I wrote this piece for Souqalmal‘s SME section and thought that I would share it here as well. This piece is not just aimed at small business owners trying to juggle a million things including trying to get into social media while also trying to maintain their own personal brand. I hope you find it useful.
One of the things a lot of people ask me is how I am everywhere on social. And I know there are a lot of people who I would like to follow and are not on social media (not just people but companies too) because they don’t have the resources. Here are some of the tools and habits I use to stay social. It’s all about using some very neat tools and apps that mean a little time exploring and setting up but over time – it becomes second nature. It also means that with consolidation, even with limited resources, I stay social.
First the basics.
Brand name: Whatever the platform, make sure you have a consistent brand name that you use on all platforms (as much as possible). Make sure that a bio and photo is on each profile (whether personal or professional) that lets people know who you are and what you stand for. You can create a central bio on sites like About Me or Brand Yourself that can consolidate everything about you.
Content: I use Feedly to consolidate all my reading (there are several others). Some of these I share on social media especially if they resonate with who I am or align with my business (Market Buzz). I also use Buffer and Hootsuite to search for content related to key topics as well.
Response: I have been known to disappear, sometimes, but I do try and respond to messages sent to me on social media within 24 hours. It is frustrating why you would set up a social media account and not respond. If you’re not checking – set up to get email notifications so you don’t miss at least the messages.
My social media habits:
A morning ritual: I do most of my social media through Hootsuite. It allows me to not only manage and monitor several social media accounts but also helps to curate content, set up feeds, etc. It has the option to schedule over time and for business or busy schedules this means that early morning, I can go through my Feedly (its linked to both Hootsuite and Buffer) and schedule them over the day/week. I can select to share immediately or later.
Using lists: Twitter lists are the most efficient way of cutting through an overload of tweets and information. You can compartmentalize conversations and make sure you follow the people and conversations that are of interest to you (or your company) and make sure you contribute not just RT or favourite.
Mobile apps: The operative word with social media is social. So I make it a point to use apps to create lists for people that are really important to me and whose tweets/posts I don’t want to miss. So I use my mobile Twitter to create a ‘favourite’ list so I get immediate notifications. For all the others, I get email updates that are linked to the apps – so I can respond immediately (unless I am in a meeting or travelling).
It’s not massively complicated but sometimes it takes a post to focus your attention and help you get ahead of some of the juggling use entrepreneurs have to do every day. It also means that with consolidation, even with limited resources, you can stay social.
