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I want you to remember these 8 things about social media

I do a lot of 1-2-1 training for people on social media. They come in at all levels – complete beginners who don’t get what all the fuss is about but are feeling the pressure – to more frequent users who want to get real results out of their activity.

Sometimes I do an “overview of social media” for people who want to get their heads around using it in their marketing, and understanding which channel is used for what. I also do specific training sessions on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. You can read more about this here.

After a recent social media intro overview session I followed up with an email, as I really wanted to ensure my client remembered certain concepts. And a long email is often potential content for a blog post – a little bonus tip for you! In the spirit of generosity (which is part of what social media is all about!) I thought I would share it with you.

8 things you need to remember about social media

  1. It’s not about making a sale – it’s about making an impression. Social media is just a way of using free online communication channels for the purpose of marketing. From good marketing comes awareness, reputation, and trust. From those comes more sales.
  2. A year from now you will wish you had started today (quote by Karen Lamb) – when I train people on each individual channel, it takes me an hour and a half and of course after that people need to get stuck in and practice.
  3. If your business relies on reputation, contacts, a network, other human beings and referrals, then your business can benefit from social media. But you need to learn how to use the channels properly. You don’t have to do everything all at once. Take the time to get to know the different channels at your own pace – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Blogging and YouTube. You can also look at Pinterest, Foursquare, Instagram. It’s not all necessary but they are all there for you, free to use, and quite quick to learn – I know because I train people to use them!
  4. Attention to detail is still important. Just because tweeting, status updating, and blogging are relatively quick forms of communication, it’s important to watch your grammar and spelling, and caption and label things correctly where appropriate. We are still talking about the impression you are making for your business.
  5. LinkedIn is necessary if you are an adult, human and working. It’s the most trusted network. People will look you up on LinkedIn before meeting you. It’s a way of keeping in touch with your network, wherever you go in your career, wherever they go in theirs. So put some effort into your LinkedIn profile.
  6. Twitter takes the most time to get your head around, mainly because in a way its got its own language. Hashtags, @ signs, RTs, followers, following, Twitter lists, who to talk to, how often to tweet –all those things take getting your head around. But I regularly train people within 1.5 hours and they learn this stuff, and they get it. And Twitter is so huge in potential, it’s worth it.
  7. Plan ahead. When it comes to your blog and your Facebook page, having a content planning calendar will help you keep your posts varied, relevant, appealing to your audiences and within your niche. I regularly run content planning sessions (with lots of headlines) with clients so get in touch if you want to book a session.
  8. A good headline will help bring more traffic to your content. Keep working on this and improving your headlines. I am working on a headline writing advice post now so will share when it’s ready.

Hopefully these points have made you feel happy and more confident about social media. If you want help, I am here for you. Leave a comment below, tweet me or get in touch some other way. Happy to answer questions!

Also, if you have noticed that the 8 in the picture above looks a bit upside down, it’s meant to look like that in the font. Leave a comment below mentioning this, and I will book you in for a free training session just for complying with point 4 above!

Further reading: Tips for Responding to Negative Reviews on Social Media

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Comments

  1. Sue Butler

    Hi
    The number 8 above looks slightly upside down and I’m really hoping this comment earns me a free training session!

    • Keren

      Hi Sue, yes, you are correct! Let’s talk soon and arrange for you to come for your free session! Well done!

  2. George Emsden

    Hi Keren
    Although the 8 is upside down, The join where both loops meet is level with the bar in the H in the same line, so does not look out of place. It could be taken for a stylistic statement.
    HTH
    George

  3. Joyce

    Great article! I read every word, including point #4 and the mention of the upside down 8.

  4. Sara

    Great blog, a checklist for improving the effectiveness of social media marketing. The 8 looks like an exclamation mark in a classic late 1960’s font!

  5. 1v1 lol

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