Our social networks can grow quickly.  But a vast social network doesn’t necessarily mean a powerful social network.  My strategy is to pursue quality rather than quantity in my social networks.

I did a quick assessment and looked for patterns of valuable connections and rich conversations.  Based on the pattern I saw related to who I connected with, I recognized a pretty consistent pattern in how I became connected with these people.

Extending Existing Relationships

My real-life network seems to be at the core of my online social network.  When I meet people at business meetings or networking events, and discover that I have a reason to continue our conversation beyond our face-to-face encounter, I follow up with them on social platforms.

The printed information on a person’s business card usually leads me to where I can connect with them online; but not always. (Is your Twitter name on your business card?) This point leads me to the next feature of the pattern. (more…)

I find it very satisfying when someone in my social network “likes” one of my comments, or better yet, comments on a post. It’s a sign that I’ve achieved one of my goals for using social media; I’ve engaged a reader.

Anyone who is creating content for a social site is likely doing it to gain recognition in some form or fashion. Whether creating content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, your blog, or any of the hundreds of other social channels, you’re probably striving to “engage” your audience. Easier said than done.

There are some basic rules of engagement for creating a strategy and building a robust and vibrant social network. The rules are purposely general and need to be customized by each content creator depending on their unique objectives for their social media strategy.

My own Social Media Action Plan for 2013 includes an objective of engaging. As I contemplate what that means exactly, I realize that “engaging my network” is the result I’m after, but it’s not a result I can expect without some effort. (more…)

Social Marketing for Business, a Denver monthly Meetup, recently hosted a conversation about “Creating a Social Media Marketing Action Plan.”  Our moderator, Mike Hanbery, started us off by asking who among the 60 or so businesses represented at this Meetup had a written social media plan.  Less than 10% raised their hands.

The ensuing conversation prompted our thinking and revealed some great ideas about how to approach the task of creating a written social media plan.  Highlights can be viewed in this video.  Some of the ideas that made it into my own notes include:

Use the right tools

You can’t know which of the social media tools to use if you don’t know what each of the tools is used for.  Luke Holzmann says that figuring this out is a great starting point for creating a social media plan.  As the conversation continues, though, we find that choosing and using the right tool can be done differently by different people. (more…)

Using social media as a business tool is best approached as a process rather than a strategy. However, you want your social media to be strategy-driven. In other words, you want to have a plan for managing your social media, aimed at a specific objective. To get started, be able to articulate a singular, well-defined reason for using social media – at least for the first three to six months. You can add more objectives later, but right out of the chute, it’s best to focus your efforts on one purpose.

Reasons for using social media

There are hundreds of reasons for using social media. Here are just a few:

• Engaging and energizing your current customer base
• Gaining visibility among potential new customers
• Reducing the expense of more costly, less effective traditional methods of marketing
• Establishing yourself as an expert in your field
• Being a resource of valuable information to your customers and potential customers

Don’t be tempted to target more than one objective. Fortunately, there is lots of overlap between objectives and you will likely achieve more than one at a time. But concentrate on only one for starters, and see where that takes you.

Identifying the right objective

The challenge, of course, is deciding on that first objective. One way you can do that is to look at your existing business strategy. One of the tools I use is the Components of Existing Business Strategy worksheet. It lists some common business functions that could benefit from the use of social media.

Go through the worksheet and think about each of the functions listed. You may have formal strategies for some of them; but even if you don’t, you certainly have some kind of plan or process for functions such as public relations, sales, and/or HR activities.  Customer Service is one example of a business function that can be enhanced by social media.

Once you’ve chosen a few functions that are relevant to your operations, think about the current costs associated with those functions. That factor may help you decide where you want to start making cost-saving adjustments by implementing social media tools.

At the end of the exercise, you should be able to define your social media objective in one simple sentence. Then, paste that into your timeline and get to work building the rest of the process that you’ll use to leverage the power of social media.

Let me know if you find this worksheet helpful in defining your singular objective for using social media. Better yet, share your objective in the comment section on this blog post. Thanks!

I often talk about the “6 Ws” and how they are the basis for almost every strategy I design. This approach is easy and takes about 20 minutes. I usually use it at the beginning of a project, like when I’m writing a blog.  But you can use it anytime you need to get the creative juices flowing.  The six Ws are: who, what, where, when, why, and how (“how” ends with  w, so we’ll include it).

