Tag Archives: DreamSpinner Communications

by Gail Martin | November 21, 2012 · 9:10 am

My 3 Favorite Do-It-All From One Place Web Sites

By Gail Z. Martin

Social media “dashboards” allow you to post and monitor many of your social media sites all from one convenient place. Even better, you can upload and schedule your tweets and posts so that you can keep a more consistent social media presence, which is important to friends, fans and followers.

There are a lot of programs out there to help you organize your social media life. Here are a few of my favorites:

HootSuite is one of the best-known dashboard programs. It’s a powerful, user-friendly site that offers levels of membership ranging from a basic free service to a more robust Pro level. The heart of HootSuite is the ability to enter posts in advance into the dashboard and program when your content goes live across multiple social media sites. This works especially well if you are using a virtual assistant to help you load the content you’ve written, and it makes it easy to keep track of what you’ve said and where you said it. HootSuite also has a convenient mobile app for smart phones, so you can keep an eye on your account when you’re on the go.

SocialOomph is another dashboard with many of the same capabilities as HootSuite. As you’d expect, SocialOomph lets you pre-load and schedule on Twitter, blogs and Facebook, and provides both a basic free level of service and an extended professional level. You can track keywords, view your @Mentions and Retweets, purge spammy Direct Messages (DM), and monitor multiple accounts from one dashboard. The professional level offers blog integration, profile filters, and some interesting ways to assess which of your followers might be your most valuable prospects. While SocialOomph leans heavily toward Twitter with a nod toward Facebook and blogs, it does enable Ping to send your information to LinkedIn and MySpace.

TweetDeck is another of the well-known dashboards. TweetDeck offers connectivity with Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Buzz, and Foursquare. It makes it easy to create and manage Twitter Lists and helps cut down on Twitter spam. Another valuable feature is the ability to follow Twitter Trends, real-time topics and TwitScoop to stay abreast of the most popular topics. TweetDeck is available for iPhone, Android, iPad and a new Web-based interface, as well as the original desktop version. At the time of this writing, TweetDeck is free, which is good for a solid, basic dashboard. However, if you’re looking for a pro version with additional features or you want more analytics, at the moment, they’re not built into TweetDeck, so one of the other dashboards may do a better job if those elements are important to you.

Regardless of which dashboard program you use, remember that it’s your content that matters. If you’re creating content that is highly targeted and meets the needs of your ideal audience, then how it gets posted is a back office issue of no consequence to your online network. Remember also that while these dashboards have the ability to increase your reach, poor quality content will hurt your brand and over-posting with hard-sell copy will lose you friends and followers, and may get your account suspended. These are power tools; use them with caution!

Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success by Gail Martin. Order this book at https://amzn.com/1601632266

Comments Off on My 3 Favorite Do-It-All From One Place Web Sites

Filed under Business Planning, Gail Z. Martin

Tagged as Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, DreamSpinner Communications, Gail Z. Martin, hootsuite, social media management, SocialOomph, TweetDeck, tweetlater

by Gail Martin | November 7, 2012 · 9:07 am

7 Great Reasons to Store Your Programs in the “Cloud”

By Gail Z. Martin

The term “Cloud computing” sounds intangible, and that’s just the point.

“Cloud computing” refers to access to software that is accessible via subscription over the Internet. Programs that reside in the Cloud are actually housed on the servers of the company that owns the software and which provides subscription access. Unlike traditional software, such as word processing or spreadsheet programs that are stored on your computer’s hard drive, programs that reside in the Cloud never have to be installed, updated or uninstalled from your computer. That’s the beauty of the “Cloud.”

Why would you want your software to be housed on the Cloud? Several good reasons come to mind:

You don’t have to install the program, so you can use software that requires greater speed or memory than your desktop or laptop might possess.
Because the software is stored on the Cloud, it doesn’t hog memory or bog down your computer.
You don’t have to worry about updating the software; the tech staff at the company providing the software takes care of doing that.
Since you access the software via the Internet (and a secure password), you can access your software (and possibly your related files) from any computer, anywhere you have an Internet connection.
Since your access is via subscription (usually monthly or annually), your costs are much less than if you were to purchase a private license for the program.
When you no longer want or need the software, cancel the subscription. There is no software to uninstall on your computer.
If there’s a problem with the software, your subscription includes access to technical support. It’s the provider’s responsibility to fix the bugs, and you don’t have to download patches or new versions.

