Learn how a “global mom” does #socialgood while #keepinitreal
This Behind the Seens interview is with Chrysula Winegar, who is a “communicator, agitator, and global mama” working as Senior Director, Communications & Special Initiatives at United Nations Foundation. She is passionate about changing the world.
Originally from Australia, Chrysula and I met virtually online many years ago though we happily discovered we live in the same town IRL. However, we confess that we “see” much more of each other online – thank goodness for social media! I am really excited to share some of her “behind the seens” of doing #socialgood for #globalmoms while #keepinitreal with her family and friends.
What has been a game-changer for growing your audience?
Social media has been the gateway for everything we’re doing regarding social causes and issues.
Originally, it was Twitter. It was a space where I met like-minded people and developed both personal and business relationships. With Twitter, there was this power coalescing around an idea or cause. Over time, I found it to be less effective, and Facebook and Instagram are the more impactful platforms now.
I have learned that social will be ever-evolving. Don’t ever put all of your eggs in one place; always be looking for what’s working now.
The principle of how we connect, how we find people, and create spaces—is not going to change anytime soon—that is our constant. Making use of the benefits of the platforms is what changes.
When we helped build the Giving Tuesday (global day of giving) over six years ago, we knew that social media was pivotal to raising awareness for the campaign. So we created the name and messaging specifically with the hashtag in mind. It was a deliberate decision to use #GivingTuesday to make it even easier for people to share and engage.
What are your favorite social media networks or platforms?
Personally, my favorite is Instagram for really connecting with friends and people who are far away, like my family and friends in Australia and other countries. There is an intimacy that I am enjoying.
I think the only way we are going to get through this logjam is to take time to understand one another.
What are you doing differently this year to reach more people?
We’re using Instagram stories and Instagram takeovers to spotlight our members and have them showcase our work to their communities. Non-profit funds are sacred, so we cautiously use some of our budget on Facebook promotions. The ability to specifically target our audience and highlight our message is unparalleled, so we are very carefully using this platform to expand our reach in this way.
The targeting ability is great, the downside is that without a few dollars behind it, it’s very hard to get your content seen on Facebook. That’s why we are strategic and use funds in a very targeted way. These stories need and deserve to be heard.
You can have the best advertising strategy in the world and unlimited dollars behind it, but content is still king or queen. It may sound a bit cliché, but we know that we have to continue to be better storytellers.
“The only way you can bring folks together on an issue, ultimately, is to tell a story and have that story be real, and raw and powerful (and) at the same really respectful to the person whose story it is.”
We are very cognizant that the message needs to be heard without exposing people’s lives unnecessarily. It’s a fine line that those of us in the non-profit space have to manage. That narrative is essential, so we are always grateful for those people who are willing to share their experience with us.
What’s your secret strategy in connecting with an international audience?
In terms of the global health work that we do, the most powerful way for us to connect is mother to mother. The Global Mom’s Challengewe know that those who want to engage there either: are a mom, have a mom, and/or love a mom. When we can tell a mom’s story as much as possible in her own words, we know that as a mom, you and I and our audience can hear that story, watch that video, or see that photo essay, and really understand and empathize.
I met a mom in Mozambique who walked 15 miles one day to get her kids to a clinic for vaccines. We can really put ourselves in her place and understand what that must have been like. A day of lost wages, hours of waiting when she got there, and a 15-mile walk. With two toddlers. It’s staggering.
My pediatrician is close by. It’s a short drive and a 20-minute wait, right? The ability to use these platforms to stay connected yourself, to take an experience and translate it to our own lives and then realize the gap, is what moves us to get involved. To help. To close that gap. It’s really powerful.
Can you share some stellar stats?
Global Moms Network has more than doubled in the last couple of years. We are a community of about 250 thousand-strong, which translates into a powerful group of people who have raised their hands and said, “I care about the health of women and girls both locally, and around the world.”
