot Digital, researches, small business, social media, strategic thinking, Strategist, tactics, tools, Twitter, YouTube

Oct 21 2014

Your Brand Values and Governance Model: Developing Your Content Strategy

GovernancePlanning (2)

Part 2 of a 6 part series on Content Strategy for Your Business

 

In the first post in this series, I outlined what a content strategy is and why it’s a critical part of your digital business model.  Over the next 5 weeks of this series, we’ll go through a full content strategy, but where to start?  Sometimes it’s best to start at the end.

 

Governance: Start Your Strategy at the End

When it comes to Content Strategy, A Governance model is perhaps the most important factor.  Why?  Because if you understand up front what it will take to create, measure and maintain your online business communications, you will be more realistic and strategic when you develop your content strategy.  In this post I’ll outline what your governance model will include, and then go into some detail on the creation of the first piece of your content strategy and resulting governance model.

What do I need to Govern?

Online business communications are the basics on your website, which might include

  • Your Home page
  • An “About Us” page or section
  • A services Section and/or product pages
  • Your contact page
  • Campaign based landing pages

Depending on your business goals, it might expand to include content marketing such as

  • Email communications such as e-blasts or newsletters
  • Blogging or articles
  • Info graphics or tools

And depending on your customers and where they are in the sales funnel, it might include brand awareness tactics like

  • Social media: Twitter, Facebook, Linked IN, Instagram, and Pinterest…
  • Influencer marketing

 

Governance of your content strategy means managing these communications, and it is like running a second business, your digital business.  It is part marketing, part sales, and part corporate communications.  And like any business, you need a plan: that’s what Governance is.

Your Governance model brings together all of the pieces of your content strategy into a structured, executable plan of action.  Putting a realistic and actionable governance model in place means being very clear about your brand values and goals, your customer needs, knowing which platforms your ideal customers are using, and which blend of content types will give your brand voice consistency and regularity, and then putting it all in a calendar.

 

A Governance Model Outline

 

Your governance model will be made up of:

1) A clear statement of your brand purpose.  This can be in the form of a mission statement, or it can be in the form of a message map, elevator pitch, or Value proposition (also sometimes called a unique selling proposition or USP).

2) A customer avatar or persona that describes your ideal customer

3) A clear idea of the conversion funnel for your ideal customer and which content types, on which platforms are likely to reach them.

4) An editorial calendar outlining when and what you are going to create or curate and some handy tools to keep it all running smoothly.

These things need to be written down!  Don’t keep it all in your head.  I keep my governance model in front of me in the form of sticky notes and charts pinned to a large piece of foam core that serves as my content strategy whiteboard.   Knowing that these are the building blocks of your content strategy governance model, you can sketch them out very high level, and over the next 5 weeks we’ll fill in the blanks, starting this week with Brand Values.

 

Your Brand Values: Let’s Clarify

What are your brand values, and what are your business goals?  By getting this down very clearly you will have some good material for your About Us page and a guide that will help you with your future content, customer, and platform decisions.  The problem with typical mission statements is that they are very high level and often include a lot of jargon.  For this reason I prefer to create more tactical artefacts, such as a Message Map or Value proposition.

Build a Message Map

A message map is perhaps the most tactical artefact you can create.  It is quick and relatively easy to put together and is a good guideline document if you need to write something quickly such as a product launch announcement, or if you need to give something to your employees so they know the talking points on a particular product, initiative, or your business generally.  CEO’s or PR writers use message maps if they are preparing to do a media interview, for example, or write a press release.

Watch this video about message maps, or use this basic formula, starting with a Twitter-friendly headline.  This means a short, maximum 140-character statement about your brand or product.  Then, write down 3 key points about your brand or product, making sure they are short bullets.  Finally, for each of those three points, come up with a few supporting facts, statistics, or stories that bring the point home.

 Message-Map-Diagram (2)

 

Clarify Your Value Proposition

 

Creating a value proposition using this template from copyhackers will give you a little bit more range of options in terms of how you might talk about your brand as a whole.  Copyhackers has an excellent suite of worksheets and tools for all aspects of content strategy and a great process for figuring out your value proposition, that has you think about your brand and your service(s) or product(s) by filling in this grid.  In the left-most column, write down all of the statements you can come up with that describe the benefits or features of your brand, service(s) or product(s), then really ask yourself if that statement gets a “tick” in the boxes to the right.  When you have a statement that ticks all the boxes, you have a great value proposition!

