Social Media. Two words that roll off the tongue of every business owner who has an online presence no matter how small.
For most bloggers, the majority of new traffic stems from their presence on numerous social platforms. This much is common knowledge; but how can you ensure you don’t fall into some of the most frequently made faux pas? Read on… (grab a cuppa and kick back – it’s a biggie!)
Boom and Bust
Hands up if you know what I’m talking about here?
You hear a new concept, you get your head around it, you can see the value it can bring your business; so what do you do? Well you jump right in of course. Only… because you dropped everything else to focus your energy on this new exciting and irresistible idea you run out of steam and end up abandoning ship when the going gets confusing (or overwhelming).
How do you avoid this trap? You put a plan in place. Start small and build from there. The biggest tip for any newcomer to social networking is to invest time watching and listening before jumping into the water. You will learn much about good practice from heeding this advice and as a result, the following you grow will be valuable.
Top Tip #1:
Watch, listen and learn (can you hear my Yoda voice?).
Put a short term plan in place and work to it.
Airing your Laundry
Whether you’ve been out on the tiles and have come home worse for wear; had an argument with your other half or want to rant about your ex employer… STEP AWAY FROM THE SOCIAL NETWORKING.
We all love nothing more than to share our misfortunes and glad tidings with the world. When you are building a reputation for your blog or business though; you need to bear what your public sees in mind at all times. Your followers will eventually be interested in a certain amount of ‘you’ but really, they want your juicy content, tips tricks and anecdotes.
Top Tip #2:
Keep it professional (in a casual and carefully planned ‘not-trying-too-hard’ way
)
Share the news of others ( <- BONUS TIP! ) and keep your own gossip to your private accounts that only your friends and family see.
Me, Me, Me Syndrome
Zzzzzzzzzzz.
Sometimes, you happen upon what appears on the surface to be a really interesting Twitter account… Their bio is captivating; their avatar catches the eye and they have an established following. When you click through to their timeline though; you’re disappointed. Why? Because all you can see is an endless list of outgoing messages. No engagement with their followers, no replies to anyone, no help being offered, no retweets or sharing of content other than their own… Am I painting a picture here?
Of course we all have a reason to get established on a social sharing site. The key to success though is pretty simple. Be useful. Share content that the people who like your stuff may also like. This way you’re not only giving reliable stuff of your own out to your ‘fans’; but building your reputation as expert by handpicking and passing on the work of others. See it as you stamping your seal of approval on something if you will. Share it with those who trust you and they are likely to click through.
Why is this important? The people whose stuff you’re kindly doling out to your masses will be grateful and will therefore be likely to reciprocate; AND your stream is much more interesting to read through. Rather than being inundated with articles, posts and links to the same place, you’re offering a more holistic experience. People will identify you as the go-to person in your niche because they know that you know how to separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak.
Top Tip #3
Be generous.
Share decent content that you find and allow yourself to become known as an expert n your field.
Loving Social Media because…. “it’s FREE!”
WRONG.
This is; without a shadow of a doubt my biggest personal bug bear. Social Media ‘gurus’, evangelists and experts across the globe frequently impart their wisdom onto eager business owners and inform them that the number one reason they should be getting on board with a social media campaign is…. “because it’s free!” <bang head on wall>.
Read this carefully:
Any activity you conduct as part of your business has an associated cost in terms of time. Your time is worth money. If you start allocating time from your day to conduct social media activities; you are taking away from other areas of your business. Whilst there is no problem in doing this; it would be foolish to jump in with both feet because it’s something you can do to promote your business “for free” (boom and bust anyone?).
Allocate resources as you would with any marketing activity and only take on what you can afford to. It’s fab that there are a multitude of social networking platforms available for immediate use without a joining or subscription fee, but don’t overlook the cost to your business in other areas. Set out in a sustainable and steady manner and you will build a solid foundation for broadcasting to the masses.
Top Tip #4:
Remember that your time = your money
Plan your social media use as you would any other strategised area of your business and be strict with yourself to stick to that plan
Outsourcing to Your Computer
I’ll be straight here… I’m finding it hard to think outside of anything other than the much dreaded automated Direct Message (DM) on Twitter, so I’ll address that first… <deep breath> I am yet to encounter an automated DM in any capacity that has proved to be effective. On the rare occasion that one asks a question that provokes a willingness to respond; invariably you are unable to do so because the user has not yet followed you back. Frustrating? YES.
Does a DM thanking you following someone on Twitter make you feel special? No. Does a DM suggesting you might also want to ‘like’ their Facebook page prompt a click through? No. Does an auto DM drive every single Twitter user I have ever discussed this with round the bend? YES. Need I say more? They serve no purpose other than clogging up your notifications and add another admin job to the already overloaded list. Be kind to your new followers and save yourself the trouble of setting up an automated thank you DM. Conversion rate is proven to be next to zero.
There are many ways in which carefully used automation can work very effectively to drip feed content to your profiles without you having to man the fort 24/7. Updates can be scheduled and also linked across platforms. The danger is overloading your followers. Your followers on twitter and your likers on Facebook for example will partly be made up from the same audience. It can appear spam-esque to receive the same update in varying places so try to keep your feeds unique in some way. Give your people what they want and they are likely to continue be your people; overload their news feeds with the same message again and again and they are likely to tune you out.
Top Tip #5:
Automate with moderation to lighten your load whilst still offering value.
———————————————————–
Thanks for reading. As always, feel free to share and don’t forget to subscribe top right for all future updates straight to your inbox 
If you have your own tips or tales to share then please do so in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!
{ 9 comments }
Well… Are you?
