Tag: Heather Lefort

Instagram Made Easy for 2018

Instagram Made Easy for 2018

 

 

We all get confused when we are acting on behalf of our business on social. What do you do or say and how do we get our brand across best? Follow this little cheat sheet to increase your exposure and make your Instagram cohesive to your brand.

  • Make your bio dynamic
    Use line breaks, have a call to action, give something for FREE, list new features
  • Use branded hashtags
    Create 7 – 10 hashtags for your business
    To hide generic hashtags use 123 button = return
    HINT: app hashtag for Likes Pro
  • Resize your photos for Instagram
    make image 1080px x 1080 px
  • Add a Border to your images
    Select image>Next>Filter>Choose Filter>Click on Filter Again> Click Small Box and click checkmark
  • Reorder and Prioritize your filters. Most brands stick to a few to be cohesive
    Click on gear manage box to reorder and hide (by unchecking filters)
  • Receive notifications from competitor’s content
    Let’s face it business is keeping up with competition…. Go to competitor post and turn on post notifications
  • Regram and Tag Influencers
    Regramming is like retweeting or sharing on FB. IG makes it more difficult but here’s the hack: Goto post to regram. Hit three dots on top right and Copy link. Repost to IG in scheduling tool
    HINT: Apps to make this easy Websta, Later, Sprout Social, Hootsuite
  • Find Top Influencers to Connect With
    Don’t be creepy. Follow social etiquette. Enter industry keywords and search
    HINT: app Buzzsumo
  • Earn 80% More Engagement with Geotagging
    You can geotag your images and videos. By tagging multiple areas you spread out your social casting net! Be true and don’t geotag randomly. Your followers will not keep up if it doesn’t make sense. To create go to Facebook app. Check In. Where are you. Start typing name of tag. Add. Select a category for your brand. Insert address to location by clicking home and entering address. Your custom location will populate anytime users search for your brand. This geotag is fun for contests that encourage consumers to check in =)
  • Practice the best times to post
    With IG algorithm changes follow the best times to reach your core demographics
    IG best times to post Weekdays. Monday highest 2am, 8am and 5pm. Worst time 3pm
    Hint: Try Tailwind for IG and Pinterest automation

Want to Maximize Your Facebook Business now? Learn Step-by-Step On How You Communicate and Connect With Your Customers Easily! Get Your FREE Step-by-Step Guide on how to set up your Facebook Messaging NOW!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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www.iHeartMrktg.com
www.HeatherLefort.com

Jumpstart Your Thanks

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Wrapping up the year is the best time to review your business.

Strategizing based on analytics of what you have done all year to what you returned is clearer than ever at the years end. Then you base your roadmap for the upcoming year to match your goals you want to obtain throughout the year. Start simple and don’t forget to always follow the KISS rule. Refer back to our setting goals for help.

Tracking your sources and creating your focus will be easier once you have a blueprint of what you want to achieve. Now you create your marketing tools that will help you along your roadmap.

Here is a blank sample you can use and we will go over the areas together below!

Your tool box is broken into four components: Traditional, Social, Prospecting and Break. Yes Break! Let’s go over everything that should be in these sections to get the best use out of this exercise.

TRADITIONAL

This is the area all of your traditional ways of marketing go. Your direct mail, email, follow-ups, samples of work, personalized note cards, phone calls, and face to face meetings. Each one of these should be chosen and structured wisely around your time+budget. Email is very cost-effective but if you are not going to do the work after the statistics come back than put your money and your efforts into other options. As a side note, Email DOES work for anyone who is a non believer. I had two clients send out a promo within the past month and get an immediate job! So open your mind and hit send. Anyway, for other more personalized follow ups and emails you want to order your cards based on your brand and what you want your target market to feel when they receive it. You can also go ahead and create your email templates so they can be easily accessed and used for the proper sends. Face to face is based on your dream clients and where you are traveling so this is the best time to look at your wide open calendar and start planning!

SOCIAL

All of the social marketing aspects will go here. I am not going to bother throwing stats at you of how many people are where. We can all walk out side on any given day and see people’s faces stuck to their phones. They are on social! Use your opportunities wisely and pick the proper platforms for your industry. The main ones you should be one without negotiating with that drunk monkey in your head are: Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. These are key and they have great options to easily automate things so you can spend your time doing what you do best, not social media. If you prefer to go total auto pilot consider your dashboard options now or outsourcing this work to a pro that will get a return on the investment quicker.