It’s a truly global audience now. Just over two years ago, our audience was 90% US-based. Now the US is about 40%, so we’re excited to see that people across the planet have embraced this.
It was a big goal for us. We truly wanted to “put the globe into Global Moms,” and it’s been rewarding to see that happen. There’s no “us and them.” It’s all of us.
How do you use these platforms to stay connected yourself?
Social media allows me personally to share in a way that’s authentic and real. I can be an overshare-er, so I’ve learned that I need boundaries for myself personally and for those whose story I share.
My kids are teenagers, so I am respectful of how things impact them. And of course, I take great care when sharing someone else’s story as well. It’s important to be real, and boundaries help.
I use #keepinitreal – those are the posts that my friends and family interact with the most. Blogging took off because of the authenticity; the real-ness and the personal nature of that medium pulled us in.
That’s MY secret sauce. It’s no secret, though. It’s actually taking away the secrecy. It’s being open about what we’re all going through. When I can take that and translate it into the work, the ability to be real is everything.
What do you do to disconnect? (fun, non-digital stuff?)
We just got a puppy named Milly. She’s utterly divine.
I love YA fantasy fiction. It’s my secret escape and a great way to bond with my daughter.
I take singing lessons just because. My teacher has an annual recital for her students which is a group of teenage girls and me. I participated in the last one and it was a fun, powerful experience. This is a creative outlet that’s just mine. Just for me.
Chrysula is funny and real and doing amazing work. You can follow and connect with her personally here: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Find out how your cousin (and mine) authentically sells books and connects with the world!
Best-selling author, friend, cousin, human guinea pig and general all around great guy, A. J. Jacobs is out with his newest book It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree. He was kind enough to chat with me in the midst of his book launch to share his secrets on how he successfully connects with loyal fans. We chatted about religion, politics, sex, family as well as broccoli, bubble gum and black sheep – oh yeah, we talked about social media and book promotion too!
Check out our conversation – you will definitely learn a thing or two!
Watch:
What’s been a game-changer for you regarding online marketing, or any marketing?
Well, I’ve learned a lot from you and appreciate the tips you share in your newsletter. I do enjoy promoting my books on Facebook and Twitter (and engaging with readers) and I’ve found that it’s best to be really up front.
There are two ways to do this. One is to be blatantly obvious. In fact, I recently shared a post that said “Blatantly self-promotional list of nice things people said about my book.” My audience knows I’m being up front and it seems to work.
Second, even when sharing self-promoting information, I like to make sure there is some added value and/or humor. Recently I spoke at the JCC and I posted “Join us at the JCC even if you’re not a J.”
That isn’t really a joke, but hopefully, it makes someone smile and they find the post at least humorous instead of annoying.
Also, when I promote a podcast, I try to pull out 3 or 4 things to mention. I recently did a Q&A about tobacco enemas and rotting fruit and other important topics – and then the link to the interview. So maybe that is a bit more interesting than “please read my interview”.
Oh my, how will we top that? What I like is that this is such a great extension of your brand and tone. Your writing is also done this way, so it works because you use humor and they know they’ll get a chuckle as they listen in.
Thanks. I hope so. My friend Morgan Spurlock (the documentarian) says to “give them some bubble gum with their broccoli” which sounds a bit odd, but I get the point which is to entertain as well as educate.
That’s why your books are such a hit. There are always some laugh out loud moments. I literally find myself doing a “spit-take” while I’m reading.
You are very nice and one of the best supporters of my writing. Here’s a great strategy for people. Become friends with Nancy Sheed and she will promote your book very successfully.
Aww. Thanks A.J. It’s my pleasure!
Do you have a preferred network or social media platform? Where do you feel like you connect the most, have the most fun or it is easiest for you to go to?
I’m on two platforms, Facebook and Twitter. I have 80,000 followers on Facebook and I think about 25,000 on Twitter. I feel good about that most days, but then I’ll look at a friend who has 4.2 million followers and decide I’m a loser.
