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Wealth Inequality – Perception vs Reality

Here is a video that discusses the inequality of wealth distribution in America. While the information in it is correct - it all depends on your perspective. There are two more unique things I want my readers to pay attention to in the videos -

1. The distance in the perceived, the ideal,  and reality. In the video it shows all three. In your business/ministry/ or life all three exist  --

2. It is a great use of story. We often talk from a branding and marketing point for view on how to tell a compelling story -- here is a great use of that.

Now take a look and see if you see these examples.

[youtube id="QPKKQnijnsM"]

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How to Refresh Your Social Networks in 5 Days – Day One

Any time of the year is a good time to look through and check over your social networks. For me, the beginning of the year is a logical time to rebrand and freshen up my social networks. What I'm looking for, is to see whether my profile picture, my bio, and or any of the information are correct. Is the branding message correct or have there been technological advances that require me to make changes in my strategy.

Your social networks, much like mine, have probably changed over the course of the year, and therefore need some refreshing. So I take this time to make sure, that all of my branding throughout my social networks are in line.

In this series, I will discuss and share with you the strategy that I use not just for myself, but for all of my clients.

Day One

Assessments

My first step every year and rebranding my social networks, is to first assess the networks. This requires going through and making sure that the network is a part of my customer demographics.

  1. Are my prime demographic still using this network? Has there been a major change in the networks technology? Has there been a major shift in how the network is being used by my demographic?
  2. Does the social network have the approved profile picture? Does this network have the approved bio or description? Is the profile fully completed? Is all the contact information correct? Are there any extras that can be added to this network that will make it better?
  3. This one is not a question but, more of a process. I change all of the passwords to all the social networks during this process as well.

Bonus: Is there a good quality call to action?

These are just some of the things that you should ask yourself when rebranding your social networks. Depending on which network you have, there may be other questions that you need to ask. But this is the process I start with whom ever I am in the rebranding process for my social networks.

I've also included, my social network rebranding worksheet, please feel free to download it . Just click the share button below -

[sociallocker] socialrebrandingassessment [/sociallocker]

As always if there are any additions that I missed, please feel free to add them in the comments below.

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7 Things You Can Do to Get More from Your Graphic Designer

As many many of you know part of my background is owning a graphics design company.

If you are really looking to make a big splash in your marketing this year a close relationship with your graphic designer is essential to that process.  There are a few things I think I can help you with to make your graphics process go much quicker.

1. Create an Event Calendar

One of the greatest things you can do for your graphic artists, is creating an event calendar. Now the always events that come up on the fly. But I am sure that there are annual events that you do, that you can give your graphic artist notice. Understand is that creativity works best when it has had some time to simmer. That being said, the longer you can give your graphic artist to think through and create a solution for you. The better off you will be. An event calendar doesn't have to be anything difficult. It can just be a Word document with a title of the month and then the three or four visits that you want to do right underneath that.

2. Take Professional High Resolution Pictures

With any project, the better the foundation the better the results. With graphics, our foundation starts with the pictures. I can't tell you how many great designs we've created have been killed by lackluster pictures. Not here a list of pictures every person needs to have.

  • A good quality head-shot. Make sure you  are fully framed, with no arms cut off
  • A good quality all body shot.  Same thing here to make sure that nothing on your body is cut off. Your graphic artist will
  •  a good quality action shot
  • Try to have some done without a lot of background ie trees, flowery backdrops
  • If you are wearing dark -- shoot on a lighter background -and vice versa --

The shots need to be high resolution JPEG's.  These pictures need to be taken on at least eight to 12 megapixel camera with good lighting.

3. Put Them on Retainer

Your designer can be your best asset when preparing your brand and how that is portrayed to the greater arena. Have your designer allows you to have greater access to the creativity of the designer. The flip side is that if your designer has s steady income and steady flow of work from you, they can plan better and allocate more time to your project.

4. Stop Sending Stuff Last Minute

Self explanatory -- All I ever hear from some clients is I need this right away. This is not to say that there are some real time sensitive items, but for the most part you have known about your event, product launch, etc for a long time. Give your designer time to think and create his/her best for you.

5. Keep Your Changes Down to 3 changes.

Every time you send your design back to the board - your designer loses money. The more money your designer lose, the worst your product will get. This is the truth. Stop trying to design by committee. Make all of your changes at one time and again give your designer time to create.

6. Decide if you want an employee or a consultant.

Your graphic designer is a learned and trained professional. At least they should be. If they are not, you need to fire them right away. An employee is some one you tell what to do, and how to do it. A consultant is some one who has expertise in an area. You have to decide if you want someone to draw what you have in your mind or create. Those are two different things.

7. Remember your graphics person is a Professional - Stop micro designing.

This one is tied to number 6. STOP MICRO-DESIGNING. Designers want your input, but there is a line between input and you using your designers skills to work for your "inner designer". Designers understand that it is your product. But, you are hiring them for their expertise. Leverage their expertise. If you could do it yourself you would not need them.

Bonus: PAY ON TIME!!!!!!!

This is not an exhaustive list - but if you start here it will make life much easier -- Let me hear from my graphic designers out there -- What else can people do to better use your services? Comment below -

 

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Export Your Google Contacts

Over the last year, I've been spending a lot of time automating my business. I have found that the best way to make sure your business is successful, is to take you out of it as much as possible. A part of my process was to get my contacts all in the same place. If you're like me you probably have contacts in Google, contacts in Outlook, contacts into another program, etc. So here's a quick and easy way to export your contacts from Google and get them into the CRM of your choice.

Exporting Gmail contacts

You can quickly export your Gmail Contacts list into a CSV file. Here's how:

  1. Sign in to Gmail.
  2. Click Gmail at the top-left corner of your Gmail page, then choose Contacts.
  3. From the More drop-down menu, select Export....
  4. Choose whether to export all contacts or only one group.
  5. Select the format in which you'd like to export your contacts' information. Please note, some of these formats can lose some contact information.
    • To transfer contacts between Google accounts, use the Google CSV format. This is the recommended way to back up your Google Contacts.
    • To transfer contacts to Outlook, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, or various other apps, use the Outlook CSV format.
    • To transfer contacts to Apple Address Book, use the vCard format.
  6. Click Export.
  7. Choose Save to Disk then click OK.
  8. Select a location to save your file, and click OK.

Depending on the requirements of the program to which you're exporting your contacts from Gmail, you can easily edit the file to fit your needs.

 I hope that helps you. As always leaving a comment below.