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Social Media For 50+ Professional
Here’s a trend that appears to be growing — professionals over the age of 50 who are not looking to retire any time soon, and who want to be active in social media. These people have successful careers in their respective market place, but they are uncertain about how to go about a social media strategy. They recognize the need to be present in social media, but don’t necessarily have the desire to learn everything.
In a busy day packed with meetings, phone conferences and emails to answer, employing social media skills often falls to the bottom of the list. For such professionals who are only dabbling in social media perhaps with a LinkedIn profile and a Facebook account, the need is there for someone to create a social media strategy and get them started in the right direction. Without such help, a lack of social media skills may begin to hold them back. Social media is only getting stronger, and being present keeps professionals top of mind in a peer arena, offers opportunity to share business or personality characteristics, and opens up opportunities for introductions.
When considering a social media strategy, start by choosing a format for the benefits it offers. Here are examples from the best known social media platforms:
LinkedIn – While ‘all’ can be a risky limb to stand on, I will say that ALL professionals need a LinkedIn profile at the very minimum. If you deal with professionals, it’s a great resource for industry, company or personnel information. Also, LinkedIn is like ‘personal public relations.’ if a person leaves a company, they still have their LinkedIn account and can be easily found. You won’t lose touch.
Facebook – Facebook is often accused of being a personal rather than a business platform. Yes, it’s much less formal, but because of the more personal approach, it’s a great way for people to get to know the kind of person you are. In a world where people desire to see transparency, ‘friends’ can see your personality, and make a determination about your being the kind of person with whom they want to do business. So, yes, that can be a two-edged sword – be careful!
Blogging – There’s no better way for you to position yourself as expert on a topic than blogging. You get to choose your topics and showcase your expertise. Blogging also exposes your personality by the way you communicate with your audience. It gives you the opportunity to address your customer or audience concerns – to focus on their needs, and become a valuable resource. Blogging also increases Search Engine Optimization for your Web site. It’s increasingly important because Google rankings care about the frequency of updates to your content.
Twitter – Like short blog posts, Twitter offers an opportunity to comment on topics that are important to your audience of current or potential business contacts. I know of a CPA who met a great referral source on Twitter, and now they’re talking live. (One note – you can post the same status update to LinkedIn and Twitter – they’re the same number of characters. Two birds, one stone!)
You don’t need to be overwhelmed, and you can be successful at social media. Remember these three things:
1. It’s okay to not do it all – Just get started. Take advantage of the tools on LinkedIn, do status updates, then take on another media as you become comfortable.
2. Pick what you like – Choose the social media that you feel you can do well and that you’re willing to invest yourself in. If blogging stresses you out, leave it alone, or find a resource to help you do it.
3. Stay on top of it – Be consistent. This can be hard, but make it a priority and schedule time to make it happen.
By following these three principles, you’ll create a new and potentially very rewarding aspect to your career. If you have questions or need additional help getting started, give me a call or send me an email.
Dallas Social Media: Gut Check
Dallas Social Media: Gut Check
Recently I got so excited to watch a Mashable video about one of my new marketing heros, Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO of Kodak. He published a new book, Running the Gauntlet, which discusses how we need to take a different look at our attitude to change our business approach and the future.
Finally, a large corporate executive gets it and has said out loud about social media and the return on investment scrutiny. We have all heard that if you cannot measure an activity then you should not do it. An attempt at social media measurement can hurl a marketing executive into spasmodic tremors since it’s extremely difficult to measure the results, especially in the beginning.
Hayzlett discusses is how we should step back from traditional thinking about expecting to be able to measure social media. Instead, Hayzlett suggests that leaders should look at the impact their business could have if they did not do any form of social media. Further explaining about whether or not social media can be measured, Hayzlette goes on to say, “…why spend all the time doing it [measuring social media] when you know in your gut that if I do a press release and it gets noticed and picked up by ‘x’ number or if I get people talking about me by 50 million, 5,000 or 50, [people] it’s good.”
Driving home his point, he discusses that getting folks engaged in your company is what’s most important. I personally could not agree more. You never know how much impact you are making offline and can only see parts of it online. I have had conversations with people that saw one of my Facebook posts or blog posts that never commented online.
I have never been one to think that you should do something just because everyone else is doing it. Some businesses may do better or personally favor one social media platform over another. Some industries use some platforms more resourcefully than others. Just know that establishing a social media campaign is not one-size fits all.
Online Marketing Not Rocket Science, But A Science
Recently I was in a room when someone told a business owner of a multi-million dollar company that they need to have a well-designed Web site. Frankly, I couldn’t agree more. That statement was shortly followed up with another sentence that I vehemently disagree with, “You can find a high school kid to put one together for you…” In all that is sacred to my very core, I felt my blood pressure rise to new professional proportions. My inner Web master voice screamed, “So let me get this clear, you would trust a multi-million dollar company’s online marketing strategy to someone that just got their drivers license? Give me a [low-grade expletive here, but not the one you are thinking] break!”
