Demystifying the gap between ideas & execution to collapse time & accelerate results.
MIND THE GAP
You can do it.
It’s not as hard as you make it out to be.
By putting it off, you might be putting off opportunity.
CLOSE THE GAP
Did you know that 95% of my referrals and opportunities come from LinkedIn? The other 5% is through my network. People who don’t even engage with my content will reach out via private message to learn more about what I do or just because they want to connect and chat. Whether it’s a potential client or potential job, my LinkedIn profile is designed to attract opportunity.
By the end of this edition, you will understand the basics of harnessing the power of social media to amplify your brand.
Stop discounting the importance of social media to your personal professional brand.
Don’t discount the importance of social media in your business strategy or even in your personal brand strategy. I think most people understand that social media is critical for products and services to build awareness and pull ideal customers into the funnel. But it also serves a purpose in your personal professional brand as well.
For example, the mistake I see people making with LinkedIn is not using it as an effective tool until they’re looking for a job. The time to build your presence and your network is when times are good. Yes, even if you have a good network of people you can email or text, it never hurts to expand your reach.
Whether you’re a startup, solopreneur, or growing enterprise, if you’re not using these FREE tools to your advantage, you’re letting opportunities pass you by and potentially leaving money on the table.
Before diving into specific strategies and tips, it's crucial to understand the foundational principles of social media. Pull out a sheet of paper and write down answers to the following basic elements.
1. Know Your Audience
Understanding your target audience is the cornerstone of any successful social media strategy. When thinking about who you’re trying to reach consider the following:
Demographics: Age, gender, location, and income level.
Interests: Hobbies, activities, and preferences.
Behavior: Online habits, buying behavior, and interaction with content.
Conduct market research and use social media analytics to gather this information. Knowing your audience helps tailor your content to their preferences, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
2. Set Clear Goals
What do you want to achieve with your social media presence? Clear goals guide your strategy and help measure success.
Your goals could include, but aren’t limited to:
Brand Awareness: Increasing the visibility of your brand - top of the funnel.
Lead Generation: Attracting potential customers.
Engagement: Building a community and fostering relationships.
Sales: Driving conversions and revenue.
3. Choose the Right Platforms
Not all social media platforms are created equal. I used to post consistently on Instagram and LinkedIn until I found that 95% of my business comes from LinkedIn. I post on Instagram occasionally so people know the account isn’t dead or for those who aren’t on LinkedIn.
Also, I used to post on Facebook, but I found that most of the people who reached out via the platform wanted free or discounted services.
Another thing to consider when choosing a platform is to focus on the best one first. Once you have a solid following there, then go to the second best.
These are the typical uses of the most common platforms:
Facebook: Broad audience, good for community building.
Instagram: Visual content, popular among younger demographics.
LinkedIn: Professional networking, B2B marketing.
TikTok: Short, engaging videos.
Twitter (I will never call it X 😂): Real-time updates, news, and customer service.
YouTube: Long and short video content. Can be educational, inspirational, audio, entertainment, etc.
Many people will use the content from their primary platform on secondary platforms to drive people to the primary account. For instance, people who post on TikTok may use the content to drive their audience to their Instagram or YouTube accounts.
Other platforms to consider are small and great for niche audiences:
Mighty
Clubhouse
Spill
Mastedon
Vero
MeWe
Steemit
4. Create Engaging Content
Content is king on social media. Your content should be:
Relevant: Address your audience's needs and interests.
Valuable: Provide useful information, tips, or entertainment.
Consistent: Maintain a regular posting schedule.
Visual: Use images, videos, and graphics to capture attention.
Video is important, but not on every platform. LinkedIn, for example, encourages video but the engagement statistics for them is terrible.
5. Engage with Your Audience
Social media is a two-way street. People don’t just want to consume your content, they want to interact with you and get to know you. Of course, they only know the you that you share, but it feels like a connection. Engage with your audience by:
Responding to Comments and Messages: Show that you value their input.
Comment on other people’s content: this creates community and also draws people to your content
Participating in Conversations: Join relevant discussions and forums.
Running Contests and Giveaways: Encourage interaction and sharing.
Engaging with your audience also gives you an opportunity to build trust and goodwill while establishing your credibility.
6. Work with the algorithms
A social media platform’s algorithm is how it decides what content is shown and to whom. It does this by analyzing users’ behaviors and preferences to determine the content they want to see. It’s important to understand the algorithm of the platform so you can develop your content strategy.
For example, TikTok’s For You Page (FYP) is the algorithm serving you content it knows you want and content it thinks you may like. If you watch a lot of dog videos, it will serve you more dog videos. Occasionally, it might throw in a video of another animal to gage your interest.
