{E16} The Power Of Online Communities: Business Growth, Relationship Building & Micro-Economies

In this episode of the Business Ignite Show, I talk about the power of online communities and how they are integral to developing your business online.
Why communities? They are perfect way to build relationships, work on the know/like/trust factor and tap into micro-economies. I also talk about “drive by” link dropping vs engagement, getting out of the echo chamber and where to find these communities online.

What You’ll Learn In This Podcast

  • How to find communities online
  • Drive By vs Interaction: Why this won’t win you any business
  • Echo chamber vs Interested Based and the power of the micro-economy

 

 

Sites & Resources Mentioned


Planning and Tracking Marketing

{E15} Plannning and Tracking Your Marketing With Jessica Oman

In this episode of The Business Ignite show, I chat with Jessica Oman of Write Ahead and we discuss the importance of planning and tracking your marketing efforts. How much time are you spending on different activities and what is your ROI? Jessica also shares the tools she uses to effectively measure her marketing efforts as well as track new leads.

What You’ll Learn In This Podcast 

  • The importance of figuring out your customer avatar
  • People underestimate how much time they spend on marketing and the true time costs
  • Start tracking where your leads are coming from the beginning- how did they find out about you?

Sites & Resources Mentioned

About Jessica Oman jessicaoman Jessica Oman is the founder of Write Ahead, where she writes business plans that pack a punch and make investors and lenders pay attention. Connect with her on Twitter @Writeahead.       If you enjoyed this episode I would appreciate if you could head over to iTunes and leave a review!

{E14} 13 Ways To Get Off The Content Creation Hamster Wheel

Do you feel like you are always creating new content to spread the word about your work? And once you finish something it’s time to start the process all over and it feels like a never-ending hamster wheel of content creation? Madness, right? In this episode, I look at how to get off the content creation hamster wheel and get more out of your existing content.

What You’ll Learn In This Podcast 

  • Give your content new legs by adapting it to different platforms
  • You don’t always have to be creating new content but look at how you can repurpose it, for example turn a blog post into a short video or audio clip.
  • Experiment with different content formats.

 

 

Sites & Resources Mentioned

If you enjoyed this episode I would appreciate if you could head over to iTunes and leave a review!

productivity online business tools

[Business Ignite] 5 Must Have Tools To Run Your Online Business

Tool Time! In this episode of the podcast I share my favorite tools..well at least 5 of them! Admittedly, I’m a bit of a tool-junkie and love experimenting with new ones. Shiny object syndrome? Nah..not me! Okay, fine..maybe just a bit. The upside? You get to save time and hear about the best of the best. So, in no particular order, I bring you my must have tools to run your online business.

Schedule Once

Ever try planning a meeting with someone and you end up in email ping-pong hell? Where not only are you trying to figure out availabilities you also have different timezones to deal with?

Enter Schedule Once.

As the name implies, you schedule once.

When you create your Schedule Once account, you set your availabilities. It connects with your calendar and blocks off any existing meetings.

When someone wants to book time on your calendar, simply send them your schedule once link and they can select the time and zone that works best for them.

You get a notification and it’s booked in your calendar.  Et voila! End the email back and forth madness.

Boomerang

Boomerang is a  plugin for Gmail.

Just because you are hustling and working all hours of the day and night…*does not* mean your clients need to know.

Enter Boomerang. Reply to emails on your own time but schedule them out to go out with Boomerang at more appropriate times.

Have emails that you don’t need to deal with right now (webinar reminders, concert tickets..), Boomerang them to return at a specified date.

Social Media Management

Social media dashboards and scheduling tools. I personally use a combo of Hootsuite and Buffer.

Why not just use Twitter.com, you ask?

I use Hootsuite’s dashboard to get an overview of my Twitter lists, if there are conversations, keywords or hashtags I want to follow. I also use it to schedule out evergreen content like past episodes of my podcast or relevant blog posts.

I use BufferApp to curate and share content on the fly and like it’s ease of use as a browser plugin.

DropBox

Dropbox is a free service that lets you access your files from anywhere.

I use DropBox to easily share my raw podcast files with my podcast editor. With a shared DropBox folder, I can share files and access the edited files once they are ready. No need to email large files back and forth.

Similarly, when working with coaching clients, I use DropBox to share call recordings and pdfs.

And the beauty of it? It’s all in the cloud…accessible from anywhere, on any device.

Google..well..everything.

Google Drive is first on my list. I do *everything* in there..from working on documents (like coming up withe new product ideas) to collaborating on retreat planning (with my partner who is 3000 miles away!)

Analytics: you need this on your site. And it’s free. Enough said.

Google+ and Hangouts: I looove this platform and especially the hangouts and hangouts on air. Super easy to jump on and broadcast panels, shows, coaching calls, webinars…you name it!

 

What are some of your favorite tools? Let me know in the comments! 

[Business Ignite] Personal Branding, Facebook “Micro” Communities & Connecting With Your Customer Avatar

Nicole Longstreath of The Wardrobe Code joins me today to discuss personal branding, the evolution of your voice online and how she uses social media to connect with her community online. We talk about Facebook “micro” communities, running online challenges and getting to know your customer avatar better.

What You’ll Learn In This Podcast 

  • How to develop your personal brand and style by getting in touch with your inspiration
  • Creating an experience for your social media followers with your content
  • How to get around the constant Facebook changes with “micro”communities

Sites & Resources Mentioned

If you enjoyed this episode I would appreciate if you could head over to iTunes and leave a review!

About Nicole

nicoleAs a virtual wardrobe strategist, Nicole helps her clients uncover their unique style and build wardrobes they love at a sensible cost. She believes that having a strong personal brand is within reach for anyone who wants it. It doesn’t require starting over or spending a fortune – just a commitment to yourself. Find her online at The Wardrobe Code, on Twitter and Facebook.