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By Elaine, August 3, 2010 7:56 am

If you haven’t heard of Social Media then you probably do not have a computer, blackberry, iphone, ipad, do not read any newspapers or watch a television. To be honest it is everywhere. In the past few months I have heard facebook and twitter referenced in movies and TV shows. Most notably, in the last six months the queen of all things cool, Ms Oprah Winfrey, has reinvented her website and it is using Social Media extensively.

According to Wikipedia…

“Social Media is the blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value”.

In plain English it is a tool to connect and network with your clients or potential clients to give some sort of information or value with the intent of creating a business relationship. There are several types of Social Media that you can use as a business owner or someone working in a business to connect with others for the purpose of attracting clients.

Common Social Media Types

The most commonly used Social Media types would be blogging and Social Networking sites like Linked in, Facebook, twitter and youtube. The question then becomes, what Social Media type is best for my situation. As we know, all networking or social media is not created equal. As in any marketing plan, it is important that you use the right medium to send your message and social marketing is no different.

Attracting your Ideal Client with Social Networking

Identifying who your ideal client is will help to narrow down the choices of social media that will be most effective. For example, if you are targeting the 35-45 year old female, then facebook is your spot.  If you have a niche product or service, a blog will attract potential clients quicker. If it is connections for business you are seeking out then Linked in will fill the bill.

Finding your Authentic message in Social Networking

An important consideration is how you want to present yourself in all of these platforms. Will you be presenting yourself or the company? Create a 140 character or less bio and an avatar (picture) to upload to all of the profiles you will have to create. Make sure the person or company message you are presenting is an authentic representation of what you want people to see.

Tools to help you Manage and Organize your Social Web

There are many tools available to use that make Social Marketing quick and efficient. For instance by using a tweetdeck you can manage multiple twitter accounts in addition to keeping a finger on the pulse of any specific topic or person. In a few minutes each day you can scan and choose which conversations you want to be involved in. Linked in, youtube and facebook actually send weekly update on your account to a specified e-mail address so you can quickly scan what is happening with your connections, the information comes to you instead of you trying to find it.

Time blocking and Batching tasks are great techniques to keep the time you commit daily to your social networking at a minimum. By picking specific times during the day and sticking to them you are in control of the amount and frequency rather than it pulling you in and distracting you from the other important things that you need to accomplish daily.

Why do I need Social Media?

Some people are questioning the whole Social media thing and asking why they need it. Here is my question….If you are not monitoring and managing the messages who is?

Like most people you are already feeling time deprived and the thought of adding another thing to your already busy schedule may seem more than you can handle. However, creating a social media strategy to fit into your already busy schedule is possible and with a these time saving Social Media tips and shortcuts you can be friended, followed and connected in no time at all.

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By Elaine, July 30, 2010 7:44 pm

Andrea Cyr was the lucky winner of a 2 hour blitz that I provided as a door prize at a networking event in April. This was not a fluke…Andrea had facebooked me several months before and inquired about my services. She was making many substantial changes in her life and felt it was the right time to Take Charge and get about the business of getting her home in order….you see Andrea has some very bold, exciting goals that  require focus…and that requires organization. Through her desire to win and her belief in the Law of Attraction she made it happen. Here is the result of the 2 hour session in her awesome words. You can meet Andrea here

Organizing was never my forte.  Heck, it wasn’t even in my vocabulary.  Then I met a little spitfire named Elaine Shannon and that all changed.  I had no idea life could be like this!  Let me share my story.

I don’t know how I ended up so unorganized.

I think my mother landed on this planet directly from another galaxy called “A Place for Everything, and Everything in its Place”.  She has had the SAME shoe box with first-aid type supplies in the bathroom closet for 47 years!  I don’t remember EVER having to ask “Mom, where’s the ozonol (or band aids, or Absorbine Jr., or peroxide…etc…), it was in the shoe box!

You would think I would have caught on.  Then again, this is a woman who ironed our socks and put them on OVER our shoes when we were babies, so maybe I just thought she was a little bit crazy!

Anyway…until recently, if I even owned a tube of Ozonol, I would have to look in at least 5 places to find it!  The cut, or burn, or blister or whatever would be healed by the time I found the Ozonol!  I didn’t have a place for ANYTHING, and NOTHING was in place.  If I mistakenly took out my contact lenses before searching the house for my glasses, I was doomed!

About a month ago, Elaine Shannon, organizing superwoman came into my house!

It was fascinating.  She was wearing a t-shirt and sneakers ( I guess she figured she had her work cut out for her!) and carrying a filing box from which she removed a bottle of water, a label maker and a little pad of yellow sticky notes.  And we began.  We went through my “cozy” little condo like a wild fire.

