Blog | She Owns It

5 Ways to Market to College Students From a College Student Herself

July 13, 2020 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

by Caroline Hughes

Marketing to specifically appeal to college students poses itself to be a difficult task. Keeping up with trending memes while trying to stay professional isn’t quite the easiest ball to juggle. So, take it from me! As a college student myself, I’ve provided data-backed insights into exactly what my target audience looks for in their purchasing decisions. Read on to see my top five tips.

1. Be Conversational, Not Promotional

The days of promotional copyright are over when it comes to appealing to the younger generation. We grew up overwhelmed by filled-to-the-brim media outlets; it takes a lot more than a witty catchphrase or a hot deal to grasp the attention of a young adult. Although professional tones have their time and place, most teens and college students follow brands with conversational, authentic rhetoric. Appealing to our sense of humor is a guaranteed way to gain some Gen-Z following. Take notes from brands like Wendy’s, who have previously launched sarcastic Twitter campaigns that us kids frequently buzz about.

2. Dress to Impress. . . Digitally

Hiring a qualified graphic designer or picking up some design skills yourself is imperative to the digital success of a business today. For a generation raised on Instagram filters, college students know how easy it is to capture high-quality photos, add consistent branding colors and fonts, and create witty captions, regardless of our major. So, if we are more impressed by our own social media skills than your business’, we may falsely assume you are not all that credible. Prioritizing a high-quality aesthetic that is consistent throughout all digital platforms will help you nail that first impression while gaining some impressions.

Additionally, hiring influences can be a great way to spread your branding across various platforms. Influences are essentially experts in the world of aesthetics, so they can offer some seasoned advice.

3. Videos Take the Throne

Although there are various tactics to employ to attract college students to your brand, videos will take the throne time and time again. A high-quality video will engage multiple senses, making it more difficult for viewers to switch to the next tab. Consider creating a YouTube account in your brand’s name. Even if you do not post regularly, it can serve as a home for any campaign videos produced.

The facts don’t lie: 93% of people ages 19-24 years old browse YouTube at least once a week, most using the platform over once a day. But the benefits don’t stop at just exposure: 40% of people who watch videos online click on the related link or feel compelled to share it with a friend. Videos are among the highest media forms to cause conversions, as long as you properly optimize them with SEO. Investing in keyword research will ensure that the time and money put into your first-rate video reaches your target audience.

4. Communicate That You Care

In this time of social unrest, every business must support a genuine cause. If you have enough money to rent out that chic new office space, you have enough to set up an initiative for a charity you care about. Most young adults now learn about the brands they buy their products from before making any purchases. This ensures they support business owners who align with their values.

A portion of your revenue may go to a relevant nonprofit, each product sold may be matched with a product donated, goods may be made sustainably, etc. No matter what route you take, ensure every business decision has that good-deed mentality backing it. Not only will it pay off with a more extensive customer following, but it will also provide personal fulfillment in your work.

5. Emphasize Affordability

Amidst all of our crazy trends and high expectations, we are still teenagers scraping by off of last summer’s job earnings. Although a strong aesthetic, authentic tones, knockout videos, and core values are important to us, the price will always impact our purchasing decisions. If your product or service is more high-end, one way to lure in young adults is to provide a student discount or free trial exclusively for students. This makes students feel valued and increases the chances they invest in your product or service in their post-grad years.

If you follow these five tips, you’re likely to see your young adult ratings boost as your marketing reflects our values, needs, and interests. It’s time to keep up with the kids.

Caroline Hughes is an honors student at Texas Christian University obtaining a Strategic Communication degree with a minor in Business. Caroline is a Content Creator with Magnus Opus, as well as publishing thought pieces on her personal lifestyle blog.

You Know This Song: Having Confidence to Sing the Soundtrack to Your Life by @NancySolari

July 10, 2020 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

by Nancy Solari

One of my favorite hobbies and passions has always been karaoke. But as my vision started deteriorating after being diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, I found I could no longer read the lyrics at a distance. I solved this by having the karaoke host at my go-to bar whisper the words to me while I sang, but when I visited other karaoke places, I ran into issues with the DJ or manager being uncomfortable reading the words to me. In my mind, I felt more secure when they assisted me, but the audience often sat there whispering among themselves, confused by my performance.

One night, I was at a bar with my friends and serenading them with the well-known Britney Spears song “…Baby One More Time.” The manager agreed to whisper the lyrics in my ear, but I had to repeatedly lean down to hear her; my body swaying like a pendulum during the performance. Suddenly, a woman got up from her seat, marched towards me, slammed her hand on the stage, and shouted: “You know this song!” Without another word, she disappeared, and I never encountered her again. But I immediately started singing the song without the manager and to my surprise, she was right: I sang the song perfectly. I realized I no longer needed my “karaoke crutch” of having the words read to me in order for me to succeed.

The next day, I was still perplexed by the mystery lady and my triumph in the bar. But it gave me the chance to understand I had become too dependent on others. The interruption of my song allowed me to recognize this and trust my abilities again.

