Social Media 101 Rules of Engagment: Rule #1

Rule # 1:  Do your homework,  do your research!

Thinking of using social media as a tool to market yourself as a brand or market your business? Good! It’s a great tool or should I say groups of tools.

Now STOP.

I beg of you DO NOT PROCEED without creating a social media marketing plan.  Your plan should include some if not all the following  basics to start: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,  MailChimp (or email program equivalent), and a Communication Hub (e.i. Blog, WebSite, Facebook company page).

But first… Do your homework! Do your Research.

Research each social media option. Just be a fly on the wall for a while.  To be a fly you will first have to open accounts for each social media network. Do not use the email account that you will using for your future marketing – open a Gmail email just for research purposes. (www.gmail.com) so when you are ready to kick off your social media plan you can use the proper email address. Do not upload your computer’s email database. Save your database uploading for your “real” social media accounts not the ones you will be using for research.

Now start. Listen to the conversations. Explore. Find the differences of each social media network. Don’t engage right away, just listen to the conversations. Engage slowly. Learn social media “speak”, what acronyms & abbreviation like “@” and “RT” mean, how they are used and what they can do for you.

When you are ready to carry out your social media plan, be ready to set up new accounts for each media. To get your best return on investment (ROI) you will want a good name & icon as well as a great description (profile) of you or your business.  In most cases you will be able to make edits, but not in all cases, so it is best to prepare.  If you decided to use your company logo be ready to reduce the size of it so it reads correctly in the icon box size.  Do you have a photo, one to is right for your branding? You will need one. You will also need to decide if you are going to customize your background when possible, twitter for example. Don’t forget to continue your personal or your company’s branding with your social media.  Make this part of your plan.

To get you started:

Twitter acronyms & abbreviations by Tom Duong  http://bit.ly/cXP9yi

The Ultimate Glossary -101 Social Media Marketing Terms Explained by hubspot.com  http://bit.ly/9wFe2c

Next:  Social Media 101 Rules of Engagement: Rule #2 Creating Your Social Media Plan

LinkedIn: Who’s viewing your profile?

One of the tools your LinkedIn account offers is the ability to see who has viewed your profile by clicking   “Your profile has been viewed by 7 people in the past day.”  (Note: Free profile accounts have access to a limited list of recent viewers, upgraded paid accounts have access to a complete list of recent viewers.)

This is an extremely valuable tool. Make sure to check it often. You will gain insight into the type of business professionals your profile is attracting and glean possible business connections and/or leads.

 Your profile viewers will reveal themselves to you in three ways:

#1  Full Contact information   This is a type of profile viewer is ideal. They are open to connecting. They are willing to share 100% of who they are with you. Take some time and review their profile. See what you have in common: groups, education, connections or business.  If you find commonalities offer an olive branch…send them an invitation to link in with you along with a personal note. Make the connection.

#2  Partial Contact Information   Someone in the (Professional Function: i.e. Business Administration function) in the (Industry: i.e. Marketing and Advertising industry) from (Location: Greater New York City Area)  This type of profile viewer is a bit guarded. You will not know actually who viewed your profile but you will get a good idea of who it might have been by reviewing the list that is provided. From personal experience, your profile viewer will most likely be one of the top 5 people on the list.  They might be open to connecting, however you will have to wait for them to make the first move or find something you have in common by reviewing each profile and then send an invitation with a personal note to link in with you. If this is your profile setting consider changing it – open yourself up for connections you are missing out on. You are missing an opportunity to market yourself.

 #3 “Anonymous LinkedIn User”   This type of profile viewer is unnerving. They are 100% secretive. They are not willing to share yet they wish to take advantage of the information you are sharing. This viewer of your profile is a taker, creeper or stalker. They are defeating the purpose of using social media, it is to be social and connect with others. Hopefully in the near future LinkedIn will give each profile account holder the ability to block these viewers. If the viewer of your profile is not willing to offer you at least a #2 profile viewer description you should have the option to block them, they are not being social. Take the poll.  How you feel about anonymous users   http://linkd.in/iCyTug

If you are not attracting the right type of viewers, its time to make changes to your profile. Your LinkedIn profile is a vital part of your personal branding and marketing plan. It should be updated regularly and continue to evolve just like you and your career do.

What kind of profile viewer are you? Are you ready to fully commitment to your LinkedIn professional network and the opportunities that can present themselves? Check your profile settings and make sure you’re getting the most out of your LinkedIn social marketing efforts.