Author Archives

by

Let’s talk digital by Creative Touch: Can the real digital marketers please stand up?

Digital marketing

Let’s be frank – nobody wakes up in the morning and enthusiastically jumps out of bed, saying: I cannot wait to spend money on marketing and advertising my business today! In a perfect world, that would be great, because marketing is one of the cornerstones of a successful business. But is has become a grudge expense, something we resent paying and the first thing we want to scratch when the belt has to be pulled tighter.

Why? I’ve always asked myself. I am a passionate marketer, I’ve been in marketing all my life and I simply cannot see myself doing anything else. There is nothing like sitting down with a client, brainstorming ideas, seeing those ideas implemented, being a part of the action and seeing a positive difference of which I am privileged to be a part.

However, over the years I’ve seen a trend, starting when I owned my very first fledgling advertising agency and publishing company in Gaborone, Botswana. My father-in-law thought he could also do what us young, and to him, inexperienced folks, were doing. Our work didn’t look that hard (he didn’t see the long hours), and he decided to open a marketing franchise in a new town that they just moved to. It didn’t work, and he ended up closing it a couple of months later. When we discussed it later, he ruefully admitted that this was not for him.

Years later, in 2001, I opened a marketing and publishing agency in the Garden Route. I’ve had staff members over the years who worked for me, and after a couple of months decided they know it all, opened opposition to us, undercut our pricing and are selling a solution they really know nothing about. You cannot learn decades of knowledge and experience by watching what somebody does for a couple of months, and then also not stay updated by continuing to study. All. The. Time.

We find ourselves in an environment where people are unwilling to invest in real expertise and knowledge. Most businesses want a quick solution, and they want it cheaply. A plaster is not going to fix existing problems overnight. And charlatans and pretenders are unable to keep up the ruse, to discerning business owners who understand what ROI means and how to measure actual results. Unfortunately, there are many, many small businesses who DO NOT understand how the digital space really works and they are taken in.

Then there are the actual businesses owners who were taken in, and who are now disillusioned. They do not believe in marketing at all, least of all this newfangled thing they do not really understand, called digital marketing. They threw good money after bad, and are reluctant to repeat the experience.

There are many credible agencies out there, including ourselves, who take our clients’ investment in their marketing very seriously. There are a couple of red lights that one could keep an eye out for. Is the agency wanting to run with your marketing a legitimate business? Do they have offices, staff, the right background, equipment? Who are their other clients, and how long have those clients been with them? Are they trying to strong-arm you into a contract, or are they willing to work on a month-to-month basis, measuring regular feedback and results?

Speak to us for a free digital audit, where we can give you advise on what you currently have, where you are positioned digitally and how it can be improved. Or attend one of our social media seminars – I am passionate about teaching, and believe in sharing knowledge as knowledge is empowering. Visit our website: http://www.creativetouch.agency or email me direct: jolindy@besociable.co.za

by

Let’s talk digital by Creative Touch: Are Social Media Accounts the Property of my Business?

I thought long and hard about what the title of this article should be, and it is what it is. As a digital marketing company, we often come across clients who need assistance in marketing a business they just bought. They are all excited about having a social media presence, and getting us, Creative Touch South Africa, on board to sort it all out. More often than not, though, especially when buying over an existing business, there is already a social media presence. Now suddenly there is a dispute as to ownership of these platforms.

Look, it is really quite simple. When you buy a business, you buy it as a complete, operational entity. If you’ve been involved in the selling or buying of a business, you’ll know that when a business is sold there are different business assets that may be transferred as a part of the transaction to the purchaser during the sale.

Traditionally, transferred assets include the existing stock (if any), the equipment, vehicles (sometimes), furniture, supplier information and sometimes, client databases. Nowadays though, most businesses also have web pages and social media accounts that link directly to the business. These web pages and accounts contain information pertaining to the business, including addresses and contact numbers. There will be, on social media specifically, a creation date of the account, which also adds credibility as to how long the business has been online. There will also be existing analytics data, page fans, followers, etc. These are all assets from a marketing point of view. So now many business owners want to know whether these items count as the property of their business. The answer is yes, it is the property of the business. Which means when the business is sold, it stays the property of the business, like all the other assets, and should be transferred to the new owner.

There is sometimes a misunderstanding as to how to transfer ownership of social media accounts. In reality, it is very simple. It depends on what platform it is. Some accounts, such as Instagram, require a user name and password. Some accounts, such as Facebook, require an admin to be added to the page. Facebook can be tricky, because not everybody understands exactly how it works, and the platform used to also allow a business page to be run independently with its own user name and password. This has not been the case though for years, and Facebook business pages can only be accessed if a user is connected to the page via one of the admin roles.

Unfortunately, many people are under the perception because the business page is linked to their own personal profile, handing over the page will impact this. This is not the case at all. On Facebook specifically, you can have multiple “Admins” on a business page. There are other page roles available, such as “editor”, “analyst” and more – all of these roles have a place and a specific function. An owner though, should be “admin” as that gives full control over the page. There is a 7 day period during which a new admin cannot alter the role of any of the other “admins” or even remove them, you can only add. But as soon as the new admin is active, other admins can just remove themselves from the page. Be careful though, Facebook allows an admin to leave a page completely, which is then a headache of note to try and recover from “outside”. Also, if an admin leaves and the only roles left on the page are editors, there can be no new admins added, and an editor role cannot promote itself to the admin role. So be sure to transfer correctly, as the default role under the Page Roles section under Settings is “editor”.

Ideally, in a perfect world, a seller would make provision for the transfer of all the accounts, and keep the necessary user names and passwords secure to be handed over upon completion of the sale. If the seller chooses not to do this, and keep the accounts, there will now be duplicate accounts online, which will make marketing very difficult from a search engine point of view. How does the public know which account/page/channel to visit? If the seller chooses to deactivate all the accounts, this is again problematic, as it would mean that all of the followers and fans would be lost and the buyer would need to start from scratch. This would defeat the purpose of the buyer gaining access to the social media accounts if there is value and goodwill in the original accounts through existing social media pages and followers and subscribers.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances with regards to social media accounts. Speak to the team at Creative Touch South Africa if you require any advice on this or other digital matters: info@creativetouch.agency

 

by

Momday to Someday 1

At the age of 40, when most other people start planning their retirement, I became a mom to 10 week old adopted twins.

It has been a rollercoaster ride, from finding out our single expected girl was actually a twin girl plus boy (he was a hidden twin).

Within a week we upgraded our baby room, our home, our cars and our offices (our whole lives) to accommodate baby times two. But no amount of getting ready prepares you for the moment when babies are placed in your arms, and you realise you are now responsible for these tiny, helpless, fragile living beings.

The day I became a mom, my life entered a whole new fase. Suddenly every decision impacted not just me, but also two littlies dependent on me. It’s amazing how quickly one starts adulting. One look at those two screaming little “bundles of joy”, and all my priorities changed instantly.

Nobody tells you that your new perfume will be Eau De Vomit, that high heels and platforms instantly morph into trainers, flats and sandals. Nobody tells you that you’ll be halfway through a meeting with a client before you realise you have some substance that could only have leaked from either end of a baby somewhere on your outfit, or a burp cloth still draped over a shoulder. But… when their little hands reach out for you, their faces wreathed in smiles, when they want only their Mama, and you realise they mean you, then all the agonies are forgotten while you bask in the warm glow of motherhood.

I have been asked to chronicle “life with twins”, but much as I love writing, the last four years have been a blur. Coffee became a lifeline, with sleep (what is that??) measured in short bursts between bathing, feeding and changing times, I am amazed that I can look at my kids, and they are not just alive, but they seem to be thriving.

Even after four years of living the momlife, centered around my children, rocking the momiform of ponytail/braid, comfy pants and flats, it still astounds me how much one can fit into a day if you really have to. During the day I run my own business, dealing with the accumulating ever-present guilt that I should be spending more time with my children. Like many other working moms, I overcompensate with too many toys, activities, elaborate birthday parties and well-planned balanced meals.

Online, I am connected to a lot of parents. Older parents, young parents, single parents, working parents, stay-at-home parents, struggling parents, so many parents. I read about their struggles, their joys, their triumphs and their pride. There is a lot of support, but there is also a lot of really unnecessary judgement, parent-shaming and smug superiority.

It is my hope that there will be time (oh that precious, scarce resource) to add to these Momday Diaries. I hope that more parents will realise, along with me, that we are enough, and just as we are. If I can do this at 44, and with twins, you can also. The important thing to remember is just to love them. Everything else is secondary. Our time with them is fleeting, best is really to just not fret about everything. It will all work out, in the end.

In our house, we take this “raising kids thing” a day at a time. They did not want to have a bath today? Aah well, try again tomorrow. Didn’t fancy dinner? They’ll be hungry enough for breakfast. Went to school with mismatched socks and pj pants? It’s ok, maybe they’re starting a new toddler fashion trend.

Looking at my little busy bodies now, I am so so grateful for them. They are quietly (for once) building a 48-piece floor puzzle. There is a short moment of peace before pandemonium shatters this moment, when they start fighting about who owns what, where the pieces fit and who should pack away. But for now… we have that moment.

by

The Elusive Muse

A writer is not a writer because you are published, a writer is a writer because you write.

I am that rare in-between of writers – a couple of my works are published. A poem here, a short story there, and then the well dried up, my muse went on permacation and I stopped … er… writing. For years. However, even an unpublished writer is still a writer, albeit a frustrated one.

In all the years, whether I’ve been actively writing or not writing, I’ve been thinking about writing. I’d stock up on the most amazing of notebooks, the most gorgeous of pens. I’d tell myself this is the start of my next Big Thing, and then I’d stash the stationery away, not wanting to make as much of a scratch on it in case I mess up the beautiful simplicity and then not be inspired to write.

It is beyond my understanding how the mind can come up with the amount of excuses that it does to not just start. Start writing. Write anything. Even gibberish can be edited – it is better to be editing and fixing than not to be writing at all.

The best novelists in the world talk about approaching writing as if it is a job. Have a separate area where you do your “job”. Decide on the actual time you’ll be spending writing every day, and then sit there and write. No matter what.

Do not wait for a better time to start, or a better age. Right here, write now. Write about what you know, research what you don’t. Get proofreaders, beta readers, any readers – get input, get advice. Listen to the advice. Don’t get all uppity and angry at criticism – if it adds value, accept it, process it, see if it works.

Have you got any ideas that inspire you to exit the quagmire of not writing? Please share in the comments section – let’s get writing!

by

Revisiting the past

There is a mythical “ancient Chinese quote” referenced in a book by Terry Pratchett: May you live in Interesting Times. On the surface, the quote looks innocent, but if you ponder it for a few moments, how ominous those interesting times could be become clear as the tumultuous storms and tempests of a life on a road less travelled.

Having become a mom of twins four years ago, I have been spending a lot of time revisiting my own childhood in my mind. I avoided becoming a parent myself for many years, as I had a very abusive childhood, and I had a very real to me fear of also being an abusive parent. Irrational, I know, but the mind can play a powerful role in our choices.

It took me accidentally falling pregnant at the age of 39 and then having a miscarriage almost 12 weeks later to realise I desperately wanted to be a mom. Many attempts, doctors, and three miscarriages later, it became clear that I could not carry a pregnancy full term.

I became a mom of the most amazing twins through adoption. They changed my life and made me realise that none of us are bound to what happened to us in the past.

Having become a mother myself, it made me question my non-existent relationship with my own biological mother. I haven’t physically seen or spoken to her for many years. It was just too painful. I found myself questioning what it was that made me so unlovable, so very obviously disobedient, that I deserved the kind of abuse that happened to me as a youngster.

From being locked in a wardrobe with no food, to live cigarettes extinguished on my skin, to scars and welts from being hit with a sjambok, these were all commonplace to me. I became adept at hiding signs of abuse from my peers at school and my teachers, because I was so very ashamed. We already had a scarlet letter painted on us because of my mother’s promiscuity in a very traditional, small town, plus we were known to be poor white trash, dependent on the church for food parcels and clothing. The last thing I needed, was more attention focussed on me.

No matter how much I tried to hide everything, it soon came to light, and amongst much outrage I was removed from my mother’s care and I became a ward of the state at age fifteen.

Remember her? Your inner child, my inner child, ready to be embraced and freed

Then, just as I thought I had closed all doors to my past, I received an sms from an unknown number, asking to speak with me. I replied, and it turned out to be my biological mother. I realised that I was no longer afraid of her, and that it was time to let ghosts of the past get put to rest. If not for my sake, for the sake of my children.

This past Christmas found me trekking up north, to go visit the bogeywoman who gave birth to me, to find answers to questions, and to find peace.

What I found instead was an old, frail, sick woman. A woman who remembers fractions of the past, who found it hard to look me in the eye, who could initially only speak to me via her last husband. I found someone who needs my forgiveness, my compassion and my empathy.

There are no excuses

I learnt so many lessons during my visit. No matter what, we can forgive. I am not the sum of what happened to me, but the sum of my choice of what to make of all of it. I do not have to make the same mistakes, nor can I claim to be a victim because of what happened to ne. I am stronger because of all of my history. I am a better parent to my twins. And I am able to provide advice and support to so many more people because I survived the storms and tempests.

 

 

 

 

 

by

Bent but not broken

I have not written anything in almost a year. Yes, there has been the odd brief content churn-out for a client, or the usual mundane social media updates. But I have not written a blog or a diary entry in almost a year. I have felt empty, uninspired, unable to talk past the dark dark hurt.

So why am I returning to my old blog site now? I don’t really know. I think that maybe my story would reach someone else who has walked a similar path. Maybe our journey would inspire someone else not to give up.

The yearning to be a parent never fully goes away. It is that constantly present “at the back of your mind” awareness. It is that heartache when you see families with children everywhere, really EVERWHERE, you go. It is the understanding that nobody is actively trying to hurt you when they give you a baby to hold.

We have had three miscarriages and we are now in the process of adopting. Our parenthood journey has not been an easy one. Our marriage took some knocks, but we weathered the storm.

After months and months of paperwork, we now know that we are not paedophiles (yay!) and we don’t have criminal records (double yay). We also know that we are of sound mind and we are pretty mentally ok. Hopefully soon we will be the proud and happy parents of our little girl, and all this would have been worth it.

I want to share some of what we have been going through on this blog. Please feel free to comment/ask questions/interact with me. I will answer where I can, and hopefully what we have been through will help more people traversing the same rocky path.

Please feel free to join my coaching page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrysalisnlp. Let’s stay in touch.

by

Miracle required

Not a good day at all today. I’ve gone through a rollercoaster of emotions – from anger to denial and whatever other stages there are in between. Now I just feel helpless. Usually when faced with a problem, I act as soon as possible. There is always, ALWAYS, a solution, and as a problem-solver, I will find it. For this, there is no solution.

I’ve decided to speak out about this, because I’m hoping that what happened to me can be prevented with someone else, with foreknowledge. And for me, writing about something helps me deal with it. It is my personal therapy.

After 3 miscarriages this year, my gynaecologist decided to do a procedure called a hysteroscopy, which he assured me is pretty standard. It is, as far as I understand, a little camera that internally explores one’s reproductive organs. I was a bit hesitant, because I dread hospitals, but hey – all for the sake of getting pregnant and having children.

So today I decide to call the doctor for feedback, pretty confident that all worked out well, because surely I would have heard by now if there was anything, you know, wrong. That is when I found out that everything is wrong. I have a condition called a unicornuate uterus. Apparently this is a very rare condition, and I have it.

According to this article, having a unicornuate uterus unfortunately brings a significant risk of both pregnancy loss and preterm labor, as well as ectopic pregnancy. Estimates vary by specific study, but one literature review found pregnancy outcomes in women with unicornuate uteri to be miscarriage in 37%, preterm birth in 16%, and term birth in only 45%.

I ask myself – what can I do about this? Really nothing. There is absolutely nothing that I can do. I can’t change my lifestyle, take medication or go for another operation.

But what I could have done, is that I could have explored further for reasons as to why I had my first miscarriage. I did every blood test on planet earth, and there was no reason at all according to the Pathcare results. I should have insisted on this hysteroscopy – and I would have known that my pregnancies would all have been at risk. I could have taken more precautions, been monitored more closely and maybe, just maybe, not have had 3 miscarriages this year.

If you have a miscarriage, just be aware that this could be one of the reasons. I am almost 40 years old, and not only is my age a factor in my lack of children, but now this as well.

Today this sounded like the end of the road to me, but knowledge is power. I am a fighter, and I don’t easily give up. This is just one more obstacle to overcome on the road to becoming a mom.

by

A Case of the Mondays

Today I’ve got a case of the Mondays. Some Mondays have to be lived to be believed. I have a healthy dread of Mondays, and if I could avoid them altogether, believe me I would. This dread coupled with my superstition due to my Irish ancestry is probably why my Mondays are usually a disaster. Isn’t it true that we attract what we expect?

Logically I cannot think why I detest Mondays so much. It is really just another day of the week. Perhaps it is that Monday is usually my least productive day. I find it hard to get hold of clients on Mondays (no surprise there), I start my morning facing an email inbox running towards three digits of which most of the mails are spam and the staff…. Let’s not even go there.

So after endless searching, I found a blog on 5 ways to defeat the Monday blues – here are my thoughts on these:

1. Have Something to Look Forward to on Monday Nights

I don’t know about this one – we usually work in the evenings, and I certainly don’t see us taking off a MONDAY evening of all evenings. Going to pass on this one.

2. Prepare Monday’s Work on Friday

This one makes absolutely no sense to me at all, specifically in our line of work. My Monday work sort of arrives on a Monday, with one crisis after the other one. It would have been nice to be prepared for these disasters, but short of owning a crystal ball and believing it works…. nah

3. Socialise

No idea what this has to do with Mondays. I socialise enough on Mondays anyway – while sorting out one looming disaster after another.

4. Reconceptualize Mondays

Yeah – been there, got the T-shirt. This one is sort of mind over matter and believe me – I have tried. Perhaps my mind is not strong enough. Or perhaps I have given in to the Pavlovian conditioning of Monday expectations.

5. Accept It

This is where I am starting to think the person who thought up these 5 ways to “defeat” the Monday blues is perhaps a tad IQ-challenged. What else is there to do but to accept Mondays? They’re certainly not going to go away.

Do let me know if any of you have come up with an effective, pain-free, stress-free (please!) way to deal with Mondays.

by

7 Ways to stop arguing with your other half

Successful relationships require a lot of work. As I’m writing this, I’m certainly not in the middle of a perfect relationship myself. The advice in this article is as much for me as for anyone willing to read it. I’d love some feedback from you – please feel free to comment or to add some of your own advice. This is by no means a comprehensive solution to a smooth relationship.

1. LISTEN

The most important action in any relationship is to listen. When your partner speaks, you need to really hear what he/she is saying and try to see the situation through his/her eyes. Put yourself on pause in order to really do this well. Focus on the moment and take in as much information as you can. Listen and ask questions until you feel you can see what your partner means.

2. TREAT PEOPLE THE WAY THEY WANT TO BE TREATED

The old adage of “do unto others as you would have done unto you” is really not applicable in relationships. Which means it really is not applicable at all, because we’re always in some kind of relationship with someone. Point is, we are all different and we cannot treat people the way we want to be treated. We have to care enough to learn more about the people around us and treat them the way they want to be treated.

3. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

It may sound trite, but patience in relationships is very important. We are all human and we make mistakes. No matter how bright you are, or how spiritual you are, we all have bad days – there is nothing wrong with this. Part of working towards a successful relationship is allowing your partner to make mistakes, and being willing to work with them on their personal growth. A relationship is a journey between two people that has no real end and is pretty much always a work in progress.

4. BE REAL

Sometimes we find that it is very common to act different with friends and loved ones than you do alone or in public. However, part of being true to ourselves is to do our best to make these versions of ourselves as consistent as possible. Just be the real you as much as possible. Find common ground with your partner that is mutually interesting. Pretending to listen and be interested is definitely not being true to yourself, and very much harmful to your relationship. Just be honest.

5. ADMIT WHEN YOU ARE WRONG

This is a difficult one. It takes a lot of courage to admit when you are wrong. Tell your partner when you recognise that you said or did something hurtful.
“I see that when I said that, it could have caused pain in you.  I am very sorry for doing that.  I am working on how I word things and making sure that I am respectful of you and your feelings.”

6. GRATITUDE

Frequently thank your partner when you see them doing things for you. A little gratitude will go a long way, and of course encourage your partner to invest more in the relationship – because it is clear that you appreciate him/her and what he/she does for you. Everybody loves being appreciated.

7. OBSERVE

Just observe your partner – sometimes it is easier to see how your partner is feeling, rather than asking them. Sometimes people are not able to communicate their feelings, and this may lead to misunderstandings and unhappiness. Don’t just ignore a potentially negative situation and hope that it will go away. Sometimes it is easier to pretend that we don’t notice our partner is unhappy because we’re not feeling good ourselves, or we are busy or just plain lazy. Rather jump in and help your partner instead of asking if they need help.

Always remember, and I’m sure I’ve said this already – your ultimate goal is to be happy with your partner. To make your partner happy and to be happy. Conflict can always be resolved – it is not necessary to be stubborn, or always “win” an argument. Holding out for a win may actually mean that you’ve lost. A little bit of humble and a whole lot of love and acceptance goes a long way. I dedicate this article to my husband, Zac Dreyer.

by

Facebook is demolishing like-gating – how does this impact you (if at all?)

Facebook has made some recent changes (what’s new) but the most important change was buried right at the bottom of the announcement:

You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page. This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It remains acceptable to incentivize people to login to your app, checkin at a place or enter a promotion on your app’s Page.

 

An example of a like-gate on a facebook page tab

An example of a like-gate on a facebook page tab

What does this mean in practice? Well, in the past fan pages used to build apps with a like-gate (or click like to reveal) in order to motivate the public to become page fans before they could get access to more information, such as competition details, promotion details, giveaways and more. This would ensure that only page fans would be able to access this information and of course benefit from it. This was a common fan-building tactic, but has increasingly been losing popularity as page admins sought ways to rather engage with existing fans more effectively than continually attract new fans.

Several years ago, Facebook used to have a feature where an entire page could be like-gated, so page fans could only see page posts once they liked the page. This was also discontinued (thankfully).

How does this impact you? Obviously going forward as from Nov 5, 2014, you will no longer be able to use the like-gate feature on your page tabs. For marketers, this is a fairly important factor to take into consideration. We always found like-gates an effective way to build relevant page fans, because we would encourage our clients to offer relevant (to the brand) incentives to motivate the like-gate clicks. That means the public who became fans ultimately clicked because they were interested in what the brand had to offer, and would by default, also be interested in what the brand had to say via newsfeeds on the page.

Unfortunately, marketers like ourselves are in the minority on facebook. There has been pages who would blatantly use the like-gate to just build “any” fans, offering prizes not relevant to the brand at all, such as iPads, holidays, etc. The page fans that results from these kind of incentives really only clicked on the like-gate to stand a chance to win, not really because they wanted to engage with the page newsfeed posts.

This brings us to why facebook decided to take this step, and we get this straight from facebook:

To ensure quality connections and help businesses reach the people who matter to them, we want people to like Pages because they want to connect and hear from the business, not because of artificial incentives. We believe this update will benefit people and advertisers alike.

Facebook tells us that the average user would see 1,500 stories in a given day. Facebook’s algorithms bring that number down to a much more manageable 300. In order for Facebook to be a desirable place for users, the best and most relevant content needs to be surfaced.

Facebook uses many signals to determine what users see. But like-gating confuses those signals. Does a user really want to see content from that brand? You can see from what I said above why this is not always clear. Users may have clicked on a like-gate because of an attractive incentive, and not because of a need/want to engage with the brand. This might mean in practice that the user is now “forced” to engage with content via personal newsfeed that is not relevant or interesting to the user. This might harm the user experience. A negative user experience results in a user spending less time on facebook, which ultimately negatively impacts paying advertisers on facebook. The implied reason here is fairly obvious – advertisers need users to be online in order to target them.

In the famous words of Douglas Adams: Don’t Panic! Yes, it is still important to increase page likes. There are definitely a lot of ways to effectively build page fans, and more specifically page fans who WANT to engage with your brand. The end of like-gating is actually a very positive move. Marketers and page admins will just have to get more creative with their methods. This should also mean an overall improvement on page post quality on facebook. And you can still use third-party apps to collect data such as email addresses from page fans – which means building a database for emailing promotions and newsletters.

Speak to us at Creative Touch – Be Sociable about your company’s social media requirements, and more specifically how we can assist with your facebook page strategy.