Improve interaction with your followers using 3 simple tricks

improve interaction with followers

Interacting with your followers and having meaningful engagements and conversations are key to social media and content success.

What keeps surprising me is that this is where a lot of companies and personal brands are really missing the mark.

You will be surprised how many social media folks just don’t engage back at all, and the ones that do, usually simple “like” the other persons comment or maybe sometimes say a simple ‘thank you’.

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Exploring new marketing channels? ask these two questions first

Explore marketing channels

Before I go into today’s post I want to share with you that yesterday I didn’t post anything on this blog – but I did write a post for another blogger (post will be up soon) so I’m still counting it as a post done.

I said at the beginning of this adventure that some of the content might be off site. When it is published, I will add it here as Day 10.

Some hard truth

Ok – I’ve been waiting for a long time  to share with you something that not many content marketers are willing to admit.

Creating great content is a must if you want to succeed with content marketing, but it’s only 25% of the success factor.

The one big secret for making your content to actually work for you – is distribution and promotion.

If your content doesn’t have any distribution plan, it will fail.

If you think about most ‘growth strategies’ – they focus heavily on growth of distribution and reach. Why? because without distribution the funnel doesn’t even start.

How you should approach every new marketing channel

I’ve recently started using Snapchat.

After listening to Gary talking about it so much, I’ve decided it’s time to give it a try. I love it. I truly enjoy.

Only one problem – It’s shitty for content discovery and content doesn’t last (it automatically disappears after 24 hours). That’s a bad combination for trying and increase reach.

If it’s very hard to discover content, it means that you will need to work really hard on getting followers and attention. Because the content disappears after 24 hours it also means that you’re not creating real estate, that can be discovered by future readers.

Why is this the only thing I’m telling you about Snapchat at the moment? Because as a marketer, being easily discovered is key.

So what is the first thing you should check when approaching a new marketing channel? 

  1. Is your audience there / potentially be there in the next 6 months.
  2. How easy it is to get discovered and build a following.

I’ll ignore the audience part because I will discuss it in future post. For now lets focus on the “discovery and building a following.”

 What your process should be

Every time you decide taking your brand / company into a new marketing channel, before creating one piece of content on it – you need to ask yourself:
How will I get attention and followers?

Lets take Instagram for example. On the top of my head I look at Instagram and think:

  1. I can promote my new account on other platforms (Cross platform promotion)
  2. I can explore hashtags even further
  3. I can explore the location options further
  4. I can as comment on other relevant accounts to get noticed
  5. I can like other Instagrammer’s photos to get their attention.
  6. I can follow / unfollow people to get noticed
  7. I can reach out to influencers and ask them to recommend following me.
  8. I can do sponsored ads
  9. I can do sponsored “shout out for shout outs”
  10. I can re-post other’s people content, mentioning them and give credit so they’ll notice me.
  11. I can send direct messages to other relevant accounts
  12. I can mention relevant industry leaders account and ask a questions.
  13. etc. etc.

Now that I broke down all my options to engage and get attention / followers on Instagram, I can start thinking about the tactics and content I need use to start getting new followers – so my content will have impact and actually get noticed by people.

Always ask yourself – How am I going to get attention on this platform and make it last. How hard will i need to work to get noticed / discovered.

I will write about this topic more in-depth soon.

But for now, try and test yourself – look a the marketing channels you’re currently using. What can you do to get more followers right now? Is this a good channel for you?

 

BTW, are you a snapper? follow me on Snapchat at roypovar or by scanning this code:

Roy Povarchik Snapchat

Roy Povarchik Snapchat

I’ve been using Snapchat for 5 days and it changed my life

Follow me on snapchat

Yes, this is a dramatic headline, but I’m that excited. I’ll tell you why in just a minute.

Up until a few days ago I didn’t get Snapchat. At all.

I downloaded it a few times in the past, tried following some people I knew. But I just didn’t get it. I didn’t even get the interface (which sucks).

But something changed.

I saw Gary Vaynerchuk’s ‘SNAPPING MY WAY THROUGH VEGAS‘ episode and was partially brainwashed that Snapchat is the next big thing.

So I did what any old guy (Old in compare to a millennial) would do, and just looked through Snapchat support and looked up some Youtube videos explaining the product and concept.

Somewhere between watching Gary using it and thinking about my strategy and resolutions to 2016 the magic of Snapchat hit me.