In order for us to grow into being our most authentic selves, we must plant the seeds of the following qualities…

Let disrupters Into Your life

When I performed at karaoke bars, I was content with someone feeding me the words until the I was jolted into realizing the truth: I knew the lyrics and was capable of singing on my own. What I needed was someone to assist in my overall personal growth.

We need these people in our lives, because there are insecurities we cannot recognize in ourselves. The woman who interrupted me on stage saw the discomfort in my body and gave me the impetus to perform without assistance. Our friends and family do the same for us: They give us guidance and provide opportunities that endow us with confidence.

Believe in Your abilities

When my vision started worsening, I began leaning on those around me. It was only when I started singing on my own again that I grew more self-reliant. I developed a new habit of listening to the song a few times to learn the melody, and practicing for hours before performing. I discovered if I messed up the verses, I could just smile and make them up as went along: I learned how to adapt and become a stronger.

To find this self-assurance, I had to examine what I liked about myself. Nobody is perfect, but we have to consider a skill we take pride in and let it be our signature trait. For some it might be a physical attribute, and for others it may be intelligence. We can use confidence in this singular feature to build our self-worth in other areas: It becomes like a business card defining us in the best way possible.

Play Only Your Soundtrack

My ability to sing and do karaoke is important because it stems from a time before I lost my sight. The music industry was a career path I went down for a brief period. I was going to music award parties, meeting with presidents of different record labels, and recording my music. As exciting as the industry was, I encountered sexual harassment that made me feel powerless.

One night, I was at an industry party that opened my eyes. I found myself scanning the room and observing new artists who were indulging in drugs. In that moment, I went to the bathroom; tears were running down my face, and I felt adrift in a sea of partiers. I looked in the mirror and told myself: “These are not my people.” I immediately left the party and walked away from the music industry. I found the confidence to step out of that world, and I felt like I gained my soul back.

By confronting what I desired in life and have conviction in my morals, I left behind people I knew would not have assisted my growth. To find our true selves, we need this self-reflection. I found when I journaled or voiced my thoughts into a recorder, I effectively discovered my inner pain. When we examine ourselves through a different prism, we learn what holds us back and can create change in our lives.

The soundtrack to my life is far from complete, as I continue to be challenged by my vision every day. But each time we are confronted with adversity, we must remember our best verses will be about overcoming hardship, and the greatest songs often take years to write. Along the way, when self-confidence meets our authentic selves, we come one step closer to finishing the album to our life.

And that is music to my ears.

Nancy Solari is an inspiring example of living life with a positive mindset, regardless of the challenges you face.

At sixteen, she was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa: a progressive retinal disease that leads to blindness. Over the years, Nancy experienced significant vision loss, but refused to let this dissuade her from following her dreams. She obtained a BA in broadcasting and psychology from the University of Oregon, worked for Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight, had a successful singing career, and was a top-producing Realtor in Southern California.

Nancy went on to obtain a life coaching degree, and launched Living Full Out in 2008 to help others achieve their goals. An accomplished coach, speaker, and host of the national radio show, Living Full Out with Nancy Solari, she shares her tools for success with audiences and organizations all around the country.

Why You Need to Start Using Hashtag Generators

July 9, 2020 by Shane Barker 1 Comment

Hashtags have, over time, become a popular marketing tool for most brands, marketers, and content creators.

Why is this?

Hashtags increase your chances of reaching more people.

But it’s not that easy.

Using hashtags is a art. You need to know which hashtags to use for which posts so that you can increase your reach. You also need to know how many to use to avoid looking spammy.

For example, using more than six hashtags on Instagram posts can decrease your engagement.

Scary, right?

So, how can you know which hashtags to use and how to use them properly?

Use hashtag generating tools.

What Are Hashtag Generators?

These are tools that help you research and generate hashtags.

How do they work?

For some of them, you manually enter a keyword, location, or hashtag, and the tool helps you find common or popular hashtags. With others, you upload a link or image, and the AI algorithm suggests hashtags based on the image or link content.

But how can they improve the effectiveness of your hashtag campaigns?

They Help You Find Trending and Popular Topics

Hashtag generator tools use an algorithm to find the most popular and most frequently used hashtags in real time. You can then use them to join conversations with relevant content that adds value to the discussion.

They Help Protects You from Re-Using Hashtags

I am sure you know some common and popular hashtags used by everyone for almost every topic.

For example: #love #fashion, #fitness, #photography, #music, #travel, etc.

You can still use them. But if you want your posts to have high engagement rates, you should incorporate niche hashtags with sizeable followings. By using popular hashtags alone, you run the risk of limited visibility in high demand topics.

So, how can hashtag generator tools help?

They have an algorithm that can help you find high engagement hashtags specific to your niche. These tools can also help you find hashtags your competitors use or generate hashtags specific to your business or campaign. You can do a partnership with the best influencer marketing companies that can help out to manage your campaign with the right Hashtag.

They Help You Boost Your Reach

Social media users are also intelligent and will notice if you use irrelevant hashtags in an attempt to gain likes or followers. However, with relevant hashtags, you can reach many social media users who are likely to be interested in what you post.

