Posts about Social Media

TaylorMade Solutions

Three Reasons To Stop Using Auto Direct Messages

Have you ever followed someone on Twitter and shortly after received a direct message thanking you for following? Of course you have. The real question is however, what was the content in that message? Was it a nice personal and specific message to you? Or, was it an “auto direct message” with some obvious attempt to sell you something and very generic? Something like: “Thanks for following. Check out my book or product. Or, follow me here (as in Facebook or Linked)”. If it was the latter, you are not alone. It’s really easy to set up those auto direct messages. However, is it really what you want to be doing? No! It is not in my humble opinion. In fact, it’s long overdue to to stop using auto direct messages.

More than a decade into social media and people still want the easy way out when building an audience or selling a product or service. I suppose I can’t blame them. After all, it is a busy world and using multiple social media, maintaining websites and using traditional marketing can be very time consuming. Like anything social media should be executed properly. This means first having a digital strategy that is part of an integrated marketing strategy and of course ties into your corporate objectives – whatever they may be. But let’s look at three reasons that you and your business should stop using auto direct messages.

  1. Auto Direct Messages Don’t Make People Look Sophisticated TaylorMade Solutions

Perhaps when Twitter first emerged and people used direct messages also affectionately known as DMs, it was pretty awesome to get an instant response after following someone. That time however, has come and gone. Rather than look sophisticated or super busy, you actually come across as taking short cuts. One of the original intentions of Twitter was to foster engagement. To build relationships with people that you couldn’t otherwise connect with in person. Additionally, if you are a loyal customer and love a certain brand, it was a way to connect and build a relationship.

2. You are Likely Spamming People and Breaking Anti-Spam Laws

Around the world laws for privacy and digital communications are changing.These laws often don’t only apply to a person or entity in the country in they live and/or operate a business in, but they cross geographic borders and digital boundaries. For example, the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation, also known as CASL has specific laws government social media communications. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which covers Europe also has very specific rules for #privacy and while it has been in effect for a few years now, come May 25, 2018, full enforcement and penalties come into affect. This law is not just for Europeans, but for ANY business with customers IN Europe.

3. It’s Not All About You

Let’s think about our followers as more than just a number or someone that you can push your wares on. Instead, it’s about relationships. And, while some people still don’t believe that social media is about relationships, there are many more of us that believe that you can’t and shouldn’t use social media like we used old school print media. We need to build trust with our audience. We need to be authentic. When I follow someone and there response is thanks, buy this from me or add to my follower count on this other channel, it screams disingenuous  intentions to me. It is the same thing as someone introducing him or herself to you at a party. They barely get a hello my name is X and you are already selling them “something” they may or may not need or want. The rule of thumb in any business is to form a relationship. An auto DM is not even close to doing that.

There are many other reasons not to do auto DMs and I would like to hear your reasons.

As a small business it’s not always easy to navigate the social media strategy needed. If you need assistance, we can help – keeping in mind #privacy legislation. Reach out! We are here to help.

Why I Will Never Wish You Happy Birthday Again on Social Media

Not a day goes by that I don’t see friends or family celebrating their birthday. I know it is their birthday because I see both the reminders on social media – Facebook and LinkedIn – and the countless scores of people who are sending their best wishes. In fact, I used to be one of those people!

I will however, never wish you happy birthday again on social media! And here’s why:

I actually care about you. Now of course those doing the well wishing care too. Don’t get me wrong. The fact is however, that social media is the primary method that cybercriminals now use to learn about you. It’s called social engineering. And knowing what I know now, I opt to not help cybercriminals.

Some of you might be saying: “What the heck is social engineering and why do I care?”Social Engineering/CyberCrime

It’s a great question. I am glad you are asking and you should definitely care. There are of course many definitions. Some formal and others not so much. For simplicity sake, social engineering is psychological manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. In the age of social media however, manipulation might not be an issue. After all social media is meant to be sharing platforms where we can express ourselves, share information about our family, our jobs, our vacations and even what we buy or do.

For years we have been encouraged to share…maybe even overshare. Every detail of our lives can be found on our social media profiles. And while this is a great way to keep family and friends up-to-date with what we are doing, there is a dark side.

