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Anthony Morrison Teaches You His Formula

A Weekly Task List To Lift Your Social Media Game

Facebook

Monday: Post a short 150-200 word blog to your website and feed a link to it through your Facebook page. Include a picture with your content to draw more people to engage with the post.

Tuesday: Run a health check on your business page. Is it time to change the profile or cover photo? Are you listing all of your contact details? Are the business hours listed?

Wednesday: It's time for a video post! Make a 1-2 minute video informational video or try a "behind the scenes" shoot of what you get up to in your business each day.

Thursday: Once a month share an exclusive offer for Facebook followers only. Offer a small discount, run a competition or offer up information that would normally be reserved for paying clients.

Weekend: On Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays share a funny, fun or inspirational picture or meme. Make it appropriate to your business if you can, but anything that makes you smile will make your followers smile too!

Instagram

Monday: Time to brand your Instagram posts! Create a hashtag that reflects your brand and must be used on all of your posts. Take the time to go back and include the hashtag in old posts as well.

Tuesday: Post a fan/follower photo or video. Has one of your followers recently posted a photo showing them using your product or service? Regram it!

Wednesday: Practise and develop your styling skills and take a really visually appealing photo to share with your followers. Items that you use in the photo should be synonymous with your business. If you are a writer, share a typography photo. If you are a dietician, share a photo of brightly coloured food.

Thursday: Post a video to your Instagram story from an event or seminar that you or one of your staff are attending, from inside your office, from your desk - anywhere where your followers can see how you operate your business from day to day.

Weekend: On Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays post a "behind the scenes" photo or video of what you are getting up to over the weekend.

Twitter

Monday: Tweet about what your business is up to this week. Are you working on a special project? Preparing for an upcoming event? Participating in your first photo shoot? Let your followers know about it!

Tuesday: Follow 10 other Twitter accounts that you have recognised as influencers in your industry or regularly Tweet about a topic that you are interested in. Following another account is the best way to ensure a follow back!

Wednesday: Take the time to ensure that you have @replied to any Tweets directed to your account this week. Being seen to interact with your followers is important for establishing a strong Twitter presence.

Thursday: Check the search bar for any trending topics that you may wish to participate in. Be careful not to participate in any #trend that could be perceived as contentious or may be a sensitive issue.

LinkedIn

Monday: Run a health check on your LinkedIn profile. Are you listing all of your experience? Is your contact information clear? Could you include a more professional profile photo?

Tuesday: Share the short blog post you wrote on Monday and shared on your Facebook page (if suitable).

Wednesday: Connect with 5 other professionals in your industry. Then connect with 10 other existing or potential customers.

Thursday: Join a LinkedIn group and participate! Answer or ask questions and/or share the short blog post you wrote on Monday and shared on your Facebook page (if suitable).

Snapchat

Monday: Take a regular Monday morning Snap and keep it real! Snap the 5 coffee cups it took to get you going that morning, or show the 207 emails you have sitting in your inbox.

Tuesday: Run an exclusive Snapchat follower offer once per month. Posting a one-off discount code to your Snapchat account creates a sense of urgency for your follower to head to your website and purchase straight away!

Wednesday: Run a health check on your Snapchat presence. Is your Snapchat handle listed on all of your other social media accounts? On your website?

Thursday: Snap a product or service preview to generate some buzz. It may be a long term project, but regularly showing your followers what you are working on will get them excited for its launch.

Weekend: On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays take snaps (keep it professional) of any business related activities you get up to!

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Innovation and Interaction: Gaining and Retaining Social Media Followers

The ever-increasing popularity of websites such as Facebook and Twitter makes it hard to ignore. Many a digital marketer have taken advantage of their vast potential to reach multitudes of people worldwide. Creating a social media campaign has become the norm for many businesses who wish to increase their visibility online.

This has meant that this certain area is becoming saturated. Promoting on social media will become an even more competitive field. That is, unless another kind of digital marketing takes its place.

But as the situation currently stands, garnering any degree of success is difficult for brands that rely on this medium. So they must ask themselves: How does one stand out above the rest?