It’s all relative, of course (book title!) and you can’t think like that. Comparing yourself to others is such a waste of mental energy. So back to the question; Facebook I like a lot because I am able to do longer posts and hopefully more entertaining posts.
I like posting pictures and the posts that resonate the most are photo-driven.
One of my books is being made into a sitcom (on CBS) and my wife and I took photos of the set and shared them. That was a big hit. People loved it even when I use them to promote the book. I’ve shared photos of me holding the book (this might have been my publisher’s idea) and people really liked it. It is called Facebook for a reason, right? People like faces!
On Twitter, I do more one-liners and try to do 2 non-promotional tweets (observations or jokes) for every promotional tweet.
I do feel guilty every day that I’m not on Instagram, or Snapchat or Facebook Live or whatever. It’s exhausting how much I’m missing.
You are absolved! I say this to people all the time. People who do all the platforms can’t do it well unless they have a support team of people (5 or 6) doing it for them. I know you want to be you. You want the interaction to be from you and with that level of engagement you are so absolved. You do NOT need to be on more channels.
I want to share this about your Facebook posts, the ones that I see that get a lot of engagement, are when your wife Julie posts on your behalf, or shares her take on what’s going on. It’s always funny. You are also wonderful about sharing some self-deprecating photos of yourself and I think we all feel like we get to see the “behind the scenes” (see what I did there?) version of A.J., and we appreciate that.
I do like to post unattractive photos of myself, yes. And they are easy to find. I remember one that got a lot of traction was one of me on a roller coaster with my kids – about to throw up. For the record, I did not get sick, but I did look like I was going to.
The other thing that has worked well for me is posting a short post that has nothing to do with my books. Posts that are somewhat political or outright political have worked.
I did a post about a year and a half ago that I think qualified as “viral”. It got about 20,000 shares. It was a post about an Ann Coulter comment during the Republican debates last year. I’ll keep it clean, but she said something like “How many f*****g Jews do they think are in the United States? She felt they were trying to pander to the Israel lobby.
Well, I figured this was a question that should be answered. So I did a post about how many f*****g Jews are there? I did the math about how often Jews have intercourse, how many were having intercourse while she was speaking and the post took off. That helped me get a ton of new followers on Facebook.
I’ll also add that political posts have been the reason that I’ve lost followers too, and I’m okay with that. I don’t need everyone to follow and it’s a decision that was right for me.
I never used to do political humor, but in the age of Trump, I decided that I can’t keep quiet anymore, and if I lose followers, then so be it.
I recall us discussing this back in May. I wondered if they were just showing up more, or if you were writing more of these types of posts. When I asked, you said yes, it’s become more frequent and more common. I found it interesting to hear your results.
It goes back to your authenticity. You are the nicest guy, and we all want everyone to love us. This also goes back to knowing your audience. You understand that not everyone is your perfect reader, and it’s okay because the others that stick around and follow you really do love what you write, and post and share.
Right! My friend Tim Ferris says there are over 300 million people in the United States alone, and if 90% of them don’t like you, but 10% do, that’s 30 million people. That’s an insane amount of people, so hopefully, my percentage is a little higher than 10% (of people who know me), but you definitely don’t need to appeal to everyone.
It’s impossible to do.
What is different now that you’ve been doing this? What’s moving the needle that is different?
Well, one thing that I’m going to try for the first time is something that many of my author friends have done. I’m sending out a free .pdf of part of my book to my email list so that people can get a a free sample of the content.
My book is about family and ancestry and genealogy, and I have a 20-page appendix at the end. It’s a beginners/dummies guide to genealogy.
I’m going to send that out and I hope that will attract people. There’s another interesting thing happening with this book as well. The marketing department from Simon and Schuster is trying something which is new for us both.
There are several DNA companies who expressed an interest to be involved. So we are partnering with one of them and in the book, you’ll get a discount code for 40% off of their DNA testing.
