Workshop: Marketing Strategy

Part IV of the Creating Your Own Marketing Media workshop series

When: May 3rd, 2013
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Where: 6232 La Salle Ave Oakland, CA 94611 (Village Chiropractic)

Fee: $150 per day or $400 pre-paid for all four 2hats media workshops 

 

(For more Info. call: 415-515-1252)

Sign-up for all four workshops to receive a free 1-hour consultation

Leader: John Van Dinther

"What is the best way for me to market my business?"

We will be answering this question at the marketing strategy workshop this Friday. We'll examine the important factors for choosing which marketing channel is right for you:

• Social media marketing
• Website search engine optimization
• Video blogging or
• Click-ads campaigns 

The right choice will depend on your business industry, your skills, and your personal style. After touching on  the specific tools and options of different marketing channels, we will create a marketing strategy that will adapt to your business over time. You will use a tracking dashboard that allows you to capture the results of different marketing campaigns, and you'll learn what resources are required for each marketing channel —and  what results you can expect from your efforts.

You'll learn about:

• Basic social media marketing for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Yelp, and Pinterest
• How to choose keywords and optimize search engine results
• How to reach potential clients with your written, photo, and video content
• How to manage a tracking dashboard for your marketing efforts

HOW TO PREPARE:
Participants should come to the workshop with access to Google Docs and their laptop with wifi access. Dress for comfort, there are couches, pillows, floor-mats, as well as tables and chairs to work at.

AGENDA:

• Social media channels: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest
• Marketing channels for different industries and different personalities
• Tracking results and capturing information
• Building a flexible marketing strategy that grows with your business
• Particular strategies for each channel

Who It's For:

Do it yourself entrepreneurs:

• Wellness Practitioners
• Business Services
• Coaches and Therapists
• Building Trades

For more details or to sign up, call John Van Dinther: (415) 515-1252

An Alternative Approach To Competition

An Alternative Approach To Competition

Sige Weisman, one of my favorite clients, came to see me last month with a new business plan. She wants to provide business consulting for people in her field, she’s a licensed therapist. She sees the need, she’s done well marketing her own business, and she’ll be a great business coach... but that would put her into competition with 2hats Consulting. I want Sige to succeed, but is she threatening my own business?

My answer is that inviting competition is the best thing I can do for my business. And being an ally to your competition is great for your small business too. Remember: a professional service provider probably serves, at most, 100 unique clients in a year, and there’s over 5,000 licensed MFT’s in the Greater Bay Area —this just isn’t an environment where businesses are hotly competing over a small potential audience. Instead, the greatest challenge for small service providers is usually getting potential clients to become aware of them at all.

And by supporting my competition I become a member of a supportive business community, rather than a defensive isolationist. Just last week I needed a replacement for my monthly SBA marketing presentation, and called on another business coach (and my client) Jessica Hadari, to cover for me - she rocked it.

Does having competition push me? Yep. Knowing there’s solid people, who I respect, serving the same people I do insures I develop new tools, I make sure I reach out to more people, and I strengthen my existing relationships. It’s good for me and it’s good my clients.

Facebook or Twitter for Marketing?

My buddy Jon sent me this tidbit from TechCrunch, discussing an interesting survey of Social Media Marketers by Abrams Research:

If you were to ask “over 200 social media leaders” which social media site they would pay for if they had to, as Abrams Research recently did, Facebook would come out on top, with 32.2 percent saying they would pay for it. (Yeah, right). LinkedIn was second, Twitter was third, and MySpace and Digg tied for last place (with only 1.5 percent of respondents saying they’d pay for those services). But if you ask, which one would they recommend for businesses to pay for (if they had to), Twitter beats Facebook by more than two to one (39.6 percent vs. 15.3 percent). LinkedIn again comes in second. Why did Twitter come out on top... [more]

I'm skeptical. I think that Twitter can't match Facebook for marketing, though I get why the social marketers think it should. Twitter delivers concise messages, via mobile applications, to hungry audiences. But it's a should thing. Twitter just doesn't mix their media with video and images. There's also more contexts like groups, events and Facebook Pages, to spread the word. The marketers like Twitter's focus, but I like Facebook's mix of options.