Why it changed my life

If you’ve been following me / this blog for a while, you already know that I have issues with selfies and real time documentation. I just get awkward in the moment. Up until recently I haven’t taken and posted a selfie… every! I was always tagged, but never took the picture. That’s crazy right?

The second thing is that i’m too heavy with content. My professional blog posts take a lot of time to write and even on my Twitter account, I take everything too seriously and heavily. That doesn’t cope with the future of marketing. This is actually a part of why I started the writing challenge.

Snapchat changed that for me.

Why? Because this platform is hardcore all about real time, quick response, but most of all, if you’re not putting yourself out there – there’s nothing there for you.

But i’ve decided i’m giving Snapchat a try. So I’m all in. And it feels great.

Here are some of the things I’ve been doing in the last couple of days that i’ve never done before:

  1. I’ve created content on the fly: from giving tips to just sharing daily work stuff.
  2.  I’ve actually contacted more people
  3. I use video. All the time.
  4. Got the urge to do more real time things.
  5. Started actively asking my surroundings to be a part of my social efforts.
  6. I started multitasking better on my social efforts.

For me, that’s a huge change. Think of where I’ve started.

Business wise, I don’t know f Snapchat will actually have any results as getting new followers is super hard. But I will find out soon.

What I was really surprised though is to find out how many of my friends  are actually on Snapchat.

Which actually proves Gary’s point – that Snapchat is maturing and will probably become the next big thing, and this is the time for you to build your brand on it before others in your field will take over.

So.. I’m on Snapchat as ‘roypovar’.

You can also scan this code to follow me.

Add your profile code or nick name in the comments and I promise to follow you back!

Roy Povarchik Snapchat

Roy Povarchik Snapchat

The Goal Setting Workshop (Video)

Goal setting workshop session

Did you miss the goal setting workshop last night? No worries – I have the recordings right here.

Goal settings is a serious thing. It can mean the difference between wasting another year, getting to 2017 and not knowing where the time went and having the best year of life.

This is why yesterdays ‘Goal Setting’ workshop was free, and why i’m sharing the recording here for everyone to enjoy and learn from.

I was actually not a 100% sure I will be able to do the workshop, as I am still sick. But at the last minute I decided that a sore throat and some fever won’t hold me down. But will cause me to have a wired voice during the session.

I’m sorry for the low quality, It was my first time using Google Hangout on air to do a workshop, but the content still looks good and is super valuable.

Enjoy the session!

 

Update: You can find the workshop slides here

Have any thoughts you’d like to share? That’s what the comments are for

My reading challenge

My reading challenge

I have so many things I want to achieve this year, it’s crazy.

One of the things i’v love doing most but haven’t done so much in 2015 was to read books. Yes full books. Not posts, status updates or “the complete guide to” but actual books.

I’m planning to change that in 2016.

How? by committing to reading 2 books a month.

The goal is to read a book in 2 weeks but I’m hoping it will have a side effect as well.

I’m a ‘bed reader’, I love reading books before going to sleep. This means that for me to be able to lay in bed and have sufficient energy to read, I will have to go to bed at a decent time.

What will I be Reading

You know I’m a sharer, right? So of course I’ve set up this page that will allow you to track what I’m reading and also give me some recommendations.

I’m also hoping it will become a good resource for other book lovers who are just thinking about what book they should read next. So it’s wide open to everyone.

What books can you expect to find there? The usual suspects I guess:

  • Growth hacking
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Marketing
  • Biography’s
  • Business
  • Zen
  • Productivity

So jump in – Here’s what i’ve read in 2016.

Current stat

Current stat

 

Any book you think I MUST read? Let me know in the comments.

5 Quick tips for creating a great presentation

5 Quick tips for creating a great presentation

I’ve just finished creating the presentation for tomorrow’s ‘Goal setting workshop’ (feel free to join us) and was inspired to share some tips on creating an engaging presentation.

There have been so many posts written about it that I’m guessing you already have your best practices set, but I’ll share mine anyway. You might find something here that is right for you.

Before I start, I highly recommend reading ‘ The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs’. This is be far the best book I’ve read on the matter.

5 Quick tips to create great presentations

 

Outline your story before you even open your Keynote (or PowerPoint):

The biggest mistake you can make when creating your presentation is starting right off with creating the presentation itself.

Great presentations are all about great storytelling, and like any good story, you first need to understand what is the main point you want get across, outline your story and organizing  it in a way your audience will really get it.

