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Sara Duggan

Virtual To-Do List Annihilator

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Sample Facebook Questions

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10 Sample Facebook Questions (plus a few images)

Asking questions on Facebook can encourage your fans to interact with you. Here are a few questions to try this week. At the end of the week, check your statistics to see which had the best reach.

  1. Have you ever volunteered? What did you do? Did you enjoy it?
  2. What is your most unusual talent?
  3. What was your favorite toy as a child?
  4. What’s the best Valentine’s memory you have ever had?
  5. Do you have a morning routine?
  6. That food that you loved as a child but can’t stand now?
  7. How lazy are you on a scale of 1 - 10, 10 being Snorlax(r)?
  8. What’s the first song you listened to today?
  9. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the last 6-months?
  10. @ mention someone who always makes you smile.

I can make and/or schedule these for your blog/website. Apply Here

Financial Translators, Funny Translations, and Hashtags

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What’s a Financial Translator?

I just completed a gig for a Financial Translator. What do they do? I know, I had to look it up. Like many Americans, I only speak English although I do know a smidgen of Spanish and Korean. I know very little of translating languages other than interpretation during lectures in college.

Working on this project, I learned that the translation world is a very large and diverse job market with specialties much like law and medicine. For instance, as a Financial (Sworn) Translator, you translate business documents which need accuracy and even knowledge of cultural idioms. It’s not enough to be bilingual, you must know the culture, the slang, and the way business is done in both languages you are translating.

You might think numbers are all the same, but check this out:

  • 1,000,000,000,000 is one trillion in the U.S.A.
  • one billion in the U.K.
  • mille milliards in French
  • million de millones in Spanish

So you see how it is very important that the translation is accurate. Mistranslated it can cause a company to lose a deal or even go bankrupt.

Lost in Translation

Assume Nothing vs. Do Nothing

In 2009, HBSC ran a campaign with the slogan “Assume Nothing” in English but translated in certain languages it encouraged its customers to “Do Nothing”. They left it that way for a while until they rebranded which cost about 10 million dollars.

2005 The Dollar Drops and Panic Spreads

You may remember the Bloomberg article published back in 2005 which caused people to panic, sell the dollar and buy Asian currency. Why? The original Chinese news source was translated into English incorrectly.

It stated that China had decided to revalue, by 1.26% within a month and 6.03% in 12 months. It gave no source for the story and neglected to mention China News Service. WSJ

Once journalists and business analysts started investigating the source it was found to be false (lost in translation) and the dollar recovered.

Lesson: Don’t cut corners on translation

I find it interesting that one article can impact the actions of people (and “$2 billion dollars in a space of a few minutes” - J.P. Morgan’s Mr. Piron) without so much as an investigation to its validity.

It’s scary really.

Funny Translations and Tips on What to Share on Social Media

I find translation interesting as a career choice, especially for the future generation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobs in this sector will increase by 29%. (2014 - 2024) bls

It’s also a bit funny as you can see in this piece featuring mistranslated American movie titles. Here are a few samples:

  • The Full Monty (English) - Six Naked Pigs (China)
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (English) - If You Leave Me, I Delete You (Italy)
  • The Naked Gun (English) - The Gun Died Laughing (Israel)
  • Leaving Las Vegas (English) - I’m Drunk and You’re A Prostitute (Japan)
  • As Good As it Gets (English) - Mr. Cat Poop (China)

Are you a translator? Need help with promoting your business on social media?

I offer custom 7-day (or 1-month) content plans based on your topic/niche as well as graphics and curated content. Learn More

 

Here are eight ideas to start:

  1. Share actual text that you translate for potential customers - A snippet of a Wall Street Journal article - correctly translated of course 🙂
  2. Share the funny side of translating - commonly mistranslated sayings, words, expressions, signs
  3. Highlight some of your work, reviews, or testimonials
  4. Thank a company you completed a project for and share why it was a great project or experience
  5. Share misinterpretations that cost businesses money and integrity
  6. Share F.A.Q.’s
  7. Share details about your job duties (interesting quirks or funny happenings)
  8. Answer Questions - use the search feature on social sites to look up questions people are asking ex. Arabic to English translator or I need an English to German translator or Where can I find… or Help. German to French translation

Tip: When sharing on social sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google+ use hashtags CLICK TO TWEET

Hashtags help others find you. Here are a few I found for my client. You can grab the pdf here.

48 Hashtags for Financial/Sworn Translators

#translationservice #professional
#Spanish #agency
#German #professionaltranslation
#English #French
#translationquality #language
#grammar #quality
#legaltranslation #practitioner
#sworntranslations #translator
#Arabic #Russian
#Ukrainian #Urdu
#confidential #birthcertificate
#marriagedocument #divorcecertificate
#universitydegree #accuracy
#certified #legal
#technical #commercial
#scientific #proofreadingservices
#spelling #simultaneousinterpretation
#consecutiveinterpretation #secretarialservices
#freedelivery #xl8
#linguist #interpreter
#translate #xl8or
#globalization #multilingual
#womenintranslation #internationaltranslationday (2Oct2016)
#blogsbytranslaters #translatersontwitter

Do you think your friend or colleague will find this article helpful? Share on Twitter or Facebook.

References:

http://culturesconnection.com/5-mistakes-financial-translation/ (one trillion)

http://mentalfloss.com/article/48795/9-little-translation-mistakes-caused-big-problems (9 mistakes)

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB111581539395830336 (Selling the dollar because of mistranslation)

http://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/films/50-funniest-movie-title-translations# (the short list - Movie titles)

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2016-17 Edition, Interpreters and Translators, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/interpreters-and-translators.htm (visited January 23, 2016)

Time Saving Social Media Tools + A Printable Plan

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Save Time on Social Media with the “Easy” Button

Stop social media overwhelm by using time-saving tools plus a plan.

