So, of course, it’s essential to not treat your LinkedIn as a social media profile.

Martin Bate is the Head of Permanent Recruitment at Orion, experts in specialist recruitment for life-science jobs, and has discussed the importance of a professional LinkedIn profile.

“During the past two years, we have all experienced a shift in culture in the way we work as well as a change in the way we attract talent. While some people are regular users of common social media outlets, you don’t need to a be technophile to create an attractive brand for yourself on LinkedIn.

“In the past, the resume was everything. Nowadays, it is becoming less important, making the LinkedIn profile the main source. Additionally, our team are regularly arranging interviews based solely on LinkedIn profiles. Next time you search for an applicant or apply for a role, reflect on the effectiveness and professionalism of your profile. It doesn’t need to be war and peace, but get the relevant buzz words in your content, not forgetting to keep them updated and relevant to your skills, knowledge, and sector.”

Here, we delve into the dos and don’ts of LinkedIn, and what might be better kept on your Facebook profile.

Don’t fall victim to oversharing

LinkedIn provides many ways to discover and converse with many people within your field. But are you oversharing on the platform?

It’s an easy way to make contacts, but it can be even easier to make enemies. Debates can often be sparked over many topics, such as company policies and even politics. Of course, many people have different views and discussing such things can get very heated. In some cases, you might see angry comments come your way. And you’re speaking for your employer as well as yourself, so oversharing on sensitive topics could also direct anger towards them.

Do choose an appropriate picture

Your LinkedIn profile picture is arguably the first element of your profile that will be seen. Perhaps you’re appearing in searches, or someone is browsing employees within your company. Regardless of the reason, it’s sure to stand out. In this instance, it’s a must to have an appropriate and professional picture, one that you most likely wouldn’t choose for your social media profiles. Opt for a photo where your face takes up approximately 60% of the photo but be sure that your striking suit is on show – especially if this is your workday attire of choice.

Don’t forget to keep communication flowing

You may enjoy sharing posts on social media, but if you’re not an avid Instagram user, it can be easy to reply to comments and messages late, or even to completely forget about them. On LinkedIn, it’s important that you don’t fall into this habit. Connections are highly important on the platform, especially in online professional networks. So if you aren’t keeping the ball rolling by forming relationships, you won’t be able to reap the benefits. Commenting and connecting with others from across the globe could offer you endless opportunities.

Do share your successes

Sharing your accomplishments is something you can share on both LinkedIn and your Facebook or Instagram page. After all, it’s a platform to raise your profile and showcase the many the development of your skills and the achievements you have made. It could be a new job, a promotion, or starting a new chapter in a different city — but whatever success comes your way will undoubtedly be celebrated by Linkedin users.

Don’t waste your network’s time

You may resort to Facebook to post regular updates on your week, whether that’s where you went for your lunch or how your weekend away went. But this is something to keep on Facebook. While you may want to talk about the good times you’ve had, you must think before you post on LinkedIn. Is it relevant to the working world? Will this boost your business profile? Not only could it be an irrelevant post that people will simply scroll past with no interaction, but it could also annoy some of your connections. People don’t want their time wasted, so if your content is only Facebook-worthy, people may remove you from their network and it could cause you to miss out on opportunities in the future that would enhance your career.

Do keep your profile public

Your personal life is something you may want to keep hidden when it comes to your social media profiles. However, you should keep your LinkedIn profile public. The platform isn’t one for sharing anything personal, but for details that you do wish to be hidden, there are settings to hide this information. There are countless people who can boost your career, but if your profile isn’t visible to them, they won’t be able to discover you. Since your social media is far more likely to include personal information, it’s better to keep private mode on these profiles.

It’s important to separate your LinkedIn from social media platforms. By slipping into the habits that you might be used to on Facebook and Instagram, you may jeopardise your employability and reduce the likelihood of climbing the career ladder. But these simple dos and don’ts can help you boost your online presence on LinkedIn and avoid any trouble.

Sources

https://greatresumesfast.com/blog/are-you-oversharing-on-linkedin-2/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-etiquette-best-practices-20-dos-donts-melonie-dodaro 

https://www.adweek.com/programmatic/linkedin-to-members-lets-keep-it-professional/ 

The post Why Your LinkedIn Profile Shouldn’t Look Like Your Facebook Profile appeared first on CEO Medium.

