A strong online presence will make your business stick to people's mind

Small business owners might not have the time or money to devote to online marketing. Yet having a strong online presence is a necessity in today’s world. If you are not on the web you will be left behind your competitors and won’t get visibility. In order for your business to grow you need to be seen. Remember the saying “out of sight out of mind?”. If your customers don’t see you online they may very well forget you. If you want to be always on their mind then you need to plan a great social media strategy which includes online marketing. I assume you already have at least a website, if not go and get one immediately.

Now, start writing interesting content, the kind that will keep people glued to your website. If they like it, you can be sure they will come back over and again. Write content regularly, don’t just write once and then forget about it. Disappearing is the surest way to make customers forget you. Make it a habit to write once or twice a week, or more, preferably. It depends on how desperate you are. If you want your business to grow in visibility, then write as if your life depended on it. If you’re nowhere near Charles Dickens, then pay a bit of money and hire a SEO expert. One of his duties includes writing content, so have him study your business and then write about it in a professional way, with all the right keywords so that your page might even get a high ranking. For that, your page needs to be optimized. Again, your SEO consultant will take care of that. Hire him on a short-term and see how it goes. If you are satisfied with the result you can always extend the contract.

So far, I’ve been talking about your website marketing. To have a real strong online presence, you need much more.

A good idea is to have a blog. Again, you need to post frequently and regularly. If your followers know you post each Wednesday, they will show up on Wednesday to see what you’re up to.

What do you need to do besides writing? You need to reciprocate the likes, shares and comments if you want to establish a good relationship with your followers, customers or would-be customers. You never know who’s out there so you better be nice. As an example, suppose I came to your page and left a comment.

 If I see that you liked my comment and came to my page to comment back, well, you can be sure I will keep coming to your blog. This is called loyalty building. A kind of mutual support. You know you can count on me and I know I can count on you. If, instead, you ignore me, I certainly will not bother with you. On the contrary, I will think you snotty and arrogant and I will all but tell you where to go and how to get there. This is the worst-case scenario, obviously. I hope we won’t get to that point.

You would be surprised, however, at the coldness and indifference of some people on the web. You follow them, like them, share them, send a few words…and what do you get in return? The cold shoulder. They are so full of hot air that they can’t even bend half an inch to acknowledge your presence. Well, if you’re like me, you will stay away from such stuck-ups.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting that you go around liking and commenting just to get something in return. No way! Real kindness is the one done with no ulterior motive. But what does it take to give back something as little as a “like”? It doesn’t cost anything, on the contrary, it will bring immense returns. You will earn in terms of popularity and reputation.

What I mentioned above can be applied….it MUST be applied, rather ….to all your social networks – Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

Remember that it is in giving that you will receive. So start liking, commenting, sharing and you will see a surge in the number of visitors to your page.

THE MOST POPULAR JOB AT THE MOMENT

Social Media Managers are widely requested these days because many companies are beginning to work online and need web experts. 

Oggi la figura del Social Media Manager è molto richiesta, in particolare dalle piccole e medie imprese che cominciano a fare business online.  

HOW TO START A BUSINESS ONLINE: ADVICE FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

During the lockdown everyone was "locked" at home so they had plenty of time to think ... about themselves, about their future, about their jobs. JOBS! Where are the jobs? Once upon a time it was easy to find a job, if you didn't like it you left and quickly found another one. Nobody worried about getting a job. I remember that while I was in high school in New York,  I got a job at a language school in New York. I lived in the Bronx and the office was in Manhattan so everyday after school I would take the Third Avenue subway to Grand Central station, then walk to the All-Languages Translation office. We did translations, interpretations, language lessons. Once the English teacher didn't come so the boss asked me to replace him. I was only 17, and a student myself, imagine my nervousness when I found out I had to teach 20 Greek immigrants. It went very well though. When they found out I was from Sicily they loved me. After all Sicily and Greece are almost twin islands.

