How To Make Your Content Shareable

Anyone that works in marketing knows that shares on a post are a key component of determining its success;  shares organically generate attention, increase your reach and create an environment that is open for more likes. In a sort of domino effect,  a shared blog or social media post will be shared by one person, then another, and another yet after that continually. This sharing community can help build brand awareness organically, and all you have to do is create content that your audience wants to share.

To do this you must answer these questions: Who is your audience? Who is their audience? What type of content is being shared in this environment? Who do these audiences follow? Once you have the answers, you can begin to generate relevant content that your audience will want to share with theirs. Take some of the following points into consideration when creating content:

TITLE

There are mountains of digital content available. Close to two million blog posts are written every day. Social media user numbers are increasing every day. Writers and social media users are constantly creating, sharing and liking content. It’s a climb to get your content noticed. A key to getting noticed is having an eye-catching title. To do this, start small. Have your general topic flushed out. From that topic, you can come up with a few more specific title options. These titles can also act as a guide so that your blog post can move in a more specific direction.

Now cut apart those titles to build out the title you’ll use. Test titles with bold, strong language against more conservative and direct titles, and compare. Choose a title that works for you, your content and your audience.

SEO

SEO is important to get initial traction. But trying too hard to optimize can make your titles and posts sound awkward and often robotic (also, Google doesn’t reward over optimization, and in some cases punishes it by ranking your posts lower). Remember, many potential readers are scanning titles, so in order to get them to take the next step and click-through to the full article, the title needs to be short, succinct, and specific. Keywords work better in searches when they’re placed at the beginning of a title. To include keywords that will work in your titles and posts, do a little research on your potential customer base: What are they searching for? What problems do they have and how can you solve them? Use keywords that prove your expertise and are relevant to your content.

VISUALS

It takes more than an exciting title and hook for a post to be truly shareable. Images, infographics, videos, charts and block quotes can shake up a text-based post. Deliver content that offers solutions to your readers’ problems in a creative way that can lead to shares and valuable comments.

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Become a Master of Public Speaking

Public speaking becomes part of daily life when you run a successful business. Whether you are addressing employees, pitching a new product, being paid to speak at an event, or even recording a video of yourself; speaking to a crowd can be daunting, no matter how much experience you have. There are ways to improve your public speaking skills, and practice is important, but there’s more to public speaking than just rehearsing and memorizing. Want to get better at public speaking? Use these tips and see how your speeches improve.

Movement and Posture

Body language often says more than speech can. Used correctly, body language can punctuate your speech and portray expertise. If you are speaking at a podium, some of the rules will be different than they would be for a speaker without, but the most important guidelines are the same.

• Stand up straight (this will not only how improve you look, but how you speak as well).
• Avoid making any wild gestures; but don’t be afraid to use your hands to emphasize where it feels natural.
• If you are using a podium don’t lean on it, and if you aren’t, don’t just stand still. Shift your weight, walk around (sparingly), and use the space you have. Be mindful and keep your movements natural and deliberate.

Avoid Technical Jargon (Keep It Simple)

You are the expert on your topic, and though your audience may be familiar, they are here to listen to you and glean your knowledge. Avoid terms that are too technical, but don’t speak down to your audience. The key to a successful speech is taking information that is high level, and sharing it in a way that can reach the general public’s understanding.

Embrace Stress

It’s perfectly fine to be nervous. Public speaking isn’t something that comes naturally to many. In fact, it’s cited as one of the top fears for Americans. Stress and anxiety can be difficult to overcome, but the extra energy you have coming from a place of panic can easily be used to get excited and bring energy to your presentation. You have the power to reinterpret the signs of nervousness and change them into excitement.

Be Thoughtful With Facts

Even if you are an expert on what you will be speaking about, when planning to do an extended presentation you will have done some research into your topic. Make sure the facts you are saying are truthful, stated in a way that is clear and easy to understand, and remember to cite your sources. Giving credit where credit is due will not only keep you from plagiarism, but expand your personal credibility as well.

Avoid Upspeak

Generally a trend associated with female speakers, all speakers should try to avoid upspeak, or the tendency of vocally ending a sentence or word on a higher pitch than the rest of the sentence. This can make your statements come across as questions, which can break down your credibility. This video shows an example of upspeak (in this example it is called uptalk), versus speaking without it.

