Bridget Willard | SaaS Marketing Agency

Category: Social Media

  • The Value of Your Online Ambassador (Why It “Costs” So Much)

    Social media managers are your digital ambassadors. That’s why it costs so much. You’re asking them to be you and speak on your behalf.

    You’re a small business owner thinking you need to be on social media, not totally convinced of its worth (yet), but you know you need it. You may even realize you need help.

    So, you find and contact a social media manager and get a quote. But now you’re in a coma because you had an entirely different expectation of the cost.

    You think, “It’s just Facebook? Why is it so expensive?”

    Just like in any line of work, there are people with experience and people who tell a good story. In my experience, I’ve run into very few truly good social media managers. I am very picky on who I will refer when I’m asked to take on an account.

    Some thoughts:

    1. You don’t have time for social media. This is why you’ve sought help in the first place.  How much is your time worth?
    2. You don’t have the skills needed (yet) do do social media yourself. How much is it worth to you to get the accounts going?
    3. A good social media manager needs to brainstorm with you and come up with an overall strategy and ideas on how to tactically achieve that goal. Some people are naturals.
    4. A good social media manager shouldn’t be afraid to try new things, use humor, yet show discretion. This usually comes with age and experience.
    5. Many times social media managers are not permitted (because of non-disclosure agreements) to reveal their clients. Look at their Twitter and Facebook accounts.
      1. Is their account alive?  For example, when’s the last time they tweeted?
      2. Are they polite? Do they thank people? Do they retweet others? Do they respond to comments on their own brand’s Facebook Page?  This is known as “engagement” in the industry and “being a human being” in real life.
      3. Does their account feel professional to you. Read a sampling of the posts.
      4. Do they use proper grammar? Do they make a lot of spelling mistakes or overly rely on texting syntax?
      5. The truth is that you do what you practice.  If their own brand isn’t done well, then why would you think they’d do a better job on yours?
    6. A social media manager is your brand ambassador. They act in your place, as if they were you, online. This includes customer service, relationship building, passive (or active) lead generation, and public relations.
    7. When they meet you do they push their own agenda or have ideas that will specifically help your type of business? The truth is not everyone should be on Pinterest, for example. But if it’s good for your industry, you want to make sure the social media manager is competent on that platform.

    When you consider these factors, is the price they quoted to you really too high?

    If the price is still totally out of your reach, then start teaching yourself. Although, many of the people I refer offer scaled plans or coaching sessions to get you started. Additionally, have a list of “required reading” as well as my own “how to” posts scattered throughout my blog.

    There is a Chinese Proverb that says,

    “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”

    Your competition is online. What’s holding you back?

    rawpixel.com

  • Want Friends? Be A Friend. My Go-To Social Media Advice

    If you want to have friends, be a friend. Give without expecting. That’s how you rock social media. It’s really just that simple.

    If you want to have friends, be a friend

    Social media, by its very nomenclature, is social.  For a relationship to exist there needs to be reciprocity.

    Do you have a Facebook Page? Log in as your page and like other pages.

    Do you have friends on Facebook, blogs you read, friends on Instagram? Spend some time reading and commenting on other posts and photos.

    Why comment when you can just “like” a post?

    In many ways, clicking “like” is akin to seeing a friend across a room and smiling and waving.

    There’s nothing wrong with it; it’s rather pleasant.

    But you won’t grow your relationship unless you start talking to each other. In fact, the other person may even come to resent or just ignore you.

    That’s where commenting comes in.

    Why not just try it?  What could you possibly lose? I believe that you’ll notice a spike in activity as a natural, organic result of “friendly” behavior.

    Guru Lesson: If you want friends, you have to be a friend.

     

  • How to Link to Your Company Page on Your Facebook Profile

    Have you ever wondered how to link your work in the about section of your profile to your company’s Facebook Page?

    Here are the steps:

    1. Go to your profile (not page, profile).
    2. Click “About.”
    3. Click “Edit” under “Work and Education.”
    4. If your current job is listed delete it.  Otherwise skip to next step.
    5. Where it says “Where have you worked?” in the blank box start typing the name of your company.
    6. If it has a Facebook Page, it should be suggested.  (If not, you just type it in anyway.)
    7. Click on the suggested page.
    8. Fill out the job title, description, and dates.
    9. Click “Add Job” and you’re done.

     

     

  • Stop Auto Crossposting. Seriously.

    Just because you can autopost, doesn’t mean you should. To automate cross-posting from platform to platform is a sure way to be ignored by your audience (intentionally or unintentionally).

    Your audience deserves more respect. The platforms deserve respect. Things can go wrong — really wrong — with sentences being truncated or links missing. It will reflect on you as a brand poorly.

    Just don’t do it.

    Distribute Content Effectively

    Here’s my analogy about why I believe auto crossposting is a huge content distribution mistake. Be intentional instead.

    Efficient isn’t always effective.

    When I worked for a trucking company in 1991, I had to type freight bills on a typewriter on NCR paper (younger folks may have to Google these terms). The freight bills were four to seven sheets thick because so many people had to get copies. Now, in that case making copies is efficient and effective.

