I’d like to teach the world to… do marketing ;)
We are getting to that time of year when I need to see one of my favourite adverts of all time. You remember it. That Coca-Cola ad with all the people on the hilltop singing about how they’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony :) I love that ad. To me, once I see that ad, then the holidays are coming.
I’m a singer (bet you didn’t know that – who knows, I might give you a little sample sometime lol ;) … but I’m not attempting to teach the world to sing – there are plenty of good people out there doing that ;) I do want to teach the world about marketing though. Particularly those of us who run small or medium sized businesses, where business is not just business but a lifestyle. Those of us that start a business because we have a dream – whatever that dream may be – more money, freedom, being your own boss, helping people or whatvever. That’s my passion. Helping build businesses that people love – that customers love, and that the owners love running. See, there are far too many great businesses that fail, simply because the marketing know-how is not there. And I don’t want that to happen!
It’s a jungle out there – a marketing jungle. I’m a marketing nerd. This is what I do all day in and out and I still get confused sometimes. With the internet, social media, smartphones etc. there are so many options, so many opportunities, so many potential pitfalls. So to help us all make some sense of all this marketing mess, I’ve written a book on it – hey, that’s what you do don’t you, when you want to teach? ;)
It’s my hope that this book gives non-specialists a good foundation to build their marketing on and makes sense of this whole thing. So far so good, I’ve got some great reviews from pre-reads of the book, some of which you can see on the page where you can get a sneak peek into the book: https://thoranna.is/marketinguntangledfree/
The book outlines the five main themes underpinning a solid marketing strategy and action plan: target groups, competition, branding, marketing communications and the marketing system. The plan is then to delve deeper into each of those five themes in the coming year with five more books in the Marketing Untangled series, giving you all the tools you need to master this marketing thing ;)
I do hope you’ll grab a preview. Once it’s out I’ll let you know, and for the first few days it will be available for free through Amazon – so grab the preview, keep your eyes open for the launch and grab a free copy! It really is a win-win!
Oh, and those that grab their preview can come join me in the Marketing Untangled Series Facebook Community where we talk marketing. I pop in regularly to take part in discussions and answer questions, and I’d love for you to come join me!
To your marketing success!
xo
Thoranna
p.s. that link again – just in case ;) https://thoranna.is/marketinguntangledfree/
What Businesses Can Learn From My Son’s Kindergarten
We have been very lucky in that both our children have attended a local kindergarten which we have all been very very happy with.This particular kindergarten has been widely discussed in Iceland, as it has a strong philosophy. Not that I am going to discuss that here in any detail, but a few of the things they do are things that businesses can learn a lot from when it comes to customer experience.
One of the criticism it has is that it is very organised. Everything is marked. The children sit in specific marked places on the floor in the main room during various activities and they have marked places in the hallway where they wait when going on field trips and such. Each and every item and piece of furniture is marked with the color of each group, and the places and spaces for things are marked with those colors in cupboards, shelves and drawers. The thing that most people notice is that the floor is marked with arrows which indicates where the children should walk – right hand traffic like in the streets :)
This has never been a problem for me, and is definitely not as strict as it sounds. When the thinking behind it was explained to me, I actually thought it was great. When a small child comes into a big, strange, new place like kindergarten, where there are a lot of other children and loads of new grownups, it must be quite scary. A strange, large new world. If they don’t immediately get a feeling of belonging in that place, and knowing where they fit in, little people can easily get very insecure.
By making sure that they have their own space, they know that they have a place in this world, and that they won’t get lost or left out. By marking all items and furniture, things don’t get lost, the children learn that there is a place for everything and everything in its place and it teaches them to respect things – and tidy up :) Overall, all these things help make a large and complicated word a little bit more simple and a little bit more secure for little individuals who are taking their first steps into that a big new world where one can easily feel scared and insecure.
So what has any of this got to do with business? Well, I’ll tell you. [Read more…]
Íslendingar og LinkedIn
Ég mæli yfirleitt með því að viðskiptavinir mínir séu á LinkedIn. Ég fæ oft spurninguna “af hverju?” og athugasemdir um að fólk fatti það ekki, “eru Íslendingar svo mikið að nota það?” o.s.frv.
