Entries Tagged 'social networking' ↓

[Chair scrapes across the floor as she gets to her feet]

“Ahem, hello, I am a copywriter and a social media user.”

There, I’ve said it – yes, I use social media and I’m proud of it.

It’s a great way of making new connections, finding new clients and generally interacting with fun people.

But some social media users fall into the trap of using it just to market their businesses. They constantly tweet promotions, news, what they’re doing, a few more promotions and before they know it they’re losing followers because they are beginning to look rather ‘spammy’.

Yes social media is a marketing tool:

• You can encourage newsletter sign ups
• Promote eBooks and give-aways
• Promote offers and use a call to action to send them to your website
• Give information that points to particular products

But if you only use it that way you’ll really hack your followers off.

Social media is also a tool to connect with other people:

• Listen to what people are talking about, you might be able to help them
• Find out what they’re saying about you (great for customer research)
• Engage with followers to find out what they are looking for
• Build relationships with people you wouldn’t normally come across
• Give advice and ask for help

You can also use social media to promote other people. If someone’s helped you out tell people. If you come across someone who can help another follower, put them in touch.

Social media is about marketing, connecting and reciprocity.

Use it wisely, be generous with your information, connect and build relationships—that’s how to get the most out of social media.

Once you get to grips with Twitter, it seems to be the easiest thing in the world to use.

All you have to do is squeeze your message into 140 characters and away you go.

You can tweet to thousands of people instantly which is why you need to make sure you are not making the 5 classic Twitter bloopers.

Social media has transformed the art of communication. Now customers have a very loud voice so you must make sure you convey yourself with dignity at all times—because if you don’t, that’s when you can get into trouble.

5 Classic Twitter Bloopers

1. You talking to me?

There is one thing you must accept—not everyone is going to like your company.

Twitter is a powerful outlet through which dissatisfied customers can rant. But don’t get drawn into an online slanging-match.

Arguing the toss through Twitter may be entertaining to some, but it will do untold damage to your reputation.

Your other followers will watch to see how you deal with the situation (and that will tell them a lot about the type of company you are).

Diffuse the situation quickly, resolve their issue and apologise.

2. Autofollow

Some people on Twitter are obsessed about amassing huge numbers of followers.

Why?

For example if you 40,000 followers and yet only follow 600 people, unless you are a huge brand  name or a celebrity, you’re going to look like a spammer.

My advice is to follow only those people you want to follow. Don’t use the autofollow feature. By all means when you get an email telling you someone new is following you take a look at their profile. If they look interesting and tweet great stuff, follow them. But if they don’t, don’t follow—it’s as simple as that.

Also the more people you follow the harder it gets to keep up with what’s happening. That’s when it’s a good idea to create Twitter lists – you can set one up for best friends, business contacts, celebrities etc., to help you keep track of what’s going on.

3. Tweet carefully

There are plenty of users out there who only tweet about their business, constantly linking back to their website.

If you just do that, you’ll be viewed as a spammer.

Twitter is all about conversations and sharing. If you read a great article, see a funny video or hear something in the news that’s interesting, share it with your followers. Be seen as someone who adds value to the Twitterverse.

4. Have a personality

Many corporate tweeters make this particular blooper.

If your tweets are boring, mundane and lifeless, people aren’t going to follow you.

Twitter is something you can have fun with—use it to show your company has personality. When engaging with other tweeters it’s important to make sure you show your human side. It will make you appear more approachable, a company that cares and that is prepared to listen.

5. Listen

Using Twitter isn’t all about what you can cram into 140 characters. You also have to listen to what people are saying.

Monitor it and track any mentions of your company. If someone has experienced a problem engage with them, find out what went wrong, apologise and sort it out.

If you’re on Twitter and you don’t do this, people will see you as a company that doesn’t care—and news like that will spread fast.

Twitter is a great tool for your business. It will help you engage with your customers, attract new ones and solve problems should they arise.

Just make sure you use it wisely.

This post is brought to you by Sally Ormond, freelance copywriter and social media queen.

Not everyone finds participating in social media easy.

The thought of communicating to an unknown crowd can be quite daunting; it can seem completely unnatural mainly because of the way we behaved as children.

Cast your mind back to your school days. At that time (for most of us) the thought of standing out and being different was abhorrent.

The last thing we wanted was to be singled out. We wanted to conform, be mainstream, blend into the crowd—no body wanted to be known as the ‘odd kid’.

But with social media being ‘odd’ helps.

Stand up and be noticed in social media

When using social media it is good to be different, to stand out from the crowd with a personality that shouts “Hey! Look at me”.

Social media is about being noticed, being something different from the norm – if you act ‘low key’ on line you’ll fade into the background like a beige cardigan. But if you become a character with real personality, people will stop and take notice of you.

But of course there is a big difference between being a personality and being completely fake. Remember there is a good chance that you may meet some of your online network at some point. If and when that happens they will expect to meet the person they know online. You’re going to look pretty stupid if you’ve been faking it.

As far as they’re concerned, if you lie about who you are why should they trust you in business?—so be careful.

Companies on social media

It’s all too common for businesses, when they dip their toe in the social media waters, to get it all wrong.

They believe that they must portray a very corporate image; everything must be very starched and business-like.

Why?

You are trying to convince people you are a great company to deal with so don’t be afraid to show a bit of personality.

Show you can be fun, chatty and approachable and people will engage with you, like you and do business with you.

