Black Hat Uni Blog

Lately I have been comparing success with social media to healthy lifestyle habits. The majority of my clients are in the health and wellness industry and as I work with them on their online visibility and social media marketing strategies I realize how amazingly similar the approaches are to healthy and successful marketing strategies. At least as I see it.

How many of you have gained a few pounds that you want to get rid of now, or dropped the daily exercise routines and now find yourself struggling with energy, weight gain, even some health issues? How many of you have been yo-yo dieting- tried and failed, tried another one and failed again who knows how many times?

We like to think of ourselves as very intelligent beings, we KNOW deep inside (even though we do not want to eagerly admit it) that every success or failure is all up to us. We know what to do to be healthy, to feel good, and to look good, and we all know WHEN we are misbehaving. We know that we have to LIVE healthy, not just start our 17 Day Diet and hope we are done on the day 18.

You ask any healthy, fit person what it takes to have that body, that energy, that health, and every single one will tell you they work out every single day (or at least 5 days a week), they make healthy diet choices every day, they meditate or have other spiritual practice several times per week They work on it every single day and enjoy the benefits every single day. There are no magic diet pills.

So my theory translated to social media and online activities for your business is pretty much the same. There is no magic pill, you have to really want to have healthy, thriving business and it’s all up to you and your decision to make the change and stick with it. To kickoff healthy and thriving online lifestyle for your business, you must include following:

HAVE A POSITIVE MINDSET

Believe that what you are doing is for the good of your company and every person that gets in contact with you online or offline. Believe that you will master all the skills necessary to have very successful outcomes with your hard work. You’ve learned how to walk, read, ride a bike, drive a car – you will be fine, you just have to keep doing it, accept small failures as the opportunities to get up and take another step.

MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES

In the online world, especially the social media world, it’s not what you can get, but what you give that makes you desirable, interesting and worth following. So make it your daily goal to give and share some valuable information. If you don’t have your own original content, carefully choose the bites you will share and give credit where credit is due.

SCHEDULE YOUR DAILY WORKOUTS

You MUST (yes, I’m shouting here – forgive me) set your online activity schedule and stick to it. It will hurt and burn at first, your brain will feel a bit sore, just shake it off with your favorite tune! Once you are regularly facebooking, tweeting and blogging for about 3-4 weeks, you will start seeing some results. Internet is fast happening, so if you are not there one day, someone else takes your spot.

WHEN YOU REACH A PLATEAU, MAKE A CHANGE TO REV UP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA METABOLISM

Yes, this happens when things become boring and stale. All you have to do is freshen your content, find another angle, look for ideas and inspiration. Being edgy and unpredictable works wonders in online world, this is what sparks interest and anticipation for your next move. Now everybody is paying attention and you are back in the game, back in shape.

FIND A GOOD PERSONAL TRAINER – SOCIAL MEDIA FITNESS COACH

Having someone on your side who will check in with you, help you establish daily routines and good habits, give you moral support when you need it and watch over your shoulder to give you advice on the best practices, help you switch the routine to keep it interesting and know when to make changes to create best results.

When do you start? Today! Right now! Don’t delay your success by getting on yet another online visibility deprivation diet. Carbs are good! Sugar is energy! Caffeine rocks!

Karmen Reed is a founding member of International Social Media Association, and the Blogging Coordinator for Women in Consulting as well as the Social Media Chair of Women’s Networking Alliance. To find out more about her services, visit her site