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Using Social Media For Your Business? : 5 Tips To Get You Motivated




Social media has progressed from its infancy stage, with most companies realizing that to truly engage with their audience effectively, they need to have a social media strategy.


According to an eMarketer report, Worldwide Social Network Users: 2013 Forecast and Comparative Estimates" that nearly one in four people are using social networks with a predicted 13% rise in 2014. Social Media is an effective way to drive traffic to your business, if done correctly, equally it can hinder your progress and put of your customers if done incorrectly. We hear stories everyday of horrific blunders on companies social media profiles, make sure you are not one of them!


Here are a few tips you can implement right now and change the way you look at your companies social media;

Social Media: Brands Voice


Your social accounts are an extension of your brand, customers no longer pick up the phone or write a strongly worded letter to your head office. Their first port of call is your social media profiles, they are both the bulletin board and your customer feedback sheet.


People engage with a brand that has personality. You need to personify your brand on social media, give yourself a clear voice that your customers can get behind. People are bombarded with offers and products in their face for quite a large portion of the day, they pick up their phones to be entertained, so entertain them. Don't be a faceless company that keeps talking about their "AMAZING DEALS!!!"

What & When? 



Timing is everything, if your audience isn't online then you wont get your maximum engagement. Content is the all important factor, your content needs to be relevant, engaging and where applicable it needs to give your customers a call to action. There are many ways to measure when your audience is online and what content they engage with.
Remember people love pictures and videos!  tweets and Facebook posts have been reported to receive 70% more engagement when a picture or video is attached.
It is time to expand, with a content strategy plan and the right tools you will be able to spread your message across a variety of platforms to maximize your reaches potential; Instagram, Tumblr, Google+, Pintrest.


Keep It Relevant


We understand this may seem like an obvious one, however with the amount of non-followers to this rule, we feel we should talk about this. Lets get one thing straight, your audience are following your social media profile for a few reasons; They have bought your product/service before, have a desire for your product/service or find your profiles to be engaging & entertaining. Don't ruin that by posting irrelevant 'hot-topic' stories just to try to draw an audience.
Be engaging - people like to know that there are real people behind the curtains. Post exciting photos, funny stories and make your customer feel like they are a part of your company. With consistent content you audience will feel they know you as a personality, that is how you win their loyalty.

Think Before You Post


There have been some quite humorous cases of companies not thinking before they post something, however keeping on top of this can save you a few embarrassments while showing your sensitivity to a situation.
For example if a major event happens, make sure to go and check your schedule and edit any upcoming posts that may conflict with the event. There is nothing worse for a brand than appearing insensitive to a current event, this is where relevancy also comes in. Give your condolences where relevant, but try to stay out of unrelated topics. When unsure of what to say, silence is the best policy.


Screen-shot-2014-11-16-at-6-40-12-pm


DiGiorno clearly tried to riff on a Twitter trending topic without taking the extra 30 seconds to research what that trending topic was about: domestic violence. Needless to say, this tweet did not go over well and the brand was forced to apologize.Ref

Honesty


Finally, honesty is the best policy. Privacy is slowly decreasing is this online world of ours and sometimes a  digital mistake can be blown out of proportion. If you make a mistake, act human. Apologies and be sincere, if you try to palm off the mistake as 'hacked' or another excuse, there will always be someone there to call you on it. Act with integrity and people will respect your brand.

12 Free Online Courses For Entrepreneurial Success

So you've decided on starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur but don't know where to begin?

You know you want more control over your life, your work, your wealth and job satisfaction. You want the excitement of new opportunities, challenging your skills, abilities and determination. You want the flexibility and freedom to work your own hours, be your own boss and spend more time at home with your family.

Entrepreneurs are the driving force behind our economy. Small businesses drive wealth and new jobs into our economy and as a result, many big business leaders, economists, politicians and educators believe that encouraging an entrepreneurial culture is paramount to collective economic and social success on a local, national and global scale.

University courses are becoming more an more inaccessible to low income families, and many students are simply not seeing the value of a degree, especially to those who are determined to run their own business. Whilst its true that you don't need a formal education to be an entrepreneur, its important to keep learning new and relevant skills that can be applied to power your entrepreneurial ventures.

Thanks to the rise of online learning platforms such as Udemy.com, learning new skills on the internet has never been easier and more accessible. There is a plethora of free courses which will equip you with everything you need to think like an entrepreneur, how to start your first business, how to find funding and so much more!

So here are 12 of the best free online courses for new entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners that you can take today!

Basics Of Entrepreneurship:


"In this course, you will learn how to be an entrepreneur from Steve Blank. No matter what business vertical you're entering, serial entrepreneur Steve Blank outlines a few points of necessary focus for the emerging business start-up, including market opportunity, market regulations and distribution, competitors and complimentors, and technology breakthroughs. He notes that the customer is not always the same thing as the payer, and that this bifurcation is creating interesting new business models. Take this course and start learning about becoming an entrepreneur."

