MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCTIVE

Guest Blog Post By Kara Vaina

We’ve all done it….. browsing Facebook for hours on end, get stuck on twitter scrolling the feed as it continually updates, commenting on posts that aren’t productive, sharing information that isn’t necessarily helpful.

So how do you really maximize social media to market your brand successfully, be productive and add value to others?

Sharing - Retweeting - Commenting - Reposting

The best form of branding and marketing on social media is from “sharing, retweeting, commenting, reposting” so the ultimate goal is to produce content that attracts attention for comment.

Not everyone is going to agree, like or dislike your content but remember that’s exactly how you engage your listeners, followers and/or subscribers.

Adding value to others is the best way to gain traction on your posts, get people thinking, questioning, engaging and sharing so think of content that is of interest, or you may have experience in that you can share.

We all have experience, knowledge and expertise in something so use them to your benefit by sharing your knowledge to give you credibility.

The most effective times to post (….. and the winners are!!)

The most effective times to post are 830am, 1130am and approximately 5pm.

Reason being that professionals are starting work, about to take a lunch break and just finishing work, mums have done school drops etc so these are the times to maximize your exposure.

Aim to post around these times but in between don’t spend your day scrolling for notifications, browsing your twitter feed etc as this is not productive.

If you have a business page on Facebook, post your content then share it from your personal page or a link on twitter as it will have a larger organic reach.

Ensure you aren’t over posting but make sure you are posting enough to get into peoples feed.

There’s a fine line in spamming peoples feed so don’t post too close together, that’s why the times stated above are affective and well spaced.

Don’t over use hashtags as they can look unprofessional and again fill up too much space.

Use the same one or two hashtags in all of your posts so they are grouped together and you effectively own the hashtag.

Share your posts from your website, this in turn will drive traffic to your site or you tube channel for other validation and credibility.

Live Streaming, Podcasting & Video Blogging

Live streaming, podcasting and video blogs are the hottest thing right now so capitalize on it.

Get confident on doing videos, albeit whether its short videos on Facebook, You Tube, Periscope or other platforms, the more you do the more confident you will become.

You don’t want them to be too long as people will zone out so you want them short, sharp and to the point and again with a question or topic for discussion and or to add value.

I try to keep my Value Add videos’ to 2-5 minutes and my Interviews to a maximum of 15 minutes.

When starting out with videos I get my team to do a 30 day video challenge.

Every day they shoot a 2 min video on what they are doing, thoughts for the day, gratitude affirmations, experiences.

This helps with their confidence and building content. It doesn’t come easy to a lot of people so this is a great way to engage and have some fun with it without the pressure of serious content.

All of these are tips to increase your productivity so as to maximize your social media presence.

Yes social media can be a positive marketing tool so use it to farm your fruits and not waste your time!!

“Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tip Toe if you must……but take the step”

Find out more about Kara at here website

www.KaraVaina.com

Some Additional Resources To Keep You Productive

BUFFER: A smarter way to tweet that saves you time!!

“TOP 5 TIPS” for using Twitter

1. Be a resource not a salesperson:

Twitter is about sharing information and resources NOT selling ‘stuff’. This may sound counter-intuitive but it is the essence of Social Media marketing.