Content creator and strategist Lauren Umpenhour emphasizes that a business’ brand on social media is everything. It will help you stand out amongst the competition and help create a bigger impact. Instagram is the perfect platform to help you build your following. Many companies are using it to reach their audience in a meaningful way. So if you want to do the same, here are tips on how to use the platform like the businesses that are doing it right:

Do collaborations

In the age of influencers, collaboration is becoming an important marketing tool and Instagram is famous for being the perfect platform to use. Entrepreneur Christina-Lauren Pollack talks about how and why these partnerships are so effective: People often trust products and services that are recommended by trustworthy sources (which includes influencers). It also widens the target audience, including the target demographic of the influencer. Brands like SugarBearHair, Morphe, and Romwe have been using this tactic for years and are all continuing to grow. If you are using Instagram to grow your business, consider collaborating with an online personality for your next campaign as it will work wonders in creating new sales.

Appeal to your audience’s emotions

Emotions are a huge driving force that will help you build your brand. When people associate your company with certain emotions, they will become more invested. So use your platform to tell stories that connect with your audience. A trending article on AskMoney highlights how using the “show don’t tell” rule of storytelling allows businesses to generate a connection with users. By doing this, it will help you create a more impactful presence and help you stand out.

When you do this, always remember to consider what emotions you want to appeal to and what content you can create related to your company that connects to these feelings? Knowing your demographic will help you answer these two questions. Always’ #LikeAGirl campaign encouraged feelings of empowerment and confidence, showing that this strategy is effective. Feelings are a powerful mechanism and can be just the thing that strengthens your Instagram brand.

Post consistently

The Instagram algorithm has changed over the years and posting consistently has become more important when it comes to trying to reach your audience. A post written on Medium explains that consistency helps build a good rapport with your audience. Instagram also has a tendency to stop showing your content to people the less you post, which defeats the purpose of marketing on the platform in the first place.

This is why it is important to post regularly. Victoria’s Secret, one of the most followed brands, often posts twice a day. Though the level of frequency may vary from company to company, this shows just how important it is for you to upload content as consistently as possible.

When used correctly, Instagram marketing can become an important asset to your business. Be sure to use these proven strategies to help you utilize the platform and use it to its full potential. For more articles on marketing and how to do it effectively, be sure to check out the latest marketing articles on CEO Medium.

The post Learning From Businesses Doing Instagram Right appeared first on CEO Medium.

Tell us about who you are and what you do.

I am Wardah S. Syed and I am a post-graduate in Microbiology. I am an international author of a book that was published in Germany and is available on Amazon. For the time being, am a blogger and influencer. I love to write and give my honest reviews on my pages. 

Tell us how you created this page.

Being an ex-pat and living alone in an entirely new world and culture, you always look for different activities to get yourself engaged. I had been social my entire life. I love to connect with new people and understand their culture and past times. This led me to convey my private Instagram page into a public page. Initially, I started it just like that but later on, it became more like a passion for me when I started getting good responses to my posts from people. Currently, am working on my website blog and on my YouTube channel. I hope I get that Mark over there too. *fingers crossed* 

Go in detail and tell us about how your page works. You may keep this from the audience’s perspective.

My page deals in lifestyle. I share my everyday life in my stories and on my page I like to keep it engaging with the audience. My posts are like a bridge between audience and brands sometimes. I cover lifestyle, beauty (which includes makeup and skincare), modest fashion, food, and parenting on my page. Lol so basically a jack of all trades and master of none applies here. I am a big foodie so I love to cook and eat already cooked food too. 

Explain the challenges you went through while you were working on page creation. What are the challenges you go through on an everyday basis?

I started the page with a passion for writing and connecting to people. In the very beginning of course nobody knows you, so you always end up asking all the people around to “please follow me on Instagram” lol those were the days, I tell you. To become eminent in any walk of life you need to have some good contacts and skills. Both these things help you reach your goals. Contacts don’t mean to get you to work on recommendations only. It also means to get you connected with different communities and people around you. So connecting with people while sitting all day at home was the biggest challenge for me. Being a mother of two boys I used to keep myself restricted at home only. As if I had totally forgotten the meaning of social interaction. So I started building that first which helped me grow in this field and helped me grow my page too. 

How do you manage your finances through the services you offer. Any fundings etc received?

To be honest it’s the only work that you can do in the comfort of your home with your loved ones around and you do not need to invest anything at all. If going on the right path of content creation then it can also be fruitful to you on giving you a lot of output that you can imagine. 

Tell us your future vision about the page. How far do you want to take it? What is your dream about taking it to the next level?

I have written another scientific book that too while doing my post-graduation. I really want to publish that book too. As far as my page is concerned, am really working hard to make it eminent and like every influencer, I too dream of working with good and big brands. Starting off my vlogging journey too which is really challenging with two toddlers but let’s see where my stamina takes me to. 🙂 

What message would you like to give to anybody who has a plan of creating something of their own and making a living through it?

I think consistency is the key. If you love to do something passionately and have the courage to do that at any cost then go ahead and never look back. Goals take time to be achieved but once done they make you feel out of the world and that pain and criticism that you have taken during the journey start looking worthy. Fight for your dreams and always dream big. They say dream for the moon at least you’ll get starts of not moon. 

