It is fair to say that creating a successful social media campaign is not easy or are we just technophobes? The concept of networking and relationship based activity is almost as old as the hills. For most the problems start with the pace of change and the time to learn it yet alone do it successfully. The tools are evolving all the time and in pretty exciting ways. Many of which are free such as Facebook.com, Linkedin.com and Twitter.com have proved themselves useful as social network services as has Wordpress.com, Typepad.com and Tumblr.com for publishing all the way to Hootsuite.com, Ping.fm and Tweetdeck.com for message management and even Gist.com for Social CRM (Client Relationship Management). Have I lost you yet? No, good.

So what can we do to make it work for us? Here are some ideas to consider before you get too deep in the techie stuff:

1. Develop a simple digital marketing strategy and identify target market profiles you hope to attract.

2. Create micro promotional campaigns that have a limited shelf life that are packed full of benefits to the target audience. Then rotate campaigns to keep it fresh.

3. Understand the nature of the selected social media services and limit yourself to the ones most commonly used by the target audience per micro campaign (no more than four at any one time).

4. Provide Clear and Relevant “calls to action” in your promotions or posts and keep the message simple.

5. Be invitational in your communication style and allow people to contribute to your agenda.

6. Commit at least six hours per week to your social media activity.

7. Be patient, it takes time to see a return on investment from your social media efforts but it’s worth it.

8. If budget allows seek professional support to aid you in the basic initial setup and establish a sound foundation and design quality.

The question most commonly asked by start-ups is “How do I finance my business?"

It is one of hardest to answer. So if you have been looking for finance to fund your start-up costs, project costs, to share the risk or to achieve operational and growth aims then you will probably be investigating all sorts of avenues for a solution whether you are Self Employed, Business, Charity or Social Enterprise. The investment options are varied and are imbedded with characteristics that have to fit into your expectations, needs and be fit for purpose. However they all have pros and cons.

How does everyone else do it and make it look so easy? Setting up a retail business often means significant regular costs that can feel like a cloud permanently overhead waiting to open up and drench you!

Developing a business plan is the start of the journey but realisation soon hits home that the business has targets to meet and goals to achieve. Congratulations to Amanda who did well to realise some of her goals and managed to maintain her enthusiasm to see them through.

Here are some simple powerful ideas to ensuring your goals can be successfully achieved.

1. Allow yourself time off occasionally to reflect on the big picture, to reflect on activities, to organise your thoughts for the business and to clear the mind.
   
2. Write down your action plan for the week. Try to do so away from your usual work environment. This will help you to concentrate and maintain clarity and not be distracted by normal habits or usual triggers that can negatively impact on your focus.
   
3. Create a to-do-list. Make sure you add small actionable goals as well as the bigger projects to your list so you can tick them off. There is a tremendous feel good factor when completing a task and smaller daily goal achievements help to maintain enthusiasm until larger projects come to fruition.
   
4. Get buy in from all stakeholders involved in your projects/goal plans. In most activities of worth there is often more than one person or organisation needed to assist/collaborate in achieving a successful outcome. You will need to ensure that you understand their needs, the way they work and ensure you communicate well to retain their cooperation to the end and keep it moving a long.
   
5. Be ambitious at times and setup goals that you feel will genuinely benefit your business and its growth. You are more likely to have the stamina to succeed if you have some passion and belief for each.
   
6. Trust yourself, be creative and enjoy it. Often when running a business one can forget that having fun with it is allowed. Whether it is an award you are seeking or networking with people or fulfilling a client project. Your staff, clients and supplier relationships not forgetting your business will benefit if you are projecting a genuinely positive attitude.
   
7. Keep an eye on the schedule. Allow yourself the necessary time to chase the goals or target that you have set yourself and work very hard to avoid project creep and missed deadlines.
   
8. Don’t flog a dead horse. Sometimes goals are not achievable or the path is blocked for one reason or another. This can happen and is normal. If you come across this after a serious attempt then react as quickly as you can to creatively look for solutions but be prepared to drop it and move on before it saps your energy and resources.

USEFUL LINKS FOR BUSINESS STARTUPS

For business advice goto: www.nbv.co.uk
For business mentoring  goto: www.evolvementoring.co.uk
For supported office space & virtual office facilities  goto: www.mercuryhouse.org.uk

A good business strategy and effective management involves planning for success. However, how many businesses know how to manage growth when it actually happens? It is good to see that Mike and Bea have started to reap some of the rewards of their efforts and the opportunities are presenting themselves.

Most businesses encounter very early in their journey the difficulties of accessing finance. Carl has clearly been experiencing problems accessing finance for a specific project. Fortunately he has been creative and resourceful and is investigating other options and it sounds as though he is making headway.