Author Archives: Catherine

What is Social Media Breakfast Anyway?

Posted on by
1

My friend Bob Schmidt has a local morning talk show and this morning I joined him to talk about Social Media Breakfast and a few other topics.

Bob Schmidt - Catherine Tryon

One of the callers said that he enjoyed reading Bob’s posts on Facebook but they were just too long. What great feedback!

This is really indicative of people’s online behavior these days as we all skim through articles until we find something really important and then we actually read a few lines.

When creating content, for Facebook especially, let me encourage you to always use a photo and try to get your point across in just a few sentences. This creates white space for the reader’s eyes to pick up the information easily, otherwise you risk losing your reader by making them work too hard to get through all of the text.

Here is a link to the audio from my visit with Bob, leave a comment with your ideas for our next social media conversation. You can join us on Thursday December 6th around 8:00 to join in our discussion.

5 Basic Steps to Marketing Your Business Online

Posted on by
Reply

These are just of few Internet Marketing Basics to Get You Going

Are you thinking about marketing your business online and are not sure where to start? It’s easy to get overwhelmed, but following a few of these basic steps will help get you started.
Open for Business
1. Register a Good Domain Name

One of the first things you’ll want to do is register a domain name that is easy to spell, easy to remember, easy to say, is relatively short and reflects the nature of your business. Try to avoid hyphens, numbers unless spelled out, and abbreviated words like “u” for “you”. If your company name is available for registration, that should be your first choice as it will help promote your brand. Otherwise you will want to choose one that contains some of your main targeted keywords, this could also be helpful in building search engine traffic.

2. Create Helpful Content

One of the most important things that you can do to market your business online, is to develop helpful content. Writing your articles in a manner that answers your visitors’ questions or solves a problem will help build trust and respect. Consider expanding Continue reading →

How Great Leaders Inspire Action

Posted on by
Reply

Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful message

Have a listen to this TED talk by Simon Sinek, it is an important message about leadership. He says “There are leaders and there are those who lead.” He then goes on to say how we follow leaders not for them but for ourselves and uses the examples of Apple Computer and Martin Luther King.

Simon also says that “Leaders hold a position of power, but those who lead, inspire us.” This was a very encouraging statement as I think about how each of us can be leaders if we inspire others.

Finally, he says that “We follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to.” To that, I say “EXACTLY!” I follow thought leaders in several areas of marketing, spirituality, business, and sports because I want to and I can choose a different leader when and if my values or opinions change.

Thanks Simon Sinek for this wonderful TED talk, I am inspired by your words.

Need Help? If you want to review your social media strategy or review your facebook posts, contact me and we’ll make sure you are getting the most out of your online activity.

To your success!

Catherine

Catherine Tryon

Catherine is a Social Media Consultant and Small Business coach who helps individuals and small businesses expand their business online by strategically creating a road map for success.

FIRED! These 7 Posts Can Get You There

Posted on by
Reply

Want to keep your job? Make sure to avoid these 7 posting no-no’s

you are fired

Sometimes employees post silly, stupid, and even harsh things about their employer on their social networks and it is only a matter of time those posts will be seen by the company. It is important to remember that everything that is posted to the internet stays with you forever.

While previous generations may have grumbled about work with friends over a cup of at the local coffee shop, some employees have started taking their complaints online and are using their social networks to voice their opinions.

Avoid post about these Social Media topics and keep your job. Continue reading →

3 Social Media Books for Success

Posted on by
Reply

stack of books
“The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” ~James Bryce

If you are new to social media and not quite used to consuming information from an endless stream of daily blog posts, there are plenty of books that have been published about social media.

These are three books from Social Media thought-leaders that I highly recommend.

Even though social media changes frequently, the books listed below provide a good foundation for the basics of social media. These are the kinds of ideas that don’t change.

new-rules-of-marketing-by-david-meerman-scott

 

by David Meerman Scott
The third edition of this classic book provides very tactical advice how social media has cause upheaval in public relations and marketing.

Continue reading →

5 Ways to Write Effective Facebook Posts

Posted on by
Reply

Here are 5 ways to get the most out of your Facebook posts.

facebook wall
1. Keep it short.

People rarely read anything completely anymore. Most people scan through everything! The longer the post, the less engaging fans find it. Research shows that Facebook posts with 80 characters or less receive 66 percent higher fan engagement, and posts that are less than 40 characters in length receive 86 percent higher engagement.

2. Consider your audience.
Create posts about topics that people love. Write like you are talking to one person, Continue reading →

Are You Creating Too Many Social Profiles?

Posted on by
Reply

If you listen to the latest buzz about which social networks are the best ones to be using, you or your small business would have nearly 100 social profiles on everything from Facebook to Squidoo!

too manys social profilesI have trouble managing to add some interesting content on the ones I do use and often run out of time to update the other ones. Or maybe the real issue is that I am too lazy to check my monster spreadsheet where I store all of my social network account information to see which of the other profiles I could update.

The question I often hear from small business owners is “How do I manage all of my accounts?” Continue reading →

Spend A Day with Women Who Inspire and Motivate You!

Posted on by
Reply

The 1st annual Women’s Business Boot Camp is just around the corner!

March 22 at the Cargill room 11 – 7

Dr. Karen Wolfe speaks about Balancing Work and Life for Optimal Living at 12:15 and she will speak again at 5:30 about The Mind-Body Wealth Connection.

Come hear local experts speak about how to deal with common business issues.

Attorney Heidi Eglash,  CPA Sali Shaefor, HR Expert Shawn McTaggart, and Social Media Marketing Consultant Catherine Tryon join forces on a panel to  address common business concerns and offer suggestions to make your business run more smoothly.

PROCEEDS PROUDLY SUPPORT THE COULEE REGION WOMEN VETERANS

Download the flyer here

Interested in being a vendor?  Download the application here

First Annual Coulee Region Women’s Business Boot Camp

Posted on by
3

Women's Business Boot CampRecently, several women in the La Crosse area were inspired to put together a Women’s Business Expo where women owned small businesses will gather and display their products or services for an afternoon. On March 22, 2012 there will be 40 vendors gathering at the beautiful Cargill Room on the waterfront to display their products and services.

Each vendor will have a drawing for a product or service valued at $25 or more and there will be women business owners speaking all day with health and wellness expert, Dr. Karen Wolfe as the Keynote Speaker speaking at lunch time and again at dinner time.

Admission is $5 with proceeds donated to the Coulee Region Women Veterans.

Download WBBC Vendor Application

Are you ready for the mobile web?

Posted on by
Reply

mobile site
Mobile browsing statics and studies are crystal clear: mobile device browsing is here, and the use of mobile devices to access the Internet will continue to escalate in the future. Unfortunately, many current websites are not compatible with common mobile devices.

Current mobile design trends appear to indicate that mobile versions of websites are very basic to accommodate a variety of mobile devices so that websites render properly on a number of basic devices. It is conceivable to predict that this trend will evolve into more complex mobile design as newer smartphone and mobile devices are developed. With limited design budgets, many small businesses may take the practical approach to have mobile sites cater to current average mobile phone browser size resolutions.

What are the top priorities when considering a mobile website? Continue reading →