Tried and True Social Media Tips from the Now Revolution and Clearpoint Agency
Welcome to the Now Revolution! You may not know what the Now Revolution is, but you are a part of it every day. Essentially the Now Revolution is the fast paced, never-ending news river world that we are finding ourselves swamped in. I attended the Now Revolution seminar recently, hosted by San Diego’s PRSA and Ad Club, and it re-invigorated my passion for all things social. The lecturers and authors, Jay Baer and Amber Naslund, did a nice job of summarizing how to be more active on social media, so I thought I would pass on the highlights and add some social media tips of our own.
In today’s environment everyone is a reporter. When you visit a restaurant and comment about it on Yelp, you’re taking power into your own hands. This is empowering for all of us but poses a tricky situation for companies. They have little time to verify comments, even less time to coordinate a response, and even less time to actually react. So how are companies supposed to deal with the fast-paced world and never-ending news cycle that social media has created?
Here’s what Baer and Naslund suggest:
Have a Social Media Policy Companies must have a social media policy in place. Everyone should be on the same page and understand the companies’ stance on issues. This is a simple thing to create but overlooked by many companies.
Turn Negatives into Positives Negative comments are your chance to learn and find out what your company needs to improve on. Make negative comments your opportunity to learn and grow as a company.
LISTEN Understand how social media integrates with your company. Make sure the person who is speaking on social media platforms for your company is also listening. Search ‘Anybody Know’ on Twitter, give out free coupons on Four Square, monitor client brands on Yahoo Answers.
ROI There is no magic measurement tool, it depends on what you are looking for and measure that. Spread social media results around. Companies aren’t sure they’re measuring correctly and all too often don’t spread social media results. What would happen if only coaches knew the score of the game?
Turn Customer Success Stories into Blog Posts Humanity is the story. Attract a following with people not logos. Remember Subway’s Jared? Of course you do! We all do!
We agree and employ these tactics on behalf of our clients and ourselves. Now for a few Clearpoint Agency social media tips . . .
Hire Employees with Passion Would you want a doctor that wasn’t passionate about medicine? In today’s world it’s important to not only hire people who know their stuff, but who love their stuff. Employees will be representing your organization – everyone is a marketer- so it’s important that they believe in the company and the work they are doing every day.
Know Thy Self All employees must be on the same page. Everyone in your business has to understand the company’s culture and how to respond. All employees must have the power to communicate and speak quickly without the need for approvals. If you wait to run every Twitter response through a weekly meeting, it’s too late.
Take it Offline Some conversations need to go offline. If a customer is upset, your best response is to apologize for the situation online, then offer to resolve it offline and provide your contact information. No one can fault you for trying to resolve the issue but the last thing you want is a boxing match online for the world to see.
A Thank You Goes a Long Way Thanking someone for retweeting a story or content you tweeted, or for commenting on your Facebook or LinkedIn posts goes a long way to forming valuable relationships in the fast paced world of the social media.
Add a little something extra Just simply retweeting or giving a post thumbs up takes a little effort and it shows. When you retweet or like a post or video, provide your spin on it. Give your opinion and tell your friends and followers why they should care too. Yes, it takes a little extra time, but the little time it takes speaks volumes to your approach to being a part of the conversation and not just an observer.
This post was contributed by Rachel Hutman, Clearpoint Agency Account Executive.
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