How do you take content creation in today’s time? 

Starting a page was challenging and time-consuming in the sense to create different content every time. At times this whole phenomenon is enjoyable to the next level and in few instances it also becomes hectic. But nevertheless, it’s something that I love doing and creating. It has helped me to connect with a lot of like-minded people. Content creation has become more like a profession these days rather than just a past time. It’s high time parents and other people start taking it seriously too and not just a waste of time. Just for information, I am talking about quality content. #ifyoulnowyouknow

Get in touch with Wardah Syed on

Instagram: @thedoubleyoublog

Website: The Double You Blog | 

The post Living a Life Larger than Dreams Needs Dedication, Passion, Hard Work, and Sacrifices – Wardah S. Syed appeared first on CEO Medium.

She also created and hosts an up-and-coming podcast called Making Sense Of Entrepreneurship, which is all about starting a business from scratch and building that business from the bootstraps up, the journey of entrepreneurship itself, and basically #ALLOFTHETHINGS related to scaling your online business, building an online community, working from home, and sharing expert insights on what it’s like as you begin transitioning from employee to entrepreneur. 

Her biggest passion truly lies in helping other creatives, business owners, entrepreneurs, and even content creators find their passion, develop their purpose, grow a community of loyal followers, and showing them how to harness the power of the internet to pursue those passions the best way possible, so they can make a living doing what they love and make the most impact! 

Tell us about who you are and what you do. 

Hey there, my name is Erin Boerema and I consult with and help business owners, brands, entrepreneurs, content/course/digital product creators, and creatives, in general, to establish an online presence and grow their visibility consistently online so they can begin making more connections, growing their online community, engage with them consistently, and start to generate more leads, attract more clients or customers, and increase their revenue & profit within a shorter amount of time, with the least amount of additional effort added to their daily schedule, and with the least amount of capital and risk as we like to custom fit our offer to any given prospect’s needs, budget, and the size of their business or brand. 

Tell us how you created this brand and what was the sole idea behind it. 

So, if we start by taking it back to the very beginning of my journey, if I were to be able to effectively tell you how I decided to start my brand, Optimal VA Solutions, initially, followed later by the start of me building out my brand, and then most recently followed by the creation of the

Making Sense of Entrepreneurship podcast and it’s own brand as well, we would need to look back at what drivers and situations ultimately were the main motivators and drivers behind the beginning of my journey altogether. 

So starting back in August of 2018 – I was making a change after a year of waiting table in a high-anxiety, high-pressure, and toxic work environment where I was waiting tables, which I’d done for roughly a year exactly and I hated it – truly I was just stuck in the swing of that job and the familiarity of it every day… 

What’s funny is the way I worked – I was wearing myself out and the managers who were superior to me knew I was a hard-worker but as I mentioned before → it was quite the toxic work environment – imagine working a 19-hour shift as a WAITRESS in a 24hr diner setting for $2.32/hr plus tips – but each week working roughly 38 or 39 hours which would end up being 1 hour shy of being able to be compensated for overtime and sadly I would work the entire floor myself and let the other waitresses take the early relief part of the shift and stay until morning myself and I was beyond exhausted with that type of work so I transitioned into working as a receptionist, and then an administrative assistant, then an accountant’s office assistant and file management girl, and I kind of bounced from here and there and into different types of office settings but basically what I’m getting at is no matter WHERE I found myself working, I found that I was always miserable and working far too hard for someone else to reap the ultimate benefits – I kept finding that it really didn’t seem to matter where I transitioned to and began working at, I was just extremely unhappy either with the job being far less challenging and engaging than what I wanted to be doing, or I’d be taken for granted as an employee in general – I had a knack for finding rather toxic work environments everywhere I turned to it seemed like for a while – but I was finding myself rather depressed and overworked all the time and something always felt like it was absolutely wrong for me – something just wouldn’t work out no matter who I was working for and it could be anything from just rather unpleasant and toxic coworkers and sometimes management teams being the worst ones to work alongside – or there would be just disorganized chaos within the smaller businesses and holes in their operational standards or maybe an absolute lack of systems and processes in place to ensure that the position I

was working was able to be done in an effective, efficient, and clearly laid out fashion which made my positions less stable, and some just wouldn’t be enough to be able to keep paying my bills, and even some of those jobs I worked it seemed like there would always just be something I couldn’t handle in terms of my mental health, emotional health, or in terms of financial health… 

For the amount of effort and the level of work that I was constantly putting into my job – it was always as if I was working myself to death just to grow someone else’s business, dream, mission, or as if I was putting all of my efforts into results that would be benefiting the business but not doing much for me at the same time… 

Leaving the world of corporate environments and organizations to venture out on my own, however, did not arise from any one of these particular emotions surrounding the jobs I was sick of working in – I would only later (because of the circumstance I’ll explain in just a moment or two) until after I’d successfully gotten my very first client within my own business and came to the understanding of just how unhappy I was before starting my own business. 

