DSEF & Money Wise Women: Using Social Media to Build Your Business

Today’s highlighted post from Money Wi$e Women Get Smart Teleseminar Series (Click here):

Using Social Media to Build Your Business

Do you understand social media and how to use it? Jennifer Fong will discuss the differences between social media for personal and business use, how to get started with social media, and social media tools to consider using for your business.

Jennifer Fong

Jennifer Fong is a social media speaker and consultant who teaches direct selling companies and individual direct sellers how to use social media effectively as a business building tool. A former direct sales company CEO, Jennifer built her company from the ground up, and understands what it takes to build, lead, and train a team, as well as the underlying principles of any direct selling business: network, sell, and recruit. She combines her expertise in direct sales with her passion for social media marketing to provide direct sellers with the knowledge they need to put social media to work for their businesses in a strategic and profitable way.

http://jenfongspeaks.com

DSEF proudly sponsors the free Money Wi$e Women Get Smart Teleseminar Series hosted by Marcia Brixey, Founder and President of Money Wise Women Educational Services and author ofThe Money Therapist: A Woman’s Guide to Creating a Healthy Financial Life. The series covers topics related to business and finances and provides women the opportunity to learn from professional experts in a safe, comfortable environment.

To find out about upcoming teleseminars, visit http://www.moneywisewomengetsmart.com/

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Tapping Your Network to Grow

We all have networks. These are groups of people that we connect with on a regular basis because of mutual interests, business, or other reasons. They’re a great source of personal satisfaction as well as potential business leads. Whether it’s a book club, religious organization, or professional networking group, networks can be a great resource for your business.

Here are some ideas for tapping this valuable resource to continue growing your business.

Give them a reason to check out your business. If these people are already in your existing network, chances are they have some degree of familiarity with your business. For this reason, you need to motivate them to rediscover you. Perhaps you have recently renovated your space, introduced a new product/service, or expanded your online presence. Use this change to re-promote your business to your network contacts and keep the relationship alive. Ask them to check out the change and offer their opinion.
Offer reciprocity. Through networking, current contacts often lead to new prospects and future contacts within your network. To take advantage of this, offer a way to return the favor when someone helps you in your business by either patronizing it themselves or advertising it to others. For example, a local restaurant owner can recommend a nearby banquet hall for parties and offer a special discount for customers using his or her restaurant for the catering. Likewise, the catering hall can refer customers to the restaurant for a free appetizer or dessert by mentioning their name at the restaurant after booking a party at the banquet hall. This helps each business gain new customers, and maintains a good relationship between both businesses.
Team up for an event. Promoting each other’s products and services can be done in many ways, including putting together a joint event that works for everyone involved. A direct seller of home décor might team up with a direct seller of cookware to create an event that offers people new ideas about how to prepare for a dinner party, covering everything from how to best use your space to what recipes can be used for each course of the meal. An event like this exposes each business owner to a new group of potential clients while providing the opportunity to show those prospects the best of each one’s business.
Make professional appearances at trade shows, chamber of commerce meetings, and industry conventions. Consider doing a speaking engagement, teaching a workshop, or holding a demonstration of your business’s products/services for other small business owners. If you run a successful business, you have much to offer fellow business owners and those just getting started. Making a name for yourself locally will spark interest in your business.

Your network is a valuable resource which should not be overlooked when taking steps to grow your business. What ideas do you have for tapping your network? Please share with us in the comments below!

Free e-book “Business Owner’s Road Map to Success.” It has over 50 pages of techniques for everything a small business owner needs to master, from business planning and ethical selling to a success mindset. It’s all there and it’s free for you. To get it, just “Like” our Facebook Page here: http://on.fb.me/KsIN6P Pass it on!

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DSEF & CBBB: Pain at the Pump: Gas Climbs to $5 per Gallon

Today’s highlighted blog post from the Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB):

Pain at the Pump: Gas Climbs to $5 per Gallon

BY VERONICA BROWN – FEBRUARY 24, 2012

Get ready for gas prices to shoot through the roof. Many Americans may begin to pay $5 per gallon, reports USA Today.

