Are you on Instagram Stories Yet?

Posted on August 4, 2016August 4, 2016 by admin

Wait a minute, I should pause and change that question. Let me start over. Have you heard about Instagram Stories? If you answered no to that question and are still wondering what Instagram Stories is, then this blog post is here to bring you up to speed. I can pretty much sum it all up in one sentence.

Instagram Stories is Snapchat. Period!

Yes, Instagram surprised us yesterday and quietly released it’s latest platform update, simply named INSTAGRAM STORIES. When I say this Instagram Stories is Snapchat. I mean just that. If you have not yet tried out Snapchat, don’t worry, just master Instagram Stories and Voila you have also mastered Snapchat. Killing two birds with one stone. Pretty much.

Ok to be fair, they are similar. Actually too similar. Similar as in Copy and Paste.

I could not get over how similar they are. But maybe I am being to judgemental here. Why try to reinvent the wheel when you have the power to just add a feature, wait a minute, I’m struggling with my words today to describe this, let me try again and add some figures to back me up. When you have over 500 million active users on Instagram, and you want to keep them active on your platform. And after conducting market research, you give them what they love. All within Instagram, making it the new Bad Ass of Social Media and keep your users engaged and active. Happy active engaged users equals more ad revenue for Instagram. It’s pretty genius if you ask me. But what I would really love to know is what is Snapchat’s next move going to be. Or better yet why Instagram did not just eliminate the competition and buy out Snapchat?

Enough with the questions. Don’t get left behind.

So here is how to get yourself up to speed and not miss out on yet another social media platform that you can use to build a tribe and grow your business.

How to get started with the Instagram Stories Feature:

Introducing Instagram Stories, a new feature that lets you share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format: your story.

With Instagram Stories, you don’t have to worry about overposting. Instead, you can share as much as you want throughout the day — with as much creativity as you want. You can bring your story to life in new ways with text and drawing tools. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won’t appear on your profile grid or in feed.

You’ll see stories from people you follow in a bar at the top of your feed — from your best friends to your favorite popular accounts. When there’s something new to see, their profile photo will have a colorful ring around it.

To view someone’s story, just tap on their profile photo. It’s easy to view stories at your own pace: tap to go back and forward or swipe to jump to another person’s story. If you want to comment on something you see, you can tap and send a private message to that person on Instagram Direct. Unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments.

Your story follows the privacy settings of your account. If you set your account to private, your story is visible only to your followers. However, you can also easily hide your entire story from anyone you don’t want to see it, even if they follow you. When watching your own story, swipe up to check out who’s seen each photo and video. You can even choose to feature a particular part of your story by posting it on your profile.

Instagram has always been a place to share the moments you want to remember. Now you can share your highlights and everything in between, too.

Don’t see Instagram Stories yet on your profile, hang on tight. Its coming your way as Instagram Stories will be rolling out globally over the next few weeks on iOS and Android.

To learn more, book a Client Strategy Session with me.

Click link to reserve your spot. Only 15 spots available for August 2016.

Follow me on Instagram as I cover more business tips as I discover them using Instagram Stories.

Social Media and Sales Funnels

Posted on April 23, 2016April 23, 2016 by admin

Social Media Strategies and Sales Funnels = SUCCE$$™

Businesses are using Social Media strategies to engage their audience. Collect audiences information and nurturing this audience by using Sales Funnels. Sales Funnels are key to the success of our campaign, they are an email marketing sequence communicating automatically with your audience. This sequence can be used to introduce products, exclusive discounts or services. Businesses are seeing success in their marketing campaigns when they implement this strategy. You can too by setting up your Social Media Strategy and Sales Funnel Sequence.

Social Media has become a core value for many businesses. Gone are the days when it was associated with employees slacking off on the job. Gone are the days when it was frowned upon to be on Facebook during office hours. It has become more acceptable and in some organizations a whole department or team has been created to run Social Media Campaigns. And in other companies they have taken the added step of Build Communities and Engaging the customer. The key however is to be authentic.

On April 29th, I have the honor of speaking at The Women’s Entrepreneurial Exchange® (We2^® ), a renowned Montreal Association for Female Entrepreneurs and Creative Business Owners:

Social Media + Sales Funnels = SUCCE$$™

Click here for more info on how you can join us to listen in on this Live Presentation.

I will speak about why Social Media must become an integral part of your business, if it already isn’t.

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If you are looking to be successful online and mark your presence in the online realm this is a must attend event for you.

Today’s market comprises of Millennials. It is our role as business owners to master how to sell to them. If they do not like what the see, who you are, your online presence isn’t up to speed, you might as well close shop. They are not buying from you.

Research has shown that old marketing methods are dying. Networks are struggling to fill up advertising space. Newspaper companies are slowing becoming a dinosaur. They are moving into the digital space. How can you use Social Media to build your following and convert these into dollars in your bank account?

Click here to register for Social Media + Sales Funnels = SUCCE$$™ . I can’t wait to see you on April 29th, 2016 at the beautiful Restaurant Ossiano.