However, the straw that seemed to be the final straw to break the camel’s back in terms of the idea that started it all for my journey, the main motivator or the main things that truly pushed me to start my own service-based business from home wasn’t a decision that I made because of any of those things… Although they played huge factors in my decision process… For me, the straw that finally broke the camel’s back and inspired me to make the big decision to start my work from home journey, which then transitioned into my entrepreneurial journey and the birth of my brand wasn’t any of those toxic work environments, and wasn’t because of any of those standard types of jobs… It was a combination of all of those things and then what happened was that some very difficult situations arose both in my personal life and then a traumatic event that happened to my family in a very unprecedented way. For me, getting back and forth to work was becoming a nightmare because I was making such minimal pay for the type of work I was performing and when my transmission suddenly went out – I was scrambling to get around let alone to work daily 45 minutes away from my home.

Additionally, there was a situation that finally made it extremely hard for me to be able to be away from home for long working hours anymore and unfortunately most of my time was requiring me to be available at home. But the most impactful thing that happened was that I received some very unexpected, painful, and rather sudden news of my Aunt Susan, whom I adored, who we only a few days earlier celebrated her’s and her identical twin – my mother’s – 54th birthday of. 

I will never forget the call I got from my mother the night it happened when she had to tell me that they had discovered her passed away in her bed – they officially said it was a heart attack that took her in her sleep – I can’t tell you how it pains me even now as I share this story with you now, and my immediate thoughts were of not only my poor grandmother who in her mid 70’s would now be burying one of her little girls in the spot she had originally intended to be buried in one day in our family cemetery, and of my sweet 17-year-old cousin who was supposed to be enjoying the best year of her life (the second half of her senior year of high school) would now be trying to navigate each day without her mother, and would now have to instead of enjoying senior year have to start trying to navigate a new world full of grief, anger, and yet a world that no longer offered her the comfort of her mother… This was and still is such a horrible memory for me and that was roughly around the same time I learned my mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer (which she is now a breast cancer survivor, thankfully). 

I remember amidst the pain I felt that night, I remembered that I was scheduled to work a shift from 7 am to 3 pm the following day and even though it was roughly midnight the night before – I remember calling my manager to ask him if someone would pick up my shift because there was just absolutely no way possible I could do it and being told that if I wanted to keep my job that I would be there no later than 7 am, and if I wasn’t there then he would just go ahead and make sure to remove me from the schedules and I could just not come back at all except for my final check pickup. I had never in my entire life been as hurt as I was by the way I was treated in this situation but it also brings up a very real aspect of working in a corporate environment – no one should have to worry about losing their job when something so tragic and unprecedented like this happens – I told him that was fine and to do whatever it was he felt he had to do and I never looked back. 

Flash forward a couple of months and the way I got my foot into the door in a “work from home” setting was by working as a customer support/billing support representative for a virtual call center and while this wasn’t the most thrilling type of work I ever had, it was one I could easily work from my home and I was making more money than I’d earned from any of the jobs I had worked in the previous months before this one came along and with the extra money I was making from that call center job, the support of my fiance both financially, and emotionally, and months on months of research and time-spent educating myself in various types of service-based business ideas and offers I felt made the best fit for me, I was able to plan, strategize, and birth my brand → Optimal VA Solutions. And that is where the big idea and where the big push to start my own business and brand online all began. 

Go in detail and tell us about how your brand works. You may keep this from the audience’s perspective. 

Optimal VA Solutions brings authenticity and creativity to online marketing and advertising while helping customers establish their online presence, build their brand’s authority by establishing them as an authoritative source or expert within their industry, & make a bigger impact online by building a community that serves as a place to engage, connect with, and convert more of their ideal buyers so they can create a business and life that they love. 

Explain the challenges you went through while you were working on brand creation.

I spoke on many of the initial challenges I struggled with as I DECIDED to create my own business and brand but when I was first starting out there were many challenges I had to overcome that I still struggle with even now. Creative burnout is a reality many new and even well-seasoned entrepreneurs experience from time to time for example, and one of the best ways to resolve creative burnout is to establish a work routine for yourself that consists of breaks periodically throughout the day as well as a time for you to shut off the computer, leave your

home office, and enjoy things outside of your work-life at the end of the day. Another large struggle I think many entrepreneurs face in the beginning, and throughout their journey, and something I struggle with every once in a while is the sensation of “imposter syndrome” or feeling like your living a separate life while you get established – my best advice for anyone suffering from the feeling of “imposter syndrome” is to really focus on building out an offer you are confident in and being honest and authentic about where within your journey you currently are and setting a clear vision of where your aiming to grow towards and sharing celebrations of milestones along the way and sharing that with your audience. 