A simple A4 or notepad will do.

Write your story, its milestones, it main points – and only then ‘translate’ it to a presentation.

One point per slide

There’s nothing worst then an over- crowded slide.

Each slide should make only one point. Forget millions of bullet points, forget about cramming 200 words per slide. Simplify it.

Make sure each slide is focuses on delivering only one idea that your audience can easily understand and follow.

The slides accompany you, not the other way around

This is the most common mistakes I see speakers do.

You are the main event, not your slide deck.

You want your audience to focus on you, and what you are saying. If your slides are telling all the story, your audience will just read it quickly and stop paying attention to you.

Your slides should focus on one idea, emphasising what you are saying, not replacing it.

Use high quality images

Images and pictures will always grab more attention than text. But choosing the right image isn’t easy.

Make sure you are using pictures that are relevant to what you are talking about (at least in topic at atmosphere) but most of all – make sure you are using a high quality image and not just a crappy one you got online.

You can use websites such as Pexels on Unsplash to get free high resolution photos.

Watching a presentation with pixelated images, or a louse stock photo is a totally let down. Doesn’t matter how interesting you are or how important the topic is, your presentation just lost major points with your audience.

Frame your talk

At the beginning of your talk, give your audience a summary of what you’ll be talking about. So it’ll be easier for them to keep track of the talk’s progress, what to expect and even create anticipation,

Within your talk, make sure you are opening and closing topics in a way your audience can follow. Create a headline slide when starting a new topic, a summary slide at the end of the topic, and always try and leave room for questions.

If you don’t frame segment of your talk, or give context to what you’re going to talk about, you are making it hard for your audience to follow you.

If your audience looses interest for a second, it will be very hard to get their attention back.

In conclusion:

There are so many component of a good presentation, but I think this 5 will easily make your presentation better than over 90% of the presentations out there.

Are you using Slideshare to post your presentations? Share it in the comments.

Match your marketing channel to your energy levels

Match your marketing channel to your energy levels

If you’ve been a fan of Cesar Milan  (you might know him from his show ‘The Dog Whisperer‘) you know that understanding energy is crucial in our daily life.

While Milan talks about communicating with your dog, he makes a very important point about how we behave and choices we make as humans in general.

What does communicating with your dog has to do with content marketing you ask? I promise there’s a valid answer. Just hang in there with me.

In his many episodes, books, seminars (and in whatever other profitable channel he found I guess) the dog whisperer preaches about  the importance of energy in two crucial aspects:

  1. When choosing the right dog for you
  2. When communicating with your dog

I will focus on the first point in this post.

Also  you will understand what this has to do with marketing (including examples).

Choosing content format is a lot like choosing the right dog

We have two dogs, so I’ve read quite a lot Cesar’s content and watched his show.

One of the things that really made an impression on me was Cesar’s approach to choosing the dog that is right for you and your family.

Cesar categories dogs by level of energy: Low, Mid and High.

A Low energy dog is usually a little slower, more relaxed, while a high level energy dog is one that needs to run a round a lot, is over excited and over curious about things.

It’s important to understand that it’s not that one is good and one is bad, they’re just different.

Cesar suggests that when you adopt a dog don’t do the common mistake of choosing the first dog that runs straights towards you or just the one that seems the cutest. You’re choosing a long term partner, you have to be more serious about it than that.

Choosing the right dog means finding a dog that matches your energy levels. If you’re always tired, don’t like going out of the house or do walks – don’t pick the dog that is crazily wagging its tail and can’t wait to go out on a run. Your energies wouldn’t match and you will either be frustrated (a high energy level dog that doesn’t releases its energy outside is most likely to trash your place) or the dog will become depressed.

 

Same goes with content format.

Wait.. what?! Yup, you heard me.

Think about the different energy levels different content format requires.

For example – If you’re not a super high energy guy, Video and podcasts are probably not for you. If you are Video is a great channel for you.

Think about Gary Vaynerchuk (I’ve become a huge fan recently), he is the master of video. Why? Because he bring so much energy to his Ask Gary Vee show and the DailyVee. No wonder Wine Library TV was such a huge hit.

Gary has super high energy and video works for him. Text on the other hand, is not a forte’ of his. He writes blog posts, and they are good, but not as nearly exciting or inspiring as his video content.

