17 Social Media Tips, Tweets and Lessons in 140 Characters or Fewer

This week I have been really thinking a lot about how companies are implementing social media. I tweet out social media tips each day and the past couple weeks of tweets have definitely been influenced by my thoughts on best practices, social media training, implementation and of course leadership. Some were tweeted while sitting in the airport in Calgary, some from Blenz Coffee in Vancouver and others while I was doing research online. These tweets represent my stream of consciousness over the past couple of weeks. Your feedback and additional thoughts on the topic would be greatly appreciated. Happy tweeting!

1. Social Media Tip: free is great BUT charge for things, people will appreciate them more and you will attract a different market.
2. Social Media Tip: Want to increase ROI? Have a well-trained sales team handling leads and inquiries. You still need to close the deal.
3. Social Media Tip: LinkedIn is about trusted networks connecting with trusted networks. It’s not a “friending” game.
4. Social Media Tip: Twitter is a marketing tool, networking tool, prospecting tool, research tool… it all depends on how you use/mis-use it
5. Social Media Tip: Many marketers don’t see social media as a revolutionary tool but part of the marketing mix. It can be if it’s applied effectively. Innovate
6. Social Media Tip: Having senior level buy-in is vital if you want to fully maximize your organization’s social media ROI.
7. Social Media Tip: If the major conference you are going to doesn’t have a #hashtag or a tweetup start them both and make more connections.
8. Social Media Tip: stakeholder engagement has it’s ebbs and flows, don’t be discourage, stick with the plan.
9. Social Media Tip: People care more about other people than things or brands. Use social media to tell stories and humanize your business.
10. Social Media Tip: Continually search for new social media platforms – they will expose you to new markets and business intelligence.
11. Social Media Tip: human curators are more important than others. People are trying to sort through all of the noise.
12. Social Media Tip: Consistency is important but being relevant and adding value with your content is equally as important.
13. Social Media Tip: If you can influence just one person negatively or positively you are a leader. Watch your intent.
14. Social Media Tip: Stop trying to control your employees and own their tweets. Instead win their hearts and work on your culture.
15. Social Media Tip: social media is evolving. Make sure your behaviors, tools, and rules of engagement keeping pace.
16. Social Media Tip: There’s more to social media than content. Strategy, etiquette, listening, relevance are vital.
17. Social Media Tip: Train your team and develop a socialized culture. Leverage your brand story through building community.