Entries Tagged 'Achieving goals' ↓

Can that really be true?

Well, it is according to a recent article in The Drum.

Apparently, a recent survey undertaken by TalkTalk Business discovered that only 1% of UK SMEs use social media sites such as Twitter and Linked In to generate new business.

Out of the 500 SMEs surveyed, 43% said they weren’t comfortable using social networking sites.

As a copywriter, I’ve been using social media for a while to offer advice, promote my business and make new contacts. It really isn’t scary – it’s just like chatting with friends.

Finding the comfort zone

Social media allows customers unprecedented access to companies these days. They can instantly send messages, ask queries and make complaints – perhaps that’s part of the problem.

But there really isn’t any reason for companies to be afraid of social media. Used wisely, it can open up new markets and even find new business partners.

Of course, once you put something out on the web, it’s there for good, so any company looking to use social media as part of their marketing must have a strategy in place.

Understanding your social media strategy

The first thing that must happen is for everyone to understand (that includes senior management) that the main goal is not to sell.

Social media is a long term commitment that should add value to your relationships with your customers.

Then you must determine what your goals are – whether you’re using it for PR, customer service or marketing. However you use it, your goals must be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely).

Of course, not every social media outlet is going to be right for your business, so do your research. Work out where you customers hang out and where your activities will have the greatest impact.

Once you start to use the platform(s) join in the conversation, don’t just lurk on the fringes. Chat with people, answer questions and offer advice. All of these activities will help get you noticed and increase your levels of engagement.

After a while, you may start getting questions coming your way. If you do make sure you answer them. Also, it’s worthwhile bringing your social media activities into the real world by going along to networking events and tweetups so people can put a face to the profile.

One more thing about Twitter, if a specific person within your company runs the account, make sure they sign their name to their tweets, or have their bio on your Twitter page. People like to know who they are tweeting with.

The best way to learn is to do

“Social media can prove invaluable as a new business tool and so it’s worrying to see that so few SMEs are embracing it. Its business benefits range from being able to engage and understand the needs of customers and prospects through to gaining insights into target markets and perceptions of your organisation or brand.

“There’s certainly scope for more SMEs to be educated on how social media channels can be applied to business and ne harnessed to benefit the bottom line.” Paul Lawton, Managing Director of TalkTalk Business.

I couldn’t agree more Paul.

Over to you

Are you one of the 43% or have you embraced social media as part of your marketing strategy?

Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.

Guest Post: Ella Davidson of couponing website Coupons.org provided this article. Coupons is a leading savings and deals site that strives to save consumers money. They offer electronic coupons, Amazon coupons and many other retailer coupons.

The author’s views are entirely their own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

Starting out as a freelancer in any industry (such as copywriting) can be daunting. In her post, Ella shares her tips on how to get your freelance career started.

When a person is a freelancer, they are self-employed, and do not have any long-term alliance with any specific employer. Sometimes freelancers work entirely on their own, while a company represents others. There are many different fields that people freelance in, such as website development, writing editing and journalism. Freelance positions have the benefit of being very flexible, where the freelancer has more control over their work and commitments than is normally present. Landing a freelance position can sometimes be difficult, as there are many people competing for the same work. Here are four tips to help you in securing the position that you desire.

1. Read the ad

Read it twice and make sure you understand what the employer is asking for. Many people applying for freelance jobs use the same format, or the exact same text for every job that they apply for. While this is a means of saving time, employers are often looking for specific things, and no one wants to hire someone who couldn’t take five minutes to find out exactly what the work they were applying for entails. Reading the ad also gives you a good indication of what approach to take with the employer. For example, sometimes a formal approach is best, while on other occasions a casual application may be more suitable.

2. Follow the instructions

Follow even the silliest instructions to the letter. Employers are often inundated with responses to their positions, and they do not want to hire someone who will not follow their instructions. After all, if a potential employee won’t do what they are told before they are hired, how likely are they to do so after they get the position. Often employers will ask for samples within the application, if this is the case, don’t tell them you will send samples if they request them, they already did.

3. Take a chance

If you don’t have exactly what the employer is asking for, but you are very good at what you do, it is worth making the effort and applying. Often the level of experience and training that employers ask for is an ideal level rather than an absolute minimum. Present yourself well and tell the employer why they should choose you, what your strengths are and show them that you can do the work well.

4. Be confident, but realistic

The level of confidence that you show when applying for a position is often a key factor in whether you land the position. If you approach the employer by saying that you hope you have what it takes and you think you can fulfill the role, odds are, they won’t be very interested in you. If you don’t have confidence in what you can do, why should they? Rather, tell employers exactly what you can do and what your strengths are. However, don’t oversell yourself. Don’t tell employers that you can do something that you can’t, because if you do get the position, it won’t last if you can’t live up to the expectations you have created.

Landing a freelance position can often be difficult, and you may experience many rejections before you are successful. However, as you develop your skills both in your field and in applying for positions, your success rate should increase. Keep trying, and be optimistic. It may take time, but eventually you will find what you are looking for.

In a departure from my usual copywriting and marketing posts, I wanted to spend a bit of time talking about how to achieve your goals – whatever they may be.

For many people, they know where they want to go, but feel it’s too difficult to get there and so don’t bother.

But for others, the desire to achieve their goals is so strong they make them happen.

So, which one are you?

Setting goals

The key to personal development is to set goals, but you must ensure they are achievable.

For example, if I decided that by this time next year I would be a multi-millionaire, although it would be very nice, it is also unlikely to happen.

Why?

Well, unless I won the lottery, it would be highly unlikely to achieve that level of success in such a short space of time.

But, if I came up with something a bit more manageable…

To illustrate this, last year life began for me (yup, I hit 40). I’ve never bought a brand new car and have always wanted to go into a showroom and order the exact car and specification I wanted. So, I decided that my business goal in the run up to my birthday was to earn enough money to be able to buy my car.

It was hard work, and at times I didn’t think I was going to manage it, but, on my birthday, I went to the Mini showroom and picked up the keys to my new Cooper S.

Now, goals don’t have to be cars. They can be anything from securing 10 new clients to taking a luxury holiday – whatever you want. But having something to focus on like that will help you get to where you want to be.

Achieving your dreams

When we’re kids, we all have dreams of what we want to be when we grow up.

Few of us actually realise them, but they never go away.

I always wanted to be an author and, although being a copywriter I write for a living, it’s not quite as the fiction writer I’d envisaged.

But, after clearing my office ready for its make-over, I came across a manuscript I’d written a few years ago.

It had just been sitting on a shelf gathering dust.

Several years ago I’d sent it to a few publishers and although I came close once or twice, I didn’t manage to find anyone to take it.

But it seemed such as waste seeing it sitting there. That’s when I decided it was time it saw the light of day.

So now, if you pop over to Amazon you can buy my debut novel, Mackerel Skies, for your Kindle.

Who knows – it could be my first step towards realising that childhood dream.

Over to you

You should never ignore your dreams and goals. Regardless of whether they are business orientated or a personal dream, you should always hang on to them and work towards them.

What about you?

Do you have any burning desires you’ve kept hidden?

Share them with us and who knows, you might just find someone to help you make your dreams come true.

Sally Ormond, Copywriter who still dreams of being an author.