 

Christine McG
My favourite tool is taken from the book “Gamestorming” because it brings customer target into the mix, and it is visual and easy to fill in the blanks.  Try to make a few of these until you find a combination that feels right.

 

 

elevator-pitch (2)

Once you have a clear idea, or collection of ideas and statements on what you have to offer as a business, the next step is having a very clear picture of your customer: knowing what they want, and where they are going to find it.

Over the next 3 installations, we’ll cover

  • Your Customer: figuring out what your customers want, who they are, and where they are.
  • Social media strategy: we’ll answer the question: do I need a website AND do social media? (The answer is, yes!)
  • Editorial and Content types: we’ll look at creation vs curation and finding the right balance for your brand and your customers, and why you need a schedule. Regularity and consistency is key to building audience.

 

This sounds like a lot of work

I could spend all of my time on creating and maintaining content.  But obviously then I wouldn’t be running my business.  Every business owner has to be a sales and marketing pro these days, however, and much of that sales and marketing activity is contained within the governance model of your online content strategy.  It’s important to find the right balance-or governance model-for your business.

 

For more resources and information on Content Strategy and to download a detailed description of what content strategy entails, go to analyticalengine.ca/resources or download a Content Strategy Info graphic at http://bit.ly/1qY9tYp.

Christine McGlade is a Business Analyst, Content Strategist, and Usability Consultant.  With over 25 years experience in the media business, Christine helps small business, social enterprise, and Not for Profits how to leverage the power of the Internet to grow their business.  Learn more about Christine at analyticalengine.ca

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Christine McGlade · Tagged: About Us, Analytical Engine, articles, avatar, blogging, brand, Brand Values, business, business development, business goals, Business Woman, calendar, Canadian Small Business Women, Christine McGlade, Communications, Contact page, Content strategy, conversion tunnel, e-blasts, Elevator Pitch, entrepreneur, Facebook, Game Storming, Governance Model, graphics, Home Page, Influencer Marketing, Instagram, Landing Page, Linedin, marketing, message map, newsletters, Outline, Pinterest, service, small business development, social, social media, sticky notes, Twitter, Unique Selling Proposition, USP, value proposition, values, website

Jul 09 2014

Three C’s of Social Media for #SmallBiz

Kelly Farrell - Teach Me Social -headshot (2)

 Kelly headshot (2)

It’s great when someone tells a new business owner that they “have” to be on Social Media. But, what does that look like? Where do you start? What can I spend the least amount of time on? What’s essential?

Entrepreneurship in the 21st century demands a knowledge of so much more than just what your specialty is. A business owner today needs to be adept at all facets of business, or at least how to navigate through all the outsourcing options to find the best resource at the most cost-effective rate. Social Media is no different. There are numerous companies who will manage your online presence, but like other outsourcing options, it is up to the business owner to dictate how and what that presence will look like. That demands an understanding of the unique realm of Social Networking.

To help you get started, here are three essential C’s for every small business social media marketing plan.

Be Consistent – Accounts on all major networks with the same username so customers/clients can follow you. The top 10 networks (at the time of writing) include: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest,  Instagram, Vine, Tumblr, Flikr. While choosing which platform best suits your demographic, companies should have a consistent presence across all social media platforms, whether or not the profiles are equally active.

Be Cohesive – Cohesive branding across all accounts is the key to gaining brand recognition. Your logo and/or profile pictures on all your social networking accounts should represent your brand. Colours used in posts and in your email signature should also be representative of your brand. Take the time to ensure that you have the required sizes of your logo for all the different platforms (no, it’s not as simple as having one image file for your logo!) and that they are formatted and centered correctly.

Be Connected – To grow your followings on your social networks, make it easy for your clients and contacts to find you! Include your Social Network links in your email signature, on every page of your website or  blog. Then, link back to your website from your social media profiles. Making navigation easy for your followers will build brand loyalty and consequently increase your network.