PROSPECTING

The dreaded area where sales and marketing collide. It has to be done. Again, whether you do it or outsource it, someone has to do it. Plan accordingly or set this up as a goal by a specific deadline to get it off your plate. Your prospecting comes from many sources. I always recommend the foundation of a list provider. These people have the grueling task of keeping this information readily available and up to date for you! There are several other resources if you choose to be a night owl researcher in your spare time. Scrub industry related websites for newest changes and follow your brands of interest wherever you can. Social is perfect for that part too.

BREAK

When you are in the set up I always (always, always) recommend scheduling your break time in. Let’s face it, as entrepreneurs running our babies we sometimes forget to grab that air mask and give ourselves a boost. I put these right into my calendar. There are several apps that will also do this for you to make it more efficient for you.  I promise you will come back stronger and more revived!

 

To Jumpstart Your 2018 and get on track contact iHeart Marketing TODAY!

See Our Current Offers to Jump Start Your Marketing

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How To Hack Your SEO

SEO is always the a hot topic. In any industry, my number one questions with business owners is “How can I get to the top of the google page?” I love answering it. Keep in mind that SEO can be easily outsourced to competent people that do a great job. Unfortunately, running a small business means that you have to choose your own battles of which tasks you can do and which tasks are easier to pay someone to manage.

When I started iHeart Marketing, Inc. my bank account hated me. My dream and my vision definitely did not compare to the balance I had to invest in me. I had a huge task to manage AND I had no budget to pay anyone. Sound familiar? So like most entrepreneurs, I schooled myself, studied YouTube and found whatever instruction and insight on the web I can. I was very fortunate and came up with a solution for my problem. I vastly moved up the search engines and was able to wash away affiliations and prior associations I had to second and third pages.

The first step to this is knowing what your target market is going to type into the search engines. You can do a search on google, bing and yahoo to find the top searched ones. For instance and example, let’s use our own names for an exercise:

You will see the amount of time it takes the search engine to pull up the specific number of your key words used:

Underneath you can see your results unfold. As a side note, anyone who questions why they are on LinkedIn and Facebook can stop asking now…. Try to beat them to the top of any search engine. You are better off getting your profiles updated and inline with your branding and riding their party bus! They are the experts after all.  They come up first. But below [and hopefully] you should see anything else you are affiliated with. This is your target position for your company website.

So now that you found out where you rank this task can get real! Let’s jump in and show you how to work those web crawlers and bots to do their thing for you. The key word here is “Blog!”

Although the world is turning over to live videos and webinars Blogs serve a huge solution for all businesses no matter what their size. So until you are all sipping out of a pineapple from an island that you got to from your own company jet,  this is an easy FREE hack that takes a short amount of your time and life out of your day.

Start by creating a series of posts. Find your expertise, passion or even product line and start typing! More content will pull better however short and sweet will work too. Grab your keywords you searched earlier. These will fall into place in your hashtags and yes, I will convert you into a #hashtagbeliever if you are not one yet. Hopefully you have a nice list about ten to fifteen you can use throughout. Make sure you use them in your featured tags. If they are your top tags, like your name or type of business you want to create a category for them as well. You can select multiple choices in both areas but don’t go over board. A lot of people overuse hashtags because they don’t know how they work. Follow the K.I.S.S. rule here and keep it simple stupid.

After you start posting your blogs you will want to monitor your stats. The search time and results to the days. It shouldn’t take too long to work your way up. It does depend on many factors that vary though so be patient!

 

For additional SEO guidance or to get on track and run your business seamlessly,
schedule a FREE one-on-one consult with me TODAY!

For assistance staying in the right mindset2motivate yourself like our page on Facebook.

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How to Target the Right Clients for Your Work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We all know finding your focus and finding the clients that focus on the same thing can be the hardest part of marketing.

 

Marketing in Full Swing

 

Now that October is here everyone is back to work. Which also means your competition has tripled! So, are you wondering how to stand out and in a good way that works?  Utilizing Yodelist and following the steps below will allow you to develop a consistent habit that works all year round.

 

First, take time to think about the who, what, why, when, where and how’s of your target market:

 

  • Who do you want to get your work in front of?
  • What kind of clients are they working with?
  • What kind of work are you showing? Does it match?
  • Why will my promotion stand out?
  • When is their hiring pattern?
  • Where are these potential clients located?
  • How do you break through the marketing static to create a memorable connection?

 

Finding potential clients in Yodelist is easy utilizing the directory. You can search by company name, contact name (great for reconnecting), company type and more! We even allow advanced parameters for flexibility in your search.