Take Tim Ferriss on the other hand. His posts, books and podcast are amazing. They are super interesting and insightful. Tim is a mid-level energy guy. His is passionate, but he’s not crazy energized as Gary. So text and long-form audio work great for him. His TV show on the other hand, doesn’t work as well.

Now to you

Yes, i know, there are all kinds of marketing trends to follow – ‘2016 is the year of video’ bla  bla. But as someone once said – it’s not the tactic that gets you noticed, but your quality.

So when planning your 2016 marketing channels, budgets and where to place your efforts, don’t just follow the trends blindly.

Look deep inside you and ask yourself – What level of energy type am I? Will video work for me? Will I be able to keep up an Instagram account? Am I lower energy level kind of guy and writing text is the best way for me to go?

Match the formats you’ll use to your energy levels. If not, you will be putting double the effort and get half the results.

Trust me.

P.S Did you sign up for my special goal setting workshop this Sunday? If not, sign up here

Goal setting workshop

Goal setting workshop

 

Day 4: I want to invite you to a ‘Goal Setting Workshop’ (it’s free)

Goal setting workshop

Since January 1st,  i’ve been working on setting my goals for 2016.

You see, 2015 was great for me, but not as great as it could’ve been. Why? Because I didn’t plan my goals right.

Every year I do goal settings and I have a pretty solid record in keeping most of them. But last year, I just didn’t set them right and didn’t follow through .

That resulted in some progress, but not the progress I was hoping for. This year i’m doing it right.

The Goal Setting Workshop

At the beginning of the week, I posted to my Facebook and Twitter account an offering for people to join me for a goal setting workshop. The responses we’re quite amazing, so i’ve decided to follow through and do one.

You can register to the workshop here

I should warn you that i’m planning on limiting the workshop to up to 30 people max.

I want it to feel as intimate as an online workshop can feel – and try to stay away from that ‘webinar’ kind of feeling. So it will be limited to up 30 people.

In the workshop you will learn:

  1. Tips from top performers on setting up their years goals.
  2. How to choose goals that are right for you.
  3. How to define goals in a way you can actually achieve them.
  4. How to plan your goals to keep you on track.
  5. Why most people fail in reaching their goals, and why you’d be different.

Be quick to save your spot here.

Make a friend’s 2016 that much better

We all have that friend that is just isn’t happy about their position in life.

A friend that feels lost, isn’t happy or just need some good guidance to get them going and out of a slump.

We always want to help the people we care about, but don’t always get the time, or even know how to help.

I urge you to choose 1 friend, and send them this invitation (even if you’re not registered).

This is the link to the sign up page: https://goalsettingworkshop2016.splashthat.com.

Just send it to them, tell them it’s free and you think this can really help them win 2016.

Eventually, doing good and helping others, is what it is all about. 

Hope to see you in the workshop.

Screen Shot 2016-01-07 at 9.04.09 AM

Day 3: How to have a good day, every day

How to have a good day, every day

 

 

 

The Morning is the most important part of your day.

 

Starting your day with a good or bad mood can change the way you’ll perceive your day’s events.

Most of us start our morning by rushing out to work, taking your kid to school, panically answering emails from the day before or even with a wake up call from your boss that started their day 2 hours before you and is now stressing you out.

If you start your day stressed, you’re going to have a shitty day. Guaranteed.

If you’ll start your day in peace and in a positive state – your days, decisions and perception of reality will improve and be more optimistic. Leading you to have better days, make better decisions and better enjoy your life. Everyday.

If you could choose between having a good day and a bad day, what would you choose?

Set yourself up for a good day

 

Block email for the first hour

Checking emails first thing in the morning is one of the worst thing you can do to yourself.

Do you know what’s waiting for you in your inbox? Work. You are basically setting the tone for your day to be stressful.

When you check your email first thing in the morning you are automatically putting yourself in a reactive mode, meaning you lose control over your day right at the start.

Gain control over you day just by not checking your inbox for the first 60 minutes.

Get up, focus on yourself or your family, and only then check your email. The fact that your phone is right next to your bed, doesn’t mean you have to enslave yourself to it.

Meditate

Meditation is one of the best things you can do for yourself. It’s a great way to balance your thoughts, clear your mind, prioritise what really matters and just be present in the moment.

At the beginning of the meditation session you will be overwhelmed with thoughts, worries and assignments you need to take care of in the day. As you progress all that stressful noise will become a still, calm water. In you will gain clarity and perspective, giving you more control over how you start your day.