In fact, social media is now one of the best sources for criminals to obtain countless bits of information about you, your family, your employer and even your friends. They can then use this information to:

  1. Spoof you and create fake social media accounts in your name and/or fill out credit applications. This of course is known as identity theft. The ramifications can range from less than desirable to very serious.
  2. Send phishing email to your colleagues at work attempting to:
  • get more details on your organization,
  • try to secure false payments, or
  • have a virus or ransomware deployed when a link and/or attachment is clicked by your trusting coworkers who think you are emailing them.

These have all been very effectively used by cybercriminals not just globally, but locally.

So, how can you protect yourself and your employer? Here are 10 simple tips:

  1. Ensure your privacy and security settings are as strong as possible.
  2. Review your privacy settings on a regular basis, say three times a year. Set a calendar reminder.
  3. Never show your birthdate on your social media. Never.
  4. Never list your martial status on your social media. Never.
  5. Don’t list your family members.
  6. Never accept connection requests from people you don’t actually know. This applies to LinkedIn as well.
  7. Never put your home address on social media.
  8. While we tend to put a lot of information about ourselves on LinkedIn, don’t put personal information on this profile.
  9. When you receive an email from someone you don’t know, never click on the link or open an attachment that maybe included. This includes email from couriers, Canada post, Revenue Canada, etc. Think twice and never click.
  10. When you do receive email from some you DO know, but aren’t expecting it, think twice before clicking on the link or to open the attachment. Don’t be afraid to call the person you know or send a new email ( don’t do a respond) asking if he or she sent you an email with a link and/or attachment.

These 10 simple tips will help protect you and your employer against the actions of cybercriminals. And, I do think it is our responsibility to help protect our employers. Research has shown that cybercrime is expensive and some businesses can’t recover, so doing our part is helping to protect our jobs.

We all must remain vigilant. It is an unfortunate part of using social. Like anything criminals find new ways to leverage technology to try to gain from.

If you would like to learn more, connect with us. Be Prepared! Be Trained! Have a TaylorMade Solution!

4 Things Professionals Don’t Do on LinkedIn

It’s official! I have been on LinkedIn for more than 10 years now. Over that time I have worked with a lot of individuals and companies —more than I can remember really —to help them with their social media and their overall marketing strategies.LinkedIn

Unfortunately there are still some basic things that should be avoided that many people still insist on doing when using LinkedIn. These things can really affect their credibility quite frankly. The good news is, there are some very simple fixes and I have listed several below:

Unprofessional photos – Of all the places that you want to look professional, LinkedIn is it. This is “the” professional network. Your photo should reflect what your profession is, or what you want it to be. Take the time to get a professional photo.

To help, remember to keep things simple. If in doubt, wear clothing that is simple. No patterns or bold colours. It’s not that colour isn’t good. It is. In my current profile pic, I am actually wearing orange. However, not everyone feels comfortable with that choice. Keep make-up and hair clean and simple too.

2.  Avoid Writing in Third Person – For the life of me I can’t imagine why someone would think that it is a good idea to write about yourself in the third person. It sounds odd and out of touch.

3. Make use of showcasing “YOUR” publications – This is a great feature…”IF” you actually have written and published material.

Make no mistake about it, this section is to showcase your writing. Never, ever use this section to repost blogs or works written by other people.

Also, this is not the section to showcase media interviews that you have done with reporters. I have recently seen a few profiles where people put links to interviews and list themselves as well as the reporters as the authors. They aren’t authors. They are interview subjects. This is both confusing and misleading. It also suggests that people don’t understand what being an author is.

4. Avoid listing your martial status – This one people might not agree with me, but I don’t feel that this is appropriate for a professional networking site. It is not a dating site. So, skip it.

There are many other tips for your LinkedIn profile to make you shine, but these are four very easy quick hits.

Want to learn more about LinkedIn? Check out my other blog posts on the topic, or reach out to me for a consultation.

Social Media Profiles

3 Easy Tips to Freshen Up Your Social Media Profiles

When was the last time you updated your social media profiles? Has it been awhile? It has…hasn’t it? I know, I know, it can be daunting when you haven’t touched them in awhile. But relax, we have some really easy tips to freshen up your social media profiles. And, now is a perfect time to update your social profiles. After all, they are an extension of who you are – your personal brand. What do your profiles say about you? Let’s dig in:

1. Picture This!

Still have the egg avatar on Twitter? Is your LinkedIn image your company logo? It’s time to get a headshot of you! Remember, these are your personal reputation assets and they should serve as a way for people to recognize you, not your employer.

