Social Media Marketing for Your Business: 6 SUPER STEPS to DO SOCIAL RIGHT!

Perhaps your business has been trying to make sense of this new social world and searching for that elusive ROI to help justify the vacuum sound you have heard as your time has been sucked away.  You may have set up accounts, and tweaked the accounts, even had your college son or daughter post content for you on Facebook or Twitter, and still the frustration grows.  You wake up and ask “Is there anything interesting to post today for our business?”  You leave work asking, “Why can’t I get more people to follow our posts or take action on them?”  You are probably standing on your desk right now, crying out, “What am I doing WRONG?”  Okay, so perhaps that’s a bit melodramatic, but hearing your cry and rushing to your aid, we bring you 6 Super Steps to Do Social RIGHT!

Social Media Marketing, Social media for business, How to get more Twitter followers, How to get more Facebook fans

SUPER SOCIAL

  1. Have a plan. Why are you wanting to set up social media sites? Do you want name awareness?  Will you use these avenues to be more responsive to customers?  Do you want the ability to share your expertise and be branded as the go-to person or company in your industry? Are you wanting more sales, or are you just wanting to make sure you aren’t the only person left on the planet who doesn’t have a Facebook Page for their business?  The answers to these questions will determine who should manage your social media (marketing, customer care, communications) and how you connect strategically on each site. 
  2. Be Realistic with the Time it Will Take to do it Right! Many think if they throw a Facebook page or Twitter account up, people will flood to their doors.  It doesn’t work that way.  You must dedicate time each day to update sites, listen and respond to the community and be fabulously interesting…well at least somewhat interesting!  In the beginning this may just be 15-30 minutes in the morning and then 15-30 minutes in the afternoon, but when your business grows and the community starts engaging, you will need time to analyze where your community members are coming from, what links are getting the most click-throughs, what content gets the best conversations going and more.  Many organizations start by bringing in an intern to help with their social media marketing and find that they need someone with more of a marketing focus and it turns into a full-time position or they outsource a big chunk of the daily tasks.
  3. Don’t BROADCAST! It is called SOCIAL Media, not BROADCAST Media.  Those who just post (and usually it’s automated…even worse) get tuned out quickly.  Unless it works for you to go to networking events and just stand in the corner handing out your business cards and postcards as you yell “BUY FROM ME!” it probably won’t work in your social networking either!  Here’s a list of 7 things you can share BESIDES your products.
  4. Listen More Than You Talk. Like any good sales person will tell you, the key to success is to spend more time asking questions and listening to your community in order to learn how to best serve them.  Listen and respond to what they are talking about in your social circles.  Spend some time each day scanning and replying.
  5. Be Interesting and Helpful. My rule in social media is, “Be interesting, be helpful, or BE QUIET!  Be sure your posts are worth reading and passing on. Too many people post content that is so over used or trite that no one will forward, share or ReTweet it.  And when people ask me how to get their information to be more viral or ReTweeted more often I simply say, BE MORE INTERESTING!
  6. Use the right tools. If you took a pair of scissors and set out to cut your lawn, you could certainly do it, but it would take you all of Saturday and Sunday…for the next two months.  Using the right tools can make all the difference.  There are many to choose from and each one does something different.  For conducting searches, connecting strategically to your target audience members, tools like Hootsuite, TweetDeck (both tools to manage Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn), JustUnfollow (a service that shows you who you have followed or connected with on Twitter that has not followed you back so you can clean house a bit), SocialMention (a site that sends alerts like GoogleAlerts on information heard on the social vine), Analytics HD(iPad app to measure site traffic), or even good ol’ Google Analytics to see where your clicks are coming from and how to be more effective.  These types of tools will help you be efficient, strategic and much more effective.
  7. Be consistent. Posting once a week or two times a month will not get you anywhere in the social media arena. Your customers and potential customers are out here everyday talking, sometimes about you and your topic and sometimes talking about or with your competitors.  You can choose to engage in the conversation or hang the GONE FISHING sign up in the window.  If you cannot commit to posting regular content (daily at minimum) hire someone to help you with this piece.  It is important that you find someone who can be “on” when your customers are “on” and that the person or company you hire understands your brands personality, values and policies for replying to customers. I did an earlier post about that.