Reiterate Your Main Point

Your speech is about a certain topic, so the obvious first step is to state your main point. What may not be so obvious is the idea of revisiting that main point and restating it at the end of your speech. And if there are questions afterwards, come back to that main point again before completely wrapping up.  This leaves your audience with a clear understanding of what you are trying to say to them, and allows them to recall each point you brought up within the right context.

Slow Down

Don’t rush. Speak at an easy conversational level that gets your information across without speeding through and confusing your audience. It is easy to get wrapped up in excitement, but take a deep breath and make sure your words are clear, deliberate, and spoken at a level (of both speed and volume) that isn’t overwhelming for your listeners.

Build Drama

Pauses build anticipation and tension. Building drama and suspense keeps your listeners engaged in what you are saying. Pausing where it feels natural also allows you to catch your breath, figure out what to say next and get organized. It‘s unnatural to talk without any breaks, so to calm yourself down and also to make your speech seem effortless; as well as interesting and well thought out; a correctly timed pause is an excellent tool.

The best way to learn is to do, so go out and speak. Try out these tips and see how your audience responds to what you are saying. Who knows? You may even start to enjoy your presentations now!

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Adding Entrepreneurial Aspects To Your Business

Entrepreneurs are business owners that are not tied to their service or product, but rather, innovation in and of itself. If you are a business owner that is looking for a breakthrough in your business here are some entrepreneurial traits to add to your roster.

Experiment 
Arguably the most important characteristic for an entrepreneur is innovation. Being able to take calculated risks, and being willing to work through the consequences with positive outcomes as well as setbacks is a cornerstone for progress.

Equal Footing
One of the best ways to foster inclusion and a positive company culture is through a simple and easy to maneuver company structure. A looser organization style encourages independence and builds clout between seniority levels. Forgo the rigid company hierarchy for a system that allows employees to feel important, valued and well supported.

Subtle Selling
Everyone is a salesperson. All employees from top to bottom should be so deeply committed to the business’ products or services and be singing its praises if and when given the opportunity. It’s essentially free commercials and endorsements.  

Give Equity
Ownership adds a new layer of participation for employees that is often overlooked by many business owners. Giving equity incentives is an amazing way to create clout and trust, adding a deeper sense of responsibility and investment.

Trust
Properly trained employees by virtue should have the ability to make decisions regarding their work. Micromanagement and lack of trust can very quickly deteriorate relationships in the workplace. Set your employees for success and then give them the opportunities to grow and learn at their own pace.

Communication
Open door policies are one of the pillars of successful entrepreneurial endeavors. Set an example for giving and receiving feedback with positive communication styles.

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TED Talks: The Best of TED for Business, Tech, Marketing and More

Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. If you talk about what you believe, you will attract those who believe what you believe.”

Elizabeth Gilbert: Your Elusive Creative Genius

“I think it’s better if we encourage our great creative minds to live.”

Richard St. John: 8 Secrets of Success

“TEDsters do have fun working. And they work hard. I figured, they’re not workaholics. They’re workafrolics.”

Elon Musk: The Mind Behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity …

“Through most of our life, we get through life by reasoning by analogy, which essentially means copying what other people do with slight variations. And you have to do that. Otherwise, mentally, you wouldn’t be able to get through the day. But when you want to do something new, you have to apply the physics approach. Physics is really figuring out how to discover new things that are counterintuitive, like quantum mechanics. It’s really counterintuitive. So I think that’s an important thing to do, and then also to really pay attention to negative feedback, and solicit it, particularly from friends. This may sound like simple advice, but hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.”

Tony Robbins: Why We Do What We Do

“My invitation to you is: explore your web, the web in here — the needs, the beliefs, the emotions that are controlling you, for two reasons: so there’s more of you to give, and achieve, too, but I mean give,because that’s what’s going to fill you up. And secondly, so you can appreciate — not just understand, that’s intellectual, that’s the mind, but appreciate what’s driving other people. It’s the only way our world’s going to change.”