LinkedIn only puts content from people you follow into your stream, but it prioritizes people you interact with the most or who interact with you the most. It will offer suggested posts from people whom you aren’t connected to gage your interest. But LinkedIn rewards your engagement on other peoples’ content.
Here’s what algorithms take into consideration:
Consistency: how often you post.
Engagement: how much people interact with your content.
Audience engagement: how much you are interacting with people who engage with your content.
Content quality: how interesting your content is and the consistency of the messaging.
Time to hydrate.
Develop a strategy
With the basics in place, let's dive into developing a robust social media strategy. Don’t run!!! This doesn’t have to be complicated. Sure, in the beginning social media was hard to crack, but the right strategy can get you noticed.
1. Content Calendar
A content calendar helps plan and organize your posts. It ensures a consistent posting schedule and allows you to align content with important dates and events. Use tools like Google Calendar, Trello, or dedicated social media management tools to create and manage your calendar.
Include a hashtag strategy. Hashtags is not only how people can find your content, but it also tells the algorithm how to categorize your content increasing the probability that your content will be seen outside of your audience.
Once your calendar is together, use tools to help create content and schedule your posts. You can create a months worth of content in one weekend.
🤖 Steal my AI prompts 🤖
Topic creation prompt
Act as a social media expert and create a list of topics that I can use for my LinkedIn platform as a business consultant. Identify five pain points for life science startups. Then list what topics I should write about to address those paint points. Put the results in a table with the pain points as column headers. Along the left side input the content styles motivational, listicles, analytical, and contrarian. Include three recommended hashtags.
Result 👇🏽
Calendar Creation Prompt
I need to create a comprehensive social media calendar for [month, year]. This calendar should be organized in a table format that looks like a traditional calendar, with each day of the month represented as a cell in the table. The calendar should include the following details for each post:
Date: The specific date of the post.
Platform: The social media platform (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
Content Type: The type of content (e.g., blog post, image, video, infographic, quote).
Post Time: The scheduled time for the post.
Content Description: A brief description or caption for the post.
Hashtags: Relevant hashtags to be included in the post.
Please ensure the calendar is visually clear and easy to read, with each platform color-coded for quick reference. Also, consider including key events or holidays relevant to the target audience that might impact the posting schedule. Provide the results in a table format resembling a calendar with the details filled in for each day.
Result 👇🏽
2. Analytics and Metrics
Track your performance using social media analytics and adjust your strategy as needed. There are tools that track this for you. But every platform includes its own metrics tracking. If you use the free account, the metrics might be limited or you have to manually transfer the information to a spreadsheet. If you use a tool to post your content, it should include a tracking tool. Key metrics include:
Reach: The number of unique users who saw your content.
Engagement: Likes, comments, shares, and interactions.
Conversion Rates: Percentage of users who took a desired action.
Follower Growth: Increase in your follower count over time.
LinkedIn has a Social Selling Index (SSI) that scores you compared to the industry and your network. My SSI ranks in the top 6% of the consulting industry.
Your score can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi.
3. Paid Advertising
Organic reach can be limited, especially on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Paid advertising helps boost your visibility. Consider using ads to boost thought leadership, special events, webinars, etc.:
Facebook Ads: Targeted ads based on demographics, interests, and behaviors.
Instagram Ads: Sponsored posts and stories to reach a broader audience.
LinkedIn Ads: Sponsored content, InMail, and display ads for B2B marketing.
TikTok Ads: In-feed ads, branded hashtags, and challenges.
4. Collaborations
Collaborate with influencers to reach new audiences. Choose influencers who align with your brand values and have a genuine connection with their followers.
A strategy that some will employ is follow groups. People connect off the platform to coordinate liking and engaging with each other’s content. On most platforms, this isn’t really allowed as it goes against what they feel it goes against organic community growth.
You can participate, but know that algorithm will eventually figure this out. The best thing to do is engage with content you like and people will do the same for you…hopefully.
Get started with some basic platform-specific tips.
In a future edition, I will provide more platform-specific tips, but for now let's explore some general tips for maximizing your impact on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn to get you started.
Optimize Your Profile: Use a clear profile picture, a compelling bio, and a link to your website.
Use High-Quality Visuals: Post eye-catching photos and videos.
Leverage Stories and Reels: Engage your audience with short, interactive content.
Hashtags and Tags: Use relevant hashtags and tag other users to increase reach.
Engage with Followers: Respond to comments and direct messages promptly.
TikTok
Understand Trends: Keep up with current trends and participate in popular challenges.
Be Authentic: TikTok users value authenticity and creativity.
Short and Engaging Content: Create videos that capture attention quickly.
