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Friday’s Wrap Up – Birthdays, Exercise, Facebook Timeline & Smartphones

by Natalie Alaimo | Follow Her On Twitter

Let’s start this week’s wrap up by wishing my brother – Joseph – a very Happy Birthday. He spent the last week with us on the Gold Coast and returned home to Melbourne on Thursday. It was great to catch up with him as we don’t get to see each other very often and a lovely surprise for mum on mother’s day.

This week I’ve been reading a few different stories and here they are:

Would you pay to have posts highlighted?
Facebook is looking and introducing paid status updates which means brands could pay to have their updates in the news feed (instead of on the side). The article mentioned that the the paid highlights would be a different colour – and hence people would know that they were ‘paid’. I don’t think that makes a difference, however, what will make a difference is if the content isn’t relevant to the user. Users will only click on, read and interact with content they are interested in – paid or not. Read the rest of the article here

Exercise For Entrepreneurs
I know myself that exercise always gets moved to the bottom of the to-do list. This article points out 5 reasons why it should be moved to the very top and never cancelled. What ideas/tips do you have to make exercise a priority? Read the rest of the article here

Is your website mobile ready?
This brief article is discussing how the increased use of Smartphones in a Australia and in particular how it’s effecting the retail market. Many businesses don’t have a website that is optimised for smartphones. If you are using WordPress it’s just a matter of getting a plugin that will assist with this process. Have a look at your website today on your smartphone. Read te rest of the article here

Facebook Timeline
In light of Facebook’s recent IPO, this article points out some significant changes Facebook has made on how users interact online. Changes include: email, websites and sharing. An interesting read.

See you next week

[image credit - Sky News]

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Friday’s Wrap Up Of The Web – Free Advice, Bootstrapping, Powerful Marketing Words, Your Market and Get Up Off Your Ass

by Natalie Alaimo | Follow Her On Twitter

This week I’ve again managed to read several great articles and here they are:

Is Free Advice Free?
Of course everyone loves getting free advice but you really need to make sure that you are getting advice from the right people, otherwise it’s not really free and of course can end up costing you a fortune.

5 Companies that Bootstrapped and Beat the Odds
Under 30 CEO blog always provides an interesting read and this article is no exception. A case study of five companyies who beat the odds, were tight at the beginning but made it work.

Who is your target market?
I really love taking about target market because when you get it right everything in your marketing and business just falls into place. This article is by my business coach Melanie Miller and she shares her insight on target market and provides a great diagram. I’ve been know to share this diagram in my workshops from time to time.

The 14 Most Powerful and Effective Words in Marketing
I was emailed this article this week by Michael Hansen from Video Labs and this is what he had to say:
“This is an older post (2010) that we came across this week. Pretty safe bet that this will be evergreen material. Before clicking through – try to write down your guesses as to what words are on the list.”

Get Off Your Ass & Make Some Money
Sometimes you want something so much but just don’t get it done. This article provides some insight into why you might not be taking the actions you should and how to take the actions and get the results you deserve.

Enjoy and I’ll see you next week

[image credit - who is your target market?]

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How To Link Directly To One Facebook Post

by Natalie Alaimo | Follow Her On Twitter

Each week I send out a newsletter to my database and at the end I ask them to share their thoughts on that week’s particular topic on my Facebook page. Generally I just link directly to my page, however today I decided to link to a particular post. This way readers could join the conversation which we had already started on Facebook. When I was looking to get the link, it took me a few minute to get remember how to find the right link. I thought if I had forgotten surely others had also – or didn’t know about this feature, so I created a quick video to show you how. You can watch the video below and if you think one of your friends would also enjoy seeing this – please share it with them.

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Friday’s Wrap Up Over Web – Inspirational Songs, iPhones, Fat Mum Slim & Why Free is Too Expensive

by Natalie Alaimo | Follow Her On Twitter

Each Friday I’m going to bring a wrap up of what I’ve been reading, listening to and viewing during the week. Depending on what’s going on in the Internet World will depend on what you see in this review, however I aim to bring you information and resources which help you get the most from using online marketing and social media to grow your business.