How do you manage your finances through the services you offer. Any fundings etc received? 

There are plenty of online resources and tools such as Honeybook, Quickbooks, or Freshbooks, and many other software options that aid in making finance management much easier. I personally utilize Honeybook and Quickbooks to manage all of my brand’s management of finances, invoices, and expense management as well. I started my business with what I had in my personal bank account and the loving support of my husband who worked a good bit harder until I got established and built my brand from the bootstraps up. 

Tell us your future vision about the brand. How far do you want to take it? What is your dream about taking it to the next level? 

For 2021-2022 specifically, I am aiming to reduce ongoing business expenses and focus on overall financial health in order to look at opportunities for adding new team members in various roles and areas for our brand. I also aim to update and enhance both our client experience and customer service processes and systems in order to make the experience as ideal for our clients as possible. I never will be past the point of needing to review and enhance those processes as we look toward the future. In total, I aim to bring on a full team of employees to manage and maintain the brand while I oversee things from more of a CEO’s perspective (rather than myself being so heavily present within the business like working in the business on a daily basis) so I can focus on building my personal brand and grow the Making Sense of Entrepreneurship podcast to be available and visible in more ways across more of the social platforms. 

What message would you like to give to anybody who has a plan of creating something of their own and making a living through it?

THERE’S NEVER A GOOD TIME TO GET STARTED! 

Trust me, if there is one lesson I have learned with the most truth to it in entrepreneurship, it’s hands down got to be the fact that there will NEVER be a “PERFECT” time to begin, and I’ll tell you what, I tried to find every excuse to keep planning things initially or waiting for the right things to work out first, but when I finally got a grip on my mindset, I realized that it was so much more worth the results I got once I was actually here to show up and “begin” as you might call it, but I also realized that it doesn’t matter where and with what you get started with, it simply requires you to BEGIN. 

Start with where you authentically are within your journey and share and connect with likeminded people and with whom you’ll come to know as your own online community, and as you grow, learn, and develop, as long as you are showing up every single day and remaining consistent for your audience, they’ll grow WITH you and your skills and experiences, of course, will develop over time as well. 

If you continue to wait for the right time, I can assure you now there ISN’T such a thing. As my grandmother once said to me, “Erin, you sure are good at planning, so how about this year quit planning, and start DOING?”….. 

I can’t tell you how incredible of a reminder that is for me even today and on an everyday basis. You’d be surprised what you are capable of when you begin and you remain consistent with your efforts. 

TAKE YOUR TIME BUILDING OUT YOUR BRAND & A PERSONAL BRAND AND MAKE SURE YOU’RE SHOWING UP CONSISTENTLY, EVERYDAY TO GAIN YOUR AUDIENCE’S TRUST & SUPPORT 

One more thing I’d like to point out, as I have learned through the course of this pandemic, is that I wish I had paid more attention at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey to the importance of building my personal brand strategy and being consistent and present – every day – showing up for my audience every single day. I already know, I do get it, social media can feel incredibly time-consuming especially when it’s but one of the hats we wear as entrepreneurs daily. 

Plus, with constant trends to keep up to date with ever-changing algorithms and less time in your busy day, it is exhausting & can be super hard to grow that audience from scratch – trust me I know what it’s like. 

However, let me remind you, friends, that the point of your online presence isn’t about followers or the numbers of likes you have – but rather it’s about being someone who is available to your current and future clients. So, ultimately, a personal brand strategy means being PRESENT for your audience consistently. The way to consistency is to establish strict posting schedules, a strategy, and a calendar to keep everything organized and scheduled ahead of time for publishing. 

Early in my journey, I truly underestimated the importance of building my personal brand on social media and how key a role it would have in the growth of my business and client base. 

Let’s connect on social media and get to know one another! 

Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCIxEECS4EyHBUNMoL6RVIcQ

Facebook Business Page: www.facebook.com/optimalvasolutions

Facebook Personal Brand Page: www.facebook.com/optimalerinb

Instagram: www.instagram.com/optimalvasolutions

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/optimalvasolutions

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erin_boerema

Website: www.optimalvasolutions.com

Making Sense of Entrepreneurship Podcast:  www.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-sense-of-entrepreneurship-with -Erin-boerema

The post Entrepreneurship, Building A Brand Online, & Making A Bigger Impact with Erin Boerema appeared first on CEO Medium.