 

 

When you find what you are searching for the research begins. Search along the company website and see what kind of work they do. Are you a good fit? Get creative. Match your work to their collaborations and go for it.

 

Contacts can be saved to specific MY CONTACT GROUPS that make it easier for you to utilize as a list for email promotions, export for direct mailings or even call sheets and excel sheets.

 

Jump in and get started and don’t forget, your Yodelist membership comes with customer support throughout your membership. Don’t hesitate to reach out for any assistance here.

 

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The State of Photography, iHeart Marketing, Heather Lefort

The State of Photography Series

The State of Photography Series

Do you ever wonder what inspires someone? Where they came from. What invoked their creative footprint from within? In this series you will find out. iHeart Marketing is getting personal with Photographer’s all over the world. From Fashion to food and travel to lifestyle. Locations to studios and everything between that empowers their craft. What makes Photographers tic? Where does their creativity flow from? This series will take you on a journey around the world while walking you through the people that come together to form this niche industry: commercial photography. You will not only know the person behind the images but their geographical struggles or fortunes. How their location plays a part in their day to day business.

Are you a Photographer? Do you want to be featured? Apply here.

 

About Heather Lefort.

Batch & Blast Emails = Old School

Stand Out

 

Buyers are overwhelmed with marketing messages today. Everyone is wondering “How to make themselves stand out?” or “What do I need to do to get their attention?” Truth is, there is no magic answer, subject line, or potion. Hard work pays off. As if marketing wasn’t already hard enough to keep inline for the small business owner, it is getting harder every day. Batch and blast emails are no longer good enough. Marketing needs to be brand based, personal and relevant to your markets or it will not be good enough.

KEY COMPONENTS TO MARKETING MESSAGE:

  • Trustworthy
  • Relevance
  • Conversations NOT Campaigns
  • Coordinated
  • Strategic

Email services that offer large campaigning types of promotions are not that helpful in this market and can be a bit constraining. They lack integration on a personal level and do not allow you to orchestrate an intelligent one-on-one conversation.Most of the time they also relay your message as spam because of their nature. Knowing who you are sending an email to is the first deciding factor that winds you up in the trash or archived for future reference.

MAKING MARKETING EFFICIENT = MORE ENGAGEMENT

  • Distinguish between prospects, clients, and different segments of your messages
  • Formulate a solid marketing database reflective of your specific specialty
  • Create different messages for each of your segments: Prospects and Clients

HOW DO YOU CREATE DIFFERENT MARKETING MESSAGES?

Prospects
Show them why they should be interested in your work. What do you offer them? How is what you do different than any other person selling the same services?

Clients
Tell them what you’ve been doing to keep busy since you last worked together. Your work, creativity, and growth will visually speak to them in any marketing message. Don’t forget to ask about them and what they have been up to in their work ventures.

WHEN AUTOMATION HAPPENS

Tying your marketing messages into your social channels as well as your traditional marketing channels is key. Flow of any marketing plan is well thought out and executed properly. Remember, a steady pace wins the race! Follow through is everything.

MEASURE ANALYTICS

Paying attention to who’s paying attention pays! Knowing who was engaged by your marketing messages is important to your overall marketing effort. If you are not checking in statistically with your efforts you are losing crucial data that can land you in the arms of a new client. Integrate your stats into your follow-up. Making this step ensures your follow-ups are targeted, coordinated, relationship building, and strategically correct.

 

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Doing Something Different With Your Marketing

 

MARKETING HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY

iHeart July Blog Image

Doing what used to work with your marketing isn’t necessarily getting the same results it used to. Why is that? Social media has not only brought awareness across multiple platforms but it has increased resistance to our marketing efforts. Everyone is marketing something, pitching something, or kick starting their cause. So what’s a business to do? How does your voice filter through a clogged up news feed? How do you increase your durability in your marketing while creating a need? In other words, how do you stand out amongst the crowd. By offering something no one else offers you can stand out. But figuring out how to stand out in a room of numerous competitors isn’t that easy to figure out. The key is in a niche. Not your work directly but you… as a brand. Consider asking yourself these questions:

  • What do you stand for?
  • What does your work stand for?
  • What do clients get repeatedly when you deliver your work to them?
  • Is your consistency a strength? If you answered no to this consider visiting this post

Sometimes doing something different can cause a wave of new business or interest to your brand. The main concept of doing this however is knowing how to fit something new into your brand? For starters:

  • If you are always Reliable Ron than keep on being Ron!
  • If you have new techniques talk about them, get social
  • If you have new work that will increase your client base  show it
  • Have a personal project? Share it socially

Sometimes doing something different with your marketing can be as little as reaching out to a new client base. Targeting them specifically with the niche of work you have that fits what they do. Trimming down a large number of contacts to a small group makes this type of marketing easier. Emails, direct mail, and social media isn’t enough anymore. Put a voice to your brand. Time and time again I cannot tell you the most important and appreciated question I ask buyers when making connections for my clients: “How do you prefer to receive [insert your name here] new work updates?” Sometimes appreciating time and preferences will go a million miles to your recognition. Try it, you may find out it fits you too!

 

iHeart Marketing offers comprehensive marketing plans for small businesses with a focus on commercial artists, musicians, and hospitality. To learn what we can do for your business contact us today! 

How’d You Get That Shot with Jena Cumbo

 

How’d You Get That Shot With Jena Cumbo… 

MarielaTiago_3267blog

A Spotlight Series About The Technique Of Photographic Imagery by Photographers For Photography!

 

NAME:

Jena Cumbo
Like Jena on Facebook
Tweet, Tumble, or Link In with Jena

WHAT IS YOUR SPECIALTY:

Lifestyle and Fashion

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS:

Well, I switched my major from ‘bio/chem’ to photography back when I was a sophomore in college

FAVORITE TOOLS FOR YOUR TRADE:

Lately, my LED light

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE “ON THE GO” CAMERA TO SHOOT WITH AND WHY:

I’m sort of know for having my giant SLR with me even when I don’t necessarily need that. I also kick around with an Olympus  XZ-1

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE PHOTOGRAPHIC REVALATION GOING ON OUT THERE WHERE EVERYONE HAS A CAMERA?

I’m still not convinced that a phone is a camera, it depends who’s hand it’s in I suppose 😉

WHAT EXPECTATIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHY INDUSTRY IN 2013:

Greater ISO sensitivity with less grain/noise

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR CLIENTS THAT GET TO BENEFIT FROM YOUR CREATIVE EXPERTISE AND PASSION:

Collaborating with Gina Tron to do interviews with me on this ‘We Met On the Internet’ portrait project has been really fun. I like getting another persons thoughts into the mix. And working with a wordsmith is new to me and adds another layer to the project I definitely couldn’t get on my own.

I love working with other stylists and hair and makeup people on fashion shoots when our ideas mesh well together. I’ve most recently worked with stylist, Ramono Martelli and hair stylist Pia Vivas.

TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THE IMAGE YOU ARE CHOOSING:

I chose a picture of Mariela and Tiago. A couple that I shot for my ‘We Met On the Internet’ Project.

I’ve been doing a series of portraits of couples that met on the Internet in various ways.

I actually met them ‘on the internet’ too. Mariela responded to a craigslist posting I had up for the project. I was at their apt for a bout an hour total. I think this is a good example of my ability to photograph someones personality, even in a situation where I have only met them for a little while. We definitely got a long well, I think it’s fair to say they felt comfortable with me and vice versa. The ‘making a mustache’ out of Mariela’s dreads was just something they did goofing around together. I had them just hang out together and do what they do. For me that’s how I make a ‘set up shot’ a little more genuine.

Here is Gina Tron’s synopsis of Mariela and Tiago from her interview with them:

Mariela & Tiago

Mariela, a 21 year old self-taught photographer, moved to New York in December of 2011 from the Dominican Republic. Tiago is a 30 year old who has worked as a finishing carpenter since he was a kid. They found each other in cyberspace thanks to their shared love of tattoos. Their initial contact began on tattoodatingsite.com. “[The name] is that blunt,” stated Mariela while laughing. “When you go there, you think it’s a spam website.”

The site was appealing to Tiago because he was frustrated with the lack of tattoo-clad folk in his neighborhood of Queens. “I wanted to meet people and where I lived there [weren’t] many people with tattoos.”

From his online photograph, Mariela thought that “Tiago was cute.” They started talking to each other on Skype, which lead to meeting in person. On their second date they shared some ink time together. Tiago got a previous piece polished off, while Mariela received a permanent eye onto her forearm. After two weeks of dating, they moved in together. After four months, they got engaged. Now the two share matching tattoos. “We both have [the word] ‘love’ tattooed in our hands.”

