"Never Let Them Dull Your Sparkle"
You've seen this saying floating around, right?

I came face to face with this very situation when meeting with a client not long ago.

She's building her business in all the right ways, if you've ever worked with me, been to one of my workshops or in one of my challenges, you know I want you to use your FACE in your marketing. You can't build a #relationshipbusiness behind a logo, it's your face that starts the KNOW, LOVE and TRUST between you and your followers.

She's using her beautiful face...and guess what happened....(I'm betting this has happened to you too in some way)...she got backlash from old friends.

The whole "who does she think she is" kind of backlash. #gutpunch

Just when you're doing all the stuff right, and you're making progress, cruel words like this can 100% push you off track. Like WAY off track!

Can make you withdraw,
Question your path,
Pull back your contribution,
Shine less,
Sparkle less,
Feel off, and literally empty your spirit bucket.

That sucks!
I was so hurt for her. It could be a blatant who does she think she is, or a negative comment, or a backhanded compliment, or even something slight, it doesn't matter...it's not about YOU. Let that sink in!

It's all about THEM!
You might be leaving them behind and they compare your abundance to their lack,
They may be jealous, bitter, what ever they are feeling is what they are projecting on you! Maybe they are just having a bad day and they're looking for company.
It's really, really not about you! And if you haven't heard, what others think of you isn't any of your business.

So I encourage you, don't let these things throw you off track, ruin your mojo, or put in your mind that you need to sparkle less.
The world needs you!
Sparkle more my friend, not everyone is for you, and you are not for everyone...find the people that are! They will LOVE your sparkle!
I believe in you!
​

So I did an informal poll a while back....I asked if writing a BIO for yourself was hard.

Before I share the results, the reason I asked the question in the first place, is with my coaching clients I keep seeing outdated, incomplete, "corporate standard" bios (you know the kind, everyone on the company website has the same paragraph copied and pasted), or GASP...no bio at all!!

Our bio is a HUGE part of our online first impression, so it's SUPER important to have a good one!  One that tells your audience about you, what you do, who you are, where you do what you do and allows them to start to figure out if you're someone they need in their life!  It's a part of your message you can put out to the universe so you ideal client can identify they want to work with you!

So back to my poll; when I asked if it was hard to write a BIO about yourself the overwhelming response was not just YES, but Heck YES!! Ok, so there was one person that had no issues with BIO writing, but they are probably an amazing writer and super in-tune with their personal brand. But for most of us...It's hard to write about yourself, putting all the good things in, still sounding human and relatable and the whole writing in 3rd person...YIKES! 

Here's 3 important tips I hope will help you write a stellar, sparkling, beautiful bio, and if you need more help, I'm deep diving into my 10 BIO Writing Steps in my private coaching group! Get the 3-day free pass to catch the bio writing workshop and stay for all the other great branding, marketing, social media coaching!  It's like your own in-house training department...virtually!

1. You need a long version and a micro version.  
2. Don't forget to introduce yourself, who, what, where and why
3. It's a story, not a list

Wanna hear the other 7? Grab your free pass for the training here!

 
 
Social Media Tip Time with Gwen Forsey, The Socialite!
 
Let’s chat Facebook for a moment...because, of course, you’re using photos and graphics on your Instagram profile, but what about over in the Facebook world? I’m not talking about sharing other peoples graphics and images, I’m talking about sharing YOUR own photos with your watermark and theme! 
 
Did you know...

~Visual content is 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content

~Customers begin to recognize your brand through your images

~Facebook posts with images see 2.3 times more engagement
 
So why would you ever do just a text post ever again?? Seriously, just don’t, ok?
 
And I have to ask...why, oh why would you share someone else’s graphic instead of your own BRANDED graphic?? There are so many awesome graphic creation apps, many of them free! With just a little time and creativity you can start to use your own photos and graphics!
 
Not so creative when it comes to graphics and displaying your personal brand in its best light?? It’s ok, that’s when you call in a professional! You do the things that are you highest and best use of time and get help for all the other stuff!! 
 
So that’s why I created a new service for my clients! I’m now offering Custom Branded Graphics Packages!! The packages are super affordable, and the graphics look amazing!  Check out a sample package I put together for “pretend” client Shannon Smith HERE.
 
BONUS…I have a 5-Day Custom Content Workshop available in The Social Experience -Elite Coaching, join for the workshop, stay for all the other great training and resources!

Using live videos on Facebook and other social media platforms to promote and market your small business and personal brand can bring out the creepers, haters and the fake friend requests.  It's just how it works when you start marketing and developing your personal brand on social media.  We're not just picking on Facebook; all the other social media platforms have the same issues too. 

The best plan of action is to have a clear vetting process, anyone that looks fishy....just push delete and don't give it another thought!  If I get a friend request from an obvious fake account I always mark it as spam to help Facebook filter out the fake account.  Don't rely on your friends to do vet for you.  For example you get a request from a new account, out of your area and 6 of your friends are already friends with them, they didn't take a close look before accepting the request, this is what I mean by not relying on your friends to have the same social media security and diligence that you do!

It's a jungle out there, I want all of you to be safe, follow these 2 simple rules!! 

Rule #1: Don't give the creepers any attention, because you know that's what they want!
Rule #2: Don't accept friend request from just anyone, do your due diligence!  Are they real, why would they be sending me a request?  If it's spam, notify Facebook and I completely empower you to just say NO!

Still haven't gone live?  We need to chat! 