By using hashtag generators, you can find relevant hashtags related to your niche. And if you join a conversation related to one of the top hashtags with valuable content, you increase your chances of boosting your reach.

But which hashtag generating tools should you use?

The infographic below on my blog ShaneBarker.com offers a list of some of the best hashtag generator tools you can use to find suitable tags for your posts. Check it out!

Image Courtesy: ShaneBarker.com

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome by @HeidiDalzell

July 8, 2020 by Heidi Dalzell Leave a Comment

by Heidi J. Dalzell, PsyD.

“If you don’t believe you’re good enough or smart enough or informed enough to have a voice in the conversation, you never will.” Susie Moore, Life Coach and Entrepreneur

Imposter syndrome is that oh so painful feeling of not measuring up. For many of us it’s a fact of life, even within our businesses, and often despite evidence that we are experts in our own rights. The problem with imposter syndrome, as Susie suggests, is that it holds us back from creating the life we desire.

My recent bout with imposter syndrome came during my first international speaking gig, and ironically with the critical, judgmental voice of a fellow American.

At this conference, a colleague and I were facilitating a workshop we’d done many times before to pretty universal accolades. Not this time. Instead, we had a heckler in the audience. This person criticized an exercise I was facilitating, and in a very public way. It didn’t help that the individual had some clout and a following at the conference, or that the person also handed us a written accounting of all we had gotten “wrong” at the end of the session. I somehow ended up as a participant in several other sessions that this “expert” attended, and her “expertise” and need to provide commentary was pretty universal. Each facilitator, including the conference keynote, received a similar love note. While I saw this, I of course noticed that I was not the only object of such derision. But it did not change my sense of devastation at being so publicly attacked.

All I wanted for some time afterwards was to retreat, and in all honesty to wallow a little in self-pity. We’ve all been there.

While I’d spent all that time developing expertise in my field, and had stepped into the role of an influencer, I longed for the relative anonymity that comes with hiding. The tale I spun: I was not an expert at all. In fact, I was an imposter, a fraud. And no, it didn’t matter that I was a therapist who knew and understood imposter syndrome.

Many of us have had experiences of not measuring up to someone’s standards, either within the professional world, or early on as children and adolescents. As, women in particular it is easy to parlay these experiences into imposter syndrome. The good news is that in the same ways we learn imposter syndrome, we can also unlearn it.

Assessing Sources of Imposter Syndrome

At least one source of my imposter syndrome clearly evident. They may not always be the case, and at times we have to take a walk down memory lane to see where our fears originate. It’s helpful to sit down with a journal and ask yourself some questions:

In which areas in my life do I lack confidence?
How does this lack of confidence manifest?
What childhood experiences have led me to believe: “I need to be perfect,” “I must always get things right,” “I can’t ask for help,” or “My competence is measured by what I know and how much I do”?
What present day experiences have contributed imposter syndrome?

Another area to explore, especially for women business owners are connected to our socialization. Many women are socialized to be humble and deferential. While I was encouraged to have a career, I was equally encouraged to stay home and raise my daughter – the model I was given growing up. Such mixed messages can contribute to imposter syndrome.

Once you’ve done a thorough inventory, you’re ready to begin the process of questioning.

Questioning the Validity of Imposter Thoughts

We internalize many pieces of information day-to-day. This does not mean that this information is valid or correct. When the so-called expert expressed criticism, at first I swallowed it hook, line and sinker. As I gained perspective I was able to incorporate the remarks that were valid, and leave the rest behind. That process involved me asking myself what was constructive in the feedback and what I could leave behind. Painful as the process was, using it constructively, rather than destructfully, helped me to grow. Thus, we must learn to critically question our thoughts. Does this thought help me? Or hinder me?

Many time this balanced awareness is just what we need to let go. Other tools include taking these negative thoughts about self and envisioning tying them to a balloon to float away or throwing them into the waves or fire. Whatever works for you is fine.

As we continue to create a personal brand, and are successful at it, we can attract detractors. Football superstar John Madden, who has a number of witticisms, says “the higher up the flagpole you climb, the more your underwear is exposed.” That is certainly true, so keep climbing to that place where you no longer care.

Reclaim Your Confidence

Reclaiming our confidence is challenging, but so important. What are you good at? Come on, it’s ok to brag – despite what you may have been told early on. In fact, a great tool for claiming or reclaiming your confidence is a brag book.

Originally used as an interviewing tool, a brag book (or wins journal) is a book of accolades about you. It can include recent accomplishments and successes, positive feedback from supervisors, colleagues and clients, even “thank yous” you’ve received. Keep your book updated as these kudos roll in, at minimum update it monthly. In addition to building confidence, your brag book can be helpful in developing points for your business elevator pitch.

Having Female Role Models

Who are the role models (especially the female role models) and experts on your field? How can you best emulate them and use them in an aspirational way? For me, that’s Brene Brown, hands down: a strong, confident role model that also allows herself to be vulnerable. She shares my own values of genuineness and authenticity. As you explore why these women and men are your role models, be sure to make note of your takeaways, including those areas of growth and synergy.

