Okay so I have to admit my guilty pleasure is watching Food Network TV and I love the competition series because I always look at it from a marketing perspective because after all competitors are not only selling their skill but their personality and brand at the same time.

What I learned about marketing this week from Next Food Network Star

1. What is your core marketing message? (or as they call it on this show is your point of view)
Your core marketing message should define who your most ideal client would be, then you need to discover what you do that differentiates yourself from the rest of your competitors and then create a strategy around it.  Often times the judges on the show would provide feedback to the contestants sharing that they didn’t deliver their message. Lesson “Get clear on your core messaging add in why you are different and be able to communicate that consistently?

2. Communicate your story
We all have a story to share – that is our “Why” and our brand.  But often contestants just like business people are not sharing their authenticity and being real about who they are and it comes off as insincere or contrived. That was obvious in the most recent episode where the contestants received feedback from a target audience.  Lesson was “Be true to yourself and give people the real you, remember people do business with people first.”

3. Listen to your customers
Ask your customers for feedback, this will keep you on track with attracting more customers!  Makes sense right?  Well, the downfall of many of the contestants in this past weeks show was that they did not listen to the feedback from the judges or target audience when they had the opportunity.  Lesson was “Ask your customers what they like about you, why they do business with you and how you can be better and then act upon that.”

4. Do your market research
Before you jump into a market you need to learn as much as you can about the market and ask yourself some important questions such as;

 - Does the market want what I have?
 - Do they find value in what I do or offer?
- Are they willing to pay for what I am offering?

A great example of this was from last nights episode where the contestant named Andres was trying to create a brand around teaching young men to cook, but what he learned and was eliminated for was that young men didn’t care, they simply didn’t want what he was selling.  He actually had been given some great advice on creating a different point of view for the weight loss market because he had such a great back story but he ignored that advice and lost.  Lesson was “Pay attention to the market research!”

5. Learn to communicate your core message
You may know in your head what your core message or point of view is, but if you can’t communicate that to your audience you will lose.  I see the contestants each week on Next Food Network Star struggle with verbal communication. Now I understand that there is added pressure to be put on the spot while appearing on a TV show, but with that said I am certain all the contestants knew before they applied to be on the show that they would have to demonstrate a point of view and be consistent with that messaging through out the season.

In marketing a business I teach clients to practice a brief statement that they can use every time someone asks “What do you do?”   So while keeping in mind what you want to be known for.  Here’s a great tip I learned from marketing expert John Jantsch, start with an action verb + next add your target audience + finish which how you will solve their problem. {Click To Tweet this tip}

Example: “I help small business owners gain more exposure both offline and online through creative marketing solutions.”

Lesson was to learn your marketing message and be able to communicate it consistently to your audience.

So what do you think?  Do you know your core marketing message?  I’d love to hear your comments & feedback below! – JoAnne

The post 5 Facinating Marketing Lessons From Next Food Network Star appeared first on Marketing Dish.

I am a real advocate of using LinkedIn for business because I know you can target your ideal market, meet people quickly to start developing relationships.  With that said there are some key strategies that will make you stand out from the crowd and start engaging with the right people.

Develop a marketing & social media strategy

As with any social network, it is important to develop a refined strategy before you jump in and start inviting people to your network.  Start by listing your basic goals such as brand awareness, lead generation or maybe connecting with colleagues for networking.  One of my LinkedIn strategies is to expand my referral partner base, so I spend about 15 minutes a day searching for people that fit my criteria.

Stand out from a crowd and get noticed

When inviting someone to your network if you want to get noticed and be memorable, do NOT use the default invitation to connect, not only is this lazy but you will never stand out from the crowd. I suggest you start by addressing the person by their first name, and then briefly tell them why you would like to have them in your network. You can always start to open the door by saying something like “I notice we have many mutual connections, I’d like to learn more about what you do and who you serve.”  This way, you actually begin a conversation!  Take advantage of the notes section and makes yourself a note how you met your new connection & other pertinent information you want to remember.  Finally, do not start off an invitation with a sales pitch, this isn’t a strategy that wins many friends!

,

Now start the conversation

After you have invited some targeted connections to your network, now build the relationship by sending followup messages, comment on their posts
or engage within a mutual group.

The post How To Grow Your LinkedIn Network Strategically & Quickly appeared first on Marketing Dish.