Did you know branded social media images help increase website traffic, increase visibility and exposure and give you that "wow" factor necessary to grow a business on social media?

Some of the benefits of branded social media images:

• Visual content is 40 times MORE likely to get shared on social media than any other type of content
• When your content gets shared, your watermark and branding goes with it
• Images affect emotion, and emotion has an influential role in consumer's purchase decisions
• Customers begin to recognize your brand through amazing branded images
• Facebook posts with images see 2.3 times more engagement than those without images
• Instagram is ALL about the images

Not feeling creative, or the overwhelming feeling of creating all these images is getting to you?  Why not have someone create the graphics for you?  We saw the need for help here, and are now filling it based on demand from our clients!!  Check out our new graphics packages...all you, all yours!  

Here's a sample set below for our "pretend" client Shannon Smith, a real estate agent that focuses on educating, gratitude and inspiring her clients and sphere!  With the custom watermark and 15 sharable graphics each month that can be used on Facebook, Instagram, her website, and E-newletter, Shannon is ready to rock her personal branding and give her followers something to recognize when they see it from Shannon!  Don't you want to be like Shannon?

Social Media Tip Time with Gwen Forsey, The Socialite...any guesses on how many people are actually using live videos on Facebook??? 
 
Do you feel like it’s basically everyone but you?  Read on, it’s not too late to get on the engine of this social media marketing train!
 
Look, we know Facebook bends over backwards to promote and expose live videos...for free!  We’ve seen it, we’ve been a victim and a victor of it all.  They notify EVERYONE, they allow your friends to watch while still scrolling, and the mysterious algorithm freakin' loves live videos!  Did someone say “let’s take a bite out of YouTube”?

If you could reach 200, 500, 1547, 10,000 sets of eyes with a few minutes of work...would you do it? And it’s not even really work!  It’s sharing something you already know, something you learned or saw…you don’t even have to invent something new!

If you said yes....good for you, now get to it, be consistent, lead with your heart and always bring value to your audience and you can’t go wrong!   

If you said no....it’s time to take a look at mindset, strategy and why you’re letting FEAR hold you back!! I’m here to help!

​BTW it’s just 3%.  Are you surprised?  Are you ready?

If you know me or have worked with me, you know I'm all about expanding your network to expand your business!  I coach my clients on how to expand their online networks without being a sales-y weirdo, but I also believe you've got to get out in the "Real World" and meet "Real People"...face-to-face!!  

Now I'm pretty sure walking into a room of strangers isn't high on the list of fun things to do on a Wednesday evening for most people.  Am I right, or am I right?

So, to help with all of this, and I go to a bunch of networking events, I'm going to do reviews of each one!  The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful!  You'll have a good idea of what to expect if you were to attend, and have an idea if it would be a good fit for you and your business growth.

Here's the first in the series, watch for more to come!!

Personal Brand/Personal Branding…what does that event mean, and how do I get one?  
 
Are you ready for some good news/bad news?  Which do you like to hear first? How about this, what if I tell you that “good” and “bad” are basically the same?  The thing with your personal brand is…you already have one, and it doesn’t matter if you’ve done one single darn thing about it.  Do you see how that could be good and bad? It’s all depending on what overall message you’ve been putting out onto the interwebs!  This might be a great time to do a little self-audit, what are you putting out there, is it time for a course correction?  
 
But first, what is a personal brand?  Simply put, your personal brand is what people think of, when they think of you.  Now you’re asking, what are they thinking of me?  (If you’re not sure you should keep reading because you’re not even sure how to make this personal branding work for you check out all the training in the Social Experience - Elite Coaching)
 
Back in the “olden days”, pre-Facebook it was a bit more difficult to establish and promote a personal brand.  Back then, we had contact with actual people we knew and that we had real contact with – you know, like in person or over the phone.  To have a widely established personal brand you would have to have been on television or written a book, or have been famous in some way.  But now we have access to and are able to be in contact with 1,000’s of people on a daily basis! We have those we really do know, and would recognize and say hello to in the Starbuck’s line, and then those we just “know” through social media. We don’t need to be on a television show, our personal profile is like our own micro-show, we don’t need to have written a book to be followed and looked up to, our daily posts are micro-blogs or video-blogs (vlog), and regular everyday people can be Insta-famous, they need to take amazing photos and know how to build followers! 
 
So now back to that self audit…are your last Facebook (it could be ANY social media posts, but let’s use Facebook as the example since that’s where over 2 billion people hang out) posts a bunch of salesy-weirdo “buy my thing” kinds of posts, or were you negative, super political, complaining, ranting Debby-downer, and basically turning everyone off or alienating half of your audience with each post? Or are you bringing motivation and inspiration to your audience on the daily? OR more likely you might be a combo of the two sides of the spectrum? 
 
If you’re a solo-preneur, small business owner, real estate agent, lender or even in direct sales
it’s time to bring your content into alignment with what you want to build as your brand!  
Click HERE for my 30+ Posting Ideas, (it’s time to stop talking about “work” all the dang time)!
 
Building your brand takes time, but I swear it’s not too late; in fact it’s never too late.  We (us Facebook users) have short attention spans, and we love a great comeback or course correction!  Take control of your feed, it’s your personal micro-show!  Keep future posts on task and on message to be consistent with your brand!
 
Now get out there and be personal branding ninja superstars!!  Still need help?  Check out The Social Experience - Elite Coaching group!

It's time to face those fears of live video, I know because I've been exactly where you are today!