Page 91 – Passion Squared

#26Acts of Kindness

December 21, 2012Nina KovnerGIVE BACK

“If you do good, you’ll feel good.”

Ann Curry

As I sit here and write this, I am still numb thinking about the tragic events of December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary. Like many of you, it’s been difficult to find the words, to go about our everyday lives, knowing that there is so much suffering happening. It sure does put things in perspective.

This post is in honor of the beautiful, precious and innocent children and teachers we lost and for the survivors and the families, whose lives are forever changed.

How Will You Use Your Voice?
When events such as this take place, we all have different ways of coping. Some lash out and get hateful and mean, as many of us have seen on the social web.

But the social web can also be very empowering, used for good and a beautiful example of this is Ann Currys #26Acts movement. An idea, a hashtag, and taking action. Those three simple yet powerful things have launched a movement for good around the world. Simply awesome.

It’s moments like these that make me proud to be part of the human race and stands as a great reminder that there are so many good people in this world who are standing up for love and using their voice to make a difference.

I Believe In Love
You see, I believe in love. I believe that love is more powerful than hate. And I believe that the more love we put out into the universe, the more love there will be. And in our heartbreak and pain, we have a choice. We can get mad and hateful, or we can get empowered and do something good, like Ann Curry did.

I believe that if we all made a choice every morning when we woke up that we would be more loving, more kind, more compassionate, and more careful with our words and actions, our world would be in a better place. It begins with each of us.

Are You In?
I am participating in #26Acts. As of today, I am at #6. And each day I will find more ways to help make another life better. I am making a difference. I am doing something. And it feels good. Will you join me?

To learn more about the #26Acts movement, click here and become part of something greater than yourself.

(shared with LOVE from your passionista Nina)

Happy Holidays!

December 20, 2012Nina KovnerENGAGE

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

Marcel Proust

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOyKom5BQ8M&feature=youtu.be

Thank you for all your love and support this year and for being the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. We appreciate you <3

Wishing you a Happy Holiday and an awesome New Year!

Your Passionistas-
Gordon, Nina, Zen, Faith and Cody

Raving Fans

December 19, 2012Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“More contact means more sharing of information, gossiping, exchanging, engaging – in short more word of mouth.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

There is no denying the facts. In today’s world, it is so important for local businesses to be engaged on review platforms such as YELP, Google Places, Citysearch and the like. People are talking about you, people are looking for you, your job is to know what they are saying and to be discoverable on the web.

Check out this super cool infographic that shows the facts about how potential new clients use review sites. Powerful stuff, and even more powerful for your business if you pay attention and use these platforms to help generate word of mouth and attract new clients.

(infographic discovered on Google courtesy of Milo)

To learn more about how to claim your YELP page, click here to view our webinar.

If you are looking to engage more deeply in the social + digital web in 2013, we offer one-on-one mentoring to help you craft a plan and learn how to use these platforms to help you achieve your dreams. Click here for more information. We look forward to hearing from you.

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

The Truth About YELP

December 10, 2012Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“We’re living in an era where word-of-mouth is on steroids. People aren’t just talking to their neighbors and the folks they run into around town; they’re talking to the world via social media.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

I have seen so much lately on the web about small businesses being mad at YELP. Rants on Facebook and other pages, and quite frankly, many of them are just small business owners who do not understand how YELP or social review and referral platforms work.

Is YELP perfect? NO! Is any social platform perfect? NO. But these platforms can be used for good, and my suggestion is to learn more about them, and to realize they are here to stay, whether you “like” them or not.

So here is my attempt to clear up any misunderstandings and hopefully inspire you to take the energy you are using to hate on YELP and turn it towards understanding YELP and how it can empower and gorw your business.

The Facts
1. YELP has more than 15 million reviews and over 40 million visits to its site every month.

2. Five star reviews lead in terms of percentage of reviews given.

3. YELP uses a formula called an “algorithm” to catch fake reviews or pages that get several reviews in a short period of time from new YELPERS, and filters them in an attempt to keep the site as authentic as possible.

4. Most frequent YELPERS know about filtered reviews and check them out.

5. YELP is one of the number one new traffic drivers to small business, both online and offline.

6. You DO NOT need to advertise on YELP to make it work for you, just like Google or Facebook, you have the choice of PAID discovery and/or ORGANIC discovery.

Here is a graphic that shows the average number of reviews by star.
My friends Pilates Studio in Los Angeles, Whole Body Method, who I have the pleasure to work with has received over 1500 visits to their website this year alone directly from YELP.

Over 60% of those visits were first time visits.
They stayed on the website over 2 minutes and viewed 2.5 pages, more than any other social or digital referral visit.
Many of those visits have turned into new clients, as in hundreds of new clients.
In fact, besides existing client referrals and traditional word of mouth, YELP is their number one referral tool.
One of the keys to this is they also offer online booking and the ability to purchase packages online.
Their business is up over 50% from last year. While there are several factors that made this happen, their choice to embrace the social + digital web is a significant part of their success.