    A trend I noticed in 2011 that doesn’t seem to be fading is auto crossposting.  I see duplicate, triplicate, and even quadruplicate versions all over the platforms of the day. It may be efficient but is it effective?

    Cross Posting and Social Media Influencers

    This is the elephant in the social media strategy room.

    In my world, often the friends we want to support the most, although enthusiastic, are some of the greatest offenders.

    We hint, tweet out great articles, with no avail. Passive aggressive tweeting, although cathartic, results in no behavioral change.

    If you insist upon posting the same content, simultaneously, on every platform, your audience will have to make a choice. I will have to make a choice.

    It is impossible to effectively manage an audience on all platforms. If you don’t log in, you won’t notice their replies. An audience is a responsibility.

    Why shouldn’t you auto cross post?

    1. Noise:  According to , the ideal posting on a Facebook Page is one post every two days whereas on Twitter it is one to four posts per hour. The expectations of users on Twitter and Facebook are different. What seems normal on Twitter is spam-like on Facebook. If your Page posts too frequently, you may be unliked.
    2. Venue: Every venue has a niche. You don’t try to fit The Dave Matthews Band in the House of Blues and you don’t have an up-and-coming singer-songwriter play in Central Park. Each venue dictates the behavior. If you’re not sure what behavior is acceptable, then watch what others do and read articles that discuss best practices.
    3. Conversation: Try to drive the conversation using questions. People have opinions and they love to be consulted about them. Tweets have a lifespan of about a minute. LinkedIn, and Facebook Pages all have the luxury of nested comments. That is a fabulous tool to get some input and generate talk about your company/brand.
    4. Content: If I am connected to you on LinkedIn, then I expect a certain type of content. Guy Kawasaki, in a seminar in Orange County, said that Facebook is a “photo economy” and Twitter is a “link economy.” That is to say, photos get a greater response in Facebook and links get the most response on Twitter.
    5. Variety: Mix up your social media postings. Maybe post a photo on Facebook and say “Does this make you smile? Why?” Only post it there. Maybe post a different photo on Instagram. Save LinkedIn for great articles about your industry that are geared toward professionals. Post nearly any of that on Twitter — just not at the same time.
    6. Appropriateness: Though they function, hashtags have no business on Facebook. When is the last time you clicked on a hashtag on Facebook? The culture doesn’t use it. LinkedIn and Instagram, however, allow users to follow hashtags as well as click on them.
    7. Authority: Double and triple posting shows you have no regard for your audience. Is that the image you want to convey? Social Media is comprised of communities. Communities have unspoken rules. If you’re not picking up on them, then you’re going to get blocked, ignored, or unfollowed either literally or figuratively. You’ll loose your authority in your marketplace.

    Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

    I could eat pancakes with jalapeños but I don’t think my stomach would appreciate it. Jalapeños are great on nachos, not on pancakes.

    I’d like to challenge you to reevaluate your social media practices.

    Log into the individual social media sites and unlink all of your accounts. Post natively. See if your interaction goes up. I double-dog dare you.

    Further Reading

    This post was updated September 3, 2019.

  • Facebook for Business – I don’t want to be your friend. By @TheFabulousOne

     

    When I saw this post on Amy’s profile, I had to ask permission to cross-post it here.  Often we just need to hear the fundamentals of social media to reinforce what is true.

    I’m not an expert. I’m an enthusiast when it comes to Social Media and Facebook. For my personal brand, I prefer Twitter, but that’s another post altogether.

    Nothing frustrates me more than getting a friend request from a business, group, band, restaurant…whatever. Why?

    Because it is wrong.

    I realize nobody reads Terms of Service when they sign up for ANYTHING. I only do about 50% of the time I sign up for something. But, if you are any of the above mentioned, you are violating those terms by making a regular account (where you have to add friends) and, basically, doing it wrong. Not only that, but you’re limiting yourself.

    1. A regular account can only have 5000 friends. If you have a business (or band, etc.), do you want to have LESS THAN 5000 customers/fans??? What business wants to put a limit on that?
    2. A fanpage (the RIGHT way) allows people to “like” you and they don’t need a friend request or to add you as a friend. Don’t you want people to see what you do right away? Aren’t you trying to make it in this world? If people have to wait for a friend request to be granted, they’re going to lose interest and go ELSEWHERE. Straight to your COMPETITION.
    3. You can have multiple people as admins, meaning more than one person (a trusted person, mind you), can update the profile and respond to posts. You can add/remove them SUPER easily.
    4. Fanpages don’t annoy me. That’s safe for everyone on the planet.

    I’m not the best at what I do. I can’t even claim to be an expert, or a guru, or even a goddess. What I can say is my life is social media. It’s my paycheck, my personal brand, and what the majority of my day is spent on.  I know what’s wrong and I know what’s right.

    Do what I say. Oh, and don’t send me a friend request from a business. Or a band. or a bar. Or a restaurant.

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