We know from research that profiles with photos get more views. Why? Well, primarily it’s about human nature. People want to connect with people. After all, social media is a means to be social, so be social. Say cheese!

Social Media Profiles

2. Don’t be Bio Shy

Whether in Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and on and on, be sure to always complete your bio. Do you have to write a book about who you are? Of course not. Each channel however, does have different character limitations in terms of length. A general rule of thumb is shorter is better. If you have a longer bio, you can always put a link to your about.me page.

Social Media Profiles

3. Some Simple but VERY Important LinkedIn Profile Tips:

  • Be sure to include a summary at the top of your profile, but please, please and please don’t speak in the third-person. That is just weird and creepy!
  • Update your LinkedIn url to be reflective of your name and not the default.
  • And be sure to turn of your auto notification setting so that every time you edit your profile, notifications aren’t sent out to your network. It’s easy to do really…just go to your Privacy and Settings click on “Manage” and then click on the “Turn on/off your activity broadcasts” as noted below. This will help ensure that you aren’t inundating people.

Social Media Profiles

Of course there are many other things that you can do to improve your profiles, but these are the basics that every professional can easily implement within only a few minuts …well maybe not the photo, but everything else. Your social profiles are an extension of you, the story you tell about yourself. They are your personal brand. Take control!

Looking for help with your marketing and social media? Click here, we’ve got you covered!

3 Social Media Mistakes You are Making & How to Fix Them Immediately

While social media is not the new kid on the block anymore, we are as a population still learning how to effectively leverage social media for business. For this reason alone, those of us who are PR/Marketing/Communications practitioners cringe when we hear people profess to be social media experts. Even after using the tools for more than a decade we are all still learning how to adjust to the changing world that we operate within. We know that there are no real experts. There are people with experience using social media.  Some of us even have thousands of hours using social media. In fact, there are many people with 10 years of social media under their belts.  Remember that Malcolm Gladwell claims that to be a master in something you need at least 10,000 hours. Combine that experience with PR/Marketing/Communications experience and these are the people who can help businesses better use the tools to effectively meet business objectives.

So, just what are the social media mistakes that I see most often? And, better yet, how do you fix them?

1. Failing to Know/Understand Your Audience

Far to0 often I see people using social media channels or tools in the same way that they use social for their personal communications. How you use social in your personal life is NOT how you should use it for your professional/business needs.  It is essential to know and understand your audience(s).

The Fix:  Here are some quick and easy questions to think about and answer:

  • Who are you trying to reach?
  • What channels do they use?
  • How are they using the channels?
  • And, do they expect a business connecting/engaging with them through the channels?

These are just some questions that you should be able to answer. There are more of course and they depend on a number of strategies/tactics.  However, starting with these questions should lead you in the right direction. If in doubt, find a qualified professional to help you. This is an investment that will definitely have a quick ROI.

2. Thinking that Social Media is a Stand Alone Tactic or Strategy

It is not really surprising that 10 years into social media we are still doing this. After all there are more consultants selling social media as a stand alone option than not. I would caution managers however, to really pause and reflect about this. For example, if you are a sales manager, do you approach your sales plan in one of’s? Or, do you have an overall strategy for your product/services based on a number of variables that all fold up into one plan? It is the latter of course. Your sales plan is all about meeting corporate sales objectives. The same goes for your social media. It is NOT a stand alone.  Repeat after me: social media is not a stand alone tactic, tool or strategy. It is a part of the overall strategy and is but one tool or tactic to be used strategically to meet an overall objective or objectives. These objectives should be measured too, but that is another blog post.