Please understand that I don’t even see the things that Elaine picked out.  She just had to walk into a room and look around for a second before she started furiously writing on her little sticky note pad.  She would tell me what needed to be done, what containers to buy, what hanging organizing thingies I needed then SMACK!!! Stick the little yellow note on the wall!  (not 30 percent into the job, she ripped the note pad in half suddenly realizing she didn’t have enough notes for the organizing nightmare that was my little house!)

By the time she left an hour later, there were sticky notes on every wall, every door, in every drawer and in every cupboard.  It was at once hilarious, fascinating and a little intimidating!

A month later I can’t believe the difference.

Not only in my house, but in my life!  Elaine’s work has made my life easier, and I am so much happier.  I don’t have the frustration of looking for things any more.  Everything is in its place!  If I want to paint my nails, I just go to the “nail supplies” container and pick my products!  When I want to find out how much my power bill was last month, I go to the “power bill” file!  I had no idea it could be so easy.

Meeting Elaine has enhanced my life in many, many ways.

But having all my cereal in the same cupboard is truly one of the highlights!  Thanks Elaine.  You’re an amazing woman and a true organizing guru!

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By Elaine, July 26, 2010 12:46 pm

Definition of Social Media

by Ron Jones “Social media essentially is a category of online media where people are talking, participating, sharing, networking, and bookmarking online.” I agree with Ron as he further adds that as an activity it is a two way form of marketing and by golly….it is just fun to do.

Lunch is also an activity where people talk, share, network and yes have fun…however sadly enough over 70%  of office workers claim that they are eating lunch at their desk. Well that is not fun, a bit anti social and quite frankly not good for your health.

I was not aware of these staggering Lunch statistics until I was doing my research for this post.  If someone has the stats for self employed people who eat alone at their desk while working please drop by and share the numbers…I am sure that is is probably higher than for people who work outside the home.

So now I have to ask the question.

When did we trade lively lunch conversations in the office lunch room or the local diner for solitary lunch in front of the computer?

Obviously this topic is getting some attention…and guess what, I am not the only one asking the question. On Oprah.com, (we know that if Oprah is chatting about it then it is HOT!)  Tony Schwartz an author who is spearheading a project to get people out from behind their desk for their lunch BREAK. It is called Take Back your Lunch.  You can join others who want to take back their lunch and are starting a movement…a movement to reclaim our energy.

My friends Chris and Adrian over at Evolving Solutions are on the cutting edge of this lunch trend.

On July 9th I participated in their first Lunch on Us. Yes the Chief Love Officer and the Man behind the Curtain sat down with myself and  fellow entrepreneur Tanya Whittaker of  Med Equip Supplies to share a lively conversation. We talked about Social Media and where Business is heading, about having passion and purpose for what you do and most importantly how to keep it real and simple.

In moving forward I am joining the movement at Take Back your Lunch, I will also be recommending it to my clients who also need to get out from behind the computer for some fun and conversation….with real people. Or perhaps head out into nature and go for a walk, sit in the park and just be.

I would like to share a quick Video from the Lunch on Us where Chris and Adrian share some Business advice:

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By Elaine, June 2, 2010 8:43 am

What don’t you like about your BUSINESS, life, relationships, money…etc?

And how do you plan on making changes to the situation to what you DO WANT?

About five years ago I met Michael Losier best selling Canadian author and Oprah’s Law of Attraction HOW-TO guru right here in my home town of Rothesay New Brunswick Canada.

He shared an amazing secret that day to all of the workshop participants and has been sharing the secrets of attracting more of what you want into your life for the past decade.

Are you ready?

Here is the secret….before you can get more of what you want you need to get past what you don’t want.

Sample Contrast through Clarity worksheet

I have used this Contrast Through Clarity worksheet that is in Michael’s book many times in the past, and it always helps me to get clear about what I am attracting good or bad and how to get more of what I want.

Take a few minutes today to try it out on a situation in your life that is not working for you….you will be pleasantly surprised at the results.

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By Elaine, April 30, 2010 7:51 am

How can an advertiser get you to fall in love with a product in 30 seconds or less?

Visuals!

Have you ever caught yourself reaching for a hanky during a commercial break… and then wanting to reach out and touch someone…well if you have then you have been Inspired with the power of the visual.

Now my tiny advertising budget, ok non existent budget, does not allow me to hire a production crew to create a touching, visually appealing ad that will make people salivate for my product or service.

So what does the average Joe do to create something visually compelling…. you go to the internet of course and you research…you find a free program…and then you build your own 30 second ad…a Mind Movie.

Just to show you how easy it can be done I produced my own 30 second commercial this week using  Animoto’s free tool.

Kim Eagles and I are preparing for a very exciting mention of our company Organizing Connection in the Financial Post Magazine in May and I wanted a commercial for the visitors to our site. I want them to get caught up in the emotion of the offering and yes…I want them to take action.

Here is what I created…enjoy…now go and make one of your own.

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By Elaine, April 12, 2010 8:02 am

This is a repeat of a post I recently submitted to my profile on the #1 Women’s Life Coaching Program  and personal Development Network. Compass is a life coaching community designed to provide you with articles, programs, services, support and advice to get the results you want in every area of your life. Check Compass out now...

