“We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.”
Born This Way Foundation
October is National Anti-Bullying Month. There is an alarming trend both online and off of people being mean and hurting one another. We believe we can all do something to stop this trend and empower our youth, to encourage acceptance and love.
There are several organizations that are doing something to help our youth hold their head up high, to be strong and brave and to show them there is hope. One of the organizations that we love is the Born This Way Foundation, created by Lady Gaga and her beautiful mother, Cynthia Germanotta.
Check out this video, which shows some staggering stats on the state of bullying in our world. We love that Lady Gaga chose her song Hair for this video.
While cyber-bullying is something new to our world, the online space has also given organizations like this the ability to reach millions of young people where they live, online. This is the empowering part of the social + digital revolution, and we are so inspired by these movements and how they are truly making a difference in the lives of young people.
If you have been a victim of bullying, know someone who is, you know how horrible it is and the sometimes fatal consequences. Its time to stand up to bully’s, to show our youth that it’s cool to be your authentic self, and there are millions of people who love and accept them, just the way they are.
“Excuses don’t make things better. Excuses only offer a rationale to avoid trying.”
Simon Sinek
Marketing is the activity and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging products and services that have value for customers, clients, and society. So, yes, we are all marketers, whether we own a salon or are a beauty professional. How cool is that?
You may have heard about the 4 P’s of Marketing at some point, we actually believe there are 6. Yes, we added 2, why? Because we think they are the most important parts of the marketing mix.
The 4 P’s of Marketing plus our 2 P’s
1. Product (service)
2. Place (salon)
3. Price (price points of product/service)
4. Promotion (how you will promote product/service)
5. People (you, your team, your clients)
6. Passion (you got this, yay!)
Yet many times, we hear people say, I’m an artist, not a business person. I’m creative, not a sales person. Well guys, the fact is, marketing is all about art + creativity, so congrats, you are a marketer.
Here is a super cool infographic on Facebook Marketing. So, no more excuses, its time to jump in and start trying.
If you want to learn more about marketing in the social + digital space, or just how to better market your salon, we offer one-on-one coaching and mentoring to help you craft an effective and engaging plan. Click here to learn more about our services. We look forward to helping you achieve your dreams, and yes, to become a better marketer.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas, Nina + Gordon)
“Things that help others is what gets the most shares.”
Chris Brogan
Even though this video was shot over 2 years ago, it’s still so relevant as Brian Solis speaks about the social value of “checking-in”. It’s a super simple way to understand “social currency” and the “social value” our interactions on the web play into growing our salons, businesses and brands.
“Social currency is represented in the resulting value and sentiment that stems from the exchange of social objects: words, videos, reactions, links. Social currency is a combination of actions and words.”
Brian Solis
So what does that mean for us?
Every time a client has a social interaction with our salon, every time they comment, share, like, and yes, even check-in, they are giving their endorsement of your salon to their group of friends. Sound familiar? Of course it does, it’s good ol fashion word of mouth, it’s just happening online.
When we provide engaging, relevant and valuable information and content on our social pages, people will take action.
Here are some examples of social actions: Facebook
Likes, comments, shares, RSVP’s to events, check-in’s
YELP
Reviews, checking-in
Foursquare
Checking-In, reviews
Twitter
Tweets, re-tweets, @ mentions
Pinterest
Likes, comments, re-pins
Instagram
Likes, comments
So, what are you doing on your social pages to create “social value” and “social currency”? Are you creating and delivering valuable content for your fans and followers or just trying to sell them something? In the end, the more value you deliver, the more actions you will get.
If you are ready to learn how to connect your offline efforts with your online efforts, we offer one-on-one coaching and mentoring to help you craft an awesome social + digital plan designed to increase your social value, currency and ultimately more word of mouth and referrals. Click here to learn more and get started!
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas, Nina + Gordon)
It all begins with a decision.
So what are you waiting for? So many times we get so wrapped up in the day-to-day that we put off the things that are most important to us. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed, we get so stuck, we do not know where to begin. Sound familiar? Like anything worthwhile, like any journey, it begins with taking the first step. It’s amazing what can happen once we make the decision to take that first step.
Whether its improvements we want to make in our lives, our relationships, our salon, our career, our health, our business plans, or our skills, it all begins with the first step.
Think back to the day you chose to go to beauty school, or college, or open that salon, or attend that advanced academy. You made a decision, and you took action.
Lights, camera…Action!
Ideas, dreams, goals and plans are only words on a piece of paper, until we choose to take action, to execute on them, to take the first step. Which goals, dreams and plans do you have sitting in a notebook or laptop somewhere you have not taken action on? What are you waiting for? Today is the day to take that first step.
If you are serious about igniting your passion and turning your dreams into reality, we offer one-on-one coaching and mentoring to help you craft the ultimate plan to begin your journey. If you are ready to take that first step, click here. We look forward to dreaming with you.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas, Nina + Gordon)
“Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.”
Napoleon Hill
Meet Danielle Valiente, a super passionate salon owner, stylist, Paul Mitchell educator and blogger taking the social space by storm to get closer to her goals and dreams. Danielle is such a great example of delivering value through engaging content on social platforms and as she adds value, she is getting the attention of the likes of eHow and Lucky Magazine. Danielle took some time out of her super busy schedule to share her thoughts on how she is using the social web to empower herself and her community. Enjoy.
Nina: What are your current goals as a salon owner/session stylist, etc?
Danielle: My current goals as a salon owner are to continue building our brand and salon team. I set goals every year and work hard to reach them. As a session stylist, my goals are to continue to grow my portfolio, my contributions to Lucky Magazine and my video blogging.
Nina: Which social platform are you focusing on to reach that goal?
Danielle: Do I have to pick 1? Currently I use: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube as my main platforms. They each offer a little something different for reaching my audience.
Nina: Why those platforms?
Danielle: I’m focusing right now on building my YouTube presence. I love sharing education and information with people, so I’m using YouTube to bring my blogging education to life.
Nina: How did those platforms help you get closer to your goal?
Danielle: Currently I am one of Demand Media and eHows video talent. Every few months I create a series of how to videos that help hair stylists and the general public learn to do specific techniques related to hair styling.
Nina: What have the results been?
Danielle: eHow just added me to their YouTube page and within that day I already had hundreds of views.
Connect with Danielle on the social web and see all the cool stuff she is doing to build her brand.
