How Entrepreneurs Gamble Their Social Media Presence: 7 Ways to Protect Yourself by @ProsperityGal

Are you gambling your social media presence and are you feeding your mind with stories of how much work it is going to take, putting yourself and your team into a feeling of overwhelm?  The most common question surfacing around social media for the past 5 years from fellow entrepreneurs and business owners:

“How am I suppose to have time for one more activity in my business?”

First allow me to ask you, are you finding yourself saying these same things?  Being intentional and hyper-conscious is what takes an everyday business owner into the journey of being a successful entrepreneur.  Be willing to ask those tough questions.

Behind tough questions comes insightful answers.

Yes, it is true social media takes more time when you do not have your communication house in order.  Helping you and your business create a clear, efficient and productive experience using social media, lies in these seven shrewd activities below.

#1 Lack of clarity – what is your one thing – get clear on what that one thing is and all the actions needed to lead up to it will flow easier.  From creating solutions, knowing who are your ideal customers, to crafting a compelling story that resonates for both you and your customers.

• Is that increased sales for _____ product?
• Is it a larger awareness for a new service?

When you posses clarity, you are empowered with insights and you will create then operate from a solid plan of action.

This is the first step to protecting your social media presence.

Now you have established your clarity, it is easy to take the next logical step…

#2 Use a mind map – mapping out your course of actions works to help you see both the big picture ( vision ) and the small steps ( actions ) that maintain our productivity, as well as our peace of mind.

Funny how when the brain is able to see what is going on in the entirety, it then reverts back to answering questions ( it’s favorite function ).  Your brain will naturally ask, what’s next?

Mapping out the complete picture for what you want to accomplish in social media helps you to align to your brain’s natural inherited strengths – searching for answers.

This mind map process also helps you to see where you need to take your next savvy shift.

#3 No focused target-stop going for the big wide audience.  Your customer is not everyone ( see #1 ) Even inside your business’s niche there will be segments and activities that propel your business forward.  What are those segments and activities?  Are you mapping out ways to listen and talk about their specific problems in the social space?

For example on Breakthrough Business Strategies radio #BBSradio, we talk to entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, business owners, sales/marketing/IT professionals and startups?  Why?  Because we started off talking to ONE segment, Entrepreneurs.  Then the others started showing up as listeners and we welcomed them.  We welcomed them by listening to what they wanted to know or how they felt their challenges were different.  Then I would bring in guests to address their challenges in their language.

It is much easier, takes less effort than chasing them down and they are committed to what you offer when coming in your door.

First focus, then expand when additional segments raise their hands.

#4 Timing-how are you being human and efficient, they are not mutually exclusive.  All of us can fall into the “I’m Busy Trap.”  Being wrapped up in busyness, does not mean you are generating the results you want and need for your business.  It means you are trying to make yourself feel better by lying to yourself about how you being busy is important.  It is a crown of false achievement. Don’t fall for it.

When you go into this mode, stop and remind yourself – “My Passion is more than what I produce for clients, it is what I produce for my soul through living an aligned life.”

This is give you an effective pattern interrupt when you go into the “busyness mode” and that allows you to ask yourself better questions with your full attention.

• Am I following my mind-map?
• Is what I am doing right now, aligned to the goal I set for my business?
• Is what I am doing right now, in the right order for efficiency in my business?
• What am I nervous about right now, that is preventing me from being more efficient?

( This last one I see a lot.  When we need to learn a new skill, we tend to pile on what we already know so high, there is not room to learn the new skill that could make us 100 times more efficient and still accomplish what we set out to do.)

Finding effective ways to call yourself on your own BS during the process is a smart move.  You can do it.

Set yourself up for winning.

#5 Aiming for more singles –  single plays vs grand slams – how are you providing meaning instead of getting attention.

Recently in Heckler’s Hangout ( a community I participate in every Thur. evening at 7pm ) Jure Kleptic and I talked about how ineffective it is to go only for attention in social media.  Yes, your business needs visibility and exposure.  There are cheesy ways to go for that attention and there are meaningful ways to accomplish that goal. Which way will you choose to set the tone for your brand?

