Social media is a powerful tool for your business. The more you know about how it works and how to use it, the better your business will be. Sometimes we forget about the obvious so I want remind you of 4 very important things you should always be doing on social media.

• Be Yourself
• Be Consistent
• Be Positive
• Be Helpful

Tip 1 - Be Yourself.

This is where a lot of people go wrong. Be yourself by being authentic, not by acting like someone else. You’re a person just like everyone else. In fact, it’s with your real personality that you help others and influence your community. But sometimes it can be so easy to slip into the monotone world of corporate marketing, and pretend that we’re all robots in a big machine. You don’t have to pretend or be artificial for success on social media. You can simply be yourself, share big ideas with champions who want to support your cause, and have a lot of fun doing it! Share your real self with the world!

Tip 2- Be Consistent...

So many things get us distracted in life, we don't need to be distracted on Linkedin.  

I know when you first go Linkedin it can be overwhelming at first.  But I want to encourage you to not try to everything.  Just do one thing.  Maybe it's connecting with someone.  Maybe it's posting something.  What ever you have to do make sure you have a strategy behind it.  

I also encourage you in this video to help me help you by filling out a short survey.  

Please click the link below. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LinkedGrow

Thanks in Advance!  

Have you ever heard the phrase: “There is more that one way to skin a cat.”?

I always took that to mean there are many ways to achieve a goal.  If I bring that to what I do everyday for a living, I would say there are multiple ways to do Social Media Marketing.

For years now I have had many experts tell me that you have to do Social Media this way or that way.  But what I learned is that you have to do marketing on Social Media the way it makes sense to you.

Yes, there are certain unspoken rules. 

Yes, there are things that can hinder your progress.

Yes there are actions you should take every day.

But all this to say it should not bring you to point ever where you think you are doing it wrong.

So here’s some things I want to share with you today.

It’s okay if you miss a day on Social Media.  You will not die, and either will your audience.  The will be sad that they didn’t hear from you but honestly it’s not the...

Did you know that LinkedIn is the largest online network for working professionals. That is why creating and maintaining a profile is extremely beneficial to you as a business owner.

1. Have a professional photo.  Stay away from selfies.  Keep your picture current. 

2. Have a compelling, client attractive summary.  Don't be boring.

3. Have an eye catching headline. Make sure when people come to your profile you catch their attention immediately.

4. Have your contact information.  It's always good to give some another way to get a hold of you.  

5. Get current recommendations. Believe it or not you don't know how many times someone has told me that they read my recommendations.  Please always ask for one.  Ask those you are currently working with.  Ask those who worked with you before. 

Do these things to keep current.

I get asked the question, “Should I schedule my posts on Social Media” all the time.

I always say, “Yes”. 

Here are 3 reasons why I think so.

1. It saves time!

When scheduling content in advance it frees up your time.  Also you are not always logging into all the social media platforms to load the posts.  Also it spares you from wasting time looking at posts that are trying to get our attention.

2. You can reach your audience at peak times. 

Scheduling at peak times give you the freedom of posting when your not available. Example one of my peak times is a 11pm ET.  I’m simply unable to post at 11pm every night manually.  Scheduling at peak times assures you that you will be there when your audience is.

3. It helps with brand consistency.

No doubt if you are posting on all the platforms with daily consistency your brand will get noticed. 

So what tools should you use for scheduling.  I recommend Later.  I...

Have you ever received a message from someone you didn't know? 

Have you ever got this message: "Id like to add you to my professional network."

So how do you generate interest with people who you don’t know so they will connect with you.  Here is what I suggest.

Include a question at the end of your message that will give the perspective connection a reason to respond.  Ask them something that only someone in their position would know. People love being helpful, so asking a prospect for their insight or expertise on a certain topic might make them more inclined to respond. Another is how you found their profile.

Things to consider when writing a connection request. 

Be courteous & professional
Be specific. Get right to the point
Personalize it.
Complement them on something.

Here is an Example.
Hi Chris, I came across your profile after seeing your post about “Benefits Of Reading Daily. Interesting stuff…I so enjoy reading your...

As you know Instagram is the most engaging platform.

Why because it has over 1 Billion Active users.

So it's important for social media marketers to keep up and find an effective Instagram strategy for getting more followers, more Engagement and more comments. 

Let's explore a few ways to get more comments.

1. Using niche Instagram hashtags can help you build a community around your brand, and get Instagram comments faster

2. Do Instagram Stories Daily - Why because the most engaged Instagram users are engaging with stories.

3. Share the posts in your feed to your Instagram Stories.

• Go to any of your feed posts
• Click on the arrow in the bottom left corner
• Click on “Add post to your Story”

These are just a few ways to get more comments on Instagram.  And remember consistency = growth.  So be consistent!

Do you have social media success?

The first thing to do to determine this is to define success for you.

Is it more followers, more website views, more sales, or more newsletter sign ups. Is it something else?  Only you know that answer.  

Now that we defined what success is for you, what you do next is important.
This is where you enforce key strategies to ensure you are successful to achieve that success. Here are 3 strategies that I feel will make you successful with your social media marketing.

1. Be human - not a robot.  You have to connect with people.  That should be one of your goals.  Who wants to engage with robot.  I know for myself I want engage with real people. 

2. Have a content strategy!  I say this over and over again all the time.  Don't be random with your content.  Make it high quality, relevant content.

3. Find out where your customers are and be present on those platforms.  Bottom line is, you have to be...

I want to challenge you to spend 13 minutes a day on Linkedin.  Alot of times I get complaints that Linkedin doesn't work.  I always ask one question back.  When was the last time that you were on Linkedin.  I was surprised to hear, "1 year, 6 months or haven't been back on Linkedin since I set up my profile". Not sure how anyone expect to have results if they are never on.

So here is my 13 minutes  a day on Linkedin.

A.  (2 min)  View - who’s looking at your profile.

B.  (4 min)  Connect -Send some messages to connect. Make them custom to your  target Market

C.  (3 min)  CheckTabs - Home, My Network, Jobs, Messaging  and Notifications. You don't want to miss anything.

D  (4 min) Accepting  - Accept invitations that make sense.  Create your own rules around who you will connect with.  I shared mine in the video. 

If you do this 13 minutes a day, 5 days a week you will have results. 

Take the time to be kind and show some love on Social Media as a business meeting.

I see so many business owners out there sharing their products and services and not even listening to what their ideal client needs.

So as a business owner how do show some love.  

1. Donate your services to someone in need.

2. Participate in a fundraiser.

3. You could share and participate and share your knowledge on someones post.

Try to be be kind and show some love starting today. You never know who might need it.  Here is a a great quote I would love to inspire you with.

You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.      Ralph Waldo Emerson