Create a Social Media Plan

Social media is exciting! I get it. It is difficult not to create and start posting to that shiny new Facebook Business Page or post photos of your employees making silly faces to your new Instagram account. A plan is in order so that you put your business' best face forward in Social Media Land.
What you have in front of you is a whole channel of potential clients. They can skip over TV commercials now with digital video recording. They can tune out radio commercials by listening to their iPod. They tend to recycle paper ads. In Social Media Land, you better have a plan to get the right LIKEs and keep them.
So at this point, you have already determined where your clients and potential clients are hanging out social media. This information is going to help determine which social media platforms, or tools, you are going to implement in your strategy, or plan. Remember, you don't have to be everywhere...just where your clients and potential clients are.
A key consideration when setting up your new social media profiles is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). There is a marriage now between social media and SEO that exists and will help your content rise to the top of the search engine rankings. There is so much information and the details vary by tool that I cannot go into intricacies of this topic here.
In your plan, be sure to include rules of engagement and governance. Who is going to talk to your audience and how will you talk to them. Why so official? Everyone involved needs to be on the same page (pun intended). There will be a lot of anxiety and excitement the first time (and it will happen) a negative post is delivered to your page. You need to think about how you will deal with it and it is best to do this before it happens.
Finally, plan for measurement and ROI. More on this later but you will to document what you will be measuring.

Finding the Right Audience in Social Media Land

Now the fun begins. This is the part of the process where you really need to show some restraint. You know your goals (what you want to get out of this social media endeavor) and you have executive/top-level support. I know, I too would want to shout from the treetops/mountains/every social media tool page I can create as quickly as possible that my company is here! Check us out!!
Stop.
Breathe.
Instead, let's figure out where your customers and potential customers are hanging out in social media land. There are so many social media tool available (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Vine, Tumbler, Flickr, Digg, Blogger, StumbleUpon, My-who? Oh yeah. MySpace. And so many more. You do not have to be represented on every social media tool. Let me repeat that because it is very important.

YOUR BUSINESS DOES NOT NEED REPRESENTATION AND ACTIVITY ON EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA TOOL.

Great. Now what?

Play detective and
find your customers!

I like the way Jay Baer details four "Detective Tricks to Find Your Customers in Social Media" in his blog. I couldn't have said it better myself. My favorites are asking your customers directly (and don't forget to add this to your online forms!) and watching email behavior (#3) and Gmail stalking (#4). These are all free and super easy!
Go where your customers are.
Think about where your potential customers hang out.
That is where you should be.

Oh, and did I mention this is not a one-time activity. Over time, it will seem like new social media tools come out every week. This is just one more reason to keep in touch with a Social Media Consultant. They have a hand on the pulse of the current tools by industry (if they are really paying attention) and can help you adjust your route through the everchanging but still navigable waters of the social network.
So you know which tools you need to be on.
Hmmm, now for a plan...
Watch for my next blog post.

8 Tips for Socializing Your Business

It feels like yesterday when I was just asking a couple of high school-aged daughters of our friends if they were actually putting their lives out there on MySpace and Facebook. Fast forward six years and Facebook has changed the way people do business! Many people ask their Facebook friends first for a recommendation when researching a purchase or a service. As business owners we know we need to be "social" whether we are on the social network or not. Social media is free to join...but not free to maintain - this stuff takes time and brain power. So this begs the question, where do you start? And once we have started, how do we stay alive and successful on the social network?

Here are eight tips to help you get your business started in social media. These are not new but sometimes we need to hear things more than once and in different ways before the time is right for us to make that move.

1. Commit to social media. If you are going to use social media for your business, Nike (a.k.a. Just Do It!). Yes, just do it. Do not go halfway. Do not start off strong and peter out later. Commit and go. Without commitment, your reputation will suffer.

2. Define your goals.  Know your "why".  Do you want to... increase brand exposure? ...increase leads? ...reach a new audience of potential customers?  These goals are IMPORTANT. They drive your strategy...your plan (see #4).

3. Know your audience. Who is your client? Who are your potential clients? Who are you speaking to? Where can you find them on the social network/what social media tools are they using?

4. Have a plan. Set your expectations up front for what this journey will look like. I do not recommend creating accounts with Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vine and others and start sharing statuses and photos as quickly as you can. You could approach it this way but a well-defined plan that is executed over time will bring the best results.

5. Develop an online marketing calendar. What is your business doing that is worth sharing? Optimally, share different statuses across social media tools...mix it up. Keep it interesting. Share statuses from others that are value-added.

6. Plan your content. Content curation. Learn about it. Become an expert at it.

7. Focus on engagement. This goes back to #3. If your audience is not interacting, figure out what they want and adjust. Otherwise, this is all a waste of time. Watch what your competitors are doing.

8. Measure, report and adjust. Enough said.

Seem overwhelming? Take a deep breath. You can do this. I will break down each of these 8 tips in my next  blog entries.

Introducing Naptime Consulting

Finally. I am finally starting my business blog. I started my company when my second son was a baby. Now he is 7 and there are 3 adorable little people in this world who call me "mom". Needless to say, I continue to work through my list of priorities.

"Why did you start Naptime Consulting?"
"What is with that name?"
"When do you find the time to work?"
I get these questions pretty regularly. So, a little about me.
I started with Electronic Data Systems (a.k.a. EDS, Ross Perot's company, that company owned by General Motors way back when) in 1994. I worked for EDS as a coder (yes, a techie geek), project manager, process improvement subject manager expert, leader and more for 14.5 years. Once it was time to stay home and grow our family, I had an epiphany. I am a working girl! So when my babies slept, I worked. It was fun!

So I started a business and named it Naptime Consulting. You may not love the name but you won't forget it. I like the play on words too. Is your web presence feeling weary? Let us refresh your vision online.

And how do I find the time to do all that I do? I have a talent for time management (and when my talent lacks, I stay up really late!), I love what I do and I love delighting my clients even more.

If you are a small to medium size company or non-profit that is looking to implement website enhancements and a social media strategy, I would love to talk to you. This is what we do. I work closely with my clients to train them to take over their own social media management after I help them implement their personalized strategy. Small businesses usually just do not have it in their budget to pay a social media manager. I can continue to consult with them on a long-term basis if needed but most are able to take off once I help them put their wings on and take off.

Learn more about what we do at Naptime Consulting at www.naptimeconsulting.com and contact me at amy@naptimeconsulting.com if you have questions or would like to discuss what we can do for you.