Once Fbook goes mobile, the way Twitter has, that's the game for Twitter. Heck, Facebook could integrate Twitter traits (threaded status updates) within the year, then what happens to Twitter's position?

What sort of fool am I to cut against the masters of Social Marketing? Join the commentary below.

Start Now - Get Investors Later

Start-up capital isn't the solution for 90% of brand new start-ups, in fact it's usually a problem. Most likely, if you look at your business plan straight on, you will see that you actually CAN start your business without other people's money. Usually it's a waste of time anyway because nobody with any common sense trusts you to be able to effectively manage their money.

Here's why:

1st - You could be making the best pizza in town, but that doesn't make you a good pizzeria owner. Think about who you give your money to, they're experienced at what they do. Investors feel the same way.

2nd - New business owners blow money on stupid things. It's not their fault, they just don't know any better. You are going to make mistakes because you are new and there's no shortage of other people who have already been around the block a few times who want to borrow money. The smart money will go to them.

3rd - All your early money will be going into building infrastructures that already exists in established businesses. Again, money will flow to where it has been treated well.

Your business plan should be for you personally, it's not some 30-page advertisement. When you think you need money to complete a task, the first thing to do is to find a free work-around. If it's part of the critical path, spend from your own pocket. If you can't afford it then see if there's a barter solution available.

If you can't do it on your own, it might be a great idea to get involved with a business that's very similar and already established. Mentors and coaches are SO valuable. Swallow your pride and go learn from a veteran. It will save you time and money and grief.

So stop walking around with your hat in hand and start working on your projects. Make a plan, take action - rinse, repeat. If you do that for a while you'll start to feel pride in your abilities. People will begin to get interested in what you're doing and eventually they'll start to offer you money. Now THAT'S a nice position to be in.

Starting on your own is the best thing in the world. Believing in yourself enough to jump the cubicle and be an entrepreneur is exciting, it's fun and it proves mettle. Go for it.

David Meerman Scott Talks Inbound Marketing

"Focus on the persona of your buyers rather than your product."

Think like a publisher...what will your buyers want to believe about you or your company? Don't talk about the product itself, nobody cares about your product. Bring the skills of a journalist to the task of discussing the interests of your buyers in the language they use.

1. Nobody cares about your product
2. No coercion is required
3. Lose control
4. Put down virtual roots
5. Create triggers that encourage people to share
6. Point the world to your doorstep

David supports creating a bunch of different marketing efforts. Find what works and focus on that: free ebooks with lots of colors and creative commons licensing, funny videos, blogging and online news releases. He's a big fan of Hubspot.

Productivity 2.0 Means...

www.zenhabits.com has boiled down some of the best principals for reframing the way you work. It's all about working smarter rather than harder. That sounds easy in principal, but application requires commitment and being accountable.

1. Don’t Crank - Work With Deeper Focus.

Old School: Crank It Out. The old school of productivity taught us how to crank out the tasks. Each task is a widget that needs to be cranked, and the more we crank out, the better. Speed is important, and cranking out more tasks is the ultimate criteria. How many tasks can you finish in a day?

Productivity 2.0: Deep Focus. The new worker isn’t as obsessed with speed. He allows himself to slow down and work at a more leisurely pace. He clears away distractions and allows himself to focus on the task at hand. He gets passionate about important and exciting tasks and gets into Flow. This allows for a new kind of productivity — one where quality matters, where amazing things are produced at an intense rate, where there is a passion and satisfaction in completing a task.[more]

Business Strategy

Business has four sectors and it is useful to know which one, or
what combination, you are working in.

External Relationships:
Advertising, Suppliers, Outside Retailers, Marketing, sales.
This is your connection to the outside world, where you present
yourself & your craft. The most important distinction to make here is
that your presentation is often different from what others receive. In
other words, think from the receiver's point of view rather than your
own...what do they see & what to they really want?

Internal Processes:
Scheduling, Production, Delivery & Documentation.
How you track your business is a set of practices that should fit your
personal style and get the job done right. Some people remember their
schedules in their heads while others print out procedures for getting
out of the house and into the studio every morning. Evolving
practices will grow with you your entire life. Processes are the living
expression of your craft in The World, and having a written map of that
process frees your mind for manifesting your vision.

