A tactical guide to social media

People often ask what is required in a tactical sense once you’ve outlined your social media strategy.

Here’s what I recommend doing and how frequently to do it.

It’s what I strive to do consistently but, of course, sometimes you do more or less, depending on your circumstances:

Daily

• Read your favourite blogs via Google Reader so they’re all in the one place. I find it convenient to set this up on my smartphone, so I can read then when I’m on the run too.

• Tweet two to three useful articles that your followers may find interesting. Be sure to @mention the author of the content, so they know you’re sharing it and because it’s good etiquette.

• Check your LinkedIn messages. I have started checking these messages daily after I missed out on a social media speaking engagement because I was too slow. Learn from my mistake!

Weekly

• Publish a blog post once a week. To make it easier, jot down ideas in Evernote during the week and then flesh out your article during the time you’ve set aside to write.

• Leave a thoughtful comment on two of your favourite blogs. Get in the habit of this because it’s a great way to connect with people and build relationships and it shows you’re contributing and getting involved.

• Connect with five people you know on LinkedIn. Gradually connect with people over time using LinkedIn’s ‘people you may know’ feature.

Fortnightly

• Write a guest blog post. Find fellow bloggers or websites whose audience may be interested in what you can contribute. They get fresh and valuable content for their readers and you get in front of a new group of people, and a backlink. Always be respectful and educate them, don’t sell.

Monthly

• Upload a Facebook photo album from an event you’ve been to or from a company get-together. These photos humanise your business so potential clients and staff can get a feel for what you’re like.

• Write a LinkedIn recommendation for someone and also request a recommendation from a client you’ve worked for. A LinkedIn profile with genuine endorsements is a lot more powerful than testimonials published on your website, which cynical people are reluctant to believe.

• Write an email newsletter that keeps your community up to date with your latest news, useful articles, and any other valuable content you can share with them. The golden rule is always to provide way more value than you try to extract for yourself.

Quarterly

• Film a YouTube video. It could be an industry update or a how-to video. If you’re a bit shy, you could always interview an expert or get a video testimonial from a customer. Record it on your phone or camera and edit it in iMovie or Windows Movie Maker and you’re away.

• Run a webinar. Your community of subscribers and followers will be eager to learn from your expertise and a webinar is an easy way to teach them new things from the convenience of your computer.

Annually

• Write an eBook. Share some really valuable information in an eBook and earn the trust of your potential customers.

• Release premium content like a market report, interviews with thought leaders, metrics reports or survey data.

I’ve also created a framework to help keep your content publishing efforts on track. The Content Publishing Schedule is a free download as part of the double sided Social Media Planning Template.