  2.   21 Critical Lessons For Entrepreneurs

"Whether you aspire to start your own business or are a serial entrepreneur, this entrepreneurship training offers real-world insights that can be put into action. Jason Nazar, CEO of Docstoc, shares important lessons learned over his career, first by working with new companies then on to starting his own successful business. From the early stages of vetting your idea and raising money to hiring the best team and continuing to grow your business, this training offers poignant insights from a real entrepreneur that can be applied to any business."


"Successful entrepreneurs understand that entrepreneurship is a process that can be learned and improved upon with experience. This Entrepreneurship course provides a series of lectures that can guide an aspiring entrepreneur through the steps that will greatly increase their chances for successfully turning their idea into a successful business. The Entrepreneurship Course is designed to be viewed as an overview for those who want to learn what entrepreneurship is really all about."

Starting A Business:


"Build: Lessons learned in agile, continuous development.
Measure: Case studies on pivots & minimum viable product (MVP).
Learn: Best practices in customer development.
Recorded at SXSW Interactive 2012, this course is the only place where you can find all presentations and videos for the entire Lean Startup event and learn lean methodology for startups from the leading experts."

 5.  Basics of Starting an Online Business

"Learn everything you need to know to start your online business! From business plans to marketing to inventory management to time considerations, Chris Benjamin the Rogue CFO helps guide you through the steps to start your business."

 6.  Start up or grow your business: From employee to entrepreneur

"Are thinking & acting like an 'Employee' or an 'Entrepreneur'?
Discover if you have all THREE core foundations rock solid so you can really grow your business!"

Funding, Financial & Investment For Your Business


"This course is for startup entrepreneurs who need a simple understanding of bookkeeping and accounting basics and who don't have a lot of time.
It consists of 9 very short videos (they average under 3 minutes) that cover:
• creating invoices and getting paid
• receiving and paying bills
• doing a bank reconciliation, and
• how these things lead to your financial statements.
If you're just starting out and you want to manage your business more effectively then you need to understand financial basics. This course is for you."


"One of the most critical issues facing entrepreneurs is deciding if and when it makes sense to raise outside capital. In today's entrepreneurial environment, there are many funding options and competitive pressures to grow rapidly. Access to capital cannot only help accelerate product development and sales, but in many cases, partnering with the right investors can influence the trajectory of a business."


"Ready for angel funding?
This course will give you some tried and tested tips and techniques for speeding up your angel investor funding.
I would write a lot more justifications but really...that second bolded sentence is exactly what this is all about so enough with the copywriting 'fluff' already....
And for a short time, its free, so what are you waiting for?"

Marketing Fundamentals:


"How would you like to never have to worry about getting new customers in your business ever again?
Some people don't think its possible...
But successful business people are doing it right now...
Everyone else, though, are struggling just to get 1 or 2 people to say yes to buy their product or service - and it takes them 3, 4, even 6 months to do it!
This class will teach you the exact step-by-step system that you need to follow - in order to get you to a place where you can get customers any time and anywhere.
Once there, you'll never have to worry about getting new customers ever again..."

 11.  How to Write The Ultimate 1 Page Marketing Plan

"Do you have your Marketing Plan yet?
If not, your'e not alone.
The truth is that most business owners do not have one.
But boy, they sure would make a lot of money if they did!
If you didn't know, statistically, business owners who have a marketing plan are 80% more successful than those without one."


"Social media is not a passing trend, and today every business is expected to have an active presence online. But if you’re new to it, or you’re the only one managing social media for your business, how do you know where to get started with your social media plan?
HootSuite University is pleased to deliver tactical courseware on Creating a Social Media Strategy."


Can you recommend any other free online courses for entrepreneurs? Let us know in the comments below!

Cherry Leaf E-Learning



In a world where information is readily available at the click of a button, the thirst for knowledge has never been greater. Leading busy lives with responsibilities means that not everyone can commit to a full-time or even a part-time education course. 

We want to change that! 

 With educational costs increasing and our spare time decreasing, we are always looking for the most efficient and cost-effective way to learn. At Cherry Leaf E-Learning we focus on the following; 

Clear & Concise Content
Easy To Understand & Engaging
Providing consistent updates and new courses.

We understand that time is a valuable resource, so we condense all of our in-depth training courses into easily digestible sections. This allows you to study at your own pace in any way you feel comfortable.

Our team will be there with you every step of the way to listen to your comments, needs and desires. This allows us to improve and provide better content for our learners, we see your education as a long term relationship with us and we wish to nurture it.

If you can see the true beauty in the program then getting started will be incredibly simple!