I am not suggesting you go completely over the top and hire in the speech writer for the Queen.. in fact they wouldn’t be good for your business at all as they invariably don’t use social media… what I am saying is think about what you want your company to be portrayed as, look at the skillset of the person representing you and talk about what you actually want to achieve.

Your content should engage and empower others as well as give a great representation of your company and its values and could even work well in the search engines like Google.  Will the work experience person, your MDs daughter or the person you have outsourced to in some far flung corner of the globe be able to do all that for you?

Nothing beats experience and having been there and done it and proven it works… get someone with a solid understanding not only of which buttons to press but also what it takes to get the engine revving and purring.  Well written content that works with a social media plan and strategy and confirms to your social media policy is what you need to get in place.  It needs reviewing and tweaking to ensure it is delivering on the KPIs you have in place and it should be both flexible and trackable.  If you have done none of these things in your social media stuff you really should be thinking about why not.  If you have the worng people working on your social media you are unlikely to see a return on the time investment involved so why would you bother?

If you get real with what you want to achieve and think about the most competent people to carry out the task at hand you will probably see more engagement with what is happening on-line in your company name… once you start engaging you will probably find you are in the right place at the right time more of the time for what you do and coming up in the search engines more often won’t hurt you either.  Harness the power of social media and ensure your social media content is worth more than wrapping the chips in… unless of course you think your business is as cheap as chips and that is what you wish to portray.  Social media is here to stay and you might as well get used to it or just enjoy watching your competition reap the benefits.

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Welcome to the overview of the online social media training course…  here we will be going through the curriculum – getting you ready for the journey and sending course notes and starter videos for you to get ready for a bite sized meal of social media…

Our intensive 2 days social media training course has been broken down in to weekly segments for you to do bits at a time.  You can race ahead if you fancy with the pre-recorded segments or just follow the natural progression.  You will get assignments and things to do and we will be checking so don’t worry if you are not confident you are doing it right – we will guide you along the way and get you up to speed…

Rather than pay the fee in one go – we are splitting it in to monthly payments of just £40 so you can pay as you learn and it makes it much easier for you.  We will set dds or paypal recurring payments to suit you – let us know what works best.  £5 will be deducted from your first month’s payment when we set it up.

Feel free to share what you need and we will put as many of your wish list requests in as we go along.

We are concentrating on facebook, twitter, linkedin and youtube and will also be using hootsuite so get your thinking caps on what you want to achieve using them…

Each session will be a minimum of 1 hour and will be recorded to don’t worry if you can’t make it or need more time to digest the content as we will be recording them and sending them to you…

Remember this is your course and no question is a silly one… unless you don’t ask it.

You will also get support in the facebook group so don’t forget to connect and join it.

We look forward to seeing you online!

This is a huge shift as it means more posts to groups are very likely and social media managers can harness this power to get organised… it does however mean spam can go out on auto pilot too so watch out for more people vigilant administrators.

Having just had a huge cull on my groups and changed my settings on what I receive and when I shall look forward to this making life a little easier for engagement and sharing on linkedin groups. You might like to think about this too as it could start a flood of emails in to your inbox or on your blackberry or iphone which may drive you potty.

I created this short video showing how you how to add it and if you don’t have hootsuite you can grab it here… This is a great way of automating some of your social media and helps you manage it even when you are busy or away.  You can post to up to 5 social networks for free or upgrade for the princely sum of $5.99 per month to get unlimited.

The other major change is being able to post as your company… you can already post as your page on facebook so this is linkedin’s version… I like this feature a lot and can see lot’s of uses and possibilities for engaging as a brand.

Again a quick video here… have fun and don’t forget to share x

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“It’s alright for you” I get often… “You’re an ex journalist so you can write”… but what do I talk about…? I get this all the time…. and if you think it is any easier for me then dream on…

OK when inspired I can go on finish a 500 word blog fairly easily and get a beginning, middle and end with a few references, pics and whatever… but actually so can you.  It ‘s no harder than an essay at school and actually you are much better than you think… what your real problem is seeing what is holding you back.

I read extensively, in fact actually given the information overload all over the web, we all do… and I read in colour and in pictures… which apparently is a gift… I have always done this so just assume it is normal… I’d like to think it is so painting a picture about what I am writing about is automatic. Try describing something in a manner that helps this makes the reader experience much better so when thinking about what to blog about… choose something you are passionate about then you will describe it much better.

Just look around you and all manner of things will appear… even just the weather… I seem to remember blogging about some fairly fit workmen working without shirts one sunny day which left a minor dent in my memory… but I digress… what is in your emails? on the television? being discussed in the shop queue?