The book is about $26, so you’re actually going to make money by buying this book.
That’s a great promotion!
I ask authors what they are doing to promote their book, or how they plan to get people to the site and engage with them. Often, the response I get is “well, nothing really.”
It’s a big missed opportunity. I’m glad you are embracing the marketing and promotion part of being an author.
I do enjoy the marketing part much more than I used to. I look at it as a creative endeavor instead of a chore. You’re creative, and lots of marketing people I know are, too.
When I was promoting the book I wrote about the Bible, I tried to visualize how to market that. It’s the Bible. There’s so much to talk about that it was hard to know where to start.
So, I split it up into tiny slivers. I remember I wrote a piece about sex advice from the bible for Glamour magazine. I also did a piece about music in the Bible for Spin magazine.
This is a great PR strategy. Did you use excerpts from the book or were these articles that you wrote?
They were original posts. I did a lot of writing, which is extra work and not always my favorite thing, but they worked. The ideal thing would be an excerpt or a review or feature which is a more direct way to say “buy this book.”
But this works too, and the more tangential connections you can make, the better it is overall for the success of the book.
Well, I can tell you that Google loves that. This has become a key factor in SEO (search engine optimization). It’s a good thing for you, for search and your website, even if you can’t draw a line from an article to book sales.
Okay, it’s time to share: What is your secret sauce to connecting with people or to getting people connected? I don’t want to give away the book, but you did try to organize the world’s largest family reunion. That’s pretty interesting.
Well, I’ll share what I know. This book was interesting because it is really a book about social networks and connectivity, and how we are all related. So I joined this family tree on some of the websites like Genie.com and it was like LinkedIn on steroids.
If I wanted to find a producer on GMA, I’d figure out how they are related to me. Like we figured out that you are my 8th cousin 3 times removed. Then I’d email the producer and I’d be upfront and say “Hey, we’re related. Believe it or not, we are cousins” and I’d explain how I found that and then ask if they’d like to do a favor for a “family member.”
It didn’t always work. I’m sure some of them reported me to security but it did work well quite a few times. You have to be really specific when dealing with traditional media. You have to be personal and then make your pitch.
Another secret would be putting myself in my reader’s mind. I try to understand what others want to see and read. I also try to be aware of what is annoying to me and avoid that. I like posts that are humorous and value-added or things you might now know.
Like when you connected President Obama to some the most right-wing people in the Senate? That’s a big secret sauce moment for this book. That worked out pretty well.
So this brings up something that’s interesting. I’m actually a bit torn about celebrity culture. On one hand, I love it, and on the other, I think it’s destroying society.
So if you can incorporate a celebrity angle that will work. You know… emailing and telling people they were related to me is one thing, but if I could show them how they are related to their hero or a personal hero—then they were hooked!
Instead of focusing on your stellar stats, I wanted to see if posts that get shared and re-tweeted (high engagement) are your indications of what’s working versus the number of likes or followers?
Yes! Engagement is the most important.
For a while, I was doing an article for Esquire Magazine and I was crowd-sourcing advice. I don’t know if someone should break up with their girlfriend or marry their co-worker but the crowd might.
I’d ask people to send in questions and post them on Facebook. I’d get hundreds of replies and I’d engage with them and then select the best to be in the magazine article.
I don’t have time to do it now, but I loved the concept. It got people excited because they were mentioned in Esquire magazine. And people have strong opinions about all kinds of things.
Like airplane armrests and what is the proper way to share it or how to handle the issue when you are in the middle seat. People were super passionate, and I loved that.
I love questions on Facebook, but not when people ask without adding content.
Like when you see a post that says are you a beach person or a mountain person? With no explanation or story.
Right. That question is fine, but the person asking should also share a funny or touching story to provide context. That sort of engagement is very genuine.
Is there anything you can share with us about stuff that didn’t make the book? What got left on the cutting room floor? Are there family secrets you couldn’t share? (Us content people want to know!)
