I’m super stoked for a New Year, but I’ll spare you listing out my big goals and plans for the coming year. I actually do my planning all year long, with monthly updates, so it’s ongoing. Possibly never ending.
Business happens in real-time and I reserve the right to change my mind as I go. So, no way am I writing them all out here, because I can guarantee they will change, evolve and possibly mutate with each passing day.
For those of you that are working out your dreams, plans and goals for 2014 or are simply ready to rock and roll today’s post is for you. I wanted to share my top tips from a PR/content point of view for the coming year, along with specific resources and tools to help you get the job done.
Goals are dreams with a deadline. Check out @magspatterson’s tips and resources for standing out in 2014.http://bit.ly/1cnagZ8
Fine Tune Your Public Persona
I’ve said it again and again, but your web site matters more than you realize to the success or failure of your business and your ability to effectively promote yourself. Your brand and message need to be clear and really connect with your ideal customers. Your site should signal “hey, I’m an expert” to everyone who visits.
Before you get into the weeds of 2014, consider doing a review on your site to make sure you have everything in order from your about page to your bio to your social media profiles. This is your public face, so you need to go pro all the way. Here are some resources to help you step up your game:
About Pages
Five About Page Mistakes to Avoid
How to Write an About Page (Copyblogger)
12 of the Best About Pages on the Internet (Blog Tyrant)
How to Create an Amazing About Page (DIY Themes)
Bios
Bragging and Your Professional Bio
4 Steps to Writing a Professional Bio (Huffington Post)
8 Steps to Writing a Bio Like a Pro (Undercover Recruiter)
Social Media Profiles
10 Elements of a Successful Social Media Profile (KissMetrics)
26 Tips to Enhance Your Social Media Profiles (Social Media Examiner)
How to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Expert Status (Conversational Marketing)
How to Write a Rockstar Twitter Bio (Mashable)
Fine tune your public persona to help reach your goals with these resources from @magspatterson. http://bit.ly/1cnagZ8
Get on Stage
Speaking is a must when it comes to establishing yourself as an expert. To date, I’ve not blogged at all about speaking, but it’s on my list for 2014. There’s something magical that happens when people can see you in person. Check out these resources if you have speaking on your list for 2014:
Why You Belong on Stage (Smart Passive Income Podcast)
9 Ways to Sound Like You Really Know What You Are Talking About (Business Insider)
Getting Your First Public Speaking Gig: 10 Essential Tips to Follow (Jobstock)
Getting on stage is key to becoming a credible expert this year. Tips and more from @magspatterson. http://bit.ly/1cnagZ8
Start Guest Posting or Take it To the Next Level
Unlike speaking, I’ve written extensively about guest posting both on this blog and in guest posts. Here’s my fave resources on guest posting:
Three Lessons for Guest Posting with Confidence (LKR Social Media)
Could Guest Posting Be the Perfect PR Launch Pad for your Business? (BlogWorld)
Preparing for Your Guest Posts Sydney Bristow Spy Style
Drive Your Message with Content, Not Updates
Solid PR and social media starts with content. It can be content you’ve created or content you are curating. The point is that you aren’t just always selling and updating. That you deliver VALUE and you have a clear plan. Willy nilly posting on Twitter and Facebook will not drive business results or make people want to engage with your brand.
Take the time each week, month and/or quarter to carefully plan out your content for your blog, newsletter and on social media. Use a planner to streamline the process and make it easy to manage. I’ve personally committed a 2 hour block every Monday morning so it can be ready to go for the week and I can focus on interacting and engaging, vs. finding something to post.
Systems (I know, some of your just felt faint at that word) are what can help content creation and curation go smoothly. Worry about what to post and when is simply paralyzing so creating an editorial calendar or system to help you manage everything will help you ensure you can stay on track.
I will be talking way more about this in the coming weeks as I have some killer systems from my corporate work that I am working on adapting for small businesses. In the meantime, these tools and articles can help you with your content planning and marketing:
Essential Content Marketing Editorial Calendar Template (Social Media Today)
3 Components of a Content Editorial Calendar that Works (Copyblogger)
How to Double Your Content Marketing ROI in 2014 (Forbes)
2-Step Editorial Calendar Template (Content Marketing Institute)
Trying to figure out editorial calendars and systems for your content? @magspatterson has curated some great tools. http://bit.ly/1cnagZ8
I’ve been busily planning all of my blog and other content, and I’ll be talking more about all of these areas. If you have specific things you want to see covered off, want to learn or just have questions about, I’d love to hear from you below in the comments.