You did well by getting your business on major social media sites. All you need now is a plan. Just like your plan for hard copy marketing campaigns you need one for virtual campaigns. You can merge the two to make it easier.

This is part 2 in the “Is Social Media a Waste of Time” series. Click to read part 1: Create Truly Engaging Content | part 2: You are HERE | part 3: Marketing, Leads, and Revenue | Series Conclusion

Hootsuite is an application that will help focus your attention by putting all your accounts in one place. Read and post all-in-one. (from $9.99/mo USD with a 30-day free trial)

Post Planner is another tool you can utilize for scheduling content and tracking how well it is doing. (from $7/mo USD)

BufferApp - lets you schedule posts for the future. It now has the capability to pre-schedule Pinterest posts. There is a free version and a paid version.

Co-Schedule - by far my favorite application for scheduling posts and social media. They have a plugin for WordPress which makes it super easy to schedule future broadcasts months in the future. This keeps your content in front of your audience longer. [Read more…] about Time Saving Social Media Tools + A Printable Plan

Series Conclusion: Is Social Media Wasting Your Time

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The Is Social Media Wasting Your Time Series Conclusion

Time to Recap What You’ve learned and Take Action (It’s not just a Catch Phrase)

Is social media a waste of time (blog series)

Introduction

You’re wasting your time and money on social media without a plan. You’re struggling to prepare enough content that is both interesting to your customers and revenue producing for you.

Stop letting your accounts go to the ‘social media graveyard’. Connect with people like Kim Garst, Donna Moritz, and Peg FitzPatrick just to name a few (my favs). These ladies know what they’re talking about and DO IT.

Part 1: How To Create Engaging Social Media Content

Did you explore PLR or the other places to get content without writing it yourself? No matter what you choose to use be sure you’re writing Epic Stuff! What’s epic stuff? It’s long content that is at least 2,000 - 3,000 words. Think of bloggers like Darren Rowse or Neal Patel. Sure their stuff is long, but Dang it’s good stuff!

Action: Download the Marketing on Facebook PLR and repurpose it for your site

Part 2: Save Time on Social Media with the EASY Button

Stop social media overwhelm by using a content plan and some of these stellar tools:

Still don’t have the self-control to stay off of Facebook? Try apps like StayFocused and RescueTime.

Take a look at the 8 Printable Planners I share and grab one that suits you.

Action: Start creating content and scheduling it.

Part 3: Rad Marketing for Excellent Leads and Revenue

In this final post, I touch on Facebook Advertising. Warning: I’m no expert and I don’t use FB ads. I know enough to realize that until I get the organic stuff down (aka consistently) throwing my money away is not going to help.

Many of my clients have the funds to invest in FB ads. The problem is they’re just throwing the money at Facebook and hoping for a return - much like gambling at a casino. Inside I share a few resources that can help you in this area. I also share Lush’s social media presence. They are spot on as far as interacting with their market, providing engaging content, and utilizing Instagram and Facebook like the Rock Stars they are.

Finally, I challenge you to learn about the proper way to use Facebook Advertising. Be sure to check out the Hubspot Infographic and Download (opt-in required) I recommend.

What did you take away from this series?

I’d love your feedback - seriously ^_^. I know much of this rehashed stuff, but this is how I learn. I read and follow people who are doing a smashing job and then share it. I DO it too because that is the real ‘meat’ in all of this - ACTION.

Chat me up on Facebook or Twitter#mygiglife.

New Series Intro: Is Social Media A Waste Of Time and Money

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Is Social Media A Waste of Time?

Don’t be a Slacker, Be Smart and Save Time With These Helpful Tips (series introduction)

Is social media a waste of time (blog series)

Have you ever timed yourself on social media? Go ahead, try a timer like e.gg.timer.

Without a timer or other tools to basically lock me out of time-warp sites like Facebook and Twitter, I would never leave my screen.

Recently I took a very long break from social media and the internet. (about 8 months)

I learned some things about myself, about my family, and about how stressed I was without even noticing it. It became my way of life - my normal.

For the next three weeks, I’ll share tips and resources on how to focus and save time while still benefiting from social media.

You may be wasting money on Facebook ads so I’ll touch a bit on saving money too.

~~Introduction | Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3 | ~~

In this 3-week series you will learn:

  • how to create engaging social media content
  • save time using tools plus a content plan
  • use marketing campaigns to increase revenue and find new leads

Each post will have an action step. They’re short and doable I promise. 🙂 Here’s an example:

Take action today:

  1. Download the free PLR article from DIYPLR.com
  2. Use the Marketing with Facebook download to create 5 statuses for Facebook and Twitter

In addition to the take action step, I’ll include a Power Action Step.

This is a recommendation for a product or service I use that saves me time.

I’ll also show how I’m using the product. Here’s an example:

Power Action Step:

Subscribe to Image Monthly (affiliate link)

Each month you’ll receive 25 royalty free images along with a short lesson on how to use them in your content marketing. Read my review and see how I’m using this product on my blog.

@kellymccausey’s Image Monthly offers a steady stream of ideas to make your content POP!Click to Tweet

Does Image Monthly Sound Like a Tool You Can Use to Save Time?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Twitter @duggansara #mygiglife or Stop on by the Facebook Fan page to add your thoughts to this upcoming series.

P.S. If you think this series would be helpful to your audience please share using the social share buttons. Thank You. 🙂


Written by SD of FiveinSac.com

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