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When it comes to raising your profile in the media, one of the first things a journalist or editor will do is review your online presence and look at your website, latest blog posts and if you’re active across social media channels. This is also known as social proof. But it’s not enough to just have a presence, you need to be active and providing useful, valuable content to your audience. The first place to start is to take an evaluation of your current online presence – go ahead, Google yourself! It’s not as egotistical as it sounds, honest. Here’s the first page of results that show when I Google my name.
The social media platforms that I’m active on show first, along with other content that has either been published by me or about me. If the local BBC radio station were looking for an expert in writing for the media then the previous posts I’ve written for The Guardian show up in the search results so any producer or editor can follow the links and have the social proof that I’m credible.
But I was an early adopter of social media, I joined Twitter back in 2008, and Linkedin shortly afterwards.
If I were starting today I would concentrate on 2 – 3 platforms that I can do well, as opposed to trying to be all things to everyone.
ACTION TO TAKE: Take a look at the channels you’re on, are they working for you? Do you need to scale up or down activity?
Just posting on these channels, especially if you automate them through Buffer or Hootsuite is not enough. You need to be posting content that’s useful and has a perceived value for your intended audience. Sharing content produced by others is fine, and actually recommended, as long as it’s relevant to your business or area of expertise.
ACTION TO TAKE: How often are you posting content? Is it consistent and engaging. Do you have regular exchanges between yourself and your audience? Are your tweets liked, retweeted and generating comments? If the answer is No then you need to rethink your strategy.
Quality over quantity is also a key factor. Just churning out posts that aren’t adding value won’t increase your followers or likes. There is an awful lot of noise out there and you have to find a way to break through and be heard. Try to locate a social media influencer (someone with A LOT of followers) and ask for retweets to their audience. Do any of your updates include a call to action? Do you give the reader something to do once they’ve read your post?
ACTION TO TAKE: Look at your last few updates and make a note of which posts had the most interaction. Look at Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics which should give you all the info you need.
How consistent is your bio or profile on each platform? Do you have a picture of yourself as well as your logo? I recently invested in some professional headshots so that whichever platform I’m on, it’s recognisable to the viewer. Take a look at some of mine (and my cheesy grin!) here;
If you’re feeling a bit out of depth with it all, then I’m on hand to help. Throughout March 2017 I’m working with businesses to help make sure their online presence is media ready – and it’s completely free of charge. Not only that, but I will create a step by step plan for you to work to. If you’re interested in finding out more click here to subscribe to the newsletter and I’ll be in touch to arrange a time and date to have a chat.