What or who has helped you and would that information help someone else?  What would be useful to those people you have collected… those you have connected with with or who are following you… Actually the latter is always a good thing… go and see what they are talking about (or even worse not talking about ie they are very quiet) and learn a bit more… helping someone is always a welcome thing and actually by helping one person directly you may be indirectly helping hundreds more.

It is probably best to stick to things you are comfortable with.  I have started loads of blogs and got half way through them to realise I actually do not feel comfortable talking about it… so have stopped them half finished.  I decided if I wasn’t comfortable just sharing… then I most certainly wasn’t with any reaction or interaction.

That leads to another point… what do you want to be found for?  because you almost certainly will…. if you right about it google and the world will find it and when someone searches for you it will be part of your digital footprint… and what better way to raise your profile, show off your expertise and show you are actually a bona fida human being with real feelings, interests and character.

Now with everything going on around us it is not so much what the heck to write about but how to order it… add a calendar to your blog and start adding scheduled titles so when you get around to it you have an idea of what you were thinking about and it makes it much easier…

Often things that have affected us emotionally become rants rather than blogs… be careful the power of the internet is that you or the person you are talking about may be found in google for your writing long after the heat of the moment has dissipated… I am often now very careful when I want to use the internet to vent about poor service… i don’t want the power the internet wields to cause anyone any harm no matter how rubbish they have been.

A final trick.. stick a piece of paper on the wall or the fridge and write ideas on it…  then not only will you have something to build on but you are also conditioning your mind to share the information you are collecting…

Let us know how you get on…

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Well it’s true… you go on thinking you will just spend 10 minutes on facebook or twitter at tea-time and before you know it supper time has passed and the cat is chasing furry creatures in the moonlight…

It really doesn’t matter what it is you log in to do, you almost always end up meandering down a winding road that promises much… and often doesn’t deliver… the blog post that gives new and better ways of doing things, the twitter sparring (especially on a Saturday night when you have lubricated your mind and fingers with a glass of something that isn’t orange juice) and the amusing ancedotes and pictures shared on facebook… not forgetting the enticing videos urging you to watch similar.

It is fun and actually the social aspect of this wonderful new world is amazing… people find long lost rellies, school friends, forgotten flames… friendships are formed and cemented by intense conversations that would never happen in real life as people hide behind the safety of their computer and reveal what they are really thinking safe in the knowledge that their blushes are glowing privately.

Now this pandora’s box is well and truly open and all its related evils and treasures are well and truly free… so it makes sense to identify how to play safely and find the map that leads you safely through the dangerous bits…

Now I am not saying turn in to Indiana Jones and whip your social media in to submission… but if the cap fits give it a go.. what I am saying is you do need to map what you want to achieve…. plot where you want to go, who you want to connect with and when they are likely to be around.  This gives you much more focus and makes it easier to track that you are actually hitting your  goals.

You could even limit yourself to time slots… ration how long you are spending on certain networks… especially if you are playing games… I know that I won’t start playing games as I have an addictive personality and need to beat it… but before you know it.. time has disappeared and you have lost hours…

If you need a free 15 minute skype slot to help you get your plan in order then get in touch… we are happy to help.  A full social media strategy consultation costs £250.  Your platforms, networks and social media posting habits will be scrutinised and a plan of action created for you to follow.  Your optimum posting time will be identified as well as the best way of you striking a balance between broadcasting and networking and how you are going to achieve this using as little times and effort as possible.  We will also monitor what you are doing and nudge you along on a 30 day plan.

We are planning webinars on subjects just like this why not see what we’re talking about http://essexsocialmediamanagement.co.uk/webinars-book-in/

You can find The Social Media Cafe on Skype…

I ask the question “How important is a company social media policy to your business?” because it had come up several times in the past few days… once with a lawyer trying to put together something for his HR focused clients and with a couple of other businesses.

Interestingly each one had very different ideas.. one had a legal perspective of protecting the “property” of the business… one loved it thought it was a fabulous way of getting his employees to do his marketing and another thought it would all blow over and he would never have to worry about it.

Now no one has a crystal ball that can predict the future.. but I personally don’t think the last one is likely any time soon, I loved the openness of the second one and found it very refreshing and think the first one is very likely but could be very hard to enforce.

I do, however, think that an adequate social media strategy and policy should be a must have for any business.  it gives guidelines to employees of what is and is not expected of them and where they stand.  It allows parameters to be put in place safeguarding everyone and setting out expectation.

I do think it could be very easy to just stomp and say no social media… but where does that leave people who have signed up on linked in?  Would a policy saying you must delete all contacts created as a direct consequence of joining a particular company work?  How on earth can this be policed?  What would happen if the companies and contacts concerned then re-connected with them?

It is a very difficult one to fathom and i am sure that there will be some interesting discussions relating to this.  What would the biggest problems be for your business?  What do you think should be included in a policy and do you think you should have one at all?

