You’ve heard the term swag lately. Someone may say, “I like your swag” or “He’s got swag!” And although you may not find this popular term in Merriam-Webster’s version of the dictionary, it is used worldwide by teens, recording artists, TV critics and most importantly for your sake… social media!
I know, I know. Before you tell me how you don’t know how to tweet and have no desire to tweet, twit, or Facebook, for that matter, let me let you in on a secret. Social media can be your business’ ticket to success. Don’t believe me? I’ll prove it to you.
Swag is a term used to describe someone’s style, personality, the way they carry themselves, and their level of confidence. It’s a person’s walk, their talk. It’s their attitude, but in a good way! We’ve all got some level of swag… well, some more than others. But after reading the following, I challenge you to ‘get your swag on’ and make social media work for you.
Step 1
Don’t Hate on the Competition Just Yet…
In any business, the goal is usually to beat the competitor. But in order to beat the competition, you have to know what they are doing and what makes them a competitor. If they are still in the game, they have to be doing something right. So you need to watch, look and listen at what is going on around you. Put your head in the game! Take inventory of where you are right now and where you want to go from here.
For example, when you read a blog, you are studying your competition. And after you read so many blogs, you’ll not only be motivated to start your own, but you’ll know what to say, how to say it and who is listening. Read the responses to the blogs as well. This lets you know what your target audience is saying, which allows you to tailor your own blog to those respondents.
Though many like to think so, social media is not a magic lamp where you can rub it, and out comes a genie. It is just another spoke in the wheel for your overall marketing plan. The social media outlet door is wide open for you and the rest of the world to see, free of charge! So no longer do you have to play detective and act like a secret shopper to find out the best strategies of your competitors. Their marketing strategies have just become an open book. Read their tweets. Follow their Facebook posts. Find out who your top three competitors are and simply sit back and watch, look and listen. Then determine your own personal goals you want to achieve through social media.
Social media is more than an outlet to just post pictures and ‘like’ someone’s status. It’s essentially free advertisement. Let’s say that I have a client who has an article about them written in Essence or Ebony. They can then repost that article into a blog site, or even add a link to the article on their Facebook profile. So this not only allows the readers of these publications to read the article, but all of this person’s ‘friends’ and ‘followers’ also learn of the success. If someone is featured on The View or Oprah, they can obtain a copy of it from the TV station, upload it to YouTube, and then repost to whatever other social media sites they choose. So while your friends or family may not have picked up the latest issue of Essence and didn’t get to watch you on The View, they are sure to see it when you post it on your public social networking profile.
Watch, look and listen. The competitor didn’t become a competitor by doing something wrong. They have to be doing something right. Find out what it is and make it work for you. While watching the competition, you purposely position yourself to attract your target audience as well.
Step 2
Make Digital Footprints in the Sand
Who are you? What do you do? What do you specialize in? These are all vital questions to ask when it comes to branding yourself in the social media. Make sure that wherever you go, with every digital footprint you make, that your brand is the same. Be consistent. Don’t create a brand for encouragement and inspiration, but post negative, depressing updates on your Facebook and Twitter profiles. This contradicts your ultimate branding of being one who encourages and inspires. Your Twitter and Facebook page should match your professional website. Your website should match your fan page. Your fan page should match your YouTube videos. And so on…
Don’t confuse people. They need to see your brand and instantly know who you are and what you stand for. Take Coach for example. The Facebook page and website for Coach products should reflect the same brand. And because of the reputation Coach has built, when you see a product, you can immediately tell if it is created by Coach. The same should ring true of your brand.
In this digital age, people have ADD. You have to capture their attention within a split second or you could lose them forever. However, if you have successfully branded yourself, they will recognize you and feel comfortable with whatever product you are promoting. There’s a certain comfort level people search for in brands. For example, if you visit Paris, but aren’t familiar with the restaurants, and you see the golden arches, you will more than likely eat at McDonald’s. You already know what their food tastes like and you feel comfortable with the brand. The same is true of Starbuck’s. When you visit a Starbuck’s, you expect a certain level of quality and great atmosphere, no matter the location.
It’s not just the brand; it’s the logo. That logo signifies everything that is behind the brand. The time you’ve invested. The information you’ve shared. The trust you’ve built. The logo is a culmination of everything you’ve done for people to notice you, know you, understand you, and recognize your brand ultimately. It is the promise to your customers.
Confusion destroys your brand. The equity and time you put into building your brand can be destroyed overnight by you simply doing something different and offbeat. Be known as an expert for whatever it is that you do. If you’re in business, your goal is to provide customers with your area of expertise. But it’s up to you to make sure you are known for just that. Share, don’t sell, information to your customers so that they not only come to know you as an expert, but they trust you. So as you make your digital footprints in the sand, make sure your brand tracks look identical to the ones you have made before!
