Virtually Nat - Digital Marketing

02/19/2024

Yet another reminder, this time a BIG reminder, to not build your entire business on someone else's platform! Yes, *use* platforms, but be sure to get your people from there to a platform you own yourself as soon as possible.

This is what I help people and businesses do; build their online platforms and presences. Reach out if you need help and if you want to minimize the risk that this same thing could happen to your business.

Two weeks ago, after months of negotiations, Apple blocked Insight Timer from submitting updates to the App Store. Consecutive attempts by us on 7 and 13… | 521 comments on LinkedIn

01/09/2024

To state the bleeding obvious, it’s the beginning of 2024 and time to reevaluate many things in your life, including your business’ digital marketing strategy!

Does it still align with your goals? Has it been effective to date? Does it still make sense considering the power of the new and ever emerging technologies?

In the comments below is a link to a really interesting article on social media strategy for 2024 from Neil Patel, a digital marketer I highly respect.

Much of this I know already just from watching trends—create long form video (yes, including podcasts), slice it up into smaller chunks and repurpose for all short form video platforms—but Neil has the audience volume and stats to prove it. His X strategy is particularly intriguing and worth a look-see.

Check out the article link and deep dive into the strategy.👇Then come back here and let me know YOUR takeaways.

And don’t forget that I’m here with a quick discovery chat if you need help with any of this!

07/07/2023

If you've ever been a client of mind, you know that I've wholeheartedly recommended Google Domains in the past as a domain registrar. However, with effect from June, Google Domains sold their service to Squarespace. You can read more about it at the links in the comments below.

So where does that leave you if you have a Google Domain...?

If you do nothing, we've been assured that everything will seamlessly move over to Squarespace with no service interruption and with them honoring renewal rates for a year. The actual transferral will likely only occur in 2024, though, as there are regulatory considerations. However, I am still waiting to see a confirmation of the exact date.

I personally am slowly moving all my domains to Namecheap over the next year as they come up for renewal (I have many!). Namecheap comes highly recommended, while Squarespace is untested as a domain registrar.

You are likely noticing emails coming through from your web host company, including from SiteGround, whom you also know I 100% recommend as a web host. Though I love SiteGround as a web host, I do not recommend them being your domain registrar. It is best practice to keep your domains, emails, and web hosts with separate providers for business continuity.

If you need help deciding what the best move is for you and your business going forward, DM me so we can figure it out!

06/28/2023

To my dear clients; past, present and future,

Back on November 1st, 2022, I let you all and all my clients know that my family and I had BIG plans afoot, that we were moving to the Isle of Man, and that it would take about 6 months to work through all the logistics. I was wrong...it will have taken nearly 10 months by the time we get there.

Yes, that's right, the time has come....we finally received our Isle of Man (IOM) visa approvals!

We have permission to travel any time after July 1st. However, we will wait for our daughter to complete her black belt Taekwondo test and fly out of the US to IOM on August 20th. As you can imagine, things are really, REALLY busy leading up to the final move. All the while being an emotional rollercoaster as we say goodbye to friends, family, loved ones, and the only place on earth my kids and, to a lesser extent, my husband has ever known as "home".

In actuality, though, it's not even really goodbye to our loved ones because we now have the miracle of the internet, WhatsApp, and social media that didn't exist (or barely existed) when I left South Africa 24 years ago. It's tough to convince un-traveled, non-tech folk of this fact, though, and I understand why. Still, I remain committed to reassuring them that we are within easy reach. We will also return to the US regularly for key business meetings and to visit loved ones.

I previously mentioned that we are not closing our US companies even while living on the IOM, and that remains true, so it's NOT goodbye to you, my dear client. It will be business as usual, barring a few traveling and moving days. And in fact, my software developer husband will be working US hours on his primary contract for the next 3 years (the IOM is 5 hours ahead of the US in terms of time zones). All outstanding work and projects will be completed in more than enough time for the move, except for a HUGE project that will continue during the move. Yes, I am that crazy! (What my feed for more on that one...it's a fun one ;-))

I will likely get a new IOM phone number sometime in the next few months, but my existing phone numbers will work until I let you know otherwise. One key difference will be that instead of regular calling and texting, we will use a mobile app called WhatsApp, available on both iOS and Android. It functions similarly to Facetime and Facebook Messenger, with no international calls or text fees. I will send a few reminders closer to the time to download the app and get connected with me there before the move to ensure no loss of service.

My email will remain unchanged and function as usual, as will Zoom and any recurring subscriptions/payments you might have with me.

I remain ever grateful for you and your trust in me, and I value every referral you send my way. I will be happy to continue working with you and your friends and family for many years to come, helping you grow your business and reach your dreams.

Because sometimes email delivery can be flaky, please let me know if you've received this email and have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Thank you, as always, for your support!