David Carson: Design and Discovery

” ‘Don’t mistake legibility for communication.’ Just because something’s legible doesn’t means it communicates. More importantly, it doesn’t mean it communicates the right thing. So, what is the message sent before somebody actually gets into the material?”

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20 Inspiring Quotes For Entrepreneurs

“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” Teddy Roosevelt

“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” Vince Lombardi

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Edison

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover.” Mark Twain

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”  Walt Disney

“For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. “Someday” is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it “eventually,” just do it and correct course along the way.” Tim Ferriss

“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” Jerry Rice

“Everyone has ideas. They may be too busy or lack the confidence or technical ability to carry them out. But I want to carry them out. It is a matter of getting up and doing it.” James Dyson

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you’ll do things differently.” Warren Buffett

“Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda [Star Wars]

“Done is better than perfect.” Sheryl Sandberg

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” Chinese proverb

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” Henry Ford

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Mark Zuckerberg

“When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. But if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions. Most people just don’t put in the time or energy to get there.” Steve Jobs

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” Alice Walker

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

“What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.” Bob Dylan

“If people like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” Zig Ziglar

“Whatever you do, be different—that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out.” Anita Roddick

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Entrepreneur vs. Business Owner

Popular culture has really taken a liking to business and entrepreneurship lately and it’s shining a light on the diverse career options. Along the lines of my blog “Small Business vs. Startup” the next logical step would be to look into the two types of leaders in each type of business venture.

Entrepreneur

Definition: A person who brings his unique idea to run a startup company, a market leader the first to start such a kind of enterprise.

Key Characteristics:

• Rapid Growth
• Passion
• Innovation
• Market disruption

Business Owner

Definition: A person who starts a business on an old concept or idea, a market player.

Key Characteristics:

• Profit
• Existing
• Longevity
• Market share

Entrepreneur vs Business Owner

In layman’s terms, an entrepreneur is an evolved form of a business owner. Generally, entrepreneurs are much more interested in the actual business side and market disruption as they are looking at the big picture, whereas a business owner tends to have more of an emotional attachment to not only the business but what the business provides to them (work/life balance, freedom to choose the work they find important). The ideas coming from business owners tend to be specialized, very to the point and highly specific.

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Examples Of Great Influencer Marketing

In my last post I discussed influencer marketing and its importance to the marketing strategy of businesses, especially in the age of social media and digital marketing. This post will focus on examples of influencer marketing campaigns that I think stand above the rest, and have the numbers to show for it as well!

Nick Offerman and Lagavulin Single Malt Scotch Whisky: My Tales of Whisky Holiday Edition: Nick Offerman’s Yule Log

This campaign started with Nick Offerman’s character on the popular NBC show Parks and Recreation and the character’s particular affection for Lagavulin Whisky. Offerman, the creative team of Parks, and Lagavulin had teamed up previously to create the My Tales of Whisky video series. The success of the original series led to the the holiday edition, a hilariously executed 45 minute one shot take of Offerman sipping whisky by a fire in total silence.

The video was released exclusively in a 3 minute version, then publicly in its 45 minute entirety, and then on Christmas Eve Day, due to incredibly high demand, a 10 hour version was released. Yule Log trended on social media almost immediately, earned 840 million impressions, increased YouTube channel subscribers and viewers.

Chanel New York Fashion Week #newchanel5

97% of fall 2016’s NYFW’s social media interactions occurred on Instagram. Fashion giant Chanel was garnering excitement for the release of their new fragrance, all through influencer marketing. By reaching out to top influencers on the photo sharing site, over 9 million impressions were made, with a branded hashtag (#newchanel5) used on more than 1,600 images. A top influencer in this campaign Jessica Mercedes Kirschner (@jemerced) is known for a lavish lifestyle and fashion sense to match. Her post alone received 26.8k likes and more than 100 comments in the first month it was posted.

Visit Las Vegas and DJ Khaled

To launch their new Snapchat account @VisitLasVegas, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority brought on Snapchat influencer and the major key to the new account’s successful launch: DJ Khaled. Khaled toured around Vegas, showing his followers (he has 6 million of them) around his favorite spots of the city. The launch of the channel was on May 29th, 2016. After two days, the new channel clocked in at 25,000 new followers and 400,000 views. It’s no wonder why DJ Khaled is called “The King of Snapchat”

Jon Stewart and Arby’s

Jon Stewart was known for many things while on the Daily Show, and one of the gimmicks that he used often was making fun of Arby’s, bashing the products the brand puts out. But it didn’t seem like Arby’s minded. In fact, the banter between Stewart and Arby’s led to a highly successful influencer marketing campaign. When Stewart announced that he would be leaving the Daily Show, Arby’s sent this tweet:

Stewart brought up the tweet on his last day at the Daily Show and during a commercial break Arby’s aired their “Thank You For Being a Friend?” commercial and from there a great relationship was born.

Arby’s created two commercials starring Stewart, and even named a sandwich after him. Turning this critic into an influencer was both hilarious and effective.

Influencer marketing can happen in many ways, and certain strategies or campaign types won’t always be the right fit.  Try taking a look at different campaigns and trying to envision your business using these techniques with your influencers. Find what you can use for the best results or try something completely new. The possibilities with influencer marketing are endless!

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The Nightmare Machine: A Spooky Look at Artificial Intelligence

One of the biological side effects of being a human is the will to live. Luckily for us, one of the ways in which our brain gives the heads up to inform us of potentially dangerous situations is by invoking that little old survival instinct called “fear”.

Have you ever been stuck sitting next to someone in a cinema, completely unfazed by a horror movie, while you diverted your attention to the closest escape door? Everyone gets spooked by out by different stimuli, whether rational—Trump/Pence, the NRA, embezzlement, or irrational—clowns, killer tomatoes, blobs.

Since we know that stimuli can evoke varying psychological responses, one group of researchers from the MIT Media lab, set out to find what unites us in our phobia and terrifies us on a universal scale. And so, they created a horrifying algorithm to generate scary imagery, designed to spook the living daylights out of us mere civilians.

Welcome to the Nightmare Machine:

A monster creation just in time for Halloween, which transforms an idyllic scene, say, an Ikea catalogue or the Taj Mahal, into a slaughterhouse or inferno, using cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence.

The spooky formula is powered by “deep learning algorithms”, and a secret ingredient claimed to be “evil spirits!” The team used two deep learning algorithms: one for extracting artistic styles from one image to apply it to another, and a second algorithm that generates “imagined” faces from trained data.

So far, the team has collected over 200,000 individual evaluations of computer-generated images, using a website form that presents a spooky image and asks the user to rate its scariness factor. The algorithm grew hungrier and hungrier for more user data, until it was able to think and feel on its own.

Starting little by little, experimenting with what they call the “nightmarifying” process, they used deep learning algorithms to learn first how haunted houses, then ghost towns, and more recently toxic cities look. Then, they applied the learned style to famous landmarks. It’s surprising how well the algorithm can extract the element from the “scary” templates and plant it into the landmarks.

The group’s primary goal is to understand the barriers between human and machine co-operation; psychological perceptions of what makes people tick and what make computers tick are an important barrier for such cooperation to emerge.

If you’re trying to decide what’s more terrifying, the images, or the idea that an intelligent machine is capable of generating them, the team assures you that they are interested in testing this experimentally to find out, so keep your eyes peeled for more updates from the Nightmare Machine.

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10 Qualities of A Successful Leader

Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.

—Barack Obama
What does it take to be a leader? Is she someone who brings to light the various issues and solves them? Is she someone that orates the mind and desires of the masses proactively and very well? Maybe she’s someone who knows what the followers want and helps manifest the norms. As a leader myself, I understand that leaders are born and made, inherited and natural; here are ten more qualifying traits of inspirational leaders that make the individual a powerful personality:

1. Plenty of Foresightedness

Managing a group is no easy task. Crisis happens and managing it should be the forte of a leader; foreseeing such situations should be one of the most important qualities of a leader. Foresight helps a leader make decisions ahead of time and can avoid mishaps, which will lead the team towards a path of development and progress.

Citing an example here would be that of Rupert Murdoch. The market monopoly created by the genius was the baby of his foresightedness, making him one of the most successful entrepreneurs in this world and placing his company as the second largest media house in the world.