Anyway, I got tired of this job and quickly got another one as an accountant. I was a flop with numbers but the office owner was very patient and he taught me the tricks of accounting.

After this stunt, I got a job as a babysitter for two adorable kids in the Bronx. I would take them to my house and my mother would spoil them by making spaghetti for them. I got paid and my mother did the work.

Then, when I finished university, I got myself a DOWNTOWN job, what every girl at the time was dreaming of.  Yes, I  landed a job as Personal Assistant to the Technical Manager of ....guess what?  PIRELLI TIRE CORPORATION. The most popular tire company in Italy at the time. 

I worked there for two years, then we moved back to Italy and in Rome at first I got a job with a Travel agency on Via Nazionale. I hated it, and the boss was very nasty, so I left after a few months. I applied to FAO (Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the United Nations), and after a month they called me for the interview and language test.I passed the English test with flying colors obviously, as well as the French language test. Needless to say I got hired immediately.  I worked there for  10 years. 

By telling you all this I want to show you how easy it was in the 70s and 80s to find a job. Now you don't find a job if you PAY FOR IT!   Instead of finding jobs, more and more people are getting laid off. It is impossible to find one, especially here in Sicily.

However, many young people are rolling up their sleeves and create their own jobs. It's not easy, because everything has practically been done ... and written as the saying goes. 

Anyway, for those of you starting your own business, here is a bit of advice on how to do it online. Nowadays you don't need to have a physical shop and pay rent, you just do everything online. It's not easy though, you need to work at it.

First of all you need to be on ALL the Social Networks ....Linkedin, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Fiverr, Tumblr, and so on and so forth.

But don't just BE there. You have to WORK AT IT! Keep your audience informed and active. POST REGULARLY! More specifically, you must tell your followers what you OFFER them. YOU HAVE TO GIVE BEFORE YOU RECEIVE! 

I get many requests from people to like their page but I don't even know who they are! They never put a like on mine, they never write a comment, they never reciprocate so why should I go and like their page?  This is very bad networking. In networking you first must do something for others before you ask for something.

Going back to my advice to young people, before  you get on all the social networks,  you must have a website, or a blog. You will not get followers unless you explain what you do, what is your reason for doing it, what are your prices etc.

I suggest a blog is better than a website, If you use BLOGGER it's free, you don't need to pay anything. Personally I prefer Blogger to Wordpress, it's easier to use.

A  company page on Facebook is also useful as long as you manage to get "outsiders" to your page, and not only your friends, who, honestly speaking, will not be interested in your services. You need to find people who will be NEEDING  your business. It's no secret that nowadays a bit of "advertising" on FB helps, but it's not that expensive. When you see people with tens or  hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook and Instagram, you can be sure they have used paid advertising. I don't believe in "viral" videos. There  is always money behind them, no matter how they try to make us believe they've "GONE VIRAL".  

Another piece of advice, DON'T spend money on social media marketing and other such courses. You can find plenty of free courses on Youtube, and there are many blogs where social media managers (like me)  give advice for free. You can also get cheap books online.

How to tell if you are suffering from social anxiety

It’s morning. You wake up and suddenly your heart starts beating a bit fast, you feel you have butterflies in your stomach. You are still sleepy and tired but you are too anxious to stay in bed. You feel you have a lump in your throat, you want to run away so you walk from room to room trying to calm down. It doesn’t help. Now you have palpitations so you head for the window, open it and hope that the fresh air will help calm you down. After several minutes you start to breathe normally but you are visibly shaken. What was that? Is something wrong with your heart, you wonder? You start to imagine all sorts of things.

What you experienced was actually what is called “morning anxiety”. If it happens frequently then it can be attributed to stress.