What SUPER Tips do YOU have?  We’d love for you to share your superpowers with us!

 

How to use Facebook for business, Social media for business, Gina Schreck

TWEETERWOMAN

Like Batman, Superman, or Tweeterwoman, Gina and her team of superheros are just a tweet or phone call away!  Let us know how we can help you succeed in this new social world!  Gina (at) Synapse3Di.com or of course on Twitter @GinaSchreck

 

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

April 4, 2011 | Filed Under Brand Management, Facebook, Facebook for Business, Facebook PAGES, Marketing, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media for Business, Twitter | 3 Comments 

Social Media for Business: Is Any Business Exempt?

social media for business, b2b social media, Facebook for business, Twitter for business, Gina Schreck, Social Media Management

LIKE Our Coffins

I am in gorgeous Naples, Florida speaking to a group of funeral home directors and owners about social media and the new world of marketing. I didnt exactly have 100% buy-in and a couple of them got their cables in a knot when I said, “If done RIGHT, every business can benefit from the use of social media….even the funeral industry.”

This is an industry that in the past has been run primarily by Mom and Pop, who inherited the business from their parents, who inherited it from their parents and for generations these folks have been involved in their communities. They visit the senior centers, play BINGO with the neighbors and volunteer at the annual health fair. They advertise in the Yellow Pages and personal referrals are their main source of new business. A good marketing strategy, unless your future customers are not going to the Senior centers or joining you at BINGO nights, and they thought the Yellow Pages were just for helping short dinner guests reach the table.

Now there is something a bit odd about a funeral home asking you to LIKE their Facebook Page, or discovering the Undertaker is following you on Twitter. But IF DONE RIGHT any business can benefit and build a successful online community to AUGMENT the physical or face-to-face relationships. Here are my 3 tips for DOING SOCIAL RIGHT:

  1. Keep your ideal community in mind and provide content they would find helpful and interesting. In the case of a funeral home, going beyond the obituaries and providing hospice or elder care resources and guidelines for writing a will or moving your parents home with you would be great engaging content. Join hospice care groups on LinkedIn and source great content from twitter. If you are pet sitter or a karate school owner, what content or resources would your community be looking for? Keep them in mind as you post content on your social sites.
  2. Blend the old with the new. You do not throw out the relationship-building activities that have been working for you, and you don’t ignore the new members who are busy connecting online. Be sure to add your social contact information on all traditional marketing pieces (brochures, business cards, presentation slides, stationary, thank you gifts and cards). Perhaps funeral homes can sponsor a SENIORS CONNECT class to have someone teach the seniors how to create a Facebook profile, so they can share recipes, oogle at grandbaby photos and write embarassing things on their kids’ walls. If you own an adventure vacation or promotional products company, what old marketing efforts can you apply a new social sheen to?
  3. Lastly, don’t take on too much too fast. Many businesses new to social media, think they must do it all and they create a blog, open an Twitter account, start inviting people to join their Facebook page, load an eight-year-old video clip onto YouTube, and jump into 25 groups on LinkedIn…the first week.  After spending 22 hours a day trying to keep up with it all, they start considering life as an Alpaca Rancher in the outer skirts of Montana.  Perhaps the first week, you create a Twitter account and find 10-20 people to connect with.  The second week you start searching on Twitter to find keywords being used on Twitter.  Afte a month, you might feel ready to take on setting up  a Facebook Page or joining ONE LinkedIn Group and exploring how to contribute to this knowledge group.  Plan on 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon.  As your online community grows, you can shift more and more time from one group to the other.

So whether your current customers are using social media to stay connected or Mabels BINGO nights, you would be wise to start embracing this new world, before your business ends up in the casket.

What business have you been most surprised to find on Twitter, Facebook, other social sites?