Mindfulness Practices

Finally, a plug for mindfulness practices as a great way to address that internally judging mind. Mindfulness involves consciously cultivating moment-to-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings and body sensations using a compassionate, non-judgmental framework. When we sense ourselves judging, we can simply tag those thoughts as “judging” and move away from them. Using a mindfulness lens we learn to stay in the moment and offer ourselves compassion for our perceived shortcomings. This present day focus moves us from the past (and future) to being fully in the present for self and others.

Overcoming My Fears

Numerous pep talks later, and after being strongly urged to get back on the horse rather than entirely changing the exercise, I began to get some distance. We looked at our workshop, and incorporated the feedback we felt was fair and balanced. The next conference was a success, as was the one after that, and so on.

Imposter syndrome just doesn’t square with my values of genuineness and authenticity.

COVID-19 and Effective Social Marketing Strategies by @DONNAAMOS

July 7, 2020 by Donna Amos Leave a Comment

by Donna Amos | Featured Contributor

Social Networks, Marketing and a Global Pandemic

The world is nothing like it used to be at this moment in time. The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything everywhere for the time being. The reality is, too, that things may never go back to the way they used to be. This influences all aspects of day-to-day existence as well. It has even had a massive effect on how businesses approach digital marketing. If you want to master social media marketing for the pandemic and beyond, then you should look into these strategies as soon as possible. You should approach marketing on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn nowadays with all of the caution and smarts in the world.

Focus on Audience Targeting

If you want to track down leads and strengthen engagement in a big way, then you should take the time to focus on audience targeting. It can help to turn to devices such as the Facebook ads manager. If you utilize this, then you’ll be able to track down an audience that’s practically tailored to your specific preferences and wishes. If you want to figure out who exactly needs to see your latest advertisements, then you need to make in-depth targeting one of your top aims.

Help Social Network Users Get Breaks From the Harsh Realities of Life Nowadays

There is no disputing that life nowadays is difficult and unpredictable for so many people all around the globe. That’s the reason that it can be such a good idea for businesses to help social media users get welcome breaks from all sorts of difficulties. People more than ever need pleasant distractions that can put genuine smiles on their faces. It can be an intelligent idea to integrate joy into news pieces. If you want to post a relevant story for your audience members, then you should think about possibly implementing fascinating video clips. You should think about possibly introducing them to other things that may pique their interest levels as well. Virtual tours of intriguing destinations may just do the trick.

Zero in on Context

It’s critical to zero in on context. There’s no arguing that this pandemic has influenced people all around the planet. There’s also no disputing that its effects in many cases hit close to home. That’s the reason that the smartest businesses out there should study up on how it has affected cities, towns and communities all over the map. If you want to avoid doing anything insensitive unintentionally, then you should make a point to study up on regional matters that may change how you approach your social network “voice” during the pandemic. If you hear about a small town close to you that has experienced particularly significant job loss as a result of the pandemic, then you may want to reconsider how you handle your posts that are relevant to all of its locals.

Evaluate Things Over and Over Again

Nonstop reevaluations can do wonders for businesses that want to approach pandemic social network use intelligently and sensitively. Markets are evolving more rapidly than ever these days. That’s why you need to go above and beyond to reevaluate matters with significant frequency. You should reevaluate your marketing campaigns. You should reevaluate your rules as well. Things that you implemented a month ago may no longer be pertinent or appropriate. You should realize that the only thing that you can actually predict is that situations will never be the same. Reevaluate how you move forward with blog posting times, video clips, response times and beyond. Something that may have been acceptable or perhaps even beneficial half a year ago may be completely out of touch nowadays.

Analyze All of Your Creative Choices at Length

It’s critical to meticulously analyze your creative choices that involve social networks. Think about the tone you use any time you caption Facebook or Instagram posts of any kind. Think about your keyword selection. Think about your blog subjects. It can even help to think about the images you choose to adorn your sites. It may not be fitting to take things too lightly at this moment in time. If you want to approach social network use sensitively, then you may want to limit your jokes for a while. People aren’t exactly in the mood to be rolling around on the ground laughing. Although you shouldn’t rule out humor entirely, you should make a point to approach it both delicately and sensitively.

Consider human contact as well. You may want to stay away from any and all references to excessive touch. Showing images of people embracing passionately may not be something you want to do for quite a while.

Concentrate on Expanding Your Social Networking Accounts

If you want to approach social networking intelligently during the pandemic, then you should concentrate on account expansion. You shouldn’t concentrate on conversions. Your digital marketing style should not revolve around motivating audience members to complete sales. It should revolve around expanding your audience in a considerable and meaningful way. Don’t forget that your audience members do not have a lot of cash to spare right now. They can usually only set aside funds for the basics. If you want to come out on top when all is said and done, then you should put a lot of energy and time into making your Internet following a lot more rock-solid for the future. Aim to release content that offers tangible value to people. Aim to give people access to content that’s actually vital. It can be smart to give your followers suggestions regarding all of the things that they can do to look after themselves while in confinement. It can be smart to give them suggestions that relate to getting more done while working remotely as well. Practicality is of the essence these days.