In an online article published by Forbes Magazine, it stated that in order for a campaign to survive the competition, it needs to be innovative. It must provide content that is different from most posts that advertise similar services. While it can be difficult to create something truly original on the Internet, oftentimes it is only a matter of how one presents it.

When a company's followers are shown something that they believe they have never seen before, it makes content more interesting. The brand also becomes more memorable to newcomers. You will also be seen as a pioneer among your peers.

According to said article, how innovative a social media campaign is depends on these key qualities:

• Uniqueness of persona and voice
• the content's ability to surprise followers, and
• an unconventional posting style and format.

However, making innovations in the way they market themselves is only half the battle for businesses. They must also be able to keep the followers they have gained in their campaigns.

According to a business magazine Entrepreneur's article, many businesses only focus on reeling in more new followers than they are with retaining them. Earning their loyalty is important as it improves a brand's online standing.

A company can keep their customers loyal and happy, says the article, by maintaining the quality of their posts. Better yet, content quality should be improved for the sake of the followers.

Brands should also watch out for the way they interact with both new and old followers. Social media is an effective tool for online exposure. It is a double-edged blade, however. The kind of visibility that one gets can be the good or the bad kind, depending on how a brand engages with its followers.

Customers value sincerity and consistency with their interactions with businesses. One wrong word, one mistake in how a reply sounds to a customer, and it can be shared or retweeted in a few moments. News spreads quickly on the Internet. Events in real life can also affect a brand's reputation, both online and offline. One such instance is the recent issue regarding United Airlines' treatment of its passengers. The spread of the viral video on social media has affected even their stocks, if for a short time.

Entrepreneur states that follower loyalty can be attained through:

• Giving informative and helpful answers to customer queries
• Sharing brand-related content made by users
• Acknowledging people who leave comments on posts or reviews on the page
• Starting and continuing conversations with followers
• Promising and solving any problems and complaints reported by customers

The increasing competitiveness of social media campaign means that it is vital for marketers to do what they can to make themselves known. Going the extra mile is no longer an added bonus, but should now be the norm. But they should also take note that both sides--the marketer and the business itself--must do their part to improve services on the Internet and in the real world.

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Mark Anastasi Grills Shaqir Hussyin - Make $40,000 Mo With Social Media!

Top 10 Social Media Strategies for Start-Ups in 2017

Social media is an indispensable part of the world of digital marketing today. Almost all leading as well as not so prominent brands are active on popular social sites. But are they using their time on these less formal yet extremely powerful marketing platforms in the most optimal way?

Using social media profitably for your brand is a science as well as an art. It needs a deeper understanding of how exactly these platforms work. You should also possess the knack of reading people's minds based on their activities on the social media sites. You need the flexibility to quickly adjust your strategies to go with current trends and use them to your advantage.

The phenomenal growth of social media is a relatively recent phenomenon. Just a few years back, it was mostly an informal social platform. Nobody gave too much importance to things like how many 'Likes' or 'Followers' you had on social sites. Having a large following was more a matter of amusement. Often such enormous following was attributed only to movie stars, sports stars, and other celebrities. Today, a large following is a measurement of your value and credibility in the market.

However, in spite of this incredible shift, many big brands who are in the best position to tap into the power of social media for their marketing, are still investing in old school advertising and marketing methods like the print media or television. Not the smartest way to go about it folks!

After operating successfully in this field for almost 10 years, and helping many big and small brands to make their mark in the digital world, we are in the perfect position at Neyox to offer some interesting current and future social media trends and top 10 social media strategies to make the most of them for your start-up business in 2017.

1. Invest On Quality Of The Content, More Than Promotions

It has always been said that content is the king. True, but only partially. The fact is "quality" content is the king. Creating truly high-quality content is the best social media policy. If you want to get more likes, followers, and subscribers, you have to create great content that people value and relate to.

Often, many big brands make the big mistake of spending only a fraction of their money on high-quality content such as an awesome video. They allocate the biggest chunk of their funds on advertising it on the social platforms. Well, we have to tell you that it doesn't really work that way!

It's time for a major mindset shift. Invest 90% of your money in creating a great video and 10% on the promotional efforts. The fact is, if your content is truly awesome and instantly clicks with the viewers, it will promote itself anyway.

