Social media, social networking, online networking—whatever you call it, whatever you use it for, it is an undeniable part of our modern culture. Conversations are centered around it; jobs are posted to it; life events are recorded on it; and opinions (good and bad) are shared through it.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not complaining. I’m actually (pleasantly) surprised at how social media has managed to weave its way into my own life, both personally and professionally! It has completely changed the way I market my business, and I suspect you’ve had similar experiences in your own business. Instead of posting ads in the local paper, or spending hours licking envelopes for mass mailings, we’re now posting to our favorite business networking sites and instantly reaching hundreds, even thousands, compared to the relatively few we are able to touch with the traditional printed marketing efforts. This is a fabulous thing for small businesses.

Did you know that there are currently over 200 popular social media and business networking sites out there? Amazing, isn’t it? With so many options, finding the right platforms and then learning the most effective way to use them for your business can be tricky to say the least, and sometimes totally overwhelming. It helps to understand a few guidelines about social media for business before you dive in and join all 200 of them. (Just kidding. I know you wouldn’t do that!)

Do your research. From A to Z, there are networking sites for every type of business, social and special interest group that you can imagine. Take some time to Google sites related to your industry or area of expertise. While the most popular are of course, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest, these are just the tip of the social media iceberg, and they may or may not all be the best fit for your business. Go where your audience hangs out.

Be focused in your efforts. Once you determine which sites will bring you closest to your audience or target market, you will want to be very focused in your marketing efforts. Develop a schedule for posting; write your posts ahead of time whenever possible and have them ready to post so you’re not stressing out trying to come up with something brilliant in the moment. And make sure your posts on each site are written to appeal to that site’s members. For instance, your Facebook posts can be a little more casual than they should be on LinkedIn. Why? Because people on Facebook are open to a more casual, personal connection; whereas those on LinkedIn generally maintain a more formal, professional persona. And Twitter is a good mix of the two!

Be present and engaged. Some experts say that you should post several times a day, and others say 2 to 5 times per week. I find the best rule of thumb is to post however frequently you can offer value. Nothing is more annoying than to read multiple posts a day from the same person, and not find value in any of them! If you can offer the greatest value by posting once a day, or three times a week, then that’s what you should do. The most important thing is to make sure that every post contains something of value that the reader can take with them. It might be a new product or service, an upcoming event, a funny story, or a great tip; as long as it engages the reader, you’ve hit the mark.

Don’t let social media get the best of you. Find two or three sites that fit your criteria and will help you accomplish what you want. Start small and work your way up to more sites and more frequent posts; whatever you’re comfortable with. And if you find that being a social media guru simply isn’t in your toolbox, hire a team that can handle it all for you!

If you’re like me, you are always on the lookout for ways to increase your productivity. And if you’re a busy coach, trainer, sales or service representative, finding effective ways to connect with your clients and customers is a top priority. Scheduling can become a real time drain if you’re trading emails back and forth to check availability, and then sending confirmations. But I’m here to tell you, there’s a better way!

In my last blog, I gave a quick overview of Doodle, which is an easy, efficient way to gather available times when setting meetings with multiple people. This week, let’s take a look at another very effective tool called TimeTrade. It may not be completely new to you since it has been around for quite a while, but maybe you’re not aware of just how much TimeTrade’s PurchasePath^tm features can enhance the way you do business. Before I began my research for this blog, I knew that TimeTrade was one of the top level systems for automated scheduling, but I was totally unaware of the other features it offers.

PurchasePath™ Appointments
This feature allows you to set up an automated method for clients and customers to schedule meetings with you. There is a free, Personal level of the TimeTrade PurchasePath™ system works well for many small businesses and entrepreneurs. And when you’re ready to move up to the Professional level, the cost is extremely affordable at about $4 per month. Weigh that out against the time it takes you or your team to schedule those meetings “the old fashioned way” and it’s easy to see why so many of us are using it!

During setup, you simply establish parameters for your availability, along with your email messages that go to the requestor during the scheduling process. Both you and the requestor will receive confirmations, and even reminders! You then connect the scheduler to your own calendar system, such as Outlook, iCal, or Google Calendar so that all of your appointments are in one place. Once everything is set up the way you want, you’re given a link to your scheduler that you can add it to your email signature or put it on your website.

At first, this might seem like a very impersonal way of connecting with your clients, customers and prospects. But actually, this automated system makes scheduling so efficient that your clients appreciate it as much as you do.

I won’t take time to dive too deeply into these other features, but I do want to make you aware of them in case they might apply to you and your business.

PurchasePath™ Concierge
Another great feature of the TimeTrade suite is the PurchasePath™ Concierge. If your business involves in-store and in-branch interactions, this is a very comprehensive way to manage customer engagements. It allows collaboration between store employees and managers so that their customer’s experience with them is enhanced.

PurchasePath™ Analytics
Of course, as with most of our business processes, we need analytics to show us how we’re doing, right? PurchasePath™ Analytics provides insight into the customer experience, monitoring performance and other key factors. Customer feedback can be captured to help drive critical decision-making.

Take a look at TimeTrade for your scheduling needs. It won’t take long to see the benefits in the time and expense that it can save you and your team!

Have you ever had to schedule a meeting involving several very busy people? Most of us have, and some of us do so on a regularly basis. You know what a nightmare it can be! Emails flying back and forth with options and alternatives; he can, she can’t; that works, that doesn’t. Oh my!

There is help out there, though, in a great little tool with a funny little name—Doodle! I like just saying it, and I love using it. It’s easy, fun, and free. And it’s not just for finding meeting times; it’s also a wonderful tool for conducting surveys and polls.

Here’s a little rundown of Doodle:

• Doodle is a very simple, online polling tool used for scheduling meetings, or taking polls and surveys among groups of busy people.
• The free version of Doodle offers the features most of us need for scheduling and polling, in addition to a mobile web app, as well as a native app for iPads and iPhones.
• Another great feature is MeetMe, which allows people to see your availability and submit meeting requests to get on your calendar.
• There is also an upgraded, ad-free version, at a very affordable price, that offers additional features if you need them, such as calendar connections.

To use as a meeting scheduler—

• Once you create your free account, you simply name your meeting, select your options for meeting dates and times, and then email your meeting poll to the invitees.
• As each invitee responds to the poll and enters their preferences, you receive an email to notify you of the update.
• Once you are notified that all invitees have completed their selections, you return to the meeting poll, you select the preferred date and time, and then choose the email function to send all invitees a confirmation email.

Sounds simple, right? And setting up a survey or poll is just as easy!

Our team has used Doodle many times to get meetings scheduled for our clients. It’s definitely a significant tool in our toolbox. If you’re not familiar with Doodle, you should give it try the next time you need to set up a meeting or gather opinions. It’s fun and easy to Doodle!

Isn’t it exciting when you implement a new system or process that improves your productivity in some way? I’m all about providing the best service I can to my clients in the most effective way possible, and my team and I simply could not do this without the great systems and processes we have in place.

About once or twice a year, I schedule time to review my systems and processes to make sure they are still serving us well. With my team’s input, I make any necessary updates or changes I feel will improve our performance, and our commitment to our clients. I take a look at everything we use to service our clients, no matter how simple it might seem.

Here are just a few of the areas I review on a regular basis. I hope it gives you some ideas for reviewing your own systems and processes:

Systems/Programs/Tools

• Project management
• Email marketing
• Client management systems
• File storage and transfers
• Accounting
• Security

Processes

• Internal communications
• Client communications
• Document transmissions
• Calendar management
• Time management

As part of my reviews, I might also include a quick search to see if there are updated versions available, or maybe even completely new systems I need to consider. I’m not one to make changes simply to say I have the latest and greatest if what I’m using is still serving its purpose. But I’m always open to change if I can see definite benefits for my team and my clients.

We owe it to our clients to provide them with best service in the most effective way possible. It’s what they pay for, what they expect, and what they should receive on a consistent basis. To ensure that you are living up to your great reputation for service and delivery, make time to review your systems and processes on a regular basis. You can only serve your clients as well as your systems and processes serve you.