Top Tips For Mastering Social Media (And How This Differs For Personal And Business Brands)

Top Tips For Mastering Social Media (And How This Differs For Personal And Business Brands)

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  Top tips formastering social media (and how this differs for personal and business brands) I don‟t think you can go through a single day in business any more without being exposed to social media in some shape or form. From an amusing post on Facebook or Twitter to a quality referral from Linkedin or Ecademy, social media is becoming a core part of any brand building strategy, whether you are an individual or a global brand. Those who fail to embrace it will simply fall by the wayside as social media continues to embed itself in the very core of 21st Century business. Raising your personal profile As an individual (thought-leader / individual capitalist) with a personal brand, it is now critical that you have presence on the following social media sites: - Twitter - Linkedin - Ecademy - Facebook - YouTube Profiles on these sites should also be supplemented by your own blog, your guest blog on another sites, or even your comments on other blogs, so that you can feed links through to all of the social networks and of course to your own website. YouTube content can also be passed on in this way and it is important to recognise the growing importance and popularity of communicating visually with your customers and prospects via YouTube. Remember, it isn‟t necessarily about the connections you make on all platforms, more of a numbers game and being where the “traffic” is (like being an independent retailer and having an eBay shop.) What about for a business? A business should have largely the same presence as above, but the approach is different. Yes the business needs a personality and established credibility but it doesn‟t need to be a person. This is different to the above where “humanising” your profile with aspects of “real life” make you more attractive to other “real people”... A business is still expected to have professionalism and do the things businesses do – so announcing the business has done a great job for a new client is one thing, but annoucning the business is popping out for lunch...? It it isn‟t really very congruent, is it! 5 top tips for creating a successful social media profile 1. Create appropriate and comprehensive profiles on the leading tools: This means such things as: a. Complete career history on linkedin with detailed descriptions – this also enables you to connect with past colleagues and get searched in for key skills b. Appropriate website links, feeds from other media (twitter, blog etc) c. Images – you will be more welcoming with a decent profile shot, and if you want to look professional make sure it‟s not some random holiday snap! T: 0845 414 5159 Registered Address: The Old Pump House, E: [email protected] 1A Stonecross, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 4AA www.e-mphasis.com Registered No: 025548967 (England)
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  d. Recommendations andtestimonials – leverage your network of contacts who know and respect you. A comprehensive profile with lots of connections and no recommendations looks less credible. 2. Update with relevant content regularly – the more frequently you update it the more fresh and relevant it will be. Also on many sites an updated profile from a connection will appear on the home page / news feed – so you keep yourself front of mind 3. Engage in conversations – comment on other blogs / articles – establish your expertise, share it widely and give a little – the old saying is true, the more you give, the more you get back – or, to quote Ivan Misner, father of networking and founder of BNI, Givers Gain! 4. Create your own groups and forums – if you really want to create a focused network / community then you need to create the environment – don‟t forget you can‟t own the discussion, you can only set the ground rules. This is your opportunity to position yourself as a thought-leader with a network of close connections and to develop a relationship of advocacy between them 5. Read Penny Power‟s Book „Know Me, Like Me, Follow Me, (£14.99 Headline Business Plus) and then create your own KLF approach! Summing Up Whether an individual / professional creating a personal brand or a business developing reach and building up customer engagement, social media an social networks are here to stay. Whatever approach you decide to take, just make sure that you and your business can live up to what you present online when you are off line! ENDS Notes to Editor: e-mphasis is an internet marketing agency specialising in providing Search Marketing and Social Media Marketing for clients whose customers are consumers – specifically those in retail, travel, hospitality & leisure. The company is based in St Albans, Hertfordshire and was founded by Andrew Rayner. e-mphasis have recently developed a unique offering – Google Places Optimisation, which unlike high cost PPC campaigns, puts their clients onto page 1 of Google for a fixed monthly fee. This is currently being trialled by Tesco Phone Shops, and is presenting some great results! This highly targeted approach to Internet Marketing is a hugely untapped area of online marketing strategy and one which, thanks to e-mphasis, is now generating interest and excitement from other major UK retail brands. For any enquiries please contact Becky Lewis on 01603 742892 / 07866 739306 or email [email protected] T: 0845 414 5159 Registered Address: The Old Pump House, E: [email protected] 1A Stonecross, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 4AA www.e-mphasis.com Registered No: 025548967 (England)