Exploring Your Inner Marketing Guru

I specialize in Social Media Strategy. That’s what I do. I’ve been a Social Media Strategist since before social media was the big buzz word.

However, a big part of what I provide to clients is knowledge. Empowering clients to take control of their own SMM campaign is very important to me. Last week a colleague questioned this attitude – my intent to educate others rather than attempting to control their social media endeavors. My years in sales, corporate eMedia, Publicist, and as Social Media Strategist  have made me a firm believer in setting people up to succeed. It’s no different than the “Praise People to Success” ideal. Success – without knowledge – is like taking the bumpy back roads. You can reach your destination, but will probably take longer. Why work towards an unattainable goal?

Here are what I believe to be the top 3 reasons why the leaders in Social Media Marketing willingly take an active role in empowering others to succeed.

Authenticity draws the authentic … and encourages sincerity in the sales cycle. My clients know they will always get 110% from me. I strive to under promise and over deliver. Fostering authenticity forges transparent relationships in the business arena. And this is a great thing! Educating others demonstrates a solid belief in their business… and in turn gives credibility to your own business.

Boldly empowering our clients makes for increased word-of-mouth referrals. Which would you rather be known for… your prowess as an over-paid Marketing Shark, or your sincere belief in others and a firm commitment to their success? Educating clients makes for less support of the fakes – relying on ‘Bots, Spam and Auto responders. Setting clients up to succeed via continuing education, rather than to just survive through reliance is paramount as applies to the power of Web 2.0 technology.

Instructing clients to consider ROE (Return on Engagement), rather than just judging a campaign based upon Return On Investment (ROI), takes a business from a one-dimensional mind-set, to an High Definition mind-set. Teaching clients to successfully blog from an original point of view, to monitor their brand and reputation, and to recognize the impact of a viral marketing campaign creates an ongoing thirst for knowledge. Empowering local businesses in a dampened economy means strong social networking connections flourish. And that’s why we’re here. The concept behind Social Media?  Generating connections and relationship building.

The truth is… up front I can make more money by dictating a managed SMM campaign – without a doubt!  But leveraging a social media network to expand a client’s reach and visibility serves to expand my reach as an educator and professional in my niche. Full-circle opportunities exist for networkers who aren’t afraid of transparency. In the long run, I’m placing my best bet on word-of-mouth referrals, and strong business networks to further my success.

Lisa Kling is a Social Media Strategist, and the Owner/Creative Director at BIGPicture Media. A self-professed social media junkie, Lisa specializes in writing compelling content for her clients. Capturing the creative ideas of others, and making them into effective marketing strategies. Empowering others to embrace social media is something she never gets tired of.  Lisa welcomes professional connections to her LinkedIn network: Lisa Kling on LinkedIn.

The Ten BEST Ways to Improve Visibility

The Ten BEST Ways

to improve visibility and traffic, for every size business!

 

 

Do you think that the economy has changed the way people spend money? You’re correct! A recent MSN poll found an increase in practicality spending vs. impulse buying. It’s definitely safe to say that the general public is keeping a tighter grip on their wallets! If you’re a small to mid-sized business owner, does this mean you should advertise more or less? Can your marketing budget be effective in times of an economic downturn?

We say “you’re in the right place at the right time!”  

Social Media Networks have allowed millions of people to interact and begin to embrace a new set of standards when it comes to customer service and interaction with the businesses they choose to support.  People are flocking to Social Networking sites for entertainment, information, business and social networking. As you develop your Social Media Network and gain followers via free Social Networking sites (like Face Book, Twitter, My Space, etc.), make sure to keep in mind the implications of putting your best face forward and creating solid relationships.  Here are ten ways to increase your visibility and improve traffic to your business as you grow your Social Media Network:

• Embrace Change. Change is constant, and in the business arena the ability to roll with the punches is non-negotiable.
• Keep up with the trends. Content is still King: visibility drives traffic to your page, blog or networking site… where more of your content is to be viewed. (See the circle there?) If you are unable to write content for yourself, find a marketing professional who will.
• Engage your community. Create posts which spark interactivity. People perceive interest via interaction.  Interact with those whose business you wish to earn.
• Create value in your tips, Tweets and updates. Know your stuff and be the expert opinion giver.  Don’t make your status updates into 140-word sales pitches. If your audience knows you to be a provider of valid, relevant information, they’ll be that much more likely to look forward to what you have to say!
• Offer useable content. If your audience re-tweets your post, they’ll be sending exactly what you just said to all of their followers because they though what you said was valid and interesting,  you’ve just gained valuable ground visibility-wise.
• Pay It Forward. Good Karma never goes out of style. Mention others whose posts or status updates were relevant or intriguing to you. Social Networking is all about sharing… sharing links to timely blog posts or recommending a colleague is the way to go.
• Embrace growth and education. Giving people real-time tips about your product or the service you offer is much more productive than posts that sound like… “Grabbed a beer from the fridge. Watched TV reruns ‘til I fell asleep in the chair.”
• Under-Promise and Over-Deliver. Great customer service never goes out of style. And with today’s technology, word of the way you went above and beyond (or not!) travels at the speed of light.
• Listen – and respond – to customer input.  Take the good with the bad.  Stepping up to the plate and addressing a complaint shows you have integrity. Making it right shows you are ethical. Doing so in a real-time environment shows you have embraced technology and are thriving at the top of your game. 
• Let your customers nurture YOU a little bit, too. People want to know someone is listening… but they also have the need to provide care to others. Accept kudos and compliments, and allow your client base to get to know you, same as you’d like to learn more about them.

Lisa Kling

Social Media Strategist, Marketing Consultant

Owner, BIGPicture Media

Lisa@BIGPictureEnterprises.com

@bigpicturemktg (find me on Twitter!)