As a social media consultant, I get the chance to work from the ground up, so to speak. Many of my clients want to jump on the social media bandwagon, but aren’t exactly sure what it entails.
Or what social media is, for that matter.
My preliminary meeting with them to see how I can help their business is becoming standard fare. They’ve been recommended to me by another client (I only have word-of-mouth business, no advertising). The other clients have been very pleased with my work and really wanted to bring their business up-to-date. Then comes the big question…
What types of social media did you need help with?
This is usually where the blank looks begin and I remember just how new social media to some of these businesses! One of my current clients, Ralph’s Joy of Living, just celebrated 60 years… quite an accomplishment, in my opinion. Social media is brand new territory for them, living and working in a small town…
where technology may be a few steps behind.
Many people just assume that I start a Facebook page for them and voila! Instant social media, right? Wrong. In order for a small business to really be successful in social media, you need to do five things: analyze, offer, explain, implement, and monitor.
The first step, analyze, is often the longest and most tedious.
You need to sit down with the clients and find out what they want to improve. What exactly do they hope of achieve through social media? Chances are, they’re not sure. You need to be realistic, specific, and objective. Make sure your clients have a positioning statement and a goal that is measurable.
Creating a business plan, or offer, is the next logical step.
Which types of social media are you recommending for them? How often do these need to happen? Create a hard copy of the business plan for your clients to KEEP. I can’t tell you how often clients tell me that they appreciate that workbook or binder. Make sure it is detailed and that you update it throughout the consulting process – you will want to give them a finalized version when you send them off on their own.
Explaining, and demonstrating, will take a bit more time.
Create appropriate channels, using the business name whenever possible, for all types of social media that you’d planned. You will have to demonstrate HOW to use these venues and also WHAT information they’ll need to put up. Always have a few examples of each type in their binder – it will give them something to fall back on in the future.
Implementing should happen as an umbrella, to cover all the bases at once.
For some of my clients, we’ve chosen to use a new marketing campaign or new brand image to launch their social media venture. The key is consistency – so don’t rush it. Make sure that they will be able to keep up with the schedule that you’ve given to them. Sometimes taking a few months to make sure that they will be able to provide content on a regular basis is more beneficial than starting, but only using social media sporadically.
Monitoring is essential.
Period. You need to know what types of things are being said about your business! Who is talking about you? What types of things are they saying? Teaching them how to monitor is key for social media being successful. No matter how great a campaign is, if you have a lot of negative information out there, your customers (and future customers) are going to find it.
Continue to pop in on your clients after you’ve wrapped it up.
You want to see how they’re faring. Make sure that they don’t have any questions about what or why they’re doing certain things. They will appreciate the personal touch, but you will also get a better grasp on what is most successful (and probably why).
Don’t get frustrated if it seems like it is taking a long time.
Remember to keep your eye on the goal! Slow, steady, and consistent will always win out… remember the tortoise and the hare? Keep on going, Mr Turtle!
Or what social media is, for that matter.
My preliminary meeting with them to see how I can help their business is becoming standard fare. They’ve been recommended to me by another client (I only have word-of-mouth business, no advertising). The other clients have been very pleased with my work and really wanted to bring their business up-to-date. Then comes the big question…
What types of social media did you need help with?
This is usually where the blank looks begin and I remember just how new social media to some of these businesses! One of my current clients, Ralph’s Joy of Living, just celebrated 60 years… quite an accomplishment, in my opinion. Social media is brand new territory for them, living and working in a small town…
where technology may be a few steps behind.
Many people just assume that I start a Facebook page for them and voila! Instant social media, right? Wrong. In order for a small business to really be successful in social media, you need to do five things: analyze, offer, explain, implement, and monitor.
The first step, analyze, is often the longest and most tedious.
You need to sit down with the clients and find out what they want to improve. What exactly do they hope of achieve through social media? Chances are, they’re not sure. You need to be realistic, specific, and objective. Make sure your clients have a positioning statement and a goal that is measurable.
Creating a business plan, or offer, is the next logical step.
Which types of social media are you recommending for them? How often do these need to happen? Create a hard copy of the business plan for your clients to KEEP. I can’t tell you how often clients tell me that they appreciate that workbook or binder. Make sure it is detailed and that you update it throughout the consulting process – you will want to give them a finalized version when you send them off on their own.
Explaining, and demonstrating, will take a bit more time.
Create appropriate channels, using the business name whenever possible, for all types of social media that you’d planned. You will have to demonstrate HOW to use these venues and also WHAT information they’ll need to put up. Always have a few examples of each type in their binder – it will give them something to fall back on in the future.
Implementing should happen as an umbrella, to cover all the bases at once.
For some of my clients, we’ve chosen to use a new marketing campaign or new brand image to launch their social media venture. The key is consistency – so don’t rush it. Make sure that they will be able to keep up with the schedule that you’ve given to them. Sometimes taking a few months to make sure that they will be able to provide content on a regular basis is more beneficial than starting, but only using social media sporadically.
Monitoring is essential.
Period. You need to know what types of things are being said about your business! Who is talking about you? What types of things are they saying? Teaching them how to monitor is key for social media being successful. No matter how great a campaign is, if you have a lot of negative information out there, your customers (and future customers) are going to find it.
Continue to pop in on your clients after you’ve wrapped it up.
You want to see how they’re faring. Make sure that they don’t have any questions about what or why they’re doing certain things. They will appreciate the personal touch, but you will also get a better grasp on what is most successful (and probably why).
Don’t get frustrated if it seems like it is taking a long time.
Remember to keep your eye on the goal! Slow, steady, and consistent will always win out… remember the tortoise and the hare? Keep on going, Mr Turtle!
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