The Fix: Don’t be fooled by wrong information:

If someone suggests that social media doesn’t link to the rest of your business: run! Run fast and run far. Gone are the days of silos. To effectively leverage social you need and integrated strategy. And, if someone tells you that can’t be done, well, you have the wrong person helping you. It really is that straight forward. When you hire a marketing strategist or a social media consultant, be sure that he or she is well rounded in terms of experience. Because someone has a Twitter account and a LinkedIn profile does not make them the right resource. What is their exact experience? Do they have PR, marketing, communication, business development and customer services experience? Has the person worked in social media in a number of capacities including but not limited to: community management, engagement, listening, playbook development, ads, analysis, research, etc. If the person can demonstrate that he or she has this experience, hire him or her immediately.

3.  Not Having a Social Media Playbook

A social media playbook can be a lifesaver. Imagine you and your company are going along your merry way sharing information on social when all of a sudden someone makes a very disparaging remark about your products, services or your company in general. The first comment is made on your Facebook page and you or your employee removes the comment. Good idea? Likely not. What could happen is the person who made the comment will repost and/or make it known that you delete unfavourable comments. This could very well result in a number of people calling your openness and transparency into question and filling your feed with unflattering comments. What then? What about if they are Tweeting about you? You can’t delete their Tweets? What if it is a blog post? What then?

The Fix: Have a Living Playbook:

Playbooks will vary according to your business and the level of listening and engagement that you do. At the very least you should have a plan about what you do and do not respond to, what you escalate and to whom. Having an up-to-date playbook can save you and your team a lot time and anguish. It sets the stage for how you operate. It gives everyone the same guidelines. It is your brand and you need consistency. For a sample of how to get started, here is an ebook that I wrote while I worked for Radian6 (a.k.a salesforce.com). This is just a starter to wet your appetite. I have worked with playbooks that have been five pages. I have worked with playbooks that have been 150 pages. It all depends on your business and how you use social. In any event, you need to be prepared!

If you have any questions on your social media plan and your overall integrated strategy, I would love to help. Feel free to follow me on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest marketing and communications best practices, news and insights.

GOODBYE, FACEBOOK. HELLO, FACEBOOK.

What do you picture when you think of Facebook? The first thing that comes to mind? Birthday greetings, vacation photos, or proud parents celebrating their kids? Grumpy cats or goofy dogs or motivational posters brimming with typos? I am sure most of us have logged on to Facebook at times, scanned our newsfeed and thought, “What the heck am I doing?”Heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com, taylormade solutions canada, marketing, social media

I’m still not sure what tipped me over the edge. One too many memes, maybe. But that day, at that moment, I thought I would try it: I would leave FB. There was just too much clutter and not enough substance. So I disabled my account. What happened next surprised me.

First, I will admit that it was a knee jerk reaction and hardly thought out, but it made sense at the time. I also don’t mind saying it was a failed experiment. Much like giving up potato chips or coffee, it’s next to impossible. And yes, I’m back on the bandwagon. But over the first couple of days of being “off,” I was receiving texts and emails from people asking if I was okay. As if being “off Facebook” meant I was somehow suffering or experiencing some form of personal distress.

I assured them all that I was fine. No need for an intervention. These were my closest friends, after all, and we had ways to communicate besides status updates. Business as usual. But it wasn’t long before I noticed a difference. 

Like many of my generation, I don’t subscribe to or read the local paper; I get all my news online on lunch breaks or in between household duties. But how much of the Huffington Post or CBC is about my hometown? About my province? Precious little. So suddenly the lunch room, water cooler, or get togethers became me repeatedly saying, “Oh, really? I hadn’t heard that.” About concerts, shows, restaurants, local current events. I felt like the last to know on almost every subject, especially from what is happening in the city. Sure, there are plenty of places to find said information if you really wanted to look, but it was becoming obvious that I hadn’t just disconnected from the “What would your Pirate name be?” posts; I’d unplugged from my community.

And that’s what Facebook has become in a lot of ways. For better or worse, however you want to view it, whatever your opinion is, social media is a town square. A means of connection and communication. Sometimes across a country or over continents. A way to be informed about the people you care about, and topics you care about. We can bemoan over sharing or narcissism, but really, who hasn’t run into a friend on the street and said, “Hey, I saw your pictures. Looks like you had a great trip.” Or “I can’t believe how big your kids are.” In reflection, it’s a foot in the door for a conversation, a dialogue that starts at seeing your friends’ joys or perhaps seeing their hardship, their grief. In a lot of ways, people are more connected than if we wait for chance encounters at the city market.

