I am thrilled to share that the March 2012 issue of Black Enterprise Magazine features my dear friend, fellow entrepreneur, and longtime IBN member, Dawn Fitch, CEO of Pooka Pure and Simple, in Orange, New Jersey. I have known Dawn since April 2005 when she first joined IBN. I remember clearly the day she joined because she called me to tell me how excited she was to connect with IBN. This collage features the magazine cover, Dawn's best selling Pomegranate Body Butter, and the diva herself, along with me on last year's #IndieCruise. (I'll see her in a few days on this year's cruise too!)
Since Dawn joined IBN, I have watched her accomplish amazing things as she and her team have grown her company from her kitchen into the powerhouse beauty business it is today. The Black Enterprise issue that features Dawn on the cover is all about how to use social media to grow your business. It's fitting, since Dawn has become a masterful user of FaceBook, Twitter, and other new technologies.
But while social media is great, simply “using it” is not all there is to it. In order to use it effectively as a business leader, you must approach it with a proper mindset. After Dawn and I finished alternately crying and shrieking about her cover photo, I asked her to pause for a second to take in the moment, and share some of her best mindset musts for effective use of social media. Here is some of what she told me.
- Content Mindset. This is key. You have to keep sharing useful content. Yes, we promote Pooka products, but mostly, we just share information we know our customers like. From interesting newspaper articles to health and beauty tips, we share it all. We want to be a part of their lives all the time, not just when they need a new jar of sugar scrub. We use YouTube, Twitter, FaceBook, our newsletter and everything else at our disposal to share interesting information to inspire, inform, and encourage our customers.
- Consistency Mindset. You must be consistent. Otherwise, people will forget about you. If you don't keep people engaged, they will not stop liking you. They'll just forget about you.
People are always talking about how to increase FaceBook Page numbers, and that's important, but if you don't engage the people once they are there, you're history.
We want people to always have good reasons to come and check Pooka out. Even if they are not buying our products, when they run out or hear about them from a friend, we want to be right there in their face so they can make a purchase.
- List Building Mindset. Every time we do anything, we are there with a way for people to sign up for something using their email address. We request subscribers via live events, FaceBook, Twitter, phone, email … if we have any opportunity at all, we request an email address.
This is critical. For years, we did everything well, but were not building our list of email subscribers. We learned the hard way that it's critical. We use our email newsletter to direct people all over the Web. Social media is great, but without an email list and newsletter to enhance and support the sales process, you can only take it so far.
According to the Black Enterprise website, the publication boasts a reach of 6 million across all platforms, including broadcast, print, digital, and live events, and I am thrilled that every single one of the will be inspired by Dawn and her growing business.
Dawn is the author of Moving Through Opened Doors, and you can buy a copy here.
Dawn's best selling product is her Pomegranate Body Butter, and you can get some at this link. But while you're there, have a look around and get some more goodies too. Treat yourself!
You know you need to keep up with Dawn, right? Here's how: Buy Pooka Online, FaceBook, Twitter, Indie Social. BAM!
Question: What do you think of Dawn's tips? Can you add any?