Sunday, March 11, 2012

Reflection on OneSocialMedia

OneSocialMedia
Kelsey Jones and Jeremy Anderberg from OneSocialMedia visited my #drakesocial class on March 6 and gave us great advice, insights and tips on social media.


I really enjoyed hearing about the three things businesses do wrong in social media:


1. Don't have a strategy. Businesses often do not think through their social media plan, or lack one completely. They don't consider how to build their social community or keep their fans/followers engaged. Businesses often don't know what content is relevant to share. They need to be thinking about all of these things and how to keep growing their community by engaging with niche groups and targeted audiences.


2. Over-promote. Businesses often over-promote their products and services on their social media platforms and don't know the importance of engaging with their communities. Over-promoting can come from not knowing what to post. Companies need to engage and broaden the scope of what the company is about while positioning themselves as an industry expert. They need to always be thinking of their audience - who will be going to their site, what content they want, etc. What tips can they give? What will people be searching for that relates to them? Jeremy and Kelsey said businesses can use competitor sites to get content ideas. Businesses need to have the patience to stick with social media; if they show their community that they are not just promoting themselves, they will gain their trust and be more likely to buy.


3. Don't know how or what to measure. Kelsey and Jeremy said it is very important to understand the traditional business "mind" when working in social media. You need to be able to show your boss or clients their return on investment. Here are some things you need to know about if you are in the social media industry: basics of SEO, email marketing, facebook and google ads, basic website knowledge including html and digital marketing and advertising. Through social media you are able to capture contact information, such as email addresses, which are extremely useful for marketing.


It was very powerful to hear what Kelsey and Jeremy had to say from their social media experience working for many clients. I also valued these other tips, especially because I hadn't thought of them before:
  • Social media needs to incorporate all of the other traditional marketing pieces (press releases, radio interviews, etc.) in order to be successful, especially for small businesses. This includes adding social media information on business cards.
  • "Visuals are the new status update." People are getting lazier, they don't want to read about it, they want to see it.
  • If your business isn't too exciting, you have to be creative and have fun with your social media presence. This is what will catch your audience's attention and set you apart.


Thank you, OneSocialMedia for coming to speak! Say thanks to them as well by giving them a follow:


Follow OneSocialMedia
Follow Kelsey Jones
Follow Jeremy Anderberg