Here is the audio version of the post, thank you so much for listening.
There is so much awesomeness happening on Instagram, thus my obsession with the platform and writing about it. One of my obsessions at the moment, well, not just at the moment but every day, is the bad ass barbers of Instagram. I am so freaking inspired by how they create awesome each day, so here is my take on what they are doing right and how you can learn from them to help you create more awesome in your biz.
1. Culture
Culture is everything. And the barber community has nailed it. They work together, play together, celebrate their communities, and use the same language. They have a shared passion and work ethic. They live their culture. And it shows.
2. Brand Identity + Messaging
This is the one area that continues to blow my mind. The look, feel, sounds and sights are so insanely consistent. From logos, to colors, to fonts, words, sounds, styles, shapes, tools, merch, storytelling via content, and most importantly, culture, these bad ass barbers not only understand branding, it is clear they value and respect how it can create awesome in their business.
3. Engagement
As my biz hero Gary Vee says, “Best marketing strategy ever? Care.” And these barbers care. The reason I know this is based on their engagement on Instagram. They listen, they respond, they give shout outs, they love and support each other, they build relationships and in turn, they have tens of thousands of passionate followers.
4. Generosity
These bad ass barbers are collectively very generous with their lives and minds. They share tips, offer education, host events and more. As Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
5. Passion
Well, this one goes without saying. However, what I will say is many of us may say we are passionate, but does it show through our online and offline presence? Can it be felt through a screen and through the stories we tell from the content we share?
Generation C, the connected customer, as defined by the genius Brian Solis, is passionate about shared experiences. About stories, about culture, about going behind the scenes. And these bad ass barbers get that. Do you?
If you want to learn how to create more awesome on Instagram, follow these bad-asses, I do, and I am so grateful they exist.
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.
It seems simple enough. Yet, the lack of it seems to be an epidemic, and it can also be a competitive advantage. What am I speaking of? Caring.
Here are some ways to show we care…
1. Show up for ourselves, our family, team + community
2. Respond
To phone calls
To texts
To emails
To social shout outs
3. Be on time (and end on time)
4. Respect others time
5. Do what we say we are going to do
6. Be honest
7. Make eye contact
8. Be authentic
9. Keep our promises
10. Own our mistakes
Many of us are guilty of using the “busy” excuse. And that is exactly what it is, an excuse. We choose where to put our time and energy. If it matters, we will not be too busy.
I wonder what would happen if we were honest and instead of saying “OMG, I am so sorry, I got too busy”, we said, “You know what, you and your issue, or our meeting, or that phone call, or that email was just not very important to me.” Would we be more accountable to each other if we were forced to be honest? Something to think about.
If you find yourself saying I just can’t keep up with all my emails, Facebook messages, etc. than maybe you need to look at your systems, processes and resources. If you want to create an awesome business, caring (not saying you care, but showing you care) is one of the best ways to create an awesome business.
In the world of time management, is it time that manages us or us who manage time? Who decides what we say yes to and what we say no to?
Life happens, things come up, oversights happen, but when it becomes the norm, and not the exception, it’s a problem. If you want to build trust, relationships, and a business, it’s time to admit there’s a problem and make a decision to change it.
“You can’t have style if you don’t have substance.”
Ozwald Boateng
Love these beautiful humans so much: (pictured from left to right)
Winn Claybaugh Ashley Conrad, Aura May, Brenda Bilodeau Amaral, Keri Davis, Brenton Lee, The Hair Nerds, Sugar Skulls, DC The Barber
Oh Facebook, why you gotta keep changing? While many get frustrated with all the changes over at Facebook, one of my jobs is to help you keep up with the biggest changes, the ones that may have the most impact on your biz and brand. With the new Biz page re-design, a few things have changed when it comes to image sizing.
The picture above is just a snapshot of some of the beautiful humans I have had the opportunity to hang out with recently, so I created a collage (with my fave new tool Canva) for the Passion Squared Cover image. As you can see, I left the far left side blank, that’s where the profile pic goes. A minor detail, but in my opinion, a major detail when it comes to how we present our brand.