You are one of my readers, and you help me when I’m writing. I’ll send a few chapters out to some of my readers and ask them to tell me what they found most interesting and what wasn’t interesting.
If several people all say that they didn’t like a chapter, I’ll cut it. Not on the opinion of one person, but if there appears to be a consensus. It’s a great indicator of what my readers like
This is a great editing tip. Editing by crowdsourcing – asking for and getting feedback from your readers. I’m not sure all editors will agree, but it’s great to hear what works for you.
Now, A.J., what do you do to get away from everyone when you need to? You know post-book tour and those days when you need to disconnect?
Well, my wife Julie started a business, Watson Adventures, with a friend of mine, where they do scavenger hunts in museums and historic neighborhoods. And they are excellent because they really are offline. Not using a phone, just using your brain and looking for clues in paintings and things like that.
She’s converted me. I don’t think I grew up liking this sort of thing but now I really enjoy it.
Well, they are now in most cities so when we travel, we always do the scavenger hunt in that city. We were in San Diego recently, and we did the one there. It’s really fun.
And it’s a great way to check the quality of the experience!
A.J., I love the new book, and I already have a few people who are getting it for Christmas. I’ll include the link below for everyone so they can buy it, too.
Thanks, Nancy. You are a big supporter, as is your sister Holland (who owns a bookstore). I am going to St. Louis on the tour, and I specifically chose St. Louis because of your sister.
That’s awesome! That’s so nice of you, and she’s really looking forward to it. I’m can’t wait to share this book with lots of people. Thanks, A.J.
In yet another brilliant book looking at the state of the world as only he can, A.J. Jacobs manages to bring the world a little closer with his pursuit of creating a single family tree of every human on the planet. His hilarious tales of cousin connections, while planning a record-breaking family reunion literally had me in countless laugh-out-loud moments. All the while, each chapter manages to shed new light on how intermingled family, history, DNA, immigration and civilization have become. It definitely made me want to me to do more digging around my own family tree. There’s something for everyone in this witty, earnest and heartfelt journey.
Still spinning from INBOUND17, an annual marketing conference in Boston, where I spent four days with 20,000 other fellow marketers, I am excited to share some of the top takeaways and immediately actionable insights. These ideas will help you be strategic about what’s trending in online marketing, so you can stay ahead of the curve and become even more connected to your clients and fans. Dive on in.
1> “Instagram is Facebook’s next Facebook”
So says Facebook’s (owner of Instagram) CEO Jeff Zuckerberg. Straight from the horse’s mouth, Facebook expert Mari Smith advised it is imperative to include Instagram in your social media strategy. When Facebook is putting their energy there, so should you, with opportunities for the fastest growth in growing your followers and increasing your brand awareness.
TAKEAWAY TIP – Connect your Instagram profile to your Facebook page for analytics about how to be more strategic with the right audience. Make sure that your Instagram is “on brand” with the rest of your social media profiles.
2> Video, video, video!
Yes, video continues to be the content darling with social media, especially with Facebook TV and video ads. Also from Mari Smith’s presentation, we heard how Facebook is (still) giving priority to videos created in Facebook—not only for posts, but also for ads. It is getting easier and easier to create more professional ads without having to spend a fortune on video production. Some of the video tools Mari recommended were Wave and Animoto.
TAKEAWAY TIP – If you haven’t started, start RIGHT NOW! Start experimenting and post something THIS WEEK! If you have started, take it up a level – especially if you have a great idea for video or television series.
3> Less is more. Quality over quantity.
20% of your content (the unicorns) is bringing in 80% of your traffic. Work it, be smart, be strategic. This message was repeated in many different forums with varying degrees of statistics. But the general message from all of the speakers I heard (Dharmesh Shah, Hubspot; Larry Kim, Wordstream, and Garrett Moon, CoSchedule) was that you should focus your growth (10x growth, not 10% growth) on these really big content ideas and winners.
