Inbound or Die!

Sales has always been synonymous with service in my experience.  Thanks to Hubspot.com and the opportunity to become certified in Inbound Methodology, I now identify with being a sales educator.  It has always been like a sixth sense to me to know that my job in servicing customers has been to identify their problems and educate them about exisiting solutions knowing that when the opporunity (product or service) was presented they would make the best choice for themselves.

Inbound

Inbound Methodology was second nature to me.  I have known for years that people are becoming more educated.  It is an insult to their intelligence to push off products or service on them while ignoring what they are saying.  So many people do not understand yet that they need to adapt to the habits of the customer and help them feel happy about what you have to offer. The days of cold calls, spam e-mail, and hard selling has long been over, thank goodness.

Awareness

Businesses who continue business as usual will die. I knew this in 2010 when I read "Engage or Die," by Brian Solis. It was the best birthday present my husband could have given me.

"We live in amazing times. Perhaps what makes it so special is that the present is rewriting the future for so many things held sacred over the years. So many industries, processes, politics, beliefs and myths clouded or seized our responsibility and capacity to force innovation and ultimately the change that is needed and long overdue. At the root of this however, is what fuels evolution and revolution…"

Not everyone understands the concept of Inbound. I knew there was more to being successful in growing an business in these times. I just could not put my finger on it.  I was hesitant to branch out any further a couple of months ago. I researched university programs, and I thought I had found a solution until I stumbled upon the offer from HubSpot.  

Onward and upward

As I took each class, I found myself saying, "A-HA, that's it!"  It was not so much that I did not understand the first steps of Inbound Marketing, how to attract visitors; I was weak on how to convert them.  With this formal training, I feel hopeful and confident that 2016 will be a year of growth, and I hope that I can be an example to others in helping to change marketing for the better for all. 

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Top 1% Kred Influencer: What is Kred?

On February 1st, I received this notice in my e-mail after being on Kred for about one two months.  I discovered Kred through my network at XeeMe, and I have been very impressed to learn about my level of influence.  Followers are also able to endorse their friends by giving Kred.

The Kred Story provides a snapshot of who you are influencing and who is influencing you surrounding a variety of topics.  You can keep track of the people you engage with and the number of interactions on posts. Check out my Kred Story here:  Saving Stories and sign in to see your own if you have not already  Be sure to connect you account to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.


You can embed customized widgets that show off your Kred.

If you received the original Elite Influencers Badge Reward, check your inbox for the newly designed badge that can be embedded on your website or in your e-mail signature.  Kred is collecting screenshots of your blogs and web sites with the embedded badge.
 


The Kred score is based on two areas of performance:

Influence:  Your ability to inspire others to act based on responses in the form of tweets, replies, and mentions.  The highest score for influence is 1000 points.


Outreach:  Outreach is based on how well you tweet, reply, or mention other people.  The highest score at this time is 11.

To learn more, see the Kred Blog.

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• Kred brings transparency to influencer and outreach analytics

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Yes, Pinterest boards can disappear

Heart drop! I logged onto Pinterest to upload a pin, and all my boards were missing except seven which are contributor boards.

It just so happens that the board I want to add my pin to has disappeared along with the rest.  I scooted over to Pinterest Support and am relieved to find they are aware of the problem even though they do not have an explanation for now other than:

"Some pinners are reporting that some of their boards are missing.

Our team is looking into this issue and hopes to have it resolved soon.  We will keep you updated in this help article!"

See Issue: Missing Boards. 

I subscribed to the thread so that I would receive e-mail updates as to any changes.  I am trying for seven more Pinterest followers to break 1000, but I guess that is not possible tonight with 7 boards and a pin that will not fit on either one.

I am a little relieved to see that the board (Free Genealogy Online) is accessible on my personal account:  Robin Foster.  I pinned my uploaded pin from that account, and I am able to view it using my business account along with my missing board.  My personal account is connected to the board that is missing on my business account. 

So, I try to repin the pin from the board that was missing.  Are you dizzy yet?

That's okay, because as I went to select a board that had not disappeared, I found all my 178 boards were there again!  

So Pinterest boards can disappear.  The issue occurred from 19:00 to 23:00 EST at least this evening. Are you interested in learning how to backup your boards?  See:

Source: naptimeisthenewhappyhour.com via Robin Foster: Genealogy & More on Pinterest

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Frostbox creates a full backup of social media data

Frostbox offers automated backup of social media applications such as Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, LinkedIn, Vimeo, Foursquare, Instagram as well as Gmail.

Create a full copy of all your vital data from the major social media networks, and keep it updated on regular basis. During their beta, the service is FREE.  

