We meet every two weeks and the benefits to me have been amazing! ——————

I’ve had some quite interesting and heated disussions about the merits and value of Social Media lately.  Some people’s reaction to it has been quite aggressive, and hostile.  AND some argue quite passionately against it and go on at length about why they don’t want anything whatsoever to do with Social Media. But unless you are informed, this lack of knowledge could lead to ignorance and sweeping assumptions.   Some the comments I’ve heard recently include:-

“Facebook’s for teenagers isn’t it?!”

“It’s a waste of my time”

“Face to face networking works better”

“All you need are some good testimonials”

“I’m not interested in hearing what everyone else is up to on Twitter.  It’s boring”

“I can’t be arsed with it – I’m just not interested”

“It’s too much for my brain to handle.  It gives me a headache”

“I can’t think of anything interesting to say on Twitter anyway, so what’s the point?”

“Twitter is basically a load of people shouting at each other isn’t it?”

“Social Media – I wouldn’t waste your time on it.  Don’t go down that avenue”

“It’s a pointless, futile distraction”

These are all valid points – but what some small businesses haven’t yet fully grapsed is why Social Media came about in the first place, such as…

• Not so long ago, newspapers and magazines made their revenue from advertising and media.  More people bought newspapers and magazines. It was a very lucractive business. 
• People watched a limited number of TV Stations which was a vehicle for advertising agencies to promote their adverts on behalf of their clients.  They had captive audiences.  But not any longer
• Because of the internet, more people are going ONLINE to read stories, articles, look for products and services and CHOOSE what they want.  They want quality and value for money
• Customers are more DISCERNING and they have more CHOICE
• Using the internet is faster, you can search for bargains, save money and more and more businesses are promoting themselves online
• There are more small and micro businesses around than ever before – many of them have been set up by women, or by individuals working from home.  The internet and technology has enabled them to do this
• The internet has enabled individuals to reach a GLOBAL audience.  You don’t have to be  a huge Global company to reach a global audience.  Get it?
• Therefore, small service based businesses can reach their audience – who are searching for them ONLINE and not necessarily in the local rag, magazines or in traditional off line methods
• Traditional media is dying on it’s feet, or has migrated online, your customers are getting more internet savvy and want more choice and higher quality.  Therefore doesn’t it make sense to assume that they are looking for YOUR products and services?  Services provided by small businesses who can tailor their products to their customers needs?  Customers want to talk to a human being, to be treated with courtesy and respect and have a personal service.  Small boutique businesses are on the rise. 
• When people meet you for the first time, the first thing they will do when they get back to their office is to check out your website and any other information or material they can find to check out your credential and credibility
• Businesses don’t need to flog their stuff to anyone who is warm and has a pulse any longer – because with the advent of Social Media – your potential customers can get to know more about you first, you can share information with them in a non-threatening way and build a relationship or a following FIRST. So that when the time comes for you to sell to them – it’s not you selling – it’s them buying. 

But if you knew a way that you could engage with Social Media that didn’t blow your mind, that you could confidently undertake and implement into your overall marketing strategy.  Would that be useful to you? 

You could of course pretend it’s not happening and carry on relying on traditional methods, and in so doing miss out on a massive opportunity to reach more people, develop a strong presence online and therefore grow your business – by joining a community of people who are waiting to talk to you RIGHT NOW.  The choice is yours.

Because Social Media is fun, it’s friendly, it’s creative and you can tailor it to suit your personality.  You will then put yourself into ‘The Excitement Zone’. 

Excitement equals:-

1. Meeting lots of new people
2. Learning more cool ways to promote yourself and share your information and knowledge with others and positioning yourself as an expert in your field, through articles, blog postings, teleclasses, and sharing your knowledge by helping other people out with their problems on forums and message boards
3. Being in control and having the ability to measure your progress
4. Devising creative ways to different yourself from the competition, whilst having fun using video, powerpoint and writing
5. Sharing inspirational stories and connecting with the big hitters in your industry
6. Joining in conversations, forming joint ventures and building strong supportive communities and groups
7. Tailoring everything which reflects on your strengths.  Isn’t that better than forcing yourself to do a load of cold calling, or paying out for huge advertisements which produce zero results?

But what if you are a small business who is completely flummoxed or confused by Social Media and Technology and doesn’t know what strategy to apply, or where to start?

…then you are invited to join my new teleclass series which addresses some of these issues.

