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.

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