Social Media Engagement

Social Media Engagement—just the mention of it can spark a visceral response from marketers, partly because no one has pinpointed what it really means. Let’s get it out there: engagement is a messy, complicated idea—yet a critical one because it gets to the heart of the relationship between consumers and brands. We know that it is valuable, but the how, what and why of it is ambiguous at best.

Social media monitoring is one of the biggest missed opportunities for businesses today. Also known as social listening, it involves monitoring what people are saying on social media about your business and the issues that affect it. To engage in effective social monitoring, use a social media management tool like HootSuite to track brand mentions, competitors, key industry terms and relative keywords. This listening allows you to identify opportunities as they happen and reach out immediately.

To make matters worse for businesses unwilling to engage on social media, user engagement is on the rise, meaning customers are going to talk more. In fact, it’s growing nine times faster than the social networks themselves. This all according to the team at SproutSocial.

Getting Work vertified

Before you start any work with a company make sure you have a contract. In the contract make sure you have all the information you need before you move forward with the social media campaign. Make sure the contract highlights what you be doing for the organization. Between you and the business owner learn what is expected of you as a social media specialist. Before you can do your work you must know what are the goals the company wants to achieve through social media. Also be aware of how much transparency you have with the company. Will your work be micromanaged? If your work is micromanaged it's best to look for greener pastures. You cannot successfully operate your social media campaign if your employer does not trust you with how the campaign should be ran. That's why it's so important to have a contract or an agreement in writing on your duties in social media with the company in question.

Companies to Avoid

Some companies are not ready for social media when they say they are. I have been running into a lot of companies that request my social media services yet have no specific campaign in mind. I think a lot of companies just want to jump on the bandwagon without knowing what direction they are trying to take. The main objective for a company to have a social media specialist is to create income. So before you join a volunteer our non-profit organization make sure you know what the company's agenda is. Social media is a lot of hard work to manage. If you do not have a clear set of goals you're trying to in a company you are wasting your time. 

Tips for winning a social media audience.

Know the you are faced with many competitors it will not be easy to created buzzworthy tweets or status updates that distinguish  you from the crowd.So if you want to win you got to find a better way of getting your message noticed.

1. Think about who your audience is. Visualize yourself getting the audience attention and gaining there admiration.

2. Post update with pictures create buzz. People react to pictures more than any other form of online communication.

3.Keep the updates relevant to your audience. Don't post anything that is too way off the mark.

4. Perfection in tweets is not what needs to be added but what when nothing else can be taken away. Looking at your post and ask yourself what can be left out.

5.The power of the like. When you like a followers post. They usually check out who has like them. In turn they read your profile.

6.Ask open ended questions. Post questions that have no yes or no answer. Like where do you go to eat brunch on sunday?

Question of the day. Should I intern for a company that needs social media?

Should I intern at a startup in social media?

I say no because a lot of these start-ups do not respect social media management as a full time job that needs to be compensated accordingly. Many of these start-ups like to promise interns positions and never follow thru with an actual job. 

In the San Francisco bay area you must be cautious of start-ups because intern exploitation is on the rise. So your position at the company can be short-lived. I am just completely shocked by the behavior of some start-up companies. Some start-ups employ interns for months yet they never get paid. After the internship is finished the intern is usually discarded and another takes their place.Most start-ups have delusions of grandeur pitching gimmicky items that you can live without. Remember titles mean nothing unless they are attached to a secure business that can advance your skills. So do yourself a solid and don't fall for these deceptions in the start-up community. California law states that: The employer is to receive no benefit from the intern's work. The employer is there to train the intern to improve their skills.

Twitter Part 3 - How To Use Twitter

#Socialnomics 2014 by Erik Qualman (+playlist)