Online Security Breaches Free infographic

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Listing likes at Listly

I joined List.ly this week.  It is important to curate your own articles through social bookmarking so new people can find your content.  I have a network at StumbleUpon which I have used for years and will continue to do so.  Right now, my favorite bookmarking site is List.ly.

I love the option to embed your lists like this Pinterest list I created:

Pinterest

View more lists from Robin R Foster

Pretty sleek, eh?  You can drag the Listly bookmarklet to your favorites bar to easily add items that you come across to a list:

Bookmarklet

 I can create a list, track my views and points.

An upgrade for $99 gets you even more:

 Be sure to find people with similar interests to follow. Become an authority on a topic by sharing the useful content you find, not just your own. Otherwise people will not continue to visit you.  See you over on Listly!

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Door opens for Google+ pages to communicate outside the circle

Google+ pages now being able to join the conversations that are happening out their circles is huge news.  I have been frustrated for some time with having to circle someone and then wait for them to circle the page back in order to share or comment on a post.

Now Google+ page owners are not limited and can network with all Google+ users.  To learn more, see:  Google+ Now Allows Pages to Interact With All Users, Analytics Coming Soon from HubSpot.

I could not wait to try interacting with one of my pages.  Here is one of the ways I will work to increase the visibility of Extend Your Reach: 


1.  Search Google+ for topics that are being discussed that Extend Your Reach can participate with a +1, share, or comment.

Search  : social media strategies

 2.  Join the conversation in a meaningful way:

Extend Your Reach Comment on post of person not in circle.

3.  Shared in community: 

Extend Your Reach G+ Community

When I visited the post by The Social Photographer, I subscribed to the weekly newsletter and received a free e-book on HDR photography. 

One challenge that I have with this particular community is that it was created under my personal G+ profile and not under the Extend Your Reach page which did not exist at the time.  So it takes a little more effort to link the community to the share. It does not come up in the drop down menu for the Extend Your Reach page posts.

To avoid this yourself, make sure that you create your community using the page profile.  I have not found a way to combine the page and community thus far.  

If you have been contemplating creating a Google+ business page, the ability to now communicate with everyone on G+ via your business page may just tip the scale for you to get started today!

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6 ways to grow your social influence

 Free Big Collection of People Silhouettes Vector Graphic

Just  today, I was in the middle of doing my own thing when a friend who was having a challenge needed some tech help.  I thought to myself, "This is just what social networking is all about."  After the experience, I realized that in that one interaction I had build my social influence in several different ways.  I figured I would share with you a few of the ways you can build your social influence.



 1.  Create good content consistently.

In whatever our niche, we need to be searching for the best resources and information.  We need to take what we find and process it, and know the people in our communities well enough to share in a way they can grasp and implement easily.

It really does not matter if we are sharing the same information out there.  We all have different followers with different needs who would much rather learn from us.

2.  Get involved in different communities.

If you feel stagnated, perhaps you need to branch out where new people can learn about you and where you can find fresh ideas to bring back to your network.  Get involved in new communities by sharing your expertise and answering questions.

Find ways to collaborate not compete with other leaders.  Do not wander in and out of different communities at your leisure.  Make yourself available on a regular basis.  Brainstorm together on how different communities can unite to reach common goals.

3.  Introduce the newbies to your network.

It can be pretty intimidating for people trying to break into a new community.  Keep your eyes open, and stand ready to  help break the ice by sharing posts, retweeting, and suggesting others follow. Sometimes it only takes one person to get others to notice the newbie.

4.  Assist with problem solving.

If you are aware of what is going on in your community and others, you will find people who are looking to resolve problems.  Don't be afraid to help or give advice. You might be the best person to help because you have the time or because you had to work your way out of a similar challenge.

This is the best way to grow your influence.  Others will be watching and still more will hear of you from those you assist.

5.  Don't just broadcast.

Even though time is short, be sure to work toward having conversations that can reveal what people are thinking about the things you post.  If your posts are not generating a response of some kind, you cannot really tell if you are being heard or if people are even interested.

Asking questions, taking surveys, or providing a "call-to-action"  are forms of communication.  Ask people to share, +I, or "like."  Just asking people to respond with a yes or no can help you learn more about your community.

6.  Don't just sell.

Many people are afraid to spend time volunteering service.  Some do not want to give anything away free.  If all our efforts are spent selling and none on providing free information or a product now and then, people will lose interest.  My first webinar on creating income opportunities online was given by Jason Alba.  He suggested that we should spend the first year building our networks.  He is an expert on building social media profiles and sharing content.

I first started out by writing my own posts and sharing other people's content on Twitter.  My followers grew to 2000. Many are very generous about sharing.  The relationships I have are strong from putting service first. 

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