HeatherStone commented on the following stories on BizSugar
10 Questions to answer before engaging your social media audience
"Great questions all, Faissal, but I think #4 might be the best. If you have no way to measure the job you are doing, you will be hard pressed to see whether you are getting results. Also, if you don't decide which results are most important for your business, you be measuring the wrong metrics altogether meaning minimal benefit for your brand. "Social Media Conversation Calendar for Better Planning
"I can see how this could be helpful, as a to do list or strategy, but it goes counter to the idea that social media is an organically generated conversation--something a lot of bloggers may believe. I think small businesses have a better opportunity to engage organically than big businesses, and that the "contrived" manner of big and medium businesses is too glossy to trust sometimes. Interesting. Thanks for posting!"Fear - Unspoken Emotion when Starting, Buying or Selling a Business
"Wow, this is all too true! Never mind selling a business, I think the whole entrepreneurial journey is riddled with fear, and yes, it's healthy and expected to a degree. I think you just learn to live with it and grow to expect a certain level of those emotions you outlined. I also think that's why a lot of people are just not cut out to be an entrepreneur--in working for someone else there's always this illusion of stability--people somehow have the ability to fool themselves into thinking this. I've found out that stability working for someone else is just as much an illusion as the idea that working for yourself is unstable. And I've learned to live with the fear, haha."Turned Down for a Job? Check Your Facebook Profile
"Some great points, Miranda. I keep all my profiles public with the idea that as long as what I put out would be something my grandma would have no problem seeing, that's fine--so no partying pics! But yes, I think it's imperative to approach social media as if each post is an opportunity to show the world that you're professional minded, social, and on an even keel. Great post!"Did The Dalai Lama Really Want To Share That?
"Oops! I don't agree, and usually I do. I'll tell you why: the Dalai Lama, rather than some lofty high holy type has always, throughout history, been a down to earth person. The spiritual beliefs he holds run contrary to "gravitas", and the idea of honesty, forthrightness, and accessibility, for him, has always taken precedence over solemnity and mystique. In many interviews you can read that about himself he's straightforward. The mystique is all in the belief, not in him, and I've never read that he's said much different. But keep posting, I love these PR evaluations."Subscribe
HoRenSo – (Report, Contact and Consult)
"I really enjoy reading about the differences in business practices between American/Western countries and Japan. I think you can learn a lot, sort of from a bird's eye point of view, about how the Japanese approach business and utilize some of the successful practices in your own business. I have to partially disagree that the American approach stems from our pioneering days. It may have once been the reason, but I think--and I'm referring to another of your articles--that since the Japanese basically have job security, they're not afraid to report problems. They know that the problems will not be seen as their responsibility to have fixed. In America, there is no job security, and often managers fault the employee who brings a problem to the table for overt analysis. Believe me, if we all had job security we'd be fearless too!"