Next, prep by following @ThabiNyoni on Instagram and watch me count down to Friday April 29th, 2016.

How to Watch Periscope On Your Desktop

Posted on February 16, 2016 by admin

Are You Enjoying Watching Periscope Like I Am?

Periscope is my new Netflix hangout. Instead of watching a Movie on Netflix,I have found myself turn more and more to Periscope as a resource and also a source of really amazing people. The possibilities are endless. How to Make Up Experts, Cooking Shows and Education resources. As Marie Forleo said :

Learners become Earners – Marie B. Forleo

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I am constantly learning on Periscope, every single day. Periscope broadcasts are only available for only 24 hours and sometimes some of the ‘Periscopers’ drive demand by not keeping their scopes online after they end their LIVE broadcast. This forces you to watch them live.

Here is where I have found a challenge. I have been using my iphone 6 plus cellphone to watch Periscope but here with comes 2 challenges:

My Cellphone Constantly Needs Charging

Well as you know how the story goes, I have noticed that each time I am on Periscope, my battery drains so fast that I have to keep it constantly plugged in to avoid my cellphone from powering down in the middle of a broadcast.

My 6G Cellphone Data Is No Longer Enough to Sustain My Lifestyle

I am always on the go, that means I am not always in a WIFI zone and therefore I rely on my cellphone plan to keep me connected. Last month, to my utter shock, I received the following text message mid month from my cellphone provider :

Hi, It;s Fido, you have used up 90% of your monthly data. If you think you’ll need more, call 611 so we can find the best plan for you.

What! Instant panic mode right. I have had this plan for over 4 years and have never gone over. Pretty much I would use 1G- 2G per month. I liked having the larger plan just in case I ever needed more. That moment finally arrived.

Then a few hours later I received the following text message of doom from my cellphone provider again:

Hi, it’s Fido, You have used up all of your data for the month. Additional data is $10/500MB. Need more? Call 611 so we can find the best plan for you.

What! OMG! It is only mid month, how will I survive. First step, turn off cellphone data. Second step call FIDO and simply buy a larger plan. I am not adjusting my data usage that’s for sure. So I call, Fido and guess what, they do not have a larger data plan. My question, ” How much is your unlimited data plan?” The answer from the friendly customer service rep, who secretly enjoys giving people this answer each time. “There is no unlimited data plan, if you need more data it is an extra $10/500MG.” Oh no, that is certainly not going to work for me. We need a better data plan. What is your highest available data plan. Its 6G! Right, so pretty much this month is going to be a data free month, as I had used it all up and FIDO wants to use this as a money making skim. I hear in USA there are unlimited data plan. So its not impossible. The Canadian cellphone companies just choose not to provide it. Time to find plan B.

Using Periscope on your Desktop:

Plan B, is to watch your Periscopes on your desktop. Go to www.Periscope.tv/ACCOUNTNAME.

This is hmmm, not the best option as you are limited to only watching the broadcast. Commenting and tapping hearts is disabled on your desktop. The alternative is, not watching Periscope at all, so this works out for me just fine. As the saying goes,

Beggers are not choosers.

It gets better. I promise. I found that by switching over to my desktop this frees up my cellphone and I can use it while listening to a broadcast. And using the desktop saves my batter life as well. Awesome.

The added bonus benefit of using Periscope on your desktop, is that you can multitask and continue working in another browser/tab. Periscope will continue to play in the background. That’s right, you can check emails, Facebook and anything else you are working on while you are on Periscope. This is simply perfect. I can multitask and listen to Periscope broadcasts as I work.

And finally guess what, that is automatically less data usage. This is an awesome work around to my current data situation.

Hopefully you found this blog post helpful. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

5 Lessons learned from Super Bowl Sunday 2016

Posted on February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 by admin

My 5 business lessons I observed today from this one game that you can easily scale and implement in your business.

Just before I go into these, can someone please give Cam Newton a hug. He really needs one. He is wearing his emotions on his sleeves and cannot pull off a poker face in one of the most important moments of his life. Poor guy. My heart truely goes out to him because he is a young man of color and he is just falling apart.

I am a mother to a baby boy. I am letting him know, in advance, you win some baby boy and you loose some, get up and keep moving. Do not let a set back be your demise. I know it really hurts, but there is even better to come. There will be other Super Bowls.

Now back to the business at hand.

Lesson 1: Make sure your branding is consistent!

Beyoncé killed it with her performance of her latest single – FORMATION – WOW! If there ever was any doubt Beyoncé is great. Today she made sure it was LOUD and CLEAR! Damn, she totally showed up. Consistently in her signature style: Big curly hair, high heels, nylons and dance moves to get you twerking. If you don’t know Beyoncé’s style; a simple search for Beyoncé on YouTube will bring you up to speed with her consistency. This time she came out as a MOTHER, a FEMALE BOSS, confident alpha female representation right there. She spoke to the nay sayers and told them just who she is; a proud mother and wife who works hard, slays it until she owns it.

