Social Media

Great Social Media class today by Ed Heiser. Great group of Agents. If you want to learn about Social Media send us an email and Join us, the Heiser Team, for our next class!
And even if Social Media has you nervous, confused or frustrated like Tina, Ed Heiser will help you make sense of it all get you on track!

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#6: Analyze, Adapt, and Improve

Your social media strategy doesn’t end with measurement; it goes beyond that.  You need to analyze your social media campaigns, adapt any new findings into your current processes, and improve your efforts.

Testing and experimentation will perfect your social media efforts.

As you dive deeper into the ever expanding world of social media, you’ll quickly understand what works and what doesn’t. But remember to work with a new program for 3 to 6 months or even longer before you change any thing. It is the only way to see if something really works.

More specifically, you’ll develop favorite tools to use, realize that there are certain days and times where it doesn’t pay to be active in social media, and come to the conclusion that you still have lots to learn.  It’s a wonderful new world and I hope many of you are as excited about it as I am.

#5: Measure Results

You have written goals and objectives, right? [if you don't you need to fix that RIGHT NOW!]  That means you should be able to MEASURE your success.

Remember, what you measure will tie into the goals and objectives of your Social Media Strategy.

Let’s take the four commonly used objectives:

Improve brand presence across social channels-The measurement goal here is an increase in the number of number of fans “Likes” on Facebook, followers on Twitter, followers on LinkedIn, number of comments and responses, and so on.

Develop relationships for future partnership opportunities-This goal is to keep track of those with whom you’ve connected.  For example, if you met a potential networking partner, include that person into your digital Rolodex.  If a vendor contacts you through your blog, capture that lead and take note.

Increase traffic to your website-Keep track of visitors to your website who come from each of your social media sites.  If you’re promoting an event using social media, consider using a unique code to track the campaign.

Increase your conversion rate-The goal here is to convert the number of followers you associate with into clients and business. Capturing leads from your Social Media Marketing is a must. You need to develop a system to capture your web visitors and social media contacts. BUT you need to do this in an un- aggressive “non-pushy” manner. It is a grey line and balancing act. Doing this will possibly get you positive mentions while taking some negative mentions.  Has the ratio of positive to negative comments improved?  With the good comes the bad in social media. Get used to it!

Measuring social media is a never-ending debate. What objectives are you measuring for? How are you measuring? When it comes to measuring social media, it takes a multitude of metrics as well as trending reports to get a sense of what is working and what to improve. But the bottom line is that most people prefer to do business with FRIENDS instead of strangers and are you easy to find when their time to buy comes!

#3: Join the Conversation to Develop Relationships.

Now it’s time to start making use of all the work you’ve done.  You need to start joining the conversations by posting comments on blogs, facebook and forums, answering questions on Yahoo, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Joining groups related to your industry and being active.

Begin developing relationships by following and friending influencers and those in your industry.

Begin making connections by following the conversations.  You can do this by subscribing to blogs in your industry and by making a list of influencers who are relevant to your business and becoming friends with them.

Don’t just look for people with thousands of followers; you’ll be surprised by the value that someone with only a couple of hundred followers provides. Practice and study your craft. BECOME an authority in your own right. Post, post, post!

PART 1

#1: Map out your Social Media Marketing Plan

- Make a list of social media sites where you can engage with people.  The list will most likely start off with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a few select blogs and forums.

- Check out each of the social media sites on your list and do additional research to determine relevancy by searching for your brand name, your competitors, and your target keywords.  Listen to what’s out there, identify, and understand your target audience.

- Understand your social media goals and objectives

Keep it Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant, and Timely (aka be SMART!).