Tuesday Tips: Watch and learn

Today's tip comes from a quote from Twitter:

“Be a lurker in social media before diving in to learn the ropes and create a strategy that will work for your biz.”
--Alyssa Gregory, The Small Business Bonfire
@AlyssaGregory

Or, to summarize: Watch and learn.

This is actually pretty solid advice if you stop to think about it. You can learn a lot about social media by watching brands similar to yours to see what they do, what they do successfully and learn from it, then adapt it to what you want to do with your brand.

When I first started out in social media, I did a lot of watching. Then I attended a few small conferences here and there to learn more.  These conferences offered some of the same advice - look at what your competitors are doing, then mimic it.  But when you mimic, don't make the mistake and do exactly what they are doing.  Customize it and make it your own.

Making something your own is what makes you unique in the world of social media. Take what you see working for someone else and turn it into something that works for you.

Good luck!

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.

Tuesday Tips: Don't Give Up

There will be days - and not just a few - where you will feel that it is pointless to participate in social media.  No one is liking or sharing your posts. No one cares. And it only gets worse when you realize how low your reach and views are. You're ready to give up on social media and throw in the towel.

Don't. Give. Up.

If you are a relatively new, unknown brand, building your customers and followers and getting them to see your posts, much less like them and share them, is difficult. But if you give up now, you will never see where those likes and shares take you once you do start acquiring them.

Let's be honest, it takes time to build a reputation on social media. It takes time for people to see what you are posting and to engage in that.  You must consistently publish useful and meaningful content - whether it be questions, promotional posts, inspirational images, or videos - so your fanbase can find value in visiting your page and supporting your brand.

Many social media posters will tell you it took them months to get interaction on their pages - even up to half a year. I run several pages and some of my smallest following groups have the highest interaction rate, while the ones with thousands of followers have the smallest interaction rates.  It just depends on finding the sweet spot and getting those interactions going.

Pay attention to your stats and which posts draw the most interaction then post similar posts in the future to encourage further interaction.

Just don't give up on it.

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.

Tuesday Tips: Communicate with LinkedIn Connections

If you're like me, you have a large number of LinkedIn contacts, some of whom are acquaintances, some of whom are co-workers, others who you've either made connections with or they connected with you for other reasons.  But what good are all those connections if you are a business owner, or in charge of your business' social media networking if you don't communicate not only with your connections, but with the connections to your business' LinkedIn page?

Big hint: it's no good if you aren't communicating with them.

Once a month, or so, you should send an LinkedIn email to those folks who may find something your business is offering useful to them.  Tell them about a project your company has going on, perhaps a promotional deal, etc.  And be sure to respond to anyone who responds with questions.  Sending emails is a great way to generate leads and potential sales.  Even though LinkedIn only allows you to send 50 emails at a time, it may be worth the effort to try to drum up some business by sending out a simple email to your connections.

The worst any of them could do is not respond or say no.

Tuesday Tips are a series of tips released on Tuesday each week regarding a hint or tip to help you manage and market your Facebook presence better.  You can find all the Tuesday Tips by clicking on the Tuesday Tips tag below.