Everyone wants to be the celebrity many times and that is not always what will serve your business in the best way.  We hear it in the language people use, for example:

1. “If we could just get that one big idea to hit it big, then we could be where we want to be.”
2. “We just need this _____(you fill in blank) to go viral, then we are set.”
3. “Well we know we need to be strategic , but we need results right now.”

Stop trying to go for the home run and grand slam in all your communications.  It’s not smart, savvy or wise.  Instead plan out singles, those individual hits that allow you to move forward in a strategic way and you will generate a higher score than you imagined.  Being “Steady and Persistent” generates better results in the social space.  People find you more trustworthy.

Trust is where the gold lies.

#6 Find tools to scale you in meaningful ways.  You are right, you do have a limited amount of time to work with each day.  The question is are you using that time effectively and in ways that generate the results needed for your business?

When you operate from a well thought out plan, that includes “their pains” in their own language ( see above ) then you can be just as strategic about automating parts that do not need you to execute by hand, one by one.

When you are using tools that help you expand your time, then you are being a smart entrepreneur.  From Listly, Ticktalking to Social Bro, there are a myriad of tools to help you listen, find, connect, actively engage and measure social conversations with your ideal clients.

A reminder.  When you take on too much and too many things at once, of course you will feel overwhelmed.  Pick one.  Pick one that aligns to the beginning of the process you want to learn, then once you are using it wisely you will have a logical question guiding you to what makes sense to put into place next.

Bat at those singles and run across home base more than your competitors.

#7 Measure your stinking results already.  Here is an area where folks tend to either go over board and try to measure EVERYTHING or nothing.  Ask yourself, which extreme are you, then pick ONE measurement that will help you understand where you are in the process first.

For example, you are blogging and you want to know how well your post are doing, Google analytics is your first go to measurement tool.  If you are tweeting and you want to know are the people you reached out to as influencers driving the attention you needed to hit, then check out Tweetlevel.

Think about what will help you determine if the actions you are taking, are moving you towards your business goals.  If you are new to the social sphere, then listening and monitoring tools will be more important to you right now.  Think about where you are in the social space, newbie, average, or a high profile user.  Then ask what do I need to know, to make sure my actions are gaining the results I want?  Once you have clarity what and why you want to measure, you will save yourself time in researching for the proper tools for you right now.

Start with free tools until you gain a feel for reading and understanding “the what and why you are measuring”, then when you go to use paid tools you will be prepared.

Measure against your current business goals.

Stop gambling your social media presence, take action using these guidelines.  What questions are you having around using social media as an entrepreneur now?  Tweet me @Prosperitygal or join us on #BBSradio where we give free advice every Monday.  Love to know what you want to learn next.  You could be the inspiration for my next post here on She Owns It.

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Social Media/Digital Strategist — Michele Price @ProsperityGal – Who Is Michele Price, Houston TX

Michele Price is the founder and lead strategist at Social Media For Smart People , in Houston, TX. She delivers results for entrepreneurs, startups, C-suite executives by crafting communication strategies that are designed to gain visibility, engage your audience, make a splash, and drive profits. Michele hosts a weekly business radio show, Breakthrough Business Strategies radio, where she produces results for listeners on the topics — Business Success Mindset and Web 2.0 communication strategies.

30 years as an entrepreneur, Michele has been in the “first of” category several times in multiple industries. Being a straight forward, results oriented entrepreneur and speaker is a consistent theme of appreciation from clients and audiences alike.

NO limits mindset in professional and personal life, Michele’s favorite adventures was dog sledding in Montana. Ask Michele about another adventure, where she secured the safety of 35 snowmobilers in Yellow State Park from a herd a Buffalo.

Michele Price

Michele Price is the founder and lead strategist at Social Media For Smart People , in Houston, TX. She delivers results for entrepreneurs, startups, C-suite executives by crafting communication strategies that are designed to gain visibility, engage your audience, make a splash, and drive profits. Michele hosts a weekly business radio show, Breakthrough Business Strategies radio, where she produces results for listeners on the topics — Business Success Mindset and Web 2.0 communication strategies.