Use Music and Effects: Leverage TikTok's extensive library of music and effects.
Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with popular TikTok creators to expand your reach.
Complete Your Profile: Ensure your profile is complete and professional. Use a clear photo that shows your friendly face. Include key words you want to be known for in your profile.
Banner image: include a banner image that quickly summarizes what you do. Recruiters look at them.
Share Industry Insights: Post articles, case studies, and thought leadership content.
Engage in Groups: Participate in LinkedIn groups relevant to your industry.
Network Actively: Connect with industry peers and potential clients.
❓ Should you follow back ❓
You may see “I follow back” in a person’s profile. It’s a general courtesy to follow back someone who follows you. My recommendation is to do this carefully. Follow someone if they align with your values or content.
The problem with blindly following back is that some people will unfollow you once you follow them to keep their following numbers below their followed by numbers. Sometimes, these accounts are fakes and are just bots.
I ain’t yo folla back girrrrl.
How do people make money
People can make money by capitalizing on their influence and reach. Influencers, for instance, often earn income by partnering with brands to promote products and services, leveraging their follower base to drive sales and awareness.
▸Sponsored posts, where companies pay for content featuring their products, are a common method.
▸Social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok offer revenue-sharing programs where creators earn a portion of ad revenue generated from their content.
The TikTok Creator Fund pays creators based on the number of views their videos receive, offering between $0.02 and $0.04 per 1,000 views. This translates to about $20 to $40 per million views, which means creators with viral videos can see modest earnings from the fund alone.
Additionally, creators can receive gifts from viewers during live streams, which can be converted into cash. These gifts, known as Diamonds, are valued at $0.05 each, with the minimum withdrawal amount set at $100
▸Affiliate marketing is another popular approach, where influencers earn commissions by promoting and linking to products.
▸Direct selling their own products or services directly to their audience, such as merchandise, online courses, or e-books.
▸Platforms like Patreon allow creators to receive direct support from their followers through subscriptions or donations, providing exclusive content or perks in return.
There are lots of tools are the market that will do the heavy lifting for you in terms of calendaring, curating content, and scheduling posts. Some popular ones are Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, and Canva. Some are free and others are expensive for the service they provide. As AI becomes more common, these features are being integrated into multiple tools.
Need to solve your social media presence? STORI is the answer. Create your brand, generate content and publish everywhere within minutes. Add the value and subtract marketing costs to your brand.
The math checks out! Try STORI and see how things add up.
🔥 Hot Tips 🔥
💡 As new platforms become available, sign up for an account so you can secure your handle. That way, your handle is the same on every platform.
💡 Use longer content to create endless content. If you publish a blog post with five key points, create five follow up posts highlighting each point separately. Record a long video, then splice it up into several different posts. There are video editors with a built-in feature to split the video for you.
💡 Re-use content. If you had a post last year that did really well, post it again! Very few people, if any, will remember. Your new audience members didn’t see it the first time.
💡 Followers versus following numbers can impact how the algorithm promotes your content. While this isn’t typically the case on LinkedIn, it can be true for Instagram and TikTok.
THE GAP DĒMĬSTəFĪED
The real secret to success on social media is simply to start.
Mastering social media is a dynamic process that requires continuous learning and adaptation. By understanding the basics, setting clear goals, and leveraging the right tools and strategies, you can build a strong social media presence that drives engagement, growth, and success. Regardless of the platform, remember that authenticity, consistency, and engagement are key to connecting with your audience and achieving your objectives.
TL;DR
Embrace the power of social media and watch your brand soar to new heights. Start today by posting something simple.
Stop discounting the importance of social media: building a personal professional brand on social media can attract opportunities, whether it be clients or job opportunities. People are taking note.
Social media isn’t as complication as you think: While there are entire agencies and groups dedicated to social media, it isn’t that complicated for the individual user or small business. There are some critical elements to help you get started.
Develop a social media strategy: Start by choosing the best platform for you or your business by identifying your target audience and curating content they’re interested in. And be consistent. Bonus - I shared two AI prompts to help with content creation.
Get started with basic platform-specific tips: Choosing the best platform depends on your goals and your brand. Photographers should use Instagram and consultants should lean into LinkedIn, for example.
How to make money using social media: There are programs that pay users to create content. TikTok for example pays creators based on their reach and engagement. YouTub pays for video traffic. There are various ways to monetize social media.
Tools to automate social media and content creation: Leverage free or inexpensive tools to do the heavy lifting with content creation and distribution.
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Nile Harris | Executive Consultant + Coach
I empower mid-career professionals, entrepreneurs, and businesses to transform passion and purpose into P.R.O.F.I.T.
Social media isn’t as complicated as you think.