Promote your events using Live Twitter Feed

If you run events you probably use social media beforehand posting on Facebook and/or LinkedIn and tweet about them to promote them, hoping to create a buzz and attract people to attend. You should also use a relevant hashtag – if you don’t know what a hashtag is let me explain. A hastag is a word or phrase preceded with the # symbol. The use of the # provides a means of grouping messages; therefore it is possible to search for messages which contain the same hashtag and group them together.

By creating a hashtag for your event people can follow all of your updates, and also those of other people who mention, retweet or comment directly on those updates or people who ‘find’ the hashtag through other means. For example by using the hashtag in promotional material people may tweet that they are attending. By offering incentives to use the hashtag people will use it more and spread the word further.

And it is not just about promotion before the event, encourage people to use the hashtag DURING the event. This is particularly useful for getting information out and for promoting future events. This means that people attending are promoting the event to their followers and possibly attracting more people to attend. A great way to encourage tweeting during an event is using a live twitter feed through HootFeed – and can also be used for competitions etc. e.g. person who tweets most about the event gets free access next time. See an example of the live twitter feed at a recent event with the hashtag #SVBGExpo

Watch how to set one up

And FINALLY using the hashtag AFTER the event to get feedback and show how successful it was. Another way of keeping the buzz going is using Storify. This is a way of collating social media updates into a summary.

If you would like more information about using any of these techniques please contact me

Catherine Jones

 catherine.jones@thebizlinks.co.uk

view my profile http://thebizlinks.co.uk/coach-catherine-jones

Who Needs Social Media Coaching?

There are 3 types of people who might need a social media coach, they are;

1)  The newbie who has little or no social media presence and want to use it for business

2)  The user who already has a social media presence, although either struggling to see benefits or wanting to improve their performance

3) The veteran, who currently uses social media effectively and understands that as social media is constantly changing and evolving they need to keep up to date to maintain their success.

 

The main thing all three have in common is that they want to use social media more effectively. So, a coach can help accomplish this by delivering a bespoke package designed to help with the following areas as required;

• ·         Drafting a social media policy to ensure that everyone is aware of their responsibilities regarding the use of social media. This can include social media basic awareness and etiquette, responsibilities, security, access, profiles and standards.
• ·         Drafting a social media strategy. Defining how social media complements and supports the rest of the business. This may require training, identifying which platforms to use, setting up accounts and profiles and basics of using the platform, understanding the audience, expectations.
• ·         Developing the processes and drafting the procedures for your businesses social media use
• ·         Goal setting. Defining what it is that you hope to achieve i.e. WHY are you on social media? For example, more sales, new clients, promoting brand awareness etc. How will you define success?
• ·         Monitoring Analytics. Defining and monitoring the analytics by which to measure the performance of the social media platforms against progress to meeting goals
• ·         Progress reviews, comparing analytics against goals to determine success  
• ·         Content development. It is important to understand your audience and what appeals to them and to understanding what to share and which platforms to find your audience
• ·         Keeping up to date with current trends within social media and technology. Social media is constantly changing and evolving so it is important to keep abreast of the latest developments from changes on Facebook, Twitter etc.  Also, what new platforms are out there whether these are relevant to your audience.  
• ·         Developing the habits which will ensure the most effective use of social media to meet your goals.

The level of support will depend on (amongst other things) your starting point, business goals, level of technical expertise and possibly industry/profession.

Can you afford not to have a social media coach?

if you would like to know more contact me 

mailto:catherine@thebizlinks.co.uk?subject=Social Media Coaching

or look at my profile for more information

http://www.onepageprofile.co.uk/people/CatherineJones

or connect with me on LinkedIn

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/cjonesprofile/

Don’t blame Social Media

Many people avoid using social media because they worry about the effects of ‘getting it wrong’

Some time ago I wrote a blog on what was wrong with blame culture and why making mistakes is a good thing. – What’s wrong with Blame Culture?

So when I recently saw the following tweet with a quote attributed to Zig Ziglar it made me think about it again about how this applies to social media.

 ‘Statistics, when customers complain, business owners ought to get excited. The complaining customer represents more business’

Because sometimes it is not just a fear of failure prevents people taking action it is the fear not being perfect – making mistakes, making a fool of themselves etc.

As a social media coach one of the things which makes businesses nervous about putting themselves ‘out there’ is the potential of complaints or negative comments. Even though they understand the need and benefit of social media they worry about such things as

• What if no one follows/likes/connects with me?
• What if I post something stupid?
• What if some one hacks my account and makes me looks bad?
• What about if a customer complains on social media – everyone will see it?

To name a few!

As a coach I have to reassure clients and if required I give them the skills and knowledge to handle things when they do go wrong.

Firstly, I explain that social media is not a numbers game; it is about making real connections i.e. its quality not quantity. By understanding the different platforms and your audience you can define goals and strategies to make the connections which are of value. Think carefully before posting and ask yourself it is appropriate.

Before you hit post

Hacking – it can happen, so you need to understand the security features of your social media, passwords, access etc. If the worse should happen have a response ready and act quickly.

See customer complaints as an opportunity to improve! Your customers will talk about you whether or not you are aware of it. This is valuable feedback, demonstrate that you listening and care about putting things right. DO NOT get involved in a public argument even if the complaint is unreasonable. Respond publicly acknowledging that you have seen the complaint and would like to so resolve, so that everyone will see that you are addressing the issues and give the option to take it offline.  If customers see you responding in a reasonable and professional manner to complaints it will balance the effects of negative comments.

Finally, remember there are no mistakes, just opportunities to learn!

So, now what’s stopping you?