Carol Stephen, Author at

#DigiBlogChat December 13, 2022 Topic: Life Hacks with Digital Assistants

December 10, 2022 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4705450">Gerd Altmann</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4705450">Pixabay</a>

Today’s Topic: Life Hacks with Digital Assistants | Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter, who also created today’s questions If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

For the purpose of this chat topic, we want to know more about Digital Assistants like @madebygoogle @siri @alexa99 and how you use them.

Unlike our usual chat format, we’d like you to share life hacks that feature your digital assistant.

Instead of a series of questions we are asking that you share as many life hacks as you can, prefacing each in numerical sequence, e.g. A1, A2, A3….. and including the #digiblogchat hashtag each time.

To kick us off though, Q1. What’s your first life hack? #digiblogchat

Q2. What’s your second life hack? #digiblogchat

Q3. What’s your third life hack? #digiblogchat

Q4. What’s your fourth life hack? #digiblogchat

Q5. What’s your fifth life hack? #digiblogchat

Q6. What’s your sixth life hack? #digiblogchat

Q7. What’s your seventh life hack? #digiblogchat

Q8. What’s your eighth life hack? #digiblogchat

Q9. What’s your ninth life hack? #digiblogchat

Q10. What’s your tenth life hack? #digiblogchat

Filed Under: Digiblogchat questions Tagged With: DigiBlogChat

#DigiBlogChat December 6, 2022 Personal and Business Boundaries

December 2, 2022 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/langll-822640/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1828079">Lorri Lang</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1828079">Pixabay</a>

The topic for Tuesday, December 6, 2022 is Personal and Business Boundaries! Image by Lorri Lang from Pixabay

Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. Why are boundaries important for those in business? #digiblogchat

Q2. When is it possible to ignore business boundaries on social media? #digiblogchat

Q3. What is the best way to set up boundaries between personal and business relationships? #digiblogchat

Q4. Why do you need to set up personal boundaries? #digiblogchat

Q5. What are some examples of good business boundaries? #digiblogchat

Q6. Was there a time when not setting up a personal or business boundary worked out well for you? How so? #digiblogchat

Q7. What is one example of a personal boundary that works for you? #digiblogchat

Q8. How is building strong business boundaries the key to good work relationships? #digiblogchat

Q9. What are some types of personal boundaries and why are they critical? #digiblogchat

Q10. How is the ability to say No conducive to strong personal and business boundaries? #digiblogchat

Filed Under: Digiblogchat questions Tagged With: DigiBlogChat

Do We Really Need a New Social Media Platform?

December 1, 2022 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

The question of whether we need a new social media platform is a controversial one. After all, don’t we have ten million social media platforms already? Yes, we do, but then again no. A lot of them have already failed. Some had their day, but have fallen by the wayside. And with the way things are looking at Twitter, it’ll never be the same again. By the way, I’ve written about Twitter recently: Big Shakeup at Twitter: How Will Changes Affect You?

We do need something new

Do you remember that Huey Lewis and the News song I Want a New Drug? (Especially the part about the new drug not making him nervous.) That’s what I want, too. And a lot of others do as well. And not just because newness is so popular. We want a hybrid of what’s gone before, plus some other benefits as well. Here are a few reasons we need a new social media platform.

Indexed by Google

Yes, we don’t want a platform that’s walled off so we can’t see what’s inside at all. We want indexing by Google (and we want it now!). Seriously. How about something that lures or coaxes us inside? And isn’t so secretive that we can’t tell what’s happening at all! In other words, a focus on the positive–more a carrot over a stick approach.

Do We Really Need a New Social Media Platform? | Image by ThePixelman from Pixabay

Curated for hate speech

We need less hate speech, including a list of words that can be filtered out by users (just like in Twitter–imagine that!). So we’d need real people to catch some of the hate speech and spam that we’ve been getting all along. For that, we might need to be able to reach customer service if we need help. So yes, we need customer service–and not just for those who have paid ads!

Some could be permanently banned

That’s right. This has been a subject of controversy for some time. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to return. If they adamantly refuse to change, let them go. That is, ban them. Kick them off. Hate speech shouldn’t masquerade as freedom of speech.

Flexibility in design

The new social media platform would need flexibility. That means hiring good engineers and treating them well. No ultimatums saying things like they have to sign up to be “hardcore employees.” You know who I’m talking about, right?

If not now, when?

