Image: Flickr, Jason Howie
What is success and are you evolving with social media are two questions I was given this month for article contributions I gave to two top users on Twitter. Those two users are Sean Gardener and Ann Tran. If you are a fan of Twitter or social media in general, you already know about them.
Sean, who worked with Emily Thomas and Marsha McCullough on their article, sent me several questions about what success means to me. The questions were; what is your game plan in five words or less, tell a story about in a few sentences that people may not know and define success in about 100 words.
My game plan for 2014 is to engage, evaluate possible partnerships and connect.
The story about me that people may not know is that my Twitter name @24k is from when I started prospecting for gold at an early age. I have translated what I learned about perseverance when searching for the precious metal into my blogging and marketing work. I utilize those skills to help brands improve their exposure, recognition and goals online.
Defining success is different to everyone. Some feel that success is when they make enough to live on and then spend the rest of their time with family. Others may consider success as a productive eighty-hour workweek, which does not leave a lot of time for family or friends. Success to me is when I strike a balance of happiness between family, clients and brands. Getting there is not always easy, but accomplishing goals for them makes me happy and I feel like I am moving forward.
Those answers were included with 49 other Huffington Post bloggers. You may read my work at this link.
Building on the successful Huffington Post article by Sean Gardener, Ann Tran, who also contributes there, asked me a few questions with responses to be around a total of 140 words. Those questions were; how do you think the business landscape has changed since you’ve joined social media a few years ago and what tips would you suggest to assist people that are leaping into the social media world now to use in business.
The business landscape has changed significantly when it comes to social media. Customers and clients expect there to be an online presence to listen, help, engage and care about them. People may already be talking about your brand online, so join them. Social media is not about push marketing and scheduling everything. You will need to put in the work to gain credibility and always have an authentic voice.
Create a listening strategy with goals for your brand on social media. Establish a social media policy that’s easy to follow and understand. There are many touch points when selling via social media because liner sales don’t exist there. Determine your target audience, identify influencers and understand trends for your business. You will need a combination of earned, owned and paid media to create awareness, interest, desire and finally action to complete a sale. Businesses need to create relationships, because people do business with those they like.
Contributing an overview of social media knowledge to Sean and Ann’s posts was fun. I’ve been hearing some nice responses to the articles across Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You may read Sean’s article on The Huffington Post and Ann’s post on her blog.