Saturday 5 December 2015

There Are No Shortcuts to Success in Social Media

Hey, can I pick your brain for a minute?” Be honest: When you hear that question don’t you cringe a little bit because you know this isn't going to be a quick chat but rather a painfully long conversation?Most of the time, how to use social media for marketing the people asking the question don’t realize that it borders on being rude. It’s well known that it’s impolite to ask a doctor you’ve just met about your aches and pains, so why is it okay to ask another professional to give her skills away for free? It's not.You are an entrepreneur, trying to make a living. I get that so am I. But my time is not free. I too need to pay the bills. I have been in social media for four years. The last two years I have invested a lot of my time in educating myself and honing my skills. So the answer is no, you can’t just “pick my brain” and become a social media expert. We cannot take a shortcut to learning social media, just like you can’t shortcut your way to being an expert in any other job or industry.
I can’t tell you everything you need to know in a short conversation. Hard work, dedication and respect will bring success, just like in any other industry. Here are quick pointers. For its first 10 years, Facebook focused on the low-hanging fruit of the Internet: advertising. It sold banners that could be hung around the town square, or allowed brands to temporarily use a megaphone to yell over the babel below.But those were all indirect solutions for what the advertisers really wanted. Brands live on customers, not "Likes." What they wanted was a "Buy" button, social media marketing software and Facebook is finally giving it to them.The skeptic might see ecommerce as a “me-too” play by Facebook, but the truth is that Facebook was destined to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, shopping platforms in the world. It teased more peripheral moves into ecommerce in the past, most recently onstage at F8, but the regulatory filings reported months ago show it is finally ready to go all in.
small business social media marketing

Realize social media is not just about socializing

In addition, when you are on social media, you have to be a writer, speaker, photographer, marketer, videographer, marketing with social media curator and engager. Some people may wear even more hats, including producer, editor, artist and so much more. These are talents and skills obtained over years of reading, studying and fine-tuning the craft. For instance, someone asked me to take over their Instagram account for a few days because they felt it needed a face lift. I took a quick look and noticed their photos were not sharp. The content and captions were visual, but it lacked brightness and clarity. Using the right tools as a photographer is important. It takes time to master these skills. Artistry and experience cannot be transferred. Discover your own essence and uniqueness and let this be attributable to you.
Don't stick with only one platform. You have so much access to the thoroughfare, so take advantage.In addition, I drum along with the beat of technology, as tech and social media are intertwined: We use technology and apps to assist us in our social media day-to-day activities.I also stay current by attending conferences that benefit my knowledge and share this information with my readers and potential clients. Indeed, social media marketing manager I find speaking with different social media communities broadens my insight of a world that I may have not time to explore. Respect people's time and don't ask to pick their brains. It's not just a hobby, it’s how they make a living. Treat people with respect and it will be returned. It's that simple. Many of us remember Facebook Credits, the first failed attempt at a virtual currency designed during the Farmville-fueled social gaming boom. Credits may have come and gone in a span of two years, but they were never a serious ecommerce play.

Approach people only after experience under your belt

Social media is not necessarily easy, and it never stops changing. You have to keep up with social trends, be nimble and embrace yet another social platform. It takes a lot of time to absorb the new channel, plus process the technical aspects of using it. social media marketing strategies Only once you have experience under your belt, should you approach someone. These people will be more apt to sit down with you and talk about specific issues, as they know you have already put in the time and work. As the old adage goes, practice makes perfect. Missteps and blunders are appreciable when you learn from them. Hone in on the lessons and move forward and onward. Don't obsess over it, just stick with your gut feelings next time or try a different approach. For me, staying current with the pulse of social media means spending at least two hours reading articles each day on all the various social highways. Each channel offers a diverse passage and approach.
You won't major in Facebook, you'll major in social commerce.You will be faced with new, real-time analytics about what is selling and what is not. You will need to play defender of the community and not let pervasive sales teams degrade the relationships you've worked hard to build. You will have to speak sales and social.In the era of the "Buy" button, everything speeds up, using social media for marketingand social sales insights will grow in strategic value.What this means for community managers: the Facebook we see today will look different a year from now.Thanks to the "Buy" button, transactions will happen instantly, which means social media is now a direct input into the sales funnel. More sophisticated approaches will be developed and needed to support this shift the days of racking up "Likes" and "engagements" are over. Sales is king.

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