  

Kelly Farrell is the Founder and Chief Facilitator of Teach Me Social, a visionary company that has a mission to empower small business entrepreneurs to take control of their own online presence and manage it in-house to maintain an authentic voice for their brand. Teach Me Social has been providing valuable Social Media and online marketing support to small business owners for 2 years, while Kelly’s personal experience in the marketing and Social Media realm extends over 15 years.  Connect with Kelly via her WEBSITE, TWITTER, or FACEBOOK page. You can also email her at info@teachmesocial.ca

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Kelly Farrell · Tagged: 3 C's, Be Cohesive, Be Connected, Be Consistent, business development, business entrepreneurs, business owner, Canadian Small Business Women, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Facebook, Flikr, google, Instagram, Kelly Farrell, Linkedin, Pinterest, small business, small business development, social media, social media platform, Social Networking, Teach Me Social, Tumblr, Twitter, Vine, YouTube

May 25 2014

VENDOR EVENTS

Last year has been quite a ride for us here at Canadian Small Business Women. With one year under our belt, we have made some important connections in the business world to help us host valuable events for our business community. We invite you to be a guest, exhibitor or a partner at some of our upcoming events. I hope to meet you all very soon.

IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S SMALL BUSINESS EXPO

This year, we are hosting two large feature events that are FREE of cost to our guests. We will be hosting our Immigrant Women’s Small Business Expo in Ottawa and in Toronto. Our Ottawa event will be held at the elegant Canadian Museum of Nature on October 4th, 2014 from 9am -5pm. This event will feature businesses from around the Ottawa area that offer services or business opportunities for our guests. We are expecting over 1000 guests to attend this one of a kind event. We will be inviting members of the Canadian Government, speakers from across Ontario and prominent members of the Ottawa Immigrant Community. We are currently seeking Exhibitors from business sectors such as education, legal, consulting, Immigrant Services, Real Estate, and more. Please view our event WEBSITE for further details. To redeem your FREE ticket to our event, click on the following LINK.

museum

 

Our Toronto Edition of the Immigrant Women’s Small Business Expo will be held at the iconicToronto Metro Hall on November 9th, 2014. This event will be the premiere Immigrant Small Business event of the GTA. Our guest list will be similar to that of our Ottawa event. To redeem yourFREE tickets for this event, click the following LINK.

 

Metro

We are also seeking volunteers for both events. Our volunteer hours are split in two shifts: 6am – 12pm and 12pm to 6pm. We require volunteers in the areas of check-in, set-up, greeting, workshop organization and tear down. If interested, please email us at info@canadiansmallbusinesswomen.caor canadiansmallbusinesswomen@gmail.com and provide us with your name, age, event of interest, volunteer experience, contact information (including phone number) and hours of availability.

We are also seeking VOLUNTEERS for both our events. We are seeking 50 volunteers for each of our Expos. We welcome students, community groups and corporate groups as well. Volunteer areas available are: Exhibitor Check-In, Guest Entrance, Guest Check-In, Media Check-In/Escort, Direction Assistant, Workshop Assistant, Dignitary Check-In/Escort, and Event Check-Out. Please view our Website for our Volunteer application.

 

 

SMALL BUSINESS SEMINAR – AUGUST 2014

Join us for our 3rd Small Business Seminar on August 9th , 2014 from 9am – 4pm at Sheraton Parkway North Toronto(Hwy 404 and 407). We are very excited to be hosting our Seminar on the Northeast end of the GTA. This gives us a chance to expand our network and showcase what our business has to offer. We are currently seeking 30 vendors/exhibitors for this show as well as a few workshop hosts. You can fill out our Vendor Agreement Form by clicking HERE. Early bird tickets are now available for only $10 (a 66% discount) by clicking HERE.

 

PERKS: As an exhibitor, you will receive a 6ft table with table cloth, access to our workshops (please do not leave your table unattended), lunch, and 5 complimentary tickets! There will be great opportunities to not only sell your product, but to also network with fellow entrepreneurs.   There is no limit to the great connections that will be made at this event.

 

 

Social Media Marketing: Beyond the Essentials

June 25, 2014. Microsoft Store, Square One

Our guest speaker for this heavily sought after topic is Kelly Farrell from Teach Me Social.  Kelly Farrell has been a teacher for more than 10 years and has experience teaching children and adults of all ages. Her experience with Social Media dates back to the days when call waiting first appeared! She has always been a bit of a techy and early adopter of new and exciting technologies and networks.

Social Media can help you expand your business reach, draw traffic back to your website and grow your brand online. It goes beyond having a Facebook page. Using Social Media effectively as part of your marketing strategy includes expanding your reach to all of the most popular sites, including Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google+, thus reaching a far wider audience of potential customers. Through this workshop, Teach Me Social can show you how to manage your time to gain the most benefit from having a presence across all Social Media platforms.