The surge in prices comes from not only rising prices in oil, but also lower refining capacity, tensions in the Middle East, and also the fact that spectators are driving up the price. The price of gas this February is up 42 cents from last year, with a record high of $3.65 per gallon.

On average, gas currently costs $4.20 in California, and $3.91 in New York. These prices are expected to keep climbing. A Washington state refinery that recently suffered damage from a fire could drive up prices in the region even higher this weekend.

In reaction to increased pain at the pump, consumers have begun to cutback on their gas purchases. Consumption fell 1.4 percent through February 17th, amounting to about 18 million barrels a day. This is the lowest since April 1997.

To read the full article, visit http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/story/2012-02-22/gas-prices-average/53229358/1

DSEF and Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) fosters honest and responsive relationships between businesses and consumers—instilling consumer confidence and advancing a trustworthy marketplace for all.

About the Better Business Bureaus
As the leader in advancing marketplace trust, Better Business Bureau is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. Every year, more than 87 million consumers rely on BBB Business Reviews® and BBB Wise Giving Reports® to help them find trustworthy businesses and charities across North America. Visitwww.bbb.org/us for more information.

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How To Offer Incentives Without Cutting Your Price

Offering incentives in small business can be a bit of a challenge, but it can also benefit you in terms of customer relations, customer retention, and of course sales. However, it can be risky to base all of your incentives on price cuts, so consider some alternatives when creating them.

Tokens/Tickets/Vouchers – One cupcake shop in Columbia, South Carolina created a special incentive to attract customers on last fall’s Small Business Saturday movement. For every dozen cupcakes purchased at regular price, the customer would receive four tokens, one each good for a free cupcake. To sweeten the deal (pun intended), the owner allowed the tokens to be redeemed right then and there if the customer wanted. This was a brilliant idea, because most businesses, big and small, make customers wait until a future visit to redeem such an incentive, and often with an expiration date that creeps up sooner rather than later. Using tokens, tickets, or vouchers and rewarding your customers on the spot shows your appreciation for their patronage.
Loyalty Programs – A great deal of businesses have some form of a loyalty program in place for frequent shoppers, but take this idea to the next level by offering your customers something really special. For example, the children’s clothing giant, Carters, gives each customer a card that gets a stamp for every $20 spent. After 5 stamps, a 10% discount is applied to the next purchase. This is pretty standard, but you can use this idea to your advantage. Instead of a discount, you could offer a special shopping day where he or she would have exclusive access to new products before they’re made available to the general public.
Individualized Product or Service – Based on a customer’s purchase history, you could offer a product/service that he or she would be particularly interested in. For example, say a customer regularly buys a certain type of hair product from your cosmetics business. Because you know what this person wants and needs, you could offer a free consultation for a new hairstyle, color, or shampoo and conditioning treatment. Providing individualized service to your customers improves relationships and gives them more reasons to come back.
Free Gift With Purchase – This really works well when you can purchase items at wholesale that have a higher perceived value. Additionally, you can promote a higher-priced item by offering a free gift with it. For example, select a product or service that you want to interest your customers with; if they buy it, they could also get a free custom-printed t-shirt designed by a local artist, or a free canvas tote bag with your logo printed across the front. The benefits here are two-fold: the higher price you can charge for the item will help offset the cost of your free gift, and you are also advertising your brand by distributing your merchandise to your customers.

By thinking outside the box, there are endless possibilities to the incentives that one could offer. What are some of your ideas for non-price related incentives? Please share them in the comments section below!

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DSEF & CBBB: Help Prevent Your Facebook Account from Being Hacked in 3 Easy Steps

Today’s highlighted blog post from the Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB):

Help Prevent Your Facebook Account from Being Hacked in 3 Easy Steps

There are several quick steps you can take to avoid getting your Facebook account hacked. These include:

Make sure that your ‘Secure Browsing’ is enabled – That means your browser uses Https instead of the standard connection. How to change your setting: While on Facebook, look at your URL address in the browser. If you see “http:” instead of “https:” you DO NOT have a secure session. It’s easy to change. Just go to Account (upper right) click Account Settings… Then Security – click Change. Check box (secure browsing), click Save.
Regularly change your password – Get in the routine of changing your password often. Try to use a combinations of upper & lower case numbers/special characters and don’t use any parts of your first or last name.
Enable login notifications – Click on Account Settings … then Security … then enable login notifications. This will cause Facebook to notify you when your account is accessed from a computer or mobile device that you haven’t used before.

