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February 27, 2015June 1, 2015

Why You Should Have A Social Media Plan AND Ten Ways To Get Started

You know you should be active in social media. It’s good for your personal brand and your business. But you just don’t have time to do all those posts. One way to help you get organized is having a social media plan. A social media plan or mapping out what your posts will be on a weekly and even monthly basis helps you think strategically about what you should share with your audience. The social media plan includes a daily breakdown of what you should post most days of the week.

Yes, I said most day so of the week.

Consistency is the key in social media. Don’t ride the social media wave unless you can commit to a consistent schedule that your followers can depend on.

I tend to use themes to map out the days of the week on my social media plans. I am also a big fan of iteration. Below is an example of a Monday through Friday Twitter and Facebook social media plan. I developed this weekly plan for my client, AmeriCorps VISTA. It helped guide my posts throughout the week. You’ll see the days of the week divided up into five categories:

Mission Monday
Tip Tuesday
Webinar Wednesday
Throwback Thursday
Follow Friday

To get started on your plan, think about the content you have to share. If you are new to the social space, focus on one social media site at a time. I would recommend you consider getting starting with Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.

Twitter – Without a doubt, Twitter is the best way to share and discover what is happening in the moment. To grow your audience, think about following and sharing popular hashtags and TweetChats.

Facebook – Most of your friends and colleagues are on Facebook. So are your clients and customers. Why not join Facebook Groups that support your mission and vision? Better yet start a group of your own. It’s a great way to connect and engage with the people that mean the most to you or the people you are trying to reach.

YouTube – Everyone has a story to tell. YouTube provides a forum to allow people to connect, inspire, entertain and inform. If you are comfortable in front of the camera or have a lot of video content, YouTube is a great place to start. Consider producing a web series of your most popular content.

Here are ten tips to keep in mind once you are ready to start your social media plan:

Determine which platforms you will use – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or all four
Devise a daily, weekly and monthly social media schedule that incorporates each platform
Monthly posts should reflect recurring dates such as holidays, celebrations or conference dates
Determine who will manage your accounts and how often they will post
Build upon the content you already have (photos, video, press releases)
Come up with a regular posting schedule and stick to it
Use a social media management tool such as Hootsuite to schedule your posts
If you are cross posting from one site to another, factor in a few organic, original posts for each site
Remember that it is a plan, a guide, so leave room for unexpected breaking news stories or changes
Engage, engage, engage and then engage some more

If you need help developing your social media plan, I’m here to help!

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August 2, 2009September 14, 2009

Tweeting for United We Serve

How do you get the word out about nearly 200 AmeriCorps VISTAs (Volunteers In Service To America) being sworn in by the Mayor of New York City? Well, you tweet it live on Twitter, of course. As a Social Media Specialist for Campaign Consultation, Inc. and while representing our client, the Corporation for National and Community Service, we were there first hand as history was being made to tweet events as they unfolded. United We Serve, President Obama’s call to service initiative, marked July 27-August 2, 2009 as Education Week, highlighting the countless Americans who roll up their sleeves to read with a child, volunteer at a library, organize a book drive, and strengthen education and learning in other ways.

On July 30, 2009, 193 VISTAs rose to President Obama’s call and took place in one of the many Education Week activities when New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the Corporation for National and Community Service Acting CEO Nicola Goren swore in the newly formed NYC CivicCorp with VISTA members from 25 states and 19 countries on Thursday, July 28, 2009.

NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Corp for Nat'l Community Service Acting CEO Nicola Goren

The VISTAs hail from all five NYC boroughs and range in age from 21 to 72. The program, the first as part of United We Serve, runs from the second week of August through 2010. The swearing in also marked the launch of @VISTAbuzz, the Twitter account designed to engage, involve and invoke interest in current VISTA members and VISTA alumni.

Follow @VISTAbuzz for updates as the Social Media Plan begins for this group of unique individuals who have been fighting against poverty since 1964. This week, Mayor Bloomberg and nearly 200 NYC CivicCorps VISTAs have responded to United We Serve, President Obama’s call to service, challenging all Americans to engage in sustained, meaningful community service. Continue to look for us on-line as we continue to grow the VISTA brand in the digital space.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Corporation for National and Community Service Acting CEO Nicola Goren — NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and to his right Corporation for National and Community Service Acting CEO Nicola Goren

May 28, 2009July 13, 2021

If you teach them… they will come… lesson on how to use Twitter

Busy professionals love the digital space. So it stands to reason that on-line Universities offering advanced degrees are becoming increasingly popular. Walden University is one such on-line university offering accredited on-line masters and doctoral degrees in everything from education, psychology, and health and human services to master’s programs in engineering and IT. Adding even more prestige to Walden University is the fact that it is under the umbrella of Laureate International Universities, a leading global network of accredited campus-based and on-line universities.

But even with this impressive on-line menu and the strong global backing, Walden University, like many companies, is still learning how to navigate their way through the New Media space. Last week, my client, Alumni Relations Manager, Shannon Mouton, and I presented to various members of the Digital and Marketing teams on how to use the social networking site Twitter. There were the usual questions such as “how do I join”, “do I have to use my real name” and “what will I say” to more thought provoking business specific questions such as “if someone sends us a message about the company who should answer them” and “do we have someone who can monitor our Twitter account full-time”? These are the kinds of questions businesses need to consider before they launch into a digital campaign. Here are a few things to consider:
1.   What are your goals in the New Media Space?
2.   Who is your target audience?
3.   What is your mission statement or online “voice”?
4.   What will your New Media campaign encompass?
5.   Who will be the administrator of your sites, social networks and blogs?
Businesses recognize the need to be in the Social Media Space and the benefits of both instant and viral marketing. The way we do business is changing. Are you ready?

May 27, 2009June 8, 2009

We are off to the races… live Tweeting!

Tweeting every detail of the NASCAR race

One of the aspects of creating a brand presence for clients is developing a Social Media strategy. It can be anything from setting up a client’s Social Networking page, creating a viral marketing campaign, to live Tweeting an event as a marketing or promotional tool.

Patering with Richard Montgomery of Rixstar Studios we introduced the value of social media to WHUR-FM, sponsor of NASCAR driver Marc Davis. Davis, a 19-year-old from Silver Spring, MD is NASCAR’s only African American owner/driver. He made his first NASCAR Nationwide Series owner/driver entry at Bristol in March. During one of his qualifying races in Virginia I did a three-day Twitter campaign live tweeting from the NASCAR cockpit. Rick and I developed a campaign designed to drive attention to the race and to Marc Davis before, during and ultimatly, after the race. Our efforts were successful enough to create a buzz and ultimately got the racer a write up in the Washington Post.

This is the power of Social Media and developing your brand!