Brea started her journey in sales and marketing by enrolling members at a gym, then sold cell phones and later cars (making $30,000 in only 30 days). Now, she uses her more than 10 years of experience with customer service and marketing to uncover the gaps in messaging that lead to lower conversions and plugs them through customized systems, structures, and processes that are bolstered by copy that converts. Essentially, she leverages all of the sales skills she acquired along the way to help her clients get more eyeballs on their content so that they can sell more programs and products.

Brea is on a mission to serve 100 introverted entrepreneurs who struggle to put themselves in the spotlight in 2021 by helping them learn to market effectively and easily using evergreen methods and messaging. She is passionate about using her superpowers to show the world their special skills and offers. 

Brea has been featured in articles published in Thrive Global, Medium, DataBird Journal, and more. She also regularly speaks at online summits and guest stars on podcasts. In the last 10 years, Brea has spearheaded launches exceeding $10 million, built more than 100 evergreen funnels, and written more content than she can quantify.

On her website, Brea offers services such as a marketing momentum call with her, online courses, instructional content, and videos. She has also written a comprehensive guide called “From Solopreneur to CEO” about getting out of your own way to reach seven figures. The guide addresses areas of an entrepreneur’s business that might be neglected and cause the majority of problems in getting started. 

Some of these problems include: 

• Having the motivation, but not the time to finish projects because running the business is a struggle.
• Hiring people who cause more work instead of making things easier on you.
• Catching up on work for days after taking any time off at all, causing you to travel with your computer and work constantly. 
• Missing birthdays and fun events because there is not enough time for everything. 

Brea is used to working with overwhelmed solopreneurs who feel like they have to work every day of the week to grow their business. She knows firsthand about the frustration of launching every six weeks, dealing with declining health and working around the clock, feeling guilty for taking any weekends and evenings off. 

She wants to help solopreneurs no longer be the parent who never makes the class party, and help them take control of their business and life by implementing systems and strategies that are proven to work, without the stress of an enormous product launch every month. She knows how important it is to occasionally take time away from your business to reconnect with yourself, and she wants to make sure every tired solopreneur has that opportunity in the midst of effectively developing their business. 

Some of her courses include “Market Research Mastery,” “Simple Sales Accelerator,” “5-Day Biz Accelerator Challenge,” “Leveraging LinkedIn,” “Centerstage: Rocking Your Brand Voice,” “Funnel Focus Intensive” and “Tailor Your Biz Mastermind.” 

These courses help solopreneurs to find and sign more clients, increase visibility and revenue, and create a brand voice with personality.

Brea has increased conversions from click through to sales by 260 percent during the previous quarter, doubled membership numbers from the previous launch, increased her clients’ revenue by 300 percent during the past year, ghostwritten more than 10,000 articles, emails, social media posts, video outlines and campaigns, grown a client’s email list from 0 to 3,000 in fewer than three months without ad spend, developed follow-up engagement campaigns for TEDx and keynote speakers and created sustainable funnels that consistently generate five-figure months.

She helps her clients get back to what they want to be doing: creating new products and serving their customers. She empowers them to set boundaries that create freedom, have product sales while actually taking a vacation, and wake up excited to work on their business instead of feeling like they are drowning in it.

To learn more about Brea and how she can help you breathe life back into your business with a system that works, visit www.breannagunn.com.

~

Facebook: Facebook.com/thebreannagunn 

Instagram: Instagram.com/thebreannagunn 

LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/breannagunn

The post Marketing Expert Breanna Gunn Helps Introverted Entrepreneurs Market Themselves Effectively appeared first on CEO Medium.

Heidi is a small-town girl, with big dreams, actually HUGE dreams and she knows what it’s like to fail, pivot, and change direction. Heidi describes her past similar to Goldilocks trying a bunch of different paths but nothing ever felt right, that is until she started fully believing in all of herself including the quirks. Which she calls all these personality traits or quirks her “ISMS” and in order to fully believe in yourself, you can’t only believe in the shinny, pretty ones. Heidi made the final pivot about 3 years ago to pursue what finally felt right to her through the two companies she created, Heidiisms & LoveLustLA, and hasn’t looked back since.

The inspiration for Heidiisms came from Heidi knowing in order to fully accomplish her dreams, she needed to fully believe in herself. She thought maybe she wasn’t alone in feeling this way and went on a journey of finding her “ISMS” family. In her community, she promotes positivity, believing yourself and all of your quirks, and is on a mission to make Love go Viral. Heidi can be found on Instagram, Pinterest, Tiktok, and has Live-streamed on platforms such as Livit & HAKUNA. Heidi talents include set design, photography, videography, photo & video editing, brand social strategy but she is most well known for her larger than life magnetic personality on her live-streams & TikToks.