Lastly, I am also in a band, Sleepy Driver. And you can laugh at how ill-conceived or ill-timed my leap from Facebook was—we were just about to release a new album—I underestimated what it meant to be off Facebook, not using it to promote, market, or interact with fans and friends. Much like I didn’t hear of fellow musicians’ shows, people were less aware of our upcoming release. FB is local paper; it’s a form of advertising; it’s a major means of connection with our audience, local and otherwise. It’s hard to ignore its power.  

So, I’m back on. And happy for it. To learn, to see, to share, to connect. No, it doesn’t replace face-to-face, voice-to-voice “real” relationships, but it sure plays a part. I guess at the heart of it, like with any social media: know what you want it for. Tailor it to that. It takes some time to set filters, to sieve out the games and memes (unless that’s what you want—no judgment ;), but FB has the tools to do so. And ultimately I found that Facebook gives more than it takes.

I’m glad to be back.

About:  Peter Hicks is a project manager, father, and musician from Fredericton, NB. www.facebook.com/sleepydriver 

4 Lessons to Lighten the Mood in Challenging Times

It’s officially summer. It’s hot. It’s humid. It’s road construction time. This all points toward shorter tempers and potential road rage. So, how do you lighten the mood in such circumstances? Well, you create a Twitter account of course! I am not certain who created @WestmorlandBrid, but whoever it is has a great sense of humour and is creating at least some fun in spite of a loooonnnng construction project on one of two bridges in New Brunswick’s capital city, Fredericton. So, what can we learn from our humourous bridge Tweeter?  Well, a lot it turns out.  Here are 4 lessons to lighten the mood in challenging times.Have fun, Even in traffic jams, heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com, taylormade solutions

1.  Laughter is Contagious

Why not take a situation, which you have no control over, like major bridge construction on one of two bridges in a city, and create fun challenges. I love that daily challenges are being given to commuters.  As you can see in my Storify, How to Have Fun, Even in Traffic Jams, some people are taking the challenges seriously while others…well…may not quite see the humour.  #timetolightenup?

2.  Misery Loves Company

For the thousands who travel across the bridge at least twice a day going to and from work, commiserating with people “just like you” just does something to make you feel like part of something bigger.  You just feel better.

3.  Build Relationships

As strange as it might sound, relationships will be formed from this experience.  Those who see each other each day while waiting in the traffic jams, or perhaps those that are now Tweeting messages around challenges or their experiences, or even meeting people on the bus.  Who knows, maybe there will be wedding bells as a result of the bridge construction.  @Westmorlandbridge, please let us know if wedding bells are in the air.

4.  Stay Positive

In keeping with all of the above, staying positive and finding something good in an experience is just good for you mentally.  So, even though there are still 62 days to go, each day that passes, is one less day in the future.

So, have fun Freddy Beachers and follow your very own Westmorland Street Bridge Twitter handle to get your daily dose of humour while traveling to and from work. But of course, your passenger will Tweet for you and share the stories with you…cause it’s still illegal to use a mobile device while in the drivers’ seat.

 

 

The Influencer Series – An Interview with Mark Schaefer

This week the Influencer Series speaks with Mark W. Schaefer, a globally-recognized blogger, speaker, educator, business consultant, and author who blogs for one of the top marketing blogs of the world. Mark also has written four best-selling books including The Tao of Twitter (the best-selling book on Twitter in the world) and Return On Influence,which was named one of the top business titles of the year by the American Library Association. His latest book is called Social Media Explained: Untangling the World’s Most Misunderstood Business Trend.  So, let’s get started!The Influencer Series, heather-anne maclean, taylormadecanada.com

Heather:  On your website, you speak of trust.  Specifically you say people follow you because they trust you.  Trust is clearly important to you.  How do you think trust has changed over the last three years as a result of all scandals and misguided commentary or social posts from brand channels in the digital sphere?

 Mark:  I don’t think “trust” has changed and I don’t think our expectation of trust has changed. In fact, trust has been an expectation of those we work with since the beginning of time. And I don’t think we should confuse a company making a mistake (which they all do) with a fundamental culture that inhibits trust.

 New research from Pew shows that Millennials are the least trusting generation in history. They can easily sniff out a fake in 140 characters or less : )   So I do think enabling radical trust is a key to survival in this world.

