Social Media Archives

Do You Experience LinkedIn Overwhelm When Using LinkedIn?

If you’ve ever opened LinkedIn with a feeling of dread at all the notifications you’ve received, all the posts you’ve been tagged in and all the connection requests from people you’ve never heard of, then you’re probably experiencing LinkedIn Overwhelm.

Head in hands from overwhelm — Do you feel like this from Linked In

Experience LinkedIn Overwhelm

LinkedIn Overwhelm is a very real problem. There’s a huge pressure to expand your network of connections. The theory is that if you have a large network, you’ll gain more customers, or if you have a large network, you’ll get more reactions, comments and shares. But this isn’t necessarily the case. Yes, having a large network is beneficial, but only if they are your target audience.

I talk about finding and understanding your target audience in my Focus Guru LinkedIn Power Hour. It’s important to know who you’re putting your message in front of. Otherwise you might end up posting about the amazing washing machines you sell to people who’ve already bought them or talking about red cars to an audience who want blue cars.

This is where having the right audience is important. You need to find the people who are actively looking for what you do as they will be the captive audience for the stories you want to share. These are the people who are most likely to interact with your posts and read your articles. Getting this right can relieve you of some of the symptoms of LinkedIn Overwhelm.

How do you manage Linked In Overwhelm?

The question is, how do you make it manageable and avoid overwhelm on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn Overwhelm is a big problem for many people. I explain more about this in my Focus Guru LinkedIn Power Hour, where I help business owners and employees build a structure for managing LinkedIn to make the most of this social media platform. This is important because LinkedIn is still the primary social media platform for business use and plenty of business gets done through posts, articles, messages and phone calls.

It’s easy to experience overwhelm on LinkedIn, but also easy to find a solution. LinkedIn one of the world’s largest social media platforms used daily by millions of people across the world. Even within a small network of connections you may find there are dozens of posts every hour. Every post takes a little brain power, either reading through the post or checking whether the post needs to be read or scrolled past. Every small decision to read or scroll past uses our energy.

What fears does this create?

We have a fear of missing out. We fear other people are using LinkedIn better than we are. We want to be seen and can fear we haven’t been listened to. There’s also a fear that if we’re not ever-present on LinkedIn that we will fade into oblivion.

These are the fears which lead to overwhelm.

You may have already experienced these fears.

Maybe you know someone who has LinkedIn Overwhelm?

Whether you are new to LinkedIn or a regular user who wants to learn more about LinkedIn please consider booking a Focus Guru 121 Power Hour where I can share my LinkedIn tips and strategies for managing your time effectively on the LinkedIn social media platform.

To book your Focus Guru LinkedIn Power Hour, please book a free 30 minute call and let’s get started.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way, www.getfocus.guru

Do You Follow Up 121 Or One To Many?

I’ve talked lots about the benefits of following up after networking meetings and I’d like to share two different strategies to help you make the most of your follow-ups without experiencing overwhelm or getting distracted by…Squirrels!

When I attend a new networking meeting, I know I’ll meet around twenty people each time. Over the course of a week I might meet over a hundred new people plus catching up with people I’ve already met. Without a proper follow-up strategy in place it could be very time consuming and difficult to keep track of who asks for more information and who wants to order from me.

If someone doesn’t want my services or need them right now, I can also keep track of potential opportunities where I can recommend that person to speak with other people that I’ve met networking. An example of this would be recommending a mortgage advisor or removal company to someone looking to move home or office, or a mechanic to someone who needs help with their car.

Having lots of networking contacts helps you become a problem solver, simply by connecting people together who might not have met each other. To make the most of your contacts, it’s important to follow up with them regularly, adding value with each conversation.

“I attended Rachael’s Follow Up training session and afterwards I felt motivated and immediately implemented some of the things we discussed. I will be back to carry on and will book a further Follow Up session!” – Liz Johnson, Pet Health and Welfare Specialist

There are two main strategies for following up and these are 121 Follow Ups and One To Many Follow Ups. They each have value and can be used successfully depending on how much time you can invest in your follow-ups and how you prefer to carry out your follow-ups.

121 Follow Ups

As the name implies, you’re following up one to one, you and the other person. This is a great way to continue a 121 meeting and find out more about the other person. It offers you the chance to get to know someone better and consequently find out if they want or need what you do, or whether they can be someone you can recommend or refer to another of your networking contacts in the future.

