Becky Robinson's Blog, page 76

What to Tweet and Where to Find It

If you have been following my tweets lately, you may have noticed an interesting shift.

Over the past few weeks, I have become more disciplined and consistent in sharing valuable content with my communities, thanks, in large part, to a new tool I’ve discovered called the Aha Amplifier.

One of the common questions I get from clients, especially ones who are new to Twitter is: What should I tweet?

I have written many posts over the years about Twitter, including an answer to the question of what to tweet, the importance of gathering “tweetables” from your book, the right length for a tweet, and the importance of using a 3rd party application (my favorite: Tweetdeck). I’ve also shared that my favorite tool for scheduling tweets is Buffer and that I believe automating some content on Twitter is important because it frees you up so you can show up in powerful ways online.

I also gathered many of my best tips in an e-book, 31 Days of Twitter Tips, available on Kindle. Because I always want to add more value and learning for you, I am happy to let you in on the powerful secret tool I’ve found to help me become more successful on Twitter, the Aha Amplifier.

The Aha Amplifier + Buffer = Greater Leverage and Influence for ANYONE who wants to add value on Twitter. 

The Aha Amplifier contains more than 13 thousand powerful tweets, contained in 92 Aha Amplifier books (with new titles added daily — priced from free to $1.99), ready and seamless to share across your favorite social media channels. You can easily scan/read Aha Amplifier books and choose quotes that resonate with you to share on Twitter, instantly. Or, you can add more impact by feeding messages into your Buffer.

My experience so far is that, without question, the tweets I send through the Aha Amplifier are retweeted and favorited at a much higher frequency than other content I share. (If you want hard data on this, Buffer provides amazing analytics when you upgrade to a paid account.)

Why? Because Mitchell Levy is doing a phenomenal job of attracting powerful thought leaders with relevant messages to the Aha Amplifier.

Though still in beta, the Aha Amplifier is the most important new tool you can add to your influence building toolkit.

Ready to try it out? Create your free profile and download one of my two books on the platform: Becky Robinson with Insights from the Top Leadership Authors and Becky Robinson on #WINfluence. (Both are free!)

Featured on Friday: Favorite Links

Happy Friday, everyone! We’re back after a two week Featured on Friday hiatus, and I’m excited about what we’ve got in store for you today. Get ready to click through a lot of links because we’re sharing some of the book reviews, interviews, and more that we have been collecting. This isn’t a one-way conversation though, and I’d love to know what you’ve been reading, writing, and sharing, so leave your links in the comments, okay?

If you follow our social media channels, you’ll have noticed some extra promotion over the last two weeks for Raise Your Voice by Brian Sooy, and Hooked on Customers by Bob Thompson. I’ve included some of my favorite links for them below…

Brian Sooy

You know we think Deb Mills-Scofield is pretty swell, and this guest post from Brian Sooy was just awesome. The title alone is enough to make you smile. Two great people, one fantastic blog post. Read This Seems Like a Lot of Work for a Free Banana .
If you’ve been a part of any of our launches, you’ll recognize the name John Smith – or you might know him better as The Strategic Learner. Either way, you’ll want to read his honest (and enthusiastic) review of Raise Your Voice: Getting Your Nonprofit Act Together .
And if you’re the kind of person who prefers to hear directly from the author, I would recommend bookmarking this Lead With Giants hangout with Brian Sooy, Tal Shnall, Dan Forbes, Elizabeth Stincelli, and Ande Lyons. Watch it now !

Bob Thompson

Bob got his book buzz week started off a little early with this post on Entrepreneur. It’s been spread far and wide through various social media channels (way to go, Bob!), and I think you’ll find lessons to take away and mull over. Read Take a Tip from Bezos .
One of our loyal buzz builders, Andy Uskavitch, shared his thoughts about Hooked on Customers this week (thanks, Andy!). Click through to read his Book Review , and I bet when you’re done you’ll want to hop over to Amazon and order a copy!
Tom Schulte (you might recognize his name from Linked2Leadership) shared his online space with Bob this week, hosting a guest post in honor of the book launch. Read On Leadership, Customer Experience, and Analytics .