Have you noticed a big change in Twitter users’ profiles, with many of them listing other social media platforms where they’ll be in case of the apocalypse? Because I have. Mastodon, Hive Social, and Post are just three of those covered in this article from NPR: Looking to Leaving Twitter? Here are the social networks seeing new users right now.

What will you do?

Will you stay or will you go? Or will you stay and hedge your bets? If you do start a new account, will you change your bio to reflect what you’ll do?

Filed Under: Blog

#DigiBlogChat November 22, 2022 Topic: Gratitude Marketing with @RandyLyleClark

November 18, 2022 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/huoadg5888-8934889/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4415649">huoadg5888</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4415649">Pixabay</a>

The topic for Tuesday, November 22, 2022 is Gratitude Marketing with @RandyLyleClark! Image by huoadg5888 from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, November 22, 2022 is Gratitude Marketing with @RandyLyleClark! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. What is Gratitude Marketing?

Q2. How can a business creatively show gratitude to customers?

Q3. Can a business show gratitude to a community? How?

Q4. How can an organization show gratitude to employees?

Q5. How can a company show gratitude to a prospect who didn’t make a purchase?

Q6. Is it a good idea to show gratitude to a consumer who points out a flaw or mistake? Why?

Q7. Can a business overdo gratitude marketing especially over the holidays? Examples, please.

Q8. How can promotional products be used to show gratitude?

Q9. How can transparency and honesty show an organization’s gratitude?

Q10. Share something you and your business are grateful for.

Filed Under: Digiblogchat questions Tagged With: DigiBlogChat, gratitude, marketing

How Gratitude Marketing Helps Your Business Be Powerful

November 17, 2022 By Carol Stephen 2 Comments

Although it’s easy to be negative right now given all the strangeness on social media, this time in November is all about gratitude because Thanksgiving. So for the purposes of this blog post, I’m going to try to stay positive. We’ll see how long that lasts! After all, Twitter is having issues, and Meta has also had a massive layoff. In fact, all over Silicon Valley, there are layoffs and rumors of layoffs, too.

Counter the negativity with gratitude marketing

What’s good about your business? Here’s some help thinking of a few things. First of all, you’re still in business, am I right? So that’s a big thank you to the universe–for keeping your business afloat after Covid (and many say it’s still here, but it’s not the same as it was a couple of years ago). So congratulate yourself just for staying in the game all this time!

Thank friends every day

Your business has a lot of people who help, even if you may not know who they are. For instance, the store where you buy your supplies. Who ships your products to you? Try to find out, and thank them. Or the guy who helps you when you get stuck with technical issues? An article in Entrepreneur states that gratitude is the best marketing plan ever. And probably you have collaborators, too. Those are also good people to thank. I’ve written about supporting your friends while supporting yourself before. You might like to read it.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/bogitw-851103/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=877121">Gerhard Bögner</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=877121">Pixabay</a>

How Gratitude Marketing Helps Your Business Be Powerful | Image by Gerhard Bögner from Pixabay

Give good reviews

For the most part, I’d rather give someone a good review than a bad review any day. If a business has bad service, I’d rather vote with my feet, as they say, and not go back. But for the ones with good customer service? They really appreciate good reviews on Google or Yelp. After all, people read those reviews! That kind of review isn’t something that’s easy to come by. Sites like Amazon or even your local grocery store are always wanting you to tell them how you feel. Did you like the product? How was the service? They want to know! Good reviews are priceless.

Read what others do to improve their gratitude marketing

There are lots of examples out there of people who use gratitude marketing. For instance, here’s an article about the Power of Gratitude in Marketing, from Duct Tape Marketing. What I like about the article is it goes beyond saying thank you, and also focuses on the benefits to your business. Another great idea from the article? Thanking your social media fans when you reach certain milestones. I’ve seen people do this on YouTube and Twitter.

What are the other benefits of gratitude (in marketing or in your life)?

