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5 Tips For Getting More Out Of Twitter

When used properly, Twitter really can be a great tool for your voice over business. For finding leads, for marketing and for engaging with new and potential clients. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of the social network.

Don’t Automate: The temptation to automate is strong. After all, if you automate you can save a lot of time. Program a bunch of tweets one time, and let them auto-post for all time. Problem is, it defeats the purpose of the SOCIAL network. That is… being social! Want to maximize Twitter, you’ve got to engage. Be present. Human. Live!

Initiate Conversation: Passive marketing is putting stuff out there and hoping people will come to you. Active marketing is going to them. In other words, don’t wait (or hope) for people to start conversations with you. Find some great leads or prospects and start conversations with them.

twitter-tipsGifs Are Fun: One of my favorite recent updates to Twitter is the ability to search for and add animated gifs to tweets. This can be a really great way to make some of your tweets standout, and it definitely increases engagement.

Quality, Not Quantity: People will tell you that he who has the most followers wins… and this is why so many people are tempted to pay for followers. Just to get their numbers up. This is a bad idea (and a waste of money!) Grow your follower count organically by sharing great content and connecting with the right people. 100 engaged followers is better than 1,000 random followers.

Limit Your Links: One of the things that made Twitter great in the early days was people actually just tweeted real life. Then one day, it’s almost like Twitter became nothing more than an ad network and every tweet was just a link to an article, a blog, a store or something else. It exhausts people. Want to standout and get more engagement, make sure every tweet isn’t a link to something else. Be real.

Social networks are designed to be social. My best Twitter success stories all start at that level. Engaging with people. Developing relationships with people. Being personable.

Just be you! 🙂

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How To Improve Your Marketing Results

If you want different results, you need to employ different tactics.

Now, this may seem like a “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” moment. Still, it needs to be stated.

When I began marketing my voice over services full-time in 2012, my strategy was simple. Do anything and everything I could possibly think of out of a complete and utter sense of desperation to pay my bills, all the while hoping something would actually result in paid work.

Can you guess how that strategy played out?

Very little of what I did resulted in paid work because, surprise, surprise… I was doing it all wrong!

The big mistake I made was not actually figuring out what to do and how to do it. Properly!

Do You Know What You’re Doing?

Think of it like a piece of furniture from IKEA. If you try and put the item together without ever looking at the instructions, odds are you’re going to end up with spare parts, a massive headache and a piece of furniture that’s likely unusable.

Marketing your voice over business is no different.

If you jump on Twitter but never learn how to use it properly, it won’t work for you.

If you sign up for a Facebook Page, but never take the time to understand how to generate organic reach, the page is useless.

If you set yourself up with a fancy blog, but quit writing new posts after a couple weeks, it’ll accomplish nothing.

In 2012, I approached marketing like the guy who tries to build the furniture without the instructions and I had the income to show for it. All I had really done was wasted a ton of time with very little to show for it.

Is What You’re Doing Not Working?

Are you doing everything you think you need to be doing – or should be doing – to market your voice over business, but not seeing the returns you’d like to see? If you’re doing things correctly, you should be adding new prospects to your database every week.

Marketing mistakes are inevitable when you’re starting out. The trick is to learn from them. Put together the right strategies and tactics and then do the work to make it happen.

Free Marketing Training Course

FREE_trainingI’ve put together a new, completely free training course. It’s titled “10 Marketing Mistakes You’re Making in Your Voice Over Business… and How to Fix Them!”

This course – nearly 60 minutes in length – was designed to help you jump the learning curve. If you can identify what you’re doing wrong, and figure out how to start doing it right, you’re going to see results.

Different results require different tactics.

That’s what you’ll learn!

To get started with the free training, just click here.

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4 Lessons Learned From A Failed Attempt At Marketing

The other day I posted a picture on Instagram. I’d taken a screenshot of my intinerary in my Delta app. It showed the number of days until check-in for three upcoming flights.

marc scott flies with deltaIn other words, this was not a stunning photograph. No breathtaking sunset. No full moon night sky. No masterful architectural creation. No beautiful people. Just a boring screenshot of something I was really excited about. Getting on an airplane is fun.

