CEO of ARCH Digital Agency
Everyone is jumping on the social media train these days, but many are doing it wrong.
What is wrong? Trying to be everywhere at once.
Social platforms differ in audience demographics, culture, and engagement. And to be efficient, it’s best to chose which ones fit your business type and master them before moving on. [Read more…]
A gift from my friend, Ali Mostofian 🙂
I can’t explain how much I learned in the past year. Looking back at the beginning, I am surprised I had the courage. I didn’t have much direction. I possessed a wide skill set and a business sense from growing up in small businesses, but my direction wasn’t in focus. And it still isn’t to a certain degree, but I’m learning that it doesn’t need to be. In fact, I want to give it room to grow. Many entrepreneurs change direction several times throughout their career and it will be with same for me. My passions will maintain, and as time continues I will innovate and try new routes. [Read more…]
Consistency: Constantly adhering to the same principles, course, form, etc. (www.dictionary.com)
In today’s market, everyone seems to be sprouting up with the newest, awesome-est idea. America is becoming an entrepreneurial nation, a nation reinventing itself through the definition of business. It’s an exciting time and I dream of initializing my own businesses. But in the midst of dreams and creations, it’s important to remember one fundamental ingredient: consistency.
Growing up in a family full of entrepreneurs, I watched businesses succeed and others flounder. The reasons behind different outcomes are interesting and family dinner conversations often debated the possibilities. Why was one marketing tactic successful or another fail? The magical list of do’s and don’t for finding business success always vary, however consistency remains.
Have you noticed – a lack of patience, the ADD epidemic, the speedy conversations and overabundance of acronyms in everyday life? I’m sure you have, unless you’ve had your head stuck in a hole. People are busy these days and their time is valuable. What does this mean for your business blogs? Unless you’ve worked the blog up to be very popular and capable of consistently doling out valuable information like Social Media Examiner – it’s best to keep blogs short and sweet.
And let’s be honest. Although some blogging outlets are widely known for excellent content, how much time do you have to stay on top of them? I can’t, no matter how much I would like to. But I want to learn, so my reading list is mostly comprised of blogs that teach me something in 400-500 words or less – something I can read while blow-drying my hair (yes, I really do this).
Everyone is in a rush in NYC!
1. Use lists. Listing out the reasons for your blogging subject allow people to scan through them quickly while getting the gist of what is important. Also, listing gives you more room to explain without alienating the reader. Meaning that if you like to expound, then you can without it stressing out the reader.
2. Outline your blog in advance. This will not only help you stick to what you want to convey, but make it easier to write. Take 5-10 minutes to outline your blog theme and the fundamental parts to explain. It’s a great way to organization the thought process before putting it down on paper and will take less time to write it than if you were trying to do it from memory.
3. Explain it as you would to a friend. Sure, sure you’ve heard this before. But seriously, explain it as you would to a friend who’s in a hurry. How do you tell a hurried friend? You give them the facts, add a bit of flavor and maybe an example or two, IF there is time. No need to explain it like you would to a child – give your audience the benefit of the doubt to understand what you mean. Believe me – most get it.
For those of us who are unable to write in small amounts (me, me, meeee), keeping blogs to a simple minimum isn’t easy. But it’s doable with some forethought. Remember, you want to teach your audience something new, but you don’t want them to get annoyed for taking so long to do it.
Final word of caution: Don’t sacrifice value for length and don’t cut a blog down just to do it. Be precise with your writing, succinct and you will be fine.
Now it’s your turn! Do you agree/disagree with my short ‘n simple methodology? Come on, let me have it.
I met Kevin Kelly, a fellow social media marketer and coffee-head about a year ago. Similar to most of my ‘online relationships,’ we met through Twitter – oh how I love Twitter.
During this time I came to know about Kevin and his large (in numbers and height) family, and I learned he has a terminally ill nephew with Cystic Fibrosis. This winter Kevin posted a few pictures of other children with CF asking people to send them pictures of animals or Christmas cards to make them smile. And the posts made me think.
Think about the sheer number of people online, in social communities, around the world who are able to help. I was looking for a nonprofit to get involved with that would combine with my wacky schedule. I felt strongly this could be it. I approached Kevin and we have had our heads together every since.
The Share4Kids Foundation is dedicated to granting the last wishes of terminally ill children through the power of social media sharing. We want to harness the Internet and those with large tribes to help us spread these last wishes, to make the last days of these children’s lives full of cheer. We cannot stop real life, but we can make a difference and put a smile on a child’s face. And I think that’s pretty awesome.
Kian, our second child with the Share4Kids Foundation has Cystic Fibrosis. Kian loves trains and his wish is to have people send him pictures of trains whenever they see them. Although we just posted about Kian yesterday, the response has already been overwhelming. Lots of pictures are coming in – so many that his parents have promised to make a book for Kian so he can look through them whenever he wants.
Kian.
I can’t explain how excited and humbled I am to be given the opportunity to help make these children smile. But I know that it will be the love of many who will be responsible for his happiness.
And I am very fortunate to be partnered with someone who is so passionate and hands on about making this work. Kevin has charged ahead since the first conversation and came to meet me (gasp, in person!) in NYC so we could begin to lay the foundation for a bright future.
I will be periodically sharing our children with you through my blog and keeping readers informed of our progress. If you want to help, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter or share my blog posts and help grant the last wishes of these children.
Thank you, in advance.
If you know me, you know I don’t watch TV. But I often come across excellent advertising examples and save them to my YouTube channel (which I am just starting to work on).
So what makes an excellent advertising piece? Excitement, interest, curiosity, drama, humor, and a foreign location. Haha, there are many other things that can add up to an excellent commercial, but these match this particular one.
Check it out, and let me know what you think.