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Yearly Archives: 2015
How to add an Admin to your Facebook Business Page
Of all the social media platforms, Facebook has the highest traffic. While it might not be the best for every business, it is a standard.
If, however, you want to have someone else manage your Facebook business page, here’s how to do that.
Once you have your Facebook page set up, go to your business page and click on settings.
You’ll get to another page and you’ll click on Page Roles.
And from here you can add anyone to your page as long as they are a “friend” of your personal profile.
You can add an Admin, Editor, Moderator, Advertiser, or Analyst. If you go to the Facebook help center, you can see what each role is able to do.
NOW – you can sit back, relax, and outsource your Facebook page management.
Outsourcing: A Worthy Investment
During the past two posts I might have convinced you to think about looking for some help. You might call people, get some quotes for some assistance, and then have sticker shock (especially if you have not had contractors working for you).
A few things to keep in mind. (more…)
Outsourcing: How to find help for your business
In a previous post, I’ve suggested you find people to help you with tasks that don’t fall within your strong skills. You might note that nobody can do your job as well as you can. Nobody can love your business as much as you do. Nobody can understand your business to the same degree.
That’s probably true. If you decide to hire someone to help you with some of your work, you might need to spend MORE time upfront training that person (but I don’t have the time).
In the Related Articles Section I have included an article titled The 6th Realization of Rich People — R.O.T.I. — Return on Time Investment. Following is an excerpt from that article …
A professor in one of my business classes taught me that “when trying to decide whether to delegate something to someone else or to do something yourself you should use the 30 to 1 rule.”
That is, that if it was a daily task that took a skilled person like yourself five minute to complete, you should plan to spend at least 150 minutes (5 minutes multiplied by 30) instructing the subordinate on how to complete the same task.
Now the 150 minutes shouldn’t all be done at one time and could be spread over a few months as you help the subordinate master the task.”
He then explained the math behind it.
“If a task were to take you personally 5 minutes a day for 250 days in a working year then that means you would spend 1250 minutes per year on that task.
Rather than doing that however, if you decided to spend 150 minutes training someone to do that 5-minute task and they instead did that task for you then that would give you an annual savings of 1100 minutes per year.”
Think about it just for a minute …
If you spent some time, up front, training someone to do a task for you, what would you do with the extra time that you found? (more…)
Outsourcing: How to “Let it Go”
Copyrights probably forbid me from adding the lyrics, but I’m sure if I use the phrase “Let it Go” and suggest you think about recent Disney movies — well the song will be stuck in your head (see below).
I’ve written about outsourcing in the past (see Related Articles), but I think this is a good time for areview.
Today we’ll talk about why to outsource, next time we’ll talk about finding good people to work with, and after that, we’ll talk about costs.
Most of my readers are busy solopreneurs or small business owners, and most of then can define their life using one word — BUSY!!!
I know the feeling. Somewhat overwhelmed, somewhat confused (what do I do NEXT).
Tuesday Tip – The 80/20 rule
Tuesday Tip*
Social media is my passion. I love helping clients connect through the virtual world.
Most people that I’ve talked to at workshops, networking groups, or while consulting have heard me mention the 80/20 rule, meaning 80% of content in your blogs, newsletters, and social media posts should be interesting content and only 20% should be promotional.
You may ask WHY? (You may not be asking this, you may just trust me and that’s cool.)
One QUICK reason (this is a Tuesday Tip so I like to keep it under 200 words total) is that people want to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Having 80% of your content as interesting content gives your clients (and potential clients) a chance to get to know a bit about you so when you do mention your offers/classes/packages/promotions they will feel comfortable enough to take the plunge with you.
What does the 80% consist of?
- Quotes & memes help people know who your influences are.
- Humorous postings show people your fun side.
- Informational articles show you are knowledgeable and follow current information.
- Asking interactive questions encourages engagement.
There are many ways to build relationships – even virtually.
“Tips” image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
*Tuesday Tips are typically short, sweet, and to the point. A quick read and then back to your day.
How to clean up your inbox
Mailboxes On Monitors Showing Emails Inbox And Online Communication
An email in box seems innocent enough. It’s just bits and bytes in a digital format that you look at a few times a day to see if anything important has popped up.
- BUT — did you ever open your inbox and realize that you haven’t really cleaned it in a while (like years)?
