by MelanieD | Jun 24, 2018 | Blog, Constant Contact, content marketing, email, email marketing, infographic
As we enter into the second half of the year, July is a perfect time to reflect and reinforce existing relationships, as well as think about how we can grow in the days to come. What’s your plan to prevent existing customer relationships from melting away in the summer sun? What about a strategy to bring the heat against your competition and gain more customers?
Whether your focus is to engage your existing audience, grow your list, or both, the July 2018 Marketing and Holiday Infographic below should help you keep your cool this July.
source: Constant Contact
by MelanieD | May 20, 2018 | Blog
It’s important that a business’s information appears—and appears correctly— when people search online. Research shows that 80% of consumers used a search engine when looking for information about local businesses.1 And, businesses that are online grow 40% faster and are twice as likely to create jobs.2 This brief tutorial explains the importance of creating or claiming your local business listing using Google My Business–a free tool for your business!
Once a business listing has been verified, you can manage your information as it appears across Google Search and Maps, and help potential customers find important information, including phone numbers, hours of operation, and driving directions.
But just what is Google My Business? 
Creating a business listing helps you control the details Google displays, so they’re up-to-date and consistent across Search and Maps. It won’t guarantee that your business will appear in the search results, but it can help.
Google My Business doesn’t replace a business website, but it can help your listing stand out in the search results and on the map, and send potential customers to your site.
Why is Google My Business important?
People visit 1.5 billion destinations every month related to their Google Searches.3 People are searching locally: there are billions of local searches made monthly, and more than 30% of all mobile searches are related to location.4
Businesses with storefronts open to customers—and those that meet with customers in local service areas—can appear on Google Maps. These listings help searchers find businesses nearby.
Google Maps also considers other factors, like relevancy, distance, and prominence.Relevancy is how well a business listing matches a search. If your listing is detailed and up-to-date, Google is more likely to show it for relevant searches.
Google My Business makes it easy for your listing to appear on all devices. It works on computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones, so potential customers can find you, no matter how they get online.
How do I get started with Google My Business?
It’s so easy! Just head over to gybo.com/business, click on “View My Listing” and Google will walk you through the steps. All you need to complete the process is a Google account (and that’s free, too!)
How do I get my Google My Business Listing verified?
During the listing creation process (or in the verification process), Google will prompt you to “Verify Now” by one of several options. Most commonly is for the business owner to request a postcard. Within approximately 14 business days, you will receive a postcard with a PIN number on it that you will use to verify your business. The postcard will have specific instructions on how to update your listing. If you’re working with a GYBO partner, you may have access on an online expedited verification form, which processes your request electronically within 3-5 business days. As your GYBO partner, let me know if you need access to this form.
Want to learn more about Google My Business? Click here to get the latest updates.
1 The Consumer Barometer Survey, 2014/2015.
2 BCG Report, The Connected World: The $4.2 Trillion Opportunity, March 2012
3 Google Data, Mar. 2016.
4 Google internal data, Jan 2017
by MelanieD | May 10, 2018 | Blog
Over the past 9+ years, I’ve met with countless business owners and entrepreneurs. We’ve had many conversations about marketing and networking and successful business strategies and making money. The list goes on.
But there’s one thing I’ve found in common with every. single. person. It all comes back to family. FAMILY.
We don’t decide to become business owners for the recognition–often we’re wearing all the hats (from CEO to janitor) and we look rather silly wearing all those hats but we do it anyway.
We don’t decide to start our own business for the immense wealth–often we go without a paycheck because we need to pay our bills, because we understand the importance of keeping the lights and power on.
We don’t decide to be our own boss because we can take off anytime we wish–if we do that, our businesses could fail, and that’s not acceptable.
We understand that the freedom of flexible hours can mean staying up all night to finish a project or place supply orders or get our books in order for the accountant. So we do what is necessary and consume large amounts of coffee to keep hustling.
And we do all these things for one real reason. Because it gives us the ability to set our own rules and ultimately be with our family. Even if that means bringing the tablet and working from the stands at the soccer game: we’re there to see our kid kick the winning goal. Or we take our aging parent to a doctor appointment, even if we have to step outside the waiting room to take a business call.
Because in the end, it’s about being with family. Family is everything.
by MelanieD | Feb 4, 2018 | Blog
If you have ever felt that the time spent networking was wasted I submit that it is not the activity itself with the problem. Rather it is your intent and/or your event. What was your intent in attending the last networking event that frustrated you?
Sometimes you have success, but it is entirely random. Some connections may eventually become the perfect person to accelerate your business.
Consider this common model we are all familiar with that should illustrate what is happening. Some people do buy winning lottery tickets. That is what keeps the vast majority buying their own. The winner is in the ticket, though, not the purchaser. The success comes from the person you met—not you.
Rather than rely on hope change what you think to see better results. What is your intention in networking?
Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash
Network with intention
The first intent is to look for people that can help your current customers, prospects, or strategic alliances enjoy more success. Improve their life. Forget about helping yourself.
Let’s say you are a Residential Realtor and one of your current buyers is looking for a new home they can downsize into now that they are empty-nesters. The kids are not only out of the house but out of college. Maybe they are avid golfers or indulgent pet owners. Look for someone who can help these people take a memorable golf vacation or can introduce them to a great pet spa or veterinarian.
The second intent is to look for people that can further your goals. Imagine you are a mortgage broker who has an excellent program to help people that have good income and no down payments get into their first home quickly. This may be ideal for someone who is just graduating from an expensive school and launching a lucrative profession. However, when they first come out of school they are saddled with large school loans and can’t even start shopping homes until they get a job offer. After that they can select the city and start the process and usually want to go fast. These may be doctors, lawyers, engineers, and so on.
Let’s imagine you do not have any contacts into these schools. (If you do, start there.) If not, network for these resources. You might look for people directly or indirectly associated with specific universities. Barring that, you might instead network for people who have successfully negotiated that process already. That is, they graduated ten years ago and are now successful. Ask if they can help you understand the issues facing your intended target market. You may find your plan is not likely to succeed. This is okay since it saves time and lets you reshape the plan. You may find they are influential in the alumni association. This is wonderful as they may be perfect golden goose for your program. More likely you may wind up somewhere in the middle.
At any rate you will almost certainly find that your networking will be far more effective by changing your intent and your event.
© 2018 by Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.
![Social Media Image Sizes Cheat Sheet]()
by MelanieD | Jan 27, 2018 | Blog
What size do I make my image for social media?
With the social media sites constantly making updates, there can be a lot of confusion over the ideal size to create images and photos. Here’s a brief rundown of some critical social media photo sizes. A simple, accurate listing of the most popular social media images all in one place!
At the time of this publication (January 27, 2018), the top recommended size for image posts are 1200 pixels square. This dimension is ideal for Facebook and Instagram posts, and it also works well for LinkedIn and Twitter.
The top recommended size for link posts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are 1200 x 628 pixels (a 1.91:1 aspect ratio).
All the image recommendations listed in this article are based on pixels (h) by pixels (w). Need help creating your images at the proper size? There are several tools, both paid and free, that are available for you. A few of my favorites are Canva, PicMonkey and Picresize.
Facebook Photo Sizes
- Facebook Page Cover photo: 820 x 312 desktop / 640 x 360 mobile
- Facebook Profile photo: upload 170 x 170
- Facebook Link preview: min. 600 x 314
- Facebook Photo post: 476 x varied height (larger images often have better quality)
- Facebook Group Cover photo: 1640 x 859
- Facebook Event Cover photo: 1200 x 675
Twitter Photo Sizes
- Twitter Header: 1500 x 500
- Twitter Profile: 400 x 400
- Tweeted Image: 1200 x 675
- Twitter Card image: 1200 x 628
Instagram Photo Sizes
- Instagram Profile Photo: 110 x 110 minimum
- Instagram photo: minimum 1080 width for best quality
LinkedIn Photo Sizes
- LinkedIn profile cover photo: 1584 wide by 396 high
- Linked in profile picture: 400 x 400 to 20,000 x 20,000
- LinkedIn blog post link share (matches Facebook):1200 x 628
- LinkedIn photo share: 1200 x 1200
- LinkedIn Company cover photo: 1536 x 768
- LinkedIn Company logo: 300 x 300 square
YouTube Photo Sizes
- YouTube Channel Art: 2560 x 1440
- Video thumbnail: 1280 x 720
- Channel icon: 800 x 800
by MelanieD | Dec 29, 2017 | Blog
Why Chose a WORD?
Choosing a WORD as inspiration for your year can provide incredible insight and direction. Your WORD can be anything that resonates with you. It’s not necessarily a to-do list, but it can provide encouragement and serve as a reminder. Since your WORD is just that – one WORD – it becomes a broad topic and can be more easily applied to multiple areas of your life and business.
How to Use your WORD
Once you’ve declared your WORD, you can embark on multiple journeys to incorporate it into your life. Write it on the bathroom mirror with a big, fat sharpie, so you are reminded of it every morning and night while you brush your teeth; write it on post-it notes and put those babies everywhere: in the car, in your wallet, on your computer monitor; create a years worth of content around your WORD by writing blog posts and social media content and images relating to it. Find a framed print with your WORD and display it in a place of prominence. Whatever you need to remind yourself of your WORD and keep motivated will work.
How to Find your WORD
Having trouble deciding on your WORD of the year? Christine Kane has a great tool (FREE!) that can help you determine your WORD. You can get her tool here.
For your inspiration, here’s is a list of WORDs I collected that may help you narrow it down a bit.
Here’s to an amazing year!
