Ask Mandy Q&A: How to Find Success Using Social Media

In the somewhat modified words of Forrest Gump…

Using social media for your business is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.

Contrary to what some may say, social media success does not happen overnight. Yes, something may go viral, but that doesn’t mean you are going to be successful for more than 15 minutes. Having success using social media for your business is hard. With platforms’ ever-changing algorithms, it can be a lot to take in.

So that leads me to this week’s question…

How can I find success using social media for my business?

Success will come to anyone who works hard enough for it. This is not something that you can go into blindly. I am convinced there are eight major attributes to having success on social media.

Find your voice.

This is one of the important keys to success. You have to know who you are what you stand for. Crafting your own voice among the chorus of millions will help set you apart. What are your strong points? What makes you different?

Blog and do so consistently.

You will build your authority through your writing. The more you write (for your site and others), the more visible you will be online. As long as you are publishing quality content, you will see your following grow. Start small – one post each week and build from there. Don’t bite off more than you can handle.

Network on and offline.

You would think with social media, there would be no need for any offline interaction. Wrong. I networked offline for the first year of my business. Almost all of my clients were local, but as time went on the non-local stuff came in. Especially if your business can service non-local clients, you need to have a good balance of online and offline activities. Which leads me to…

Start local.

Start where you live and branch out from there. Yes, the clients may be smaller and not pay as much, but everyone has to start somewhere. Seek out those within 50 miles of you that may need your product or service. Start local. Start small. Then grow.

Make your business your first client.

I cannot stress how important this is. I see so many social media pros with hardly any following and activity on their accounts who make the excuse that they are “too busy with their clients to manage their own accounts.”  COP OUT. When someone is looking to hire you, they want to see what you are doing. If they don’t take care of themselves, how are they going to take care of you?? Think on that.

Continue to learn.

Social media is always changing. It’s important to attend webinars, read articles and continue to educate yourself. If you don’t keep up, your competitor will and you’ll see the migration of your clients to them. This is like any other job. Things change and update and so must you. Being on top of all of the latest happenings will show your clients you know what you’re doing.

Follow influencers.

I’ve been told to mimic the actions of those I admire and respect – my influencers. You can learn so much from watching what these guys are doing. Subscribe to their blogs, become active in their community – doors can and will open.

Suggestions: Mark Schaefer, Brian Fanzo, Neal Schaffer, Peg Fitzpatrick to name a few.

Have faith and believe in yourself.

Success doesn’t come easy. You will fail at times. I’m not going to lie. Just have faith in yourself that you can do this – believe that you have the ability and you will see success happen right before your eyes.

Success can be measured in a wide array of terms – clients, money, retweets, impressions. Only you know what defines success to you. If you do just a few of the things I mentioned above, you’ll see the success. It may be small at first, but everyone starts somewhere.

Did I leave anything out? What advice would you give?