Overwhelmed By Social Media?

If you are new to social media you may be asking yourself, “Where the heck do I start?!” I have a ton of experience in managing social media and I event ask myself this question from time to time. I wanted to outline a few helpful tips for folks that may just be getting into the groove of using social media – so here they are!

 

Find Out the Social Networks That Work Best For You

With hundreds upon hundreds of social media sites out there, it is easy to get confused and overwhelmed. My best advice for people would be, “Go where your potential clients are.” Depending on your industry, you may find a site like LinkedIn works best for you (usually for networking, bankers, lawyers, realtors, or anyone else in the professional services industry will find this the most useful). If you’re a brand selling something like, let’s say, a gym membership to a new facility, Facebook is a really great way to attract new leads (by way of Facebook Advertising; an effective, but innovative way to reach out to your audience). Be sure to post with links from your website. See where your referral traffic is coming from (by using Google Analytics).

 

Plan Plan Plan!

Have a plan in mind. How many times do you plan on posting? What do you plan on posting about? Do test posts for about a month and see when you’re getting the most engagement on your posts (i.e. likes, shares, follows, re-tweets, comments, etc).

Determine what your goals are for using social media. Perhaps it is to get more clients, sell more products, increase your likes and follows. Determine what your goals are and the steps you’ll need to take to achieve them.

Do you have a budget set aside for advertising? As I mentioned previously, Facebook advertising is highly effective. When I started at Callagy Law about a year ago, we had about 500 likes. By promoting our pages and using the Facebook Ads platform we are at 6269 likes on our Facebook page as of today. It works and I would highly recommend it.

We all know, planning takes time. If you’re just starting out, you may not get this right the first time. You’ll need to plan, test and retest your methods to see what works best for your industry and company. Make sure you stay focus and outline a plan or several plans in order to achieve your social media goals.

 

Automate Some of Your Posts

To deter you from having to log in to 10 different social media platforms to post 10 different pieces of content, use a social media management platform like Hootsuite. There are others our there, Hootsuite just happens to be my personal preference. You can bulk upload posts (I usually do them for 2 weeks at a time) so you have a constant stream of content pushing out to your designated connected social networks within Hootsuite. There are different plans depending on your needs. The FREE plan is great if you’re just starting out and only have a few social networks. The PRO plan is the one I prefer – it’s $10 a month and you can add various social networks (I have about 30 or so on mine). There is also an Enterprise level plan if you’re a larger organization and have multiple tasks and users on one platform (ideal for larger companies that have social media teams).

Hootsuite also allows you to monitor other social networks simultaneously which allow you to respond in a timely manner to customers without having to log into each social network individually. This will save you lots of time!

If you have a WordPress website, there is also an auto-scheduler/poster called NextScripts. It allows you to post to various blogs and social media sites with the click of the PUBLISH button! This is another great way to get referral traffic from social media to your website. There is a similar product called Jetpack, but I prefer NextScripts because it allows you to post to several more sites that Jetpack does not offer at this time.

 

These are just a few helpful tips when jumping into social media. You’ll find what works best for you and your brand after a few months. With all aspects of digital marketing, these things are always changing and evolving. Keep yourself educated and don’t be afraid to ask for help!

 

Alissa Imperatore

Director of Marketing for Callagy Law

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Starting a Business

So you want to build a business but are unsure how to begin. The first step in creating a business is developing a business plan. The plan is your road map. It will describe your business’s purpose, analyze the market you’re entering and identify the resources you will need.

Step two is two determine where you business will be located. Location, location, location! Whether it’s on the corner of a busy city block or the virtual space of the internet, it’s important to determine what venue is going to serve your business best.

After determining the ideal location for you business, you will have to acquire the funds necessary to be successful. A big problem start ups have is underfunding due to poor planning. Careful thought of all areas that require funding will avoid headaches in the future.

Finally, you’ll want to address your legalities. Creating bylaws and partnership and employee agreements is an important part of creating a sound business. These documents will clarify the relationships of the individuals that take part in the business. In a related note, you’ll want to make sure you obtain all licenses and permits your business will need and to register to do business.

Starting a Business #Business, #Businesslaw, #Businesslawyer, #Contracts, #Plan