Finances:
Budgeting, Income & Expenses, Taxes.
Money is more than just dollars. It is a flow of energy between people, describing what they
agree is of value. Avoiding tracking your money doesn't eliminate
expenses & income, it just hides details from your consciousness, but
you always know on the inside. Being willing to face your money flow
takes courage and support --it's worth it.

Development:
Training, Education, Expansion.
Personally expanding your skills & abilities is the greatest gift you can give to yourself. Intentionally creating a personal development path, from daily meditation to
personal-finance-seminars, will insure that you serve your craft
powerfully. Be willing to set aside your ego and explore what you
don't know.

Working in any of the four regions of business should serve yourvalues & vision. Whenever you choose distributors, make sales, explore new possibilities...any business activity --ask yourself, "Does this serve my values?" If it doesn't, explore an alternative route that does. Business can be hard work and knowing The World is being served provides vitality and clarity to your business practice.

What motivates entrepreneurs?

Money? Control? In truth, some entrepreneurs are expecting to get rich. Others want to grow and control a new venture. But most would probably answer: "both."

The problem, as Harvard Business School assistant professor Noam Wasserman sees it, is that very few entrepreneurs can achieve both—the Larry Ellisons of the business world are few and far between. In fact, there is a fundamental tension between the money side and the control side—getting rich often means selling control to investors; keeping control reduces the payday. [more]

The Competitive Advantage of Nations

Michael Porter, over at Hah'vad, has the following to say about government regulation and its impact on global competitiveness.

"Without advanced regulations in areas of legitimate social concern, U.S. industry will lose the innovation race in the affected industries and U.S. products will not sell well to sophisticated customers abroad. Stringent standards for products, environmental quality, and the like not only benefit the social agenda but are vital to the economic agenda. [more]

Home

Create a strategic plan that will grow your business.

Entrepreneurs wear 2 hats to work. The worker's hat is for creating a product or delivering a service --the craft. The owner's hat goes on to take care of business. Sales, budgeting & development are skills most new entrepreneurs weren't trained for. 2hats consulting provides tools to wear the owner's hat more effectively and makes it more fun to wear as well.

• Marketing
• Project Planning
• Financial Tracking
• Business Development

2hats Consulting gives you the big picture on your small business.

The Shape of Business

Business has four sections, and it's very useful to know which one (or
what mix) you're working in to see where you are:

External Relationships:
Advertising, Suppliers, Outside Retailers, Marketing, sales, Etc.
This is your connection to the outside world, where you present
yourself & your art. The most important distinction to make here is
that what you present is often different from what others get. In
other words, think from the receiver's point of view rather than your
own...what do they see & what to they really want?

Internal Processes:
Scheduling, Production, Delivery & Documentation. How you track what's
going on in your business is a set of practices that should fit your
personal style and get the job done right. Some people remember their
schedules in their heads while others print out procedures for getting
out of the house and into the studio every morning. It is an evolving
practice that will grow with you your entire life. It is the living
expression of your art in the World and having a written map of that
process frees your mind for creating more art.

Finances:
Budgeting, Income & Expenses, Taxes, Etc. Money is more than just
dollars. It is a flow of energy between people, describing what they
agree is of value. Avoiding tracking your money doesn't eliminate
expenses & income, it just hides details from your consciousness, but
you always know on the inside. Being willing to face your money flow
takes courage and support --it's worth it.

Development:
Training, Education, Expansion. Personally expanding your skills &
abilities is the greatest gift you can give to yourself. Intentionally
creating a personal development path, from daily meditation to
personal-finance-seminars, will insure that you serve your art
powerfully. Be willing to set aside your ego and explore what you
don't know.

Working in any of the four regions of business should serve your
artistic vision. Whenever you choose distributors, make sales, explore
new possibilities...any business activity --ask yourself, "Does this
serve my art?" If it doesn't, explore an alternative route that does.
The business of art can be hard work and knowing your artistic vision
is being served provides vitality and clarity to your business
practice.