I certainly think that companies need to protect themselves and their assets but quite what is right for one company may not necessarily be for another.  I also think it is important for employees to be protected and have an indication of boundaries especially in the way the world is changing.  Quite how this can be achieved for everyone is an interesting quandry at the moment.

However a zero tolerance social media policy or
photo credit: BeauGilesblanket banning tweeting, facebook updates and any other social media is a silly thing to do… yes there are times and places for doing things and these boundaries are continually being pushed out as people update their thoughts in areas you would expect it to be out of bounds.. but if it isn’t detrimental, doesn’t interfere, cause offense or take away from someone doing their job properly I can see no reason to create a potential resentment… after all inadvertently they could be doing a business a whole heap of good… and cost you nothing.

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Social Media Garden

Every garden needs watering, feeding and some planning, although I do get accused of guerrilla gardening.. just scatter and see what happens… and actually you can also do that in your social media but you should have a focus of where you seeds are going to fall and what a possible outcome is… well you wouldn’t sow your seeds without even reading the packet.. would you?

It is always a good idea to set your foundations or in this case the seed bed… prepare the ground, dig it over, rake out the bits your don’t want and add some fertilizer or feed…

Then you can have a firm bed to get your seeds to take root and grow… so some planning of the right accounts… which ones will take your interest and be likely to be something you will use… what other tools will you need to help.. you need a hoe, a rake and watering can so what are your social media tools…?  The platforms is a great start… facebook, twitter, wordpress blog, linkedin or whatever and a manager such as hootsuite…

Now back to the watering… gently feed is probably better than flood and famine… so think of posting several times a day….. something relevant to you, your business and your target market… now you can do a quick curation thing of feeding stuff you have found out to everyone by just making a comment on this… or you can create your own and show the world you are the authority on what it is you are talking about… actually a hybrid of the two is probably even better…

Keep it focused… don’t just follow or connect with the world… get pruning and removing the stuff that is getting in the way… If you don’t keep removing the weeds.. your social media garden will get over run… without the ground work in the bed in the beginning you may have a rocky ride and if you forget to give it attention, food and water… you will lose more than you gain…

So as a social media manager you get in to a habit… feed your social media garden little and often.. because too much and you may put your back out or give yourself blisters… too much water and you can wash away the social media seedlings… too little and they will shrivel and die… never to return… so a social media strategy is imperative.  I don’t mean create war and peace as a plan… I do mean an A4 diagram with who, what, where, when, why and how… and the how is how are you going to track what it has achieved… let’s face it.. in a garden it is fairly obvious what has worked… you either have barren ground or a patch of flowers or vegetables….

Hootsuite has some fabulous extras… such as the analytics… so does your facebook fanpage after you have 30 people liking the page… so get in to the habit of looking and seeing what your efforts are doing… if you need more info on the fanpage analytics then watch out for some videos… please ask if there is anything in particular that would be of interest to you.. use it to schedule your content be it a mix of information, fun, useful and general seasonal things such as wimbledon…. track what time of day you find works best… you may find that a one off use of this twitter tool may help you find when that is useful… however you should always have something to catch the other people tuning in…

This is also a great tool to use when you know you are going to be away… such as holidays or busy periods of work if you have a seasonal one… please don’t just look at it and think oh what a great idea… then file it in later… go and do something with it and get yourself scheduled…

Oh and remember you can’t be a fair weather gardener… social media gardens don’t work like that!

If you enjoyed this you may also like…

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Concise copy sells

It’s all very well being able to target the very people at the core of your business model but are you doing it well?  Google (and myriad other) adword sites have been taking vast quantities of money from you for some time now to get your ad in front of your desired audience… facebook and linkedin are quickly catching up… and even twitter is getting on the act but how good is your aim?

The trick of course is identifying who they are and you can sit down and work that out by yourself or with the help of a business coach like Dave Griffin of Business Growth CoPilot or Kyle Newman of Kyle Newman Inc… then see what they are looking for on-line for your goods and services.  The google search tool is a great indicator of this so try it and see what they are really saying… you may be a little too close and know your subject far too well to make a true judgement call… (in fact I sincerely hope you do).