When I think about expressing my own gratitude, it always gives me warm fuzzy feelings. If feelings could be warm and fuzzy, that is. And studies show that gratitude, as a practice, helps you be healthier. What benefits has gratitude marketing made in your business?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: gratitude, marketing

#DigiBlogChat November 15, 2022 Topic: SEO with PamAnnMarketing

November 11, 2022 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3683757">Gerd Altmann</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=3683757">Pixabay</a>

#DigiBlogChat November 15, 2022 Topic: SEO with PamAnnMarketing | Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, November 15, 2022 is SEO and Analytics with PamAnnMarketing! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

What is your personal definition of SEO?
Why should business owners and marketers focus on SEO?
Why is SEO so complex?
How do you create an organized SEO strategy when there are so many different SEO factors?
How long does it take for SEO to start working?
What does analytics have to do with SEO?
What’s all this “GA4” nonsense about? Do I really have to deal with this now?
Can I import my old Google Analytics data into the new Google Analytics?
Will I be able to log into my old Google Analytics account after the transition?
How long does Google Analytics 4 store data for?

Filed Under: Digiblogchat questions Tagged With: analytics, DigiBlogChat, Google, SEO

Social Media Holidays, Post-Covid Edition

November 10, 2022 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

What are you doing for the holidays on your social media? If you’re sitting back, now is not the time for that. People are out and about, ready to spend money on your goods and services. If you’d like to have success going forward, it’s time to put some thought into what you’ll say over the holidays.

Which holidays will you celebrate?

Which ones does your audience share? What about your friends? Which do they celebrate? Sometimes even the federally sanctioned holidays are not celebrated by some people. Think about your followers and what they’d like to see. For instance, Columbus Day has fallen into disfavor recently, to be replaced, unofficially, by Indigenous People’s Day.

Do your goods and services make good gifts?

If so, make it easy for your followers. How do they buy from you? Don’t make them jump through a bunch of hoops to do business with you. Don’t make them write a check, find an envelope, and mail it to you. Are you even kidding? Here are some friends’ gifts that I like, and where you can find them:

The Only Online Marketing Book You Need for Your Small Business, by Warren Laine-Naida and Bridget Willard.
Calendars, note cards, and notebooks by Maricards on Etsy
Beautiful hand-crafted cutting boards and trays from Creative Woodworking Windsor
Daily planners from Teodora Ema Pirciu: My Daily Planner for Business Growth

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/bluartpapelaria-6017404/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2547356">bluartpapelaria</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2547356">Pixabay</a>

Social Media Holidays, Post-Covid Edition | Image by bluartpapelaria from Pixabay

Some people prefer the gift of time

If your friend would rather go to the movies, visit a park, or spend time playing Scrabble with you, you could give them a gift card for the movies, and so on. Just because they’re on social media with you doesn’t mean you shouldn’t honor their non-social media wish. And for distant friends, they might like to connect over Facetime or Marco Polo (a video messaging app).

Use the hashtags for social media holidays

You might not want to use all the hashtags, but one or two never hurt anyone, right? The exception is Instagram, of course! On Instagram, you can use up to 30 hashtags. Christmas, Black Friday, and Thanksgiving all have good hashtags and help people find you. By the way, I’ve written about hashtags before. You might like How to Discover a Wealth of Friends with Social Media Hashtags.

Chats are a good way to connect during the holidays

Here’s a blatant piece of self-promotion: join #Digiblogchat during the holidays, especially if you’re spending them alone. It’s only an hour at 1 pm, Pacific Time, every Tuesday. There are plenty of friendly people. Yes, there are lots of people leaving Twitter, but we’re still there! Here’s how to connect with us on #Digiblogchat.

Check in with friends

If you have the slightest doubt that someone might be feeling down or lonely, please reach out to them. The holidays, as you probably know, is a time when many feel sad. Pick up the phone or connect with your loved ones (or even those you don’t like very much) and make sure they’re ok.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: gifts, hashtags

Big Shakeup at Twitter: How Will Changes Affect You?

November 3, 2022 By Carol Stephen 4 Comments

Big changes at Twitter? Of course there are. By now, everyone’s heard that the rumors about Elon Musk taking over Twitter are more than rumors. We’ve been hearing for months that Musk would take over Twitter. But how will those changes affect you? Here are a few guesses. By the way, I’ve written about Twitter and chaos before: How to Survive the Chaos of Twitter.

Your numbers will drop

Actually, this is already happening! As a social media manager, I see what’s happening on the ground every day. All but one of my clients (including me) have seen drops in their follower count. People are apparently leaving in droves. Or at least a few hundreds are splitting.

But then again…no

As people join or rejoin Twitter, your engagement and follower account will probably increase later. I’m guessing that will take a few weeks or months, though. For the time being, though, there’s a Tweetexodus!

