The Power of Using Tools to Manage Social Media

There are so many activities that surround management of relationships and brands in Social Media, it would be virtually impossible to effectively maintain consistency without the use of Tools to help you to schedule and provide you with a Dashboard to Moderate.

One of my favorite tools is HootSuite.  It is affordable, flexible and allows you to post to most of the popular social media platforms.  It even has the ability to integrate over 70 apps to make your life even easier.

I have a testimonial that was shared with me about HootSuite from a brand manager we trained recently.  She words for a small Dental Office here in Colorado and struggled to remember each day to post something to Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.  She actually had a time span of 2 months where she neglected to post anything because it was just too inconvenient to dedicate her self to a specific window of time each day.

She was also getting stuck in a negative loop of dry ideas and lost the ability to come up with any original content.  Frustrated, we sat down for training and she realized there were tools she could use to overcome these obstacles.

Here are my Top 3 Tools right now:

-> HootSuite
For the ease of the dashboard and consistent schedule abilities


-> Buffer
For the Suggested Content Ideas and the integration of Pinterest scheduling options!


-> Commun.it
For helping me communicate more effectively with my twitter audience

People ask me all of the time why I feel scheduling is so important.  My theory is simple.  When I am actively doing my work, I’m not thinking about what to post at 9am.  If I take the time to effectively put together a good editorial calendar and get updates out, I can respond better "real time" to engagement and not always have to feel “on” to generate new content.  Some days I run dry, other days I am free flowing with thought, ideas and creativity.  I have found that if I maximize my creative time as much as possible, the brand won’t be lacking when my juice is spent.

Additionally, I believe that there should be "real time" posts woven through the scheduled posts as well.  Examples could be: a moment just happened, attending an event, news or trends are current and relate to something in our day; these are things that should be shared "real time", as often as possible.

Every single SMM (Social Media Manager) will tell you how “they” like to do it.  Neither is right, neither is wrong, both types of processes set you up for success if that is a method that works for you.  That is the most important thing to take away.  Find a tool that works for you, use it, own it, learn from it and make it fun.

If we aren’t having fun, we are doing it wrong!  #BeAwesome

If you would like to learn how to use HootSuite, our next Webinar can be found at: http://thesocialpro.eventbrite.com

 

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a "Be Awesome" Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Conent Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them. Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

Curious on whether your social brand is built properly?  Get your Social Media Analysis today. 
 

3 Steps to Make Your Blogs Standout

With over 2 million Blogs posted each day on the Internet, your visibility can be widely reached if you format your Blogs properly.  Have you struggled with posting Blogs and never getting traction from them? Here are a few tried and true tips that will help your Blogs get better visibility on the web.

1. Develop a Sexy Title

The title of your Blog is what will entice your viewer to want to open your Blog.  It should provide specific meat as to what you will be discussing, while clearly letting your viewer know what they will learn from it.

Define your topic

You know what you want to tell your audience, so write out your format, your key points and put your heart and experience into your words.  Try to avoid straying from your topic, because goodness … that could be your NEXT Blog! Your title should specifically site what you plan to discuss in your Blog.

Include Something Edgie

What words would be compelling enough to cause your Blog to standout from another?  Consider using words such as “Brilliant”, “Standout” or “Beyond Measure” or something that uses a fun play on words such as “Fill Your Business Belly” (an example used for a Thanksgiving themed post), “Banking on Bucks”, “Mustering Management” or “Linking Logically”.  Having fun with wording can theme your Blog Post or strike an interest from your viewer.

Be Specific and Brief

There is no need to write a Paragraph for your title, be brief and specific and you will gain more traction.  Additionally, search engines and social media platforms will limit the characters for your title and you really don’t want to exceed that length.  I know that as a user, I am less inclined to click on a link in social media if the title is too long or doesn’t provide a compelling reason to click on it.

2. Provide Value

Give tangible tips, stories or facts your viewer can walk away with

Tips, facts, adding images and relatable stories provide more value than just a rant about a topic that a larger audience may not be interested.  An example of this is a Blog written about a product or service you are selling, if you are just speaking technically about why someone should buy, without providing meat as to a problem that is solved or a use for the item, then the purpose of the Blog will get lost in translation.

Provide detail but don’t write a book

Try to limit your characters (or words) to about a page in Word.  If you exceed that greatly, you will want to consider carving the blog into multiple Blogs.

Give your viewer the opportunity to dive deeper should they want to

Share the problem you want to solve, provide ways to do so and your viewer will feel they have been empowered with tools to navigate that problem and may likely visit again.

3. Brand Your Blog Appropriately

Your Blog is endorsed by your brand right?

If you aren’t including images from your brand, backlinks (an incoming hyperlink from one web page to another website - as found in Google definitions) within the post, your user will have less opportunity to learn more and less opportunity to direct traffic back to a page on your website or someone else's site.

Have you provided a signature for your viewer to connect with you deeper?

People like knowing who wrote the post even within a Corporate Brand.  I recommend including an image of the person writing it, their slogan or tagline and ways to contact that person, which could include links to their social media profiles.

Include a Call to Action

What would you like your audience to do now that they took the time to read your Blog?  Give them some sort of an action to take should they want to learn more.  “Visit xyz for more information”, “Connect with us at …”, even suggest another Blog for them to visit.

In all things, be authentic, provide knowledge and remember, if you aren’t having fun, you’re doing it wrong.  #BeAwesome!

Want to learn specific techniques that dive deeper in the techniques of Blog Development?  Want to learn how Social Media can expand your brand to a new level?  Join us at one of our Webinars about Social Media strategies, tools and techniques at: http://www.thesocialpro.eventbrite.com

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don't get left behind ~ 

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a "Be Awesome" Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Conent Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+ , YouTube, Pinterest and the tools to manage them. Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars

Curious on whether your social brand is built properly?  Get your Social Media Analysis today.