Blog

2015 Social Media Kill List

I’m having a hard time accepting that the first quarter of 2015 is over. It seems like I was just putting up Christmas lights. My inability to accept this fact is due to the following blog, which I found. It’s mine. I drafted it, originally, to go out as my January 1st call to arms. Now three months have passed and I am only partially on plan, probably because I never posted the blog. This, therefore, is my public admission, and best stab at getting on track. Hey, I never claimed to be perfect.

I’ve reworked it to be my plan for the rest of 2015 so it’s still relevant. For better or worse the concepts were as valid then as they are today.

———- 

I am a social media manager. 

I won’t call myself: maven, guru, ninja, or any of the other abused epithets. My job is already cool. It doesn’t need a title to make it cooler. I get paid to surf social media, read blogs, make comments, write articles, and post pictures.

It’s like the grown-up version of working at Blockbusters. [Kids: People used rent something called VHS… never mind.] 

My job might be fun, but one thing’s for certain. It ain’t easy. As with all jobs, there’s an aspect of the work which stinks. Measuring success is easiest when talking dollars, or leads, or even click-through-rates. Getting the results I care about is also a challenge.

Clients like metrics… especially if they’re tied to people, and their wallets. I speak from authority when I report: nobody cares about increasing engagement scores.

It’s as much work to sell clients on the value of engagement scores as it is increasing those very scores.

Those of us who run in social media circles know that we are the redheaded stepchildren of internet marketing. We stand on the shoulders of platforms, sandwiched between paid advertising, and SEO.

We are the plug and play network wizards who front like we work on Madison Avenue circa ’72.

And yet, our work counts. It’s needed. Otherwise it wouldn’t exist. If CEOs and company owners had the leisure time to surf Pinterest and post Instagram photos, then they likely wouldn’t be CEOs and owners. To all of my social media people out there: you matter. Solidarity. But, I believe we can be better. I can definitely be better.  

Here’s my loose plan for the rest of 2015:

1. I will listen better.
2. I will get my clients more engaged.
3. And I will be a community leader.

The importance of listening isn’t such an easy concept to grasp, and so difficult to execute.   

It seems even the most talented of us get a little caught up in all our importance. We know communication is about two things, and someday we’ll get good at the listening part, promise. For now there’s just so much cool stuff we want to share with the world. 

So for the rest of 2015 I am taking a cue from Toyota, and doing a better job of active listening. It’s not enough to observe conversations, and it’s really not cool to constantly twist them into pitches, but it is cool to offer intelligent contributions. It’s even cooler to share the things others are sharing. 

My clients will not take a back seat on their social media profiles. 

When I started this I wanted to be the full service social media provider. “Don’t worry… we’ll take care of everything.” Why not? We can manage all the unfun work. We can run the campaigns, time the posts, find the content, and measure the results. But, followers need to hear from the CEO, even if it’s at the hands of the CEO’s assistant, who’s taking dictation.

Richard Branson is my personal hero. By 2016 my clients will be so sick of Branson, and Virgin, they’ll be signing up for the Mars mission. If you want to see an example of a CEO who gets social media, follow this man. Do everything he does.

It’s true. Clients don’t have time to listen, or post fifty-thousand times a day, but they can step in from time-to-time, reshare super cool company posts, and throw in their two cents. They can make time to be the flesh and blood leaders of their organizations. They have to if they want to play the hottest game in marketing. I am committed to dragging them kicking and screaming if I have to.

Being involved in community is as relevant in the virtual world as it is in the real world. 

Community involvement, as I’m figuring out, goes beyond joining social media groups on LinkedIn and Google+. I also have to engage with posts in these arenas, daily, hourly, and every moment of the day. I’ve found almost immediate value with starting my own communities, or groups related to my clients businesses.

Yes, I know… they’re like chatrooms 2.0, but they are the places where conversations are all migrating. I’m the sort of guy who doesn’t waste time; I head straight to the kitchen at any house party. Everybody will be there sooner or later and I want to be near the fridge. I will do the same with social media groups.

Alright. That’s my plan for the rest of 2015. I would love to hear from you if you think I’m way off base. The only way any of us social media students has learned is through trial, (much) error, and the advice of others… even they are really SEO nerds.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Have a great second quarter!

-Damon Mitchell, Social Media Warlock for DEP

Categorised in: Social Media

This post was written by downtownecommerce_admin