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Being at one with social media

8/2/2016

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Social media can be a lonely job for the solo publicist for an organization. This is very true for entrepreneurs, charities and small-to-medium enterprises (SME). Whether you are a leader or a follower—or  both—social media is a key part of your marketing activities. If you have to go it alone, planning, time management and tech support tools, and making it a truly social experience are all going to lead to success.

I am often asked to help SMEs with their social media—from coaching, to planning, to doing it. The sagest advice I received on social media (over a decade ago) is not to do other people's. Although in reality that isn't always practical, or possible, there is some truth to it. No one can tell their story (and we know story-telling is the next big marketing push) better than the story-tellers themselves. It's all about relationships. You need to have a close relationship with your client (internal or external), and they with you, to give your social media messages powerful meaning.

Successful solo social media messaging


If you are in charge of social media messaging for your or someone else's organization, here are some helpful ideas from Communication Consultant Amy-Louise Tracey. It's all about being prepared, taking time and making technology work for you.

Planning

Give your social media plan depth. Think big—the whole calendar year—and identify dates, events and activities to promote.  I always plan backwards from the key date. Zoom in on each key time period, identify the messages, and select the media. Blog? Tweet? Post? Then do your micro plan—assign and create messages for key dates. Now sit back and admire your planning skills. The next year will be busy.

Technology

Make Hubspot, Hootsuite or your web platform's social media plug in–or all of these–your best friends. They were designed to help people just like you, who have a lot to do and not enough time. Also use bulit-in features, like sharing plug-ins, to spread the word. Share an older post or blog you think engaged followers may like. Look for other people's posts on the same or a similar topic to widen the experience. You don't have to be three places at once: but, you can make it look like you are all over the social media map.

Create a virtual team

Everyone is busy. But, it only takes a minute to ask someone to help support your/their campaign. In fact, build that into your plan. When the messages are about new products, get the product development team involved. They will have established networks, be on different platforms and can add a new dimension to your messages. The support you get may be a surprise.
For last year's International Plain Language Day Oct 13 Twitter campaign, #30plainwords, I started about mid-summer. Hootsuite—just one of those helpful social media management platforms—allowed me to create, schedule and track each tweet. The campaign also generated content for a blog post, updates for my Facebook Page and LinkedIn conversations. I let key people know what was coming and asked them to spread the word. It was so fun, and successful, that I am doing it again this year. Planning your content and your delivery well in advance, and getting tech and a virtual team involved, are key to the solo social media messenger's secret strategy.
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Why SMEs will win at social media marketing

8/4/2015

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Picture5 steps to complete the social media marketing circle.
It is not unusual to hear a variety of reasons why a SME has not or will not commit to social media marketing (SMM). Time. Money. Resources. But, a little of all of these can generate big wins. And, SME teams have advantages over larger organizations in getting a great ROI on their social media initiatives. Today's clients expect to find you there: that is a great reason to get going – whether it's for the first time, reviving your existing platforms or launching a new campaign. Here are reasons why SME and SMM are a great team.

5 ways SMEs are already on a winning streak

Social media is all about engaging with clients. For many, scoring points is just about getting in the social media marketing game.
  1. SM users love following or liking their favourite bands, products or services. Turn your live clients into social media followers and watch your fan base grow.
  2. Business satisfaction feedback from fans is just a click away. You can keep on top of your clients' feelings about  your services and products without doing a survey.
  3. Complete the social media marketing circle. Update your blog, then tweet, then post on Facebook, update your LinkedIn page. Social media marketing is known to drive more traffic back to your website. Great ROI for one play.
  4. Keep up with the competition. They are already on social media. Know their game plan.
  5. Gain your winning reputation by providing quality content and new fans can become new clients.

5 Reasons SMEs  are most likely to succeed with social media

SMEs survive and thrive because they are customer-oriented, flexible and responsive. Social media marketing needs all these business aspects, and gives you established, online platforms to take the lead with your business. You can succeed because you:
  1. already know your clients and what they want.
  2. can move quickly to answer questions and solve problems.
  3. have great information to share at your fingertips.
  4. can easily build a team to share updates from every area of your business.
  5. appreciate the importance of and are open to feedback.
All of this makes social media a great fit for the SME's business strategies.

5 great social media tips
  1. Timing: Know when people are checking into their favourite social media sites. Facebook users are more active at the end of the week. Twitter users prefer late afternoon and evening.
  2. 80/20: 80 percent interesting topics, tips and trends. 20 percent what you are up to.
  3. A picture is worth a thousand words: This is even truer if it really supports the content.
  4. Interactivity scores big: Offer deals online. Keep content fresh. Ask questions.
  5. Game plan is key: Make sure social media is integrated into all planning – products, events, announcements.

Be a winner: Be positive. Celebrate. Congratulate. Appreciate. Today's social media fans can become your future loyal followers.
Make social media marketing a key component of all your SME business plans.


Resources:
Digitaldonut.com

Brandspaycheck.com
Syscap.com

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    Author

    Kate Harrison Whiteside has over 25 years experience in plain language, writing and editing, training and consulting.

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