Marketing consists of many components, but simply put marketing is about promoting your business through the know, like, trust factors.

KNOW: We start by exposing people to who we are

Via our content and messaging on our websites, social media sites, brick & mortar stores, and other collateral material.
Networking is a way to gain exposure as is teaching or training and advertising.

LIKE:  People will start to resonate with us

So how do we get people to like what we have to say, and I mean more than clicking the “Like” button on Facebook. Sometimes I think we forget that we are people first and business owners second. Often we do business with people we like and that can be for a variety of reasons such as clicking with someone’s personality, sharing common interests and having respect for the business knowledge and experience.  In business we tend to like people that offer us value, are givers and show us that they care about our success.   Sharing your personal story is a powerful way to build a relationship with your prospects, those who can resonate with your story will stick around to learn more.

TRUST: You’ve now built credibility

I believe trust and credibility go hand in hand.  When we exhibit true credibility through through what we give and share social proof that others have found trust in what we have to say, than we too will begin to trust.  In business when you provide great content that your prospects find value in and you see social proof through testimonials or referrals we discover trust.   Once trust is established prospects turn into customers!

{TWEET THIS} “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”  ~ Seth Godin

Steps to marketing your business

1.) Develop a strategy before you implement the tactics.  So often I see people putting the proverbial cart before the horse where they are busy posting their latest and greatest offer on social media with no strategy as to why and what results they will gain.

2.) Have you narrowly defined your target market?  Do you know the characteristics of your ideal client and where to find them?

3.) How are you different than your competition?  Can you clearly show how you are different?  If not most people defer to price.

4.) What would your target market expect from you?  If you have an email list, how often to you poll your followers and ask what challenges you can solve for them.

5.) Do you take the time to engage with your online audience? or are you shouting into cyber space hoping someone is listening.

6.) And finally are your leads converting into business? after all isn’t that why you are in business to make profits?

So how are you balancing your marketing plate?  What is working for you?  Please share in the comments below, I’d love to hear some successes that all the readers can benefit from.

The post Having A Well Balanced Marketing Plate appeared first on Marketing Dish.

Today I attended a workshop sponsored by the SBA, SCORE and AARP for people over 50 who want to start new businesses. SBA in partnership with AARP are promoting a program called “Encore Entrepreneurs.”  According to the SBA, a growing number of people retirement age are now embarking on new businesses, the call then “Encore Entrepreneurs” meaning the second act in life!

Leverage Your Experience

I believe many people are retiring or have been subject to layoff and downsizing – that means more and more people 50+ are now coming into a new time where they are now leveraging the years of experience, and passions for new business ventures.  Your years of experience are an essential part of moving forward with confidence.

What are the challenges?

From my years of working with small business owners the biggest challenge is technology. Adopting a new mind set into the digital marketing world  is mandatory in these times if you want to be found. As with any challenge, we can learn these skills.  Whether you want to do it yourself or hire out these skills, it is a good idea to at a minimum have a good understanding so you know what you want, where you want to go and if you hire it out have the ability to communicate the tasks you want someone else to perform.

Helpful Resources for 50+ Entrepreneurs

SBA - Encore Entrepreneurs

SCORE

AARP Resources

Web Support Team – Outsourcing company who can make your website, social media, email etc. Technology changes for you!

What’s Your Marketing Strategy?

So how will you harness your experience, communicate your message and gain targeted exposure?  I can help – schedule your Marketing Strategy Session!!  I’ll get you focused and om your way quickly,

The post Are You a 50+ Entrepreneur? appeared first on Marketing Dish.

In marketing, the message you communicate to your ideal audience must be compelling and relatable. You want to connect with your audience on a level that makes them say “Oh I resonate with her or her story.” Telling a story is the best way to make a human connection.

Storytelling is not only the easiest but often the most effective form of persuasion

If you are willing to share your story your are more likely to attract and retain targeted followers who connect with you.  You’ve all probably said at one time or another “You get me” – well that applies in all scenarios including business.  If someone believes that you have a shared experience and get where they are coming from the more likely you are to gain a customer.  Simple as that, so what’s holding you back from letting your story out?

