It takes wisdom to conquer social media.

Recently I was asked to meet an entrepreneur who wanted to ‘do’ social media.

On the phone, it soon became obvious he had BIG expectations of the outcomes, but no understanding of the process.

This was fine: I don’t know how to run multi-million dollar factories. It was wise for him to seek advice.

However, as we’re both very busy people, I didn’t want to waste our time. So I composed the frank (nay, brutal) email below.

To his credit, this man is now working through my documents and preparing the answers I seek.

When I do meet him, I expect we’ll proceed in leaps and bounds.

‘Dear Fred,

Betty tells me you wish to harness the power of social media to promote your new products.

This is doable, but not easy.

In two years of studying social media daily, I’ve learned that it’s a demanding, fickle, content-hungry, slow-burning beast of a strategy.

When it works, it really works.

But you have to put in.

To this end, I must see if you can give me what I need to help you.

If you can deliver, we can do business.

If not, it’s best we don’t waste our precious time.

Here is your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1. Cast your eye over the following blogs and tell me which one/s (if any) you like and why:
   • http://mybrc.myobnet.com/
   • http://practicalsocialmediatips.wordpress.com/welcome/
   • http://secureintheknowledge.wordpress.com/
2. Complete the attached blog post questionnaire.
3. Read the other attachments and tell me what you think of how I operate.

Being a writer, I need your responses in writing.

I can then review them carefully to ask you intelligent, relevant questions when we meet.

Naturally, refusal won’t offend.

Better a clear NO now than a fuzzy future MAYBE.

I look forward to your frank response.

Best regards,

P.’

Watch this space!

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

Last week we smashed our visitor record by 240%!

A colleague wrote to me today. She’s been blogging her heart out, but not getting many comments. So I offered some advice:

‘You certainly have been faithful with your blogging.

It’s such a slow burn.

But the search engines are going to love you for it in the end.

The number and scope of your posts is amazing.

You deserve a lot more comments.

I can’t find you on Twitter.

I promote each of my posts several times on Twitter.

This has been key to building visitor traffic.

It has also helped to be mentioned in several blog lists:

http://bit.ly/eG9tOh

http://globalcopywriting.com/my-favourite-blogs

We’ve also had some comments from Seth Godin and Penelope Trunk.

These blogging heavyweights add massive cred; just check the traffic spike from Penelope’s last visit! (See above.)

Another way to galvanise your readers is to guest on other blogs.

If you can think of a topic or three that would appeal to our readers:

http://mybrc.myobnet.com/  

I could ask MYOB if they’d like to have you as a guest poster.

You’d look jolly good in our Hall of Fame:

http://mybrc.myobnet.com/about/  

With best regards and many thanks for your update. P. ‘

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

Will I strike gold this time?

After tinkering with a mere ten lenses for a year, I’ve decided to do a BIG PUSH on Squidoo.

It’s one of the Internet’s Top 500 websites. And Seth Godin’s books just keep getting better (just see Linchpin if you don’t believe me).

As the online population booms, I sense that Squidoo is really going to take off, and I want to be part of it.

So I’m pushing ahead with my quest to be a ‘Giant Squid’. This takes 50 great lenses, which is a lot of work.

But the benefits, apparently, are extensive – like a search ranking boost for increased income generation.

And creating backlinks to my main site on each lens will help my Google performance.

I’ve tried a truckload of other content mangement systems, and Squidoo ticks more boxes than the rest.

I have 23 lenses to date, which you can see here. I’m aiming to do at least one a day. Wish me luck!

It’s a big ask, but if you don’t put in, how can you expect to clean up?

I warmly welcome your interest and would love you to visit and ‘thumb up’ a few of my lenses if you have the time and inclination.

BTW, if you’d rather read this post in my Surreal Short Stories blog, here’s the link.

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

Leverage

I’m mighty impressed with my client, Naomi Oakley, from U-NOME Security Services.

When she got on national television the other week, she chased up the footage and got her IT boffin to put it front and centre on her website.

Though the word ‘leverage’ has been done to death, this is its true meaning: taking something you’ve already done and making the most of it.

Now I’m leveraging Naomi’s content further, by putting it in this blog post. She’s bound to get more visitor traffic, brand recognition and business as a result.

Show Up!

Whether you appear on radio, in a newspaper or at a school, Rotary meeting or anywhere else, be sure to capture your performance.

Then, use it every way you can to stamp credibility all over your brand.

People prefer you to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’ what you can do. It’s far more believable.

I have my best media performances in my home page too.

Each time you re-use high quality content, it’s money for jam.

So go for it!

And if you haven’t appeared in the media yet, you should jolly well get out there!

Channel Surf

Most media channels are crying out for good content.

You just have to ask the right people the right way.

For instance, when doing media (press) releases, I always ask the editors of target publications if they have submission guidelines. I then tweak my content to follow their rules.

When they get my piece, it ticks all their boxes and they don’t have to change a word. Good for them, me and my client.

Keeping in touch with (especially local) newspapers is a great way to find out if they have ‘holes’ in a particular issue.

