Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

Social Media Strategy

Stop Being Busy with Social Media and Get a Strategy That Works

You need a strategy for social media. Being busy isn’t a strategy!

You may have noticed that I have backed off posting as much on Facebook.  Actually, I have been posting less on most of my channels professionally.

The long and short of it is…posting on social channels for the sake of posting doesn’t work.

Let me explain. When Facebook introduced Facebook Pages in April 2010, the average page was getting 16% organic reach. Today it is less than 1%.

Why is that? There was a lot less content vying for our attention back then. Today we have 2000+ pieces of content coming at us on Facebook alone each day. EACH DAY! It’s getting crowded. AND, the algorithm continues to change.

Years ago, there was a social media guru that was promoting posting once every hour for 12 hours. She did it religiously and it must have worked for her because she has a huge following and turned many of those followers into buyers through her programs.

I will admit that I tried it for a few weeks but couldn’t keep up. I didn’t have time to work on anything but posting. PLUS, I found that people didn’t really like to see that much content from me. I found a rhythm of about 3 posts per day. At that time, I would do something inspirational first thing in the morning and later in the evening and then something social media related. It worked for me AT THAT TIME.

I then went to 2 posts per day, then 1 post per day. Now I post when I feel it is relevant.

There you go. I think when you post content (for business) it should be RELEVANT  to the audience you are most trying to attract. Throwing a bunch of content for the sake of content isn’t working. It is WEARING YOU OUT!

Additionally, with the algorithm changes and Facebook pointedly saying that personal profiles and groups will get more play in your newsfeed, posting a lot of content to hope that something gets seen can actually work against you.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are days I post more than one time. WHY? Because there is something relevant that my audience needs to see. Typically, it’s a safety issue that I want you to be aware of!

This comes back to strategy. Do you have a social media strategy? Have you updated it in the past year? Seriously, a LOT has changed online in the past year!  The types of content and what you should be putting your time into has changed.

If you haven’t made a change or met with a professional since January of 2017, you need to do it.

Of course, I would love to help you out. 😊

BUT, if nothing else…take a look at what you are doing online. How much time is it taking you? What kind of results are you getting? Are you putting your efforts to the best use? Could you be doing something differently with your time?

Stop being busy with social media and get a strategy that works. Then, fine tune it as social media changes.

Reach out if I can be of service! Don’t do things for the sake of saying you post on social media platforms. That is NOT a strategy!

Your Voicemail is an Extension of You & Your Business

How do you feel about voicemail greetings?  Lately these have become a pet peeve of mine.  You know what I’m talking about – the message you receive when you call someone and their voicemail kicks in.  If you are running a business – don’t you want to have everything that you do (the touches you make with your clients & prospects) come across as professional as possible?  Recently, I was sent to a voicemail that said this:  “at my earliest convenience I will call you back.”  How do you feel about that? It makes me feel like:  “when/if I deem it important enough to call you back, I will.”  I am assuming that what this person was really saying was: “as soon as I can, I’ll call you back”, but that wasn’t how it came across.

Ok, how about the one that sounds like the person is distracted or recording the message from a tunnel or while driving? It sounds something like (background noise) and “um, you have um, reached, um, ….” With lots of pauses and noise in between.  This also conveys a message about your professionalism and the message isn’t favorable.

Here is my voicemail greeting:  “You have reached, Vicki S. Cannon of Cannon Social Media Solutions.   I am unable to take your call at this time, so please leave your name, phone number & a brief message after the tone and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.  You may also email me at: (insert email address) or contact me via my website: www.cannonsocialmedia.com.  Thank you for calling.”

It only takes a few minutes to write something out and to record and re-record until the right message is given. This is still an extension of you and your business.  What kind of impression are you leaving? Does the impression match your business?

Physician offices are usually pretty good at leaving a detailed greeting that includes when you should expect a call back and the type of information you should leave on the message (for instance, date of birth).  I appreciate these greetings because I am not left in the dark about what they need and when I should hear back.

Have you recently started a business? Don’t forget this important extension of your brand.  Many people are quick to start a Facebook Page and/or Twitter Account, but forget what may be an important piece of communication.  Starting with: “Hi, this is Vicki. Leave me a message.” may not be professional enough.  Also, please smile when you record and have a little bit of energy. There is nothing worse than listening to Eeyore give you a greeting (even if you are a Winnie the Pooh fan).

One last thing, take the time to record your own message.  The pre-recorded: “you have reached the Mobile Carrier Mailbox for 555-555-5555…” is not good either.  It looks like you aren’t keeping up with the little details.

You may be asking: “what does this have to do with social media”?  Well, I believe that everything you do in-person or online is an extension of your personal and professional identity.  You never know if this is the first real contact someone is making with you.  Do you want to put any doubt in the mind of a potential or even current client about your professionalism?   Take a moment and listen to your voicemail greeting. Is it the right message? How would you feel after hearing the greeting? If you aren’t sure, ask someone else to listen to it. What is their impression?  The same is true with your Social Media sites. What kind of impression are you leaving every time you post? People are watching and listening all the time.

Ok, I’m off of my soapbox now.  Do you have any pet peeves on professionalism?

Twitter and Hurricane Sandy

As I ponder what to write about this week, I can’t help but think of all the people on the East Coast that are still without power, food, shelter, homes, gas for their cars and so much more due to Hurricane Sandy.   It warms my heart to hear stories like that of  Mayor Cory Booker from Newark, NJ (@CoryBooker) delivering diapers & blankets, checking on family members, opening his home for DVD watching parties and more. He is tireless in how he has been helping the folks of Newark. His main source of communication?  Twitter. Yes, people are tweeting the mayor and he is responding (many times in person).

On Monday, November 05, 2012 his efforts have been noted by so many, but it even caught the eye of an Irishman.  Read the tweet engagement here.

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Squirrel – How to Resist the Shiny Object Syndrome of Social Media: 5 Questions To Ask Before Adding Or Jumping To A New Social Media Site

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, Delicious, Tumblr, WordPress, Instagram, flickr, Pinterest, Google+, MySpace, LittleMonsters…the names go on and on and will continue to grow from year to year.  How do you have an effective social media marketing plan and still keep up?

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