Early bird tickets are now available for only $10 (a 50% discount) by clicking HERE. No tickets will be sold at the door for this event. Event seating is limited.

 

 

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Events · Tagged: Author, business community, business opportunities, Canada, Canadian Government, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Small Business Women, CBC, Chatelaine Magazine, City of Toronto, City TV, CTV, Dwania Peele, Events, Expo, Fempreneur, google, Immigrant, Immigrant Community, Immigrant Women, Immigrant Women's Small Business Expo, Instagram, Kelly Farrell, Linkedin, Metro Hall, Metro News, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Microsoft, Microsoft Store, October, Ottawa, Pinterest, Public Relations, Sheraton Parkway North Toronto, small business, Small Business Seminar, social media, Social Media Marketing, Speaker, Square One, Square One Shopping Centre, Teach Me Social, Toronto, Toronto Metro Hall, TSN, Twitter, Vendor Agreement, Vendor Events, volunteer, Women in Business, Women's Diving Feminine Power, Workshop

Apr 21 2014

Vendor Events and Event Discounts!

Last year has been quite a ride for us here at Canadian Small Business Women. With one year under our belt, we have made some important connections in the business world to help us host valuable events for our business community. We invite you to be a guest, exhibitor or a partner at some of our upcoming events. I hope to meet you all very soon.

IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S SMALL BUSINESS EXPO

This year, we are hosting two large feature events that are FREE of cost to our guests. We will be hosting our Immigrant Women’s Small Business Expo in Ottawa and in Toronto. Our Ottawa event will be held at the elegant Canadian Museum of Nature on October 4th, 2014 from 9am -5pm. This event will feature businesses from around the Ottawa area that offer services or business opportunities for our guests. We are expecting over 1000 guests to attend this one of a kind event. We will be inviting members of the Canadian Government, speakers from across Ontario and prominent members of the Ottawa Immigrant Community. We are currently seeking Exhibitors from business sectors such as education, legal, consulting, Immigrant Services, Real Estate, and more. Please view our event WEBSITE for further details. To redeem your FREE ticket to our event, click on the following LINK.

museum

 

Our Toronto Edition of the Immigrant Women’s Small Business Expo will be held at the iconic Toronto Metro Hall on November 9th, 2014. This event will be the premiere Immigrant Small Business event of the GTA. Our guest list will be similar to that of our Ottawa event. To redeem your FREE tickets for this event, click the following LINK.

 

Metro

We are also seeking volunteers for both events. Our volunteer hours are split in two shifts: 6am – 12pm and 12pm to 6pm. We require volunteers in the areas of check-in, set-up, greeting, workshop organization and tear down. If interested, please email us at info@canadiansmallbusinesswomen.ca or canadiansmallbusinesswomen@gmail.com and provide us with your name, age, event of interest, volunteer experience, contact information (including phone number) and hours of availability.

We are also seeking VOLUNTEERS for both our events. We are seeking 50 volunteers for each of our Expos. We welcome students, community groups and corporate groups as well. Volunteer areas available are: Exhibitor Check-In, Guest Entrance, Guest Check-In, Media Check-In/Escort, Direction Assistant, Workshop Assistant, Dignitary Check-In/Escort, and Event Check-Out. Please view our Website for our Volunteer application.

 

 

SMALL BUSINESS SEMINAR – AUGUST 2014

Join us for our 3rd Small Business Seminar on August 9th , 2014 from 9am – 4pm at Sheraton Parkway North Toronto(Hwy 404 and 407). We are very excited to be hosting our Seminar on the Northeast end of the GTA. This gives us a chance to expand our network and showcase what our business has to offer. We are currently seeking 30 vendors/exhibitors for this show as well as a few workshop hosts. You can fill out our Vendor Agreement Form by clicking HERE. Early bird tickets are now available for only $10 (a 66% discount) by clicking HERE.

 

PERKS: As an exhibitor, you will receive a 6ft table with table cloth, access to our workshops (please do not leave your table unattended), lunch, and 5 complimentary tickets! There will be great opportunities to not only sell your product, but to also network with fellow entrepreneurs.   There is no limit to the great connections that will be made at this event.

