building community through social media

Social media is one of the most effective ways for you and your business to get more traffic and generate new leads. Having a presence on all the major networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is a necessity these days for any business. But what tools are the social media gurus actually using to manage these multiple accounts?

There are only so many hours in the day for you to get tasks done. On top of your normal work, you also have to go to meetings, schedule work, network and ensure that your online channels are up to date and that there’s a strategy in place.

However, while there was a time where we struggled to make time for digital marketing, it’s now a case where we perhaps put too much time into it. Being active online is great to see, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your other tasks. All that time dwelling on what to post, figuring out what content people will like and how it ties into your business are things that mightn’t seem significant, but quickly add up over time.

If you don’t have a proper handle on it, you can end up being constantly busy, but not being productive. If this sounds like something you experience regularly, here’s what you can do to reverse the trend.

Create A Schedule And Stick To It

It’s a simple idea but it’s amazing how few actually bother to put one together.

Prepare In Advance

That said, there’s nothing wrong with preparing content in advance as there are always ideas, posts and images that aren’t time sensitive.

Break Down And Delegate

Not all businesses can afford the luxury of a community manager so if you have a small team, why not break up duties between each other?

Cross-Posting

So long as you don’t resort to automating the process, which can work against you since it shows you didn’t put time into it, then you can post the same image/video on another account.

Less Is More

If you’re tweeting and posting regularly, that’s great. However, if it’s a case that each post is getting low levels of engagement, you may want to reconsider your content strategy.

If you’re tweeting about a new subject, be sure to check the hashtags and pick ones that will correctly target your audience.

There are four sites that can be recommended. 

1) Hashtags.org. This site gives a list of trending hashtags, a graph and a search box to type in potential hashtags. After typing in a hashtag, it lists current tweets containing that hashtag. 2) Trendistic.IndexTank.com. It also gives you a graph, along with a search box. But it’s graph allows you to check the trends for the past 180 days. 3) WhatTheTrend.com. Like the others, What the Trend has current trends, a graph and a search box. I included it because it also explains why a particular hashtag is trending. 4) Trendsmap.com - this site has a map that tells you what is trending where. This is particularly helpful if you’re targeting a specific area. by Edie Melson

This piece is from MITSLoan Management Review with some great findings about the benefits of social business.

What is really happening in social business?

Intro:

A study by FedEx and Ketchum found:

** 52% of respondents said social business was strengthening relationships with the general public

**51% said it was strengthening relationships with clients

**40% said it was strengthening relationships with partners and suppliers

Here are some highlights:

**connections between social business and improved stakeholder relationships is supported by other researchers in the field.

In a recent interview with MIT SMR, strategy and management consultant Nilofer Merchant discussed how her research found that social enhances a firm’s relationships with employees and customers.

Jacob Morgan, principal of Chess Media Group, a management consulting and strategic advisory firm on collaboration and the author of The Collaborative Organization (McGraw-Hill, 2012), told us that based on his observations, the benefits of collaboration even positively impacts the quality of life of employees at home, outside of the workplace.

Dion Hinchcliffe, in his four-stage Capability Ladder of Social Business, says that the highest level in the ladder is also relationship based, what he calls the ability to “partner with the world.”

Takeaway:

**Some benefits, like good relationships, don’t require an ROI study.

Selected by Jan Gordon covering "Curation, Social Business & Beyond"

Read full article here: [http://bit.ly/VNuPHT]

Image from marketingbrainfodder.com

YouTube and Social Media Marketing: YouTube gets overlooked as a social network despite the fact that it is the most popular of the video sharing sites.

Esra Dogramaci ('Social media needs to put the person at the heart of the story' http://t.co/XBtIFvgaY7 vía @journalismnews)

Want to grow an army of brand superfans? Make sure you reward your online community! Here are three easy ways to reach out and honor your fans.

Though some forward-thinking businesses are already using Instagram, chances are you aren't yet, and neither are your competitors. With its universal appeal, however, Instagram is not a medium marketers should ignore. And you'd better move quickly if you want to make an impact.

A long overdue follow up to my post on 29 Nonprofit Bloggers to Follow on Twitter, below are 29 nonprofit resources that tweet regularly on subjects ranging from fundraising to social media to mobi...

The majority of UK charities are investing in mobile technologies and nearly two-thirds expect individual income to rise next year, according to a report.

When I make new connections on social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn I get excited because 9 times out of 10 I have either made a new friend with (Social Media User Types: How You Can Better Connect With Each One