Even smaller companies, who understand this equation well enough, can use social media to offer a stiff competition to their bigger counterparts.

2. Banner-Branded Ads Are Going To Rule Facebook

Facebook is leaning more and more towards video content than ever. Your Facebook feed flashes banner-branded ads that are written in a very informal, messaging-style language. People seem to prefer this kind of promotion more than a long and boring copy.

We would like to suggest that, brands should adopt this style of promotion for small-sized content as this form of advertising is becoming more and more popular. This is going to be the best way to impress and engage their audience in the coming days.

3. Invest Quality Time And Effort In Social Media Marketing

In a recent survey, only 3% of CMOs interviewed accepted that social media did indeed play a big role in their brand's success. In spite of these facts, more and more brands are investing on social media and it is expected to grow from 10% to 20% by 2021. Will this improve their performance in equal proportions?

The fact is that most so-called social media experts have little idea about effectively using social media for brand promotion. They take it too casually and think that just posting or commenting occasionally is all they need to do. Not really. You need a lot more efforts in the form of in-depth research, meticulous planning and consistent promotion of quality content, in order to succeed.

Big brands often fail miserably, while tiny companies attract a massive following, simply because those smaller players use social media in the right way.

4. Instagram Or Snapchat?

In 2016, we have seen Instagram and Snapchat grow side-by-side into two of the most popular social platforms. However, they seem to be all set to develop into their own separate spaces this year.

Snapchat has changed its name to Snap Inc. and has made it clear that it is not just a singular app but a "camera company". Their recent feature called "Spectacles" clearly indicates that they are going to carve their own niche, independent of any other similar platforms.

The similarities, however, make it pointless to stay of both these platforms - particularly since Snapchat is quite a closed and limited network compared to its counterpart. Big thumbs up to Snapchat though for doing what Twitter should have, years back.

5. This Year Could Be A Turning Point For Twitter

Going by its current state of affairs, Twitter doesn't seem to hold the brightest of futures. They should realize their unique value and focus on it or should get bought out pretty soon. Recently, it was rumored to be being bought by Google.

However, being an integral part of the mainstream social media mix along with Facebook, for the past so many years, a complete collapse of Twitter seems much unlikely. However, Twitter is badly in need of a major spin around, to stay competitive.

6. LinkedIn Is All Set To Be A Major Player

Microsoft's purchase of LinkedIn for a massive $26.2 billion raised many speculations. However, the fact remains that LinkedIn is a powerful platform for industries like those operating in the B2B model. For instance, if you want to market dental products to dental hospitals, LinkedIn is the best platform to go to and not Twitter or Instagram.

We believe that LinkedIn is one of the least user-friendly social platforms out there. The UX design is cluttered and navigation is quite awkward. However, this might soon see a change with Microsoft as its new owner.

7. Collaboration Is The Key To Growth On Social Media

If you want to grow your following on social platforms, collaboration with others is the fastest and the most effective way. Finding a few key influencers in your field of activity in your city and joining hands with them for content creation is a great way to grow together.

It is strange how people keep overlooking this simple strategy. It is the same as people jumping on to creating a blog first thing in their content promotion strategies. Why post content where people can hardly find it? Social platforms are much more effective places which also give you instant feedback.

Collaborating is a similar win-win situation where you can benefit from other's existing following and credibility, thus increasing your own visibility and social media status.

8. Use The Power Of Copywriting

Whether it is a video script, blog article or a lengthy Facebook post with a call to action, copywriting is what makes people do what you want them to do - whether it is clicking on the "Buy now" button or signing up to your newsletter.

Skimping on a quality copy is a bad approach many brands are guilty of. Great copy is, in fact, one of the most profitable long-term investments that will bring more conversions and sales your way.

9. Dear Brands, Spend More On Influencer Marketing

Just like social media, investing on influencer marketing doesn't guarantee equivalent returns by itself. Something crucial is necessary to succeed. It is how you approach influencer marketing that really matters.

