#SocialIsntScary – Scared to Curate Content?

When it comes time to tackle social media, the vast majority of options can be pretty overwhelming. All the different platforms, including their strengths and weaknesses, means there needs to be a varied strategic approach. This also applies to curating content for all of these outlets. If the pressure of needing to sit down and curate your own social media content gives you the shakes, don’t worry. Here is a breakdown of how to gather content like the professionals do – without the spinal shivers.
First, it’s important to understand what curation means. Curating content means gathering content of the highest caliber that is targeted to your audience and then sharing it via social media. The ideal way to curate is to create or collect information, graphics, and other content, adapt it to your specific brand and demographics, and then use it to start a conversation. What are some techniques you can use to curate your own content?
Pay Attention
First, pay attention to what the industry experts in your niche are up to. Watch their content stream to get an idea for what inspires the most engagement. Be careful. No one likes a copycat. However, the work of others can be an excellent source of inspiration. Also, their trial and error will help you leap ahead when it’s time to post your own content.
Gather Resources
Do some research on statistics in your industry and then come up with a creative way to use them. Design an infographic. Create visuals with photographs or renderings. Make a video. Add your own spin to the numbers to get the information out there in a fun or more interesting way.
Don’t Ignore Commentary
Use your current audience to curate content. Did someone say something motivational? Share it! Did a comment make a valid point? Use that as a jumping off point to create a new post. Was there some engagement that got a particularly high response rate? How can you spin that into something you can use?
Collaborate
Work with others in your industry or field. Collaborate to create something amazing and then share the content. This not only benefits both parties in terms of saving time but also introduces each of them to the other’s current network and audience. Find influencers with an already established audience and work on something together.
Inspiration
Use the work of others to inspire you to curate content. Attend a fascinating workshop or local event? Use that to create content! Read a great ebook? Summarize the points that really hit home for you and share it with your readers. Enjoy that last Powerpoint Presentation? Take notes and use those as inspiration to share great snippets. There is inspiration everywhere. The key is to keep your eyes open and ask yourself how you can use it to create something interesting.
Tools
Worried about needing to be in constant creation mode? Don’t be. Set aside time to do the work and then schedule out the posts in a tool like Hootsuite. Hootsuite allows users to gather text, images, links in one place and then schedule them out for a future date. No need to be in curation mode every day.
These are just some of the ways you can approach curating content for your social media. The sky is the limit so there is nothing to really be scared of. Practice using some of these techniques this week and see if that doesn’t make curation a bit less painful.
If you are still frightened to take that first leap into content curation, contact us and let us show you the way! Don’t forget to #BeAwesome and remember that #SocialIsntScary.
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Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

#TimeManagement – Scheduling Your Content

Social media is an important part of your business, but it’s not the only part of your business. Yet some days it feels like we fall down the rabbit hole of social media information, losing hours of productivity without gaining ground on getting the word out to our customers. 

It doesn’t have to be that way.

One of the most effective #TimeManagement tools for social media involves scheduling your content. By having your posts and articles ready to go, ahead of time, you’re less likely to dive into real-time social media and get lost.

Using tools like Buffer or Hootsuite to manage your updates makes it even easier. Instead of logging into several different platforms, you can use a tool to update each branch of your social media outreach on one easy-to-use screen.

Create an editorial calendar. You schedule meetings, lunch breaks, and more, so give social media the time it deserves. Planning ahead means you can focus on a solid plan that can be measured and adjusted as needed. It’s an excellent time-saving strategy. The cost of time up front is more than made up within the first month of scheduled posting. It also helps with decision-making. 

Several studies have concluded that the human mind can only make so many decisions in one day before impulse control goes out the window. Seeing that you’ll be writing about “x” today takes away the extra focus you would otherwise need and allows you to divert that attention to something else that may need it more.

We hope these #TimeManagement tips help keep you and your social media campaigns on track. Do you have a plan in place? If so, let us know in comments! 
Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!
Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

#ReviveYourMarketing – Your Marketing Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect

There is a lot out there about branding, and message and company image. You’ve been preached to about the do’s and don’ts of marketing since you first started your business. Some of it makes perfect sense, some of the advice is contradictory, and all of it is overwhelming. What happens when we get overwhelmed? You got it. We end up doing nothing at all.
This month I’m on a mission to help your revive your marketing. Promoting yourself and what you do is the key to business success. Fortunately, there are a lot of different ways to approach marketing and, even if you have let it slide, it’s easy to pick that ball back up and run with it.
The most important thing I want to emphasize is…. your marketing doesn’t need to be perfect. If you get hung up on the right image, or the right tagline, or utilizing the right social media platform – you will get nowhere at all.
It doesn’t matter what move you make, but it’s vital that you start moving. There isn’t just one way to approach marketing but here is a general outlineto get your forward momentum working.
Branding
If you aren’t clear about your brand or your message, you might as well be target shooting in pitch-black darkness. It’s possible you will find a small percentage of people interested in what you do, but it’s so much more effective to develop a brand that does your marketing for you. If you create a clear cut brand and use it to promoteyourself in person and online, you will find that people start coming to you instead of you chasing them. Why? Because they already have a feel for you before the first conversation occurs.
Develop a Marketing Strategy
Spend some time figuring out who your target audience is and where they enjoy spending their time. Then create a marketing strategy that focuses on where they already are. Instead of just putting your marketing out there and waiting on your clients to find you – put effort into creating a marketing strategy that showcases your company right where they are.
There are a lot of options to choose from and plenty of advice. Email newsletter? That’s a great way to build a list and funnel. Social media? Get your voice heard and establish an online presence. Advertising? Depends on your market and your budget. Content marketing? It’s a great way to gain traction online. Influencer marketing? That’s the perfect way to establish that you are an expert in your industry or niche.
The point here isn’t to try everything. That kind of thinking is going to keep you stalled. The purpose is to pick the one you think will offer the best results and just dive in! Something is better than nothing when it comes to marketing and you can work on making it better over time.
As you get good at one strategy, you can look into ways to automate or outsourceand then bring another technique into the fold. It’s better to do one thing well than several things in a mediocre fashion.
So, cut yourself a bit of slack and give yourself permission to focus on the marketing without worrying about perfection.
“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.”
John Steinbeck
Need some advice or an expert to point you in the right direction? Give The Social Media Advisor team a call and let us help you #BeAwesome at what you do!

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don’t get left behind ~ 

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn,Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube,Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them. 

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars.

#ReviveYourMarketing – Repurpose and Reuse Evergreen Content


If you are producing your own content – whether it is for social media, a blog, or online article sites – it’s essential that you understand the relevance of evergreen content. Evergreen content is anything you produce that can stand the test of time and still be useful. Most of your content will be designed to be timely so that it is keeping on top of industry trends or attracting visitors searching for something specific to what is currently happening in their lives. However, creating contentthat can be recycled and used again that also holds up regardless of current affairs gives people a way to stay relevant to their audience. 
Types of Evergreen Content
The best way to explain evergreen is to give some examples of content that falls into this category. When creating evergreen content, you want to avoid dates, trends, or commenting on current affairs. Some of the best evergreen pieces consist of “How to…” guides or tutorials. These generally don’t need to be updated over time and can be used to help potential followers find you online. 
Another example of popular evergreen content would be creating lists. Lists of various resources or recommendationswithin your industry attract both industry newbies and like-minded individuals seeking validation. If your lists include links, you will need to remember to check them from time to time. 
Really anything that encourages people to visit your sites and find out more about you is the type of content you want to create again and again.
Reuse Your Evergreen Content
While you can let your evergreen content just sit there and slowly attract attention using SEO techniques and practices, there is another way. If you take a stance to strategically use this content to garner more attention, reusing evergreen content can dramatically increase your viewership. Understanding which pieces of content are evergreen allows you to schedule them on a regular basis in order to continue attracting attention. 
Periodically post this evergreen work to your social media channels. Since you gain followers all the time, these posts will be new for much of your audience. This will keep you from having to constantly reinvent the wheel and come up with new content which will allot you the occasional break. 
Repurpose Your Evergreen Content
Some of your content won’t exactly fit into the evergreen mold. Maybe because the industry has changed a bit since you first wrote it or because there are references to current events or affairs within the piece, not everything you write can be edited into an evergreenitem. However, much of your previous content may only need a bit of tweaking to convert it to something you can use repeatedly. Reviewing and repurposing your content to match up with your current needs is a great use of your time and resources. 
The whole goal of focusing on evergreen content is to increase your efficiency and help with your content management. This is especially true during periods where you are experiencing a lack of inspiration or do not have the time to create something new but want to remain consistent online.
If you aren’t where you want to be in social media, we’d like to help you #ReviveYourMarketing and get back on track and successful. Need a helping hand or just some encouragement to #BeAwesome? Our team at The Social Media Advisor gets pumped to help business owners take a lead with their social and create something amazing!

~ Social Media is changing the way people do business.  Don’t get left behind ~ 

Be sure to Follow us and Let’s Engage!

Hollie Clere, of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them. 

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars.

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