Professionals: Climbing the Social Media Growth Curve

Business Professionals:Climbing the Social Media

Growth Curve

Goal: be

find-able

Pick one and create a profile:

NoviceGoal:

learn how best to connect

In-TrainingGoal:

become a trusted advisor

ActiveGoal:

invest in relationships

Pro

Take a course, read articles and books,

learn from the pros:

Consistently provide useful

content, cultivate your

networks:

Monitor key life events in your networks, use

them as conversation

starters:

Social Media Growth Curve

Basic tools

Sophisticated tools

Goal: be

find-able

Novice

Social Media Growth Curve

Basic tools

Sophisticated tools

Novice

• Goal: be find-able.

– People who use social media are easier to find.

– LinkedIn profiles rank high in Google search.

– Being present in social can build your credibility, showing that you’re someone who is in step with the times.

Novice

• Pick one and create a public-facing profile:

Start with LinkedIn. It always ranks high in search engine results; most professional platform; most forgiving if you set it then forget it.

Move on to Twitter next. Can maintain professional image; great for listening to what others are saying; easy to post updates to Twitter at the same time as LinkedIn.

Your personal network can be your greatest advocates. Don’t talk business, but do share helpful content; if you want to talk business, create a separate business page.

Goal: be

find-able

Novice

Goal: learn how best

to connect

In-Training

Social Media Growth Curve

Basic tools

Sophisticated tools

In-Training• Goal: learn how best to

connect with your network.

– Social is a powerful tool to connect with clients and prospective clients.

– They’re on Facebook and LinkedIn on a daily basis, and prefer these platforms because they’re less intrusive and cluttered vs. email.

– You can also start to see who’s connected to your connections, and use social as an opportunity to gain an introduction.

In-Training

• Take a course, read articles and books, learn from the pros:

There are many companies that offer training both online and in classrooms. Some even offer professional credits.

Follow online resources, especially ones specific to your profession, with constantly updated tips, suggestions, case studies for using social media.

Read books, especially ones specific to your profession, with guidance on how to get started, and how to make the most of your social efforts.

Novice In-Training

Goal: become a

trusted advisor

Active

Social Media Growth Curve

Basic tools

Sophisticated tools

Goal: be

find-able

Goal: learn how best

to connect

Active• Goal: become a trusted

advisor.

– Posting consistently in social media gives you the opportunity to demonstrate thought leadership.

– You build credibility as a trusted expert by sharing timely, helpful content.

– You stay top-of-mind with your connections, increasing the likelihood that they’ll reach out to you when the need arises.

• Sign up for content alerts from sites that publish content relevant to your industry, like BrighterLife.ca:

Active

• Get a basic social sharing tool like Buffer, to make sharing and scheduling posts easier while you’re surfing the web:

Active

Novice In-Training Active

Goal: invest in

relationships

Pro

Social Media Growth Curve

Basic tools

Sophisticated tools

Goal: become a

trusted advisor

Goal: be

find-able

Goal: learn how best

to connect

Pro

• Goal: invest in relationships.

– Stay aware of what’s going on in people’s lives, and look for life events, to reach out and make a meaningful connection.

– A recent McKinsey study shows that knowledge of just 3 life events resulted in a huge production gain.

– And remember this applies to friends, not just clients and prospects – friends can be your best advocates!

Pro

• Use the alerts and search functionality in the social platforms.

Pro

• Use the alerts and search functionality in the social platforms

• Get a social media management tool like Hootsuite or enterprise software your company provides, to manage all your activity from one dashboard:

Pro

Goal: be

find-able

Pick one and create a profile:

NoviceGoal:

learn how best to connect

In-TrainingGoal:

become a trusted advisor

ActiveGoal:

invest in relationships

Pro

Take a course, read articles and books,

learn from the pros:

Consistently provide useful

content, cultivate your

networks:

Monitor key life events in your networks, use

them as conversation

starters:

Social Media Growth Curve

Basic tools

Sophisticated tools

Good luck!

Linkedin.com/michellesmyth@michelle_smythabout.me/michellesmyth