It’s the time of year when we are all looking ahead at the months stretching in front of us and planning just what we do when. Thoughts are already on booking holidays, bikini diets and sporting summers. Likewise now is a great time to take a look at your Social Media (or consider it if you haven’t got anything going) and make some changes.
Here’s a simple 10 steps that can transform your Social Media, and they only need take a day each to get started.
1. Create a Plan
It sounds simple, but it is the crucial 1st step to improving your Social Media performance. Take some time to consider what you want to happen in 2012. Think about your target audience, top customers, your market, your competitors and what you want to achieve. If you have existing Social Media channels review these, what have you done with them so far, how have they performed, what could you have improved, what lessons have you learnt. Your plan for 2012 should be simple and most importantly take a realistic account of things like the time you will commit to Social Media in 2012 and how you want to measure your performance.
2. Create a Knowledge Bank
However knowledgeable we are about our subject/business/hobby we still need a super source of information and expertise to fall back on. By identifying key sources of fresh information on your market/area of expertise and doing simple things such as creating email folders, favourite bookmarks and any number of ‘notes’ systems. Simple tools such as Google alerts can deliver daily feeds of information in all kinds of formats without you having to search. Use these tools, create a knowledge bank and you will have a constant stream of fantastic information to help your Social Media efforts.
3. Learn all about it
There are many tools of Social Media and though you won’t be expected to know how they all work intimately it is certainly in your interest to get to know the tools and how they work. Take some time to learn how each one works individually, it will help you when you look back at the plan you made in step one. One thing that may help with this is…
4. Get Advice
Let’s face it there are now almost as many Social Media ‘experts’ out there as there are users of the tools. This isn’t a bad thing, as many can ensure you get the results you need quicker and without the many mistakes they will have spent time making. A good Social Media adviser will be able to simply outline the tools and consider your business objectives to direct you to the best tools for you. LinkedIn isn’t going to bring your £1 stall thousands of sales a day, and equally Facebook may not suit your niche manufacturing consultancy. What is crucial is that the experts give you the guidance/coaching you need to feel comfortable with Social Media. In fact that is a great thought, find a Social Media coach not a know it all ‘Expert’.
5. Who are You?
Your online persona is the single most important component in your Social Media. Developing this persona is the starting point for all your subsequent activity. That isn’t to say you need to suddenly become someone else. However, there are degrees of yourself you can develop, show or not show and this will dictate the kind of messages/conversations you have. People you interact will quickly get a feel of who you are and what you stand for. So make some time to decide what it is you want this to be. This may even follow the persona of your company brand.
6. Be A Helpful You
It is vital that your online persona is you. Social media carries transparency at it’s core, it thrives on real people having real interactions. So interact, be genuine, be authentic and most importantly be helpful. You will quickly find that other users of Social Media will be drawn to you if you are helpful, polite and genuine. Your online persona is you, and people need to know there is a genuine person there behind the screen.
7. Stand Out
Have you considered how your various Social Media sites look? Have you got the standard template for your Twitter background? Is your Facebook page just a boring old photo? There are millions of users of social media and finding a way to stand out is tough. However, there are ways to make your profile stand out that much more, or at least be memorable enough. You should also look at ensuring a consistency across the various sites/tools. People should know that it is you wherever they find you.
8. Connect with the right people
The best way to get to know what works in your area of expertise is by finding leaders and key influencers in that same area. Spend time searching for them, observing what they are talking about, how they are interacting. Join in conversation where appropriate and before you know it you could be getting your own share of interactions. Take time to research who the leaders and influencers are that will most benefit you or your business. It’s all well and good being followed by half of the local college, but just 1 influential follower more than beats 500 ‘messers’.
9. Interact
Social Media is about interaction. That means two things, the first is being interactive with your various networks. Reply to tweets, comment on blogs (especially written by influencers), join discussions on LinkedIn, use hashtags, post questions, and if someone asks you a question give them an answer. Secondly, look at even more interactive ways of communicating. Try creating videos (vlogs), presentations on Slideshare, podcasts and webinars. All of which create an even stronger bond between you and your network.
10. Get Publicity
We aren’t necessarily talking a PR campaign to promote your twitter feed. All around the internet are many influential bloggers, media contacts and digital media writers. Take some time to identify some of these people and think about how your business or a specific piece of news fits with them. How can your expertise or company help people, or even better, make life easier for them to do their jobs. Get writing articles, How To’s, blogs, press releases basically anything that shows off your expertise. Having these to hand when a relevant issue breaks means you can swing into action before others. Providing great quality means they’ll see you as a good person to know. Also, think about how events impact on your area of expertise. When a newsworthy event happens, be the first to react with a thoughtful piece.
There we have it, 10 simple steps to creating a more impressive social media presence. Ok some of the steps may require a little longer than a day, but by making a start on each activity you will quickly find your social media presence improving
Simon Brooke is a Director at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