Team Up With Influential Figures in Your Field or Industry

It can be highly intelligent to network with people in your industry or field who are particularly influential. You may want to join forces with widely known “influencers.” Ask an influencer if you can pen a guest blog for him or her. Ask an influencer if he or she may want to pen a guest blog for your official website. If you do this, then you may be able to gain the interest of brand new consumers. Teaming up with influencers can be a speedy and effective way for businesses nowadays to up their social network marketing strategies. It can be a win-win situation as well. That’s because you may be able to help influencers strengthen their already robust Internet followings.

Get Deeply Acquainted With Your Target Audience Members

People have more time on their hands in recent times. That’s why it may be a terrific opportunity for businesses to get even more acquainted with their target audience members. It may be a fantastic idea to conduct surveys of your audience members. Take the time to discover all of the things that truly make them tick. Zero in on your audience members’ deepest emotions, too. Ask them about the things that give them fear. Ask them about the things that may give them hope for brighter tomorrows. The more “in the loop” you are with your audience members, the simpler it will be for you to please them at later times.

Be Selfless

Businesses that are intelligent should aim to come across as being selfless. If you want to come across that way, then you should start by actually being that way. Do not fixate as much on your business and its aspirations. Concentrate on your audience members above all else.

Test Brand New Concepts Out Right Now

Businesses in this day and age should be more fearless and bold than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic is a terrific “excuse” for businesses to test out fresh new concepts as well. It may be brilliant to test out concepts that are totally unfamiliar to you. You may want to play around with social media posting times. You may want to try new avenues such as giveaways, competitions and contests in general. Things aren’t the way they used to be. That’s why it can be a pretty safe time to do things that make you feel a bit uncertain. You should test out things that involve image selection, video clips and more.

How to Get your Facebook Ads to Massively Convert Quickly by @XLConsultingGro

July 6, 2020 by Elaine Slatter Leave a Comment

by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

How to Get Facebook Ads to Massively Convert

If you are not getting your facebook ads to massively convert, then there are few things to check out in your ads manager set up. You might be surprised to learn that you need a very BIG target audience for your facebook ads to massively convert. We can help you find that large audience.

But first, let’s go through the important parts of facebook ads manager that you may be missing when setting up your facebook ads.

From your business page ads manager page there are three options for your campaign depending on your marketing objectives. The 3 choices are: Awareness, Consideration, CONVERSION.

Make sure you pick CONVERSION

How to Select Your Audience

You can select your warm audience by choosing from the option

Optimization for Ad Delivery

Warm audience (those who already have visited your website. These can be tracked through a facebook pixel you have installed on your website.

Warmer audience (a look-alike audience to the one who has already visited your website)

These two options are for people who already have a lot of visitors to their website and who are also facebook users.

Next you can pick your audience by

Location

Age

Gender

The larger your set of criteria, the larger the number of people targeted. If you are a local business, your target audience will be relatively small. Your audience would consist of only the cities that you service and the age group/gender who are likely to buy your products.

If you are a company that offers a digital service, you can select a much larger location because it doesn’t matter if they live in California, Alaska or anywhere else in North America.

What is “Detailed Targeting”?

Next you can get more specific with your targeting by selecting the “Detailed Targeting” section. This is your COLD audience. If you are new to business or do not have a facebook pixel on your website or a lot of facebook friends for your business page, you may only have a cold audience. That’s ok!

Your audience can consist of

Demographics

Interests

For a cold audience you can look at facebook suggestions or type in a name of someone who has an alignment to the same interests. For example, if you are promoting yoga training, you might want to pick an audience that includes Brene Brown or Meditation because people who are interested in yoga are also interested in Brene Brown or Meditation. Or you might want to pick the specific types of yoga such as Hot Yogo or Hatha Yoga.

Targeting Ad spend

The reach of your ad and the conversion rate suggestions from Facebook depend on your ad spend.

In the example of “Yoga” for a Yoga training ad, we have selected a daily spend of $20 x 7 days a week = $140/week.

This is the resulting reach of this ad spend using a location of United States, Gender = female and the age group of 25-45. It is based on a “cold” audience only. Your results would be much better if you had a “warm” audience and a “look alike audience”.

What does Facebook Say About Your Potential Ad?

The audience reach is how many people will see this ad based on the ad spend budget

Conversion rate = the number of people who are likely to purchase the product in your ad given your selection criteria and your ad spend. When you are setting up your facebook ad, you can play with the different criteria to see what happens to the conversion rate

As you can see to get your facebook ads to massively convert quickly your target audience needs to be very big and your budget has to be around the $140/week especially if you have a cold audience.

If you have the facebook pixel installed and you have a warm and a lookalike audience, the results will be much different because the conversion rate will be a lot higher.

To get your facebook ads to massively convert think of these two things. Not only do you need to have a great offer, but you will need to play around with your target audience in Facebook Ad Manager. One good thing…..playing in Ad Manager is free! Spend your time devising a converting audience as well as designing the ad itself.

If you like this article, you may like other articles we have written for She Owns It, or on the blog posts for XL Consulting Group.