 

THE ART OF LEADERSHIP FOR WOMEN

LWT14_BannerAd_250x400

The Art of Production will be back in Toronto this May with The Art of Leadership for Women. This event will feature Martha Stewart, Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist Hayley Wickenheiser, New York Times bestselling author Erica Ariel Fox, BBC World News Lead Anchor Katty Kay, New York Times Best Selling Author Liane Davey, and Award Winning Broadcast Journalist from CBC Wendy Mesley. I had the pleasure of attending The Art of Small Business last year during Small Business Week and it was definitely worth it. It is a great opportunity to connect with business leaders from companies that are held in high esteem internationally. Canadian Small Business Women is delighted to offer up to $100 off your admission ticket to this May 29th event being held at The Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  Use the promo code SMALLBIZWOMEN32 when you click HERE to register. See you there!

 

 

BECOME A PR PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOP

SATURDAY, JUNE 14 2014

Can’t afford a P.R. Agency or Publicist?Now you don’t have to….Veteran Broadcaster and Producer Teresa Kruze (CTV, City-TV, 680News, TSN, Chatelaine Magazine and Metro News) has worked in the media for over twenty-five years appearing on television, radio, and writing for magazines and newspapers. As a reporter, she has worked beside some of the best Assignment Editors in the business and observed on a daily basis what stories made it to air and what press releases ended up in the garbage bin or deleted file. Now she is going to share her knowledge to help small and medium business owners professionally promote their company or events in this informative workshop, you will learn the following:

  • Who are the key players in a news-room
  • How to write a proper press release that will get you and your company noticed
  • How to find your Media Hook
  • The right time to send a press release and the worst time to call a newsroom
  • Insider Tricks and Secrets to get past the Gatekeepers

This event is being held at The Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre from 9am – 1pm. There are only 20 seats available. This workshop is being offered for a special price of $350 to all of our affiliated entrepreneurs. This workshop is normally priced at $797, which is a saving of over 50%. Get your tickets by clicking HERE.

Snacks will be provided.

 

 

5 Ways to Lead and Succeed as A Fempreneur on Your Terms with Less Effort and More Profit

May 21, 2014. Microsoft Store, Yorkdale Mall

 

Our guest speaker is the one and only Janette Burke from I’m Every Woman TV.  Before Janette Burke, Your Marketing Magnet, FEMPRENEUR Marketing/Mindset Mentor, Speaker, Author and Host/Creator of I’m Every Woman! TV became an advocate of Women Rights & Issues and champion to Women in Business she spent 17 years behind the camera as the Founding Publicist of Prime Time PR and Former Editor of PRtalk – Canada’s only online PR magazine.

Today Janette’s mission is to awaken WOMEN’S DIVINE FEMININE POWER and provide them with the muster, support and tools they need to ignite their passions, stay on track and create a business & life they love – which she delivers through her I’m Every Woman! TV Show, Magnetic Women in Business Blog, Marketing/Mindset Mentoring, Dynamic Speeches and Columns.

Thinking of taking the entrepreneurial plunge or already there?

In this talk you will …

  • Break through the # 1 barrier to Women’s Success
  • Make the ONE simple change to be more productive in business that leads to more profit
  • Get the ONE essential element every FEMPRENEUR needs in her business to gain momentum and achieve success day after day, month after month and year after year
  • Duplicate my Marketing Recipe comprised of my ‘guaranteed-to-attract more clients & make more money’ on and offline strategies – which will have you clearing defining and conveying your compelling marketing message – so your ideal client sings your praises
  • Understand the differences between the Male and Female Success Models and go forward creating a Divinely Feminine business and life you love
  • And become an impressive role model for future generations of Women to follow as a result

Early bird tickets are now available for only $10 (a 50% discount) by clicking HERE. No tickets will be sold at the door for this event. Event seating is limited.

 

Social Media Marketing: Beyond the Essentials

June 25, 2014. Microsoft Store, Square One

 

Our guest speaker for this heavily sought after topic is Kelly Farrell from Teach Me Social.  Kelly Farrell has been a teacher for more than 10 years and has experience teaching children and adults of all ages. Her experience with Social Media dates back to the days when call waiting first appeared! She has always been a bit of a techy and early adopter of new and exciting technologies and networks.

Social Media can help you expand your business reach, draw traffic back to your website and grow your brand online. It goes beyond having a Facebook page. Using Social Media effectively as part of your marketing strategy includes expanding your reach to all of the most popular sites, including Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google+, thus reaching a far wider audience of potential customers. Through this workshop, Teach Me Social can show you how to manage your time to gain the most benefit from having a presence across all Social Media platforms.