Unfortunately, this is very common thinking among a few that may not understand all the complexities of online marketing. With so much advertising about how you can have a Web site in just a few minutes, it may lead some to believe that it’s almost effortless. I consider it somewhat like getting body work on your car. There will be a handful of people that have the time and inclination to do the job. But what will the outcome produce – possibly a work of art or a wreck of ages.
Believe me when I say, online marketing is not rock science; nevertheless, it is a science. Unlike car repair, the work does not end with any particular task – Web site design, blog post or social media campaign. The work of online marketing is ongoing and tactical but with a huge flair of personality. So do I believe a high school kid can do a Web site? Yes. Do I believe they could incorporate all that goes into the design, content, keywords, etc.? Sure if they are mature in their understanding of human nature, have a strong technical ability and can process all the components of a company’s strategy…not likely.
Facebook Changes Frustrate Many
Sometimes it’s good to make news when you launch a product change; then again, sometimes it’s not. We heard about changes coming to the Facebook layout but no one could predict the outrage expressed by many users reacting to the altered news feed. The change is supposed to give users a more emotionally connected experience. Hmmmm.
The primary news feed now shows the posts from friends that you would most likely want to see. There is a sidebar of all the posts (called a ticker), but it seems a bit clumsy and less engaging. My personal interpretation is that apparently Facebook has created an algorithm that can read the minds of users by determining which post they would like to see. Everything else is fed through the ticker which, in my opinion, diminishes the connectivity with friends.
Predominately, many of my own friends, with the exception of one that likes a challenge in figuring things out, have been negative towards the recent news feed changes.
On the positive side, the enlarged image sizes seem to have made a favorable impact. Also, the information bar at the top right has a cleaner look and usability allowing users to see which profile is being used. That comes in handy for those of us that switch between several accounts daily.
With over 750 million users worldwide, no one knows for sure how this will impact the usage. I suspect if the Facebook modifications affects the advertising, then we will see some other transformation to the existing layout or an option to revert back to the old layout.
Facebook Benefits & Disadvantages
Below are 3 benefits of using Facebook and 3 disadvantages of this social media platform. There are many points that can be made for each side of the discussion but we are all busy…I like to keep things short.
3 Benefits of Facebook
Easy To Get Started & Connect
Essentially, you fill out a few easy blanks and within a few minutes, you are among the masses of people on Facebook. Since so many users are already on this platform, you will likely find several of your friends, associates, old high school buddies, college alumni and many others that you have not been in touch with for many months, even years. The stats that Facebook touts are:
- More than 750 million active users
- 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
- Average user has 130 friends
- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
According to the online stats group, Marketing Charts, ”The number of US women over age 55 using Facebook grew by 175.3% since September 2008, making mature females one of the fastest growing demographic groups on the social network.”
Search Engine Benefits
Many SEO experts are claiming that the number of ‘likes’ on your account can improve your SEO value. Whether it does or not, having a Facebook account gives you more credibility, drives direct traffic to your Web site and helps to create a company brand. (See more about that in my next point.)
Viral Marketing (something you want to catch)
If you post something of interest or if you have a business that catches “on fire”, you can make huge strides. The most recent Facebook success is a new group of Texas ladies on Facebook called the Crock Pot Girls. Their Facebook page was started on August 19, 2011; by September 1, 2011, they had over 1,000,000 fans. In fact, they had to upgrade their Web site because of all the hits they were getting. Why is this remarkable? I checked out a few major companies like Charmin. As of this writing they have over 97,000 fans. Tide detergent has over 1.8 million fans. I am sure it has taken them years to get to those numbers! I promise you, there isn’t a major company out there that would like the kind of attention Crock Pot Girls have gotten in under 3 weeks. Marketing 101 – find a need and fill it.
3 Disadvantages of Facebook
Lack of Privacy
Your life is an open book. Yes there are protective features you can implement to keep people from seeing certain parts of your Facebook account (i.e. pictures). But that doesn’t prevent people from tagging you in a picture from their account.
It has been my experience that many people lurk on Facebook as opposed to actively participating. This is not a bad thing; it is what it is. Just like in the real world, some people will actively engage with everyone while others prefer to stand quietly on the periphery.
Think Twice About Posts
As in the real world, our digital conversations must also be guarded. The biggest disadvantage to any online post/conversation is that no one can hear your inflection. And unless your readers know you well, they may not completely understand the intent behind your words. Choose wisely you will Padawan.
Inundation of Messages
If you really begin to get involved and stay up with all the messages, it can become overwhelming. Facebook, like any other medium requires work and commitment. Don’t think of this platform as a project but rather an ongoing process that requires thought and creativity.
Most of all, have fun. Facebook shouldn’t feel like a chore but rather a social party.
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