Starting to see the appeal? Cloud computing programs offer extremely flexible access to powerful programs without the hassles of maintaining the software on your own computer. If you’ve ever suffered through a lengthy software download (especially one that needed to be done over several times), you’ll understand the appeal of being able to “visit” your software instead of needing to have it all on your hard drive.

Excerpted from 30 Days to Virtual Productivity Success by Gail Martin. Order this book at https://amzn.com/1601632266

Comments Off on 7 Great Reasons to Store Your Programs in the “Cloud”

Filed under Gail Z. Martin

Tagged as Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, cloud computing, DreamSpinner Communications, Gail Z. Martin

by Gail Martin | July 11, 2012 · 9:48 am

Social Media Becomes a Local Resource

By Gail Z. Martin

Google AdWords offers specialized services to target customers within a 20-mile radius from your business. AdWords permits you to add or exclude areas, and can integrate your targeted AdWords campaign with text messaging.

Facebook can serve as a showcase for your community activity. When you host an event that benefits a local charity or sponsor a local sporting team, promote before, during and after the event with updates, photos, Web video and testimonials. Encourage attendees to become part of an ongoing conversation. Many companies successfully use their Facebook page as an instantly updateable second Web site to let their community know what’s going on and to share information and updates.

Twitter has been used by local charities to mobilize volunteers for projects or to alert donors to immediate needs. Animal rescue groups and humane societies have used Twitter to match shelter animals with new homes. Schools have demonstrated Twitter’s ability to alert parents to unplanned closings or to request badly needed supplies or last-minute parent volunteers. Businesses tweet about their upcoming live entertainment, dinner specials, or daily discounts.

Twitter can also help you promote upcoming local events, share photos and video via links, and give your online press releases a broader readership as you tweet news and provide links to coverage you’ve received in local online publications. Your blog can also be an effective part of your online marketing program by sharing the story behind your achievements or by providing deeper insight into what’s happening with your business, which deals and events are coming up, or the news of your industry as it impacts local customers.

Foursquare is an intensely local social media application that makes going about your business or going out for the evening a shared experience treasure hunt. Foursquare users use the site and text messaging to share their current location as they patronize businesses, retailers, entertainment venues. They can become the “mayor” of frequently-visited sites, and can gather their friends to join them on a spur-of-the-moment basis. Foursquare rewards users who are out and about in their local area—and the local companies they frequent benefit as well.

Groupon subscribers can sign up to get special online deals from local businesses. Subscribers indicate their local area and their willingness to receive emails and social media alerts to short-lived discounts from local merchants. Companies sign up to provide limited-time special deals that are only available via Groupon. In some cases, deals are only available if a specified number of people show up to claim it. Groupon makes bargain hunting fun and social while retaining an intensely local flair.

LivingSocial is another site that offers a daily deal from local businesses with up to 90% off the regular price. Once a subscriber buys the daily deal, he/she has the opportunity to forward the deal to friends, and if one of those friends also buys, the original customer gets the deal item for free. It’s a fun way to publicize specials while encouraging customers to tell their friends about your company.

Yelp, Local.com and Citysearch are other sites that capitalize on the concept of “local.” Not only can they help others to find your company more easily (both online and in person), many of these new locally-oriented sites also encourage customers to rate their recent experience. Don’t let that scare you off. If you provide good service and a good product, you have reason to expect most of your ratings to be positive. Those that aren’t positive provide valuable feedback for you to make improvements, and a highly visible arena in which to demonstrate your great customer service to woo back a less-than-thrilled former customer.

Your neighbors, customers and prospects are online, and they respond to businesses that reach them where they spend their time. Customers also like getting relevant messages and discounts when they’re on the move. Create your own highly local online PR and marketing strategy and reap the benefits!