Gina Schreck, Social Media for business, Technology Enthusiast, social media management

@GinaSchreck

Gina and her team of Alpaca ranchers can help you take on those dreaded daily tasks of managing your social platforms…Just give us a shout!  303-978-0887 or Gina@Synapse3di.com

 

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

March 21, 2011 | Filed Under Facebook, Facebook for Business, Facebook PAGES, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media for Business, Twitter | 2 Comments 

Reengaging Stalled Social Media Efforts: Get That Bus Rolling

Did you jump on the Social Media bus early, but still haven’t gained any traction or seen results? Perhaps you tried a few things but soon gave up and abandoned the whole thing.  Kind of like the kid’s song, “The wheels on the bus go round and round,” after a short while, it drove you INSANE and you ran screaming! (Okay, perhaps that was just me, AHHHHHHHHH, every time that song started up!)

abandoned social media, social media for business, getting started with social media

These Wheels AREN'T Going ROUND & ROUND

There are so many abandoned Facebook and Twitter pages from individuals and organizations who set up shop and couldn’t find the time or resources to manage it effectively.  Here are a few tips to help you start on the right track if you are new to this bus, or they will help you get that ol’ bus rolling again, if it is stalled out!

  1. RE-ENGAGE the community!  You’ve been dormant for a while.  You need to let the members know you are back in business under new management! Do this by replying to some of their tweets and Facebook posts. Make comments that let your community know you are listening and not just pumping out promotional posts.  Ask questions in your posts~ Seek engagement. If you are just starting out, don’t sit and wait for the engagement to happen.  Put a few interesting posts up and then go out and start the conversations!
  2. Lay out a CONTENT CALENDAR each month. What events will you promote? Are there any seasonal posts that you will make with Holidays coming up? (Check out the National Day of All Things Calendars) Do you have a product that you want to let people know about? Spread them out so you are not blasting your community with just promotions about YOU. Are there events coming up or book launches that are by others who compliment your services but equally benefit your audience?  Put those on the calendar.
    Social media for business, TWitter, Facebook, social media management

    HELLO!

    Sprinkle in lots of tips by you that will be helpful for your community.  Give away great content and people will start to get on the bus!

  3. MAKE A POINT TO POST at least once in the morning and once in the afternoon (2 times a day minimum on Facebook) and perhaps push yourself to post 3 or 4 times a day on Twitter.  Put this on your regular TODO list if you must! Use your smart phone to post on the go and load photos when possible –people love to SEE what you are talking about.  Hire someone to do this for you if you don’t have the time.  If you use your content calendar, it should at least keep you focused, but be sure to add in relevant comments to current happenings and how they relate to your business.  Don’t forget to reply, comment or LIKE comments by others.  Don’t just be a megaphone.*SIDE NOTE* Yes you can use a scheduler (on TweetDeck, Hootsuite or many other third-party tools) HOWEVER, I caution people, when scheduling posts, remember, you may get people who ask you a question regarding the post.  Like most prize give-aways…YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!
  4. KEEP IT PERSONAL! Even if outsourcing your social media, make sure you remember you are speaking to PEOPLE, not computers.  Post with personality.  Let  your companies culture shine through.
  5. BE CONSISTENT! Like any form of sales, you can’t send one postcard and expect results.  You can’t make one phone call and have a great relationship with someone.  Be consistent, post and converse regularly.  Start with 15-30 minutes in the morning and again 15-30 minutes in the afternoon.  As your bus fills up and the conversations get going, you may need to spend more time or bring on another driver to help you keep this bus going 24/7!  But soon you will all be singing “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round ALL THROUGH THE TOWN!”  Ahhhhhhhhhhh
    social media management, community manager, social media for business, twitter for business, facebook for business

    WEEEEEEEEE!

Want regular Social Media Management Tips? Join us in Geeky Town on our Facebook Page! Gina and her HAPPY team can help you get started or keep your bus running smoothly ALL THROUGH THE TOWN!  Just ask~

Gina Schreck, Technology Speaker, Social Media for Business, Tech enthusiast, social media management

The Bus Driver



Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

March 5, 2011 | Filed Under Brand Management, Facebook, Facebook PAGES, Social Marketing, Social Media, Twitter | 3 Comments 

3 Traps to Avoid When Managing Corporate Social Media


Social Media for Business, Corporate social media, tips for social media business

Social Media Traps

I have said for years that small businesses have an advantage over large companies in the social media arena since they can connect one-on-one with their community and form personal relationships with those they serve more effectively than a large company. BUT I have since changed my tune.  It’s not a matter of how big or small your company is; it’s how much time you are willing or able to devote to engaging your community authentically, that will set you apart and give you the advantage on this stage.