Bonus Links

Didn’t get an opportunity to attend the free webinar with Kathryn Heath of Flynn Heath Holt Leadership? Bookmark this link and set aside an hour to watch   #MeetingsMatter (hosted by Becky Robinson).
Have you signed up for any of the FREE BOOKS we’re giving away? Yeah, I thought that might get your attention. To celebrate 2 years as a company, Becky Robinson has teamed up with a host of authors to give away one signed book (typically in the leadership or business category) every week for the next 30+ weeks. We know how to throw a party around here! Read Celebrating X 3 to learn more, and Sign Up Now.
Last, but certainly not least, this week one of our authors was featured on a nationally syndicated television program, all thanks to the hard work of our public relations team. If you’re interested in how our publicity department could help you, you can start by reading about  our PR Team  or email Becky and set up a time to discuss your PR dreams. Want to watch Linda Pulley Freeman‘s interview? Find it on YouTube .

You Tell Me! What are you reading? What are you writing? What are you watching?

What Happens When You Stop Blogging

I give my clients the advice to blog a minimum of once a week.

Why once a week?

When you blog once a week, you establish a rhythm of content creation, offering  valuable content consistently. Consistent posting fuels a successful online presence.

When you blog regularly, you give people a reason to come back to your website. They begin to look to you as an expert, a resource providing helpful advice.

Through your writing, you can build connections with your online community. As you increasingly connect with your readers, you will become memorable and build relationships.

I often get push back from my clients on this best practice, and though I understand the push back, and respect my clients’ professional commitments, I maintain that blogging regularly is important.

Why?

It’s not because I want my clients to aspire to be popular bloggers.

It’s not because I want to create unnecessary work for them.

It’s because blogging is one way to create fresh, new content for websites that cements thought-leadership and add value for fans, followers, and customers.

If your customers (or potential customers) come to your website once or twice and see that it is a static site, they will have little reason to return.

If, however, you are regularly creating new content that addresses core questions or felt needs, your customers will return regularly, waiting and looking for the new ideas and insights you can share.

Or, if your content connects on a personal level, people will come back because they want to hear from you, see what you’re doing, and stay in touch with you.

What happens when you stop blogging?

People may stop coming (directly) to your site. Once I click to a blog a few times and it has not been recently updated, I quickly decide that there is not a good reason to go back. When you stop blogging, you will see a decrease in direct traffic to your site. People who bookmarked your site for repeat visits may remove bookmarks to a site that lacks fresh interest.

Your site may not rank well on search. Search engines love fresh content. If your site is stale, you may see a decrease in search-driven traffic.

Fewer people will share your content. Fresh content drives social sharing. When you write something great, people will want to share it. Not so much on the post you wrote 8 weeks ago.

You may miss the opportunity to capture and share your best ideas. The weekly discipline of blogging will help you in articulating your stickiest thoughts and ideas. You can write out answers to questions that clients ask you frequently, or you can use your writing to explore new thoughts.

The best thing to do when you realize you’ve let your site become stale is to write something new.

I did that, now, when I realized that a week had past since my last post.

Because even though I give good advice, I do not always follow it consistently.

Tell me something! What motivates you to continue blogging regularly? Or, if you do not blog regularly, what is holding you back?

This week my team and I are supporting the book launch of Hooked on Customers by Bob Thompson. Bob writes about the importance of creating value for customers. While he does not specifically reference information and insights and value, I think he would agree with my assertion that we add value for our customers when we regularly share information they need. Bob’s book would be a great addition to your reading stack. I encourage you to pick up a copy, today! 

photo credit: KatieKrueger

Celebrating X 3

Our website is sporting a new logo as we spend the next few months celebrating the two year anniversary of Weaving Influence. I have been serving clients through this company since January 2012, and added my first subcontractor the next month, but I mark the official company anniversary as June 1, 2012 because that is the first day of my working full-time in the business.

I spent June 1, the anniversary of my diving into this business, running a half marathon with Sharon Pilaske, one of our newest team members. Sharon and I have run together before, and I always enjoy it, but this was by far the most challenging half marathon I’ve ever run. Rolling hills and more heat than I’m used to resulted in me getting sick after the race = not the day I envisioned. Nonetheless, I now have another half marathon on the books and the biggest, heaviest race medal I’ve ever received.

I know how to celebrate, apparently!

If you haven’t seen the promotion, you’ll want to check this out: we are giving away a signed book from our author community EVERY WEEK for the next 30 or so weeks. Signed books have been arriving in my office daily, many with small notes inside, all inscribed by the authors. It’s going to hurt to send these treasures back out into the world, but I am doing it as a way to celebrate with you.

