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The answers to your top six social media marketing questions
Answers to Social Media Management Questions
presented by EdCopy
Every day, it seems, I come across questions regarding social marketing. Teachers want to know how to manage their social media for the businesses they run outside of the classroom. They want to know how to reach more people with the teaching skills they are leveraging for the sake of business. And they are trying to figure out how to make the most of social media without it becoming a distraction from the business operations they are now squeezing into their lives.
Chances are, you probably have these same types of questions. And you've probably even spent some time on videos, podcasts, and blogs trying to figure it all out. Problem is, you keep getting conflicting answers and information, is that right?
For example, just pop onto any social marketing forum and ask this question: In the past year, what social media platform has been most influential in helping teachers get their businesses started?
I guarantee that you will get conflicting inputs. Some people will tell you to [do one thing to solve the problem]. Another group will advocate that you [do something else to solve the problem].
So there you are left to sort through the wheat and the chaff.
If you're new to the social-media-for-business game, it's even more difficult because you don't know who to trust. Because the truth is, there are plenty of wannabe edupreneurs who think they know what they are talking about-- but they are just as clueless as everybody else. In some cases, these well-intentioned teachers/proprietors are offering flat-out bad advice.
That's why I compiled this list of frequently asked questions.
I wanted to make sure you go the right advice from someone who is successfully navigating the world of social marketing. Read on...
Question
What is the best way to get more fans on Facebook?
Answer
It’s hard to say what the best way to get more fans is, because every business is different. Some businesses might want to pay Facebook to promote their posts, but others might benefit more from doing contests or giveaways to get more fans.
The best way to get more fans on your Facebook page is to post content that is relevant to your target market. Then, find a way to promote that content to your target market (through paid advertising, for example). You set up a Facebook page, and then use that page as a place to promote your content. Promote your blog posts, your podcast episodes, and your videos to people who have never heard of you before. And spend attention on the people that like your page; try to engage with them. People like to feel special and to know that you’re paying attention to them.
As your audience grows on Facebook, give them something of value. Listen to what they are talking about, and then enter the conversations with more useful, valuable, relevant content.
Don’t just focus on growing your Facebook page, though.
Question
Social media managers are expensive. Is there a cheaper way to get significant results?
Answer
There is a huge misconception about social media marketing that it’s expensive, but that is not the case at all. If you’re just starting out with social marketing, it can seem a bit daunting. But there are great ways to start social media marketing on a budget.
The bad news is that social media isn’t free. You need to invest time, resources, and dollars into it if you want to see results. The good news is that you don’t need to spend a fortune for results, and you don’t have to be a social media pro to get started.
If you're just starting out, and you're out here pricing out social media marketing agencies and individuals to manage your accounts, sure, social marketing can seem expensive. If you’re not sure you can afford to hire a social media expert, there are plenty of things you can do on your own.
It helps to have a strategy; Getting a strategy in place might even be the first thing you do. One of the most important things for any teacher in business is to target the right people with the right message at the right time. You can’t do that if you don’t know who your audience is.
Write a list of things you want your social marketing to accomplish and what you think your audience is looking for. Put consistent effort into engaging with your audience, then once you’ve built up an engaged audience, you can start to tap into the power of social selling and create some great results for your education business without the hefty price tag.
Question
What's the fastest way to make a social marketing strategy?
Answer
The fastest way to make a social media marketing strategy is to make a list of all the people you want to connect with and how you’re going to connect with them. Then, once you know who you want to connect with, you can decide which platforms you should be using to connect with these people.
Another fast option for making a social marketing strategy is to think about the most common questions your potential clients/customers have about your education offering, be it product or service, and then answer them on social media. For example, if you’re a language arts teacher offering tutoring, you can post FAQs about teaching and learning the language arts.
You can also quickly create a social media marketing strategy by laying out to use a social media content calendar. This is a visual way to outline your social media marketing plan in advance. It's really no different than a pacing calendar teachers use with curriculum, and it's a great way to see what you have coming up and how you can plan your time.
Question
Every time I try to post consistently on social media, I end up running out of ideas. How can I avoid this in the future?
Answer
Almost every single teacher I have ever met who is trying to build something outside of his teaching job has, at some point, had problems with running out of ideas when it comes to posting on social media. We tend to put huge amounts of pressure on ourselves to keep coming up with new and interesting things to post, but the brain works in a similar way to training muscles. The more high-quality exercise you give it, the more ideas you’ll be able to come up with.
If you’re struggling to keep your social media content fresh, then try scheduling your posts in advance. You can schedule your posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, so that if you ever have a day where you just don’t have the time or state of mind to create new content, your social posting activity continues because of the content that, at a previous time, you scheduled and forgot about.
If you feel like you’re struggling with this, then you can also try setting aside enough time for using a method like the Pomodoro Technique. Here are three simple exercises you can do during the different focused blocks of time to help you come up with ideas:
Take the time to get to know your audience.
Research what your potential customers care about most.
Listen to what your audience is telling you.
Consistency is important. It’s also important to be specific with what you post on social media. It’s so easy to get stuck in the habit of posting updates like, "How was your day?" or "What’s up?" but these types of updates don’t really resonate with anyone. I find the best way to stay consistent with social media is to think about what I’m doing in the broader context of my business. When I’m posting, I try to make sure that everything I’m posting is part of a bigger strategy and is in line with my overall personal professional goals.
Question
If you went back in time and were going to start social marketing for the first time ever, what would you do differently this time?
Answer
If I was going to start social media marketing from scratch all over again, I would start by identifying the specific goals that I wanted to achieve. Many people who start to use social media don’t think about what their goals are or whether they’ve got any.
By doing this, I think I would be more mindful of the people in my community. I think I’d be more mindful of their stories and what they might need from me. Instead of just saying, "Here’s this post about something else that I like."
I would spend more time talking to people, focusing on more ways to help them, rather than just trying to figure out how to make money. Also, I’d probably look at the metrics behind the social posts I was writing instead of just relying on my gut.
Lastly, I would be creating content and building my audience from the very beginning. In the past, I had some success with social media, but I didn’t have any content to back it. So, I’d be putting out lessons, and articles, and learning guides as soon as I could and using social media to promote them.
Question
I don't have a whole lot of time to come up with ideas, create posts, and hang out in the comments sections on social networks because I have work, a family, and other responsibilities. What do you suggest?
Answer
I know the feeling. I really do. There are days when I don’t have a lot of time to come up with ideas, create posts, and hang out in the comments sections on social networks because I have work, a family, and other responsibilities, too. So, I get it. Ideally, I’d be able to spend all day creating content, engaging with people, and answering questions. But that’s not the case. I have a full-time teaching job, a wife, and two children, so I have to make the most of my time.
I used to often ask how do people find the time to do all the work they do online. I learned something. The answer is that many of them don’t. They don’t have a lot of time. They have a small team working with them and they have a lot of help from others.
So, if you’re not able to be as active as you’d like to be on social media, you can always hire someone to do it for you. There are plenty of individual social media managers and social media agencies that will manage your social media accounts and engage with your followers for you. You can just pay them for their services and for the convenience as you can afford it.
In conclusion...
At last, you finally know the TRUTH about social marketing for the businesses you're building outside of the classroom, reaching more people with the teaching skills you are leveraging for the sake of business, and figuring out how to squeeze social marketing into your life. And that means that you can now take on social media marketing more confidently because you're armed with the knowledge you need to succeed. See you at the top, player!
-kaml-