Social Media:  How effectively do you use Social Media in your Business?
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I always believed that being a member of the Royal Australian Air Force gave me a great foundation for my life, both professionally and personally.  The things I learnt from my time in the military have been invaluable to my business success.  The expansive skill set of strategic planning, competitive intelligence, decision making, leadership development, high standard enforcement, and innovation in execution are just a few of the skills that I walked away with.

When I first started out in business, I looked at the skills I had, but then quickly realised that to be effective, I needed to translate them from a military context, into a context that would provide me with the greatest value to my business.

I am reminded of these skills whenever the end of the year is upon me, as I normally will spend the last couple of months of the year planning and preparing for the next year. 

Here are three of the skills from the military that I find most useful for my business:

Intelligence:  In the military, there is always a systematic and ongoing analysis of competitors.  Understanding and reviewing the intelligence of your competition allows you to stay alive!  So when was the last time you spent time studying your competitors?  Do you know who your top five competitors are and what can you learn from them?

Action Step: Before now and the end of the year, take time to identify your top 10 competitors.  Use the questions set out in my previous article – Competition is not a Dirty Word and diligently work through these questions, so you have a better understanding of what your competitors are doing.  Use this information to either make changes to what you are currently doing or allow it to show you that what you currently do is cutting-edge. 

Planning and Preparation:  The military are known for their comprehensive and structured planning – which they do very well.  Not only is the planning  comprehensive, but it is timely and well executed.  There are only 64 days until 2011 hits us – have you begun to put together your strategic plan for 2011?  What are your goals and targets?  Have you started to develop your 2011 Marketing Plan?  Remember that 90% of all small businesses don’t have a marketing plan in place.  Make sure you are one of the 10% that does.

Action Step:  Block out time between now and January 1st to plan for 2011.  If you're not sure what you need to do here, now is the time to identify the specific type of support you need to help you develop your plan.  Get clear on this, and 2011 will be your best year.

Leadership Development:  The value of a great military leader was more than just what they did, it was how they did it, how they made decisions, lead their teams and presented themselves overall.  Many had to learn to be great leaders, and often in very trying circumstances.  I often find that when working with SME’s, they either don’t understand or don’t see the importance of being a strong leader.  But I would like to challenge you to think about this differently, whether you are a solopreneur or have a small team, your leadership skills and development is vitally important. 

Action Step: Please don’t make the mistake of not seeing yourself as a leader.  Take time to create a vision of the leader you would like to be and see the impact this can have on your business.

I look forward to hearing how you plan to spend your next 64 days.  Feel free to let me know.

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 Marketing 101....What is the 1 thing you want to know about developing your marketing
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Years ago, I used to run work/life balance workshops for many large organisations – it was something that I truly believed in. It was my soapbox for many years. I could rattle off all the statistics as to why it was important; give you worksheets to show you how to do it properly, and hound you relentlessly if you didn’t do it the way research (and I) said it should be done.

That was until I realised that work/life balance was a total crock! The notion of work/life balance and all its ramifications was designed to make us feel more guilty than we needed to.

And I have been reminded of this issue over the past few weeks when working with my mentor clients, and again during lunch today with my colleague. My clients are shocked when I tell them that work/life balance is really just a marketing tool and nothing more. My lunch date was on the same page as me, and agreed totally. So there we were having a great conversation about what the concept of work/life balance meant for each of us.

We started with this; Is there such a thing as work/life balance, and what if instead, we looked at it as simply balance – nothing more and nothing less? And that you were able to define what this meant for you and only you. How does that feel?

For me, balance is feeling contented at the end of the day, knowing that I’ve done the best I can for myself, my family, and my clients. To me , it means that it’s okay when I need to work twelve hour days to finish off a campaign. It means that the three hours I might do on a Saturday morning, is fine. And the reason it is fine, is because I will balance it out at the other end making sure I take the time out to connect with my family – this could be as simple as finishing early on some days, or heading away for a long weekend.