Það eru margar margar góðar ástæður fyrir því að nota LinkedIn, en byrjum bara á tveimur mögulegum, sem eiga sérstaklega vel við Íslendinga. Geymum hópana, spurningar-og-svör, atvinnuleit og allt þetta sem krefst verulegrar virkni í bili :)Tengslanetið…
Tengslanetið er eitt mikilvægasta markaðstólið okkar. Hverjir við þekkjum, hverja þeir sem við þekkjum þekkja … Það er hinsvegar erfitt, í raunveruleikanum, að vita hverjir þeir sem við þekkjum þekkja. Því virkara sem fólk er á LinkedIn, því auðveldara er að komast að því hvernig þú tengist þessari manneskju sem þú ert búinn að vera að reyna að komast í samband við í marga mánuði. “Hey, hún er besta vinkona hans Sigga frænda! Best ég tali við Sigga.” – þú einfaldlega veist þetta ekki almennt, en þegar þetta er komið á LinkedIn (eða Facebook eða …) þá geturðu einfaldlega slegið upp nafninu og séð hvernig þið tengist. Það er miklu áhrifaríkara að hringja í hana ef Siggi frændi er t.d. búinn að senda tölvupósta á undan þér og kynna þig ;)
Þú…
Það er ekki á mörgum stöðum, ef nokkurs staðar, sem þér gefst jafn gott tækifæri til að sýna nákvæmlega hvað þú ert æðisleg(ur). Ef þú myndir setja jafn mikil smáatriði í “um mig” hlutann á vefsíðunni þinni og þú getur komist upp með að setja á LinkedIn, þá fyndist fólki þú barasta skrýtinn – eða sjálfumglaður! Þarna geturðu sagt frá verðlaununum sem þú fékkst, skráð niður hæfnina þína í smáatriðum, sýnt slædurnar þínar frá kynningunni sem þú rokkaðir feitt á um daginn, linkað í rafrænu bókina sem þú gafst út á Amazon (sem enginn veit af ennþá, en boy, ó, boy, þeir vita af henni núna!) o.s.frv. Þetta er gullið tækifæri til að sýna fólki að þú sért sérfræðingur á þínu sviði og bara flottust! Linkaðu svo í LinkedIn prófílinn þinn allstaðar frá sem þér dettur í hug – af vefsíðunni, blogginu, Facebook, hafðu hann á nafnspjaldinu o.s.frv. o.s.frv. og hvettu fólki til að tengjast þér.
Prófaðu – þú hefur engu að tapa ;)
Já – og tengstu mér endilega á LinkedIn :) http://is.linkedin.com/in/thorannakristin
Sample Post
Why Magnetic Headlines Are Crucial for Your Posts
Welcome to Rainmaker. This is a sample post to get you started on your journey. Don’t forget that your headline is the most important aspect of writing a great post, and getting readers to read your opening paragraph. The first four to six sentences of your post are critical, because if you don’t hook your audience, they will get bored and click away. What is the benefit you will provide readers that you promised in the title? Be sure to describe the signs of the problem you will offer a solution to toward the end of your post.
Use subheads to improve readability and gather interest
Here you can begin to describe the underlying causes of the problem you have the solutions to, using persuasive arguments and great storytelling, and readers will have no choice but to read more.
Subheads help readers scan your content quickly
Bullet points are helpful to keep your copy reader-friendly, and a proven standard for making a solid argument:
- Tell a great story, but don’t over-write it. Be authentic!
- Use internal cliffhangers to entice readers to read more.
- Use a great image to make an impression on readers from the start.
Subheads draw readers’ attention to your call to action
When you provide real solutions and insights for your prospects and customers, you build trust and authority that will allow you to deepen the conversation further with an opt-in or call-to-action. Sign up here! This is where a compelling call to action makes it clear to your readers what they need to do next to implement your solution. Good luck!