Consumers have become smart enough to sniff empty promises and promotions from a mile's distance. An influencer endorsing your product in a direct and over-the-top way is no more effective. For any kind of influencer marketing to be truly effective, it has to be subtle and indirect. It should be done in a way that people hardly know it is being done - leaving behind a sublime effect. When done right, influencer marketing will continue to be a potent tool for brand promotion.

10. Go Mobile

Last but not the least, being "mobile friendly" is the modern-day mantra for any brand - big or small - to be successful. Most people use mobile phones, smartphones, iPhones, tablets and so on, for things ranging from shopping and playing games to buying movie tickets to booking flights.

You cannot afford not to keep all your marketing efforts compatible with the mobile technology. Be it a mobile responsive website or a user-friendly app, you need to integrate a mobile strategy into your online marketing planning right from the beginning.

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Is Your Life Running on Autopilot?

Ever get the feeling your life is somewhat running on autopilot?

That you're not really working on what you truly want, and that you're putting off certain necessary things because you feel a need for instant gratification?

And, in turn, do you ever think that you "really should be doing" X? That you really "ought to be doing" Y? But maybe you can't, because you "have to do" Z?

I know where you're at. It's not a good place.

Why would we allow ourselves to get there? Why would we allow ourselves to be running on autopilot like that?

As far as I can see, most people tend to let their lives run on autopilot to a certain extent. Not necessarily out of fear, but because they identify with what other ordinary people do, which is... Ordinary stuff.

Those who stand out are always the confident ones. Those who have the guts, the energy, and the resourcefulness to do what they want, and what's necessary to get to where they want.


The non-fident ones, on the other hand, tend to be full-out running on autopilot. They tend to do whatever they do, because they feel like they "should", or "have to".

And, since this is essentially an inhibitive way of living, they tend to overcompensate on activities of instant gratification, e.g. getting drunk every weekend or slouching in front of the TV when not at work. - Effectively creating a loop of guilt and emptiness without purpose.

Oh, I've been there.

Does anyone genuinely want to live like that? Of course not. But many people feel obliged to, simply because they don't know any better.

"What do you mean by "know any better"?? What exactly do I need to know then?"

Good question. And for that, you get the answer right here:

We "should" not do anything. We "ought" not do anything. In fact, we don't even "have" to do anything.

There is only what we want to do, and what is necessary to do.

"But then shouldn't we do what's necessary? Don't we HAVE to do that?"

Well, no. It'll probably have consequences if you don't. But really, we're entirely free to do whatever we want.

Confident people know this. Confident people act from a mindset of freedom and safety. Whereas non-fident people tend to act from a mindset of desperation and captivity.

"But what about paying my taxes? If I don't pay my taxes, I'll get punished somehow, right?"

Probably, yes. But that's not the point.

The point is, confident people do what they want AND what's necessary.

Not because they feel forced into doing what's necessary, but because they're proactive about not having bad consequences happen to them - and about doing what they want.


Non-fident people, then, tend to do what others want. Or at least what they think others want. And, hence, to be running on autopilot.

"I really ought to be doing my homework".

"I'm 30, I should be married by now".

"I have to get this report done on time".

I hear bells ringing all around.

I'm not saying that one's daily tasks and chores aren't at all necessary. For the major part, they ARE more or less important. But they're not necessarily essential to what we truly want to do.

ACTION ITEM:

This week, note your daily tasks by durance and importance. At the end of each day, and at the end of the week, add them all up.

How many hours a day do you spend on doing something you allegedly "have to", "need to", or "ought to"? How many hours a day do you spend on doing something you truly want to?

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Postponing Procrastination

Procrastination: on goals, actions, to-do lists, ideas. The report that needs to be done, presentation to prepare, even fitness targets we want to achieve. They can start piling up and lead us to feel overwhelmed, which may make us procrastinate even more.

Have you been known to decide to start a task, only to immediately go and put the kettle on? Have you justified leaving a task because you need to be in the right mood, or have enough time to tackle it? Or completed easier, or fun tasks, over and above the ones you know you "should" be doing?

Wouldn't it be good if you could understand why you procrastinate and how you can get into the right state of mind when you need it, so that you can maintain your motivation, purpose and drive?