Confidence and Vitality: The Art Of Healthy Living by @AlkasTotalFit

July 3, 2020 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

by Alka Sharma

You can tell a lot about a person when you watch them walk into a room. They are either timid or confident. Some people almost peek in with a shy fear, while others do not seem to care and command a presence… a confidence.

The confident ones are easy to spot. Demonstrating confidence is being sure of yourself and your abilities. No arrogance, but a secure, calm, quiet, inner knowledge of who you are. Confident people feel ready everyday to take on challenges, tasks, and opportunities regardless of what may be around the corner.

Consequently, it is hard to feel sexy or be confident and full of vitality when you are physically or mentally unhealthy.

Confidence Is A Journey

My personal journey towards feeling confident started when I had extreme weight challenges that led me to a lack of self-confidence, not to mention the lack of self-esteem that came with it.

Emotionally, I was a wreck. I became withdrawn from the outside world because physically my body was hurting me. I did not know how to respond with power.

I questioned If we are born with confidence or if we must build it? I concluded that confidence is a person’s ability to believe in themselves and their strengths to succeed. So, it is both a trait we have inside us that must be built.

The greater your confidence becomes, the more aware you become of life, and more engaged. When you gain confidence, you increase your vitality.

Vitality Examined

For a long time, my internal emotions were dormant and I had to regain, reclaim, and rejuvenate my confidence. I desperately wanted change. Vital health is our number one asset. As I plucked up the courage to walk into a gym there was this fear that came over me of, “I don’t belong here among fit bodied people.” Simultaneously, another voice was telling me remember the change I was looking for in my life. This was the voice I chose to listen to.

I was on the road to being healthy and I could not wait. Changing felt great. We all need to be pushed at times. Working out releases endorphins and makes you feel energized. You begin to see a new glow about you. There comes a feeling of being full of vigor and joy.

Our Health Is Our Wealth

As working out was giving me this joy, I was loving the ride for the first time. I was seeing the difference, gaining confidence from my posture, walking tall, feeling proud, my confidence was hitting the roof, I saw energy levels increase. My vitality was booming. During the day I became more productive and had a greater mental focus to carry out tasks.

Working out and feeling good about your body is the most amazing feeling.

What is equally important?

Self care practices. Research. Question. Ask. Carve out time for yourself. No matter whether it is going to a spa or getting pampered. Take time for yourself away from everyone including your spouse or kids (it is healthy). Read a good book. Take a class. Learn a new skill. Have tea and soak in the sun.

Moving Forward

Mentally we all need this. Carving out time for yourself is essential. It provides us new energy to tackle the days ahead, increase our vigour, our liveliness, that get up and go, that ‘joie de vivre’ feeling we experience that comes from the power of self care.

When I began to adopt the practices of self care, I began noticing huge shifts from an energetic perspective. Gaining clarity allowed me to become focused on tasks, and wow, it was powerful.

Being physically and mentally healthy enables us to successfully merge our personal life, family, relationships, and running and managing a successful busines consecutively.

Alka Sharma is founder and CEO of Alka’s Total Fitness. She helps women gain inner strength through empowerment, taking control of their health and fitness. By transforming women’s lives, they build relationships while getting strong and fit at the same time all while having fun. Alka is an accomplished professional ballroom dancer having competed both locally and internationally. She truly enjoyed the high of dance performance and training which led to her journey inside the fitness world.

Alka’s inspiration came from Gillian Michaels. Gilian is strong and dynamic both physically and mentally. It’s a character she admires along with her drive and tenacity.This drive and tenacity was apparent when Alka launchd her fitness studio. She can be found at Alka’s Total Fitness.

Looking to Start (or Grow) Your Business, Start Here! by @jillmcabe

July 2, 2020 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

by Jill McAbe

The pandemic’s impact on the U.S. workforce has left an unprecedented 30 million wildly talented and ambitious Americans jobless. But amidst the uncertainty, there are many “accidental entrepreneurs” who have discovered a silver lining — the gig economy.

Oftentimes, a layoff leads people to take the leap into creating their own business, either because they have to in order to generate income or this is the push they’ve been so desperately waiting for. Severance or unemployment pay can also give them the runway to get income through the door while in the initial stages of starting a business.

However, there is a widespread gap of knowledge about how to efficiently build a business that sells talent and time keeping solo entrepreneurs from achieving their potential. There is so much noise about what to do that it’s confusing for anyone to figure out what should be done first, second, third, and so on.

Well-meaning practitioners and coaches will tell you that you need a brand strategy, content marketing, social media, funnels, client journey mapping, public relations, systemization, advertising, graphic design – the list goes on. In a way, they are right; you may need all these solutions at various stages in your growth. But there is an order of operations that will make each project more successful as it builds on the last.

When you do the right work at the wrong time, you risk not getting the benefit you hoped. You’ll end up spending time and money on things you didn’t need, and eventually, you’ll find yourself needing to circle back and do it again when the time is right for you.

When it comes to being immeasurably better with your time, one of the smartest things you can do is pick the right project at the right time. To do that you need to figure out just where you are on the Gig-Economy Career Ladder (GECL).

