#SharetheLove - Engage With Your Tribe - Follow Your Power Partners, Share Their Posts, Follow & Engage With Your Customers

You’ve spent a lot of time building your social media network and you have a diverse and vibrant tribe. Congratulations! You have developed a great asset. Now the challenge is to keep your community engaged, show your appreciation, and continue to keep your network growing.

So how do you nurture your network to make sure that it remains strong and healthy? Below are five ways you can show your love to your community and keep them on your side.

5 Tips for Keeping Your Network Strong and Healthy

1. Share and share alike. One of the best ways to keep in touch with your community is to show them how much you appreciate them. The best way to do this is by sharing their posts and content. Of course, you should do so with a purpose and as it makes business sense. Passing along valuable information with a well-crafted comment will not only show your partners and collaborators that you are paying attention, but that you value their insight, too.

2. Follow where they lead. You can keep up with your power partners by following their feeds. Not only will it show them that you are interested in what they have to say, it can help you keep up with what’s happening in their world.

3. Respond, comment, and engage. It doesn’t take long to offer a comment on a useful post. Perhaps you have an article that would be a good follow-up or you have a thought-provoking question. There are many ways to respond. The point is to engage with the person who is posting. Exactly how you respond will depend on the platform and the style of the post but don’t miss the chance to encourage engagement.

4. Show your appreciation. Social media is a great place to say thank you to your customers. There are many ways to do this—from a simple note of gratitude to a promotion that shows how important your customers are to your business. Social media can be an important tool for letting the people who keep you in business know you don’t take them for granted.

5. Be consistent. While you don’t need to comment, respond, or post every day, it is important that you keep a regular schedule. When it comes to social media, out of sight can mean out of mind.

Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or some other social media platform, if you aren’t taking advantage of these channels to engage with your tribe, you are missing a great opportunity to strengthen your network and your relationships.

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content 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

#SharetheLove - Are You Responding in Your Social Media? Give Praise to Your Cheerleaders!

It’s pretty exciting when the likes and comments start rolling in on your social media posts, especially if they are complementary. After all, isn’t that why you post? To engage with your community?

You probably answered yes--but here’s another question for you. Are you really engaging with your audience? Whether you are using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram, you are only half done once you hit that button to post. The important part is what you do next—the response.

In order to take full advantage of social media, you need to have a two-way conversation. You expect your followers to engage so you need to do the same. Think of it this way: those who respond to your posts are your cheerleaders. They know who you are and they can be your best advocates. But you need to let them know that you hear what they are saying and that you appreciate it. In other words, you need to give praise to your cheerleaders. Here are four foolproof ways that you can make sure that you are letting your social media universe know that you appreciate them.

Always respond.

While you don’t have to acknowledge every like or follow, you should respond to every comment that requires a response. Keep it brief, on point, and appreciative. If you have lots of comments you can prepare some ready-made responses to use when appropriate. Videos, gifs, and images can all be strategic tools in letting your community know you are engaged with them.

Keep it positive.

Face it: not all of your commenters will think you’re a 10. That’s ok. There is always the chance that someone will be less than pleased. You, however, always need to be positive. If it’s a problem you can fix, do your best to do that. Remember to follow-up to make sure that the problem is taken care of.

Be consistent.

If you go from master poster to radio silence, your followers will be confused. Respond on a regular basis and stick to a schedule. Carving out a particular time of day or day of the week for responding can help you stay on track.

Be grateful.

You may not know each of your followers personally but they are just like everyone else. They want to be appreciated. Regardless of the type of feedback they provide, say thank you. Look for appropriate ways to return the favor. Perhaps send a commenter a link to a helpful article, run a special promotion for those who are active on your page, or add a positive review on their page.

Socialmedia can be much more than just a way to get the word out about your business. When you engage with your audience you can create a virtual community. Even if someone never buys a product or sends you a referral, they can be a valuable resource. Take a few minutes to let them know that you are glad they are there.

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content 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

#AuthenticallyAwesome - Creating Authentic Partnerships

Those of us who own businesses tend to spend a lot of our networking time seeking out new leads and potential clients. I can hear you now, “Isn’t that the purpose of networking?” Absolutely.  However, if you are only seeking out new clients at these functions you are missing out on the valuable opportunity of building your list of power partners. What is a power partner, you ask? This article has a great definition and some examples of what makes a power partner.  Basically, this type of partnership involves small business owners that share your same goals, have a similar target audience, would not be considered competition, and that you can trust. 

An important part of building your tribe includes beefing up your list of power partners. This sort of professional relationships is quite symbiotic and allows both parties to benefit and support one another without stepping on each other’s “turf.”

While building a professional tribe may seem daunting and will require some practice, courage, and risk, once the relationship with your tribe has been established, it can be satisfying and mutually beneficial.  So how do you start?