Happy Anniversary to us!

We are also celebrating two special books this week: this week marks the launch of Brian Sooy’s wonderful book, Raise Your Voice, as well as the one year anniversary since we launched the 3rd edition of Chip Bell and Marshall Goldsmith’s seminal work, Managers as Mentors.

If you’d like to win a signed copy of Managers as Mentors, be sure to sign up for our anniversary giveaway. Yes, your copy of Managers as Mentors, signed by both authors! Tweet now to be entered to win, but also be sure to sign up for weekly emails about future giveaways.

And, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to learn more about Brian Sooy’s book, Raise Your Voice, and buy your copy today!

What To Do When You’re In the Weeds

A lovely creek runs through the ravine behind my home.

As spring turns to summer, the paths my husband works hard to clear through the woods can easily become overgrown; keeping the paths open requires regular attention.

If we venture off his carefully cleared paths, we get stuck. With every step, we get even more entangled, and briers and thorns cut into our skin.

When I get stuck, my instinct is to get out — move through —as fast as I can.

I don’t like getting stuck… and I bet you don’t either.

As an owner of a growing business, I get stuck a lot. The weeds I get stuck in can easily drag me down, off my desired path.

How did I end up in the weeds? Sometimes it’s not clear. The only thing that is clear is my desire to get out — as soon as possible.

But how?

A couple of my team members recently shared this observation: when I get in the weeds, they see me becoming more creative and strategic, thinking about new initiatives, next steps, and big ideas.

To tell you the truth, it drives them a little crazy.

They are wondering how to get through the day, and I’m dreaming far into the future.

They have their heads down, working hard to extricate themselves from the vines around their feet, and I’m standing there with my head tilted upwards, observing how beautiful the far away leaves are, how blue the clouds are, and how nice it is up there in the sky. (When I sit in the woods behind my house, the uppermost leaves look silver).

Here’s what to do when you get in the weeds: stop looking at the weeds.

Instead, look at where you’d rather be, in that nice flower-filled clearing just ahead.

Stop looking down. Stop looking back.

Instead, look up. Look out. Look at where you’d rather be.

When you do, you will unleash creativity and energy. As you persevere to the good things ahead, you’ll be out of the weeds and back on your desired path faster.

 

Featured on Friday: #MeetingsMatter

What are you doing next Wednesday?

If your answer isn’t, “Attending the FREE #MeetingsMatter webinar”, then listen up because this is a unique and exciting opportunity! On Wednesday, May 28th at 1 pm (EDT), Becky Robinson is hosting a free webinar with Kathryn Heath, one of the founding partners of Flynn Heath Holt Leadership. Kathryn will be discussing what she and her partners at FHHL found when they delved into why executive women say that they feel less effective in meetings than they do in other business situations. She will also be sharing advice on what women, and men, can do to step up their performance at the next meeting. Register today!

Meet the Speaker

Kathryn Heath is a founding partner at Flynn Heath Holt Leadership whose goal is to move women leaders forward faster. She serves as a developer of leadership programs, researcher, coach, and training designer. One of the hallmarks of Kathryn’s work is addressing organizations’ specific business targets through customized programs that move women forward faster.

Before she co-founded FHHL, Kathryn was Senior Vice President and Director of First University at the nation’s fourth-largest bank, First Union (now Wells Fargo), where her inventive and results-focused approach won her numerous awards in the field of learning and development. She created highly successful leadership development programs for high-potential employees – many of whom became the company’s top-most leaders. Additionally, during a period of explosive growth, Kathryn centralized training, expanded the tools and channels both onsite and remotely, and increased the training hours per person exponentially.

Discover the Book

In 2011, Jill Flynn, Kathryn Heath, and Mary Davis Holt published Break Your Own Rules: How to Change the Patterns of Thinking that Block Women’s Paths to Power. This book distills the six faulty assumptions (or “rules”) most women follow that get in the way of achieving their full potential—then delivers the correlating new rules that promise to clear that path all the way to the executive boardroom. Based on their research, years of coaching successful business women, and over 1,700 interviews with executives in Fortune 500 companies, Break Your Own Rules reveals how women everywhere can start to change the thinking that drives their actions—and start winning in greater numbers.

 Coming to the webinar? Read this first!