Hate speech will increase

This is one I hope to be wrong about. But big names are leaving, especially liberals. LeBron James tweeted that “So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech.” Along with the hate speech, there will be some misinformation. And if 45 is allowed to rejoin, that will be amplified. Again, I hope I’m wrong.

Advertisers have a wait and see attitude

Big name advertisers are waiting to see which direction Twitter takes. Companies like GM are temporarily halting their ads.

The Blue Checkmark is one of the most recent Twitter changes

First, Musk mentioned a price of $20 for continuing to have the blue checkmark for verified accounts. After a lot of pushback, though, he seems to have settled on $8. People are still complaining, though. And is it really legit to have big name celebrities pay for a checkmark that they used to get for free?

Job Cuts

There are already a lot of job cuts at Twitter, including Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal. And a 50% cut is rumored to be in the works, according to Bloomberg’s article Five Things Elon Musk Wants to Change About Twitter Right Away.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/pexels-2286921/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1854225">Pexels</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1854225">Pixabay</a>

Big Shakeup at Twitter: How Will Changes Affect You? | Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Will Vine be revived?

This is another rumor, but having Vine could help Twitter compete with TikTok and Instagram reels. I’m guessing that if it isn’t Vine, there will be something similar to Vine. Vine is reportedly built on old 2016 code, so maybe starting something from scratch would be better.

Content moderation

This one is something I’m very distrustful of. Who is moderating the content? And who determines what constitutes hate speech? Musk wants the policy about topics like election outcomes and Covid-19 to be more specific, according to people familiar with the matter. But with the massive layoffs, how exactly will that happen? I’m not confident.

Can we separate Twitter the business from Musk?

According to the New York Times opinion, Elon Musk’s Biggest Problem on Twitter May Be Its Advertisers:

Should Mr. Musk choose to remain a participant and provocateur on Twitter, it’s likely the platform is headed deeper into the world of toxicity and partisanship. If that happens, Twitter is doomed, from the perspective of advertising revenue.

What do you think will be the biggest change at Twitter?

Are you waiting to see how everything shakes out? Or are you ready to bail? Let me know!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Twitter changes

#Digiblogchat November 1, 2022 Topic: Intentional Buying, Decluttering, Reusing

October 28, 2022 By Carol Stephen Leave a Comment

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/yeskay1211-6332528/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2836301">Sathish kumar Periyasamy</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=2836301">Pixabay</a>

Tuesday, November 1, 2022’s topic: Intentional Buying, Decluttering, and Reusing Image by Sathish kumar Periyasamy from Pixabay

The topic for Tuesday, November 1, 2022 is Intentional Buying, Decluttering, and Reusing! Join us on Twitter each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. PDT for #DigiBlogChat. My partner for these chats is @LazBlazter. If you need to know how to participate, click here: How to Join #DigiBlogChat. P.S. Don’t forget to add the #digiblogchat hashtag!

Here are the questions:

Q1. How much do you think about what you buy before making a purchase?

Q2. Does the idea of decluttering terrify you? How so?

Q3. What are some creative ways of reusing something that you’d normally discard?

Q4. If you shopped like a minimalist, what would that look like?

Q5. How does the idea of who you were in the past keep you from decluttering in the present?

Q6. What is is the benefit of reusing over recycling?

Q7. How does having a shopping list help you be more intentional in a store?

Q8. How much does having too much stuff cost you?

Q9. What are some things you could reuse to divert them from the landfill?

Q10. What are some tips for intentional buying, decluttering, and reusing that you’d like to share?

Filed Under: Digiblogchat questions Tagged With: Decluttering, DigiBlogChat, Intentional Buying, Reusing

We do need something new

Indexed by Google

Curated for hate speech

Some could be permanently banned

Flexibility in design

If not now, when?

What will you do?

Counter the negativity with gratitude marketing

Thank friends every day

Give good reviews

Read what others do to improve their gratitude marketing

What are the other benefits of gratitude (in marketing or in your life)?

Which holidays will you celebrate?

Do your goods and services make good gifts?

Some people prefer the gift of time

Use the hashtags for social media holidays

Chats are a good way to connect during the holidays

Check in with friends

Your numbers will drop

But then again…no

Hate speech will increase

Advertisers have a wait and see attitude

The Blue Checkmark is one of the most recent Twitter changes

Job Cuts

Will Vine be revived?

Content moderation

Can we separate Twitter the business from Musk?

What do you think will be the biggest change at Twitter?

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