Welcome to this edition of Weekend Takeaways, sent to you from the middle of nowhere!
That’s right, we’re on our travels and doing what we do almost every summer – working with a Bulgarian project to enhance the lives of kids who have never had a holiday/vacation.
As I type, I can hear only birds and the occasional donkey braying in the field. Later, I’ll drive to the nearest town to find a WiFi connection so I can post this…is there anything more incredible than the internet for connecting people across the globe?
I love the fact I can reach you all from anywhere and can still dig out resources, create new ideas and projects…access a limitless pool of talent…and do it while connecting with the kids here as well.
Keeping connection in mind, I have a few more resources for you that will help you reach, engage with and magnetise your customers and prospects – and all of them free.
Let’s start with Buffer App, a great way to cue up your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posts so that they appear when and where you want. I wouldn’t use it all the time as I firmly believe you need to interact as well as simply post on Facebook but as part of your strategy it’s a real boon.
The free version is good but limited so my tip is to sign up for several free accounts if you need them. You can find Buffer App here:
Making your marketing interactions count means making sure you join up the dots to that your efforts are connected – far more impact with far less effort for you.
Here’s an insightful post on how to do just that:
Engaging with your audience does not only rely on content – important as it is – but also on design. That includes your graphics and the look of your site and social media pages.
I’ve shared plenty of free design resources in previous editions of Weekend Takeaways but one I have not mentioned before is Open Source Web Design. It’s a site that I have consistently used over the years and one I heartily recommend:
Using different fonts is a great way to communicate a brand or differentiate yourself so that your audience instantly recognises and therefore connects with you.
One sources of free fonts that I use all the time is Urban Fonts and I’m particularly fond of using handwriting fonts to give that more human or ‘real’ feel to my communications.
Find Urban Fonts here:
Another resource you might like to add to your site for more engagement, particularly if you have a membership site, is a discussion forum.
This is a free tool you can use to create one easily:
http://bravenet.com/webtools/forum
Your Kindle freebie this week is another great tool for ramping up your engagement, this time via Pinterest:
http://www.amazon.com/How-To-Use-Pinterest-ebook/dp/B008OAOEZK/
My random choice this week for a website to make you stop and think (or simply to lose a few hours…don’t blame me…) is the superb Letters of Note.
If nothing else, reading some of the astonishing letters on here is an education in how to really reach out and communicate:
Finally, this week’s TED talk is a classic courtesy of Seth Godin:
