Tools to help your business grow

It’s tool time my friends and I am excited to share with you two tools that I am kind of in love with right now that have helped me SO MUCH in my social media marketing business.

Lumen5

Bloggers take note, this first tool is one that I have been using for a little over 2 weeks and it has not only helped launch one of my client’s Facebook pages into a mini viral frenzy, but we have also seen a 192.75% growth in website page views and time on site has grown this month by 301.23% all without the use of digital ads. The tool is called Lumen5 and it basically allows you to easily create text based videos based off the content in your existing blog post! This tool is not only incredibly easy to use but it is also free! (Well at least until the word get’s out I imagine). Videos can be put together in a matter of minutes and easily uploaded to your Facebook page via the Lumen5 website or you can download them and add them wherever you want to showcase a video.

If you are going to try Lumen5 for yourself, here are a couple of tips:

1. Consider if your blog post can be cut up into a short (2 minutes or less) video that is text only. In other words is it not too complex that you can’t get your point across clearly in a very short amount of time.
2. Less is more. If you have a very long blog post I suggest you map out how you can cut that into several shorter videos. If you have a blog post that can be turned into several videos more power to you! That just means more content to share on your social networks and embed in your blog if you choose.
3. Don’t put too much in your videos. I have tested this tool with many of my clients and many different kinds of content and what I have discovered was the less copy you can use to convey your message clearly the better. Remember that you can always direct people back to your original blog to dive into the topic deeper.

Here is an example of a video I created using Lumen5 for my own page:

Facebook

Handwrytten

I LOVE getting mail. As in the old school snail mail. And we are not talking about bills or junk. What I love is personalized, handwritten notes, cards and postcards from friends and family. Nothing makes an impact in your follow up with a new contact than a handwritten thank you note. The only problem is, I am horrible at mailing things. I still have birthday cards that I meant to send to my nephews for their 4th birthday, Easter and Christmas sitting in a box in my office. (They are both now in high school by the way).

So how does someone like me send out thank you cards and follow up in a personalized way that will actually get to the recipient? I use this handy dandy tool called Handwrytten. Handwrytten allows me to use their website or their app to choose a high quality greeting card, type in what I want to say, choose a handwriting that best matches my own (or whichever one I like the best), add a recipient or import a slew of recipients and send that things out. Unlike products like send out cards, the handwriting looks 100% real, not printed. This is because they use a special tool that allows a REAL pen to paper to create the handwritten card. Your recipient will think you really hand wrote the card.

Over the past couple of years I have sent many of these cards out and the response has been fantastic. You can also include a gift card to one of many stores (including Target and Amazon to name a few) if you want to send a birthday or special thank you. Prices for cards start at only $3. Add this to your marketing budget and remember that the fortune is in the follow up!

I would love to hear from you! What tool do you use that you are LOVING right now? What new discovery have you made? Hit me up in the comments or tweet to me @stellar247.