Don’t start your day in panic and feeling of being overwhelmed. Meditate and clear your mind. Get yourself ready for the day, don’t just drown in it.

Get inspired

Another good practice to set your day to be positive and controlling your morning mood, is to get inspired as early as you can.

Getting inspired will fill you with energy to tackle the different challenge throughout the day.

You can get inspire by watching TED talks, listening to a podcast you like (Gary Vaynerchuck is a really good listen in the mornings), or just listen to upbeat music.

Give your brain something to work with and you will see how you become more positive within seconds.

The 5 minute journal

Writing is also a great way to start your morning. You can just scribble some stuff in your journal, pouring thoughts out just to clear your mind (I use Day One for that).

You can also use something like ‘The 5 minute journal’, which will take only 5 minutes of your morning routine and will set you up for a positive mood.

The logic behind it is very simple – you have a structured format of questions that you need to answer on, that are all positive and will help you focus on the good things you have going on in life.

Starting your day by being reminded of all the good things you have to cherish will boost your energy for sure.

Screen Shot 2016-01-06 at 6.33.40 PM

Drink water

When you wake up from sleep, your body is dehydrated. It’s a fact. And it doesn’t matter how much water you drank in the previous night.

While most people do the mistake of drinking coffee to wake up, water is actually the better solution.

By drinking 2-3 cups of water as soon as you wake up, you will ditch that sleepy feeling right away and bring energy to your body.

No one can promises your day will be filled with only good news and all your problems will go away, but follow this 5 simple tricks and I can promise your quality of life and amount of good days a year, will increase already on day one.

Day 2: Go from survival mode to active mode in 60 mins a day

As an entrepreneur, finding extra time in your day to do nothing but think is a must.

Honestly, I think it’s necessary for anyone’s happiness, but for entrepreneurs, it’s a matter of life or death.

That extra head space is where you plan ahead, it’s where you get inspired, deal with issues in your business, your relationships and more.

Having no extra headspace or time to think distraction free will leave you in a reactive mode. Meaning survival mode

Survival mode VS. Active mode

You know what survival mode is. You’ve been,

You wake up every morning, you face the routine, answer the emails, put down fires in your business, growing slowly (or actually even staying in the same place), stuff don’t work but you don’t really fix them just kind of handle them. You’re never really happy. might not be depressed, but you’re not happy.

Things happen to you and you react mostly.

Active mode on the other hand is when you usually feel as if you’re in control of the situation. I wouldn’t say you’re stress free, but you are in control, you feel like you can plan ahead, make smart decisions, really work towards your goals.

Going from one mode to another can require no more than 30-60 mins a day.

It’s not about place – it’s about time and what you do

A lot of people believe that to get that “time to plan” you have to take a special vacation, or save time over the weekend.

While sometime it’s better if you can get away for a  couple of days (like when planning your yearly goals) it’s basically about securing up  to 60 minutes of your day. You can also do pretty well with 30-60 mins.

You need to secure some time in the day when you’re not going to sit next to your computer answering emails, not playing / watching over your kid, not answering your employees answers.

It’s all about you.

It’s about clearing your head enough to deal with you need to deal with and reach a level where you can actually see the bigger picture.

How I used to do it

I used to have a morning routine where I would wake up, drink water, do some stretches and then do a short workout and a 30 min session meditation.

If you don’t have a lot of time, I think meditating is the best way to spend the time you have.

If you are new to meditation you can try using an app like Headspace or any kind of guided meditation app.

I actually use Tara Brach guided meditation podcast and meditate using her episodes on the show.

 

The reason I’d suggest spending most of that time meditating and not just writing endlessly, is because I believe meditation can take you from a crowded mind to empty clear sky within 30 minutes or so. So if you have 45 minutes and 60 minutes overall, that remaining time will be put to good use and not just you fighting to clear your thoughts.

Admittedly, since Emily (my 7 months old daughter) was born, I wasn’t able to hold my morning routing and lost that quiet time.

7 months later, and I feel the need for it badly.

That’s how I learn to appreciate that time so much and find harming impact of not having.

As part of my 2016 goals is to set up a new routing that can cope with the new family status.

The way it seems right now – I will either use the nighttime or dedicate a room in our office for it.

Are you setting time apart for your self to think daily? When do you do it on your day?