- Natalie

[Photo of the Calf of Man on the Isle of Man and our kiddos]

06/09/2023

I had SO MUCH FUN talking about ChatGPT & AI at Ginny Presley Robertson's On Purpose Woman Global online group this morning!

I had a few minor glitches with sharing screens (such is life with tech) and running out time (because I talk too much!)....and since perfection is the enemy of progress and all...I'm doing it anyway and I'm ok with that.

I LOVED how Ginny described my talk! She said I "demystified ChatGPT". Yay...that is EXACTLY my goal with these talks! That and bringing this powerful new tool to businesses and their owners who are not necessarily in the tech and marketing spaces.

I'm happy to do the same for YOUR group too. Just send me a DM (or comment below) and we can get set up.

Thank you again for this wonderful opportunity, Ginny!

04/16/2023

Someone is faking my IG.

is the real, official account.

(with an extra “v” at the front) is fake. Please report it if you see it.

Thanks!

12/16/2022

Always fun taking certifications in areas you know pretty well to begin with!🏅 Love helping local businesses be found online with Local SEO!📍Reach out if you too would like help.

Learn how to do local SEO to attract local customers.

11/01/2022

To all my wonderful clients, I wanted to let you know about my exciting new plans and how they might affect you and your business.

In summary… I’m planning on my plans NOT affecting you. ;-)

My family and I are moving to the Isle of Man (IOM), a little island of about 85,000 people in the middle of the Irish Sea between England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. As it will take about six months to work through all the logistics and visa considerations, we hope to be there by early Summer 2023.

How does this affect Virtually Nat, my clients, and my partners? I hear you ask...

There should not be any significant effect because we’re planning on maintaining our US citizenship and company, Gallagher Innovations, Inc (where Virtually Nat currently operates under). And as you well know, the work I do for you can be done anywhere in the world—and often is, as I travel internationally reasonably regularly.

A change may come at some point for Virtually Nat, though (unrelated to the IOM move), as I’ve been feeling for a while that I’ve outgrown the brand. I’m not sure what the new brand will be, but rest assured that the work done under Virtually Nat will continue to be done, just under whatever my new brand will be. My mission has always been to bring corporate-level service to you with a small business heart, and it will always remain as such.

I am happy to chat with you about my move over a Zoom session, so please feel free to book a meeting via my regular client meeting link if you feel so are inclined.

Thank you, as always, for your support!

[Image: Looking out to the Calf of Man, southern tip of Isle of Man.]

03/20/2022

Font choice matters! What do the fonts you use in your business say about you and your business?

to all the victims of .

11/23/2021

Heads up…GoDaddy has been compromised! 😱 https://www.reuters.com/technology/godaddy-security-breach-exposes-wordpress-users-data-2021-11-22/

If you've built your own website (or your friend or nephew did) GoDaddy might be your hosting company. Please check and consider changing to another web host. There are lots of good deals out there with great support, and technical performance that far exceeds GoDaddy.

I’ve been using SiteGround for more than 6 years now and I'm happy with them. Other good ones, though potentially more pricey, are Flywheel and WP Engine.

At the very least update your login credentials (username, email address and password) and run software like Wordfence to check if your website is compromised.

And lastly, remember I’m here to help! This is what I do in my 9-5 all day long. Get on a call with me to see if we’re a good fit to work together http://VirtuallyNat.com/chat.

11/20/2021

My designer’s eye is *fascinated* by this! 👩🏻‍🦳

11/04/2021

Heads up! Cool new functionally coming to FB Groups.

We're introducing new features to help group admins build the community they want, strengthen group culture and manage and sustain their communities.

11/04/2021

Heads up! I can’t see this being a big deal except causing a bit of confusion about a name suddenly changing.

For the record, GMB is a HUGE piece to online success especially for small local businesses. Hit me up if you need help with it!

Google has renamed Google My Business to Google Business Profile. What does this mean for local business owners and what do the experts think?

10/19/2021

Filming with Joey Buscemi, Main Street Home Loans, NMLS #1618853 at two of my favorite local hangouts, Shucks Park and Brooms Bloom Dairy! What a fun morning!

10/11/2021

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

08/26/2021

Want to use LinkedIn for business growth and lead prospecting, but worried that your new connections will see your customers and go after them? Hide your connections! Check out this 2 second hack! 👇

07/29/2021

Zoom and Kahoot! had a baby! Kahoot! is fun on it's own...coupled with Zoom is da bomb! So fun for online meetings. 🎊

Kahoot! has teamed up with Zoom Video Communications, Inc. to make video meetings awesome! With our brand-new Kahoot! app, you can host and join kahoot sessions directly within Zoom. There’s no need for a second screen or device. Our app is an intuitive, time-saving way to get the most out of vide...

06/29/2021

Thank you for these kind words! This is exactly the kind of work I want to be providing for you my clients.