2. Undying Hunger to Win

Leaders have an undying hunger to exceed expectations and successfully complete their promises and tasks. They are consistent and probe into areas never before treaded. Such leaders have a natural zeal and zest to learn and unlearn, helping them gain more knowledge and information as seen through the behavior of the masses they lead.

3. Always Committed

Lead by example. Motivation comes best when a leader is committed to their promises, duties and tasks, working alongside the rest and showing them that there isn’t a mountain high enough that cannot be conquered. In doing so, leaders earn respect from teammates and motivate them with energy and a zest to win!

Leaders stick to the commitments they make, which makes them fair and reliable, trustworthy too. In turn, their team is motivated to bring more to the table; following the leader. President Obama with his Obama Care health policies are proof enough on the commitments he made for the general public.

4. Be a Source of Inspiration

Leaders across the world understand the importance of getting to the root level and inspiring their teams. They generate enthusiasm amongst their teammates, which helps focus them on future goals and current issues at hand. Acknowledging human behaviors, downfalls and efforts on a personal level are some of the sources of inspiration every world leader in the past has shown.

Mohandas Gandhi, began the Quit India movement and the famous Salt Walk, which inspired Indians to do away with western produce and products and instead honor and promote indigenous handicrafts and products. He became an inspiring icon to the world.

5. Persistent by Nature

One of the best examples of persistence in leadership would be that of Henry Ford’s story back in the 1890s. This was a time when the Ford Quadricycle was launched with four large wheels and an engine powered by ethanol.

The Quadricycle was never a success, but that didn’t stop Henry Ford from making it to the top charts later on. Ford Motor today is the number one choice amongst the crème-de-la-crème and the who’s who of the motor vehicle world; Henry Ford today is one of the wealthiest and most well known leaders of the world and persistence got him to where he is!

6. Recognizing True Potential

Leaders are those that surround themselves with great minds and people with great thoughts. Citing an example here would be the life of Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was an icon that looked for talent in unknown places and unique ways. Quite often, Steve Jobs, when visiting college campuses to deliver a lecture, would notice potential employees participating in the talk and personally interview them; hiring them thereafter for their unique and very powerful innovative visions and thoughts.

7. Authenticity is Their Cup of Tea

To be etched in the minds of millions. One of the most important leadership traits for world leaders is authenticity. No power plays, no muscle pulling or arm-twisting. Clear intentions and consistency proves authenticity.

Embracing diversity in all forms, being unique by displaying strengths and areas of weakness, understanding your own identity and knowing how to delegate roles and responsibilities, whilst making your own contribution towards success is what authenticity is all about.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is an example of an individual filled with empathy, an embracer of diversity and someone that knows his own areas of improvement and strengths that help the economy go forth. 

8. Fear Isn’t Their Middle Name

Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, in his days as a youngster always was belittled by his aunt for not knowing how to swim when the family met for summer vacations. On his way back home one summer, Richard requested his dad to stop by the flowing river their car was about to cross. The next thing his dad saw was young Richard jumping into the river and swimming away—a bet he took with his relative and won. Cut to the new-age, Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic are names to reckon with. Being fearless is a trait that those who sit in their comfort zones don’t understand.

9. Understanding and Owning Up to Your Drawbacks

In recent times, Amazon was under the spotlight for supplying ‘unauthorized versions’ of famous books on Kindle. Needless to say there was a negative backlash by the masses, which caught the company in the red.

Amazon didn’t shirk away from its responsibilities, but admitted in a press statement its fault. Citing CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon, the honcho went ahead to personally apologize and make amendments on the same lines calling the incident “stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles.” Proof once again that no one choked to death on their own pride by apologizing.

10. Outstanding positive behavior

Leaders do what others wouldn’t, and in outstanding ways too. From displaying individualistic traits to positive attitudes, there is always that X Factor in leaders which makes them stand out. Leaders stand out to support you when others walk away, or don’t watch your back when the tough times come calling.

Citing Ralph Nader here, “I start with the premise that the function of a leader is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” In short, leaders go the extra mile to make you feel special, wanted and recognize your competency and skill levels that help motivate you to perform better.

Wrap

The world stands in need of liberating leaders and not herds that follow masses. Be an inspiring leader and start afresh in your own small way.

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