Passion Squared on Periscope

Creating Awesome with Periscope

June 22, 2015Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“Your content is your marketing.” Me

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you for listening.

It seems almost every day there is a new platform, and people get all geeked out on it, jump in quickly while others sit back and observe. What has happened with Periscope for the professional beauty industry has been quite awesome to watch. What is Periscope you ask? A live streaming app, owned by & integrated with Twitter.

Now, before I get into my thoughts on Periscope, here are a few fundamentals to remember when it comes to choosing platforms and content plans.

Be where your clients are. How do you know? Ask. Observe. Listen.

Less is more. Always. I would rather you engage successfully on one platform than attempt to engage half heatedly on two or more.

So, as long as we are all clear on that, here are my initial thoughts on creating awesome with Periscope…

1. I Love It
And I am a tough customer. I do not jump to jump, I jump when I see something that I believe can delver a ton of value and I see this happening quickly on Periscope. Why? Engagement, community, conversations, behind the scenes, all of it is stuff our communities crave.

2. Less Is Always More, Unless We Are Talking Espresso or OITNB
Oh wait, I already said that. But it bears repeating. This is part of a larger content strategy discussion, but it’s important to remember that TMI and random chatter does not add value to your brand, in fact, it can take away value. This is true on any platform, post consistently, but be mindful to post content that matters. The more random noise you make, the less people listen + hear.

3. Your Content Is Your Marketing
And on Periscope it is no different. Think about your brand story, your brand why, what your clients are seeking by following you, how you can add value to the conversation. Begin there.

4. Be Mindful of Your Biz Model
What? Yes, think about it. If you are an educator and offer paid courses, be mindful of how much content you share and what types of content you share. And please remember, your content is your marketing. Free content is for sure a strategy, one I use often (and strategically) at Passion Squared, but too much free content could impact your course sales. Make sure you understand your model, know your business, know your customer and be thoughtful and strategic in how and what you share. Be generous, yes, but be mindful.

Love + Awesomeness-

Nina

I would love to connect with you on Periscope, you can find me at @passionsquared2 (same as Twitter)

does anyone want my money blog passion squared

Does Anyone Want My Money?

May 20, 2013Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

 “We asked ourselves what we wanted this company to stand for. We didn’t want to just sell shoes. I wasn’t even into shoes – but I was passionate about customer service.” Tony Hsieh

I have noticed a very sad trend happening with small businesses and it makes me wonder if anyone really wants or needs my money. I do not have a ton of it, but when I need something, when I am ready to spend it, is your business ready to take it? I know, sounds a bit fundamental, but there is a reason I was inspired to write this post.

The Awning
My beautiful awning in the backyard has been slowly deteriorating for some time. A few Santa Ana winds (what we call wind in la la land) literally tore my awning apart. I called USAA where I have my homeowners insurance, they are awesome. They were ready to give me the money to get the awning fixed, I just needed to get a quote. Easy enough I thought. Well, not really come to find out.

It took me 3 months to find an awning company in LA to take my money, well part USAA’s and part mine. Why? Not a single company returned my emails and phone calls.

Finally, I stumbled upon an awesome company called Superior Awning. Found them on YELP. To my surprise, they actually answered my email inquiry with a phone call, within 24 hours. They had a highly trained awning guy at my house within 36 hours and had the job complete within 2 weeks. They clearly wanted my money and I happily gave it to them. I guess those other companies were doing so well they had no desire for a new client for life.

The Salon
My Mom just moved back to So Cal after 30 years on the East Coast. To say I am thrilled is an understatement. What is one of the first things people do when they move to a new city? Find a salon. How do people go about finding salons in today’s connected economy? They head to Google, YELP and ask their friends and family.

Since I did not know any salons in her new town, I went online and found a couple via YELP that I thought she should look into. So as any good Mom does, she follows her daughters recommendation. :)
She found one she liked, and used their “Contact Us” form on their website. And the waiting game began. One week, radio silence. No response. No reply. Well, my Mom is pretty patient so she decided to call the salon. She left a voice mail. And waited. One week, radio silence. No response. No return call. I guess that salon is fully booked and has no desire to engage with new clients.

Mom did finally find an awesome salon & hairdresser, Penelope at Salon Ana, based on a good old fashion referral from a friend, and she is very happy.

The System
You have systems for cutting hair, for creating color formulas, for ordering inventory, for cleaning brushes, but do you have a system for engaging new clients?

Here are a couple things you may want to take a look at in your salon:
1. What is your system for returning voice mail messages?
2. What is your system for email inquiries from your website?
3. What is your system for email inquires from your Facebook biz page?
4. What is your system for client questions posted to your social pages?

Change the system. Change the result. It’s really is that simple. If you want new clients that is.

If you are in the LA area and are looking for awning repair or a new awning, Superior Awning is the BEST.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

Are you discoverable on the web?

Are You There Salon? It’s Me Client.

November 15, 2012Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

André Gide

Are you discoverable on the web?

SEO, made simple.
Many times, terminology can really mess up a persons day.  In this case, for me, its the term SEO (search engine optimization).  My motto is why use a big complicated word when you can use one that people understand?  Isn’t that the point?  Sometimes I think not.  So, anyway, to us, all SEO really means is DISCOVERY.  When clients or customers are looking for a service or product, can they easily find you on the web?

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist (even though they are super cool).
The goal is to be discoverable, whether it’s you as an individual, a salon or a brand.  The way to be more discoverable is to have an active, engaging and relevant social + digital footprint.  That means Facebook, YELP, YouTube, etc.  Easy, right?

Not all platforms are created equal.
If you are a salon or stylist, the most discoverable platforms for you are YELP, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, online booking and marketing platforms such as Schedulicity or a communication/review platforms such as Demandforce and your website or blogsite such as WordPress or Tumblr.  If you are a brand, it’s your website, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and a blogsite such as WordPress or Tumblr.  If you are super active on Twitter, its a great platform for discovery, which our industry as a whole is not at this point.

My love don’t cost a thing.
Now, there is a way to pay for discovery (paid search), such as Google ads and Facebook ads, and while we believe in both of these for certain businesses and objectives, the great news is if you are active on the platforms above with relevant, engaging and consistent content, your discovery will be organic (un-paid search), meaning, its free.

So there you have it.  Now back to the original question, are you DISCOVERABLE?
While there is much more to learn about discovery and more pieces to the puzzle, the above is the most important to understand for a small business.  To learn how to become more discoverable, ask us about The Social Beauty Intelligence Check-Up, a super cool service we provide to expand your social + digital IQ. We also offer one-on-one mentoring if that’s more your thing.  Click here for more info.

(shared with LOVE from your passionista Nina)