I’m back! This time, as part of my pop up series “Short on Time. Big on Ideas.” I took the advice of the lovely Michelle Quillin of New England Multimedia and shot a video on the go! Don’t let the driving while shooting scare you. I was extremely safe!
As I was on my way to an appointment in nearby Asheville, NC (Beer City, USA), I took the opportunity to share some of my thoughts in response to a post Jayme Soulati wrote last week, in response to the conversation she and I had regarding my absence from blogging. I know. That was a mouth full. Follow the link and you’ll see what I mean. It all makes sense and for me, I felt like there was an important point to be made for many a blogger and small business owner out there.
Skip the Movie and grab the Cliff Notes
For those of us who are not blogging round the clock, or in the case of many business owners, simply do not have the time to do it all, all of the time, I offer you the following thoughts:
- first and foremost, make sure you have something online that you own (not Facebook, or Twitter, but a WEBSITE);
- if you can’t spend time blogging, then spend time online where you will find the most bang (clients or leads) for your online buck (time);
- make sure your clients are there with you;
- if your clients aren’t there with you, make sure people who can refer you to the clients are there; and finally,
- be consistent in your portrayal of your company culture or brand – for me, that was more important than the consistency in posts or time spent online!
After you watch the video, do stop by and offer your thoughts. What’s helped or hurt your business as a result of the time you spend online?
I've written about this before - an editorial mission and a content value test keeps me on task to publishing on schedule. Everything I do (ostensibly) points back to my goals for blogging and podcasting. Those goals have shifted a wee bit since I came onboard with Vocus, but I care too much about the community of readers/listeners to quit doing what I'm doing with the content. :)
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Great advice Erica! I logged off social media for almost a month in the summer, came back and my blogging is erratic at best as I don't have time (and I think I comment on 2-3 blogs a week!).
But, like you, I keep myself busy where the clients are; offline, on the telephone (yes, I realised that my phone could be used to speak to people as well as update facebook!) and well, there is always a party going on in my inbox because I take care of my subscribers. Always goes back to whether you are blogging for show, or blogging for dough ...
@AmeenaFalchetto1 Thanks, Ameena! So great to see you here! I'm with you, I'm not commenting nearly like I was and visit when I can. Add in the thought of blogging more than once a month and I was floored! I'm still not making any huge commitments, other than maintaining a presence where it works for me. Like you, the telephone is a big lead generation engine and one that we forget about.
For me, like you, it's blogging for dough and not for show...or should I say, that I'm online for dough and not for show (leaving myself open to the possibilities!). Thanks again.
OMG...you changed lanes! Thanks for the shout and I'm thrilled to see you? I'm so proud of you to accept my friendly encouragement to keep the blog alive and kicking...you so #RockHot and I HATE to see you absent (that's a selfish reason, for sure!). Moowah, and hope you have a great turkey day, Girlfriend!
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@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing I did! I did! Thanks for the encouragement, Jayme! I apparently needed it. Like I said, I'll do my best, but I'll always have some sort of toe in the water! xoxo!
Glad to see you blogging and to see your pretty face on video! So, were you holding the phone while you were driving?! Wow...way more talented than me. I don't think I could do it.
Glad you were safe and glad you are back in the game. Great tips!
@lauraclick Ha! Yes, Laura, I was holding the phone while driving! It was not nearly as hard as you might imagine and from my view, I was paying attention to the road ahead! Thanks for the kind words - always appreciated!
@EricaAllison @lauraclick You were holding the phone? Yikes! I think @chrisbrogan used a phone-holder-thingie in the video I watched a couple years ago. At least I hope so!
I loved this, Erica. It really captures the busy-business-owner-on-the-go. Love the way you grabbed the main points and popped them into a list for readers -- and SEO.
Well done!