A day later, I received a comment on that Instagram post. “Beautiful! I’m a photographer in NYC check out my portfolio.”

If ever there was a failed attempt at marketing, add this one to the list. “Beautiful,” really?

It seems clear to me this photographer has an automated system in place to leave comments on Instagram pictures that are probably connected to a particular hashtag. Either that, or they’re actually wasting their time spamming new posts with a request to visit their portfolio.

Whatever the case, it comes with a couple of valuable marketing lessons you can apply to your voice over business.

4 Lessons Learned From A Failed Attempt At Marketing

1) Limit Automation: Next to recording actual voice over jobs, marketing is the most important aspect of your business. Or, at least, it should be! After all, if you’re not out there spreading the word about your services, there won’t be a lot of booked work. Don’t trust something as important as marketing to a lame, ineffective system.

Bonus Tip: If you’re using Auto DM’s on Twitter (or any other platform), stop right now. Nobody wants an automated, impersonal form message from you for any reason.

2) Know Your Audience: I posted an Instagram photo about check-in dates for upcoming flights. What the crap does that have to do with a photographer in NYC? Why would their portfolio have any relevance to me and what incentive or motivation would I have to visit it? Before you do any marketing, research your audience and tailor relevant, targeted messages designed specifically for them.

Bonus Tip: If you’re not researching your audience ahead of time, you risk wasting a lot of time sending the wrong messages to the wrong people, producing limited ROI.

3) It’s Not About You: “I’m a photographer… check out my portfolio.” Me, me, me. This message was all about them. It demonstrated zero interest in me, my needs, or why their services as a photographer might be relevant to me. When you’re reaching out to voice over leads, your message needs to speak to them, their needs and why your services would be of value to them.

Bonus Tip: Don’t start every sentence with, “I.”

4) Stop Using Form Letters: Do you know where generic emails and form letters go? Into the spam or trash folder. Do you know what happens to those auto DM’s? Delete! If you want to be more effective in your marketing, start being more of a person and less of a robot. If there’s one thing I learned from my early marketing efforts for my voice over business, it’s that generic mass messages produce extremely limited results.

Bonus Tip: Relationship is a big part of the marketing equation. To build relationship, you need to personalize.

How This Example Could’ve Been More Effective

With the above four tips in mind, let’s consider how this photographer could’ve left a more personalized comment that would be much more likely to produce the desired result… to get me to click-through to their profile.

“Hey, Marc. Looks like you’ll be in NYC in a few days. If you need a photographer while you’re in the city, say the word! You can click the link in my bio to check out my portfolio. Have a safe flight and enjoy your trip.”

A couple quick, personalized sentences that would’ve taken just a few extra seconds to type. But they would’ve made all the difference in the world.

By that comment, I would clearly see the message is neither automated, nor a generic response. It’s personalized. It shows they’ve actually looked at the picture I posted. It takes an interest in me and isn’t all about them.

Marketing takes time and effort. It’s easy and tempting to look for ways to automate as much of the process as possible. From scheduling tweets to sending generic form letters. The problem is, the methods aren’t going to be nearly as effective as taking a little time, doing a little research, and adding a personal touch to each communication.

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You Are What You Share

“You are what you share.” That’s a quote from an entrepreneurship podcast I was listening to. A statement on the social media, always connected world we live in today.

What we share will help others form their perceptions and beliefs about us. So let me ask, how do you want people to see you? Is what you share reflecting that?

Not just what you retweet or post on Facebook.

Even beyond that.

How you share your gifts, skills and time.

You Are What You Share

How can you share?

  • Join a group on Facebook or LinkedIn. Contribute to the conversation.
  • Are you a World-Voices member? Check your profile to be a mentor.
  • Write a blog or make a video that shares from your experience.
  • Offer to speak at a meet up group.
  • Join or start a meet up group.

Here’s the thing. Whether you’ve been at this for 10 weeks, 10 months or 10 years, we’ve all got stories to tell and experiences to share. Things we can all learn from.

Share generously and it will be returned to you. Of this I’m confident.

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