Work It Wednesday… Today is the “get’r done” day! Jump on all those pesky tasks that fill up your to do list. Return calls and keep them focused, short and to the point. Clean your inbox, regular and Social Media – delete things you have not read, will not read or have read and do not need anymore. Do your filing and any follow up you need to do so the paperwork can be put away. By getting these kinds of tasks done you free up a lot of energy and make space in your mind for Finish it Friday and enjoying the reward you plan to give yourself for a great week of work!
Writing copy for Social Media can be daunting at times…
Usually when a new client or prospect sits down with me for a consultation, they have not really grabbed a hold of their Social Media presence. They don’t know what to do with Social Media or how it fits into their “business world and model”. They fear Social
Social Media Target Market
Media and they are overwhelmed by Social Media. During our meeting/consultation I do an intake to evaluate just where they are in Social Media platforms, Do they have a Facebook? Do they have a Twitter? Do they have a Linkedin (this one I make sure it will benefit them first)? And what other Social Media accounts might they have signed up for? Are they using any Social Media tools? Once I have that information I ask what their routine is for posting/sharing/interacting on Social Media. And my final question is “what is it that blocks you from using Social Media more?” and the answer is pretty consistent…. “I don’t know what to write”.
Here are several suggestions for writing copy for Social Media:
- Know your Audience: When you first join Social Media platforms you start collecting “friends” “followers” “likes” but are they your target market? Be realistic when you look at your collection of peeps and know how many of them are true audience people. My suggestion is to make “lists” in the platforms so you can target your message appropriately. ie: family, you will share information about your service/product differently with them then you would people you do not know.
- Be the Expert and a Resource: Share facts, tips, and “how to’s” with your readers in Social Media platforms. You will attract people that want to know what you have to say. You will find people that want to do business with you. A great example of this is Gary Vaynerchuk did wtih Wine TV, as he shares his story in his book “Crush It”, he tells you that his entire mission was to educate and entertain his audience – he has done that along with creating an extremely successful business!
- Research: Never go into your topic guessing – research your facts before you share them in your Social Media updates. Give some references to back up your facts if they are interesting. State your facts, state your opinion and stand by them as your own. Don’t be a “yes man” to other people’s comments and opinions.
- Take Interest: Take time to speak with your friends and followers in your Social Media areas. Invest in getting to knwo them and what is going on – remember Social Media means be social!
- Converse don’t Vomit: It is important to communicate WITH your people – have conversations with them. Don’t vomit your services, products or business opportunity every change you get! Social Media is not your personal soap box. You know the stereo type of the old car salesmen that would latch onto you when you hit the pavement of the dealership and follow you around just trying to talk numbers the entire time not hearing what you were saying about what you wanted? Creepy! So glad buying a car now a days is better! And whatever you do don’t over exaggerate! Too much fluff and hype tend to get people going “ya ya ya” whatever.
- Share Personal & Business info: Building a relationship is your goal in Social Media. People need to get to know YOU – I think you need to have a good mixture of personal & business messages in your updates. In the “old” days networking consisted of going to meetings and getting to know one another in order to do business and get referrals – now you are “networking” online using Social Media platforms. The benefits you get to meet and connect with people ANYWHERE not just those that attend the morning meeting. The drawbacks are you cannot hear them speak (unless video is also being used) and you don’t sit down over coffee to get to know one another. This is where sharing a mixture is important.
- Video: Do not be afraid to shoot a video every once in a while to share your message – let people interact with you. Social Media has a great platform to share video, heck YouTube, Viddler and others are Social Media video dedicated platforms and once posted there you can share it just about anywhere! Let them hear you. Let them see what you are sharing (using props). This brings a real person to the table. I share a video on the home page here so people can meet me. I also use video in my monthly newsletters dedicated to sharing information. (register in the pop up or to the right to receive them)
Another typical blocking point is not knowing how much to write for the Social Media platforms…
Each platform has a limit of characters (not words) you can “post” – Twitter being the smallest 140 characters, this is primarily so it was SMS accessible (texting). You want to keep your messages short and to the point. You can abbreviate when needed but NOT too much – your message should not be a puzzle to figure out. Use a link shortener like bit.ly so your URL you are sharing does not consume your characters in your message.
The important thing is to not miss out on Social Media. Social Media is a powerful tool and is not going away. More and more businesses are “doing business” ON Social Media then ever before.
- Social Media and building a list of contacts
- Social Media and “just connecting”
- Social Media and building a reputation
- Social Media promoting events
- Social Media and product spotlights (maybe dedicate one day a week for this)