The know, like, trust factor

What you have built through your story telling is the like and trust factor.  It is a fact that we all do business with people we know, like and trust which equates to this following formula I learned from copy writer, Kevin Rogers;

• Know – is revealing yourself in a relatable way
• Like – wins you respect through authenticity
• Trust – by sharing your struggles & secrets as to how you overcame something, you gain trust

How will you tell your story?

Video is a great way to communicate your story. For example, create a welcome video for your website with these four components to the video

1. Introduce yourself and what you do
2. Briefly state a struggle you had that your current audience will relate to and communicate it
3. Tell them what you discovered while you were overcoming your struggle
4. and finally convey the result you got from the solution

Have you had success communicating your story to your audience?  Please leave me a comment below and share how you turned a struggle you once had into helping others.

P.S.  One of my favorite non-profit companies here in the US who is known for story telling is STORY CORPS. They believe in the power of story as a legacy and that stories should be shared.  Check them out when you have a little time to browse their site.

The post The Power In Storytelling appeared first on Marketing Dish.

The latest updates affect your cover images and it is important to know that non-compliance can result in Facebook closing your page down.  Would they actually do that?  I don’t know,but let’s not take the chance.

In the Facebook Guidelines, it clearly states that Cover “All covers are public. This means that anyone who visits your Page will be able to see your cover. Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines. Covers may not include images with more than 20% text”

Here is a free tool that will help you determine if you have more than 20% text on your cover image:  you put your Facebook page ID in the box in the lower left side. Once you see your cover image in the box, start clicking over the boxes that show text and the grader will show you what % of text you have.  If your current cover image has more than 20% of text – best get it changed? (maybe it’s time for a new image anyway)

The post How Facebook’s 20% Rule Affects Your Pages appeared first on Marketing Dish.

Initially your content builds trust and likeability with your audience, it shows them you have an expertise in the topic that you are sharing. Just like in cooking, we mix the right ingredients together to create the result we want – this is no different in marketing.

We mix various forms of content together to share our topic, brand and product.

What types of content could you be creating?

• Blogging
• Video
• Podcasts (video or audio)
• White papers or reports
• Email

Creating content for your audience

When creating any type of content it is important to remember to create it for the audience you want to attract, and a good question to ask yourself is “what result does this person want from me?”

Content drives leads

By providing really good content that helps your audience, they will become more interested in working with you and purchasing your products & services.

Consistency is the key

Consistency of your content builds your exposure and gains you more followers! Creating a content calendar is a great way to stay consistent and makes you accountable to getting it done! To get started challenge yourself to one blog post a week, one video every other week that you can include in a blog post or email you send out to your email list and post on your social media accounts.

Please share below, what type of content marketing is working for you?

The post Content, Adding The Right Ingredients appeared first on Marketing Dish.

photo from ABC’s The Taste

Who was the ideal client?

The ideal target audience or client for this show was someone who is a passionate cook.  Because the show included contestants that were both professional cooks as well as home cooks  showed that if you had passion and a talent for cooking you could win the grand prize on this show.

How Was The Show Different?

If you watch many food shows on TV what differentiated this show was the blind taste, the one single bite that would distinguish one from the other and that it was comprised of both professionals and non-professionals competing for the same prize. 

First Impressions Matter

This show was a great example of how making a first impression was important to our success. In this case the analogy was a bite of food, but you can apply this to your business.  The first taste of what your ideal client gets from you matters, it will leave them with an impression if they want to come back for more.

Continue To Show Your Expertise

Each week as the contestants continued on in the competition they had a chance to show their expertise one more time, just like you and I.  We offer value to our ideal audience by giving them what they are looking for.  We offer it to them in small bites while they get to learn of our expertise and we build confidence in our products or services. 

Leveling The Playing Field 

One thing I loved about this show was that the contestants were professionals as well as home cooks who just had a passion for cooking.  I liken this to what social media as a marketing tool has done for all of us.  Everyone from fortune 500 companies to you and I now have a level playing field when we share our messages via social media channels.  Your posts will be in the same Twitter stream as Southwest Airlines for example. So you have the same opportunity to get in front of your target audience to share your passion – now that is pretty darn cool.

So have you clearly defined your target client or audience?  How are you different from others in the market?  What is the first impression you are giving people?  Are you sharing your expertise bit by bit to build confidence and let your expertise shine?

As we offer great bites of our expertise we let people decide if they want more! {tweet this}

Need help with your marketing message?  Work with me: http://www.marketingdish.com/workwithjoanne/

The post What “The Taste” Taught Us About Marketing appeared first on Marketing Dish.