Stress has a way of showing up in various forms, in ways you wouldn’t imagine. It can cause illnesses and mental problems, like anxiety and panic attacks, and social withdrawal. A curious example, which actually happened: a friend of mine was attending a concert by the beach. Suddenly this strong wind came out of nowhere. The stage lights were blown off stage, music sheets were flying all over the place, as was sand. Chairs and tables were flown into the sea. My friend got the fright of his life. He thought a tsunami was coming, that’s it, he said, it’s the end. Fortunately, after a while the wind stopped and it was announced that what happened was that a small tornado had passed by. After several days my friend noticed big black spots flying around his right eye. He went to the eye doctor who told him what it was and explained that this kind of thing can be caused by a strong form of stress. There you have it! Stress was the culprit.

With the kind of lifestyle we lead today, where it’s all a rush-rush - rush to take the kids to school, rush to work, rush to the supermarket, rush to the gym, rush here and there -no wonder we suffer from stress. You can’t avoid being stressed out.

It’s worse if you are introverted or reserved. Going out and dealing with people can be plain torture. You get anxious, you get nervous just at the thought of going out. It can get so bad that you avoid going out altogether. You get a medical certificate for the office and lock yourself home. You don’t answer the phone, you don’t answer the doorbell. You’re not available for anyone. Will hiding from everyone cure your anxiety? Yes, as long as you stay secluded at home. You feel safe. You don’t have to confront yourself with others.

Just not to be bored, you log into Facebook. Here you see all your friends happy, smiling, having the time of their life. They don’t have problems, not a care in the world. How lucky they are! You feel miserable. Your anxiety gets worse. You feel your self-esteem going lower and lower. You feel inadequate,  you start thinking that you are such a loser. 

Before you lose your mind, find a life coach and enroll in a personal development course.

Get down to business

Are you finding it tough to run your business? Well, remember the expression “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. Don’t just sit there moaning and complaining and hoping that things will get better, just like that, at the click of a finger. No magic wand or abracadabra will get your business going unless you yourself roll up your sleeves and get down to business.

My experience in business coaching has taught me that it’s during tough times that you have to work harder. Think. Concentrate. What are you doing – or not doing – that is causing a slump in your work? Are you putting enough effort in your business, or are you just going along with the flow? Are you stuck in the Middle Ages, afraid to try anything new, afraid to get out of your comfort zone, afraid to let the world know you’re there? Yes, you get the picture now? Do you see where I’m heading? If you don’t , then you simply are not up with the times. I am hinting that if you are looking for business growth, then you have to get out there. Where? On the social networks! That’s where it’s at.

A strong presence on the social networks is indispensable for any business to survive or grow in today’s world. How are people to know  you, how are customers going to interact with you, how will other non-competitive businesses learn about you, unless you show your face on the social networks? I don’t mean just opening an account on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Blogspot  or whatever and then tweedle your thumbs and wait for likes and comments to start pouring in.

 It won’t happen. If you want people to come to you, you need to go to them. It’s like you’re at a party. You don’t know anyone so you start going around introducing yourself, distributing your calling card, asking other people their names, their interests and just making small talk. This is the way to meet peope and build relationships. The same applies to social networking on the web.  Except that you’re doing it in writing or through pictures. Posting pictures, by the way, especially with a link, is the best way to drive traffic to your site. The most interesting pictures are the bright and colorful  ones and believe me they attract views, likes and comments. If they’re funny or thought-provoking they might even get shared.  Or go VIRAL!  Well,  don’t push your luck. Be grateful with whatever little you get. It’s better than getting criticism or nasty comments. Remember that when you put your face out there (on the web), you will get all kinds of reactions: positive, cool, no reaction at all or worse… negative. There are lots of haters out there so beware. My advice is to ignore them.

Going back to introducing yourself and socializing, make sure you GIVE BACK. I will never tire of saying this. Don’t just take. If someone gives you a like, go and like back; if someone makes a nice comment under your post, go and write a nice comment back. Don’t forget, it’s by giving that you receive. People will notice your courtesy and they’ll keep coming back. If you make a nice impression, your company, or brand will benefit and grow.