Basecamp

Businesses do one of two things: they solve a problem, or they fulfill a desire. You have developed a skill that you enjoy and sell it to fulfill a need or desire, but your business is inconsistent. It demands too many hours from you, or you cannot step away from it and keep money coming in. If this is the case, then congratulations; on the GECL, you’ve made it to basecamp. The great thing about being at basecamp is that it means you are ready to leverage everything you have learned about yourself, your industry, and your clients, and turn it into your ideal business.

Exploration

The easiest way to think about the exploration phase of a business is to think of research and development. The exploration phase is where you take ideas and test them and see if they have merit before dumping all sorts of cash or time into them only to find out they’re not going to work out. Projects to focus on during the exploration phase include:

Identify a target market you can predictably find and that you want to serve
Develop a proprietary solution for a problem your target market will pay to solve
Confirm that your target market will pay you to solve their problem
Test your sales process and solution delivery
Refine your marketing and sales until you can predict your sales volume
Refine your marketing, sales, and solution delivery to ensure worthwhile profit

The things you are looking to prove in the exploration phase are that you have a target market that you can reach and who will buy from you, that you have a solution at a price that is profitable for you to sell, and that you have marketing or advertising channels that lead to a predictable volume of traffic and eventual sales conversions.

Exploitation

Once the viability of your idea is proven, you can advance to the exploitation phase. The types of activities that are the focus of this phase have to do with efficiency and expansion. Because you’ve locked down your service or product, you will finally be able to streamline your operations with tried-and-true standard operating procedures (SOPs). It makes sense that you will be positioned to create standards once what you sell is standardized. Standardizing your processes is a key to becoming the owner of a system that makes money with or without you. The exploitation phase is also where you pick up a megaphone and tell everyone what you do through activities including marketing, advertising, and public relations. The types of projects that you focus on during the exploit phase are:

Clarify a business vision, mission, strategy, and structure
Create standard operating procedures for marketing, advertising, sales, solution delivery, legal, and administration
Continuously improve all your standard operating procedures
Outsource everything you can
Manage your systems, not your people
Enjoy your newfound free time (or start the explore phase for another solution!)

You are better off going through the exploration phase five or ten times than jumping to the exploitation phase before you’re truly ready. Once you have successfully explored an opportunity, you can move to exploiting it very quickly.

Jill McAbe is a Business Coach, High-Performance Expert and the #1 Amazon-Best Selling Author of It’s Go Time: The ALL-IN System For Unstoppable Success in Business and Life. By focusing on success-skills that are grounded in the contemporary sciences, Jill helps talented creatives, coaches, and professionals design and build purposeful, six and seven figure service-based businesses that work on-or-offline. Jill carries a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University, is a faculty member of York University’s Schulich Executive Education Centre and is a Top Teacher on the global career-skills platform, Skillshare.

Simple Ways to Invest in your Business with Professional Photos

July 1, 2020 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

by Courtney Henry

Your brand, your genius in the world deserves polished and professional photos that represent it to the fullest. Hiring a photographer can be a simple investment with an infinite return!

Because how many times have you found yourself scrolling through your favorite online platform seeing the same girl with her motivational coffee mug tucked neatly into an all pastel background, wistfully “working” away.

Maybe the journal is placed to the left of the succulent instead of the right this time–either way, how intrigued were you really to sift past all that vanilla and find what the content was about?

I’m willing to bet the answer is…not so much.

What does pause that scrolling fingertip to actually click and learn more?

As sophisticated and evolved as we all think we are, our inner puppy will forever salivate at the sight of the bone. And in this case the big juicy T-Bone is your online photos.

Thanks to COVID-19 folks are now working, studying, connecting,and BUYING online like never before.The first weeks of March alone saw an 18 percent increase in in-home data usage compared to the same period in 2019, with average daily data usage rates exceeding 16.6 GB.

In this hyper saturated atmosphere you have no choice but to elevate yourself above the fray. Which is why hiring a professional photographer to provide you with your own personal “stock” of photos is a simple, instant way to polish your website and social media presence.

Investing in your business by using professional photos is A MUST for your Brand. Here’s why…

BRANDING 101: Be An Original

Consumers are craving authenticity in Brands more and more. They hate feeling ‘duped’ and are looking to relate to the story of the product so that they too feel a sense of ownership and trust in where they recycle their dollars.

Being the Boss Lady that you are, you harness this powerful knowledge and meet your ideal client right where they are. Who needs fluff and gimmicks these days when you have the truth on your side?

And the truth is YOU. You in all your personality, quirks, and varying hats you wear even outside of your business.

Hiring a professional photographer gives you the freedom to really let your individuality shine through.

Whether that be in your Wardrobe: By infusing your online photos with personal style you not only feel confident (and comfortable.) You also really *pop* against all that BASIC filling the rest of your feed.

*Note: You still want images that will grow with you so while I’m all about taking fashion risks, it helps to think timeless instead of ‘trending.’*

The Unique Location You Choose : Coffee shops, desks in front of windows. We get it, you’re productive.

Let your work ethic speak for itself in how you show up for your clients, and let your visual representation show off some local flavor. Perhaps highlight some artwork, inspiring architecture, or energetic intersections.