In my Focus Guru Networking Follow Up Power Hour I talk more about the power of 121 Follow Ups and how you can implement technology solutions to make your follow up process simple and stress-free.

One To Many Follow Ups

A “One To Many” follow up typically involves a generic message talking about what you do and how people can find out more. You can also include a call to action and a special offer or a time-limited offer, as well as your website and social media links.

One of the most successful ways to do this is to address a problem your contacts might be having and show them how your product or service can remove the problem and/or the cause of the problem. You can write this in the content of your message and track which of your contacts opens the message and what they do next. With many mailing list solutions you’ll also have access to see whether they click on the links inside your message as well.

I cover making the most of your message tracking information in my Focus Guru Power Hour and highlight exactly how important it is to know your numbers when carrying out a methodical follow-up process to maximise your time, energy and resources when following up.

“Rachael led the session well and is a patient teacher. I recommend giving one of these informative sessions a go.” – Liz Johnson, Pet Health and Welfare Specialist

To book your Focus Guru Power Hour, please find the next one that suits you here and book your place today.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru

Do You Know Who’s Watching Your Business Social Media Posts?

Are you aware of your silent audience? These are people who have you as a LinkedIn connection, Facebook friend or follow you on Twitter, yet you almost never hear from them. They’re your silent audience, the people who are there, but those who don’t regularly like your posts or comment on your articles.

You might be tempted to remove these people, to delete them or block them, but I can share with you a story about how one person in my silent audience messaged me out of the blue and bought my services to help recover a debt from his customer. When I looked at his message, the last time we had exchanged messages was several years ago.

Why Me?

I asked him what prompted him to make contact and why he had chosen me to help solve his problem. He replied saying he’d seen my 4Networking 4Sight “Why I’m a Cyborg”, a presentation I deliver regularly on the networking circuit. He told me he’d read testimonials from my clients and that he wanted my help and no-one else’s. I solved his problem and I know he’s a happy customer who will recommend me for this service in the future.

When Is The Right Time?

I was chosen to provide the credit control debt recovery service for him because of my online reputation. It happened because he had a need for my service at that time. He stepped out of being part of my silent audience. It was the right time for him to contact me.

In my Focus Guru “Making The Most Of Your Silent Audience” Power Hour I help you choose the right ways to engage with your silent audience and how to bring them towards you at the right time.

Who Are You Reaching?

My good friend Stefan Thomas (The Networking Success Programme) is exactly right when he says, “you don’t know who’s watching or who you are reaching”. This means it’s even more important to keep your message consistent, to keep the same tone and language consistent, and to be the person that you portray online.

For example, if you post pictures of large houses and flashy sports cars and imply in your posts that you own them, your audience, silent or not, will find out and may change their opinion of you. So, always be you. Be authentic and you won’t need to keep track of what you’ve said because it will be part of your personality and lifestyle rather than a fake front to remember to upkeep.

Make It Easy

A bonus tip is to make it as easy as possible for your silent audience to reach you. Make sure your contact information is prominent and up to date. Make sure your website has the right information for the products and services you provide. Have you added anything new? Tell your silent audience what it is and make it easy for them to contact you.

If you would like to find out more about your silent audience and how to make the most of your social media connections, please book your Focus Guru “Making The Most Of Your Silent Audience” Power Hour and let’s get started.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru

You Don’t Always Know What You Know – How Your Skills Can Help Others

How many times have you watched someone do something and it’s like they’re performing magic? In a matter of minutes, they’ve effortlessly solved a problem that would have taken you hours or even days! Maybe someone has helped you with something you’d given up on, or fixed something you’d written off as a lost cause?

“How did you do that so quickly?”

Achievement list is more productive (picture of a Penguin because it’s cute!

I believe everyone is good at something and that we are all good at different things. Sometimes we don’t appreciate how often we know things that others don’t. Maybe we just take it for granted that we can install a complicated piece of software, re-tune the car radio, bake a delicious cake, write an blog, organise a sell-out seminar, do a Facebook live, or anything else you find easy but someone else would find impossibly difficult.

“Will you show me how to do that?”

When you’ve solved someone’s problem, taken away their pain-point, and given them the ability to get on with their task, take a step back and see whether you can show them how you did what you did. Have a look at the task from their perspective and see if you can explain it in a way they can easily understand.

“Can I do something to help you?”

Often our help is reciprocated, the law of “what goes around comes back around” kicks in. You’ll soon find sharing your knowledge and expertise pays back many times over. Helping others releases a “feel good factor”, we feel valued and appreciated, which plays a key part in our overall wellbeing.