Besides getting inked, they also bond over their love of animals. “We have a zoo in our house,” admits Mariela. “We have three dogs, two cats, two ferrets, two fish tanks, and two bird cages, and I think…[she pauses for a minute]  I think that’s it.” Tiago and Mariela, and their collection of animals, live in Jamaica, Queens. They plan to wed in June of this year.

 

Jena Cumbo
To check out ALL of Jena’s work 
please go to her website! If you are
a professional photographer or know
of one that should be in this series
please email us today.

 

Keeping The Creative Child Alive In Your Business

April_iHeartBlog

Most of you went into Photography to be creative. The job comes with great perks: traveling, working for yourself, being involved in visual marketing, to name just a few. But when your Photography business faces the harsh reality that it is a business what happens? Your love of being a wanderlust creative crashes into reality. Balancing acts of marketing and sales, customer service, and all the other daunting tasks of a business. How do you cope as a creative?

Some things you can do to make sure the creative child in you (that survived growing up) stays nurtured are:

  • Start your day with a walk
  • Write in a journal
  • Keep a you book that tracks happenings that affect you
  • Stop to smell the flowers
  • Sing in the shower (even if you’re tone deaf)
  • Volunteer at a pet shelter to walk dogs or pet the cats
  • Schedule a date night with your significant other
  • Plan a throw back family game night (I recommend charades)
  • Take a drive with no destination
  • Let your voicemail do its job… take messages for you
  • Plan a Sunday brunch with your closest BFF’s
  • Conquer a fear
  • Call an old friend just because you can
  • Pay someone a compliment
  • Smile at a stranger
  • Pack a blanket and go stargazing
  • Wear a hat to work
  • Listen to a new cd of an artist that you have no idea about
  • Go to a matinee alone
  • Sit by the ocean

 

Sometimes the best thing you can do to get back to you is remembering why you went into business for yourself to begin with. Business gets clouded with rules and management, schedules and conformity. Think outside the box and focus on your own time management. Never forget to schedule time for the creative child in you!

How’d You Get That Shot with Steve Lesnick

 

A Spotlight Series About The Technique Of Photographic Imagery by Photographers For Photography!

stephanie.steve lesnick.blog

 

NAME:

Steve Lesnick
Facebook with Steve
Tweet with Steve
Get LinkedIn to Steve

WHAT IS YOUR SPECIALTY:

My specialty is capturing the fleeting emotional moments in lifestyle photography.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS:

I took photography classes in college and fell in love with it. Then I decided to pursue the career by moving to NYC.

FAVORITE TOOLS FOR YOUR TRADE:

My GX1 with my Rosco Lite Pad.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE “ON THE GO” CAMERA TO SHOOT WITH AND WHY:

My GX1, because it’s small, has a decent lens, not a lot of noise, a great LCD, and shoots RAW files.

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE PHOTOGRAPHIC REVELATION GOING ON OUT THERE WHERE EVERYONE HAS A CAMERA?

I’m amazed by all the cool images I’m seeing everywhere, but I think a lot of them fall short. A great photograph has to have great light, great composition, and an emotional connection all at the same time. If you don’t have all three, then you’re never going to get anything more than just a decent picture.

Also, I hope the current generation of photographers will learn not to just give their work away and that they are creating something of value.

WHAT EXPECTATIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHY INDUSTRY IN 2013:

I would like to see the industry encourage people to learn more about their cameras and not be so dependent on the computer. I know the computer plays an important role in photography today, but I think it’s important for people to learn the basics so that they won’t have to depend on the computer as much.

I’m old school, I’ve always been a color photographer, so you had to get it when you shot it.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR CLIENTS THAT GET TO BENEFIT FROM YOUR CREATIVE EXPERTISE AND PASSION: 

My clients get photographs that are more dramatic and narrative than the usual images they use. Since we’re so experienced at solving problems we welcome them because it creates spontaneous moments that are unpredictable and irreplaceable.

TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THE IMAGE YOU ARE CHOOSING:

This shot of Stefanie makes me very happy inside. She is such a warm, kind, unassuming person, and when she put this giant wig on, her whole persona changed. She even let me try on the blonde wig.

We mixed ambient and tungsten light to give this scene a warm, soft feel. I shot with a long lens to blur out the foreground so that she would stand out.

FREE SHOUT OUT: 

I’m so supportive of all my clients that keep coming back to me and letting me do my thing.

 

steve.lesnick.blog
To check out ALL of Steve’s work 
please go to his website! If you are
a professional photographer or know
of one that should be in this series
please email us today.