Have you been missing Facebook? Many of us haven't had access to it for close to 24 hours - it's been down. So has Instagram for that matter. Now, that's all well and good, it's only a social media tool, right? Wrong! Many use it for marketing. But what if that is your ONLY form of marketing, or networking, or connecting with potential and current clients? You're basically stuffed - or, at least, your business is put on hold. This is a good example of why you should not depend on one … [Read more...]
Do I need a website as a VA?
Simple answer is 'yes' - if you're going to operate a business virtually, it is important you have a web presence. I mean, most other businesses have websites don't they? So why not you too? Clients will want to check you out and also, once the search engines have got it listed, people should be able to find you when seeking out your particular type of service. I was asked this question and below is the answer I gave that new VA. However, if funds are tight you can choose to do some other … [Read more...]
Are you keeping your business a secret?
I hear from so many who are starting their businesses and at a loss how to find clients. But the formula isn't a hard one and the secret is, you should not be keeping your business a secret! What do I mean by that? I mean 'tell everyone!' Not everyone is going to become a client but some you tell will tell others and, as a result, you'll start to get enquiries. However, it doesn't stop there. Do you have any social media profiles? What about a Facebook account? Their terms of use is that … [Read more...]
Upscaling your LinkedIn Profile
I've been on LinkedIn now for just over 10 years and have seen a lot of changes during that time. When I joined there were only 14million members worldwide, now I'm connected to more than that at third level connection. In 2012 I received a certificate stating I was in the top 1% most viewed profiles. At that stage there were 200 million members. That meant I was amongst the top 2M people but it still sounded impressive. I had that certificate laminated and show it when doing presentations on … [Read more...]
Helping clients with Social Media
This was a discussion at a LinkedIn group and below is my response on how I think about helping clients with Social Media. Your comments are most welcome - you may, or may not, agree with me. Then why not let me, and our readers know? "It's hard with social media. It's a networking tool. Networking is about building relationships. It's not about throwing information out there and expecting others to take it up, and not give anything back. It's a two way thing. I happily set up Facebook … [Read more...]
Building relationships at LinkedIn
I was participating in a discussion at the Women in Photography group at LinkedIn recently as many of us are connecting to each other. We had a discussion about the importance of letting people know where they came from, rather than just send the standard invitation that LinkedIn provides. Here is my commentary on that subject: Checking the box does show up on the invite when received via email but isn't that obvious - the message that is sent says: I'd like to add you to my professional … [Read more...]
Have the networking rules changed for a top networking site?
LinkedIn has grown to an enormous professional networking site with over 150million members now. It was only a few short years ago that I began to take it seriously and there were just over 14million in those days. There was a time when receiving an invitation to connect at LinkedIn, that LinkedIn would have a warning message at the bottom of the email invitation about whether you should connect with people you don't know. People used to be penalised if they got 5 or more IDKs (I don't knows) … [Read more...]
Twitter for Virtual Assistants webinar
If you've been wondering whether or not to provide social media services for your clients and where to begin, then this webinar will be very timely for you. I met Keith Keller at a recent Networking World event and we found a perfect synergy with what he does and what I do. I've been assisting clients with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for sometime and am well aware of the challenges clients have with respect to not just understanding how social media can help their businesses, but also how … [Read more...]
Social networking – good or bad?
We've recently had a very interesting discussion on the VA forum about the use of photos on websites and that then grew into a discussion on social networking. Is SN good or bad? Is it necessary or time wasting? Does it work? And then recently on LinkedIn a question relating to the same thing was asked and I thought I'd share with you my response there and some of my response at the VA forum. "Spam is probably the 'worst' part about it. Geez people/spammers, get a life! But apart from that … [Read more...]