My tattoo shop here in LA, Velvet Grip Family, attributes over 90% of new client traffic to YELP. How do they know? It’s the first question they ask when you walk in. “How did you hear about us?” Nine times out of ten the answer is YELP.

So here’s the deal. You can choose to NOT do business with YELP, whatever that means. But you must understand your business will remain on YELP, Citysearch, Google Places and all over the Internet. That is the reality of social business, and it’s not going away.

So you have a choice, bury your head in the sand, or take advantage of these powerful platforms, begin paying attention to what people are saying about your business on the web, and use them to grow. Your choice.

If you want to learn more about YELP and the other social referral platforms on the web, click here to see if our one-on-one mentoring program is right for you. You can also visit our YouTube channel PassionSquaredTV to view a webinar on YELP we did several months ago.

(shared with LOVE from your passionista Nina)

Blog

#26Acts of Kindness

“If you do good, you’ll feel good.”

Ann Curry

This post is in honor of the beautiful, precious and innocent children and teachers we lost and for the survivors and the families, whose lives are forever changed.

How Will You Use Your Voice?
When events such as this take place, we all have different ways of coping. Some lash out and get hateful and mean, as many of us have seen on the social web.

But the social web can also be very empowering, used for good and a beautiful example of this is Ann Currys #26Acts movement. An idea, a hashtag, and taking action. Those three simple yet powerful things have launched a movement for good around the world. Simply awesome.

It’s moments like these that make me proud to be part of the human race and stands as a great reminder that there are so many good people in this world who are standing up for love and using their voice to make a difference.

I believe that if we all made a choice every morning when we woke up that we would be more loving, more kind, more compassionate, and more careful with our words and actions, our world would be in a better place. It begins with each of us.

Are You In?
I am participating in #26Acts. As of today, I am at #6. And each day I will find more ways to help make another life better. I am making a difference. I am doing something. And it feels good. Will you join me?

To learn more about the #26Acts movement, click here and become part of something greater than yourself.

(shared with LOVE from your passionista Nina)

Happy Holidays!

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

Marcel Proust

Thank you for all your love and support this year and for being the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. We appreciate you <3

Wishing you a Happy Holiday and an awesome New Year!

Your Passionistas-
Gordon, Nina, Zen, Faith and Cody

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Blog

“If you do good, you’ll feel good.”

Ann Curry

This post is in honor of the beautiful, precious and innocent children and teachers we lost and for the survivors and the families, whose lives are forever changed.

How Will You Use Your Voice? When events such as this take place, we all have different ways of coping. Some lash out and get hateful and mean, as many of us have seen on the social web.

But the social web can also be very empowering, used for good and a beautiful example of this is Ann Currys #26Acts movement. An idea, a hashtag, and taking action. Those three simple yet powerful things have launched a movement for good around the world. Simply awesome.

It’s moments like these that make me proud to be part of the human race and stands as a great reminder that there are so many good people in this world who are standing up for love and using their voice to make a difference.

I believe that if we all made a choice every morning when we woke up that we would be more loving, more kind, more compassionate, and more careful with our words and actions, our world would be in a better place. It begins with each of us.

Are You In? I am participating in #26Acts. As of today, I am at #6. And each day I will find more ways to help make another life better. I am making a difference. I am doing something. And it feels good. Will you join me?

To learn more about the #26Acts movement, click here and become part of something greater than yourself.

(shared with LOVE from your passionista Nina)

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”

Marcel Proust

Thank you for all your love and support this year and for being the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. We appreciate you <3

Wishing you a Happy Holiday and an awesome New Year!

Your Passionistas- Gordon, Nina, Zen, Faith and Cody

“More contact means more sharing of information, gossiping, exchanging, engaging – in short more word of mouth.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

Check out this super cool infographic that shows the facts about how potential new clients use review sites. Powerful stuff, and even more powerful for your business if you pay attention and use these platforms to help generate word of mouth and attract new clients.

(infographic discovered on Google courtesy of Milo)

To learn more about how to claim your YELP page, click here to view our webinar.

If you are looking to engage more deeply in the social + digital web in 2013, we offer one-on-one mentoring to help you craft a plan and learn how to use these platforms to help you achieve your dreams. Click here for more information. We look forward to hearing from you.

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”

Albert Einstein

We were working with a client the other day and were talking about planning and had a big AHA! We realized that many people with Facebook Business Pages do not know about the super handy feature called Scheduled Posts.

What it is NOT is a way to remove yourself from making authentic daily connections with your community such as posting shout outs to clients and team members, posting awesome pics from the day in the salon, commenting on posts from others on your page, responding to inbox messages, etc.

