“Morgan, WHY is social media so HARD?!”
This is a common phrase I hear from my clients and friends. Quickly followed by,
“Forget it! I don’t need it!”
Well ok…I mean, that’s cool. There’s a lot of ways to market without social media, but social media has become this monster all on its own that is literally gobbling up the marketing world. Twitter, Facebook, Social Bookmarking, Blogging; are all part of a fantastic social media presence but do take a lot of time.
So relieve some of your anxiety, I’ve put together these 5 power tips for your social media campaign.
1. Pick the top ten blogs
Find the top ten blogs within your niche, bookmark them and even sign up for their mailing list if they have one. Then, every single day, visit each blog and comment on their latest post. Keep in mind that these blogs should be somewhat influential, which means it should have some good traffic coming to it. By doing this you’re making yourself known within the industry and hopefully enticing others to come to your blog. But be sure to leave a relevant, interesting comment.
2. Visit http://search.twitter.com everyday
Even if you don’t use Twitter, using http://search.twitter.com will help you come up with ideas for blog posts or even just keep up-to-date with the latest trends within your niche. On the site you’ll be able to enter in certain search phrases which will bring up tweets that relate to your search. And if you do use Twitter, this is a good way to track your brand, reply to people, find new followers, etc.
3. Sign up for http://www.socialmention.com and Google alerts
With Social Mention and Google alerts, you’re now going to have relevant stories and mentions sent directly to your email every single day. Saving you the hassle of going out to find relevant information to blog, tweet or FB about. This is also important to find any blogs that might be mentioning your business or brand.
4. Don’t worry about the amount of followers
If the thought of not having as many followers or friends as your competition is what’s stressing you out: stop! It’s about quality, not quantity. I realize that a lot of people rely on your authority by how many followers or friends you have, but as long as your tweets and status updates are offering something of relevance and you’re not being spammy, then you’ll get the followers and friends within time. Patience is key!
And here’s the biggest secret of all…
5. Stick with the top three social networks
If you’re getting stressed out because you think you have to setup and maintain a bazillion different social media outlets, I’ll let you in on a little secret: you don’t need a presence everywhere. It’s actually better to stick to a few social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and, let’s say, Tumblr. By focusing on a few outlets, you’ll be able to provide a lot more relevant information to your loyal fans and you won’t be boggling them down with so many different places to follow you.
So there you have it! Stress free solutions, right!?
I hope you take away from this post that it’s cool to start your campaign off slow and gain momentum over time. You really do not need to worry about getting a ton of fans and followers right away. Let it happen naturally, gain real fans and followers.
Is there anything else that stresses you out about social media?