Christmas 2016 and wrapping it up on a high

December 19, 2016sonyakolodziejska1301 13 Comments

Christmas 2016 and wrapping it up on a high

Christmas is a special time of year for many, for me it is. It marks almost the end of the year and time spent with family. What does Christmas mean to you and your business?

How are you wrapping up your business for Christmas?

As with anyone who works for themselves, it is almost manic right before you take some time off and then busy when you go back to work. I am taking off 2-3 days, which means all those days worth of social media for myself and clients needs to be taken care of, so that i am not busy doing any of that on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. So the work has to start right here and now. To be honest, it should have started last week, but life got in the way and things got hectic. So i woke up today knowing full well it would be manic. Also knowing full well tomorrow would be too.

How do i prepare?

Scheduling tools of course. I’ll ensure everything is scheduled for those days across my social media platforms and my clients social media. I couldn’t live without these amazing tools. I use Hootesuite and the free Facebook scheduling option for clients Facebook pages that i manage.

Christmas is one of the only times i switch off properly, but i also understand the importance of staying in front of your audience during the holidays. Why? Not everyone celebrates Christmas and some people are alone over this season. It is those people that will still be online over those 3 days. So let them know you are still around and still care. I will pop on and interact when i can across my social media platforms, but i don’t sweat it. I do it when i have a couple of minutes. It’s far more important for me to be with my kids and family and NOT have my phone glued to me during Christmas.

Wishing you and your business the very best of Christmas and 2017

Wishing you a very happy Christmas

I’d like to take this moment to wish you all a very merry Christmas and may your business prosper in 2017. I have big dreams and goals for 2017 and i have every intention of fulfilling them. You can do it too, take the time out to write your goals. Not just write them though, also have an action plan of how you plan on achieving these goals.

My last parting words are these, if you are considering outsourcing during 2017 to grow your business, then please read This Checklist to ensure you are outsourcing the right things.

Have a truly fantastic 2017 and be amazing! You’ve got the power to make great changes and one big tip, don’t be afraid to ask for help, it’s what people like us are here to do… Serve you and your business. Because we have been trained to know things you might not know.

Why blogging is absolutely essential for your business.

October 14, 2016Social Success with Sonya 12 Comments

Not blogging? You’re leaving money on the table.

Why blogging is absolutely essential for your business.

Blogging is no longer an option in business, every business should be doing it and here are some of the reasons why:

Blogging drives traffic to your website
It increases your SEO
It positions your brand as an industry leader
Blogging will also help develop better customer relationships

As i often tell clients, blogging should be an integral part of your business and marketing strategy. It’s like social media, it’s no longer optional for any business, small or large corporations. You need to be doing it.

Most businesses are on one or two social media platforms right? Don’t forget blogging will also give a business more valuable content to share with their audience too. If blog posts are useful and what an audience want to read, then those posts and will get click throughs to their website, which help both with SEO and credibility for any business.

Fresh content is always going to be essential with your social media platforms, so be sure to be posting regularly. Several times a day (at least) on your social media platform, with great graphics and the odd link to your website. Don’t over market, you need to post content that people want to engage with.

How Often Should I Be Blogging?

Firstly, I recommend at least once a week, which therefore lets google know your site is active and provides your audience with fresh content to read. If you can blog more often then that is fantastic, keep doing what you’re doing.

What Should I Write About?

Write about your products, how useful they are and any tips you can provide. Be a resource of knowledge for others. If you provide a service, then provide useful tips. You’ll find my blogs and posts on social media are more about giving tips and inspiring small businesses to keep going and not be afraid to ask for help. Furthermore don’t be the person who just sells, sells, sells. It’s boring and it’s not what people want to read.

Finally, if you’re not blogging, get a WordPress site opened and blog, blog, blog. Have fun and furthermore, enjoy it and don’t forget, provide great content every single time.

Need help with blogging or a little training? Let’s Connect Here.

Preparing For Outsourcing

October 3, 2016Social Success with Sonya 29 Comments

Preparing for Outsourcing

Preparing For Outsourcing

Are you preparing for outsourcing but not sure which steps to take first? Over loaded with work? Not enough hours in the day? Then i am guessing you have been thinking about outsourcing but may not be sure where to start? Let me just say that is completely normal.

Here is what i need you to do: Go and grab a piece of paper and maybe a coffee or tea to keep you company. Then let’s go through a few steps to help you decide which part of your business you’d like to outsource.

Outsourcing Steps – Let’s Write A List (I do love a good list)

Firstly, outsourcing is an exciting time, it means you’re serious and ready to take that next step. So let’s get everything on paper that takes up a bunch of your time. Is it content creation? Scheduling on your social media platforms? Let’s write down all the points that take up several hours of your day/week and that maybe you don’t particularly enjoy.
Now let’s prioritise that list into what you like doing, to what you like doing the least. Beside each item, put how many hours a week you spend doing that project/task.
Now let’s decide if these tasks are something Only you can do or can somebody else jump in and help? For instance, content creation can easily be outsourced, as well as blogging, scheduling and interacting with people over on your social media platforms. Then there may be things like replying to emails that maybe you’d like to do only because you have a specialised niche.
Lastly but not least and an important part, let’s think about what you can afford to pay monthly to outsource. Outsourcing isn’t always cheap (not if you want it done properly anyway) Sometimes you need to build up or save to start outsourcing but once you see how many hours a week you are saving, therefore enabling you to expand your business and also spend time with your family, you will see that outsourcing was worth every penny and you’ll find yourself outsourcing more.

What else can a good VA do?

Most virtual assistants are happy to cater and work out a specific package just for you and your business, dependant on your budget. So don’t be afraid to ask. But also do remember that a good VA won’t do anything for free (or close to free) they value their time and expertise and they have families to feed too.

Welcome to the world of out sourcing, where your journey is about to step up to a new level.