As entrepreneurs and business owners we all need some inspiration and motivation to keep us going and this article shows 47 songs and the one line which is inspiring. My favourite song is Lose Yourself – Eminem (Explicit)

“Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity. To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment. Would you capture it or just let it slip?”

You can read the rest of them here: 47 Inspirational Songs For Young Entrepreneurs

Which one resonates with you? Share with me on Facebook.

I was also re-reading a great article by Lisa Larter on why FREE is too expensive. I know it’s hard when you are starting out in business and everyone wants to meet you for coffee – but unfortunately coffee meetings don’t pay the bills. I remember a few years ago when we were selling websites I had a four hour coffee meeting about a new website and the person then went off and created their own website using all my strategies. This article outlines a similar story and how we need to be strict with our time and what we are prepared to give away for free. I believe that free should only be highly leveraged things – such as social media, webinars, ebooks or speaking – where you can reach groups of people. You can read the article here: Free is Too Expensive

Have you had situation where you have given too much for free? Share with me on Facebook.

This month I’ve also decided to participate in the #photoadaymay on instagram. The one I’m joining is from Fat Mum Slim and she has provided a list of topics for each day. Challenges and group exercises like these are a great way to build your following and interaction with people, as each time you tag your photo with the hashtag #photoadaymay other users can search for this term and see your contributions. For more detail see the Fat Mum Slim post and make sure you follow me on Instagram at @nalaimo (Instagram is an iPhone app so get it in the app store)

And finally this week I’ve been listening to podcasts from Derek Helpern from Social Triggers. Social Triggers has heaps of great articles on how to increase conversion and marketing results using psychology. What I really love about this information is that he is using research to back up claims. There is a great podcast where they are talking about cake mix and how they increase the sales of the product and another one where they are discussing why people purchased the white iPhone when they wanted the black. Powerful and insightful information. Here are the links to the posts and podcasts I’ve listened to this week. I found that I can listen to a whole podcast whilst walking – combining exercise and education.

Why People Bought The White iPhone—Even When They Wanted The Black One

The #1 Sales Killer On Your Site—And How to Get Rid Of It For Good

Why People Buy What They Can Get For Free

I would recommend you listen to them or at least read the blog posts.

Until next week – catch me on Facebook.

[Image credit - 47 Inspirational Songs For Under Entrepreneurs]

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Red Zone, Family Room and Relationships In Business

by Natalie Alaimo | Follow Her On Twitter

I have an iPhone 4. A very sad iPhone 4 as it has a little yellow mark (I think it’s a stain but let’s not tell my phone that) on the left side of its screen. So I booked into the Genius Bar at my local store. The Genius Bar is the Apple in-store support and tech station, where you can book in (at no charge) to speak to a technician who can assist you with your Mac related issue.

Whilst at the Genius Bar I ran into a guy, let’s call him John, who used to work with my partner Dean. After I got all fixed up at the Genius Bar, John and I were chatting and catching up when he told me some really cool Apple stuff. I think this information is very important for all business owners.

Most people would know about Apple’s customer service and the extras they provide when you purchase an Apple product in terms of education and support – it’s really outstanding and something that all businesses should be striving for.

Here is what John was telling me.

The Apple store is divided into two areas: The Red Zone and the Family Room. I’m like – oh ok – the support area and the sales floor. But no – The Red Zone is where the Specialists start the relationship with customers. In an Apple store the relationship with a customer starts when they purchase an Apple product.

The Family Room is where people who already have product come to get support for their products and in his words – they are mending broken relationships if there has been a breakdown with one of their Apple products. In this area you can get training, support and education for your Apple products.

John was also saying how they are encouraged to build relationships with their clients to ensure the happy and positive continuation of the relationship. We were then discussing how Apple aren’t just selling and supporting products they are really building those long term relationships with their clients.

This is something that we as business owners should be striving for with our own customers. We all know that it’s 6 times easier and more cost effective (I don’t like the word – cheap) to market to and retain your existing clients compared to finding new clients and this all comes down to building relationships with them. Nothing is ever going to replace face to face contact, however this is why I really love social media. You can build relationships with people from all around the world from your lounge. It makes attracting and retaining new clients and building relationships super easy and cost effective for business owners like you.

What do you think of the Apple Experience? I would love to hear your feedback in the comments below.

Image Credit: Genius Bar

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