TAKEAWAY TIP – Find your most popular content (check the analytics from your website and social media) and make a plan to make it work harder.
4> Be human and connect.
We all want to belong – but we need to be solid in belonging first to ourselves. With a new book out, called Braving The Wilderness, Brene Brown kicked off the conference with a most powerful call for everyone to be more engaged with their fellow humankind. Fresh from the front of the Houston hurricane disasters, she had real life stories and proof that we are capable of being humans together – not apart.
TAKEAWAY TIP – Call, touch, hug and/or really look at someone today and everyday! But also as we think of our companies and brands, it’s imperative to be OK and even stand out or stand alone in our authenticity.
5> Creativity happens whenever we solve problems.
I took comfort in being reminded that being a creator doesn’t mean you have to be an artist or designer, or really good at making things pretty. Specifically, Wharton professor and author Adam Grant had some very pragmatic suggestions no matter what you do or who you are for how to bring creative ideas to life …which often involve working with your grumpy outlier cohorts.
TAKEAWAY TIP – Have a plan for bringing your next big idea to life. Don’t assume the people who are like you or who like you are always going to be your biggest advocates and the people who can most help you succeed.
While on “holiday” I got to spend some time with a family friend, Jody Wallington, who is gifted make-up artist. She is mid-launch with her business and was feeling good about some things, and feeling stuck about many others.
Here’s how we got her unstuck. I’m sharing with the hope that it helps you too!
Watch:
Listen:
Read:
First we looked at what she had done, and what was already working for her.
• Her website is great and optimized for SEO
• She’s set up for local search in her area and her industry
• The site is mobile responsive (a must)
• She is very clear about how she differentiates herself from her competition
• Jody was also very clear about her target audience
The above list is the place to start. If you don’t know exactly who you are trying to reach, then efforts on social media or other advertising options aren’t likely to help.
Jody’s first big challenge was about all of the tools and resources that had been recommended to her. Hootsuite, Canva, Hashtagify, are all good tools, but she was wondering how to use them and what to actually post and create with these tools.
We backed away from the tools and started with her marketing and social media basics. We worked together to think about getting her “content” strategically organized.
Create 3 Buckets
Bucket One – Content Ideas – what are the top 10-12 questions or answers that your ideal clients need to hear from you? What do you know that everyone wants to know from you? Jody listed several things right away.
• What are best products for someone who has received cancer treatment?
• 5 things women of certain age should never do when wearing make-up
• What to do if you are not exactly light, medium or dark?
These 10-12 items can then easily become blog posts or scheduled themes for content.
Bucket Two – Hashtags and Keywords – these are not necessarily the same, but it’s critical to develop the list of words and phrases that you want to be found for or associated with. This is where tools like Hashtagify can help. Here are some things Jody considered:
• Is she a make-up artist or skincare consultant?
• Instead of “bridal parties”, she’s considering “mother of bride” as more her ideal client type
• Hashtags like #lookinggood #feelingfab might be better than #glam or #hot
Bucket Three – Photos/Images – start building a portfolio of images that you can use for blog content, marketing collateral and social media posts.
• Do you have them on hand?
• Can you find them on free or paid photo sites?
• Do you need to create them or set up a photo shoot?
• Do you have a sense of what your branded imagery should look and feel like? (Canva is great for this!)
Creating these three buckets requires effort and research, and literally spending LOTS of time on researching social media and sometimes going down rabbit holes. It might not feel productive at first, but seeing what resonates with you – and recognizing what you audience is paying attention to as well – is a huge help when you start creating your own posts, mages, and content.
Tips for getting started:
Set a realistic schedule and create dedicated (undistracted!) time to do this work.
Figure out a workable system where you are going to track and be able to access this information. (Scraps of paper are not advisable! Think about a cloud based system, so you can)
Start researching influencers or people you admire in your industry and see what is working for them.
Before you start posting all of your great new content, check that all of your online profiles to ensure they are consistent with your brand messaging and images for each platform.
