The SmallBizLady Buzz - Issue 112

If you want to create content people love, use these best practices for content creation: show that you?CARE.

C - Consistent

• Post consistently to keep your audience engaged year-round. Aim for at least one story (4-7 slides) every day, 4 Feed posts per week, and 1-2 longer episodic videos per week. If you aren’t posting often, your content is just a raindrop in a thunderstorm. You need to post often to make a splash. The more captivated someone is, the easier it is to drive them towards conversion.

A - Authentic

• The best thing you can do to organically grow your presence on social media is to use the platforms authentically. Always post in the first person, post selfies, share milestones, and showcase your unfiltered personality. FYI: Video is the best medium for conveying authenticity.

R - Relevant

• Social Media is all about online conversation, so really join in on the conversations that people are already having. Don’t be afraid to weigh in on current events. You can comment on articles that you enjoyed, re-share an article with your own commentary to your accounts, make pop-culture references in your posts, and participate in current trends. Think about using your platforms for conversation too - not just your announcement board.

E - Engaged

• Responding to comments leads to better distribution: When people are commenting on your posts, it’s in hopes that you will actually see the comments. When you respond to them, it helps show your audience that you are really there and that it’s the real you. This incentivizes more people to comment, and more comments equals more distribution. For example, on Instagram, once you see a post, you don’t see it again, so it’s worth responding to an early comment you get so that when people see that post, they know you are looking at the comments. Commenting on content from other accounts leads to follower growth too. This helps get your name in front of more people, and that in turn leads to more follower growth.

Follow these tips to build more traction with your social media marketing. If you need help streamlining your sales process, check out this week’s featured article,?How to Handle Sales Inquiries.

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It’s always a happy day when a potential customer comes to you wanting to learn more about your products or services. The question is: are you prepared to handle sales inquiries when they come your way? Without the proper systems in place, you could miss out on an opportunity to acquire a new customer.

This article will cover everything about how to handle sales inquiries, including receiving them, responding to them, following up with them, and encouraging more of them. Continue reading....

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Powerful forms get it done.

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Podcast: How to Become a Second Act Entrepreneur with Eric Brown

Checkout my recent podcast: How to Become a Second Act Entrepreneur with Eric Brown

Eric Brown is a serial entrepreneur and highly experienced urban housing developer. In 2000, he started his company, Urbane Apartments, which developed over 16,000 market-rate apartments nationwide.

He is recognized as a vanguard in the family housing industry due to his social media marketing strategies. He recently branched out to go in a new direction with Urbane Farm, a purveyor of 100 unique hot sauce brands, fish sauces, salsas, etc. Eric launched his new book, Second Act Entrepreneur, to help entrepreneurs with their business start-ups.

Eric joins me to share his second act entrepreneur book and reveal the advantages of being a 50+ entrepreneurs. For more information: https://urbaneapts.com/urbane-farm

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Today is the day that we're live on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube at 8pm ET.

Tonight, we'll do #SmallBizChat LIVE with three guests. You can see it live on my SmallBizLady Facebook Page, Twitter, or Youtube at 8pm ET sharp. We'll discuss?What You Need to Know About the Book Business?with Stephanie Chandler, @nonfictionassociation on Instagram,?How to Handle Remote Work in Your Small Business?with Liam Martin, @liamremote on Instagram, and?Finding Resources to Support Your Small Business ?with Bridget Brown, @pagesandposts on Instagram.

About our guests:

Stephanie Chandler is the author of several books, including The Nonfiction Book Publishing Plan. She is CEO of the Nonfiction Authors Association, a vibrant community for writers, and the Nonfiction Writers Conference , a live event conducted entirely online since 2010. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in Entrepreneur, BusinessWeek, The Writer, Writer’s Digest, and Wired magazine. For more information: https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com

Liam Martin is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Time Doctor and Staff.com . He is also a co-organizer of the world's largest remote work conference — Running Remote. Liam is an avid proponent of remote work and has been published in Forbes, Inc, Mashable, TechCrunch, Fast Company, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, The Next Web, The Huffington Post, and Venturebeat, specifically targeting the expansion of remote work. Liam is about empowering workers to work wherever they want, whenever they want. He is also the author of a new book, Running Remote. For more information: www.Runningremote.com

Bridget Brown is a mechanical engineer and owner of the Pages and Posts digital design agency. Brown is also Verizon Small Business Digital Ready power-user, with 40 self-paced modules and live events under her belt. Before founding Pages and Posts in 2018, Bridget’s professional career included various positions in the energy and aerospace industries. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Mississippi and an MBA from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. For more information: https://pagesandposts.com

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Melinda F. Emerson,?“SmallBizLady” ?is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She?is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, marketing and social selling. Melinda is also the president of the Quintessence Group, an award-winning marketing consulting firm based in Philadelphia, PA, serving Fortune 500 brands who target small business market. LinkedIn named her a Top Voice for 2019 in Small Business and Entrepreneurship.?In addition to being a former NY Times columnist, she is frequently quoted by media organizations including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News. She is the host of #Smallbizchat LIVE and The SmallBizChat Podcast. A prolific writer, Melinda has published more than 5000 articles on her blog?www.succeedasyourownboss.com . Her small business advice is widely read reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She is the bestselling author of?Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded ?and?Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.