At the end of the day, social media is a platform to show people who you are and what you do. By becoming a personality you bring a human voice to your business and that’s something people want. They don’t want to deal with a faceless corporation; they want to deal with people.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

A short while ago Tom Albrighton wrote a blog post about networking.

His post really resonated with me as I have never been comfortable with face to face networking. To me it all seems very contrived. But before I receive an onslaught of pro-networkers having a go, let me explain.

When I first started out as a freelance copywriter about 3 years ago, I was constantly told I had to get out and meet people if I wanted to succeed. Not that I’m a stubborn old girl or anything but I completely ignored that advice, set up a website, started blogging and have never looked back. I have been fortunate enough to work with some amazing clients (who are still with me) and now enjoy getting referrals. It’s always a thrill to pick up the phone or read an email to be told that I’d been recommended to them.

Anyway enough of that—back to the networking thing.

In my early days I was seduced into attending a couple of ‘formal’ networking events by clients. You know the type of thing—a room full of strangers wearing sticky labels holding their delegate sheet in one hand and a pile of business cards or leaflets in the other. I have never felt so uncomfortable in my life.

As I was there I thought I ought to make an effort, took a deep breath and hovered on the edge of a group of people deep in conversation. Luckily for me one or two of them were reasonably friendly and did welcome me into their conversation. Not something that always happens; I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve tried to get involved in a conversation only to be ignored—especially, I hate to say it guys, by men. I often think that to get noticed and spoken to I ought to turn up in a bikini—ugh, on second thoughts perhaps not.

Back to the event—there I was chatting with strangers when another lady came to our group with delegate list in hand. Again we stopped and welcomed her. She smiled, stared at our chests (another pet hate, why do we have to wear sticky labels? When men approach women you can see them glancing but trying not to at the same time for fear of looking pervy) checked her delegate list, realised she didn’t actually want to talk to us and walked away!

Err, hello? Just because you don’t want to do business with us doesn’t mean we are not worth talking to. We might know people who are looking for whatever you do. But you’ve blown that chance now honey—goodbye! And besides, when you do finally track down the person you were looking for who’s to say she wants to speak to you?

That experience summed up formal networking events for me. As soon as you walk into the room you’re not seen as a person, you’re seen as a potential sale. And I really hate that. And yes that is just my opinion and I’m sure many of you will disagree.

You probably think after reading this little rant that I live in a deep dark hole somewhere living the life of an eccentric writing recluse. Well you’d be wrong. I do go out and ‘network’. Admittedly a lot of it is done online through social networking, but you can’t beat a bit of face-to-face social networking too.

The other evening I made the journey to London to attend Andy Maslen’s (@andymaslen) book launch. For those of you who don’t know Andy (shame on you), he is a fellow copywriter and my copywriting hero (are you blushing yet Andy?). His book ‘Write to Sell’ was the first book on copywriting I bought and has been my bible ever since.

You can imagine therefore my shock when I received an email from said copywriting guru earlier this year asking whether he could interview me for his new book ‘Write copy, make money—How to build your own successful freelance copywriting business’.

Of course my answer was YES.

Anyway, I was looking forward to meeting Andy at the book launch but then I saw a tweet he put out inviting people to the launch to…’network’. Argh! Network? No, I was just going for a chat. So for weeks I told myself over and over, this is a gathering of friendly people, you are not networking, you are chatting.

Yes, I can already hear you arguing with me telling me that ‘chatting’ is ‘networking’ and you’re right. But to me that’s how networking should be; it should be informal without elevator pitches or Q&A sessions. They have their place if that’s what you like to do but for me, it’s more fun and rewarding meeting a bunch of people and having a chat over a glass of wine. So far that’s how I’ve met some of the most interesting people I know (and it’s also the way I’ve met most of my biggest clients). Because there is no pressure, people get to know the real me. They find out who I am and that I just happen to write for a living.

Back to the launch party.

Did I work the room? Not exactly because I still can’t do that ‘OK I’ll talk to you for 5-10 minutes before moving on to the next person’ thing. I normally find I really connect with a few people and end up chatting to them for the rest of the evening. Admittedly at the launch party that was three fellow writers – Anthony Hewson (@ahcopywriter), Sarah Turner (@TurnerInk) and Katherine Wildman (@skinnycap)- but we had a great evening chatting about our work, how we got started, our insecurities etc. – it was very therapeutic.

So basically what I’m saying is can we please put the ‘social’ back into networking?

Remember the people there are real people and not just businesses on legs. Don’t be blinkered into thinking you have to speak to everyone and hand out all your business cards. Take time to talk and connect with people—get to know who they really are and not just what they do to pay the bills.

Treat people like real people. Have a laugh and a joke with them—that will be far more memorable than a small piece of card that they’ll probably bin when they get home.  You’ll never know what you might find out about them.

For those who have met me at events, tried to sell, failed and moved on, here’s a few things you would have discovered about me had you taken the time to talk to me:

• I have two fantastic sons
• I’m a volunteer wish granter with the Make A Wish Foundation
• I love going to the gym
• This year I did a 60 mile and 50 mile charity bike ride
• A couple of years ago I did the Moonwalk  to raise money for Breast Cancer
• When ice skating as a child I almost crashed into the back of Christopher Dean
• I’ve done a bungee jump
• I’d love to do a wing walk
• I’ve always wanted to go to Vienna
• I complete an English BA Hons degree with the Open University in 2007 with a First
• I’ve had one children’s book published

There you go—yes, I am a freelance copywriter but guess what? I’m a real person too.