Seven steps to a savvy social media profile

Starting out in social media and need some quick tips on how to make a positive impact? Here’s a little food for thought…

1. Know what you want 

Before you put fingers to keyboard, be clear what you want from your social media life. Do you want to be seen as a thought leader? Position your brand in a certain way? Or talk to as many people as you can about a given topic? Your social media profile needs thinking through... so get a strategy together and make it part of your overall communications.

2. Show who you are

Once you know what you’re aspiring to, it’s time to find your niche. What makes you stand out from the crowd and worth talking to? Is it something you do better than anyone else? Broader service offerings than your peers? Or something unique about the area you serve? Whatever makes you distinctive will help build your presence.

3. Look before you hook

In the early days, it’s easy to get carried away and hook up with everyone who wants to be your friend. But alongside many inspiring, engaging and genuine people, others will gladly help you part with your money, passwords and reputation. So be careful to check people out before you follow them, and if their profile or brand may affect yours, think twice. 

4. Engage like-minded people

There’s a lot of noise out there, so engage people with common or complementary interests. This might be the industry you work in, a shared passion for cupcake-baking, or raising money for the same charity.  You don’t have to find every post fascinating; just enough to catch up now and again, learn something or share a smile.

5. Remember it’s social media

Social media is all about engagement. So don’t push the PR too much; there are plenty of consultants online already doing that, after all :) Instead, look for places where you can add value. Share experiences, case studies and ideas; look for ways you can help other people; and thank people who support you. To quote Justin Timberlake, "what goes around, comes around"… so think of yourself as being part of one big global community.

6. Watch what you say

Social media sites are a fabulous way of building your profile; search engines can elevate your profile and help put your name in front of a bigger audience.  But if you’re representing your organisation, remember to engage brain before mouse; what sounds funny to one person may be downright offensive by another. Recent social media #fails prove this point - such as the accountant who threatened an airport, the politicians who published and were damned and the employee sacked for extracurricular blogging - and take care.

7.          Don’t fence people in

Social media has a life of its own, so don’t ever kid yourself that you can control what happens in your part of the interweb. The KitKat kerfuffle is a classic example of how attempts to control a message can backfire.

If things do go wrong, try to stay positive. At least by being here you can see what’s going on, chat with people and contribute to the debate. It’s not easy dealing with negativity, so think like a Scout and be prepared. Make sure your social media strategy and policies take account of potential crises and how to handle them. Be open, honest and try to resolve things as far as you can. For further information, Mashable’s guide to handling negative feedback is a good starting point.

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post. If you’ve got any comments, feel free to post them below. And if you want to read something a bit more detailed, try our beginner’s guide to social media for a more comprehensive guide.


Best wishes,
Kerry