For Jen, it means that when she doesn’t finish a meeting with clients until after 7pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, she is able to balance this out by finishing early on Thursday or Friday and picking the kids up from school and focusing solely on them for a few hours. She has the support of her family, keeps them updated on what she is doing, and checks in regularly with how her children feel when Mum may not be there for dinner. Jen has learnt not to feel guilty about creating the life she wants for herself, because as she said: “I’m a happier wife and mother, when I'm able to create my own life balance.”

What does it mean for you? Are you able to create a balanced lifestyle based on your terms or do the well meaning people in your life make you feel guilty for doing what is right for you?

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By Alexandra Popovic

Are you one of those business owners who is quick to pass off social media as just another online fad? It might be time for you to reconsider your thinking. Because the truth is, if you invest in learning how to leverage it properly, the opportunities on social media are endless.

So the choice you must now make is either embrace it, or risk being left behind. Rather than focusing on the hottest tools, I believe it is essential to firstly emphasis one’s approach to this new medium, and the importance of creating valuable online conversations whilst developing worthwhile communities.

This is central to your success, so here are ten do’s and don’ts to consider before entering the socialmediasphere:

1. Don’t jump on the social media bandwagon just because it’s trendy. You’ll only wind up wasting your time and money if you don’t commit properly, or believe in its value. Take the time to educate yourself first, find worthwhile bloggers to subscribe to who also use social media, and develop your strategy, or seek advice from someone who can help you. You must however, be clear on the outcomes you want to achieve through your Social Media strategy.
 
2. Many delude themselves thinking their "brand” will impress the masses, but that’s just superficial packaging. The person behind the brand is now the focus. You’ll receive credibility and respect only if, and when, it’s earned. Do this by supporting and adding value to your online community, speak with them and not to them.

3. Forget about using Social Media as just another way to broadcast your marketing "message” en masse. If you do, you’ll only wind up being ignored and popular with “me, myself, and I”. It’s about engagement of your audience, so listening and engaging in conversation is key. In fact, why not create your own community via some free tools that make it easier and more manageable? Check out: Seesmic and Tweetdeck.

4. Don’t put emphasis on being popular, obsessing over statistics and analytics of how many likes/followers/connections you have. Focus on what makes you so ‘younique’; showcase your character, values, personality, knowledge and experience. Remember it’s quality over quantity, as the number of followers bares no relation to the number of possible opportunities.

5. What worked for you and your business 5 or 10 years ago is now irrelevant in this new arena. This new age form of customer service is all about people to people, so remember to invest in learning techniques on how best to present yourself to ensure you make a positive and lasting impression.

6. Don’t construct what you think is a compelling personality to attract your "target market”. Those that succeed in social media are authentic and transparent about who they really are, and understand the true value of their services/products. They know that building Social Media relationships, like any worthwhile relationship, takes time and they are willing to work at this for the long haul.

7. Strategy is definitely not “one size fits all”, so what might work for someone else, may not for you. Research other business case studies for inspiring examples, but bare in mind that the needs of your business should be assessed, and a practical, productive strategy customised exactly to these needs.

8. Don’t sit behind your Social Media accounts and rely solely on it for all your business networking. Yes, use it as a quick icebreaker, a learning tool,  and to start conversations, but meeting prospective clients and partners face-to-face can never be replaced. You can use Tweetups (Twitter meetups), and meet others in your local area. If you are traveling, tweetups are being held all over the world nowadays, so do a search for one happening in the place you are traveling to in advance and connect online with other attendees. In fact, why not take the initiative and create one of your own?!

9. Don’t use Social Media in place of your marketing strategy, it is only a piece of the marketing pie. Plan realistically what your business, marketing objectives, and goals are, and integrate your social media objective into your overall plan. Remember to measure your progress, so you can change your strategy if and when necessary.

10. First impressions really count, and you have less than 5 seconds! Put your best profiles forward, be consistent with your business branding and make sure your information is always informative and up to date.

Visit Alex at VIP Virtual Solutions to take advantage of her FREE social media evaluation – this is available to the first ten Biz Booster readers who contact her. Or check out her other services in relation to social media management and training.
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