Comments Off on Social Media Becomes a Local Resource

Filed under Business Planning, Gail Z. Martin, Strategy

Tagged as AdWords, Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, DreamSpinner Communications, Facebook, fears, Gail Z. Martin, new beginnings, renewal, Social Media, target customers

by Gail Martin | July 4, 2012 · 9:42 am

Welcome to the Presidential Suite

By Gail Z. Martin

“Welcome! Right this way. I’ve got the Presidential Suite waiting for you.” With those words, the smiling restroom attendant ushered me into a bathroom stall that had plenty of space for me and my luggage. She walked ahead of me, wiping off any surface I might touch, so that the facilities seemed clean and fresh. When I emerged, she was waiting to hand me a paper towel. On the counter was an array of mints, mouthwash and hygiene items, just in case I needed something. She made sure I got the royal treatment, along with a smile and a cheery word to speed me on my way.

Was this a pricy hotel? No. This was the ladies’ restroom in Terminal A of the Charlotte-Douglas Airport.

What’s the lesson? Here’s someone with a job that many people would not regard as being high status. But she found a way to really embrace the job and share her personality. (One attendant in another terminal bursts into Broadway show tunes. Bathrooms have really good acoustics.) She gives weary travelers a pleasant experience that transforms something routine into a nice surprise. She found a way to bring dignity to a job some people might disdain.

It’s one more example of how attitude is everything. Elinor Roosevelt was right: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Comments Off on Welcome to the Presidential Suite

Filed under Gail Z. Martin, Gratitude-Giving

Tagged as attitude is everything, Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, DreamSpinner Communications, Facebook, fears, Gail Z. Martin, new beginnings, Presidential Suite, renewal, royal treatment

by Gail Martin | June 27, 2012 · 9:39 am

The No Excuses Vacation

By Gail Z. Martin

Every year, when warm weather rolls around, you’ll hear them. They’re the ones bragging about how long it’s been since they went on a vacation, as if being a workaholic is a badge of honor. If you’re terribly unlucky, you’ll be in a room with two or more of these folks, and they’ll start to compete for the dubious honor of who doesn’t have a life.

To that, I say…”Piffle.”

Non-stop work is a recipe for burnout, inefficiency, sluggish thinking, and illness. Often, it results from a fear that if you can leave the office for a week or more, you become indispensable, and it’s often coupled with an inability to delegate. More often than not, in my experience, workaholics and non-vacationers are using their overwhelm to keep from thinking about another, deeper problem—a family issue, financial disarray, or relationship problems.

What if you’re short on cash and you’re a one-person shop? You still owe it to yourself to plan some downtime into your year. A vacation needs to be a mental and physical rest, but nothing says it has to be long or pricey.

Designate a specific weekend as a no-work zone. If you’re a gadget junkie, unplug yourself, leave your electronics on the kitchen counter, and spend a day out and about. Do something you enjoy. Maybe that’s a walk in the woods, a long drive with the radio blaring, a quiet afternoon spent in a comfortable chair at a coffeehouse with a good book. Wander through a museum, get some fresh air at a nearby state or national park, book a tour Niagara Falls, or go sit on a dock and watch boats go by. To plan a luxurious vacation, you may start with a private jet charter from companies like Jettly.

The point is, disengage from your normal routine, your usual worries, and your day-to-day mental rut. Don’t stress out about trying not to think about work. When you find that you’re thinking about work, observe what is happening, and let it go, as if your thoughts are clouds moving past ib the sky.

Whenever I do this, I find that by the end of my no-work zone, my mind is suddenly full of creative solutions to all the things I worried about beforehand. I’m able to go back to the office with exciting ideas, and I’m mentally and physically refreshed.

Why not try a no-excuses vacation for yourself this season and see what a change of pace can do for you?

