As digital media keeps trending, more businesses are jumping on the bandwagon. Are you Is it all just a fad,or does it really work? From experience, I have seen CEOs,in particular, use social media to save them time, money, and create more fruitful relationships with their own employees. Most CEOs say they are too busy for online marketing, and they hire in-house employees to do the work for them. However, they can benefit from their own engagement with the tools than hire someone out.
When companies hire in-house social media specialists to maintain their personal social networks, they are making a BIG MISTAKE This mistake causes them to lose their identity online, and in some ways prevents them from being personable.
For example, @khabie, the top-level executive of Digitaria, is personable towards his connections on Twitter. He is always engaging and his clients can connect with him from all over the world. This also builds loyalty between the customers and the prospects. Then, what about the employees as well? In every place I ever worked, there was a motto, that every lived by:“We are all one big family here!”
The Family Factor
The best way to connect with the “family” outside of the workplace is through different social networks. When others see how you are performing and engaging on the different networks, they will want to get involved as well.
For example, I was working with a company where the employees created different cartoons that represented themselves. Then, we would display different phrases on our wall that described us. This emphasized the family aspect of all the employees interacting throughout their social networks. Who wants to work with a company where the employees don’t get along with one another, and the workplace is one big mess? No one in my boat!
When employees are engaging and interacting with others, they become their own social networks. This allows them to become better at representing the company they work for. This is how the CEOwill know if he is making the work place enjoyable for the employees, or if it is just another place they just dread to go. This is another way to get the employees more aware, and inspired by the company’s vision.
Golden Key To Connections
By now we should all know the best place to make business connections is on LinkedIn.com. Why not use it to make all the connections you need to get your business started and off to good start for the year?
LinkedIn.com is great place for CEOs (to connect with other business owners, prospects, job seekers employees, and even make personal connections. I usually think of Linked-In as a place to make all the connections I want with anyone around the world. This way as a top-level executive, you will not have to travel to different places to network with the people you need to, in order to make deals.
Last year I remember working with a client, and connecting with people on Linked-In through a simple message. I got to know all the people I connected with, and just nurtured those relationships. Soon enough I was referred to another group of people where I was able to land a $250,000 deal! This particular marketing strategy for this new client was a success! Are you already connecting to find leads, clients, deals and opportunities?
Time is Money
They always say, “time is money." Time is actually more precious than money, because money comes and goes. Time, never returns, once it's gone. So, how do you save time?
As the president of Global Marketing Tactics, it's hard to find time to read emails or even make calls, with such a busy schedule. What do I do? I try to respond to my prospects and clients via other methods such as:
· 140 Characters On Twitter
· Facebook Wall Posts
· Linked-In Messages
This way, I can interact with my consumers and prospects, and become an influencer within my community at the same time! You can also set-up all your social networks to make sure you receive messages from your immediate clients through your smart phone. How smart is that?
Take A Step At Becoming An Influencer
Influencers are known to show leadership and charisma. Those two traits can take you a longway. When you become an influencer in your area of expertise you can easily get the attention of your community and they will listen to any advice you have for them.
I usually take the time to write one article a week, so I can share what I already know. This way prospects can get the know-how of what I already achieved and what I can do for them. I won't be questioned on my experience the next time someone is looking to work with me.
As a leader, we must be transparent and stand up for what we believe in. This was a big step for me. I always use to be afraid of standing up for my beliefs, because I always had to be "sensitive," "tolerant", or worse, “politically correct.” Yikes, there goes freedom of speech, right? If everyone was so vanilla, what would be the point?
This is the factor that will help you stand out beyond others in your field. For example, I remember the CEO of the company I worked for in college gave a speech on YouTube to show off his expertise in the marketing realm. People were surprised by how much he knew, let alone, how funny he was. The next day his phone rang off the hook, and his email box stuffed, with inquiries coming in left and right.
Remember, there are so many ways CEOs can use social media to increase their reach, prospects and even find great people to collaborate with. If you are a CEO and you would love to meet your marketing initiatives this year, then get a jump start in the realm of digital media.
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