Here is how it woks. It’s super easy.

Step One Create your post just like you always do.

Step Two Click on the little clock on the left hand side of the Status Box.

Step Three Select the Year, Month, Day and Time you want the Post to go LIVE.

Step Four Click on Schedule. When you do, this little box will pop up to show you your Post is scheduled and where to find it if you want to edit or delete it.

Step Five If you want to Edit or Delete the Post, you can go to Edit Page in the Admin Panel and click on Use Activity Log. You will see all of your scheduled posts and can edit them by clicking on the little arrow drop down thing on the right.

Congratulations! You have successfully scheduled your post. You are awesome. It’s time to celebrate!

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

“We’re living in an era where word-of-mouth is on steroids. People aren’t just talking to their neighbors and the folks they run into around town; they’re talking to the world via social media.”

Gary Vaynerchuk

I have seen so much lately on the web about small businesses being mad at YELP. Rants on Facebook and other pages, and quite frankly, many of them are just small business owners who do not understand how YELP or social review and referral platforms work.

Is YELP perfect? NO! Is any social platform perfect? NO. But these platforms can be used for good, and my suggestion is to learn more about them, and to realize they are here to stay, whether you “like” them or not.

So here is my attempt to clear up any misunderstandings and hopefully inspire you to take the energy you are using to hate on YELP and turn it towards understanding YELP and how it can empower and gorw your business.

The Facts 1. YELP has more than 15 million reviews and over 40 million visits to its site every month.

2. Five star reviews lead in terms of percentage of reviews given.

3. YELP uses a formula called an “algorithm” to catch fake reviews or pages that get several reviews in a short period of time from new YELPERS, and filters them in an attempt to keep the site as authentic as possible.

4. Most frequent YELPERS know about filtered reviews and check them out.

5. YELP is one of the number one new traffic drivers to small business, both online and offline.

6. You DO NOT need to advertise on YELP to make it work for you, just like Google or Facebook, you have the choice of PAID discovery and/or ORGANIC discovery.

Here is a graphic that shows the average number of reviews by star. My friends Pilates Studio in Los Angeles, Whole Body Method, who I have the pleasure to work with has received over 1500 visits to their website this year alone directly from YELP.

Over 60% of those visits were first time visits.

They stayed on the website over 2 minutes and viewed 2.5 pages, more than any other social or digital referral visit.

Many of those visits have turned into new clients, as in hundreds of new clients.

In fact, besides existing client referrals and traditional word of mouth, YELP is their number one referral tool.

One of the keys to this is they also offer online booking and the ability to purchase packages online.

Their business is up over 50% from last year. While there are several factors that made this happen, their choice to embrace the social + digital web is a significant part of their success.

My tattoo shop here in LA, Velvet Grip Family, attributes over 90% of new client traffic to YELP. How do they know? It’s the first question they ask when you walk in. “How did you hear about us?” Nine times out of ten the answer is YELP.

So here’s the deal. You can choose to NOT do business with YELP, whatever that means. But you must understand your business will remain on YELP, Citysearch, Google Places and all over the Internet. That is the reality of social business, and it’s not going away.

So you have a choice, bury your head in the sand, or take advantage of these powerful platforms, begin paying attention to what people are saying about your business on the web, and use them to grow. Your choice.

If you want to learn more about YELP and the other social referral platforms on the web, click here to see if our one-on-one mentoring program is right for you. You can also visit our YouTube channel PassionSquaredTV to view a webinar on YELP we did several months ago.

(shared with LOVE from your passionista Nina)

How Will You Use Your Voice?
When events such as this take place, we all have different ways of coping. Some lash out and get hateful and mean, as many of us have seen on the social web.

Are You In?
I am participating in #26Acts. As of today, I am at #6. And each day I will find more ways to help make another life better. I am making a difference. I am doing something. And it feels good. Will you join me?

Your Passionistas-
Gordon, Nina, Zen, Faith and Cody

Step One
Create your post just like you always do.

Step Two
Click on the little clock on the left hand side of the Status Box.

Step Three
Select the Year, Month, Day and Time you want the Post to go LIVE.

Step Four
Click on Schedule. When you do, this little box will pop up to show you your Post is scheduled and where to find it if you want to edit or delete it.

Step Five
If you want to Edit or Delete the Post, you can go to Edit Page in the Admin Panel and click on Use Activity Log. You will see all of your scheduled posts and can edit them by clicking on the little arrow drop down thing on the right.

The Facts
1. YELP has more than 15 million reviews and over 40 million visits to its site every month.

Here is a graphic that shows the average number of reviews by star.
My friends Pilates Studio in Los Angeles, Whole Body Method, who I have the pleasure to work with has received over 1500 visits to their website this year alone directly from YELP.