Larger companies have no more advantage or disadvantage so the playing field is equal and open to those willing and able to do the work.  (Aside from the fact that many large companies have the resources to hire someone whose full-time job is to listen and respond to the community chatting it up on social channels such as Twitter and Facebook, and the smaller business owner is pulling double and tripple duty.)

Here are 3 traps to avoid regardless of the size of your organization:

  1. Not having (or creating) a personality- Yes this is a hard one.  I would much rather connect and follow Kirk Schreck on Twitter over General Electric (and not just because he is my husband).  I mean what kind of conversations would I possibly have with a large brand name?  Your brand, whether large or small, has to connect with people.  Posting coupons and flat information about your products and services makes you MEDIA without the SOCIAL–just a brochure–and I can find that on your website.  When you assign a real person to engage the community they can ask questions about how people use certain products or services.  They can provide tips that make using your products and services easier.  They can tell jokes, give out virtual cheers for someone who just got a promotion and mentioned it on Twitter.  Your community manager needs to have a personality for people to connect with.  We manage the daily social media for some large corporations and you would never know it was outsourced because of the personalized banter between the organization and the community members.  One of the first things we do is match the personality of our community managers with the account.  It’s more difficult if you have a financial or legal minded person posting for a hiking and canoeing company.  What is the personality of your organization?   Do you need to create one?  Make sure that comes across to your virtual community.
  2. Not listening and responding to the community and what THEY are talking about- This is a trap most people on social media sites are guilty of falling into.  We get excited about how great our latest webinar is, or how fantastic our products are.  We are so fascinating that we just want to talk about it all day long.  Well, guess what?  Your community is filled with fascinating people, doing amazing things and they are more likely to listen to you and engage with what you have to say if you, at least occasionally, listen and reply to what they have to say.  Most large organizations post their content and listen to see if anyone is saying anything about them, and that is the extent of the listening.  Checking Google Alerts, Social Mention and your “Mentions” column on TweetDeck is not REALLY listening to the community.  What if you read that someone you are connected with just got engaged or lost their dog?  If your organization sent a message wishing them well or sent condolences, this would be a BIG WOW!  (Don’t confuse which one gets the congrats and which one gets the sympathy! HA)  Take the time to engage and reply to people’s comments–not just when it’s about you!
    @Shannon_Buckley now that's some great bling!
    February 17, 2011 12:53 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite
    @HyattDTC
    HyattDTC
  3. Not being “ON” frequently enough-I see so many corporate accounts that have one or two posts per month, and again it is just a promotional offer or link to purchase their products or services.  When you post infrequently, people forget you are there.  Not everyone will be sitting waiting for you to say something so by posting frequently (At least daily on your Facebook Page and several times a day on Twitter for example), you are letting people know you are there and open for business.  It also shows that you are taking this platform seriously and it’s not just a side task thrown on someone’s desk to make sure they get something up on the sites once in a while (Oooo–hitting close to home for some people right now!) If you are taking questions and providing customer service help on your social channels (more and more businesses are finding this a great place to answer questions, solve problems and create brand loyal customers.  Check out this post by @Freshbooks on Twitter), you might want to post your hours for operation in your bio or who is on duty taking questions.
    @flashingcursor Couldn't help but notice your tweets :) What are the "basics" you are looking for? Maybe I can help!
    February 19, 2011 10:09 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite
    @freshbooks
    FreshBooks

Of course these are only a few of the traps that are set up in this Social Media jungle.  What are some of the others you have identified?

Gina Schreck, Technology Speaker, Social Media for Business

Gina Schreck

Gina is the Cheif Hooligan at Synapse Connecting. Her and her team of Community Managers take on those daily activities in Twitter Town and Facebook Land.  You’ll see them hard at work in YouTube City and just about anywhere social activity is happening! If you want a daily dose of social media and technology vitamins, head on over to our Gettin’ Geeky Facebook Page–there’s always plenty of tech-goodness to be found.