And finally, don’t click on suspicious links while browsing Facebook and never give your login info to anyone.

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Target Marketing For Small Business

With so many different marketing methods being used in business these days, it can be overwhelming to decide which is right for you. One should consider the use of target marketing, which is dividing your market into specific groups and concentrating on just one or a few important components. For example, a pet grooming business specializing in grooming show dogs could implement a direct mail campaign (snail or electronic) that reaches only particular dog owners rather than advertising in a newspaper that would reach a much larger market. The first step is to define your target market; then you can develop strategies to advertise your business directly to them.

Defining your target market, or “niche”

Decide why a person would make a purchase from you. People usually buy something for at least one of three reasons: to solve a problem, to meet a basic need, or to make themselves feel good. Sorting your target market into one of these categories will help you narrow your focus to a smaller group.
Consider the demographics of those who could use your product or service. This information includes age, gender, income, education, marital and family status, and ethnic and/or religious background. You’ll be able to invest your marketing dollars more wisely if the information you gather about your target customer is specific.
Consider the psychographics including lifestyle, social class, activities, and attitudes/beliefs. This additional information should allow you to form a picture of what the ideal prospect would be like. From there, you can figure out where they would be exposed to different types of advertising.
When creating a target market, or micro-niche, you should make sure that it is small enough that you can be a competitive force, but not so small that there isn’t enough money to be made. For example, Amazon has pretty much cornered the market on the online sale of books, DVDs, and digital media, so trying to compete with them would be futile. Similarly, construction of birdcage perches exclusively out of recycled material is too specific and would appeal to such a small number of people.

Examples of target marketing

A direct seller for a higher-end jewelry company knows that her customers are mostly women in their 30s-40s who like a well-polished look that includes a versatile wardrobe, a contemporary hairstyle, and manicured nails. Advertising to this target market can be done via fashion blogs, hair and nail salons, and local clothing boutiques.
A small business that offers in-home photography sessions knows that its target market is parents of newborns wanting professional pictures without the hassle of going to a studio. This demographic can be reached via parenting magazines and websites.
A pastry shop that specializes in custom-made freshly-baked desserts knows that its target market is mostly made up of local business owners and private party planners. Reaching this group can be done via vendor fairs and event hosting expos.

The key to target marketing is deciding who that small group is and then finding the best approach to reaching them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your current and past clients to get to the information you need. You will save money budgeted for marketing as well as being able to build your business based on those who have the greatest interest in your product or service. How have you defined and reached your target market? Share your ideas in the comments section below!

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DSEF & Money Wise Women: Learn to Say No: Adding Pause, Reflection and Focus to Your Life

Today’s highlighted post from Money Wi$e Women Get Smart Teleseminar Series (Click here):

Learn to Say No: Adding Pause, Reflection and Focus to Your Life

Women too often respond ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to demands by checking whether their calendar is free. Women need to start checking with their own goals to see if the request fits in.” — Jackie Farley, Ceo, CenterPoint. This applies to everyone — men and women. Our lives have taken on the speed of technology, amazingly unlimited opportunity, and “too muchness!” It’s time to step back and put life back into our lives. That includes pause, reflection and focus. Learn to make conscious choices to say no when necessary. Learn three tools to help you figure out what to say no to and how to actually say no. Here’s how.

Kathie Hightower

Kathie Hightower is an international speaker, author and writer working from her home office at the Oregon Coast. Author of Simple Joys: Little Things That Make a BIG Difference, the Jump Into Life Workbook, and frequent contributor to publications worldwide, Kathie does intensive, ongoing research for her writing and her seminars. Her focus is helping people pump up their energy, creativity and joy in life. A speaker and writer since 1990, Kathie has spoken to corporate, wellness, and military groups all over the United States, Europe, Japan and Korea. Kathie is also co-author of Help! I’m a Military Spouse —I Get a Life Too! soon to come out in a third edition. She has other books and a novel in the works.
www.jumpintolife.net
www.militaryspouse.com

To find out about upcoming teleseminars, visit http://www.moneywisewomengetsmart.com/

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Selling You

There is a significant difference between buying something and being “sold.” Your customers want to have confidence in not just the product or service, but the person representing it. For this reason, it is important to sell yourself effectively and open doors for new opportunities.