Early bird tickets are now available for only $10 (a 50% discount) by clicking HERE. No tickets will be sold at the door for this event. Event seating is limited.

 

Woman on Fire Gala

Sunday, April 27, 2014

 wofg_842x292

Canadian Small Business Women is proud to be a media sponsors of the upcoming Woman on Fire Gala being hosted by Allison Harvey, of The Networking Diva Group.   WOMAN ON FIRE will be an epic evening of inspirations; passionate connections, laughter, tears, entertainment and so much more we invite you to become a sponsor or a guest.

Speakers:

  • Jilian Saweczko, Mother, Wife, Entrepreneur, Politician
  • Suzette Dallas, Mother, Wife, Entrepreneur – Suzy Mari Health & Fitness Studio
  • Natalia Popovich, Entrepreneur – Nat & Home
  • Natasha Morris, Entrepreneur – Gift’d
  • Tamara Sylvan, Mother, Wife, Female Firefighter & Entrepreneur – BeCPR Smart

The “Woman on Fire” is creating a blazing path, creating success for not only herself, but for those behind her. She boldly shares her journey on this road with others so they too can appreciate her challenges, witnessing her tears, but most of all…the smiles of accomplishment. While on the road full of pot holes and blind spots, the “Woman on Fire” seeks mentorship and support through the hills and valleys of business. She is not afraid to fail because she knows that in her failure lie her lessons for success that will bring her from the darkness and into the light. “Women on Fire” are known for listening to that small voice in the depths of their inner being, choosing to believe in themselves when no one else does.

For further information, please click HERE.

 

Our event blog post is contributed by Dwania Peele, Executive Director and Owner of Canadian Small Business Women. Please connect with her @DwaniaPeele , or at @CanadianSmallBusinessWomen on Facebook or @CdnSmallBizWmn on Twiter.

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Events · Tagged: 680 News, Allison Harvey, anchor, Assignment Editors, Author, BBC, BeCPR Smart, business community, business opportunities, Canada, Canadian Gold Medalist, Canadian Government, Canadian Museum of Nature, Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian Small Business Women, CBC, Chatelaine Magazine, City of Toronto, City TV, CTV, Dwania Peele, Erica Ariel Fox, Events, Expo, Fempreneur, Gift'd, google, Hayley Wickenheiser, I'm Every Woman TV, Immigrant, Immigrant Community, Immigrant Women, Immigrant Women's Small Business Expo, Instagram, Janette Burke, Jilian Saweczko, Journalist, Katty Kay, Kelly Farrell, Liane DAvey, Linkedin, Magnetic Women in Business Blog, Martha Stewart, Metro Hall, Metro News, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Microsoft, Microsoft Store, Nat & Home, Natalia Popovich, Natasha Morris, New York Times, October, Olympic, Ottawa, Pinterest, Politician, PR, Prime Time PR, PRTalk, Public Relations, reporter, Sheraton Parkway North Toronto, small business, Small Business Seminar, social media, Social Media Marketing, Speaker, Square One, Suzette Dallas, Suzy Mari Health & Fitness Studio, Tamara Sylvan, Teach Me Social, Teresa Kruze, The Art Of, The Art of Leadership for Women, The Art of Production, The Art of Small Business, The Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre, The Networking Diva Group, Toronto, Toronto Metro Hall, TSN, Twitter, Vendor Agreement, Vendor Events, volunteer, Wendy Mesley, WOF, Woman on Fire, Woman on Fire Gala, Women in Business, Women's Diving Feminine Power, Workshop, Yorkdale Mall, Your Marketing Magnet

Oct 18 2013

10 Step Checklist to Quickly Optimize Your Blog Post

Dwainia

Over the last few months we looked at how to optimize your blog for business using social media, search engine optimization (SEO), and awesome content.  This month I have created a quick and simple checklist to help optimize your blog posts.

1. Does my post convey the objective of the blog post?

2. Do I have a clear call to action (telling readers what I want them to do after they read the post)?

Search Engine Optimization

3. Have I used my search engine optimization keyword in my blog post? Preferably in the title?

4. Have I tagged and categorized my post for search engine optimization using relevant keywords?

5. Have used relevant links internal and/or external?

6. Have I optimized my images for size and with alt and title tags?

Social Media

7. Is my blog post truly shareable?

Does my post provide useful or entertaining information that others will want to share?