On a personal level, it’s very satisfying implementing systems and processes to make life easier for people. I work with individuals and teams, streamlining procedures and making life run smoother both at home and in the office. Initially, this was based around helping friends locally, then I realised the potential to help people further afield and today I’m working with clients across the world.

“How can I do that?”

Turning your skills into a business service is easier than you might think. I recommend starting with a list of ten things you think you’re best at. Then ask a trusted friend or colleague to do the same. I can almost guarantee there will be differences between the two lists! Other people are great judges of your skills and the reason for this is simply because you will almost certainly be taking some of your skills for granted. Perhaps you think “everyone can do this” or “everyone should be able to do that”, but they can’t.

Already this month, I’ve helped my 4Networking teams create ways to find new visitors for our meetings. I’ve worked with my Arbonne consultants to promote our products and generate new sales. I’ve worked with clients on accountability, time management, motivation and goal setting. Plus, I’m excited to be offering Mail Chimp training, including software set-up and creating targeted customer lists.

“You don’t always know what you know.”

Remember, everyone is good at something and we are all good at different things. I’m offering a free 15 minute call to help identify your own key skills and strengths. You might be surprised what this uncovers. Once you know what you know I’ll help with strategies and suggestions how you can make the most of your unique abilities. Let’s chat! Please call me on 07756 772950 to get started.

Rachael Chiverton, Focus Guru – Giving You Your Time, Your Way

www.getfocus.guru

Make It Easy To Schedule Your Social Media With “A Post A Day”

This is a new service I’m offering to help small business owners keep on top of their social media. Instead of posting messages on an ad-hoc basis, I can help to write and schedule your posts on a daily, weekly or fortnightly basis. It’s never been easier to take a hands-free approach to staying in your customer’s and prospective customer’s mind.

It's easy to stop social media overload — It’s easy to stop social media overload

How “A Post A Day” Works

It’s easy to get started with “A Post A Day”. With a simple phone call, I’ll ask questions about what you want to achieve with your posts, whether they are to inform, to educate or to entertain. We’ll chat about which social media platform will work best for you, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or multiple platforms. I want to be sure you get the most out of your posts so the phone call to research your aims and objectives is vital.

Why You Need “A Post A Day”

In social media today it’s increasingly difficult to stand out. By continuously posting new and original content the search engines will notice the steady stream of posts and award a higher status to your pages. Many small business owners simply don’t have the resources to dedicate the time and effort for doing all their marketing and social media in-house. If this is you, please get in touch and I will be happy to help.

How to Get Started

We’re all busy people so I’ve made it as easy as possible to get started with “A Post A Day”. You can get started today if you wish. I will run through the following steps and set up the scheduling to begin as soon as you’re ready.

Phone call to discuss which social media platform(s) will be the most suitable for your posts.
Choose the frequency, e.g. every day, weekdays only, weekly or fortnightly.
Decide if you wish your posts to be informative, educational, entertaining or a mixture of these.
Choose whether to add stock photography (or your own photos) to the posts, or use text only.
With these ingredients, the content will be created, and the schedule set up for you.

That’s it. As soon as we’ve chatted, working with my team, I’ll create the content and show you for your approval. Then your posts will be scheduled to go online at the time intervals you have chosen.

Everything is posted using your own social media accounts giving you full transparency and control over the posts. By posting on a regular basis you’re giving yourself and your business the best chance of being seen by your potential audience.

In 2019 there were 3.48 billion people online and realistically it would be impossible to put your message in front of everyone. This is where the targeted posts make the most of your marketing budget. Using “A Post A Day” will take the stress out of your social media.

If you’re going round in circles wondering what to write or whether people will see what you’ve posted, please give me a call on 07756 772950 or visit http://getfocus.guru/a-post-a-day and let’s get started.

Does Social Media Make A Difference To Your Business?

It’s hard to remember a time when social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc., was just used for social interactions. You’d post a photo of your dinner, or your cat, you might keep a journal, or share a joke. Your online friends were people you knew well, people you went to school with or who lived in the same town. Social media was a smaller pool of information with a limited reach and audience.

However, studies carried out in 2019 suggest there are 3.48 billion people using social media on mobile devices with a growth of 297 million users, a year-on-year addition of over 10%. That’s a lot of people you could put your message in front of and social media is now an integral part of most businesses marketing strategies.