Do not leave home on the 7th April because the Demon Teleclasses are coming! http://ping.fm/issdX

I attended a presentation the other week which by my standards was absolutely appalling.  I sat through half an hour of sheer agony as I stared at disbelief at the incredibly poor standard of work which was being presented to the audience through the Powerpoint slides. 

Now, of course personal taste does come into it and not everyone is going to like your colour scheme, but it amazes me at why so many serious professionals have yet to realise how incredibly important it is to pay attention to the basics of powerpoint, or if they aren’t prepared to do this, or CAN’T do it, they should delegate it to someone else. 

A poor PowerPoint presentation leaves an inedelible mark on the people who were unfortunate enough to see it – so be under no illusions – if you get it wrong, people will remember you for all the wrong reasons. 

So for anyone who’s not really PowerPoint Savvy I’ve put together some guidelines for a good PowerPoint presentation.

1. Try using a plain white background or if you want some texture, you can add a gradient fill to add more depth, but not too much.  The background colour should not be too strong or compete with the words or images.  But if you want to use colour – keep it plain.  Clever swirly backgrounds confuse and compete with the words and images.  The slides should look clean and unfussy.
2. Keep your text to either black or white (or variations of those two colours, e.g. grey).  You can probably get away with using a different colour for the heading to grab the audiences attention – but be selective here.
3. If you’re going to put some bullet points in – keep them to just a few per slide, and the minimum font size should be 20 pc – anything smaller and most people won’t be able to read it.  Long paragraphs of text will be wasted.  Save these for the handouts.
4. Don’t go for elaborate or fancy fonts.  Stick to Ariel (not Ariel Narrow), Verdana or Georgia
5. When you give your presentation, resist the temptation to read your bullet points!  Keep a list of your own bullet points on a card and use them as an aid memoir so you aren’t reading them out like a class register – or you audience will lose the will to live
6. Tell stories!  People love stories – the PowerPoint is there to add another dimension to your presentation and to remind you what you’re supposed to be saying
7. Use graphics – but forget clever animations.  They are a distraction and could end up annoying the audience
8. Try to keep the number of slides you have to a minimum (recommended 14).  I once attended a presentation which lasted over an hour and a half with at least 40 slides – it went on for weeks, I could hardly stand it!
9. Mix up your slides between text and images or pictures.  Pictures can convey far more than words anyway, so don’t be afraid to use them
10. If you use images, make sure they are royalty free images – images with creative commons licenses are available on Flickr.com
11. Print out your slides for your audience as handouts with 3 slides per page in greyscale - this gives them room to make notes as you go along.  Printing out the whole lot 1 to a page wastes paper

If you’ve got any other clever suggestions leave a comment below.  What have been your Powerpoint experiences??

Warmest regards

Wendy

I think that Social Media is becoming the Marmite of the Internet age – you either love it or hate.  But bearing in mind the statistics on the number of people joining social networks, getting online and using the internet to buy and sell products – it looks like it’s here to stay. 

But having said that – in the business community there are still many people who do not want to engage with it, and are seriously averse to even going there.  Preferring to stay with what they know and what they are familiar with.  Which is fine and I’m not about to tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t be doing – this is a free country after all.  However, I’ve put together a short list of reasons why many small businesses aren’t taking on board this new way of communicating. 

1. They are confirmed technophobes

And this isn’t necessarily anything to do with age.  I learnt to type on a manual typewriter and didn’t get my own computer or a mobile phone until 6 years ago.  There are however many people who’s brains aren’t wired up to understand technology.  Now that’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with them or that they have some fatal flaw in their character and that they are doomed to be lagging behind the rest of us forever.  It’s just the way they are made, and technology genuinely presents a challenge for them. 

2. They can’t be bothered

Now these people possibly fall into the category of knowing that Social Media is out there, but their focus isn’t necessarily on the internet.  Perhaps their line of business doesn’t lend itself terribly well to the internet.  However, I was talking to someone just the other day – and his business through changes brought about in his industry means that he will no longer have a High Street presence.  Up until now he could benefit from frequent foot fall and passing trade.  Without his premises – how will be get infront of his customers now…?  That’s got you thinking hasn’t it?