Comments Off on The No Excuses Vacation

Filed under Balance, Gail Z. Martin

Tagged as Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, DreamSpinner Communications, Facebook, fears, Gail Z. Martin, new beginnings, no work zone, refreshed, renewal, vacation

by Gail Martin | June 20, 2012 · 9:37 am

Think, Act and Grow Rich

By Gail Z. Martin

I love Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich. If you’ve missed this classic, grab a copy from the library. Hill interviewed the capitalist kings (the great Robber Barons of the early 1900s) to discover the secret behind their enormous success. What he discovered were common actions, habits, traits and perspectives which, Hill believed, could enable anyone to change his/her fortune if adopted.

While the book is a classic, I think Hill left something important out of the title. It’s not just enough to think. To make things happen, you’ve got to act.

When I speak to audiences about social media and business marketing, I’m thrilled when people buy my books and sign up for coaching. Yet all too often, when I check back with the same people six months or a year later, I find they have yet to act on what they’ve learned. Predictably, no change has occurred.

Strategic, deliberate action based on a clear idea of what you want to accomplish lies at the heart of every personal and professional success. Thinking about it isn’t enough—you must DO something to make change happen.

All action begins with a thought, and when the thought sets an intention, change is set in motion. When you set an intention, you move beyond wishing and wanting and make a clarative statement to the universe about what you will into existence. This is powerful stuff. Many mythologies tell us that the universe itself began with a word spoken with intent. Intention, combined with thought and action, yields amazing results.

Begin by stating your intention. Be clear, and declare what you want. For example, don’t just say, “I want to be rich.” Craft an intention that charts your course, something like, “I intent to reach the million-dollar mark for my company by (date).”

Take the next step by defining your goals. Prioritize what you want, and be specific. Next, determine what the critical path of actions must be to achieve your goals. There is usually a sequence of key events that have to happen in a certain order to make an outcome happen. Map it out—step one, step two, and so on.

Then, set a timeline. Something almost magical happens when a desired outcome acquires a due date. Now, it is an appointment to be kept, a deadline to be met, and not just a squishy wish.

Figure out your Plan B. While things don’t always go smoothly, chance favors the prepared. If something interrupts your critical path or delays your timeline, what are your alternatives?

When you think through your goals and act with intent, you become unstoppable. What intention will you set today?

Comments Off on Think, Act and Grow Rich

Filed under Gail Z. Martin

Tagged as Act and Grow Rich, Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, change, DreamSpinner Communications, Facebook, fears, Gail Z. Martin, Napoleon Hill, new beginnings, plan b, renewal, Social Media, Think, To make things happen, you’ve got to act

by Gail Martin | June 13, 2012 · 9:34 am

Intentional Social Media

By Gail Z. Martin

One of the most common concerns I hear from audiences when I speak about social media is the fear that Facebook will take over their lives. That’s understandable, given all the news about “Facebook addictions” and people who can’t go an hour without checking their inbox.

There’s an easy antidote. It’s what I call “intentional social media.” Before logging in, set an intention for what you mean to do and how long you will devote your attention to Facebook. Call to mind a specific action, a desired result and a set amount of time. If you need to, set a timer.

Where most people’s social media efforts go awry is in the lack of strategy. If you begin with a clear business goal for your Facebook use, you’re less likely to get sucked into nonproductive hours following cute videos and chit-chat.

Once you’ve determined your clear business goal, break that goal down into smaller and smaller action items until you have a to-do list of items that can each be accomplished in 10 minutes or less. This could include inviting friends to your profile, or inviting your profile-friends to like your business page, making an interesting post, commenting on someone else’s post, creating an event page, etc.

When you approach social media with a clear, specific intention, and then stop to set an intention for the outcome of every time you log on, you’ll find that you stay on track, accomplish more, and see better, faster results. Se your intention and see what happens!

Comments Off on Intentional Social Media

Filed under Gail Z. Martin, Social Media

Tagged as Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, DreamSpinner Communications, Facebook, fears, Gail Z. Martin, intentional social media, new beginnings, renewal, Social Media, spring

by Gail Martin | June 6, 2012 · 8:54 am

Spring Happened—Did You Notice?

