One of the most common statements I hear from businesses is "I know we need to use social media in our marketing, but we don't know where to start." One of the tools I use in my Social Media Strategy Workshop is a worksheet that helps businesses use a strategic approach to implementing and integrating social media into their marketing mix.

7 Steps to Create Your Social Media Strategy

1. List the social media platforms you will use.
   Many businesses start with a Facebook page because someone told them they need to do so, or create profiles on all the platforms but do not engage in any of them.  First, find out where your ideal market "hangs out" in social media. If you are a B2C business, Facebook "might" be the right fit for you. If you're a B2B business, LinkedIn "might" be the place to start. The important thing is to spend time where you'll be connecting with your customers, clients and prospects. Second, because there are only so many hours in a day, it makes sense to...

Business owners and marketing professionals face a constant learning curve to keep current in the social media space. Many times we are in a constant state of overwhelm as we struggle to stay current with the latest changes. I am often asked, “How do you keep up social media that constantly changes and not get overwhelmed?”

Overwhelm happens when there is no plan. It is important to implement a strategic social media plan that integrates with your overall marketing plan. This will help manage priorities of what’s important and what can wait. A focus on goals, objectives and return on investment will put the time and effort in perspective.

A proactive, self-development education plan can be developed to use inbound marketing techniques that will bring the latest information to you. Since social media platforms will continue to evolve and change, it’s important to find the experts and resources who already devote considerable time and have amassed...

In this episode of Business Dig, we welcome Rex Sikes, the creator of MIND DESIGN™ and is also well known as a Master NLP Trainer, hypnotist, and whole-brain learning expert. Rex just released his book, Life on Your Terms, a powerful practical manual with a fresh take on personal growth, business success, and transformation that’s infused with love, wisdom, innovative ideas, principles, and practices that help you to begin creating and living the life you want.

In this broadcast, we hope you'll discover how to create a champion mindset and a victor mentality, to harness your dreams and desires using Rex's simple and powerful techniques. Rex gives you pages of real-life principles proven to change lives.

Rex’s book, "Life on Your Terms," is now available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Life-Your-Terms-Create…/…/ref=sr_1_1…

We invite you to watch as we discuss the following topics:

• Rex shared his story of how a skydiving accident...

To be competitive in today’s online market, your marketing strategy must contain video. It’s a powerful form of content, which is rapidly becoming the primary marketing tool of choice for many small businesses.

That's because videos showcase your and your company's personality. They convey, in images, what you and your mission/vision are all about. They demonstrate both authenticity and authority online. They communicate valuable content in a format that engages your prospects. They let people in, they connect, so that people get to know you.

Business owners who use video for marketing purposes have cited an increase in sales, lead generation, website use, improved customer relations and more. It definitely pays to take advantage of video to spread your marketing message.

Here are 8 ways you can use videos to promote your business and take advantage of this powerful tool.

1. Education - Use video to educate your market on the use of your products. Lead them...

You’ve heard that using video to market your business can bring incredible results. But do the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to create a video and put it online?

In a word, YES! Shooting a video, editing and formatting it, uploading it to the Internet with the right title and description takes a bit of time. But the payoff for video marketing can be tremendous.

Here are seven real benefits of marketing with video:

1. Personal connection. The personal connection with your potential market is a huge selling factor. With video, your audience can truly get to know you, see you and get a sense of your personality. They get to see that you are indeed a real, live person. They start building a deeper relationship with you and feel as if they actually have met you.

2. Trust. There’s an old proverb: “Believe nothing of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” It can be very easy to be a fake and a fraud online. People are skeptical...

We’re back! Welcome to the re-launch of Business Dig with Lisa Kanda and Deborah Frey, where we focus on trends, tips, tools and tales that inform, educate, and entertain. We’re excited to bring back our show from our Blog Talk Radio days and have upgraded to doing a video podcast.

In our inaugural show, we will give you a quick update and then dive into talking about Habits!

We invite you to watch as we discuss the following topics:

Have you ever thought about what motivates people to buy from you? While some sales gurus may preach the “always be selling” approach, understanding your market and their reasons for buying is necessary for success in sales. With the growth of social media as a vehicle to market your business, it is even more important to understand how to use these tools and follow best practices to protect your brand. 

Discover Why Your Customers Buy From You

You may have heard the phrase “People don’t like to be sold but they love to buy!” by bestselling author, Jeffrey Gitomer.  In his book, Little Red Book of Selling, he shares the following 10 reasons why people will buy from you.

1. I like you.
2. I understand what I am buying.
3. I perceive a value in the product / service.
4. I have confidence in you.
5. I trust and believe you.
6. I feel there is a fit between my needs and the product/service.
7. The price is fair.
8. I perceive the product / service will increase...

In this video of Q&A With Lisa K. I review how to manage social media in the workplace to allow your employees to use these tools and become brand ambassadors. The question asked was “Are my employees using LinkedIn and other social media to enhance business development for my business?”

Watch the video for the answers.

Networking is often what turns a small business into a thriving and prosperous business. Last night, I attended a Chamber of Commerce small business networking event, and I was reminded of how important it is to not just attend these events, but to be proactive in your networking strategy to get the most out of your time and effort. Networking success comes with planning and follow up.

CREATE NETWORKING GOALS

What do you want to achieve with your networking efforts? For example, do you want to create partnerships with other business owners? Do you want to broaden awareness of your brand or drive traffic to your website? Do you want to increase credibility? Decide what your goals are and then you can move onto the next step which is to plan how you’re going to achieve your goals.

CHOOSE YOUR TACTICS

Once you have your goals, plan how you’re going to achieve them. This step involves two considerations:

1. How much time do you have to commit to networking?
2. What...