Right now, Heidiisms creates for her social media with brands and is available for contract to create content, such as stunning images & videos, for their social channels. She has also helped coach brands on social strategy and how to create a buzz on social media. Heidi has big goals to create merchandise and with clothing fashion brands & Jewelry, companies to create “ISMS” branded items from Heidi’s unique style. Heidi in the future would love to speak at events and travel to meet her “ISMS” family.

What’s one final piece of advice Heidi would want to leave you with? Anyone thinking about making a change, or making a large life decision, Heidi encourages you to look deep inside & always Believe in your #ISMS & Y-O-U. Need a little more inspiration? Join one of Heidiisms Live-Streams on TikTok at 10 am or HAKUNA at 8 pm PST.

Company name: Heidiisms 

Email Address : info@heidiisms.com 

Website URL :  https://www.heidiisms.com

InstagramURL:  https://www.instagram.com/heidiisms 

The post A Rising Social Media Star to Watch: Heidi Nicolle of Heidiisms appeared first on CEO Medium.

Social media is a great way to connect to people especially now that Covid-19 had hit us hard all over the world, so there’s no wonder why. But Social Media for me is more than just a place where you could spend a day to pass the time. So why not use this time to learn more about what social media could offer?⁣

Social Media nowadays is a great tool that could help your business grow and even create a business through it. Some people may still be skeptical about this fact, but even big names in the business industry are now on it. Now, how do you use Social Media to make business?⁣

As a social media influencer and entrepreneur, social media has become the place where my success has been taking place. Once social media became a thing, I jumped on the bandwagon ahead of time and learned every trick and trade out there and has made myself a brand which is the Luxelife9 on Instagram. During the last five years, I have been helping others make a name and career for themselves as a coach on Instagram. Let me be your social media guru— as what they call me— for today and give you tips you can use for growth in this quarantine especially if you are thinking about using social media for your business.⁣

To get started, of course, you need to grow your following so you can reach a wider audience. You need to get Instagram likes and followers, but you must always remember to choose those users who are within your target audience. This is critical no matter what marketing you produce. Take the time to find out who your existing audience is, and think about who you’d like them to be. Since you’re using Instagram for marketing, you need to consider whether they are potential buyers, or can help you build your brand in some way.⁣

Keep in mind that marketing is all about the audience and not about you, so selfies and snapshots of your trip with the significant other should stay personal. They’re not relevant to your customers and won’t get you sales. Well except of course if you are also a lifestyle influencer like me.⁣

Now, to keep your audience, you have to talk to them, but bear in mind that social media marketing is not an excuse to spam your followers with nothing but sales material. It’s vital to try to engage with followers as much as possible. One reason behind, is that the more that users share and comment on your content, the easier it is for new users to find it. Say, for example, Instagram’s algorithm prioritizes content with higher engagement, and you want to appear in as many feeds as possible to reach more audiences that are totally into your content and products that you offer.⁣

A picture is worth a thousand words, so use this power to its full, customer-hooking advantage. Of course, you won’t have that much of a follower if your contents are not worth following. Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking service, with that being said, having a great image and video content to share with your audience will make them stay with you. There is no doubt that video is one of the most popular forms of content. In fact, this is one of the things that have helped propel Instagram to these dizzying heights. By mixing videos and photos, you are able to generate more inbound links than with written posts alone. People love visuals and with this kind of mix, you will find it easier to create shareable content. ⁣

Good content leads to more audiences and potential buyers and will definitely lead to sales, keep that in mind.⁣

Another thing to consider in posting your content is knowing when to post them and how many should you post. Try to find the best times to post for your target audience, when you know they’re paying attention. Aim for non-work hours, Weekends if you’re a B2C company, or monitor your posts – and your competitors’ – to arrive at an optimum posting schedule for your account. If you want to make things easier for you, I suggested making use of a social listening tool that monitors Instagram engagement. ⁣

 When it comes to marketing coaching business on Instagram like Luxelife9, it all comes down to consistency and testing. Figure out what content works for your audience and which times they are most engaged. It’ll take a little research to figure out what works best for you but just be patient about it.⁣

As for the number of times that you should post, she advised avoiding posting too many posts a day. Once or twice is enough as we are trying not to overwhelm the audience with your post and worse annoy them and make them unfollow you.⁣

Also by working with an Influencer whose fans might be interested in your brand is a powerful way of gaining access to an engaged and loyal Instagram following. Even small brands with limited budgets can use influencer marketing by working with micro-influencers: people with a smaller but dedicated following.⁣

And last but not the least tip, always make use of all features that the platform offers. Users are most probably using them so you should too. ⁣

Of course, as a coach, I won’t want you to get the idea that it will be a very easy thing to do. Even with the success that I now have, my experiences as an entrepreneur was never that smooth. There were ups and downs, and at one point, I doubted my decisions. But as I went through my journey as an entrepreneur, I kept the passion for every goal I had. I stayed diligent and kept a positive perspective. I learned that it is important to challenge yourself and face your fears in every step that you take rather than doubting your decisions. Make it as a motivation, and you will surely learn a lot from it, especially if you are an aspiring business individual.⁣

⁣Social Media is an essential piece of business marketing strategy and a very effective one since social media platforms help connect with customers more quickly, increase awareness about the brand, and boost leads and sales. With more than three billion people worldwide using social media every month, so it’s no passing trend. It has the power to increase customer loyalty and helps build stronger customer relationships. If you need more guidance to start bringing your business on social media or make business through it, you can reach me through Instagram by sending me DM or send me an e-mail.

