Lesson #2 – Stay Engaged

If you read Lesson #1,  in “Lessons Learned Using Social Media,” you may be thinking, “Yes, I have been avoiding social media because I just do not have the time to mess with it.” I share your pain – it does take time, but as I said it is important and inevitable, which brings us to Lesson #2.

Because of the time requirement, preparation is critical! You must establish goals, develop a game plan, and then create content to share . . . and of course, you have to stay with it. Send out message updates, respond to replies, and stay engaged with your audience!

If you are lucky enough to have a team (or even a partner) or a virtual assistant, you may want to turn over parts of your social media development to someone else (if possible). You can also consider using a 3rd party resource with expertise in social media.  Your choices, of course, depend on your budget.  However, turning it over to someone else comes with a WARNING LABEL: DO NOT give carte blanche to your social media helpers. 

Stay actively engaged in the planning and execution.  Remember that social media messages reflect your brand and even reflect on your reputation. Outsource some of the parts such as the artwork and graphics used in communications. You can even outsource planning of messages; but, always review them before they are sent – they must be in “your voice.”

Finally, I recommend you remain solely responsible for replies, inquiries, and greetings received from followers. It is almost impossible for someone to clone your personality and it will definitely show through in this area.

Related posts:

Build Your Brand through Social Media – Branding #5 Social Media Marketing Sites Your Audience Prefers LinkedIn – Now What? How Often You Should Post to Social Media