Diane Laney Fitzpatrick

writer, blogger, author and internet socialite

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The Socialite

If Only I Had the Time . . . Well, Now You Do

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The pandemic has brought us a shift in how we spend our time. At home, with social lives dried up, we’re cleaning out closets, painting rooms, and finally getting around to organizing those old photos.

At work, you might be spending less time handling the normal flow of customers. It’s prime time to use the downtime to clean house and do the projects you never had time for; the perfect time to finally focus on digital media marketing projects. Here are some suggestions, if you find yourself wanting to use wisely the time on your hands.

1. Clean up your Facebook page

Just posting on social media is time consuming. Who has time in a normally busy schedule to do Facebook housekeeping? That cover photo you put together three years ago? Change it. Then go over to Canva or PicMonkey and create a couple cover photos to put in the hopper for the future. Get rid of any duplicate pages that you’ve abandoned. If you have multiple pages for different aspects of your business, consolidate them. Look over your About section and make sure it’s complete, up-to-date and accurate. [Read more…] about If Only I Had the Time . . . Well, Now You Do

Time, Time, Time, See What’s Become of Me

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I recently attended a webinar on time management from Jane Friedman, everyone’s favorite business strategist for authors. Hearing about how other people budget their time and set their schedules is like a hobby to me. Nope, scratch that; it’s more like a guilty pleasure. So the idea of spending an hour hearing how Jane Friedman manages her time was, to me, like the circus came to town. Before signing on to the webinar, I made myself a latte and put on lipstick.

The webinar was one of Friedman’s Sunday Sermons, where she talks to authors and others about various topics on writing, getting published, marketing your own work, and managing your writing career. And it was part of my own personal strategy to participate in at least one course, webinar or other learning opportunity for my own development every week.

As I was furiously taking notes on her advice on how to manage your time more efficiently, I texted my friend Barbara, who was also sitting in on the session, and shared my glee over some of the tips we were getting. And while some of them weren’t applicable to me (Friedman was up front about the following facts: She has no children, no family living nearby, and her husband does the housework) I got a lot of valuable tips.

And it led me to more. After the webinar, I went on an internet hunt for time management tips for the self-employed among us. Most are tested and true, since I’ve used them myself. And some come from people whose careers are so successful, you can pretty much figure that it’s good advice. [Read more…] about Time, Time, Time, See What’s Become of Me

Business or Pleasure? Separating Your Company From Your Personal Social Media

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Anyone who has a company social media account knows the dilemma: How can I make my business personal without being too personal? And what is too personal, anyway?

First, it’s almost always a good idea to have separate social media accounts for your business and your personal life. Purely personal posts belong on your personal pages; and serious business posts belong on your business pages.

But then there’s that big old area in between. Things about your personal life that you want your customers and clients to know about: Your involvement in your community, how you balance work and play, your hobbies and your pets. All of that has its place on your business social media, and it in fact can go a long way to humanize and personalize your company, as well as connect with people.

People like to know that there’s a person or people behind a business. And social media allows you to show off your business’s personal side. Spotlighting members of your team, showing appreciation for customers, and showing that there are real people behind your business’s personality.

Small business consultant Kedm Ought says that social media is always personal. “You need to convey your persona.”

But there is a balance to be had. [Read more…] about Business or Pleasure? Separating Your Company From Your Personal Social Media

Should You Be on Pinterest? Here’s a List of Lists

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Don’t you just love a list? I do. So when I started to look into fodder for this blog post, I ended up with three different lists and I couldn’t decide which one to focus on. So I decided to make … um … well, I decided to make a list.

  1. Reasons why your small business should be on Pinterest
  2. Ways to use Pinterest for your small business
  3. Companies who are successfully using Pinterest to grow their businesses

Let’s tackle all three. [Read more…] about Should You Be on Pinterest? Here’s a List of Lists