3. They don’t have the time

Now, granted this is a genuine reason.  A lot of us have very busy schedules, possibly juggling numerous responsibilities and haven’t had the time to get around to exploring the wonders of Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.  But – it’s like anything new.  For a while it’s viewed with caution, skepticism or even suspician – until everyone else gets on the bandwagon BEFORE you. And then it’s a different story isn’t it?  Of course you might want to see what’s in it for you before you dismiss it out of hand.

4. They don’t see the point – they just don’t ‘get’ it

I’ve had many heated discussions with business owners about this one.  And some of these have become so contentious that it’s almost like discussing religion.  Yes, everyone is entitled to their point of view.  My person opinion is that you can’t make a valid judgement on an assumption or guesswork, you need the facts.  And there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that if it’s used correctly and the whole social media philosophy is understood clearly – then it can only benefit small business. 

5. They know they need it but can’t motivate themselves to get started

I think we can all agree that the average person now absorbs more information in a single day than our medieval cousins were exposed to in their entire lifetime.  So isn’t it any wonder that many people are completely overwhelmed with too much information and haven’t got enough room in their brain for any more?  But with sensible time management and using these tool sensibly it can enhance your business in ways that you never thought possible. 

6. They think Social Media is for kids

Yes I agree, in the beginning perhaps – but statistically there plenty of people in the 25 – 45 year age group than teenagers.  It isn’t just there for you to display photographs from the night out with the lads;  Many smallbusiness owners run their businesses from their home and as such do not get to meet as many people as they’d like.  Unlike their previous existence where would interact with people at the coffee machine.  Social media has been likened to the virtual water cooler.  Human beings are tribal and thus Social Media actually carries out an important role as far as keeping people connected with each other.  Facebook is an excellent example of this. 

7. They would rather someone else did it for them

Yes – agreed. Why have a dog and bark yourself.  Why try fixing a leaking tap when you can hire a plumber?  Some aspects of Social Media and Internet marketing do take some research and study in order to utilise them properly.

What do you think?  Wha’s your experience – share your comments below.

On this blog post I thought I’d share 10 things about me that you didn’t know.

1. I contracted mumps and measles simultaneously when I was 3 years old which left me with a 60% hearing loss in one ear
2. I was Havering Long Jump Champion 3 times
3. At 16, I missed qualifying in the Long Jump for the AAA All England Athletics Championships at Crystal Palace by just .5 cm (was I gutted or what?!)
4. I collect pencils! – Whenever I visit a tourist attraction, I always buy a pencil. I love stationery!
5. I organised a lunch in honour of Micky Dolenz of the Monkeys in my first job as a Girl Friday in an Advertising Agency in London. Lovely man!
6. I sat next to Paul McCreesh on the first desk of the Cello section in the Havering Youth Orchestra – he went on to become the founder of the Gabrieli Consort
7. On the eve of my 21st birthday party, the kitchen ceiling collapsed – to cover up the mess, my mum stapled some bed sheets to the ceiling to make it look like a marquee!
8. When i was 18 I organised a Piano push to raise money for the youth orchestra. We pushed an upright piano 10 miles, raised loads of cash and smashed the piano up at the local rugby club
9. I’ve been in the Bay of Biscay in a Force 10
10. I had a Near Death Experience after major surgery in 1995. I was sent to a healing pool of beautiful blue water, bathed in light and taken care of. It was profoundly illuminating.

    What about you…do you write a blog – have you considered writing something similar about yourself and giving your readers a deeper insight into who you are?
    Leave your comments below

    Warmest regards
    Wendy

    Wendy Dashwood-Quick is an Executive Coach and Founder of Resolution Coaching and The Ultrapreneur Academy. Prior to becoming a Coach Wendy had over 25 years experience in the public and private sectors in a variety of industries. She works with Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and helps them to overcome the problems that keep them awake at night.

    She is the author of “Discover Yourself On The Yellow Brick Road – 7 Core Principles of Career Success” and “Ultrapreneurs Unplugged – What They Don’t Tell You About Building A Successful Micro Business”

Wendy Dashwood-Quick is an Executive Coach and Founder of Resolution Coaching and The Ultrapreneur Academy. Prior to becoming a Coach Wendy had over 25 years experience in the public and private sectors in a variety of industries. She works with Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs and helps them to overcome the problems that keep them awake at night.

She is the author of “Discover Yourself On The Yellow Brick Road – 7 Core Principles of Career Success” and “Ultrapreneurs Unplugged – What They Don’t Tell You About Building A Successful Micro Business”