Be Yourself. As obvious as this may seem, it’s a pitfall of many people in the sales industry. Don’t try to do and say what you think the customer wants to see and hear; people are turned off by lack of sincerity. Identify your strengths and highlight them in your customer interactions. This will also make a relationship you build easier to maintain.
Make a great impression. The average consumer is bombarded by advertisements in their various forms all day long. What can you bring to the table that will impress your customers? Plan ahead what your objective is for that specific situation. This way you won’t have to rely on a generic sales pitch that may not relate to the circumstance or may not have any relevance for the person to whom you are selling.
Demonstrate good character. “Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.” With this quotation in mind, conduct your business with integrity. If you promise something to a customer, make sure you can deliver. This also applies to the way you interact with customers; express a positive demeanor, practice good manners and common courtesies, and follow through on your end of the relationship.
Listen. Just as most people don’t want to be “sold,” they also don’t want to be talked at. Effective communication involves a great deal of give and take. You may have the perfect dialogue planned, but the conversation takes an unexpected turn. Listen to the customer’s concerns, questions, and information to be able to respond appropriately. It will be clear to the person that you are truly listening, which is will be greatly appreciated.
Dress and speak appropriately. This may vary greatly depending on your industry, but your personal appearance and conversational skills speak volumes to others about how you conduct business and the kind of person you are. Make sure that these things are positive reflections of yourself that will contribute to and benefit your business.
Educate and provide solutions. Customers may not even realize they have a need for your product or service, so demonstrate your expertise by educating them not just about your specific product, but about products like it in general. From there, you will able to highlight why your product would best suit the customers’ needs. Additionally, you should be able to accurately answer any questions the customer has about your product, your business, or you. By focusing on the customer, you are essentially selling yourself as a person who can enrich his or her life in some way.

Selling yourself is about showing who you truly are and conducting yourself with a good balance of confidence and humility. What tips do you have for “selling you”? Please share them with us below!

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Tips for Better Small Business Videos

Think about your favorite television show. What exactly do you like about it? Chances are, there is some connection made between you and a character, theme, or story; this connection is what makes you keep watching. The same holds true for online videos, which is why you should be creating them for your small business. You don’t have to be a professional videographer to shoot an effective video, but there are some tips to follow to make the most out of yours.

Keep it brief. The most effective videos are under two minutes in length. Even if there is something in your video will draw the viewer in to watch for a longer period of time, the second a person sees that time length bar at the bottom of the screen, he or she is likely to click away for the simple reason that it is too long. When scouring the internet for information, people want to find that info easily and quickly. Choose only the important points to highlight your message. Tip: Be sure to include a call to action somewhere toward the end of your video which directs the viewer to visit your store or click the link to your website, for example. This keeps your video in the viewer’s mind before he or she moves on to the next one.
Get personal. Stock footage of products or locations and frames of still photos are generic. Viewers will make the same assumption about your business. Instead, record a video that features your real staff, location, and products. Consider featuring an introductory greeting from you, the owner, and if applicable, candid footage of your staff on the job. Also, don’t be afraid to use humor; keep it professional, but you definitely want to give your video some personality.
Choose a theme. Your video should have a point. Are you introducing your business to the world? Are you featuring an innovative product? Answering frequently asked questions? Whatever you choose to do, make sure everything in the video is centered on the theme so as not to lose focus or make your viewers click away. A great way to plan your video is to write a script before shooting any actual footage. This will give you a clear plan of action and allow you to see if anything is off-topic before you even begin.
Feature tutorials and product demonstrations. Which is easier: reading about how to cut up a pineapple or watching someone actually do it? Nowadays, when people want to learn how to do something, they find a video online that physically shows them what they want to learn. Most people are visual learners and prefer this type of medium anyway. Furthermore, you are giving the potential customer a glimpse into the user experience, which is extremely important. People want to know exactly how something works before they buy. Take advantage of this by using tutorials and demos that work for your business.
Use music. In doing so, you will be able to set the mood for your video and evoke a feeling from the viewer. Also, music is a perfect way to fill in any gaps of silence between narrations and transitions. There is a plethora of open content on the web as well as music that is public domain, so copyright infringement will not be an issue.
Share your video socially. Your video does no good if it is not being shared. Posting it on YouTube is the best place to start. Make sure you choose a title for your video that will optimize your search results. Tip: Search keywords for your video in the YouTube search box to see what comes up. If it’s something you’d rather not be associated with, then you’ll be able to choose more wisely. Having effective keywords is more important than ever, especially with people’s increasing reliance on Google Instant, which shows results as you type in your query. With more and more people using smartphones to search for and view content, Google Instant has become another must-have convenience for most.
Preview your video before posting it. Check to make sure that there are no items in the background that may offend, look messy, and that you don’t want others to see. Finally, make sure your video quality is good and reflects well on your business.

