Business

Bring on 2016

/ SociablyCindy / Leave a comment

welcome 2016

So here we are, 2016.

2015 was filled with a lot of ups and a few downs, but I can say, 2015 was a blessed year.

My husband finally got a job in his desired field – an hour away.  But 6 months later, got an even better opportunity in his desired field, 15 minutes from home!  Praise break!

I however, lost my job.  It hurt – a lot- because it was not handled in the manner that someone who gave their entire adult life to an organization should have been handled.  (Not gonna lie, the worse part was none of my friends reached out after, either)  However, I had been in prayer and was seeking guidance to step down from that position anyway to be home more with my son (since you know, more than half my income went to child care anyway).  So, clearly, God was tired of my lack of action and allowed for that door to be closed.

But I’ve started new ventures, and returned to old.

When little Liam will sleep, I spend time crafting and cooking, leading to the creation of Arts & Glass by Cindy, as well as becoming an independent demonstrator for Uppercase Living. It’s fun!Arts & Glass

I also am doing some freelance marketing work, busting out the old Sociably Cindy name tag and business card was fun.  I think it’s time for a re-design, though.

I’m looking forward to writing more, being more involved in my community and church.  Oh, and the JBQ season is about to start – 2 kids in juniors, 1 in beginners, it’s going to be crazy!
BorrowLenses.com

Sociably Cindy Speaking Engagement

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Cindy Ursell AKA Sociably Cindy will speak on creative for social media

June 11 – 11:30am-1:00pm

Cindy will cover topics such as:

Knowing your audience and when they are online • Attracting your target demographic • Using the correct “voice” to engage the target audience • Using a unified voice with multiple admins • How to properly address a demographic you do not fit in to

Hope to see you there!

Member $20* • Non-member $30 • Student $10
*AMA members qualify for AAF member rates

Pfeil Innovation Center
420 N. Niles Ave.
South Bend, IN 46617

Register Online Now

I hit “search” and couldn’t find you…

/ SociablyCindy / Leave a comment

While reading the June issue of ‘Inc.’ Magazine, I came across the “Crunching The Numbers” feature.  A few of the statistics really stood out to me.

In 2009, only 27% of small businesses had a Facebook Fanpage.  In 2010, this number grew to 41%.  It seems more and more pages are being created every day.  But the problem is: how are people finding these pages?

It’s hard enough for businesses to get their websites found, and it’s fairly well accepted that to increase traffic to your website you need to have a presence elsewhere.  In today’s internet savvy society, while we want to believe that just having a website is enough, that someone enters what they want into their favorite search engine and we’ll be found.

GET THAT IMAGE OUT OF YOUR HEAD!

 You are competing, not only with your competitor down the street, but across town, in the next county, the next state and across the world.  Seriously.  If there is a business that could possibly be doing business remotely where you are physically located, they are seeking out your current and potential customers.

Google Ads and Search Engine Optimization are paid services being employed by your competition.  Have you checked out their social media profile… Do they have a Facebook or Twitter?  Are they up-to-date with it? Are they interacting with their fans/followers?  Do they have images of their product/services? Do they link back to their website?

 Whether the answer is ‘yes’ or ‘no’, YOU need to be doing the exact same thing (but better, and local)!

Your social media should be an extension of your website, and your website should be an extension of you.

Take a look at your website – do you know what it’s doing for you? does it represent who you are and what you do? do you know where you come up in a search?

Now look at your social networks – how many fans/followers do you have? are you giving them information? are they interacting? do you use location marketing?

I by no means can help you build your website, but I know several AMAZING website designers/developers that I can put you in contact with.  And I’m not saying that you need to hire me to do your social networking… not every business needs me, but everyone business needs someone to do it properly!  I encourage you, take some time and really look at your internet presence, is it who and what you want it to be.  Sociably Cindy is available for training, assessments, and maintenance.

First published 1/19/2012