Incorporate Authentic Scenes & Props: This is where you can really let loose by choosing things to compliment your wardrobe and your location with material that is unique to your Brand/life.

Maybe being transparent about being a working mom is something you take pride in, show off you juggling those gorgeous kids! Or if diversity is a pillar of your brand, set up a client meeting scene and be intentional in using POC…and of course actively seek out those clients after the shoot!

Marketing Schedule & Social Media Calendar

Once you have your own awesome database of photographs for your business you can then seamlessly plan your future content months in advance. Leaving you more time to grow your business.

Make your life–and your copywriters life easier by planning your content around an already creative, irresistible image. This is a brilliant hack that thousands of successful content masters swear by.

You simply go through your arsenal, choose the order of pics you’d like to share for the month, focusing on design and aesthetic only, and then schedule the accompanying Copy out and around that framework, at the most optimal time for that particular platform.

This batched approach works wonders and the beauty is you never have to worry about continuity or formatting because that work is done upfront. AND you just saved yourself hours of deciding which royalty free image you haven’t already seen, or used before.

Playing the Long Game In Your Business

Screen time notifications these days are telling you your activity has gone up 400%! This may read as bad news for one’s productivity, but is oh so good news for your business that now lives online.

Now when I say live online I don’t mean camping out at Grandma’s.

I mean Brands that show up as your dream home with a guest house. Spilling over with personality, warmth, authentic engagement, and of course your excellent service/product.

In other words, LIVINGGG.

Your business must be sustainable in order to achieve this and believe it or not having clear branding imagery helps keep the mission unmuddied and growing.

More Pro-Tips to make your investment stretch are:

Spacing out the image leaks. This builds suspense and keeps your content feeling fresh and inventive.
If the photographer is open to it, request that “background” photos be taken. These photos may be used to help fill in the gaps and provide buffers that are still “on Brand” for your website and other profiles.

Your brand, your genius in the world deserves polished and professional photos that represent it to the fullest.

Snagging your ideal customer is really only a FLASH away.

Courtney Henry is a Renaissance Woman who resists through thriving. In just three decades she has shone her light all over the world as a professional ballet dancer, poet, and educator.

Courtney is now a Business Owner and Copywriter in the natural hair and organic beauty niche. And is passionate about empowering women and people of color to find the perfect words to upscale their business and connect them with their ideal clients, authentically.

A wanderlust at heart, she splits her base with her husband and first born between Dakar, Senegal and the U.S.

Your Organization Needs A Website, And It’s Easier Than You Think

June 30, 2020 by Guest Post Leave a Comment

by Michael Magnus

When our daughter was 4 years old, her response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey was “I want to give away my drawings to help the little babies whose houses got hurt.” We shared her story online, posted some pictures, and in two days she raised over $600 with her art to send diapers down to Houston. This sweet sentiment continued after her first fundraiser, and because of the foundation of her philanthropy, Pictures Helping People.

Now, three years in, we realize a fundamental mistake that we made in supporting her big heart; we only used social media to share the story. It took us three years to get around to putting together a website for her. And, why is that a problem? Lost potential.

Link Building 101

There is a marketing discipline called Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which consists of strategies and tactics to rank higher for certain phrases on Google. There are a lot of moving pieces to SEO, but one of the more simple things you can do to help potential donors or clients discover your services is to get more links back to your website.

Links from Facebook and other user content sites aren’t taken into account in Google’s algorithm; however, a link from a news story or another page can go a long way in helping rank higher for key search terms relevant to your organization.

In the case of Pictures Helping People, a cute kid with an uplifting story to share garnered more media attention than we were really prepared for. Our daughter was featured multiple times on local news stations, radio stations, newspapers, and also appeared on NBCLearn in partnership with Red Nose Day in 2018. These stories evolved into articles on Parent Toolkit and more. We were, and continue to be, extremely proud of our daughter and her servant heart.

Unfortunately, since we hadn’t created a website for her (after all, why would a kid need a website?), we missed the opportunity to have those links direct back to a source that would have gone on to help her support even more people as she continued to fundraise for those in need with her drawings, paintings, and crafts. Fortunately, by the time we did finally get around to it, she was old enough to be able to help design her own website.

But Aren’t Websites Expensive and Time-Consuming?

In theory, they can be. Hiring a designer to build a site, deciphering hosting options, creating content, and so on can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor. If you are managing an established organization, it may be worth that effort.

However, if you’re getting started and want something simple, inexpensive, and DIY, know that there are website builders out there that substantially lower the barrier for entry. For a fairly nominal investment of time and money, you can use some of these “drag and drop” designer templates to quickly pull together a starter site that you can be proud of. This also gives a place to link all of your mentions as people begin talking more about your organization and services so that you can start building “search equity” in Google and other search engines.

Think of your website as your online catalog that doesn’t require printing or storage, people can find it on their own, and you don’t need to have any fancy design programs to create something that looks good. The technology has been simplified to the point that we no longer have an excuse not to do a better job telling our story online.

Michael Magnus is a digital marketing lecturer and principal consultant at Magnus Opus, focused on championing measurable storytelling in both aspects of his professional life.