Then we had a bit of an “A-HA” when we working on Jody’s strategy at this point!
While all of the above is critical to appropriately develop your social media and start building content to support your brand, I caution people to realize that this is a marathon vs. race type strategy.
Part of our deep dive planning then turned to developing ideas for FAST TRACK connections and opportunities to get new clients.
Nurture Your Network – Friends, fans and people who already know you can be the best place to start. Find the most direct route to get in front of people who need to refer and recommend your services by letting those in your immediate circle know what you need.
Let them help make introductions and referrals.
LinkedIn – If you don’t appreciate or consider LinkedIn as a critical network for your business building you might want to reconsider.
• This provides a great opportunity to focus on your keywords
• You can start growing your connections
• Connect with influencers or ask for introductions
• It is search-friendly – and has SEO benefits with Google
Start developing an email list and plan to reach your peeps directly in their inbox. I have and could spend hours (watch this space) telling people that building an email list is the most critical thing that they should be doing for their business.
A last word of encouragement:
If promoting yourself and your business feels uncomfortable and icky, like this:
You are not alone. Many people get stuck here. But remember your marketing mindset is an important part of your success. Rather than resisting marketing or continuing to be the world’s best kept secret, it’s time to tackle this head-on.
I challenged Jody (and challenge you) to think about marketing as an extension of service to others. If you can continue to find ways to help people and be of service, and use all of these online tools to do it – then that will be certainly be the most effective marketing you can do!
Are you stuck with your online marketing? I’d love to help you get unstuck, let’s set up a clarity call, so we can get you moving toward marketing success!
Learn how this social media guru builds trust by going LIVE!
Social media trailblazer, national speaker, and CEO of GhostTweeting.com, Nika Stewart has built a reputation for turning entrepreneurs into social media superstars. Her company builds social communities and helps amplify the visibility of celebrities and those who should be. Recently, Nika has been maximizing her exposure and leveraging her clients’ profiles with the magical power of live-video streaming. Let’s learn more!
What has been a game-changer for growing your audience?
“Well, putting my money where my mouth is and truly walking my talk is what grows my audience. In other words, I use all the Ghost Tweeting tools and programs to expand my visibility, grow my audience, and help me get sales from social media. When I recommend any of our programs, it’s because I know they work!”
What are you favorite social media networks or platforms?
“I love Twitter. The culture fits my style – quick thoughts, fast connections, a way to experiment while sharing information. I have found Twitter to be the best platform for growing Thought Leadership in business.”
What are you doing differently this year to reach more people?
“This year, I’ve personally become more active on LinkedIn. And Ghost Tweeting is being more consistent with email marketing. We’re also adding new ways to get in front of our target audience: videos, live-streaming, webinars, and coaching programs.
This May, my partner and I launched a weekly live web show for entrepreneurs, Small Biz Cafe.”
Nika note: I don’t think anyone should add another network until they are extremely proficient and have built systems on the networks they are currently on. Otherwise everything becomes watered down, and nothing is effective.
What’s your stellar secret in connecting with your peeps?
“I seem to be good at building trust on social media. This comes from consistently sharing value, plus daily engagement. We all need to spend time each day personally reaching out and acknowledging our audience. It’s the only way for people to get to know us, like us, and trust us enough to spend money with us.”
Can you share some stellar stats?
“I have a verified Twitter account with 72K+ followers. I get paying clients from Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.”
What do you do to disconnect?
“I love spending time with my family. I enjoy walks with my husband, playing games, and watching Doctor Who with my daughter, and reading mysteries. But honestly, coming up with new business programs and marketing ideas is wildly fun for me.”
Want more?
If you want more information about Nika and GhostTweeting, here’s where you can find and follow her: website, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Is there anything you can share with us about stuff that didn’t make the book? What got left on the cutting room floor? Are there family secrets you couldn’t share? (Us content people want to know!)