By Gail Z. Martin

We’ve had an indecisive spring this year: hot one day, cold the next. But finally, the leaves are out, the grass is green, and the flowers are blooming. We humans might be confused about how to dress for the weather, but Mother Earth, as usual, turns out in style.

I am always grateful for spring; not just because it is the end to winter, but because it reminds me that life is full of new beginnings. The dry leaves, dead grass and wilted flowers from last autumn and summer have miraculously become new again.

That’s important, because we all need renewal. There are plenty of places in my life still filled with dry leaves, dead grass and wilted flowers from seasons long past, and where I haven’t welcomed the new beginning of spring. I’m working on it, but every time I think I’ve gotten all the mental crabgrass, I turn around and there’s another patch, waiting to be weeded.

What does spring look like in your life? Maybe it’s a new start for your business, a new exciting project, or a new relationship. Maybe it’s recommitting to an exercise program, a goal, or a dream. Maybe it’s the courage to burst forth in blossom after a long winter.

If you’ve still got winter in your soul, perhaps a dose of spring is just what you need. Begin with gratitude, frame an intention of what you would like to see happen, and turn your intention into action. Small steps in the right direction are perfectly acceptable.

Embrace spring, and see what a difference it makes!

Comments Off on Spring Happened—Did You Notice?

Filed under Business Planning, Gail Z. Martin

Tagged as Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, DreamSpinner Communications, Facebook, fears, Gail Z. Martin, new beginnings, renewal, Social Media, spring

by Gail Martin | May 30, 2012 · 8:50 am

the Zen of Facebook

By Gail Z. Martin

Does Facebook stress you or help you relax?

Facebook favors selective attention. I enjoy looking at (and forwarding) blissful pictures, motivational quotes, and funny sayings. While I often read without commenting, I also enjoy being able to take a short break and get caught up with what friends and acquaintances are doing.

I have a strict “no haters” rule on my page. I consider my profile page to be part of my public persona as an author and a business person, so I will accept friend requests from anybody who asks (so long as they post in English). But…posting something hateful will get a person de-friended and their posts removed. I don’t need to look at that kind of stuff, and I certainly don’t need to be party to sharing it.

Likewise, I stay out of contentious debates. I have plenty of opinions on topics, but the world really doesn’t care what I think (and if you do, you can read my books). Too many comments devolve into useless quibbles. Don’t harsh my mellow! If it’s an occasional debate I’ll overlook it, but if someone frequently posts contentious items, it’s a guaranteed way to get de-friended, or at least, hidden.

When I participate on Facebook, I try to share information that will educate, empower or inspire, and occasionally, make you laugh. That’s my tiny contribution in a world that needs a whole lot more knowledge, empowerment, inspiration and laughter. I am grateful for the amazing ability to use technology that enables me to touch a global audience, and I have set my intentions to

I limit my time on Facebook to first thing in the morning (to post those success thoughts), and occasionally during the day when I need a 5 minute mental vacation. If you know you can’t go out to Facebook for just 5 minutes, then wait until evening. If you have difficulty staying focused on business at the beginning of the workday, make a to-do list with one or two action items related to business, go out on Facebook and do them, and then log off. And if it’s too distracting to get email updates when people post on your page, disable the emails so you have to go out and look.

Facebook can be a good business tool and a fun part of your social life, but it shouldn’t add to your stress. Try these ideas to help you get into Facebook’s more relaxing qualities, and have fun!

Comments Off on the Zen of Facebook

Filed under Gail Z. Martin, Social Media

Tagged as Big Dreams and Hard Work Blog, DreamSpinner Communications, Facebook, fears, Gail Z. Martin, relax, selective attention, Social Media, social media stress, stress

Tag Archives: DreamSpinner Communications

Welcome to the Presidential Suite

The No Excuses Vacation

THE AUTHOR

GO TO

Listen to Authors

SUBSCRIBE

SEARCH

Book Feature

Links

Categories

Archives

Tag Archives: DreamSpinner Communications

THE AUTHOR

GO TO

Listen to Authors

SUBSCRIBE

SEARCH

Top Tags

Book Feature

Links

Categories

Archives