- Did you ever open your inbox and realize you have no clue how to prioritize, not the 50 new messages you’ve received today, but the 50 new messages you’ve received today plus the 50 new you’ve received each day for the last 50 days?
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to muddle through way too many messages.
One idea (developed by Merlin Mann) that has taken hold over the past few years is Inbox Zero:
Inbox Zero is a rigorous approach to email management aimed at keeping the inbox empty — or almost empty — at all times. Inbox Zero was developed by productivity expert Merlin Mann.
- Limit the time you spend reading email. Check email a few times a day (for longer periods of time) instead of many times a day. Perhaps pick 3 or 4 times a day you’ll just muddle through your mail instead of checking every 5 minutes. (Though I’ll admit to doing that at times – perhaps if a friend has run off to the hospital because a new grand-baby is about to appear).
- Turn off notifications. Even if you don’t instantly jump to check what’s happening when you hear a “ding” or a “buzz,” you are still slightly distracted by it.
- Your Inbox is NOT your To-Do list. You can make a separate folder for ToDo – or “Items Needing Action,” but don’t keep these “front and center”
- Touch it once. Many organizational gurus suggest “touching it once” for paper that comes into your home (file it or toss it or act on it). The same works for electronic communication. Look at it and decide where it needs to go. If it’s something that needs to go on your schedule, put it on your calendar and delete the email.
- User folders. Using filters you can create folders, and send mail from certain parties directly to a folder. In Gmail (and I assume in other email applications), if you have a folder with something “new” in it, you can look at it when you have the time.
- Don’t use folders. One suggestion I’ve run across is to only use “inbox,” “trash,” “draft,” “sent,” and “archive.” With current search engines, you’re often able to find a message if you can use the proper search parameters.
(Yes – I know that’s the exact opposite of what I said above – but your mileage may vary on any of these points, so take what works and leave the rest). - Make subject lines clear. This helps if you’re looking for something later, because it makes things easier to identify.
- PICK UP THE PHONE. Sometimes you can be more productive by spending a few minutes talking to someone than going back and forth by email.
- Print – or print to PDF. For myself, for information I need to retain from clients, I will “print” an email to PDF, and save the email in my client folder. Sometimes that’s the best place for me to find it.
- Kill ’em while you’re killing time. Two years ago Gmail rolled out the tabs. (I wrote this at the time about the Gmail changes). I love the “new” (is it “new” if it’s two years old?) Gmail tabs, but sometimes I ignore things in my tabs. Sometimes you really need to go through and remove things, but this is great use for down time, for instance while you’re in the cell phone lot at the airport or while you’re waiting in line at the DMV.
Related articles
- Inbox Zero action based email (The original 43 Folders Series). Merlin Mann (43folders.com)
(NO — I have not read all 17 (or so) articles attached to this.) - Taming email communications – part 1. Michael Keithley (gtdforcios.com)
- Taming email communications – part 2. Michael Keithley (gtdforcios.com)
- Taming email communications – part 3. Michael Keithley (gtdforcios.com)
- 5 Tricks to Finally Achieve Inbox Zero. Zoe Fox (mashable.com)
- Q&A The Gmail changes. Mary Wu (marywuva.com)In the interest of equal time …
- 5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Aim for Inbox Zero. Natasha Burton, Levo League (fastcompany.com)
Tuesday Tip – What small business owners SHOULD do
Tuesday Tip – if you are a small business owner, you SHOULD be doing this!
Backstory – for a few years I was a La Leche League leader. During training it was oft repeated that we needed to meet people where they were and help them as was best for them (meaning, no matter how much you wanted to tell someone “THE ONE RIGHT WAY” to do something, you needed to remember that there really isn’t one right way for most things).
I try to continue to live that (and I hope I do) but DANG it – sometimes there IS “one right way” to do something.
- Did you know that there are 1.44 *BILLION* (that’s billion with a B people) on Facebook?
- Did you know that on averagem Smartphone users check Facebook about times per day?
- Did you know there’s an incredibly EASY way for you to have your friends find your business page?
First, you need to have a Facebook business page. Once you have that, you can go into your personal Facebook profile and edit it so that your business page can be easily accessed from your personal page.
After that, all your “real-life” friends can actually FIND your Facebook business page.
