Planning your social content: a step-by-step guide

The best way to effectively use social media for your small business is to have a plan. Since that is definitely easier to say than do, I thought today I would break down step-by-step how to come up with a simple plan.

1) Know what you're trying to achieve.

I've written about this topic quite a bit in the past, so check out some of those posts, but the simple explanation is to figure out why you're using social media - we all have different reasons beyond "make more money," which is key for most of us. 

2) Know who you're talking to.

Different audiences are on different channels and different audiences like different kinds of content. You need to know who you're talking to so they feel like what you're saying is for them. If you're too vague or general nobody will feel like you're talking to them, which defeats the purpose of what you're doing.

3) What do you want them to know.

This is SO important. This drives all of your content. What do you want people to know about you and what do you want people to know about what you do. 

4) Pick your channels

It doesn't make sense for you to be on every social channel. You don't have the time or resources for that. Start with a couple and once those are completely under control you can grow from there. 

My top three social media choices (without knowing your audience so this is flexible!) are for you to have an email newsletter, a blog and Facebook.

If however, your audience is very business-to-business, I might prioritize LinkedIn over Facebook.

If your audience is under 25, I might prioritize Instagram over Facebook.

If writing and time is hard for you, I would leave the blog until after you have Facebook and a newsletter set up.

5) Know your numbers

Knowing your numbers is so important in all aspects of business. You need to know where you're at now so you can tell if you're growing.

Set up a spreadsheet or table that lists:

- Facebook likes
- "Talking about" numbers on Facebook
- Twitter followers
- Instagram followers
and so on and so forth

Make sure that Google Analytics or some other analytics tool is set up on your website and track:

- Visits
- Unique visits
- Page views
- Referral sources

You are then going to want to track these numbers monthly to see if what you're doing is working. We want to make sure that the effort you're putting in is worth it to you - you're a busy person!

6) Start sharing your knowledge

Take 10-15 minutes and write down as many tips as you can about something.

Are you a realtor? What are great ways to get your house ready for sale?

Are you a hairdresser? How should your clients be taking care of their hair between cuts and colours?

Are you a nutritionist? What are some great ways to make healthy food on the fly?

The goal is to have a list of one or two sentence tips that you'll be able to use later on and to realize just how much content you can write in a short period of time when you have a specific topic to write about.

Do the same for a few other topics and you'll have a lot of content ready to go!

7) Don't think you need to create it all

You want to share content that's of value to your audience. There is a LOT of content that already exists that your audience will really appreciate having access to. If it backs up your key messages, the things you really want people to know, use THAT content instead of having to write your own.

Whenever you're browsing the internet or Facebook and you see an interesting article, a funny joke or a video that you really like, think about whether or not it would add value to your audience while still staying in line with your key messages. If it does, save it and you'll be able to use that content later!

8) Evaluate

You have your baseline numbers, make sure to check and see what's working, what isn't, and how you can shift and change to improve.

A plan doesn't need to be extensive to get you going on the right path. If you want more help figuring all of this out for Facebook and Twitter, we have a program called Simple Start. It's on sale right now for $39 (regular $99) while I work to update it from the old Wellman Wilson branding. The price will go up once it's been revamped so now's the time to invest!

Three Reasons Businesses Hire Wellman Wilson Consulting

Have you ever thought about shooting us an email or giving us a call, but you are not quite sure what you need help with? Perhaps you are an entrepreneur or small business owner and you have a website (yay!), but haven’t the faintest idea how to set up a Facebook page for your business (or perhaps you accidentally created it as a Group), or maybe you have a page, but it hasn’t been updated since you created it… two years ago.  Then there are those other social networks you know you should have an account with, but don’t know which ones are the best to reach your target market. And let’s not forget about your blog… and a newsletter! 

Businesses, like yours, hire Wellman Wilson Consulting because of our ability to break down social media and e-marketing into manageable pieces and teach you the tools and methods you need to make them work for you. Here’s how we do it:

1) Teaching businesses how to use social media

We don’t just teach people how to use Facebook ads or promote your business on Twitter, we teach you the value social media has in making connections with your clients, online and in person. Our Simple Start programs walk businesses through learning how to connect, promote, endorse, engage, and interact with customers. We teach you how having a conversation with a perfect stranger online can result in sales for your business.

We have had clients come to us afraid of social media, but by the end of the Simple Start program they not only have multiple social media accounts set up, but also have a solid plan in place to keep their social media current and relevant.

These same clients go on to expand their digital marketing to include newsletters and within weeks they have learned all the tools they need to start, create and send regular newsletters to their audience.

2) Creating a plan and making sure businesses stick to it

Every business needs a social media plan and we make sure it meets your business’ objectives. We take a look at who your audience is, where you can reach them, what your key messages are, what your goals are, and how we can make social media work to reach your audience and your goals.

We then take this strategy one step further with our Accountability Program. We have helped numerous clients stay accountable by helping them develop an action plan, keep track of their monthly activity, examine their content, and talking to them on the phone every month for a full year to review how things are working for them (and making sure they are doing what they say they are going to do).