I discovered this process while reading The Back of the Napkin, by Dan Roam.  I learned that the solution to every problem can be found in a well-phrased question.  The best way to come up with that well-phrased question is to put all the questions in front of you and see which ones jump off the page.  One of them will hold the key. (more…)

What does listening have to do with being heard? Everything!  In today’s communication environment where social media channels are teeming with conversations, it’s hard to get a word in edge-wise.  It’s hard to get noticed even when you have something important to say.

Contributing valuable content is only part of the answer.  Generally, you know what you want to say and who wants to hear it.  But according to my favorite 6W’s method,  your strategy could be strengthened by also asking how, when, where and why.  You can get some very good answers by listening.  Here are five tips for listening well: (more…)

Yesterday I gave a presentation entitled, “Marketing in a New World.” Here is a recap.

The topic: social media. The main point: defining “un-marketing,” a term often used to describe the acceptable use of social media for the purpose of promoting a business. (more…)

Twitter is probably one of the most well-known social media platforms.  Some people love it. But some of those who don’t love it, admit they just don’t get it.

The trick I found to using Twitter – like any other social media channel – is to have a reason for using it.  Then, find ways to achieve your objective.  Here’s an example of what this strategy looks like for a movie critic I met recently.
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The purpose of most marketing efforts these days is to drive traffic to your website. So when I mentioned to someone the other day that I prominently post links to my social sites on my website, I shouldn’t have been surprised by his reaction. He pointed out that by posting those links I was encouraging people to leave my website. And he’s right. But I have my reasons for disregarding this long-time rule and website protocol.

First of all, I’m a communications consultant helping businesses adopt social media tools and emerging methods of communication. Consequently, my philosophy needs to be reflected on my website. I want people to be able see how I use social channels to connect on different levels with different audiences.

But what if you’re not in the social media business? What have you got to prove by sending visitors to your social sites? What can potential customers find on your social sites that they can’t find on your website?
(more…)

based on model by Jay Baer

You have a lot of stuff to say.  And,  a lot of your stuff is really good.  But what if no one ever sees it?  Here are a couple diagrams you may find helpful for creating content, organizing and scheduling distribution, and measuring your results.

Much of this information was inspired by Jay Baer’s blog, Convince and Convert.  His Content Ladder helped me to look at my own create-distribute-re-purpose cycle from a different angle, which is also diagrammed here.  I’m finding that both of these approaches have merit, and deciding which to use will depend on what you’re currently doing to get your message out. That will be your starting point.

Social Media Content Ladder

1. Understand Taxonomy: the most important link between social and search marketing; When creating and promoting social content, include specific relevant keywords and search phrases wherever possible.
2. Seek Content Inspiration (using keywords)
3. Understand your frequency schema; one rung per SM platform, a frequency (x/day) schedule allocated to each rung, and metrics you’ll measure.
4. Test and Track
5. Tweak and Re-purpose

There are several key concepts included in the five points above.  Understanding the value and importance of keywords — how to identify your own, how to use them in your content, and how to use them in your research – cannot be overemphasized.

Developing this understanding comes at the beginning of the social media learning curve.  Don’t skip it!

Creating a schedule for posting your content requires you to consider several elements.  Ideally, you want to post on the right day of the week, and at the right time of day. The “right” time will depend on your industry, your audience, and the platforms you’re using.  Dan Zarella, the Social Media Scientist, shares his techniques and studies on his blog, which is worth checking out.  But to know for sure what will work for you, do your own study based on your own unique variables.

Hub-and-Outpost Model

Social Media Outposting Model

Re-purposing, or reusing your own content has a number of benefits.  It allows you to make the same points but in different ways.  E.g., simplify the blog  messages for distribution on microblogs; summarize the messages for e-newsletters; personalize (familiarize) the messages for Facebook.  Same message.  Different audiences and platforms.

Re-purposing means you have to come up with fewer topics – which addresses one of the most frequently heard concerns from would-be bloggers and creators.

Also, each time you post on a particular topic, you can include a link to one of your other platforms.  An example of cross-posting is diagrammed here. (I also call it the hub-and-outpost model).

Worksheets for creating your own Content Ladder and Hub-and-Post plan can be found on the Resources page at 3D Communications’ website.

If you have developed your own method for optimizing your content, let me know by leaving a comment.  Or, if you can offer suggestions for improving the models here, I’d love to hear them.