Yes, I believe those are the qualities of a successful business woman. She could have made it seem all easy, that she does it with no effort. In her words

I grind till I own it. I twirl out my haters!

Ouch.

Lesson 2: Anything is Possible.

You just might be a black Bill Gates in the making.

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If you work hard enough, anything is possible. You have to dream BIG. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not BIG enough.

Lesson 3: Sometimes a Great Partnership makes for an Epic result.

You saw what they did there. Beyoncé, Coldplay and Bruno. Oh yes. It was FIST PUMPING. Pure genius. Sometimes partnering with someone else will make you both shine! Your partnership will drawn in more viewers and the combined results will be phenomenal. That is the value of a successful woman. You can work alone. And work harder. Or your can partner and get even BIGGER results.

Lesson 4: Everything does not go according plan.

All the rehearsals could not have foreseen Beyoncé missing a step. She almost fell down. It is what she did in that moment, that stood out to me. There was a lot at stake. She pulled herself up! And kept going. Brilliant! They will bring you down. They will tell you you are not good enough. It is how you carry yourself that will take you to the next level. I wonder what was going through her mind in that moment. Maybe she imagined her daughter, Blue Ivy. You need to vision your end point. What are you doing it all for? It has to be all worth it in the end.

Lesson 5: Make your big announcement.

First get them all excited, build the value and then make your announcement. Beyoncé turned up, and showed her worth. Then announced her world tour with pre-sale tickets, February 9th for her Beyhive fan club members and American Express card members. I hope you spotted the business lesson there. She is driving traffic to her fan club. So basically if you were not yet a fan, guest what you have to do if you want those tickets. Sign up and join the masses and just because she can, she also partnered up with American Express, that too is driving traffic their way for fans to get the American Express card. That sounds to me like Beyonce’s passive income generation. Nice. How many of her fans are getting ready to make that purchase. After that performance they know she will deliver. Tickets for the Formation World Tour go on sale February 15th.

Your turn, how can you scale these ideas and implement into your business today. We can talk about your business strategy. Click here to get started.

5 Reasons Why You Should Start Using Instagram Today

Posted on January 29, 2016January 29, 2016 by admin

Instagram has been around for since October 2010 and has over 500 MILLION active users each day. This is an ever growing platform that allows for one on one engagement with your idea customers.

Here are 5 reason’s why you should also be engaging more on your Instagram Account.

Before I begin here is a BONUS tip.

If your account is for BUSINESS it should not be PRIVATE. This is a BIG no no.

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Remember there are 500 MILLION active users and other accounts your idea client can visit. Why must they knock first and wait for access. This turns customers away before they ever see what you are all about. Take a moment NOW and change your INSTAGRAM privacy settings to PUBLIC. Are your still uncomfortable about this?! Imagine you have a BRICK and Mo-tar store on a very popular street in your city, with a good amount of walk in traffic. In Montreal this would be a store on St. Catherine, Downtown. And your door is locked but there is a sign at the door that reads;

Knock first and wait to be granted access before you can walk into my store and spend your hard earned money.

This can be a turn off to some and therefore you are missing on sales opportunities.

Now that your PRIVACY settings are no longer in the way, it is time to AUDIT your existing account. Remove all those ever so adorable photos of your children or your pet. Those random food shots that you posted while you where on date night with bad lighting.

How many likes did you get for that picture? How much engagement did you get out of it? How man times did it result in someone saying oh that is so great let me also go and check out her website and oh wait look I can also join her mailing list.

If the picture is not relevant to your target customer that you want to attract to your account on Instagram – then I urge you once again DELETE it! You can always open a personal account and post all the pictures you like. But if it for business purposes you will have to complete this AUDIT.

Here are the 5 Reason’s Why your Business should be on Instagram:

Build Engagement with your Customers Online.

Instagram does this very well. If your posts are well planned and posted with a hashtag strategy you will begin to attract your ideal audience who will want to engage with you.
Attract new customers

Each time you post a new photo, you are marketing your business for free on Instagram and attracting new customers to your product or service. Give value constantly to gain trust and attract our ideal customers.
Ideal for a Product Launch

Build awareness on your upcoming launch. It could be a pre-sale to your book release. Generating a buzz before the book becomes available , creating a demand before our official launch date. Once the product is ready announce the release date and offer an added bonus for purchasing the book in advance. It could be access to your closed Facebook Group or a discount coupon they can use to save on free shipping.
Creates brand awareness for your product to a global market

When more people know and like your product, this means that more people can purchase your product. The more the purchase the more revenue you are generating from free Instagram traffic.
Engage with your customers

When your customers who buy and like your product use your custom hashtag to post pictures on Instagram and show how the are using your product with a caption about it, you can feature these posts on your account as customer testimonials and give the customer a shout out to show that you have noticed their post. This drives engagement and sales as customers like to see social proof that someone else has bought it too.

These are my Instagram tips. Visit our Shop Page to order our INSTAGRAM MAKEOVER™ MINI EBOOK to begin your Instagram journey.

Thabi Nyoni

Tag: Digital Marketing