3) One-on-one feedback, guidance and support

Our coaching programs are all about accountability, encouragement and feedback on your social media and e-marketing efforts. We help train clients, implement strategies and develop content. We also customize our coaching programs to fit our clients’ needs – because we know that not every business has the same problems.

Clients come to Wellman Wilson Consulting because they know they are not just getting a regurgitated written social media strategy. They are offered a personalized social media and e-marketing plan that not only includes a strategy, but the training they need to implement the strategy, the accountability support needed to make sure their plan stays on track, and the option to outsource content creation and graphics to us.

So, if you are not sure what you need from us, but know you need help with social media, we have given you three reasons why businesses just like yours took the next step and contacted us. They didn’t regret it and neither will you, so email or call us today!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Three words for 2015: Teach, Create, Grow

Happy New Year!

I love starting out a new year with picking three words.  We've done it severals times in the past and the words don't often change significantly, but taking a little bit of time to think about the direction we want to head in to the new year with really helps us focus on what and how we do things.

This year our three words are Teach, Create and Grow and I'm really excited to see where they take us.

Teach

Teaching is definitely one of our passions at Wellman Wilson.  Helping you figure out how to use social media to grow your business online with simple step-by-step processes is something we pride ourselves on doing well.

In 2015 we will continue running our two online courses - Simple Start and Simple Start Newsletters, and we will also launch a third course, Simple Start Blogging.  These courses are designed to walk people through the steps of learning to post on Facebook, Twitter, start sending email newsletters or posting regular blog posts, without feeling like it's an overwhelming and unachievable task.

We will also continue running webinars, taking on speaking engagements and running our own workshops. (Be sure to stay tuned for one coming up early this year!!) If there is anything in particular you'd like us to teach, whether that be as a course, a webinar or a speaking engagement, leave a comment or send us an email and we'll see how we can fit it into our 2015 schedule!

Create

Creating content, courses, videos, blog posts, etc., is something we do a lot of and will continue to do.  But this year we're going to be creating even more than that because we understand that no matter now organized you are, and how well you come to understand the importance of social media and online marketing and how it works, you sometimes just don't have the time to create your own content. This year we're taking on more clients that want us to do the work for them.

Don't let the overwhelm of content creation slow you down.  If you'd like to chat about how we can help you with content creation email us and we'd be happy to set up a call to talk about how we can help meet your needs!

Grow

Most of us hope to grow our  businesses but we've chosen this word because in 2015 we really want to continue to focus on growing our knowledge, growing our services, and growing our business. In 2014 we hired an amazing virtual assistant (now business manager) who has helped up have more time to focus on content creation of all kinds and we intend to keep on that path with more support and more staff.

We want to move forward into 2015 with a lot of serious intention to grow to a place where we can provide you with amazing content and service and grow is the word that will help us get there.

What are your three words?

Leave a comment and share your three words, as well as anything you'd like to learn more about this year.  You are who inspire us in our business. Understanding how you're working on your businesses as we move forward helps us make sure we're creating the right content for you.

Happy New Year everyone!  Here's to an amazing 2015!

A Simple Start to using social media for your small business

“Social media for your small business”

Does that phrase make you a bit anxious?  If it does, you aren’t alone.

Social media for small business is important, but it doesn’t have to be stressful or overwhelming.  The key is to start slowly and with intent.

Simple Start

We spend a lot of time working with small business owners and we wanted to come up with a way for people to break down what needs to happen to start having a social media presence into small and manageable parts. Our answer is a brand new program called Simple Start. 

What is Simple Start? 

It’s starting slowly. 

It’s committing ten minutes a day for a month.

It’s creating a consistent presence on one channel by spending time thinking about: 

• who you are,
• what you do,
• who you’re talking to, and
• what they want to hear.

What do I do?

Block off ten minutes a day for the next month and commit to the following: 

• Figure out what your goals are with social media. Are you hoping to attract new customers, make more sales, be more known?
• Figure out who your target audience is.  I mean, really think about who they are and what they would want from you. It definitely isn’t “anyone who has money.” By speaking directly to one segment of the population you can create content that really connects to them, instead of writing content for everyone that connects with nobody.
• Figure out what you want to say to them.  I know you have a lot say, but there are certain things that are more important than others for achieving your goals.  Know what they are.
• Share useful information.  Be a valuable resource to people.
• Find links to articles that your audience would like.  You don’t have to create everything you share.
• Make a list of interesting pages on your web site to share with them.  Your web site is your home base, make sure you’re telling people they should go there sometimes.
• Once you have a big chunk of content, start scheduling that content and interacting with people every day.

What will this do?

It’s going to make sure that what you’re saying online is actually going to help you achieve your goals.  It’s going to help you build relationships with people.  It’s going to help you stay top off mind with your customers and potential customers. 

It’s going to take the stress out of coming up with content on a daily basis.

Give it a try!

Commit to ten minutes a day and start getting ready to really wow your audience online.  Remember that what you’re saying has to be of value to your customer.  You aren’t trying to sell them anything and they aren’t there to do something for you.  You have to make them think you’re so awesome they can’t help but WANT to buy from you. You can do it!