Freelancer. Strategist. YouTuber. What do they all have in common? Each is a solopreneur, owning and running one of the 2.7 million nonemployer firms in the U.S. While solopreneurs might have the freedom to create their own hours and pick and choose the projects they work on, they often face many similar challenges that other small businesses face.

That’s where associations come in. Christina R. Green from the Frank J. Kenny blog offers ways organizations can help further a solopreneur’s career:

Business consulting. Solopreneurs span industries and roles, and not all will have a business mindset. Connecting with other members can be essential to gaining insight on how to handle important business or administrative tasks.

Networking. “Solopreneurs need clients and guidance,” Green says. Associations “can help them get more clients through networking and arranged meetings, while membership to a mastermind group can allow them to lean on other experts in areas they may not be as strong in.”

Educational resources. A major benefit to many associations is the ability to link members with educational resources of relevant industry trends and information.

Legislative support. “There are a lot of legislative issues that are circulating about the internet, very weighty things like net neutrality, taxation, and internet privacy,” Green says. “These things affect the way internet-based businesses conduct business. And they’re not things the average solopreneur can lobby for on their own.”

Social Media, Meet AI

"The days of social media success being about human-powered emotional intelligence are waning." But they're still here!#SocialMedia powered by #AI is here https://t.co/l1qrkVP7de
by @jaybaer pic.twitter.com/3WMHt8OFHG

— Jay Palter (@jaypalter) December 10, 2018

When it comes to artificial intelligence, social media has been largely untouched, given that it’s, well, social. Good social content often requires an emotional element that connects users to brands and people—something AI hasn’t been able to provide. At least, up until now.

In a post on Convince & Convert, blogger Jay Baer highlights one attempt at bringing AI to social media marketing, Persado One, from the AI firm Persado. Baer says the tool “allows digital marketers to customize messaging and look and feel at the individual level, rather than just the customer segment level.”

He adds: “Even more importantly, Persado can now deploy those one-to-one campaigns as social media ads and—get this—craft them based on historical emotional engagement.”

Here’s how it works: “Imagine the Grand Ole Opry wants to use Facebook ads to sell more tickets for upcoming performances,” Baer says. “Based on users’ historical engagement with messages of different tones and tenors, Persado can combine copy and images and Frankenstein together the perfect ad for each user.”

Other Links of Note

If alcohol will be served at your upcoming events, make sure you know the local laws, provide food options, and have a qualified team. BizBash explains.

Facebook Page post authorization is changing. The Sprout Social blog outlines what your organization needs to know.

Are meeting planners biased against creative event design? Meetings designer and facilitator Adrian Segar investigates.

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