This is directed at you — the laggers who are likely NOT reading this blog among my colleagues (who shall remain nameless) who are creeping along outside the action like a voyeur.
I hit a wall this week with the umpteenth public relations and/or marketing peer not engaging in social media with the basics of basics – Twitter. Then there was a fabulous new company launch with a highly creative site from an old colleague with whom I was eager to tweet. Sadly, his last tweet was 20 days ago.
Are you engaging for real, people? C’mon, don’t kid yourself…we both know you’re not.
From a seriously real cross section of colleagues, peers, practitioners of all ages and experience ranges, who are experts in their own right with budding businesses, etc., the writing is on the wall. Marketing and public relations are NOT engaging in social media, and that’s a SAD state of affairs.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT GOING AWAY! SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT A TREND! (Yep, caps on purpose; felt better than boldface.)
I’m here to push you off your derrière and raise your bar. How can you ignore something so incredibly exciting for marketing public relations when clients and employers expect you to be the expert who leads them to social media opportunity?
I own a virtual public relations agency, Soulati Media, Inc. I can’t find anyone yet (within the confines of my circular engagement) who knows more than me in social media. Why’s that? Because I’ve been busting my chops for the last three years to learn, engage, test, fail, test, and become knowledgeable. (See that “fail” word in there? Painfully, it has to happen to become learned, and then the doors swing open and shut more smoothly.)
This is not about blogging, either. It’s simply about carpe diem. There’s gold in them ‘thar hills, people, and if you don’t go mining, you’re never going to get your social media mojo.
Here are Jayme Soulati’s 10 Basic Social Media Engagement Tips:
1. Launch a Twitter account associated with business. Brand yourself as an expert, but first believe you are one.
2. Expect to fail (failure comes in many sizes) and embrace the pain as learning anything new. You will get through that episode (spoken from my own trial and error).
3. Re-launch the Facebook account you closed down because you couldn’t handle connecting with high school alumni. Consider it a business venture and make it so with a fan page to fuel your business or expertise.
4. Adopt a mentor, but don’t suck them dry! Be respectful of their time and their own hard-earned pathway to knowledge.
5. Engage, people, really engage. That means post a comment on a blog with your perspective. Make yourself known to the blogger you’re reading who has no idea you exist. Communication is a two-way street.
6. Understand fear and get beyond it. Your fear may be lack of confidence in your own expertise. Get out of your own way, and just do it already.
7. Tackle one new thing every day. This is as easy as tweet five times. Follow five people. Post one comment on a new blog every day. RT someone’s blog post. Explore a new social media application everyone else is so you’re in the know, too.
8. Don’t get left behind! I’ve been tweeting for maybe 15 months now, and it’s the sole reason I’ve met the cool people who are now my new colleagues and friends. It saved me days of boredom through the dark winter because social media takes you to Bali, Singapore, Australia, and South America where peers there seek engagement, too.
9. Set a goal. While I’ve never written goals, they are in my head. Yesterday I had the same number of followers and following on Twitter, 1817. Because I compete, I want to get to 2000, but it’s getting tougher to create a Twitter stream that’s not littered with spammers, scammers, and salespeople. So, I’ll go for quality over quantity. Don’t let the numbers fool you.
10. Ask for help. I don’t know what I don’t know, but I’m glad to help you get there, too. Post your little question down below, and we’ll journey.
Got social media? Please say “yes!”
Jayme,
Hello! Long time no talk. 🙂
Thanks for the kick in the derriere! I am genuinely as pumped up about the opportunities of social, but have been lagging lately because I’ve let other things take over my time. It can be a challenging balance to maintain, but I agree that the time spent – if spent intelligently – is well worth it.
Chk out @scottgould ‘s twitter feed – he’s preparing for a presentation in Helsinki about the power of people-to-people connections and stories. I’m sure he’d love to hear some of yours!
Have a great weekend!
So pleased you stopped by, Jamie! And, also 🙂 I could push you on this journey a little deeper into the woods. I can’t say it’s not been without freak-out moments of “where’s more time!” but the rewards are nearly immediate.
I will look at Scott; in fact, not sure I’m following him at all. Thanks for that connection tip! And, isn’t the networking truly amazing? It’s the hidden gifts that get me going every time.
What are you doing that’s fun in social media? Please don’t forget to share!
Jayme – definitely check Scott out. He’s got some great ideas and a wonderful network in the UK. He heads up #likeminds and is always up to interesting things.
RE: what I’m up to … just helping a client launch a new company called Barkovations (you can find us on the Web and also facebook). Our mission is to help find homes for the millions of dogs who are abandoned each year. We’ve come up with a fun, creative, and free way for people to help provide meaningful support (financial and educational) to the hard-working folks on the front lines at dog rescues. Love to have you check it out and shoot me your two cents.
Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!
🙂
Cool name! Thanks for sharing, and I’ll head there and send you some woof love! Thanks, Jamie!
Back atcha! Have a great weekend!
What a great resource!
So true! I’ve hired a ghost writer for my blogs and tweets, she starts week of 6/14. No excuse if you have no time. Find someone who can help you become front and center. Look for some interesting content from RareAgent week of 6/14:-)
Hi, Marge. So great you’re finding a way to engage. I bet you tweets you’ll soon be writing your own content; it’s too exciting to stay away and let another pen! Will be eager to check out your launch; congrats on taking that step forward. Thanks for saying so here!
Great point about expecting to fail. It’s very much a case of picking yourself up and starting again.
What’s your take on personal / corporate Twitter accounts? Should you tweet as “Jane” or “Jane from Big Brand” ?
Hi, Jon! So great you came by to help the conversation here. I really appreciate it.
Learning that failure is a necessary teachable moment is the hardest part because many view it as a time waster. Think back to the last time you failed at something…aren’t you now more knowledgeable and even perhaps an “expert” as a result?
As for personal/corporate Twitter accounts, I am seeing many logos/brands and no real people with identity behind them. While I’m guilty of that, too, with @BizLawToday I have my own mug shot. If a corporate Twitter account is the responsibility of several in the department, at least identify who’s doing the tweeting at some point. I expect to see corporate brands as Twitter IDs and not KraftFoodsJane. Because migration occurs, a branded Twitter account ought to remain while the Twitterers come and go.
I see many variations to the above, don’t you? Transparency is definitely a good thing.
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