Step 3
Content is King (Marketing is Queen)
People don’t follow a good salesperson. They follow good content. That’s one of the ways people will get to know you, by the content you offer and the value of it. In order to create valuable content, you must research keywords. Search for certain keywords and brand your content so that it contains those keywords. This will allow you to receive numerous hits without a potential customer ever knowing your name.
For example, if someone is searching for Pam Perry, they may use keywords such as PR coach, PR guru, ministry marketing, and so on. When someone enters any of these keywords, my website, blog or even my Facebook page should come up in the search results page. The ultimate goal is to be the first or second result on the search results page. If you come in any other place below that, you risk the user entering new search keywords, which may not be tagged for your business. Whether it’s a list of things to do (or not to do) or top ten tips, provide good, valuable content so that there is no question that you know what you are talking about.
A good resource to use when trying to determine keywords is Adwords.google.com. This tool not only allows you to enter keywords, but if you click Get Keyword Ideas, it will provide you with other keywords to use. Use these keywords in your blogs, eblasts, social media profiles and of course, your website. But even with keywords, if you have a similar name, like Jessica Jones, you want to make sure you are posting enough valuable content on the Internet so that you come up first in a person’s search results. Even though the other Jessica Jones in the world may have nothing more than a Facebook page, you don’t want customers to confuse the two. You have to constantly be active online. People love people that provide information for free. For example, author Seth Godin provided his entire book for free as an eBook before he released the hardcover copy. Because so many loved the electronic version of the book, they purchased a hard copy of the book once it was released, making it a New York Times Bestseller.
You can’t give away too much content. If it genuinely came from you, there is more from where that came from. With every article you write, every video you post, and every status you update, you throw more content out onto the web to brand you all the more. The more content you share, the more people come to recognize you as an expert and will realize the value of your information and ultimately, support your business.
Step 4
Are You Engaged?
Now, I’m not talking about the engagement where you get a ring and start planning a wedding for months down the line. I’m referring to interacting with others online. It doesn’t matter that you and I talk; we have to engage with others online. Create a community for isolated conversations to take place. Twitter actually uses hash tags, such as #GrammyAwards2011, which allows you to converse with all users who may be watching the Grammy Awards at the time. It’s all about engaging and establishing relationships. It’s not always about selling and marketing. Sometimes, you have to build up a group of ‘followers’ first.
Take Facebook for example. That’s great that someone wants to become your ‘friend’. But if you never engage them, and they don’t visit your page on a regular basis, what’s the point? How does this help your business? But also realize that while someone may not visibly engage on your page on a regular basis, they may still be watching you. They may still be taking all of the information you post into account, without ever saying a word to you about it. Personally, 90% of my clientele comes from online. I never know who is watching me. All of a sudden, I get checks for thousands of dollars from people that have been watching me for three or four months and appreciate the information I have shared.
I love this information age we are in. I’m like a kid in a candy store. While others feel overwhelmed by too much information, I consume myself in it. It’s what I’ve done all of my life. I reported information in high school, college, and even once I was out of school. It comes naturally for me. I’m always sending an eblast, conducting a conference call, tweeting a valuable website for authors, or even posting a video on YouTube of me speaking at a recent conference.
I give away a plethora of information. But it’s up to you to use it. The same should ring true of you and your social media swag. Give away so much information that people say to you, “You give away too much free information.” Then give away some more! You’re putting your best foot forward. You’re creating your own community and at this point, people are simply watching you to decide if they will conduct business with you or not. The benefits in the long run will far outweigh the cost to send out complimentary information. Get engaged!
Step 5
The Swag Tool Belt
As with any job, you have to make sure you have the essential tools to succeed. People are looking for a solution to a problem. So you must make sure that the content you provide or the service you offer solves a problem for the customer. For example, if you’re a plumber, you can provide content on taking care of pipes in the winter time.
More importantly, make sure that you not only have a website, but that it works properly. It doesn’t matter if your website comes up first in search engine optimization and you have a steady flow of traffic to your site, but you’re not capturing their email address to communicate with them in the future. As with any other social media, your website homepage should state very clearly the purpose of the business and what it is that you do. Your brand should be the same as it is everywhere else on the web. Make sure you have an opt-in box on your website as well so people can continue to interact with you.
