Archive: Business & Technology

You know that social media networking can help your business. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, a blog, you choose!

But where does all the content come from? All the information? All the words?

 

Well, you have a lot of it already. Business plans, speeches, marketing materials, grant applications, it's all there.

Yes, but it has to be good, you say. I can't just cut and paste it. It has to be right.

Don't worry about making it perfect. When you go out and talk to people about your work, do you wordsmith everything that comes out of your mouth? You'd never say a syllable if you did that!

 

Social media networking is just like talking to people.

 

Yes, but someone told me that on the Web, you have ten seconds to grab people.

 

That's only your website. Your website is the formal door to your business. But your Twitter or Facebook posts go to people who want to know what you're doing-and they're short! It's like chatting with friends you meet at the grocery store.

 

And you don't even have to bounce from one site to another to post things. Check out the free http://ping.fm/, where you can update all your social media networks at once.

 

So here's a plan to manage your content.

 

Keep it all in one place. Ask everyone in your company who has to write things to send them to you, and keep a file of them on your computer.

 

Give each staff member one job.

 

Twitter: Ask your head honcho to post daily. 

 

• I gave a speech to the Rotary Club today, about the importance of our work. You can read it at this link.
• I read a book that really impressed me. Here's the link.
• My whole family gathered for July 4. I love fireworks!

 

Facebook: Give each staff member a day to write something about what they do. Three staff members, three posts a week. Ten staff members, rotate it around a ten-day schedule. Posts can be real simple:

• I love the new stock we just got in! (Whether it's sandwiches, toys, or plumbing equipment, let your staff pick their favorites.)
• Lots of customers today. Too much work, but you gotta love it!
• I went to [name your favorite Lansing event] and had a terrific time.

 

Linked In: Ask each staff member to take a week, or a month, to read the Group postings that are most relevant to what you do, and post in response. Go to Linked In Groups and search under the name of what you do

 

Blog: Create a list of topics that you can cover once a week for a couple of months. Pass that around the staff and ask people to pick some, or add their own. Feel free to use your Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In posts, and cover them in more detail.

 

Newsletter: At this point, you have lots of stuff to collect into your newsletter.

 

Happy writing.

 

 

----
v6i24