By following the suggestions above, your video will already be a cut above most of what is out there right now. What other tips can you offer for creating an effective video? Please share them with us below!

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DSEF & CBBB: So Facebook Goes Public. So what?

Today’s highlighted blog post from the Council on Better Business Bureaus (CBBB):

What will it mean if Facebook, currently a private company, goes public this May or mid-2013, or at some other date predicted by pundits?

For investors, plenty. Experts disagree as to whether or not the high-priced stock will be worth it. Some think obscene wealth will be within reach; others think that the company may burst like a dot-com bubble. Remember the rules. Don’t invest more than you can afford to lose, investigate before you invest, and do your homework. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a good resource for learning about the stock market.

For Facebook users? The Internet verdict (from blogs and news articles) is almost unanimous: Less privacy. According to an article in the L.A. Times, Facebook will most likely “step up its efforts to harvest its users’ information as it tries to meet Wall Street expectations.

“The richest IPO in history is all based on the harvesting and sale of users’ information,” [says Jeffrey]Chester, [Executive Director of the Center for Digital Democracy]. “The IPO makes clear that Facebook intends to further friend the most powerful advertisers on the planet, help them better target the vast social network audience.”

(Speaking of preferences, did you know that your friends’ “likes” influence yours? The U.K. Guardian states: “…if I “like” Whole Foods on Facebook, you, as my friend, are presumed to harbour a preference for organic food as well – hence you are more likely to see a Whole Foods advertisement when you log on.” My best friend and I must be skewing their system—we are complete opposites.)

A Little Bit of Background
As the company prepares to become an even bigger deal in our marketplace, here are three things you should know about Facebook.

First, where does the money come from? An article in PC World quotes the company’s SEC filing as listing “digital cows, crops, and mafia hit jobs” as large revenue streams for the company. “Social game maker Zynga was responsible for about 12 percent of Facebook’s [some reports say $3.71 billion] revenue in 2011.” If you’ve played Farmville, you’ve supported Zynga.

Second, who are Facebook’s current shareholders? The Washington Post lists companies like DST Global, Accel Partners, Goldman Sachs, and T. Rowe Price along with company executives and its board of directors (including the Post’s CEO Don Graham). Another famous shareholder is Erskine Bowles, a former White House Chief of Staff under President Bill Clinton. Facebook’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg owns 56.9 percent of the voting shares.

Third, who are FB’s major advertisers? According to the Huffington Post, the top five include AT&T, www.match.com, and Google. This January there was a bit of an imbroglio over an alleged scam site, but that has since been removed.

Final Thoughts

“When Facebook goes public it will be under increased scrutiny, held more accountable, and required to be more transparent,” says the Guardian. “But, at the same time, the need to maximise returns means the use of personal data is likely to increase, only raising privacy concerns.”

In November the company settled with the Federal Trade Commission over alleged “unfair and deceptive” practices of making public information that users thought was private.