Four Great Ways to Use Twitter for Your Design Business

Have you signed up for an account with Twitter? If not, you should sign now and secure your company name and your personal name. I know what you're thinking, I don't care what people are eating for dinner or when they are going to sleep. And you're right most people don't care about that type of chatter. Twitter is much more than when people are eating or when they are sleeping. I use Twitter for multiple reasons and I keep finding more ways all the time.
My top four reasons to use Twitter:

• Search a topic: Twitter is a great vehicle to search a what people are saying on a specific topic or product. Almost EVERY business has a Twitter handle. (That's definitely a reason you should sign up for a Twitter account today, if you haven't already.)
• Your website: For those of you that have new and updated website, you can add your Twitter feed on the homepage of your website. Your homepage will always feel fresh and up to date. You never know when a visitor might see a Tweet that peaks their interest. It might prompt them to pick up the phone an make an appointment. Best of all Tweeting is free! Your clients will begin to know, like and trust you through Tweeting. See screenshot of our new Minutes Matter website. Casey is working hard again!
• What's happening at a conference? Hashtags are another great way to use Twitter. Attending a seminar, market, convention or trade show? Search to see if the event has created a hashtag. Using a hashtag is totally different than following someone on Twitter. Here's how they work. Say that you were attending an event and the event promoted the hashtag #hpfall (High Point Fall Market) every Tweet that includes #hpfall will be organized and listed into that specific search. Say you're at a conference and the presenter has some great tips or inspiring ideas; you could Tweet what you think; don't forget to include the hashtag. Everyone that searches the hashtag can see all those Tweets. When lots of people are Tweeting during a conference using the same hashtag, people that aren't able to attend the conference could get a glimpse of what's happening at the conference and what they are missing. The next conference Minutes Matter is attending will be the WCAA Inspire 2011 conference. Hopefully, they are reading this ezine and will create the hashtag #wcaainspire hint, hint!! We have created a hashtag for our monthly webinars. If you didn't receive your webinar confirmation or have a question or comment during the webinar you can Tweet using the #mmwebinar hashtag. We'll be monitoring the hashtag during every webinar as well as one hour prior to the webinar. Here's an example of a Tweet using a hashtag: I'm trying to join the Studio Live webinar today, HELP! #mmwebinar
• Vendor Help! Tweet a question to a vendor, post a concern (be nice), or better yet give a testimonial. Recently, I was having trouble with my Comcast Business internet. I Tweeted: "@comcast My internet has been intermittent for two weeks. Hard to do business!" A tech had already come and gone trying to correct the issue, but couldn't find the problem. After my Tweet, I received a reply within 30 minutes, asking me to email them with more details. I emailed them the details, my area Comcast supervisor called me personally and dispatched three techs to come out the next day. I now have the supervisor's cell phone number. Love that! I am happy to report my internet issues seems to be a thing of the past. Of course, I also Tweeted about their great customer service.
  

Minutes Matter's new website ~ Coming Soon!

I usually try to Tweet one - three times a day. Of course, you'll want to keep your Tweets short and sweet because you're only allowed 140 characters per Tweet. I love using Seesmic, I can view most of my social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all in one place.

If you would like to follow me on Twitter search @minutesmatter. Have a question or comment about Studio or need to get activated? Tweet us!

My Dogs Ate My Rendering!

Below is an email Merlyn received after today's Studio Live webinar. Merlyn copied me on the email and I laughed out loud when I read it. Susann gladly gave us permission to post her email. It is really funny when things like this aren't happening to you.

Enjoy!

"Hi Merlyn, Great webinar today (as usual!). I have to tell you about how Studio saved me a trip recently... I have two dogs that I rescued 5 years ago. They were holy terrors when I first got them and have come a long way since then, but they still have a few "quirks" that drive me crazy. I had just heard from a client that she wanted to go with one of my renderings for her MBR, and she asked me to send her a quote. I said sure, got her folder out and went to another room to get my calculator. By the time I got back to my desk, her folder had been ripped to shreds and partially eaten by one (or both, who knows?) of the dogs. (Yeah, two years ago they did that to my taxes just as I was going to deliver them to my accountant). Anyway, as I sifted through the shards of paper, I found my initial measurements showing all but the length of the window being quoted. I wanted to get that quote in the mail that day and not have to wait a few days to go out to measure yet again. Then it dawned on me...when I did the rendering for that window, I did it on a photo and used the set scale tool. So, I checked the rendering and had the measurement that was close enough to do the quote! Bet you haven't heard that one before!! I told the client (who also has dogs) who got a big kick out of the story (as did my accountant two years ago)...I'm so glad everyone else thinks it's so funny!
Susann S. Pittsburgh, PA"

Susann, I know your dogs aren't as bad as the dog in the photo, but I thought the photo added a bit more humor to your story. Thanks for sharing!

