Top 10 Social Media Secrets REVEALED!Top 10 Social Media Secrets REVEALED!Top 10 Social Media Secrets REVEALED!Top 10 Social Media Secrets REVEALED!

So it’s no mystery that Social Media is here to stay, but how do you go about it the right way? That seems to be a extremely popular question and that’s exactly why we’ve put together these “Top 10 social Media Secrets REVEALED” - follow these 10 easy secrets and you’ll be one step ahead of your competition!

1) LISTEN, Engage and CARE! - “Discussions are the currency of Facebook. When your fans engage, your fan page comes up in their feed regularly. A great way to get your fans active is to end each status update with a question. You can add your own comments to get the ball rolling. Do your best to respond to fan questions as promptly as possible to keep the discussion alive.” Mari Smith, author of Facebook Marketing.

2) ‘Write’ to and for your audience - What does that mean? Well it’s pretty simple actually. Just remember this every time: IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU, it’s about your audience, it's about what they want to hear and read. What draws them in? Remember if you’re not interested in what you’re writing about, why would anyone else be?

3) Be relevant - Make sure the stuff you’re writing out and/or posting is relevant and caters to your audience and your community’s needs. For example if you’re a landscaping business, posting things about cupcakes probably doesn’t make sense, but writing a post about keeping sidewalk weeds away might be a better fit!

4) STOP SELLING! - No one ever likes to be sold to (unless its 3am on a TV infomercial) so

stop trying to sell and instead listen. Become the “go-to” person within your industry. Answer

questions, listen and care. By default people will do business with you, but only once they know

you genuinely care!

5) Define your Social Media strategy goals - What are you trying to say? Who are you trying to reach? What is the goal of your message? How do you want people to respond? Does this content draw your community in or does it fall on deaf ears?

6) Build a network and community - Think of your Social Media strategy as your neighborhood. You don’t want to live all by yourself with no one around. You want a community and a network you can depend on and vice versa. That’s exactly how your social media network should be set up. Your network and community are one of the most power assets you possess!

7) Make time for Social Media - Most people have the misconception that if they’re not

monitoring their social media 24/7 that they’re doing something wrong. That is far from the

truth. Make time everyday for posting your own social media updates, finding content,

connecting etc. That may be 20 minutes a day or a couple of hours. That choice is yours, but just

make sure you’re carving out a fair amount of time to grow your community and engage with

them.

8) Be flexible and adjust your sails accordingly - There is no “cookie cutter” approach to social media. It’s imperative that you’re flexible with your approach. Don’t be afraid to mix things or make changes as needed to improve your overall social media strategy. For example, if you’re posting pictures on your Facebook wall and no one is commenting, try leaving an engaging caption with the photo or ask your audience a question. Mixing things up can definitely improve and change your overall approach.

9) Be transparent and authentic with your audience - With the ease of how we now “socially” communicate, word of mouth has become increasingly more popular and it's happening more now than ever. People’s tolerance for flaky, unresponsive, unreliable brands is at an all time low. Why? Because people don’t have to deal with brands that don’t listen to them. They can simply go to the next brand that pops up on their search results, to give them what they want: someone to sit down with them, listen to them and care, genuinely care.

10) Social Media is a marathon, not a sprint - Most people may assume that Social Media is just a new marketing platform and that if it doesn’t convert to just the right ROI (return on investment) then it’s a waste of time and resources. That is FAR from the truth. Social Media is about building a community around your brand and engaging with the community you build.

Building a community can allow you to become the “go-to” place for people when they need your products or services. Social Media doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a slow paced game and there is no perfect answer. The goal is to listen and care about your community and by default they will do business with you.