Heather:  Based on your experience, why is it that so many brands are failing to really leverage the power of social media to build trust and influence?

 Mark:  I don’t know for sure but I have a theory. Many CMOs charged with leading a marketing department probably really cut their teeth in the business before social media was really as relevant as it is today. So they weren’t immersed in it, and many just don’t understand it. I see this so often at companies big and small and that was why I wrote the new book “Social Media Explained.” I get the same questions over and over again. So here are the answers!

 I also think many ad agencies are not equipped strategically or organizationally to handle the social media shift, which contributes to the problem too.

 Heather:  Speaking of influence, who do you think really holds the power base of influence?  Big brands, Paid Influencers, such as bloggers or Citizen Influencers? And why?

 Mark: It depends. Look, people with a lot of money to spend will usually have an edge. That’s a fact of life.

 But I also point out in my book Return On Influence that we do have this amazing, historically-important opportunity for every person, every company, every brand to build legitimate influence by creating content that moves through the Internet. I certainly have influence through my content. Will I be as powerful as Nike? No. So it’s all relative.

 A paid influencer is really just the modern day equivalent of somebody wearing one of those big sandwich signs. It might look cute at first but eventually you kind of ignore it. The real trick is to identify and nurture organic advocates and that is a long-term proposition that requires patience. Most companies don’t have patience. They have quarterly sales goals, which is why they fail miserably at influence marketing programs. 

Heather:  With social media being mainstream, content marketing being used by everyone and their pet, what do you think that marketers should be focusing on next to get a leg up on the competition?  Or, put another way, what do you think marketers are failing to do and should be doing?

Mark:  That’s a pretty big question. Let me try to answer it as simply as I can. First, most companies do not understand social media marketing. They are checking a box. Second, marketing is math, and becoming more so month by month. Whoever can master the analytics will win. Finally, keep an eye on the fundamentals. Don’t be blinded by the shifts and changes on the Internet.

I want to thank Mark for taking the time to be interviewed and a part of my blog.  It says a lot about his commitment and willing to help others!

Like this post?  Feel free to subscribe to our newsletter and follow me @MacLeanHeather

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How to be a Rockstar When Live Tweeting

Live Tweeting while at an event can be a great tactic for a brand and doing it like a rockstar not only fosters engagement, it can drive traffic back to your site and ultimately add to your sales funnel.  So, what are the best practices when it comes to live Tweeting?  Check out these 10 tips:

How to be a Rockstar When Live Tweeting. heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com, taylormadecanada.com

Image courtesy of canadarocks.ca

1.  Establish A Plan

This is particularly important if you are live Tweeting on behalf of a brand.  You need to ensure that you have all your ducks in a row, or at least be prepared for all scenarios.  For your plan to cover all of the bases, be sure to think about all of the following tips.

If you are Tweeting on your own, you still need to put some thought into how, what and when.  The following points will also help you to do this well.

2. Have Your Playbook Updated and Ready to Go

This mostly applies to brands, but an individual could have his or her own playbook.  In any event, make sure that you know what to do in the event of trolls, hashtag hijacking, etc.  Be sure you know your workflow, who needs to be involved in any escalation and more.  While 99% of the time you won’t need this level of detail, being over prepared for such events is always worth the effort.  It also serves as a refresher for those listening and engaging on behalf of the brand.

3. Be Sure to Listen as Well as Engaging

This might seem obvious and would hopefully be addressed in your playbook, but for brands in particular you want to ensure that you have enough resources to not only be live Tweeting, but also to be listening.  Have one person focused on responding on behalf of the brand and let the other focus on live Tweeting.

4. Use the Right Hashtag

For a brand, you want to establish your own hashtag.  However, you should think it through carefully. Make sure that you don’t select a hashtag that when combined is offensive, embarrassing, or already in use by someone else. (See image above…I am sure that Susan wasn’t thrilled with this hashtag.)  Also be prepared that you could have other people hijack your fantastic hashtag for their event at some point.  It can and does happen.  Also share, share and share your event hashtag.  Make it easy for people.