Once you know what they are searching for.. think about what they need… or want… and how you can grab their attention with the small number of characters you have… this is your first glance… the 7 second opportunity to get a favourable impression on them that may initiate a click through to what you want to share…

Facebook is great at profile raising within your target market as you only pay when they click but if you have targetted well… a huge chunk of your target market will see your brand and name and it will be once of your 7 or 8 touches of your company before they may be ready to buy.  That could be seeing something, hearing something, an advert or logo, talking to you or someone recommending you.  Now on the latter… if they are ready to buy now… by placing your advertising in the social sphere you have the opportunity for someone to see and recommend you which is infinitely more powerful than your ad alone…. some research is suggesting social media sky rockets your chances of a sale from 7% to 71%…

There are discussions about whether facebook is less powerful for a business to advertise on than say linkedin which is seen as a far more professional world… but actually I think it does depend on what you are offering.  In a relaxed mode (which people are likely to be on facebook) they may be far more receptive to something that is relevant and targetted…. and of course it is a very noisy arena on-line with serious filters a must…

1.   Getting the right message is always a good thing… pick just one… it’s much easier to target.

2.   Be concise & precise think about what you are saying, keep copy tight, eye catching and relevant

3.   Make it visual… pick a great picture to go with the words

4.  Make it trackable… there is absolutely no point if you can’t say what came from where… email address, code, telephone number… whatever you use..

5.  Try a few variations… then you can pick what worked best… and do it again

6.  Try different times of the day, again it gives an indication of what works best

7.  Monitor responses regularly to get a picture of what is normal for you then tweak accordingly

8.  Follow up all responses in a timely manner… an autoresponder is a great thing to set up

9.  Be consistent… we are creatures of habit and like re

gularity… but back to the 7 touches before someone may be ready to buy… if your content and look is consistent you will be nudging your potential client closer each time…

10. Get in to a routine… make your monitoring as regular as your morning coffee or afternoon tea break then it will happen…

Shout if you need a hand or fancy sharing some of the great success stories there are out there… these are very powerful tools if used regularly…

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Don’t you just love the posturing surrounding social media… you know those who have 5,000 “friends” on facebook… 30,000 connections on linkedin and whatever other massive numbers they love collecting….

So what?  Honestly… I don’t care.. telephone numbers should only be for dialling people… seriously… you can collect people all you like… the trick is to get them to know you, like you, interact with you and follow what you are doing with interest… personally I believe this is done best with smaller numbers…

If the people you are connected with know who you are, have met you, will take a call from you, know your voice or name and help you if you need a favour then you’re doing fine… if they haven’t got the faintest idea who you are, what you do or for that matter, care what is the point….?

A much smaller network of people you enjoy listening to and interacting with is far more beneficial to both of you than collecting random people all over the globe… especially if you have a local business.  Ok so you never know who knows someone who… ok yes I can see the connection thing and the degrees of separation… but can only focus so much so for me I give the bulk of my energy to those I have a hope in hell of helping and who may be fun, interesting or useful to me…

Naturally there are those who are you know you will be a joy to interact with… cool add them… but ensure your social media plan has focus… and unless you need to collect people all over the world… why would you?

I would suggest you have a look at your network and cut out the dead wood… there are plenty of tools on the market to help you declutter or prune your network.. and once you have done that it gives the remainder more room to grow and flourish… and leaves room for some new ones…  you may find some tools to help you here http://www.notasocialmediaexpert.co.uk/bite-size-social-media-twitter-followers-is-it-time-for-a-spring-clean/

To me size matters… and it’s focused and energetic… not scary, unwieldy and a waste of energy… how about you?

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Sure you’ve written something.. bit of human stuff and whatever… in the hope that should someone click through they may like what they see and want to follow you or save you in a list for a rainy day.. but is it really beneficial to you?

You have 160 characters to make an impact… get someone to know you are real, human and possibly worth interacting with further… so perhaps a benefit to them… but is that it?

Sadly not… you should also be thinking what it is people are looking for… be it key search terms for what you do, where you are or what joint interests you may have… and of course these do show up in the searches so are pretty important really… just think who, what, where, when, why, how and you can’t go far wrong…

I am also a very firm believer in making it easy for people to connect with me… so my very shortest email address, mobile and anything else I think may help in their decision… it’s a bit like the …. seconds you have to make an impact on someone when you meet…

It is also a very good idea to add a background to your twitter page to give more of a visual perspective…. you do this by going to your account in the top right which gives you this….

Then click on the design tab…. scroll down to change background image…. now I created mine in Powerpoint and then saved it as a jpg… just fiddle until you get one that suits you… of course depending on the screen used by the people looking this will look very different depending on their resolution setting…. I prefer to host my pictures on something on-line like Photobucket who I believe are now a now a twitter partner… then if i am not at my own laptop I can just log in to my account and get them wherever… and of course it also give embed code for other things too… and has a fabulous resizing tool now…

Happy to share the size of my background if anyone wants it to use as a template…

There are also some free online sites to custom create your background such as themeleon… these set the sizing etc for you… and a great fun to play with… I wouldn’t get too carried away though and keep changing them.. you should have a brand that people associate with you…

It’s time to show the world what you want them to see… I’d love to see some so feel free to share….

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