I have written this as a guide for new people, although I know from my training days, many people who have been trying to achieve business growth through the online world are often relieved to learn this too! I hope you enjoy and please do add your tips and thoughts, especially the sites you use and the tools that help you online.
How Social Media leads business, so long as you remember to connect
The movement from traditional marketing using media such as leaflets, websites, adverts in magazines and listings in directories such as Yellow Pages to the online world of social media has confused many people. In this article I want to help anyone who is confused by the phrases and tools of the online world and help you to feel a little more comfortable.
To begin with let’s dissect the terms Social Media and Social Networking.
Social Media is exactly what it says on the tin, it is media. You have permission to broadcast your message to inspire, teach, demonstrate and build credibility around the subject you know best. In the traditional media world this would be creating an advert, writing a PR piece for your local or national paper, doing a speech., basically anything that gets your message out from you to many. Online you can achieve this through Blogging, Video’s and uploading your PowerPoint to SlideShare for example, it is the power of the networks within around these tools and the search capability of Google that is your greatest asset online.
Social Networking on the other hand is networking. How obvious is that! It is all about having conversations with people. When you network off line you don’t broadcast, you talk, share and listen. This is the skill of social networking online. Many have forgotten this skill online and sadly they still look to push their message out rather than take time to make friends around them. Social Networking for business people happen within Twitter, Ecademy and within some FaceBook Groups.
Social Media or as I like to call it Social Broadcasting is an online skill of broadcasting your message in a non-sales manner that inspires and teaches rather than pushes a sales message. The subtlety of becoming known through building a company and personal brand online is critical. Shouts of ‘blogvert’ and ‘abuser’ can be heard in many corners of the social networking world when someone blatantly pushes their product or service through a Blog or message to their network. The trick , and it is not always easy, is to understand yourself and what value you add to others. This is a combination of your company brand (your skills) and your personal brand (your values). The personal brand is actually more important than anything as it is you that builds the trust, credibility, likability factor and ultimately represents your company .
The word ‘social’ prefixing media and networking is there for a reason, this is now a social world where business happens – IF you treat it correctly. The joy of the online world is that it is so dynamic and new. It changes everyday and new people can pass by your content 24/7, bringing you fresh opportunities. Online your thoughts never become ‘last nights chip wrapper’.
So once you have the philosophy of this world in your mind – now move to the methods:
I think the three most effective ways to be found online if you want to build trust and credibility are Blogging, YouTube Video and Twitter. These are my 3 main tools.
1. Blogging
Blogging allows me to share, teach and discuss, it is a critical part of my communication strategy. Yesterday I helped a new member write his first Blog on Ecademy, he was astounded that within 2 hours it has been viewed by 250, had been Tweeted and several people welcomed him to ecademy and added their comments. How else can you achieve this visibility in such a short time and in such a rewarding way. I love to write Blogs, they make me think of new ideas and new tips and inspiration, I love the fact they get my knowledge ‘out-there’ and the icing on the cake are the Tweets that result form the community when they like it. I have also set up my feed from Ecademy to ensure that when I write on ecademy it also goes into my personal Blog http://www.knowmelikemefollowme.com. William Buist has written a great guide for this HERE
2. Video on YouTube
Thomas and I have worked with Mark Sinclair of ybcTv to create excellent videos of opinion, sharing knowledge and teaching people.
I have a playlist for all my videos on YouTube, they serve to provide free advice to anyone who wants access to my experience and opinions. Creating quality videos around your expertise is an excellent way of becoming respected and followed online. Video’s are also highly viral and easily shared to others. I am amazed by the number of views and the random tweets and messages I get from all over thew world when people have found the, Additionally they are great to embed in Blogs and on your profile to build another dimension.
3. Twitter
Each day I add a couple of short thoughts into my Twitter status update. Throughout the day if I am online and I read something that is relevant to my ‘audience’ I will link that content to Twitter and ensure I am sharing knowledge wider than my own thoughts and opinions. Two days a go my content was re-tweeted (distributed) over 50 times, this spread my content far wider than just to my own network. Additionally while I see Goggle as a great search engine for information, I like Twitter so I can search out the people who are having the conversations that I want to be part of. I have also set up lists on Twitter that enable me to ‘follow’ people in different categories, this helps me to keep up and also helps me to Retweet the Tweets of people I respect and like.
The Internet is about ‘being found’ and that means being very visible and credible. People look for information in many ways. They still use Google for search, but they are increasingly spending time in the social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Ecademy . While they are in these places having conversations they might trip across your thoughts. The best analogy I can give for this is to imagine there were four great social pubs and bars in your local town and you wanted to make sure that when anyone talked business your name came up in conversation when they were talking about what you supply. Network value is being talked about when you are not in the room, this is the power of great content that others like and want to be associated with. But as you all know, this does require an attitude of being Open, Random and Supportive.
The pit-falls
Social Networking was the first tool and skill used widely online. Ecademy started in 1998, followed by LinkedIn in 2002 and FaceBook in 2006. The rise of Social Media more recently has confused many people, I have watched it happen to thousands of people over the last 2 years. I can only think that because both social networking and social media are being conducted online with the use of technical tools and software people think they can do one thing for all of their needs. Remember they are distinctly different and equally critical.
There is a danger in only broadcasting and only using Social Media tools. It can make you feel you are very busy and very ‘connected’. However if you are purely making a noise then you are only marketing yourself, the jewels out there are the people who find you and then want to talk to you. These are the people that want you to move from marketing to them to talking to them. Remember Seth Godin ‘turn strangers into friends and friends into customers’.
and finally….
My final tip is, always have a method for people to find you online, create content regularly but always and add a way for them to speak to you. Add your Twitter Name, a link to your social networking profile, your email – something that allows them to easily contact you and then starting talking, sharing and make friends with them. Imagine creating an incredible advertising campaign on the side of a bus but leaving off a phone number or method of your potential customer contacting you, now that would be madness!
I hope this helps you to find clarity and reason in this mad mad world. Please do pass it onto anyone who is new to this subject and needs some context. It is pretty simple really, but for a beginner it seems so complex.
Warm regards
Penny Power
+447771 543478
Founder-Ecademy
Supporting Business People