If you’re planning to attend the #MeetingsMatter webinar (don’t forget to live tweet using that hashtag), here’s some pre-event homework that will help you get the most out of the event. Flynn, Heath, and Holt were recently published in the June Issue of the Harvard Business Review. The article is now available online, and is the basis of what Kathryn Heath will be sharing next week as she talks with Becky Robinson. Read it this weekend and get your questions ready!

Invite Your Friends!

Planning to attend the webinar? Can’t make the webinar but know someone who would enjoy it? Send this tweet now to share the news!

Women – it’s time to Find Your Voice! Join @FlynnHeathHolt on May 28 and discover why #MeetingsMatter: http://bit.ly/MeetingsMatter

 

Quick Tip: Try Poll Everywhere

Bill Treasurer gave me some great advice regarding how to punch up my first keynote speech.

“Use a live poll,” he said. “Poll Everywhere.com. It’s easy and it will engage your audience and wow them.”

His advice? Spot on.

I signed up for polleverywhere.com, added three polls to my presentation, and tested out the software in advance.

Although I am admittedly fairly comfortable with technology, I think most anyone could use Poll Everywhere easily and flawlessly. I felt slightly nervous about trying something new in front of a large audience. I worried needlessly.

Here’s how it works: You create polls which you can embed into your presentations. Participants in your session use their cell phones to text their responses or post their responses through a website or Twitter. In real time, responses are tallied and updated within your slide deck.

When I presented my closing keynote using Poll Everywhere in late March, my final slide included an open-ended question. I asked participants to share their action items from the event. This question elicited some powerful responses.  It engaged the audience. They took action. They looked at the screen in anticipation of seeing their answers displayed.

Using Poll Everywhere elevated my presentation, one which I spent considerable time preparing and creating, from good to outstanding. The interactivity of the polls made me and my message more memorable.

If you are a speaker looking to increase your effectiveness in presenting, I encourage you to try Poll Everywhere. The price (yes, I paid for the service) is worth the investment. I will definitely use it in my future presentations.

Polleverywhere is used in corporate settings, educational settings (my daughter’s Algebra teacher uses it), and at conferences everywhere.

You can also use it on the web… let’s try it. Click here to take my poll about using presentation software. (I created that poll in seconds…)

Tell me something! What do you add to presentations to create the WOW factor?

photo credit: marc.thiele

Featured on Friday: Meet Our PR Team

When Becky Robinson started Weaving Influence in 2012, she had a vision for using social media to promote authors and thought leaders. As she grew the team of contractors (you can read her post from earlier this week to see how I joined up), her vision also grew – eventually including in-house graphic design, web development, and public relations.

Last summer Megan Constantino joined the team as our first Public Relations specialist, moving quickly to bring first class PR support to our existing clients. She likes to describe herself as “scrappy” when it comes to putting our clients in front of the media – both local and national, and over the last year she has worked diligently to build media connections and relationships with top tier media outlets.

One of Megan’s proudest achievements is landing regular posting opportunities for Chip Bell at Entrepreneur, something that she credits as much to Chip’s responsiveness as she does to her own tenacity.

“Building on what Becky is famous for saying, I think the magic happens in every realm when clients show up, but this is particularly true in PR.”

Megan says that in her experience, there is nothing more appealing to media outlets than a fresh piece of writing, even if it’s just a short 3-5 sentence paragraph. After securing Entrepreneur for Chip, she went to work on behalf of Karin Hurt, successfully cold calling Forbes for an interview based on Karin’s new book, and landing Karin her own stand-alone article with Entrepreneur.

“I feel like Chip and Karin work harder than I do on PR! They respond in real time, meeting the PR team halfway, and have experienced great success because they can speak on a variety of sub-topics under their umbrella of expertise.”

In February of this year, Ashleigh Tweedie joined the team, doubling the size of our PR department. Ashleigh majored in public relations and says she really appreciates the opportunity to not only put her degree to work, but to do it under the guidance and mentoring of a seasoned professional like Megan. Calling Megan her “role model”, Ashleigh has already landed plenty of press during her short tenure with Weaving Influence.

She lists working with clients and landing opportunities as her favorite parts of the job, and Ashleigh’s enthusiasm for her work is obvious.

“Every single PR strategy is personalized for the client. We find what works best for them and then move forward from there. Even though it might look completely different than the strategies Chip or Karin use, we know that success is finding the sweet spot for the individual client and landing media that will help them reach their goals.”