WHY?  We are drawn to images, and images tell our story. So how can you easily add photos to your blog posts?  Check out these simple steps.

• Choose a Photo

You can either use your own original photos or you can buy a photo from a stock photo site where you are granted permission to publish stock images in exchange for a fee.  I discourage you from grabbing photos off the internet that you do not have permission to use, first off it is illegal and second just so you know, you are infringing on intellectual property through copyright.

Here are a few sites I recommend for getting some great stock images:  Always acknowledge where you got the photo in the “caption” section after you upload your image.

www.photos.com

www.istock.com

www.kozzi.com

www.123cf.com

Generally these companies offer a discount the more images you purchase so if you buy a pack and if you plan to blog with consistency which I recommend you do, than buy a package. When you actually download an image, only download the “web” version.  It is less expensive and a lower resolution image which is all you need for the internet.  Higher resolution images are for print materials. Once you purchase that image you can re-use it if you wish, so for example you may want to add text on a previously used image if it applies to another post or use it on your social media sites.

from photos.com

This example shows the caption indicating where the photo came from and the image size is a “Thumb Nail” sized at 150 x 150 pixels.

• Upload Image & Choose Size

After you purchase your photo and have saved it to your computer,( I suggest you keep a folder called Clip Art Purchased or something like that) than you will want to choose a size that will work best in your blog post.  First step is to use the “Featured Image” button to place your primary image at the top of your post.

You can adjust the size if you want by grabbing the corners of the image and making it larger or smaller, but using this function placed your image in the exact place you put your cursor before inserting the image.

You can choose a thumb nail size (which is in the example above) at 150 x 150 pixels
which is a pretty typical size in most posts. Second option is to choose a medium size which usually is 300 x 200 pixels, or the full size of whatever you uploaded your photo as.  Sometimes it takes some playing around with to get the size that works in your post.   If you are using wordpress as your blog platform, then you will see how easy it is to delete or edit your image in the illustration below. You can also drag the corners of your image to increase or decrease the image size.

• Add Text To An Image

Adding text to an image can enhance your message and is simple if you know the tools to use!  I like to use a free photo editing tool called “Pic Monkey”.  This tool lets you edit the size of the image and add text as well as other embellishments to your image.  You easily upload your image from your computer into the Pic Monkey editor and away you go with creating custom message for your image such as you see in the image below.  If you have graphic skills you may have graphics programs such as Photoshop or Illustrator that will allow you to edit your images.

www.photos.com

Typically adding one photo to your blog post is enough but it also depends on the business you are in.  As an example if your business is filled with visuals such as fashion or food than it may take multiple images to tell your story.

 So go out and create your perfect blog post and share it with me on my Facebook page or send me a link on Twitter!

The post How To Easily Add A Photo To Your Blog Post appeared first on Marketing Dish.

photos.com

Your email or social media accounts?  Unfortunately there are lots of scoundrels out there messin’ around with our lives online and protecting our online identities is paramount via your password security.

I have had my Twitter account hacked recently and if you happened to be the recipient of a strange direct message from me, accept my apology.  I immediately changed my password and replied to each person who I was aware of that got the bogus direct message. I have had my websites hacked and my email over the years.

So how can you protect yourself online?

1.) change your passwords every 3 months, if you think that’s a hassle let me remind you it’s a bigger hassle to fix the problem once you’ve been hacked. Also, if you use a tool like Roboform, which I use to save my passwords then it is pretty easy to maintain your security.

2.) Keep your passwords secure and don’t share them with. Sometimes we need to share them with our team, but remember to change them after allowing someone access to your accounts.

3.) Please encourage your employees to maintain the same practice of changing passwords for their email accounts and be sure your tech team changes passwords every 3 months and advises your team as part of your system.

Email accounts are particularly susceptible to hacking, check with your email platform provider for steps to protect your password. For example, Google Gmail offers a 2-Step Verification Process which protects your Gmail account.

Tools To Help You With Your Password Security

• Roboform – saves your password in an easy to use system on your tool bar, auto-populates your logins
• PC Tools Secure Password Generator – create secure passwords for you to use, better than you using your dogs or kids names!

The post Protecting Your Online Indentities-Password Security appeared first on Marketing Dish.