Maintaining a social media presence
By Samantha Hazlewood
“So…let me get this right. They pay you to surf the Internet?”
“Your job must be so easy! You get to be online all day!”
These are just some of the absurd things you hear when you tell people you’re a Social Media Specialist. Still a relatively new area of communication. Social media has taken wings and flown through the stratosphere of engaging, interacting and promoting businesses. The joy for some is that social media is real time. You are engaging your public at the same time (once done correctly). The downfall is that what was relevant yesterday, is stale by 10 am the next day, so if you’re not committed to putting out current information in a timely and regular manner, social media is not for you.
The other day I was on a website and this lady was inquiring if anyone would be interested in hiring her to maintain their Facebook pages…nothing is wrong with that, but then she said, if that is a job or service that someone is willing to pay for. That is the part that offended me. Someone having a background in an area but thinking it is easy.
Define your objectives
After all, isn’t it just posting a few food photos to Instagram, liking a few Facebook posts or even re-tweeting and hash tagging a thought on Twitter? And this is where many businesses fall down and think social media is not for them after a failed attempt of “being out there.” They have things on YouTube, Google Plus, LinkedIn….and everything else under the sun. But why aren’t they getting sales? Why aren’t people talking on their page? But just like anything else, social media is an art, if you do not have defined objectives you will be sharing information in vain.
Social media is about capturing your audience, engaging with them, sharing with them and keeping them as customers/clients. There is a balance that has to be drawn between bombarding them with information and not giving them enough of it. If used correctly it’s a dynamic asset to any business.
Take the time to invest in creating your social media tactical plan. Don’t let a few hundred dollars make you lose out on the thousands that are waiting for you once the right platforms are used.
Samantha Hazlewood is the personification of social media. Communicating is what she breathes. Her startup business, Free -Spirit Communications is a testimony to her passion of communication with a special emphasis on social media. For further information contact her directly on (246) 822-0617.