As an individual this can be equally important.  Believe me it can be quite lonely Tweeting if you are using the wrong hashtag.  Do some research first and/or ask the event organizers what their hashtag is if they don’t have it on their website or in their collateral.

5.  Give Your Audience A Heads Up

Your followers will always appreciate the heads up when you will be Tweeting more than normal.  This applies to both brand handles as well as personal handles.

If your brand is live Tweeting and you want your followers to participate, be sure to let them know what the proper hashtag is and when you will commence live Tweeting.

6. Schedule Tweets

While this works really well for a brand, it can be quite useful for an individual to schedule some Tweets in advance too.  There may be specific points or pieces of information that you want to get out there.  Prescheduling can be great for this.  This also works well if you are Tweeting in more than one language.

7.  Remember Your Goals

As a part of the overall plan, brands should have goals and objectives of what you want to achieve through live Tweeting.  Is it to inform your customers, increase your network, drive more traffic to your website.  Make sure it is clear and understood by all parties.

As an individual you should also have goals.  Don’t just Tweet for the sake of Tweeting.  Be thoughtful and add value.

8.  Don’t Forget Photos

People love photos!  So, be sure to include a good variety of quality photos in your live Tweets. You don’t need to do it for every Tweet, but maybe try a 50:50 mix of text:text & photo.  For quality photos look at composition, lighting and the number of people in the picture.  

9.  Maintain Your Voice

Remember what your brand voice is.  This is not so important for an individual, but do remember to avoid becoming a robot.  Have fun with your live Tweeting.  Others enjoy that and are more likely to share your Tweets.

10.  Ignore Trolls and Hackers

While this can be hard to do at times, giving them an audience is exactly what they want.

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The #1 Reason People Fail at Social Media

I have been working in social media now for more than a decade and I have pretty much seen it all – from really nasty trolls to people still trying to using old school tactics to misusing channels and on and on.  In reality though the #1 reason people fail at social media is basic and completely avoidable and here’s how:

The #1 Reason People Fail at Social Media, heatherannemaclean.wordpress.com, taylormadecanada.com

Not knowing your audience is actually quiet significant.  If you don’t know who you are speaking to, it is hard to speak their language.  For example, if you have kids you know that each child has his or her own personality.  The tone and words you use with one child may not work as well with another.  The same is true for your prospects and customers.  If you only speak in your industry lingo and/or use terms that they don’t use, you might as well be speaking klingon.

Also keeping with this theme is the fact that if you don’t know your audience, you don’t likely know where they are hanging out, what they are reading, what forums they belong to, what social networks, etc.  In the good ole days, if we had big budgets we could throw a bunch of money at newspaper and/or trade magazine ads and we were likely to catch the attention of many.  This is not as effective today.  Instead, we need to be better informed.  We need to know and understand all of these pieces of information about our customers.  So, how do you do this?  Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Develop Customer Personas

Customer personas are fictional representations of your prospects or customers that help you segment them, determine what role they play in the buying decision, what interests they have, how they make decisions and more.  When done well, they really make a difference for marketing your product and/or service.

2.  Don’t Jump into Social Media

Ideally, you will seek guidance on how best to approach using social. But, if you can’t do that, never jump right in.  First “listen.”  In the “business” this means sign up for some networks and learn how to use the tool – I mean actually use it, but without pushing or promoting your business.  First just listen and watch to see how are others are using it.  Here are some quick reads to help you:

3.  Hire for Expertise 

On more than a few occasions I have met and worked with people who, for whatever reason, didn’t want to hire a person with marketing expertise.  Instead they hired believing that the person could acquire experience over time.  It didn’t work out.  Most people I know don’t have that luxury of time in their business.

That’s where I came in.  As a Marketing Practitioner with a great deal of experience, I and people like me can at the very least, guide you through the process and help you make SMART hiring decisions.  I have helped more than a few business owners through this process by developing their strategy with them, including policies, processes, etc.  Then I helped them hire people who while not having all the experience and expertise, have the potential.  As a result, the new hires have a higher probability of success.  They have the road map, policies and processes to guide them through the initial days.  I also prepare a learning plan and act as mentor during a set and agreed upon period.

There is of course more to marketing that what I am eluding to above, but it is a starting point.  And, if you have additional points or insight to add, please chime in. Comments are of course welcome.

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