Planting Your Message With Social Media

Social media, like today's soft rain on dry ground, soaks down thru layers, spreads out and nurtures your business.

Like a farmer wanting a good harvest, you need to plan:

• where you will place your message


• when will you place it


• what will you say


• how frequently will you say it.

You need to find a balance. Posting too frequently can annoy your audience and turn them off, too little and they can forget you.

It may seem overwhelming, for it can be. Help is available through outsourcing. Virtual assistants/social media mavens can get you started and keep you social media marketing refreshed. Be sure your assistant understands social media marketing, as well as, your business voice. Finding your voice and expressing it is my specialty. If I can help you, let me know. Contact me at http://budurl.com/zg7d

Judie Fouchaux

Where to Start When Getting In To Social Networking

Planning to get into social networking as a business marketing strategy? Don’t know where to start? Perhaps this will help.
The first step isn’t finding networking sites. The first step is thinking about what you are going to do when you get there. What will you need? How will you make it all work? Is this a quick “run the flag up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes” plan, or a long-term plan that is well thought out, precise with achievable goals? Considering the time and effort you will put into social networking to make it work, it should be a plan for the long-term.
Before you set up a social networking site have ready:
· A short bio (some sites allow you to upload a resume).
· An “elevator pitch” (a paragraph that succinctly expresses what you or your company does).
· Your picture for your profile (in jpeg format).
· A blog or website where visitors can find out more about you.
Be prepared to dedicate some time to this adventure. If time is of the essence, help is available through outsourcing. Skilled social media strategists can get you started, take some of the load and fill in where you need help. Contact me if I can help you. jfouchaux@gmail.com

Cracker Barrel Marketing

Social Media Marketing is time consuming. There is no doubt about It. It’s time consuming because it isn’t just having customers drop by to make a purchase. It’s setting up your “cracker barrels”, putting on the coffee and tea and taking the time and effort to make relationships. It’s talking to people and, more importantly, it’s listening to your customers. There's no better way to find out what they need and how you can help them.

Every year there is an increase in online buying. When you shop online, don’t you feel reassured when you can read positive reviews of a company or hear good things about them from someone you know? I know I do. Searching on the internet for information on products and services is becoming more and more frequent. That’s one reason to get your information out through social media marketing. Setting things up, getting started and being consistent all take time. The benefits outweigh the effort though. And, there are virtual assistants out there who specialize in helping you create a great social media campaign. I’m one who would be happy to help you. jfouchaux@gmail.com

We Are The Artists Who Create Our Lives

We are all artists of our own lives. No matter how much we dress alike or act alike, we are still unique expressions of the life force in our world. As Martha Graham wrote, “There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it.”

If we chose to accept that she is right, there is a responsibility that we have to express our uniqueness in our lives. Forces in the world today are attempting to make us smaller, more closed in, more fearful. I have found that by going into myself I can connect with an inner knowledge that supports me in growing and developing my own uniqueness. I see the world differently, more creatively. There are more possibilities.
There is more joy. I bring that joy and creativity to my work. If I can help you achieve the same ends please let me know.

Judie Fouchaux
Creative Crosse Roads
415-331-6672
www.jfouchaux@gmail.comhttp://jfouchaux.wordpress.com

The "Blunderbuss" Approach

Today's marketing through social networking might look like pellets from a "blunderbuss" or shotgun; scattered over a vast area "with the power of the burning charge divided among the pellets, which means that the energy of any one ball of shot is fairly low." (Wikipedia) This is so unlike the advertising of a few years ago, when people shopped mostly in large malls choosing their stores by name and discount coupons, that it is often misunderstood.


The advertising done in the past by radio, TV and the newspapers was very direct, like someone aiming a bullet at a bull's eye. It might go straight and true but it might glance off the target uselessly. As large shopping malls took the place of the local shops consumer loyalty disappeared. They clipped the coupons and followed the bargains. This type of advertising probably worked well for the large stores in well populated areas where customer turnover didn't harm the bottom line. It has been of no help to small business entrepreneurs with limited advertising budgets.


Today's consumers are becoming different types of shoppers. They search the internet for information before making purchases. They look to small businesses as well as large. That's why no matter how scattered social networking looks...IT WORKS! Unlike what happens to the pellets fired from an actual blunderbuss, these pellets of information get spread around, shared and help build relationships. They help you to connect with existing as well as potential clients and customers who learn to trust you aw you tell them your story. These consumers then pass on their relationship with you to others, building a community.


Ifyou want to build your business in today's world, you can't overlook social networking as a tool. You need an online presence and strategy. It needs to be active and consistent.


Judie Fouchaux
Meeting Your Social Networking Needs
415-331-6672
jfouchaux@gmail.com
http://jfouchaux.wordpress.com/

Happiness at Work

Are you happy in what you are doing? According to a recent report the majority of people working today are not happy. They work for their pay checks. Some of us who felt that way have gone into business for ourselves. We’ve chosen to follow the saying of Confucius that if we “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” It hasn’t always worked out the way we expected. If you start out small, with a limited financial backing, you may find yourself doing the necessary things that you don’t really like doing.

As time goes by, you may feel you are back in the same place you were when working for others. Dissatisfied. The tricks here, I believe, are:
(1) To stay focused on your goal. What was it you wanted to do when you started your business;
(2) To reach out for support from a mentor; and
(3) To find the help you need in the areas that are not your strengths so you can build from your strength.

In the area of Social Networking to grow your business, I can help. Just let me know. jfouchaux@gmail.com

Judie Fouchaux
Creative Crosse Roads
http://jfouchaux.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/creativecrosse

Analyze, Set Goals and Build

You have an idea. You are starting a business. Your great idea will carry you only so far. What else do you have that will help you create the business you want? First step: analyze this. Where will your talents and expertise support you in growing your business? Where will your weaknesses threaten your results? What are the ways you can get around those weaknesses? Can you build a team to help? With that knowledge, you can begin to set goals that strengthen your business.

In our businesses we often set the big picture goals. I want my business to be flourishing by the end of the year. I want to be rich by the end of two years. These goals wonderful end pictures, but still in the dream world of generalities. In order for these things to happen, we must be specific and positive. What does flourishing look like? What is rich?

Each person may have a different answer to those questions. That is why it’s important to be really specific in what you want; how you want your business to look. It is also necessary that your goals are expressed in a positive manner with the goal achieved. Once your long-range goals are specific, you need to have short-term goals (weekly, monthly, quarterly) that will move you in the right direction. They too should be specific and have a realistic time frame. It keeps you focused. These goals are the framework on which the business is built. Keep them handy; refer to them often. They are the signposts for the trip forward and the journal of the challenges you have overcome.

Judie Fouchaux
www.jfouchaux@gmail.com
http://jfouchaux.wordpress.com
www.twitter.com/creativecrosse