This is where an in-depth self-awareness is key. People often sabotage their own success through perfectionism, fear of failure or making mistakes, or simply not playing to their own strengths. Additionally, it could be due to:

• Negative self-talk can reduce self-esteem and confidence.
• Telling yourself you "should" do something, rather than "could", implies judgement rather than a sense of hopefulness
• Perfectionism can sometimes hide a fear of not doing something well/right or thoughts of never being allowed to make a mistake
• Cognitive bias such as Imposter Syndrome can make us worry that we'll be found out as frauds and that we don't deserve to be doing what we're doing.
We procrastinate often because there's a fear to our sense of worth, and our "reward" (or feel good) system is threatened. We like fun and stress-free today, not to feel all these concerns.


But this means we're not very good at looking out for our future self. I often ask clients, "what would your future-self say to you right now? Would they be asking you to get on with it, so that they don't have twice as much work or have a serious deadline to do it all in?"

Procrastination is making our future-self pay the price of us not doing something today. When we procrastinate, we are valuing the current moment more than what we're going to have to go through later. Sometimes all we need to do is think about how much more work our future-self will have to do, to get us to start now.

As well as asking ourselves these questions, we need to work out if we have any beliefs that are causing us to put off doing the important things, and therefore putting our future self under more pressure. Our brains don't like moving outside of our comfort zone, without a lot of confidence and determination, so we'll find ways of not having to go there. Our past can haunt our current thinking. But when we feel confident, we're happy to take action.

Consider the following:

• Work out what triggers you to put things off. What are you concerned about or avoiding? For example, failure, criticism, rejection?
• Do you need to improve your knowledge or skills?
• Get rid of external distractions - ensure a tidy work space, turn the phone off, close down social media, turn off the email notification ping!
• Prioritise your to-do list, thinking about what is really essential.
• Break down actions to small, achievable tasks.
• Also delegate or even delete things where you can.
• Focus your mind on getting started. You'll be surprised how much you can get done once you get started! It's the thought of it that can often put us off.
• Celebrate achievements and successes. When your mind can see results, overwhelm reduces.
Lastly, are there any habits that are contributing to not getting things done. For instance, coming home and switching the TV on, spending 2 hours checking emails in the morning, even finding housework that for some reason needs to be done right now! Not that these are from personal experience!!


Just consider all that you can achieve when you postpone your procrastination! Your future self will really appreciate it.

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Message From the Universe: It Will Never Be Easy

"Almost no one ever says it will be easy.

Actually, most say it will be hard. Really, really hard.

What do you tell yourself, day after day?

Hubba, hubba -
The Universe"

If it was easy, everybody would do it. If entrepreneurship didn't have its moment of frustration, disappointment, failure, desperation, etc... , we would have 7.1 billion people starting businesses without finding ANY employees because everyone would be entrepreneurs. That would definitely be very interesting to see and experience. But thanks to people who are reluctant to taking any risk in life, they become employees to those who live to risk it all. That is why we have just a very tiny minority of the population who are willing to sacrifice everything without knowing if they would ever succeed, and will probably end up losing everything. However, they thrive on living without having any clue of what may happen in a year from now. These type of people are the one employing the other 97% of the population who are afraid. Life is NOT easy, and it may never be easy even for those who are employed with a steady job and steady life. The reality is that many are stuck in a job and are very unhappy, but are not willing to take a step out of their comfort zone to try living a life that may be risky but will render better results than sticking with the stable life they think they live in.


Nothing in life is guaranteed, and as the famous Jim Carrey says: "If there is a risk in living a life you don't love, might as well take a risk with the things you love doing." Means that if you decide to work for someone providing you a steady job and salary but you hate it with passion, that job is not guaranteed either way. He can fire you anytime or close shop as well and you find yourself on the streets with nothing. So might as well take the risk on the things you love doing and have full control over. Even if you fail, they wouldn't be any regret on your part for trying to do the things you were meant to do. So what will you tell yourself everyday? Is life easy or hard, or really really hard? Depending on your answer, you need to decide what you will do to make changes and start living the life you always wanted to live. The rest is really up to you. Keep faith that everything will work out, take actions when you want to do something and believe that it will happen. The Universe will take care of the rest.

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