For many people, social media is also an essential part of everyday life. Checking for new activity and commenting on recent posts is probably one of the first things many business owners do each day, along with making a cup of coffee and checking emails. You don’t even need to be in the office to do this as social media platforms are available 24×7 on your smartphone and tablet.

If this sounds strange, just consider these key reasons why business owners need social media:

You have access to an instant global audience across multiple platforms.
You can connect directly with potential customers using targeted marketing.
Social media can influence whether people buy your products and services or not.

Going back to the idea of posting a photo of your dinner on social media, if this is done from a business perspective, it can have a substantial impact on the person viewing the post. If, for example, your business is in the fitness industry, a photo of a healthy meal along with a motivational message or special offer could prompt an enquiry from someone. This could lead to them buying a product, visiting your gym, or trying your health programme. All from a photo of your dinner.

Other examples include videos of car journeys to advertise car manufacturers, garages, taxi firms and travel companies. Before and after photos are popular with business owners demonstrating how their hair, make-up and skin care products can transform your look and your confidence. We are very receptive to visual stories and these are extremely successful ways to market almost any product or service.

Social media is an invitation to interact with people from anywhere in the world. If you can post regular, interesting, educational, informative, or simply fun messages, you’ll soon attract a loyal following of people keen to hear what you have to say next.

This is the key to becoming visible online. If you think of the 3.48 billion people online, it can be daunting to start thinking how you can stand out and how you can attract new customers. Simply by delivering regular posts targeted to users on via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, you can maximise the impact of your marketing budget.

This is where I can help. If you’re stuck thinking what to write or worried people won’t see what you’ve posted, I can help. I’ve recently launched a new service called “A Post A Day” designed to take away the stress of creating content and scheduling it across the social media platforms.

So, if you’d like to get your message in front of as many people as possible, please give me a call on 07756 772950 or visit http://getfocus.guru/a-post-a-day and let’s get started.

Merry Christmas And End Of The Year Reflections

Over the last twelve months I’ve covered many different topics through the Focus Guru and RachaelChiverton blogs. Some of the blogs have been written to address common questions I’m asked about business and contracts and others have been about mindset, creating habits and making the best use of time.

Here is a re-cap of everything I’ve covered, from my Communications and Cashflow Workshop with James Perryman, to the business skills we can learn from our pets.

I’ve had some lovely feedback from clients in different sectors who are gaining huge benefits from the improved time management and streamlined processes I have helped to implement.

If I can help you or your staff with any business related issue, please contact me either by emailing rachael@rachaelchiverton.co.uk or by telephoning 07756 772950. I offer a free 15 minute consultation and will work with you to make small changes that make a big difference.

January

February

March

April

May

June

August

September

October

November

December

Relax and Buy Your Christmas Gifts at the Wet Led Pop Up Shop
How to look after yourself and your business in the Christmas party season
How To Schedule Your Social Media So You Can Spend More Time Doing What You Want
Merry Christmas And End Of The Year Reflections

Thank you for sharing this year with me. As 2019 draws to a close, I hope to continue working with you, developing new strategies, boosting your social media presence, creating new habits and being accountable with sticking to them, writing your contracts and enhancing your processes and productivity. Let’s make 2020 your best year yet!

How To Schedule Your Social Media So You Can Spend More Time Doing What You Want

Social media is arguably the most powerful way to transmit your message around the world in seconds. From the moment you think it, you can type it, speak it, video it and within the blink of an eye your message is online for anyone to read, listen to or watch.

If you want to be seen, social media is a great way to publish news about yourself and your business. Writing a post about taking on a new employee, launching a new product, or attending an event, are popular messages to broadcast.

As soon as your post is online, your message is instantly available to people in your circle of friends and connections. Using relaxed privacy settings, friends of friends can view your posts and, if you choose, your message can be broadcast to the world at large.

But, keep in mind your posts aren’t the only posts on the Internet. How will someone see your news above your competitor’s news? Why would someone want to follow your company? How will it benefit them?

If you want to be remembered, it’s important to keep posting new items, new stories and new news that your viewers can absorb. It takes time to remember someone and even longer if there are lots of things to remember at once.

With the quantity of information online, to be remembered takes consistent effort to keep your message at the front of people’s minds.

It’s no longer enough to post once a month as your message will be seen by several people, then pushed further down in their memory as new content from other people supersedes your message. Even posting once a week is having a limited effect for many businesses.

