7 Tips to Manage Social Media Marketing

Today I am honored to be on a panel at the Social Marketing Breakfast of Fort Wayne with two friends, Andy Welfle and Sheryl Brown.

It’s been a couple of years since I was on a panel at this monthly event and a LOT has changed in the social media world, my world and my perspective on all of this.

Because the breakfast is a fast paced event with 3 of us, I never know for sure exactly what we’ll have time to share or what direction the conversation will take us.

What qualifies me for even being on this panel?  Great question and you’d have to ask the breakfast organizer, Kevin Mullett for an accurate answer. However my background is as follows:

• Jumped into Social Media 10 years ago with a couple of blogs, one personal, one related to my professional life in media and marketing.  Expanded to 5 or 6 blogs and was posting between 30 and 50 articles a week between them all on a part-time basis while working in the advertising business that had nothing to do with social media.  My background was radio advertising.
• Those multiple blogs were consolidated into one website/blog in 2011 when I joined a website development firm in Fort Wayne.
• I spent most of last year working for a top internet retailer handling all of their social media including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, blogs, Instagram, along with Public Relations for 5 brands.  While I recruited a couple of my co-workers in our eCommerce Marketing Department to help out, I was overseeing all of it and producing over 97% of the content.
• I still maintain that one personal website/blog.  You are reading it right now.  I’ve limited myself to no more than one update a day.
• I am posting to Facebook daily, Twitter multiple times a day, LinkedIn and Instagram regularly and a few other social sites occasionally.
• I am back working in the radio advertising and marketing world and have access to our sister company which provides a whole slew of web and interactive services that I know are an excellent value.

So here are my 7 tips and a couple links that we may or may not cover today:

1. Plan ahead.  Last year when I was working for Shindigz (the internet based retailer), I was posting 3 times a day on Facebook with appropriate content.  By Friday, I knew what most of my Facebook posts were going to be for the next week.  Same thing with Pinterest where I would add up to 75 pins each week.

2. Put your best out there and always look for ways to improve in the future.  Make sure your images are optimized for the platform they are going to be used on.  Check sizes and monitor how they appear on desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile apps via smart phones.  Only use images that you have rights to use.  Brand with your logo.  Include clickable links. Use shortened urls that include tracking codes.  Stay on top of changes coming to Facebook and other social platforms.

3. Fix mistakes.  Use the edit button.  We are going to screw up.  It could be the wrong version of the word, “to”.  Fix it in the post not just in a comment.

4. Coordinate with other departments.  At Shindigz, I would work with our eCommerce Graphic Designer who was responsible for weekly updates on our web page.  I also worked with our email marketer including sometimes using the same images he used in his email blasts.  I also coordinated with our video journalist to include and promote what she was doing.  After awhile it was pretty easy to come up with 15 to 18 Facebook posts every week.

5. When doing Social Media Marketing for a company or organization, remember who you are talking & use language that is targeted to them.   I had to adopt the mindset of a 35 year old woman with a flair for fun and who was passionate about her kids and family.  (I am not a 35 year old woman.)

6. When doing Social Media for yourself, be yourself.  We appreciate an honest and open look at your world.  However also remember that what ever you place online is available for the world to see, so be cautious too.  Be mature.

7. Seek Answers and Advice.  I subscribed to a few newsletters, blogs and also would reach out to others for ideas and wisdom.  Sometimes we need help getting started with ideas. This week Jill Konrath shared a link to an ebook from Hubspot.  The title is Content Hacks, 34 Tips and Tricks for Planning and Creating Content.  It’s free and you can get it here. 

Like I mentioned, I know that all of this information will not be covered in the 45 minutes of this weeks Social Marketing Breakfast Fort Wayne gathering, but now you have my 2 cents for future reference.