Highlighting the fact that every PR plan is unique, Ashleigh enjoys talking to the clients, figuring out what they need, what they want, and then how we can achieve that for them. She shared that flexibility is one of the keys to the Weaving Influence public relations success, and notes that finding common ground is important when working with our clients. Not everyone will fit with every media outlet, but her goal isn’t to connect with every outlet, just to find an “in” with the outlet that will work the best for the client’s overall strategy. That would be what we would call a “win”.

Planning a book launch for Fall 2014 or Spring 2015? We’d love to connect with you and explore how our full-service book launch team can be a part of helping you reach success. Contact us today!

Looking to Hire Great Team Members? Consider Twitter

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I start (nearly) every day with the same tweet: “Good morning. Who’s awake?” Over the years, this tweet has produced some interesting conversations, helped me make some key connections, and provided a way for me to ease into my work day.

By far, the most important connection I’ve made through sending that tweet is the one I made with Carrie Koens, who recently marked two years of subcontracting with Weaving Influence. On April 27, 2012, Carrie responded to my tweet, which started a conversation…

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Which led to a Direct Message…

Which led to kindnesses…

…which led to more conversations and Carrie becoming a permanent member of my growing team.

I tend to trust my gut with hires, sometimes skipping the typical steps you should take (checking references, reviewing resumes.) In some situations, I will admit that trusting my instincts has been an abysmal failure.

In getting to know Carrie, I read her blog and talked to her by phone. That’s it. So off-the-wall was our connection, that her husband didn’t believe it was a legitimate job until she received her first paycheck in the mail.

I can say without question that my business would not have developed the way it has without Carrie’s dedication, discipline, conscientiousness, focus, and diligence.

And it all started early one morning, on Twitter.

It shows me that the story of my business is much bigger than me — it is the story of the people God is bringing together, in sometimes miraculous ways, to do great work together.

I am so grateful for Carrie and the ways her life and work have blessed my life and business.

I’m not sure you can replicate the results of my early morning tweet, but Twitter can be a great place to make connections that can lead to great opportunities.

Tell me something! Have you ever hired someone you met on Twitter? If you have worked with Carrie, what do you most appreciate about her?

Featured on Friday: Meet Team Member Joanna Jones!

Becky Robinson, author Bev Kaye, and Joanna at ASTD

You’ve already met Amy, Rachel, Christy, Elizabeth, and Megan, but today I am so pleased to introduce you to another behind-the-scenes member of our team.

You may recognize her name if you’ve been a part of our recent book launch teams. Joanna is the sweet person behind the emails and follow-up that you receive, and she’s a true delight to have on our team. I’m amazed at how much she accomplishes while taking care of a toddler and a newborn! She puts me to shame, and is a definite inspiration with her time management skills.

Meet Joanna Jones

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Joanna:

Born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which means I am a die-hard Bronco fan, despite their abysmal Super Bowl Performance. I come from a large family and hope to have one myself. I am married to a worship pastor and we play house with our two kiddos, a dog who is afraid of the toaster, a cat who thinks she is a dog, and my daughter’s two fish, whom she affectionately named Mickey and Donald. 

Do you have any quirks that you want to share?

I hate it when my food touches other food. I love the plates with sections normally used for little kids, and if a meal is served with bread, I usually use it as the buffer between two runny things so their juices don’t mix. The only exception to this is Thanksgiving, during which the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and bread all get unified into one tasty blob thanks to gravy.

When you get downtime, what do you enjoy doing?

Reading, drinking coffee, and family dates.

Tell us a little bit about your WI experience (when did you start, what do you enjoy, your title, etc.)…

I have been working with Weaving Influence since February of 2013, and my favorite part of the job is the times we step away from work talk to do life together. I love the times when we share with each other via Facebook or email or whatever things that are going on in our lives, and I find great joy in knowing that I work with a wonderful group of people who all often take time in their day to pray for one another. My official title at the moment is operations, although it doesn’t really fit all that I do. I am trying to convince Becky to give me the title Jack of All Trades, Master of Nothing. 

Do you have a social media tip you would like to share with our readers?

When tweeting, just deal with the fact that 140 characters often prevents you from being grammatically correct. Breathe. It’s okay. Life will go on.

Thanks, Joanna! We love having you on the team! If you’d like to connect with Joanna online, you can  find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.