Do you have a story you would like to share regarding how you have used Studio?

How to Build Year-end Momentum and Profit for Your Interior Design Business

I read a great book in June that said that your revenue and profits are a lagging indicator of the quality and quantity of your relationships. Boom! That one statement was worth reading the entire book.

How well are you doing on a scale of 1 – 10 for relationship building? Be honest with yourself. Your numbers are the symptom of the problem.

Every relationship is important, yet some are more important than others. Your relationship with your current and past clients is the fastest way you can get more business. What are you doing to nurture those relationships? Are you keeping in touch frequently and more than just for job reasons?

What about past clients? Do you have a nurturing program to keep them informed? Do you have a monthly newsletter that you send either physically or digitally?

What about your referral partners? Are you constantly seeking to build relationships with the top advisors who serve prospects you prefer to work with?

Here are seven tips to transform your results:

1. Start a 12-touch program prospects, clients and referral partners. Plan this in advance and have an intern, virtual assistant or junior designer manage the process.
2. Invest in lots of cards – thank you, sympathy, congratulations, birthday, anniversary, new house, etc. Have note cards printed with your branding and carry them in your car with stamps and a pen. Literally write a thank you note after you meet someone new. Add their name to your database immediately (delegate), and follow up frequently with offers of connections for them.
3. Ask your current clients about other projects they’ve considered and make an offer for a new service. (50% is the typical close rate)
4. Contact your past clients to “check in” and see how they are doing. Let them know you’re doing a short survey to improve your services, and would like their feedback. Ask for a testimonial if you haven’t gotten one from them in the past, and of course, ask for referrals if they are happy and not interested in a new project. It’s a perfect time to remind them that they can get projects done by the holidays if you start now. Give them an incentive to do so. (33% is typical close rate)
5. Have a “Client Appreciation” party and have them invite a friend they think might be interested in your services. Create a memorable event, and even invite a local celebrity. It can be less expensive than you think.
6. Make a list of the most connected and influential advisors in your city, and reach out to them to meet. Ask them if you could get their advice about how they grew their businesses so successfully. Keep the interview short. Find out what their biggest challenge is in their business and ask how you would know someone who would be an ideal client for them. Always send a thank you note. Maintain your contacts frequently.
7. High visibility creates implied credibility. Get published frequently in magazines and newspapers, get interviewed on TV or radio, send out press releases online and offline, get involved in one major charity that you are interested in, and speak locally and nationally. You can even write an eBook that you can publish on Amazon.

What’s your favorite way to build your business?

Gail Doby, ASID is an author, speaker, writer, interior designer, and Chief Vision Officer of Design Success University, your shortcut to a more profitable and passion-filled design business. Click here for your complimentary copy of the Interior Design Fee and Salary Survey eBook. ($79 Value) You’ll also receive our complimentary weekly newsletter, New IDEAS.

Is it easy to do business with your company? WiseStamp can help!

What's in your signature? Okay, I played on the Capital One credit card slogan What's in your wallet? Have you given thought to the fact that your email signature could be marketing for you? Your email signature can be an effective way to give clients a glimpse of who you are and what you're doing. The same concept applies to emails to your family and friends.

All of us at Minutes Matter use the WiseStamp App for our email signatures. WiseStamp is a downloadable add-on for Firefox, Chrome and Safari and can be used with Gmail, Yahoo, AOL or Hotmail. Last week, I decided I wanted to make my life even easier and upgraded to the Pro version of WiseStamp. For years I used the free version, but lately I began to visualize more possibilities if I were to upgrade. When you upgrade you can create unlimited signatures, assign email accounts to a specific signatures, remove the WiseStamp promo link and more. When I send an email, I feel compelled to include a signature that is appropriate to the recipient(s), therefore, I would spend time editing signatures. Think about the emails you receive with and without out customized signatures. How do they make you feel? Are more emotions triggered with a carefully crafted signature?

Have you ever received an email and wanted to know a little more about that person or company? What if your email signature sparked an interest in you or your company. When you include your Twitter feed and post on Twitter once a day, not only will you begin to increase your web presence you'll begin to let your customer know, like, and trust you. Tweets can definitely begin to create a buzz. Since the Twitter feed displays your latest tweet your content will always be current.

You can add other social links like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Calendar, Plancast, favorite quotes, blogs and so much more. With the Pro version you can even add a custom banner with your company logo. Below are a couple examples of my signatures.

Minutes Matter signature ~ I include all my social links that pertain to Minutes Matter or Debbie Green. Anytime I send an email on behalf of debbie@minutesmatter.com my Minutes Matter signature automatically displays.

Also, note the three circles in the screenshot below; the circles highlight ways you can access WiseStamp. Simply click on the WiseStamp icon and click Edit Wisestamp.

