Marketing Tip: 4 Top Questions My Clients Ask Regarding Social Media Success
Working with clients in social media and creative design and marketing, teaching in lunch-and-learns, and leading marketing workshops, I get a lot of questions. For this week’s marketing tip, here are 4 top things people ask me regarding social media success:
1. How can I avoid spending an excessive amount of time on social media?
Social media can be a time suck, in two ways. First, as a social media user, you might find an interesting link on Facebook, click through to the publication, read it, get distracted and head down the rabbit hole! One article, six inspirational photos, and two disturbing political rants later, you realize you have wasted over an hour and can’t even remember why you were watching that silly meme anyway.
Secondly, you can spend too much time trying to “work it”. You can streamline your social media time by limiting the time you allow yourself to “play” in the social media world. What works for me is a quick scan and sharing of information in the morning, followed by short bursts of social media through the day, then back for a brief visit in the evening to comment and share posts. In the morning or evening is when I prefer to share my own content that I have written or curated.
As a publisher of content, I use Hootsuite, which allows me to queue up what I want to post during the day. I always caution clients against over-automating and being too generic. Content that is fun and entertaining, educational and of interest to your grassroots audience works best.
2. We hired someone to set us up with social media accounts. But now we don’t know what to do with these accounts.
Unfortunately, this happens a lot. Being familiar with the networks or having someone empowered to handle your social media management will take the stress off of you. Creating an account on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Pinterest, for example, is merely a step in your tactical approach. You need a strategy first, then great content.
3. How will I know if my social media efforts are working?
My question would be, what were you trying to accomplish, why are you using social media, and how will you measure success? Answer these three questions, then create an editorial calendar, and you’ll be ready to roll.
So, did you get what you wanted from your efforts? Did it happen? Sure, look at the numbers, but it’s not all about likes and retweets. Building relationships is what social media is all about, and that takes consistency and great content.
4. Do I really need to blog?
Well, yes. You really do. Websites without fresh content are not going to attract viewers or get you noticed by Google search. Your blog should function as the hub for your online presence, syndicating content to all your other networks. Your blog should be at the core of what you do. Publish content on your own blog and then PUSH your posts to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, etc.
I am sure that some of you have asked one or more of these questions. I know the answers I have provided can seem somewhat easy, however, getting the time and focus to carry out the objectives can be costly and daunting. This is why I created the Social Voice Box program; for busy professionals that need it done for them at an affordable cost.
Visit the page here to learn more about how The Social Voice Box can take all of this off your plate and provide you with INSTANT IMPACT for your business.
Sandy Hibbard Creative also provides, custom social media management and blogging services, creative design and branding, and print and email campaigns.
Contact Sandy today for more information.