Being Vulnerable

No, this does not mean that you have to share every personal thing going on in your life.  This means that you need to show that you are just as human – even the flaws and accomplishments – as the next person.  Don’t use jargon and big words in your communications just because you can – you aren’t trying to impress, you are trying to build a tribe built on trust and common goals.  Answer emails and texts as soon as you are able – even if it’s just to say “I got your message and I will get back to you.” 

Just be you.  This blatant authenticity will allow others to feel more comfortable around you and develop trust that will result in growing a tribe of Power Partners.  Yes, there will be those who reject who you are but no one needs that kind of negative energy within their tribe anyway. By allowing yourself to be open and vulnerable, the right people will be more drawn to your energy and will want to get to know you better.

Know Your Limitations

When the value of your time is taken into consideration, size does matter.  Studies show that most people can efficiently maintain up to 15 close relationships – this includes both personal and professional.  Determine the relationships you value most and build those.  Making your professional tribe too large can lead to less attention being paid to important details needed to maintain the mutually beneficial relationship.  The synergy developed by a tribe allows them to create something bigger and stronger than anything that could be created individually. 

Share Your Human Capital

The biggest way to build trust is to give more than you expect – this can be done by offering your unique skills to those within your tribe, helping others build their own connections that will benefit both parties, or just being a receptive ear when it is needed.  This help will not always be free, but it will earn the trust and respect from the members in your tribe.  Sharing your experiences and wisdom gained shows others that you are willing to put yourself out there to support them with what you have learned. Share the human capital you have gained to help others.  In return your tribe will step up to help you in times of need.

Give Credit  

The need for recognition is just as large a part of human nature as wanting to belong to a tribe of like-minded people.  Giving credit where credit is due may seem like a small thing, but it can build confidence and comfort.  Creating an environment where your tribe members feel comfortable being themselves while also creating an environment of trust and support. 

Share the Wealth

In addition to boosting confidence, it is important to keep in mind ways that making new connections is a priority for people when networking.  Assisting those within your tribe with desirable referrals that will be mutually beneficial can lead to good things for all parties.  Create these relationships not for your benefit, but because you know it will benefit the parties involved.  The goodwill that you are creating will make your tribe stronger.

Social Media Features

Social media is a good tool to build the bridges vital for business success and can yield some unexpected tribe members.  Featuring your power partners in your social media on a regular basis is a great way to support them and showcase their value to you. With any luck, they will reciprocate and share your information with their target audience as well. This is just one example (a very important one) of how creating authentic partnerships is healthy for everyone involved.

Building these authentic partnerships from your tribe may not be easy, and will definitely require a willingness to give more than you expect to receive.  However, building a strong tribe and working on meaningful connections through social media and in person will bring out the best in both you and your tribe. Plus, you will stand out as a shining example of how to #BeAwesome while networking and growing your professional community.

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content 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

#AwesomeContent - How Links in Your Content Drive Traffic

You already understand the value of creating and sharing quality content with your audience. Congratulations! Getting to that hurdle is no small undertaking. However, many content creators do not truly understand the value of links within their blogs, social media posts, websites, and other online content.

Links have been a vital SEO strategy for a long time. The search engines change their game plan frequently, so the nature of linking (and its benefits) also changes. That doesn’t make it less powerful a method for increasing traffic.

Here is a breakdown of all the reasons you should be incorporating links into your content:

Helps with website navigation – To keep text tight and clean, sometimes it’s valuable to link to another piece of content somewhere else so that users can go into more detail on the topic. For example, this article on The Seven Commandments of Internal Linking is an expansion of the topic we are discussing here. Strategic linking on your website, or in your content, will guide viewers to exactly where you want them to go (landing page, anyone?).

Increases Traffic – Well placed links are a solid marketing strategy for directing traffic to your content. Hanging out in the right places and having conversations with the right people, where your target audience also hangs out, is an excellent opportunity to link back to your website, your blog or your social media platforms.

Establishes credibility – Thoughtful linking will establish you as an expert in your field, industry or niche. This is true not only for SEO but also for Internet users. For search engines and viewers, other sites that link back to yours help the algorithms to quantify your content as valuable and popular, pushing it up the ranks. (Here we come first page of Google!)

Builds your community - When you link to your clients, partners and influencers you are helping to establish their credibility as well. This a great strategy for building up your tribe and brand advocates. This type of linking is a cornerstone of influencer marketing and will provide content for your audience that isn’t 100% yours and, therefore, follows the 80/20 rule. Plus, the more you link to others the higher the likelihood they will return the favor and link back to you!

It’s important not to go crazy with the linking, however. As with any good tool, there are people out there trying to abuse it for their benefit, and strategic moderation is key. Once people got wind that the search engines preferred linking, they started producing links in mass – many of which were completely false. The algorithms adapt and change over time to combat that sort of abuse so if you aren’t linking the right way (organically and with specific purpose) it will actually hurt your page rank. A small handful of purposefully links will be more beneficial than just linking for linking’s sake.

We hope this helps you #BeAwesome with your content this year. A combination of live video, visual content and linking is a powerful trifecta and can do wonders for your online presence!

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content 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