Dandelion Interiors signature ~ In my Dandelion Interiors signature I include all social links that pertain to Dandelion Interiors and Debbie Green. Of course, some like Facebook, LinkedIn, Plancast and About.me are the same for both of my businesses. Anytime I send an email on behalf of debbie@dandelioninteriors.com my Dandelion Interiors signature automatically displays.

My Family signature ~ This signature is very informal with a casual photo, however, I included my social links since my family loves to know what I am up to and where I am going.

My Mom signature ~ I decided to create a mom signature when I email my two sons, it seemed to give be more of the sentiment I want to convey. I even included one of my favorite scriptures about not worrying about tomorrow and being happy today. Since I have unlimited signatures I can create, why not? When my two granddaughters get old enough to email me I'll create a grandmother/DG (DG is the name my granddaughters call me) signature. It will include a casual photo of me and the two girls.

I also created a friends/church signature which is very similar to my family signature. The closing and my signature are the only two differences.

Time Saver: WiseStamp allows you to save and backup all signatures to the WiseStamp server. Which, in turn allows you to download the signatures to all of your computers. Setup signatures once and you're done! When you make any changes to your signatures make sure you go into the WiseStamp Settings and Save & Backup.

Presentations Have the Power to Change Lives

Last week I attended a B2B marketing conference in Boston hosted by MarketingProfs. The event was fabulous and very thought provoking! The speakers were incredible. Nancy Duarte, one of the keynote speakers, she spoke on the how to present powerful and persuasive presentations. Nancy's voice was calm but extremely engaging. Her presentation left everyone wanting more. Watch the video below to get a feel of what I experienced. Tweets were flying right and left giving her high marks and sharing mini highlights of her session. You can check out all of the Tweets for Nancy's keynote speech by performing a search in Twitter on #mpb2b @nancyduarte. Wow, who wouldn't want these type of comments during and after a presentation?

|View Video|

After her presentation, most of us in the audience began to ponder how we could improve and apply what we had learned to our own presentations. She released a book last fall which complemented her presentation. Check out her book and reviews on Amazon. Of course, I had to purchase her new book, Resonate, and get a signed copy.

Resonate by Nancy Duarte: Click here to purchase the book!

Here are my five top takeaways from Nancy's presentation:

• Remind your audience how things are now
• Enlighten your audience how things can be
• Tell your audience stories
• Make your audience laugh
• Show your audience the new bliss
  

Nancy's book explains step-by-step how to develop these type of memorable presentations. The book is also chock-full of beautiful illustrations. Creating powerful and engaging presentations is great skill set to add to your designer's toolkit.

Save Passwords with LastPass

Recently I discussed how to setup and use Xmarks, in this article I'll discuss how LastPass can save all of your secure data, passwords and even fill out forms for you. It seems the more you're on the internet the more passwords you end up creating. Keeping up with passwords can be a daunting task.

You can sign up for a free account or their premium account which gives you access to a few more features. Premium accounts can sync bookmarks with their phone. The Premium account bundle with LastPass & Xmarks is $20 per year. I think it is worth every penny. Browse their website and watch the videos below and I think you'll be convinced LastPass is the perfect solution for your password dilemma.

Lastpass Features:

• One Master Password |View Video|
  
• One Click Login
• Synchronize Across Multiple Browsers
• Automatic Form Filling |View Video|
  
• Secure Your Data
• Store Secure Notes |View Video|
  

Click Here to Download LastPass

Things I love about LastPass:

• Form Filling: You'll want to create at least two form fill profiles, one for personal and one for business. When I want to purchase an item for my business from the internet I select my business profile and LastPass fills out the entire form including my business credit card information if applicable. When LastPass detects a fillable form a pop-up appears asking if you would like to auto-fill the form. Great time saver!
• Secure Notes: I really love this feature. You can add multiple types of secure notes i.e. Credit Cards, Bank Accounts, Email Accounts, etc. (see screenshot below) Very easy to look up any secure information from your phone.
• Access from your Phone: Access your secure information from your phone when you subscribe to the premium version. NOTE: You always enter the main password to access LastPass on your phone.

(LastPass Secure Note ~ Types)

iPad case with keyboard

Recently, I was in Boston at a MarketingProfs event B2B Forum. There were lots of amazing tech savvy business owners there. During the sessions many were tweeting highlights of the sessions via their laptop or iPad. I found one person using the Kenningston iPad case with a keyboard. Wow, I loved it. It is so compact and easy to use if you want to take notes. And you can't beat an iPad for a lightweight note taking device. I have a thin cover for my iPad which I use most of the time. I would use this case with the keyboard when I am going to a seminar, convention or any meeting I will be taking notes. Very handy.