Posts Tagged ‘social media strategy’

 

Social Media Tips Learned from Running

Friday, June 15th, 2012

The discipline of running changes lives… and love handles… and even our approach to social media.

A few of us at Wild Hair Media have taken to running–not that we love it, we don’t. But we love what it does for us.

We’ve adopted the tagline of  Tripp Crosby and Tyler Stanton’s site Reluctant Runners: “we love running, just not while we’re doing it.”

Well said gentlemen.

I personally started running because I knew I needed it, not because I had an objective or a strategy of how I was going to reach a running goal. I was just building a base because I knew I needed that rhythm of my life to include exercise.

You might be at the same place with your social media participation. You’ve jumped in with no real objective or strategy, but now it’s time for you to step back and establish those goals now that you’ve built up a basic base of knowledge.

Running has given me time to refresh and rethink. I’ve realized that our appraoch to social media and training for a marathon aren’t all that dissimilar.

(cue Chariots of Fire soundtrack and read the rest of this post while listening to those epic swells and falls)

Practical Social Media Tips Learned from Running

1. You don’t see instant results.

The first time I ran after years of not running was brutal. I felt like giving up, walking, and never doing it again.

+I felt like a failure.

+I didn’t know what I was doing.

+I didn’t have instant results.

It’s the same for your social media strategy. You need to be in it for the long haul. To build your platform you need to enter a marathon, not a sprint. Expecting immediate results from a few blog posts and tweets is like expecting to run a 5K before you’ve even run your first mile.

2. You need to have a strategy.

Successful runners set daily, weekly, monthly, and sometimes even yearly goals.

+Runners know what they want to accomplish.

+They write down their goals down and ensure they are S.M.A.R.T. goals (read more on S.M.A.R.T. goals here).

+They seek out help from those that have gone the course before.

In the social media space, a clearly defined plan which tackles the who, what, where, why, when, and how goal-related questions will give an edge over those that are simply tweeting, posting and updating their social platforms haphazardly.

3. You need to change up the routine.

After pushing through those first few runs, I began to see a difference. The runs got easier. I was making progress. It seemed so easy, until… I hit a plateau. Running hte same routes, at the same times, and feeling underwhelmed.

So it is with social media strategy. Just as a body gets accustomed to the same running trails, at times the approach we take to our social media strategy must change to reflect variety and creativity.

Run the marathon race of building your social media platform with a strategy and a flexible, creative mindset. And then go outside for a jog. You’ll be glad you did.

The Seven Pillars of Social Media Content

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Social media’s exponential growth affords myriad opportunities for meaningful connection and interaction.

Along with the many opportunities for connection, pitfalls also lurk within every post, tweet, or share if guidelines are not applied.

Much like a gangly teenager seeking to feel comfortable in an ever-changing body, many users of social media’s capabilities feel the continual growing pains. Teens often need guidelines.

No guidelines, know trouble.

Know guidelines, no trouble.

Source: keithmaguire

Pillar One: Don’t clog the feed.

You’re at a holiday party, trapped in the corner of the room with the guy who won’t stop talking. This guy’s not making any friends.

Similarly, Facebook, Twitter and nearly any other social media platform exists to build relationships, not conversation monopolies.

Pillar Two: Do provide value.

Pinterest is an excellent example of providing value provided it’s users pin content that is helpful, usable and beneficial.

Pillar Three: Don’t grow silent.

At a recent Dale Carnegie seminar on How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age, the instructor admonished that “Twitter is a microphone.”

When that mic grows silent, the web-space goes dead.

Pillar Four: Do share.

Remember that guy who wouldn’t stop talking at the party? He’s not a giver, he’s taker.

Sharing is caring.

Pillar Five: Don’t be negative.

People gravitate toward the helpful, the positive.

People also quickly unfollow, unfriend and unlike the negative.

Pillar Six: Do keep it brief.

Content is king, yes. But the king now has many crowns and he’s a busy, busy man.

Creating content with pictures, infographics and video are powerful ways to engage your audience with brevity.

Pillar Seven: Don’t make it enjoyable.

As social media is about engaging in conversations, it should be fun. Zig Ziglar, selling guru, one said that “selling is a transference of feeling.”

What do you want your content to accomplish? How do you want your readers to feel?

If you have fun doing it, chances are your readers will enjoy it as well.