How social is your social media?

We’ve all heard the ‘joke’ that people take photos of their meals and then publish them on social media.  The underlying message is that your lunch is not really interesting to most people – unless you happen to be dining at a Michelin starred restaurant and your lunch is as much a work of art as a delectable dish.

Having said that, most influencers, share their lives on social media and gather a following who are actively interested in their kind of lifestyle.  When you’re using social media to promote your business, your approach needs to be different.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t let your personality show through – in fact, that’s often the defining factor that will set you apart from your competitors.

Start with a strategy

Every platform is different and needs a slightly different approach, but regardless of which platform, you need to know:

• Who you want to reach
• What will interest them and/or influence them
• How to get their attention

You’ll also need to decide how you (and/or your business) want to be seen.  Do you want to have a corporate voice, an informal approach or a quirky take on things?

Once you are clear on these issues, you can start looking at the right social media platforms to reach the audience you’re aiming to impress.

Tactics and Tools

There are dozens of social media platforms, even though most of us think of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X first and foremost.  Don’t forget Pinterest, Threads and Snapchat.  Also YouTube is a social media platform, even though much of the content is video-based, not all is.  The plus of YouTube is that people use it a bit like a search engine to search for what they want to know – so having your content, properly tagged and described can add a powerful string to your social media bow.

Not every platform is right for every business – so pick the best matches for your business and then get very good at just those.

Then you’ll need to decide what kind of content you want to share.  An endless stream of promotions won’t win you any prizes, try and see your posts from your potential client’s viewpoint – what will they respond to?  

Do they want shared knowledge from other posters – so you’re acting as a curator?

Are they really interested in profiles of your team?

Will you share testimonials?

What about your favourite quotations?

Will you share tips and advice?

Do you want to give your opinion on relevant subjects?

These are not exclusive – you can schedule a combination of different styles of post, but you do need to present a consistent tone of voice.

Means, Manpower and Measurement

How will you manage your posts?  What kind of content will you include?  Will you have a week’s or month’s posts planned ahead?  

Who will do the content generation and posting?

How will you measure success?  Are likes and comments really important or are you more interested in how many people get in touch with a business enquiry?

Good social media needs thought, planning and consistency.

What would you like people to say about you?

We’re not talking about your epitaph, but something much more current.  It’s what people say about you today.

If your name comes up in conversation at a networking event, what do people say?

I’ve heard so many things said about others – when they’re not in the room.  Some were glowing tributes, others were less complimentary.  Even when people are not actively trying to put you down, a careless comment can do irreparable damage. 

I’m sure you’ve heard people saying things like:

“She’s lovely, but a bit of a nightmare, never on time and so disorganised.”

“He’s something of an acquired taste.”

“He’s really helpful, but overpromises and isn’t great at meeting deadlines.”

“She doesn’t really say much, I think she’s a bit shy.”

I’ve heard similar – and none of them were said in a nasty way, more in a vaguely humorous or even a sympathetic way, but that doesn’t change the impact on anyone listening.

We all want people to think well of us, but what do we do to actively promote those good impressions?  If you could be a fly on the wall listening in to a conversation where you’re mentioned – what would you like to hear?

Your reputation depends on your attitude and your actions.

Reputation is not an accident, it’s dependent on how you present yourself and that has to come from within.  

Are you a glass half full person?

Do you tend to see the best in people?

Are you always keen to help people if you can?

When you make a promise how quickly do you follow up on it?

Do you make an effort to start conversations with people you don’t know to learn about them?

Do you smile easily?

How focused are you on conversations you’re in? (You’re not one of those people who are always looking for the next prospect over someone’s shoulder – are you?)

How much effort do you make in finding out how you can help new connections?

How much do you allow your personal life to impact on your business connections?

Paying attention to these things will help to give your reputation a polish; if you teach yourself to do them as your normal modus operandi.  

You can learn to focus on the positive and to develop a genuine interest in the people you meet.  If you’re not making the connections that generate that interest, maybe you’re networking in the wrong groups!

Why write a blog?

I almost called this article ‘The lazy guide to marketing’!  I’m a believer in the old adage ‘If you want to find the quickest way to do something, ask a lazy person’.  What am I banging on about?

A blog article can be the foundation for your marketing activity.  Let’s be honest – who wants to reinvent the wheel?  How does this short-cut to marketing work?

The blog article

This can be as short as 300 words or much longer.  Some people like longer articles – as long as there’s value in there and it’s not just a lot of superlatives and flowery prose.

A blog is your base block to share your expertise, show off your knowledge and demonstrate that you know your stuff.

Social media

You could just paste the title and the link into your social platforms, but I prefer to pick out a short piece – one, or maybe two, sentences – that will intrigue and generate curiosity.  300 words can generate four or more posts.  A longer article, many more.

And don’t forget to post the article on your LinkedIn profile as an article.

Newsletter

If your newsletter delivers consistent value your audience will stick with you.  Using one of your blogs as the lead item is a great way to do that.  I usually publish the first 3-4 paragraphs and then a ‘read more’ button to take the reader to the full length article.

I follow this with a promotion or offer and then add any other blogs I’ve written during the month to finish off – just the title and image.

So far, you’ve already got quite a bit of mileage from your article, but it doesn’t stop there.

A podcast

You could paste your article into something like ElevenLabs.io and transform it into a podcast where two hosts discuss it.  

A video

You can turn this article into a video either as a simple talking head, where you talk to the camera, or use InVideo.io to paste the article in and it will create a video for you.

You could also use the audio track as a podcast, if you want something simpler.

A presentation

If you get the opportunity to do a short talk at your networking group, you can drop the article into gamma.app and it will create a slide deck for you to use as background to your presentation.

Lead magnet

If you’ve written a few blog articles around a specific subject, you could edit them into a longer ebook or report to use as a lead magnet.  This is a great way to grow your list.

Email campaign

A longer article can be broken up to create a short series of emails, maybe with one point per email.  This can be your value lead to accompany an offer or promotion.

If you have an e-marketing platform, these can usually be set up as an automated series.

*****

Don’t write your blog, post it and forget it – it can work much harder for you.  You just have to be creative!