8. Have I used media (an image or video) to enhance my post and to inspire sharing?

Facebook has 1.1 billion photos, Instagram has 100 million photos, Flickr has 87 million photos and Pinterest has 49 million photos!

9. Have I included share buttons with the post to encourage sharing?

10. Have I shared my post on all my social media profiles such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+?

When you complete your blog post use this handy checklist to ensure you have optimized your post and it’s ready to publish.

 

Dwainia Grey is an online marketer at Awesome Biz Online. She creates awesome websites and blogs for businesses as well as working with
companies to optimize their websites with Search Engine Optimization and Social Media. She can be reached at Awesome Biz Online or by phone at 647-799-1090 x 104. You a can also follow her on Facebook to get the latest on online marketing.

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Dwainia Grey · Tagged: Awesome Biz Online, blog post, business, business development, Canadian Small Business Women, Dwainia Grey, entrepreneur, Facebook, Flikr, image optimization, Instagram, keyword, optimize blog post, Pinterest, relevant links, searchable, SEO, social media, Twitter

Jul 30 2013

Developing Social Media Real Estate Online

Kerry George (1)

Developing social media platforms is just like developing real estate along the supernet highway. Like real estate these properties require purchasing, upgrading, maintenance and a plan for long term occupation. When real estate is left unattended vagrants, bugs, rodents and other undesirables move in. Social media also can have people making undesirable posts on your page or have others talking about you in platforms that you did not even know existed. Imagine if you went to Las Vegas and saw your name in lights advertising you doing something embarrassing or worse.

You have a name, a reputation, and a business to develop and to protect. Not participating does not mean that developments are not going on without your knowledge. The best protection is to be engaged and aware. Just like owning real estate, absent renters may be surprised by developments they are unaware of.

When potential clients check out your website their next step is often to check out you. Have you googled your own name? What is found there? That is a whole page that should be all about you. That is a page of real estate that you can easily own. The pieces of content should reflect your story. The pictures should be photos of you. Your LinkedIn profile should be top and center. Your Twitter handle should come up next. Your Facebook profile should be there and your blog should have several places on page 1, 2 and 3.

All you need to do to make this happen is simply make it happen. If you do not have the time, then hire someone to make it happen. It is too important to ignore for your long term success. It is like leaving property without occupants if you do not.

  1. Develop profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter first. If your market is on Pinterest and Google+ then do those as well, but definitely get the main three done. Fill in all of the blanks and make the profiles interesting.
  2. Use your photos on everything. Brand you to your business. Name your photos your name when you save them on your computer and add the alt tags or keyword tags to your photos whenever you can. Some branding experts say to use the same photo but we have found that using different photos causes people to recognize you better in public and makes them more familiar with you and that produces more business.
  3. Start a blog. A blog that is attached to your WordPress website will help you get more traffic to your site but it also features you as an industry leader. Then you start showing up on page 1 of Google as an expert when your name is searched and sometimes for other subjects as well.
  4. Consistency is key. Start a Hootsuite account and automate Twitter and LinkedIn to post interesting statements, good questions, and great tips 4 times a day. Facebook should change a post about twice a week to keep people interested. Consistency is like property management. You need to be sure the plumbing is running right and that the grass got mowed so everything is spiffy when guests pop by to have a look at your property. Automating can help you be consistent when you are busy. In an hour you can put together the main posts for the next month. Then you can be spontaneous when there is something special going on as well.

Buy your property, own your property and care for your property. Be an engaged property owner for better results and create more interest from those rushing by on the internet highway!

Kerry George is the owner of the Canadian Imperial Business Network which is currently the largest business network in Alberta and rapidly expanding across the country. She is a serial entrepreneur/author and speaker with a zest for life and a passion to help others succeed in increasing their potential and their bottom line. Kerry has several publications and blogs that you can follow and welcomes most interaction online.

Twitter

@createloyalty2U

@CIBNtweets

@yycbiznetwork

Blogs

http://loyal2u.blogspot.ca/

http://calgarybiz.net/blog-3/

http://kidsincowtown.wordpress.com/

http://loyal2u.ca/category/social-media-2/linkedin/

Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Kerry George · Tagged: Alberta, blog, business development, Business Woman, Canadian Imperial Business Network, Canadian Small Business Women, consistent, entrepreneur, Facebook, google, internet, kerr, Kerry George, Linkedin, Phots, Pinterest, small business, small business development, small business owner, Social Real Estate, tags, Twitter

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