Cut off logos, cut off words, blurry images are all big NO-NO’s if you want to present a professional and powerful image to your community.
Here are the new sizes for Facebook images.
Cover Image Event Image
Link Image (this is when you are posting a link on Facebook)
Tab Image
Post Images are still SQUARES. The best size is 400X400 and larger. My daily quote posts on Passion Squared are 800X800, the largest recommended is 1200X1200.
As always, I highly encourage you to work with a designer to create graphics and templates that you can use to create your Facebook content. As I have shared in my post 4 Awesome Content Creation Tools a few weeks ago….. I love PicMonkey and Canva to create content.
No matter what you do today, or this week, please take a look at your current Profile image on your biz page (it needs to be your logo sized properly) and your Cover Image. Are they as awesome as they could be? You have all the tools you need to create awesome images, so now it’s just a matter of deciding how important it is to you. HINT: If you are trying to grow your biz and attract new clients, your brand image needs to be important to you.
Love + Awesomeness-
Nina
PS: This post does not currently have audio due to some major tech issues, I will add audio when I can sort everything out. Hello Monday!
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
Dr. Seuss
Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.
One of the most common questions I get asked about Instagram is about how to share your beautiful images to your Facebook biz page. The question came up again on a recent webinar along with a request for a step by step. So a BIG shout out to Brenda and Dawnette for inspiring this post.
Here we go….
Step One
Log in to Instagram, go to your profile page and click on the little wheel thing in the upper right hand side of the page.
Step Two
Click on Share Settings
Step Three
Click on your name. It should show the name of your Personal Page that is connected to your Business Page. If you have not yet connected your Instagram to your Facebook personal page, it will ask you if you want to connect, etc. Do that. Then click on your name.
Step Four
If you manage one business page, that page name will appear and you simply select that page. If you manage more than one business page, select the business you want to SHARE your Instagrams to. Step Five
Start sharing your awesomeness!
Thank you again to Brenda and Dawnette for inspiring this post. Are you sharing your awesomeness on Instagram? Let’s connect! You can follow me @passionsquared
Here is the audio version of this post. Thanks so much for listening. Enjoy.
This week I celebrate my 47th birthday. For me, birthdays give us an opportunity to reflect on the past year and set intentions for the coming year. I also see birthdays as a way to give back, both to ourselves and others. To close our eyes and make a wish as we blow out our candles.
This year, I have three wishes both for me and for you. These are not wishes of material goods, I have long lost my desire to collect things, but wishes of empowerment, awesomeness and self-love. When I wake up Wednesday morning, I will be setting my intentions for the coming year, and making my three wishes, will you join me?
Wish #1 Do Something Awesome For You
This is the one I want most for you. As givers and healers, you spend countless hours each week helping others look and feel beautiful. It is imperative that you feed your own soul in order to feed others. Just like the lovely flight attendant tell us every single time we get on the airplane, “Put your mask on before assisting others”. Take a day off, get a massage, go to the beach, read a book, watch the entire season of Orange Is The New Black, whatever, just please do something awesome for you this week.
Wish #2 Do Something Awesome For A Teammate
It is so easy for us to get so wrapped up in our own stuff, drama, family, life, whatever, that we many times forget that part of our purpose on this planet is to help each other. There is nothing more beautiful than being helpful, particularly when it’s unexpected. Sweep their hair, clean their bowls, hand them foils, bring them their favorite Starbucks, whatever you can do to help lift the burden of another, do that. When you do this, you will be filling two hearts with joy, not just one.
Wish #3 Do Something Awesome For A Stranger
We have all heard the amazing stories of people helping strangers. You know, paying it forward and stuff. And it’s something we can do every day. All three of these wishes we can do every day. How awesome is that? Whether it’s a smile, opening the door, paying for a meal, a cup of coffee, a pack of smokes, allowing a car to pull in front of you, whatever, the feeling of random acts of kindness is one of the best feelings in the world.
So those are my birthday wishes and I hope you join me this week as we create awesome in our world. I would love to hear about your wishes so please share them with me via email or on Facebook, Twitter, whatever, I will be sharing mine throughout the week as well.
Love these beautiful humans so much: (pictured from left to right)
