The MarCom Strategist: A Free B2B Marketing E-Newsletter

March, 2010
Published by Dianna Huff
Volume 10, Number 2

Welcome!

One question I hear frequently, whether I'm speaking before a group or with clients is, "How do you find time for social media?" I admit it, social media can take up a lot of time, especially if you're a small business trying to manage multiple platforms (i.e. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, etc.). In this month's issue, I give you some tips and tools you can use to effectively manage social media -- versus letting it manage you.

This month also marks a huge change: I've incorporated this newsletter -- and my Website -- into WordPress. Be sure to mosey on through my site -- I've completely revamped my messaging, service offerings and learning center. Enjoy!

Regards,

Dianna Huff

Finding Time for Social Media -- Six Tips and Tricks

It's the dirty secret many marketers don't like to admit: yes, social media can be overwhelming and it does cut into work time. This is especially true for small business owners and marketers who run lean and mean and don't have time to fully integrate various social media platforms (i.e. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Buzz, etc.) into their daily routines.

Ignoring social media isn't the answer either, especially since it offers so many business benefits, such as increased exposure and brand awareness, networking, customer feedback, and yes, even leads and sales.

So how do you manage it -- versus letting it manage you? I've listed a few of my tips.

1. Have a strategy in place first -- If you jump into Twitter or Facebook without a plan for why you're doing so, you'll become like Alice in Wonderland who runs down the rabbit hole with no idea where she's going. Before you make the social media leap, ask yourself the following:

• What is our objective?
• What do we want to achieve and how will social media help us meet these goals?
• How will we measure outcomes?
• Who on our team will monitor and respond to people who engage with us?
• How much time do we have to devote to social media?
• Which platforms are best for our business?

2. Don't be afraid to start off slowly -- Many people mistakenly believe they have to be and do everything all at once. Nothing is further from the truth.

You can start off with LinkedIn, and once you feel comfortable with it, move on to Twitter or Facebook or Google Buzz. And, you don't have to do Facebook or Google Buzz if you don't want to. (Honest.) What's most important is that you consistently engage with your platform of choice -- rather than opening a profile, posting a couple of things, and then abandoning it.

3. Set a posting schedule -- Tim Ferris, author of, The Four Hour Work Week, talks a great deal about how to manage email. One of his tips is to simply stop checking it 20 hundred times a day. (Guilty as charged.)

It works the same way with social media. Set a time of day where you'll check your LinkedIn group, your Twitter feed, etc. and reply to those who've engaged with you, post a question or answer to a discussion, or post links to content you've read.

I've found that it helps to set aside a half hour or so twice a week to read blogs and then post links to those articles I think my followers will find interesting. Not only does "batching" this task save time, it also cuts down on the overwhelm of too much information.

4. Use tools to help manage multiple accounts -- If you're a business with multiple employees posting on Twitter, or if you're a consultant / agency managing multiple client accounts, it really helps to use tools such as HootSuite or TweetDeck. These tools combine various other tools, such as a URL shortener, and they eliminate having to log in and out multiple times.

5. Announce when you're taking a break -- Let's face it, you can't be "on" all the time. You will have times when you need a break from social media so that you can focus on big projects. I, for example, took a 6-week break from my blog and other social activities so that I could work on my Website. Jeremiah Owyang, a prominent blogger and industry analyst, took a break last year from Twitter.

If you need a break, it pays to tell your network / followers that you are taking one, the reason, and how long it will last. This way people will know you're working on something else versus falling off the face of the planet.

6. Outsource it -- You can find lots of blog posts about the ethics of ghost-blogging or ghost-tweeting, but the fact is, if you're a small business, you may not be able to manage a social media campaign on your own.

Look for an agency, consultant, or even a virtual assistant who can help you. My virtual assistant, for example, knows HootSuite inside and out and manages accounts for multiple clients.

Social media is magic: you create content, you publish the content and alert your network that it exists, and then people come to your site, comment on it, download it, and tell others about it. Yeah!

The trick to making the magic happen is to manage your social media efforts the same way you would any marketing campaign: have a strategy in place based on your business and marketing objectives, set realistic expectations, and don't buy into the hype that you must be "on" 24/7. Follow the above tips and you'll find social media to be a rewarding experience.

Save Time and Money.
Hire Me to Write Your Next Website

Are you redesigning and/or rewriting your corporate Website and need help incorporating search engine optimization (SEO) and social media – while at the same time communicating your message?

Don’t try to do all of this yourself. Instead, hire me to help you manage your project start to finish. As a professional and experienced results-based B2B marketer, I'll help you:

• Determine your Website's objective (i.e.: what do you want prospects to do once they get to your site?).
• Develop your messages by interviewing key people within your organization and researching your competitors and industry.
• Write clean, energetic copy that compels site visitors (your prospects) to take action.
• Optimize the site so that prospects can find it in the search engines.
• Recommend how to create new content that brings in more traffic and links (important for SEO).

To learn more about my services, take a look at my B2B Website Development Services to see how you can put my award-winning expertise to work for you -- or call 603-382-8093.

“Dianna was referred to us to help write the copy for our new Website. Our goal was to have our company's dedication to customer service and industry experience come through to site visitors, and Dianna accomplished that extremely well. She listened to what we were trying to communicate on the site, organized it, and then put it into black-and-white. Dianna also made excellent suggestions to make sure the site was contemporary. Our copy was also ready when she said it would be! If you work with Dianna you are in for a very professional pleasant experience.”

Laura Soussan
VP Marketing
CommSat.net

Contact DH Communications

Telephone: 603-382-8093
Email: info@dhcommunications.com

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