Social Media Management
Build Your Visibility Through Credibility
Consultancy is becoming a popular career choice for many who want to take greater control of their future; being your own boss is an attractive proposition and in today’s economy, where “knowledge is king,” there are many individuals who feel that they can make a very good living by selling their particular knowledge specialty.
If you’re a business, consultant or employee that doesn’t have a website, you do not stand a chance. Those prospective customers need to be able to find you online.
Every so often I get asked if blogging still matters now that we have other outlets like Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. That question used to disturb me greatly until I started making this distinction:
No, the act of blogging itself does not matter anymore, but the act of consistently creating education-based content marketing that is easy for search engines to find and index, easy to share, attracts links and creates a searchable body of work on a subject has never, ever been more important in the new social media generation that should be with us, in my view, for at least the next decade.
The benefits of a blog are…
- Visibility: The more you write, the better the chances you’ll get searched by your customers/clients.
- Credibility: If you don’t come across as being a credible source of information, your customers are going to have a difficult time opening their wallets to your business.
Quality information will always outweigh quantity. Because there’s loads of content on the Internet, yours has got to stand out if it is going to be seen. Second-rate articles will fall by the wayside, but something that’s well written, engaging and informative will rise to the top of the pile. It’s not about you, it’s about sharing your knowledge and experience.
One personal example is that on Twitter I have over 12,000 followers. This suggests I am an influencer, and one whose message is well received by others. On a regular basis, when I post new content onto my website, I receive feedback by email. This has created a two-way communication tool with my followers. I make sure to reply back to all communication received. This is how you meet and engage with your followers, build relationships, solve problems and make business deals.
Folks who rarely reply to others and instead use Twitter as a soapbox for their own ends aren’t going to earn a lot of respect. It has also helped me to get other contract opportunities, provided me guest contribution articles onto other websites and regular speaking opportunities on different topics.
Last point in our knowledge base economy, always ask yourself these three questions:
- Why should someone hire you or buy from you, rather than one of your competitors?
- How many of your clients or customers regularly recommend you, via a word of mouth referral, or hire you back for another project?If you are not seeing a steady flow of referrals from your existing clients, you must find out why and fix it. Find out who your most prolific referrers are and learn why they are so keen to tell the world about you. Then, share it with your other clients.
- How many sales leads or business inquiries does your website (or blog) generate?
Learn more about social media and social tools with additional reading material in the social media page.
- Consultant
Alex Antonatos
Expert in Enterprise Software and Technology Consulting