The post Social Media Guru and Influencer Marilyne Nix on Building Luxury Brand – Luxelife9 appeared first on CEO Medium.

So I started as a private baseball instructor and coach for 5 Star National (top 3 travel ball organization in the country) from 2013–2017. I was placed in charge of the social media marketing for this company and I was fortunate enough to generate some massive results for them so I figured why couldn’t I do this for myself? In March 2017 I started focusing on my own personal brand and growing it. Flash forward 6 months later and I was growing at a 10k follower/M rate and getting a lot of attention from others looking for help. The next phase was realizing I had worked and helped over 100 other people over the next 3 months — it was booming. At this point, I decided to start a business. It kind of fell into my lap. I tell people all the time I speak to as a mentor — you don’t always have to have an A to Z strategy in place before you start taking action towards your end goal. Just starting DOING! The rest will fall into place.

What is your business model — how were you able to grow so fast?

My business model was simple. Go find big-time marketing companies with proven track records and loads of clients who weren’t yet offering social media marketing services. Show them enough value and get them to the white label. I traveled all over the country in my free time connecting with marketing company decision-makers. Once they saw what I could do — the rest was history. The white-labeled under their own names added us to their pitch decks and had their own sales team already in place to sell our services. All we had to do was focus on the fulfillment aspect. Of course, we still sold our own clients at better margins, but fast growth can 100% be associated with our partner firms. We now currently have 9 partner agencies from all around the world including Australia and Bulgaria. We are in negotiations now with our potential 10th and 11th partner firms.

Can you give me an overview of who you are, what is your educational or overall background? What are some of your achievements?

I am 28 years old. 7 figure earner. I was my high school Salutatorian (Lanier County HS — Lakeland, Ga — a really small town of just 3300 people — only 92 students in my graduating class) in 2008. Played college baseball — that was my entire life before this move into entrepreneurship. I graduated Summa Cum Laude (3.95 or higher GPA) with a Bachelor’s in Accounting from Carson Newman University in 2012. Found out quickly a desk job was not for me! While in college, I was a member of Alpha Chi National Honor Society and Omicron Delta Kappa National Honor Society.

What have you learned through your experiences as an entrepreneur that can be used by aspiring business individuals?

Everyone has the same opportunities in life to be successful. We all come from different backgrounds and from all aspects of life — the ones who succeed will be the ones who don’t let themselves become a product of their environment and they figure out a way to stay relentless chasing their dreams. Like most things in life, there is also a formula for success. For example, if someone wants to lose 20 lbs — there are studies that show if you eat fewer carbs and exercise more, you can drop the weight within this particular formula. The same goes for success. They are certain ‘habits’ and best practices one can do each and every day to best position themselves for success. Study the people who are already killing it within your industry and learn from them. Get yourself a mentor. We all need a mentor and someone to hold us accountable.

What makes your business so unique and successful?

Honestly, I think it is our team. Our team truly cares about our clients. The best compliment I consistently receive is the fact I, as the Founder/CEO, still take the time to text my clients back personally if they have a question or issue. This can be challenging with 600+ clients but nothing in life worth having comes easy. Our team truly goes above and beyond for our clients to provide extreme customer satisfaction.

What have you learned through your journey as an entrepreneur?

That time and financial freedom isn’t just a thing you hear about! It truly is something that is attainable if you truly want it. It won’t be easy but once you get there, the rewards far outweigh the sacrifices you most definitely had to make to get there. It will require a ton of WORK and DISCIPLINE! But as the saying goes, Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.

What skills and attributes make you as successful as you are?

Self Discipline, Consistency, Team Building, Networking, Leadership

Why is online business, marketing, etc important?

Everything is moving to digital platforms. It is the future. Just walk around and look at where people’s eyes are — on their phones or some other screen. If your brand doesn’t have at least some sort of digital presence in 2019 and moving into 2020 — you are definitely missing out!

Find Ryan online on: www.officialryanwhite.com

The post Digital Entrepreneur Ryan White: The King of Social Media Marketing appeared first on CEO Medium.