SOCIAL TIP: One consultant I know didn’t do this UNTIL after she had a strong Facebook publishing plan and a month’s worth of posts. Then she invited not only her clients and prospects to “like” her page, she also invited her family and friends to “like” her page. Now, in addition to getting referrals from her business associates, she also gets referrals from her college classmates, neighbors, and former coworkers.
Related article
- 9 Tips for Integrating your Facebook Page with your Facebook Profile. Andrea Vahl (socialmediaexaminer.com)
“Tips” image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Tuesday Tip – Facebook Group Posting
For some people, Facebook Group posting is somewhat fun and distracting. For other people, Facebook Group posting is essential to their business. Some businesses take advantage of Facebook Groups to keep in touch with their “tribe,” be it a networking group or a group of their ideal clients.
I’m seeing more people re-purposing content from their Facebook (personal) Profile or their Facebook (business) Page and using this content in groups they belong to. Generally speaking, re-purposing content is a good thing, and I’m all for using something multiple times in multiple places. When you share content from your Facebook (business) Page, it’s easy to share, is public, and has the added benefit of possibly driving people back to your Facebook (business) Page to see what else is there.
There’s a bit of a different twist, however, if you’re on your Facebook (personal) Profile page and want to share something to one of the groups you belong to. As you go to share the item, you may notice the following message.
“You chose a specific audience for this post. Only people in that audience will be able to see this when you share it.”
If you continue on with this posting — your audience (possibly made up of potential clients) will see …
“Attachment Unavailable
This attachment may have been removed or the person who shared it may not have permission to share it with you.”
This same issue can happen if you’re trying to share content from one group to another group. If a group is NOT a “public” group, and if you try to share information outside of the group, the share will be visible to anyone that belongs to the group, but it will not be able to be seen by someone that’s not in the group. So if you’re in a private coaching group and your coach has a spectacular program she’s mentioned that you’d like to share outside the group – it needs to be FIRST posted in a public place.
If you’re trying to share an event or a special or a meme or a photo with a Facebook group, make sure what you’re trying to share is public, otherwise things will get really boring, really quickly and all your audience will see is a rather dull box.
Struggling with social media?
Click here to arrange a social media consult.
*There are details in the Facebook Terms of Use that are incredibly boring but very significant to people that are using Facebook profiles for business use. That will likely be covered in a future blog post.
OOOPS They Did it Again
And then THIS happened.
Say WHAT??? Another major overhaul coming to Facebook Pages. Didn’t they just do that a few months ago??
And people who manage their own Facebook business pages went
Stress Meter Showing Panic Attack From Stress And Worry
And then they went 
And the people who have a social media manager went
“call me if I need to know anything.”
And the Social Media Managers went
And then called their clients and said
“RELAX – I got this”
The moral of the story — if you’re using Facebook for business – and you panic every time they make a change, RELAX and find someone who can always have your back in the social media world.
Tuesday Tip – It’s that time again
It’s almost August – which means it’s almost BACK TO SCHOOL TIME!!!
Some people that read this blog have school kids and look at this as an opportunity to start spending more time on their business. Some people reading this might go “OH DARN” that means traffic …
But most small businesses forget one really special event at this time of the year.
Girl Writing Back To School As A Symbol For Education
BACK TO SCHOOL $ALE$
That’s right, even if you don’t have kids, or your kids are well before or past the age of school, you can still take advantage of all those school supplies being on sale. There might be some back to school items you don’t need, but most “office” supplies are covered in the back to school sales. For example, mini staplers that can fit into a middle school locker can also fit in a purse or briefcase. Unless you have a locked office, I’m willing to bet that sometimes your pens wander off your desk. (Okay – even if you’re the only one that touches your desk I’m still willing to bet ballpoint pens disappear – see note below*). Every time I give a client a report or a contract, I put it in a two pocket folder. I rarely pay retail for those (they are either $0.10 or $0.15 during August). I know some consultants (I’m looking at YOU Michelle Smith at Z & B consulting) that often make use of colored markers and easel pads. Even if you don’t explore every sales flyer to find the “best” deals, you can’t walk down a school (office) supply aisle at this time of year without deals jumping off the shelf at you.
Staples Back to School Deals (moneysavingmom)
“Tips” image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
*In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams has a theory that ballpoint pens slip off to their own planet and live (the ballpoint pen equivalent of) the good life. For their sake, I hope it’s true, because the ballpoints never stay on my desk.