My Dirty Little Secret On How To Save Time Using Social Media

I have a secret.

Listen in.

I know that Social Media is a time suck. Social Media is overwhelming. Social Media is__________(enter your frustration here)

BUT

Social Media is great for customer service. Social Media helps you reach a whole new audience and leverages your existing happy clients to extend your message for you.

The secret behind saving time lies within the answers to the following questions (you will fill-in-the-blank).

1) My main business objective is _______________________________________

You may look at your mission, vision, goals to get to the ultimate answer but it’s important that you get crystal clear on your objective(s).

2) My ideal client wants me to solve this problem _________________________________________

3) I know how to solve this problem better than ANYONE else because ___________________________

4) My client connects on _____________________ (insert Social Media site here), so here are 5 different topics I know they will find most useful to have their problems solved.

i)_____________________________

ii)_____________________________

iii)_____________________________

iv)_____________________________

v)_____________________________

The more detailed and granular you can get with fleshing out your strategy, the clearer you will be about:

• what you want
• who you’re connecting with
• what THEY want
• and how you can best communicate all the necessary information to build trust and take them from awareness into happily converted clients

Rest assured, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Social Media is grassroots, guerrilla marketing BUT if you stay the course and build day-by-day, week-by-week you will produce results.

It’s kind of like dating. You don’t expect someone to fall in love with you immediately. You earn trust, you court them, you prove that you are meant to be together. It’s not the grand gestures that make a difference, it’s the little things that show you’re in it for the long haul.

And the biggest, deepest darkest, dirty little secret about saving time with Social Media comes wrapped in the package of ONE word (drum roll please) = SYNDICATION.

The idea behind syndication is to “do once and repurpose to many”.

For example: You write a weekly blog that solves your clients’ problems and speaks to their pain.

Step 1 Create the content: You write a killer headline that makes people stop in their tracks. The copy that follows is a must-read article.

Step 2  Let’s get visual: is there a suitable visual that can enhance your copy? What picture will help convey the message, resonate emotionally and tell the story? If you can’t find one, make one.

Step 3  Distribution: You ensure that copy reaches your audience via your e-newsletter, your hard copy newsletter, you craft a 140 character tweet, you post it as a status update on your LinkedIn profile, you craft your message to suit Facebook, you provide the tools for other people to help share it for you.

Remember! You’re going to have to tweak the message according to the Social Media channel. One size does NOT fit all. Some sites are more “fun”, some are more professional. Some sites/audiences prefer early morning posts, some sites/audiences prefer end of day.

Step 4 Measure the results and work what works: Some messages are going to resonate better than others. Whenever possible, re-share your the posts that received the most attention. Just because it’s old news to you, it may be new news to someone who hasn’t read it yet.

So that’s it folks. It’s that simple. Publish once, repurpose to many.

I’m not saying that the publishing part is going to be easy but I’m sure you’ll see as you begin to write down keyword, key themes, key messages, pain points and problems, you’ll find you have a LOT to say.

You are the expert in what YOU do. Your clients want to know what you have to say.

Get creative. Be bold. Publish and syndicate. (And prosper!)