Building up a loyal following takes time and each time you post, the content must add value to the reader, the listener or the watcher. It must inform or entertain. Or both. You may remember the last video clip you watched, or the last Live you watched. Or, as quickly as you watched it, the content perhaps made you think or laugh, and then it was forgotten.

So, the consistency of posting then becomes important. Creating a post a day across different platforms is the consistent way to keep your message at the top of people’s minds. If they need a window cleaner, they’ll think of you. If they need a new car, they’ll think of you. Or an accountant, web designer, solicitor etc. they will think of you. Social media is available for every type of business.

If you don’t think you have enough news to share or are concerned people may find what you do boring, this isn’t the case. There is always something to write. It could relate to trending news, or an anniversary, or to something that’s happened in your working day. Your daily post could mention upcoming events, promotions, awards, functions, legislation changes, motivational quotes.

Anything that could be of value to your audience is worth posting.

But creating content isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. This is where I can help you with the writing and scheduling of your social media to free up your time for the things you want to do. Creating interesting, quality content and scheduling the consistent release of new news and information is a simple way to add lasting value to your social media presence.

Launching this month, I am happy to share my new service called “A Post A Day” which is available to individuals and business owners who want to enhance their social media presence with consistent quality posts every day.

For more information and details about signing up for a trial, please visit https://getfocus.guru/a-post-a-day or call me on 07756 772950 and I can answer any questions about this exciting new service available for your business.

How Small Social Media Changes Can Make A Big Difference To Your Life

There’s no denying social media plays a massive role in our everyday lives. It’s a never-ending source of amusement and entertainment, a bottomless pit of information, research and knowledge. You can keep in touch with almost anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time of the day or night.

Having an active social media presence for your business is almost as expected as your business having a website, email address and telephone number. Rather than contacting you by traditional methods, people want to find things out for themselves. It’s quicker for them and saves you time answering common questions if they can get what they want online. You may have already noticed that your telephone rings less and your mobile beeps more.

This leads into one of the common problems with social media. The notifications. The pings and beeps. The red dots next to your apps with numbers letting you know how many messages you need to look at. The noise and the numbers are designed to grab your attention. Even the bright red colour is psychologically designed to make you stop and look.

Recent research indicates many of us spend up to 12 hours using our devices for social media, messages, responding to emails, gaming, streaming TV, films or radio, looking at articles, posts and status changes, every day!

Why the notifications work so well

Once the red dot with the number flashes on your phone or browser, it sets off a reaction in your brain to let you know something has happened, that something needs your attention. However, if you stop each time a notification arrives, you may find you’re losing hours each day simply from the distraction and the micro decisions you make whether you need to stop and respond, to delete it or deal with it later.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of using social media to boost your self-esteem and self-worth. The reaction from social connections and sharing news is physically and psychologically addictive. Excessive social media is said to give you a high, similar to taking an addictive substance, and the comedown can be devastating causing depression, negative body image, paranoia and loneliness.

How to make changes to be more productive

Making small changes does make a big difference. I work with clients to help distance themselves from the volume of notifications on their social media accounts. I can help analyse the time spent on social media and make suggestions for managing the incoming notifications to improve wellbeing and productivity. The results have been amazing.

“Rachael showed me how to turn off notifications on some of my Facebook groups and set up a timer so I can check how much time I spend online. It feels more manageable now. I’m less anxious and I don’t feel like I’ve missed anything.” – Alison Stead, Spiritual Medium and Copywriter.

My top tips for managing social media

Look at the groups you have joined – do you gain anything from being in them? If not, simply turn off the notifications or leave the group altogether.

Use a timer to measure how long you are on social media. It’s easy for “just a quick look” to turn into half an hour or longer. Ask yourself, “has this been a productive use of my time?”.
Aeroplane mode is your friend – I spoke to a client about this, she removed all shortcuts to social media from her phone and used areoplane mode when going to bed. She texted me the next day

“So grateful for your flight mode tip. I actually slept last night and haven’t even looked at social media today! Fx”

When working with clients I always ask, “what do you hope to achieve from your social media platforms?”. I can help clear the online clutter and enable you to make the best use of your time to achieve your goals.

If you want to interact with more clients or prospective clients, I can help.

If you want to stop using your time unproductively, I can help.

If you have FOMO or are addicted to checking your phone and friends and family have commented, I can help.

Please get in touch on 07756 772950 or visit getfocus.guru.