Your Online Content - Simple Steps to Inspire Action

When you go to all the trouble of writing on your blog, and posting on social media sites, you want people to not only pay attention but to take action (like, to click or go and buy something).

These four tips will help you create great content and inspire action. They are from one of my favorite sources for great advice on all things social media: The Social Media Examiner. Author Luke Summerfield simplifies the "how to's" and goes over why understanding "behavior triggers" can help you get more out of your social marketing. Below are the takeaways. Read the article if you want more detailed explanations and info on how our brains work.

The bottom line: Visual and emotional content inspires action.

1. Use facial images and choose facial expressions that match the emotion you're trying to inspire in the viewer. 
   Human beings have an instinct to be attracted to other people's faces, and look at faces for non-verbal cues about the situation. Use images with people in them.
   
   I could do better at this. Sigh. I sort of got it right in this image (okay, no face but you get the point), but many of the other images I use have no people in them. This is why I'm here, not only to help YOU but so I can learn too. 
    
2. Inspire emotions in your viewers, help them "feel" the experience. 
   Your images (and videos) should show others having a powerful experience. When your viewers feel emotions it helps them  relate to you, and they will be more attached to you and your brand.
    
3. Connect with people by sharing familiar memories.
   Everyone has childhood and other memories. The good ones. Tap into the warm fuzzies with images that evoke familiar memories. I see those types of images on Facebook and other social media all the time. They grab my heart and often bring tears to my eyes. People will associate those emotions with you and your brand.
    
4. Offer up something new, and be sure to deliver on it.
   Yes, people are drawn to all things familiar, but they are equally as interested in new things. Newness wakes up our brains. Just don't go overboard using "New!" in your email communication. Spam filters love to block emails that overuse that word.
    

If you've got images that have been effective for you, do share a link to them by commenting here. We can all learn together what works (and what doesn't)!

Bright Shiny Distractions

Staying focused. Hard to do sometimes, especially in the presence of a “bright shiny object.” My bright shiny objects are apps, software, computers, iPads, books, and kitchen gadgets. What's yours? It’s different for everyone, but it’s whatever distracts you from what you need to be doing. 

Working from home, it's very (very) easy to get distracted. I tell myself "I'll take a break, for five minutes, and find that kitchen gadget I saw..." An hour later, where did the time go?  I should be working!

Here's a tip, from one easily distracted person to another (you?) - don't deny yourself.  I’ve learned not to deny myself the time I enjoy looking at my bright shiny objects, I just do it strategically. What works for me is giving myself some time at the end of the day or after dinner. If I try to make myself wait till the weekend, it just doesn’t work. If I need to limit the amount of time, I set a timer and leave it in front of me.

That's it! Hope it helps you stay focused AND enjoy your bright shiny objects.

Mailed Greeting Cards are a Great Personal Touch

Sending personal notes and cards is a great way to stay in touch and build critical work/life relationships. Clients, collectors, business associates, and family will all appreciate the fact that you took the time to send a card. E-cards are nice, and I use them also, but I love it when I get a card in the mail. I remember it, and the person who sent it.

That does not mean you need to spend hours shopping for greeting cards and standing in line at the post office to buy postage. You can buy cards and postage online and have them at the ready. Another easy way is to use a service like Send Out Cards, where you can send a snail mail card and never leave your computer. You can even use your own handwriting after uploading a sample.

Greeting cards are waaayyyy cheaper bought in bulk or ordered online through a service. When you send a card from an online service the cost is about a dollar plus postage. For cards you have and send out yourself, see the cards in the image above. They are so dimensional and are made from nice thick paper with lots of sparkles and cutouts. I got 30 of them for $24 at Amazon. That’s $.80 each, much less than the three or four dollars I’d pay at the store, not to mention it took me about ten minutes to order them and they showed up on my doorstep a couple days later. I do have an Amazon Prime account, well worth the yearly fee for free two-day shipping (for us, because we buy a lot of things online). Just check the non-Prime prices where you might pay shipping for the best deal.

Here are some useful links:  
Buy stamps online from the post office  
The cards at Amazon
Send Out Cards online service