Gina loves living the virtual life and occasionally comes out from behind the computer to speak at conferences but then quickly retreats back!  You can find her on Twitter (of course) and she even checks email once in a while Gina@Synapse3Di.com  Let us know how we can help you connect to your world!

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

February 26, 2011 | Filed Under Brand Management, Facebook, Facebook PAGES, Social Marketing, Social Media, Twitter | 1 Comment 

7 Steps to Successfully Start Your Own Twitter Chat Event

After writing about HOW TO PARTICIPATE in a Tweet Chat Event, I got several people asking, “What if I want to start my own? How do I do that?”  It’s quite simple AND it’s a lot of work. :) )   The benefit of starting your own is it can be good for branding and helping you establish your expertise within your community.  While there are loads of Tweet Chat events already running daily, there is always room in Twitter Town for more.  Here are 7 steps to get you started:

Twitter Chat Events, Tweet events, Social Media

Twitter Knitters

  1. Step one is to determine what you want to call your event.  It may be the Alpaca Sweater Knitters tweet chat or the Social Media for ZooKeepers event.  Once you have the name you need a SHORT hashtag.  You are going to just make it up!  In our two examples you would have #ASKchat (oooh I like that one) or #SMZKchat.
  2. Step two is to see if that tag is available.  Go to Search.Twitter.com and search to see if any other group is using it regularly.  If it has not been used for several months, it is open!
  3. You can register your hashtag and fill out information so folks can learn more about your chat event.  Twubs is one such registration site that I like.  Some even secure a separate Twitter account for the hashtag and use it as an event account.  @ASKchat would have a description of your event as the bio.  Once you know the day and time are set, be sure to add it to the public Tweet Chat Events document to let the world find you.
  4. Now that you have done the administrative work…it’s time for the REAL work to begin.  Like any live event, you must promote your virtual meet up to your community (both on Twitter and off).  Let folks know what day of the week and time you have chosen to hold your 1 hour event (most are 1 hour…you can choose any length you’d like).  Be sure to mention time zones!
  5. Ask your community for questions or topics they would like to discuss during the event and put together a list of 4 or 5 questions (you may want more in the beginning as you build your following, but the more people you get in your chat, the fewer questions you will have time to get to).
  6. The day is here!  When you are about to begin your tweet event, ask folks to introduce themselves and remind them to use the hashtag in all correspondence or their comment may get missed.  Using a site like TweetChat is ideal for these events as it pulls your group into a separate area and folks do not have to add the tag to each tweet.
  7. Lastly, be consistent.  If you choose Monday nights at 8pm CT, don’t move it around to fit your schedule.  People are creatures of habit and you want them to be able to remember when your group meets up.  If you cannot attend on a certain date, just ask one of your community members to step in as facilitator.  If you can find a group of folks who would like to rotate as leader each week, that is ideal.

If you are nervous about kicking your event off without a hitch, you can always to a run through with a few friends and test everything out.  The beauty of a Twitter event, is they are more informal and keeping it FUN and FOCUSED will ensure people want to come back next week.  Remind them at the end to spread the word and return for more Twitter fun again!

I suggest you attend a few tweet chat events before you take on one of your own.  You can also find one that is already launched in your area of interest, but perhaps is looking for a co-facilitator–one who can share the burden of always being there and running the questions.

What other suggestions would you add here for starting and running your own Tweet Chat Event?

Gina Schreck, Technology Speaker, Social Media for Business

Gina Schreck

If you or your organization would like help engaging your community- give us a hollar! We offer coaching programs and fully-managed services and the team at Synapse LOVES alpacas! (We just can’t knit!)

For daily tips on social media and today’s technology, be sure to join in the fun on our Gettin’ Geeky Page or follow Gina’s rantings on Twitter!

Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di

@GinaSchreck

February 4, 2011 | Filed Under EVENTS, Hashtags, Social Media, SOCIAL SHARING, Twitter | 5 Comments 

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