At a recent Home Organizing Seminar I was facilitating I had an aha moment. I love it when this happens.

I am sure that I already knew this but it was one of those moments.

I live with 4 other people with very different organizing styles and it can cause occassional regular arguments and stress within the family. I am a “put it right away” kind of gal…my 9 year old is a very cute version of Pig-Pen and I say this in the most loving terms. There are 3 other people who all fit somewhere in between….this can create major family Relationship issues if left unattended.

His room has been a huge stressor for me as it looks like something that Pig-Pen would live in. In my attempts to “not” be a militant mommy I have been letting things go and the strain of this is on the verge of affecting our beautiful relationship.

It my own personal growth I have learned one major relationship rule…that I am going to use for this situation.

It is better to be HAPPY…than to be RIGHT!

So I am making some Organizational changes to the bedroom that will allow my dear boy to live in a room that fits his Organizing Style and also keep his Momma happy.

I am removing the dresser and replacing it with a shelf. His clothing never makes it to the dresser anyhow…and if it does the drawers are always open and look so…messy.

A shelf is easy…he can put his clothing on the shelf in any way that he wants and because he is visually oriented he will be able to see all his clothing and this will make him happy.

Now I am off to do the Right thing to make us both Happy.

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By Elaine, February 25, 2010 4:30 pm

I know, you are waiting for a catchy punchline….

Something profound that will perhaps help you as you are thinking of unplugging, taking a break, spending some time with family or friends and doing nothing work related for several days in a row!

Can you feel the anxiety building up…I can.

Tomorrow I am embarking on a new adventure. I am unplugging and heading away with my family.

I feel it is time to back away from the computer and the Blackberry and give myself, my husband and my family time to live in the present moment. We are disconnecting from the internet ..all of us…even me…and are allowing only one cell phone for emergencies…yes we are vacationing old school…. an old fashioned road trip. Hopefully not National lampoon style!

We are all looking forward to playing board games, reading, walking, and re-connecting.

I am excited and anxious at the same time. Intellectually I  know that my business will go on when I get back, but there are parts of me that think if I am not going at warp speed that I will miss something.

Here are some awesome resources to check out if you are thinking of vacationing and not sure how to manage it.

Alex Fayle of the Someday Syndrome has a Freelancer Vacation Clinic

James at Men with Pens shares the analogy of a Run Away Train and momentum in our businesses. What happens when you stop the train? Check out the article.

And finally Gretchen over at the Happiness Project… yes you read that correctly, a project on happiness. Gretchen shares 5 tips for happiness that were reinforced during her vacation.  I would like to thank Gretchen for helping me to see that the Skippers obsession laundry thing on vacation is just a thing and that I need to just chill and not make a big deal about him knowing where every laundry facility is when we vacation and the need to have clean laundry when we travel.  Obviously doing laundry while on vacation is FUN for the skipper.

Back to the initial questions of how an Entrepreneur takes a vacation…you just go…you enjoy yourself…live in the moment and deal with the stuff when you get back.

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By Elaine, February 22, 2010 8:57 am

March break is less than a week away and as I sit here making my huge, really big, gynormous…OMG will I ever get it all finished in 4 days list, I wonder how people who are not organizationally gifted get it all done!

The tasks of this week in front of me are not even on the Top 5 …these tasks require a whole different strategy…

Batching these tasks will work to a certain point but it requires so much more…

Because I love all of you and know that this is a big struggle point with many people here are my techniques that you can use for getting things done.

I am sure that you have heard this saying before….I have, and I use it regularly in presentations and with clients.

How do you eat and Elephant? One bite at a time.

Meaning…you have a huge list, you have a certain time frame to complete all the things on the list and you are now paralyzed by the whole big thing….Did I hit that nail on the head?

This is how I am going to tackle the week so I can go away and have a great family vacation, confident that I have handled all that I CAN handle, delegated where I could and took control of the week.

***warning***

When you have a week like this lighten the load where you can and DO NOT….I repeat DO NOT take on anything else…not even if a cute little old lady needs help this week, stranded puppy dogs or even a good friend…you have enough on your plate…just say NO.

That being said here we go.

• Separate your list for the week into things that you have to do for work and the things that you have to do  for family/home.
• Delegate all the family/home  tasks accordingly. Enlist the troops and allow everyone to pitch in…you do not have to do this alone.
• Group things that require a trip to the bank, insurance company, drug store for supplies, etc and take one morning to do these running around things.

Get your highlighter out and as you finish each thing on the list scratch it off…that one technique always keeps me going as I get er done!

Attempt to accomplish as much as you can at the beginning of the week…leaving time for unexpected things as the deadline approaches.

I must go now and get at that list…may the force be with me!

No elephants were injured during this post…they were only used for illustrative purposes