You definitely want to invest in an AWeber or Constant Contact account. Constant Contact allows you to create and send eblasts in a click of a button. You can even create eblasts to be sent out on a certain date and at a certain time, without being anywhere near the computer when it goes out. Eventually, these eblasts will turn into blogs, which is where a significant amount of your social media will stem from.
Do you have to have a blog? Absolutely! I say it’s mandatory! It doesn’t make sense to have a Facebook page or a Blog Talk radio show, and not have a blog. Don’t be blog haters; get a blog! You’ll be surprised at the results a blog can bring.
If you really want to be found, you also need Google Analytics. This free service offered by Google actually tells you where your traffic is coming from and how long a person stays on your website. It will show you, for example, that 50% of your traffic is coming from Facebook and 25% is coming from Twitter, etc.
In this digital age, you definitely need high speed Internet access. Dial-up won’t cut it. It will limit your capability to interact with others online as fast and efficiently. Also invest in a webcam. A webcam runs approximately $30 to add to your computer if you don’t already have one directly installed. Video tape yourself speaking about your area of expertise and post it on YouTube and Facebook. This counts as content as well. People are visual. Don’t be left behind because you won’t participate in the video content wave.
As a side note, when using social media, use your real name. People may see your photo but if your Twitter name is GodselectLady, no one knows your real name to connect with you. If you won’t post your real name, at the very least make the name your business name. People trust the real thing, not a nickname.
Ok, so yes, ultimately your goal is for people to do business with you. But you must first work to establish relationships. If the first time someone hears your name is when you release your first book, they may be hesitant to connect with you because they think you are just trying to sell them. You have to let people know who you are, what you’re about and that you’re not just looking at them as a dollar sign. I would advise using the attraction marketing method. Simply go about life, doing what you do best, and sharing information on a regular basis. Eventually, people will see how much of a goldmine of information you are for them, and ultimately be attracted to connect with you further.
Step 6
Find Your Social Media Niche
So you’ve started hanging out online a bit more. You tweet more frequently and may update your Facebook status three times a day now as opposed to the one you were accustomed to doing in the morning before heading out the door. Depending on the audience you are trying to attract, you may need to reconsider which social media outlet you funnel your energy to. If you started a blog but you hate writing, then maybe you need to consider posting more videos of you speaking. If you like to speak, but you may not want your face plastered online just yet, consider starting a Blog Talk Radio show. Find three major outlets and master them.
Most of the social media outlets allow you to integrate others. While you can integrate Twitter and Facebook, you can also integrate Facebook with your blog. Remember, most times we are mobile. So consider mastering three outlets that you can update and monitor from your cell phone. FourSquare.com is another good one for retail businesses to use. This outlet can be monitored from a cell phone as well. LinkedIn is a more professional network where you can also connect with people worldwide.
You have to find what works best for you. Once you find your three prominent areas of your social media niche, master them. Become consumed with them. Begin to build relationships, which will ideally turn into clientele. Remember, people look for consistency and a business they can trust. Make sure your daily branding reflects this.
Step 7
If It’s Broke, Fix It!
The final step is to measure your results of your social media efforts. Maybe you got over 1,000 responses on your blog, but didn’t get any responses to your posting on Facebook. Maybe you gained 100,000 new followers from Twitter, but didn’t get any reviews on your YouTube video. This is where you have to decide where your most vital relationships will stem from based on social media efforts thus far.
Make sure your content is not boring. Add pictures and video, if possible. Make it eye-pleasing. The great thing about social media is that it’s your world! Be as creative as you want to be. The more creative your blogs are, the more people feel a personal connection to you and start to see your true personality. This will build trust early on and cause them to stay connected long term.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get one million ‘followers’ as soon as you create your Twitter profile. Social media takes time and dedication. It may not seem like anyone is paying attention to you; it may seem as though no one is listening. But believe this, someone is watching you. They’re just waiting to see how consistent you will be. Don’t change the message that you send out. If you’re a motivational speaker, your tweets and statuses should motivate, daily! Over time, you will see positive results from people you never even knew were watching.
The benefits of Facebook are limitless. You can not only create a personal page, but also create a fan page for fans of you or fans of your business. You simply ask your personal ‘friends’ to ‘like’ the fan page. Now you have two pages where you can post content. Your personal page lets a person get to know you from day to day. Your fan page may only contain information pertaining to your business or your area of expertise. Hootsuite.com is another site that allows you to share content with one click of a button to many social media sites.
As the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But for the things that are broke when it comes to defining your social media swag, you do need to fix it. And quick! Don’t just hang out. Create an effective brand, build long-term relationships and get your swag on! Your business brand depends on it!
Upcoming Book by Pam Perry coming June 2011!
comments at www.facebook.com/pamperryfanpage please!