If someone pulls a big ad, or a story doesn’t make deadline, your ready-to-rock, half-page editorial could do them a favour. Saving you thousands.

Being topical is vital. Add specific expertise and you have a killer combo.

For years, whenever a teen got injured by gate crashers or alcohol-fuelled violence, Naomi offered her perspective to various media channels.

Now, because she’s such a recognised expert in her field, media channels contact her for comment.

She’s gone from local rags, to state-wide newspapers, to regional radio, to national radio to TV. Now she’s on the internet, and global gigs can’t be far away.

Naomi started with nothing but hard-earned knowledge and a burning desire to champion change.

This means we can all do likewise in our areas.

For free.

More is More

Since we’re talking leveraging, I suppose I should turn this blog post into a Squidoo Lens.

And while I’m at it, let’s bung it on MYOB’s Small Business Owner Blog.

Get the picture?

Make something once, use it many times, and let these various iterations connect with their respective communities while you sleep.

Lever & Kitchen guarantee it!*

So how are you tracking on the big screen: good, bad or ugly?

* Just kidding; I thought it sounded good.

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

Mark my words: relevant Twitter followers are GOLD.

This week I offered advice to a client who’s making a splash in national media:

I’d like to see you get more Twitter followers.

The easiest way is to follow others who are relevant to your cause.

Most will follow you back

Just a dozen or so each week will soon add up.

You can’t afford to wait for cats to find you.

My client asked me how to find and follow. So I said:

In Twitter, click on Find People.

Type in a keyword, like wine*.

Click Search.

Anyone with wine in their name will come up.

Follow the ones that look interesting.

Repeat with a new keyword, like grapes.

Repeat.

My client got the message and is now happily building a relevant following.

As social media continues to shape the way we do business, this will become a priceless resource over time.

Try it!

* I changed these keywords to conceal my client’s industry and identity. But the principles are the same.

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

Use a specialist. But only for the bits you can't do.

I strive to improve my clients’ writing skills by imparting my expertise where possible.

One client has followed my advice and assembled a team of friends to vet his draft blog posts.

If his posts do start coming to me error free, their upload, tagging, hyperlinking and image sourcing should only take me 15-20 mins per post.

That’s around $30-40 per post.

And if it takes me less time, I’ll pass on the savings (as I only charge for time I actually work).

With this method, everyone’s a winner:

1. My client improves his writing and saves money.
2. His friends feel useful.
3. His readers benefit from regular posts.
4. His blog moves up Google’s food chain thanks to fresh content updates.
5. I get regular small fees, instead of just a few (or even no) big ones.

So you see, there’s more than one way to flesh a blog!

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

You need to know what you're doing.

A client asked what I’d charge to set up a blog.

By the time I laid it all out in my email, I realised I had another post that might interest you.

Here’s what I wrote (with confidential details suppressed).

‘A blog for your firm and sector would be fabulous.

The topics would never end.

You could cover design, products, materials, trends, pitfalls, overseas directions, govt initiatives, case studies, happy campers – the works.

And every time there’s a media item about your sector, you’ll have another  blog post topic.

The way to go is to just make a start.

It takes me around 13 hours to set up a blog. This comprises:

1. Naming.
2. Registration.
3. Template selection and configuration.
4. Banner design.
5. Welcome content.
6. Tags.
7. Avatar (profile pic) optimisation.
8. Links.
9. Amazon shop (optional – for passive income).
10. Online ranking.

Each draft post you send me will take about an hour to optimise, illustrate and load on the blog.

So, you’d be up for around $1,560 + GST for setup.

Plus $120 + GST for each post (assuming you give me a reasonable bit of content to work up).

If you wish to proceed, we just move carefully through the ten-step setup process described above, ensuring you’re happy with each step and paying as you go.

If you have the time and inclination, I can train you or your representative to take over and run the blog at any time.

There are no software or hosting costs (unless you want to get fancy).

Even the pics are free, as I’ve started using Flickr. And I know you’ve got some killer photos in your kit bag.’

I hope you found that helpful or at least interesting.

Let me know!

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

Professional, but not stuffy. This avatar suits my diverse client portfolio.

When setting up a blog for a client, I ask them for a headshot to use as an ‘avatar’ on all their social media stuff.

It’s important to have a consistent image, so people start to recognise you around the internet.

As you post  and comment on your blog and others, adding your face each time builds your personal brand.

If you don’t have an avatar, go through your photos. See if you have something clean and clear (and appropriate!) that you’d be happy to use for the next 3-5 years.

If you’re unsure, follow the rules for passport photos and you can’t go wrong.

Once you have the file, it’s a simple matter to bung it on your blog.

If you don’t have a good head shot, you might think about getting some nice, professional photos done.

Humans are highly visual creatures. We judge each other in milliseconds. And we only get one chance to make a good first impression. 

A shabby avatar can kill your power to turn strangers into prospects and prospects into clients. So it makes very good business sense to do it right.

If you have a team, you can save money by having them photographed at the same time.

Say cheese!

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

Professional connections thrive on LinkedIn. Pic by carolanross

I’ve noticed that one of my larger client’s staff are joining LinkedIn.

I consider this a very good thing, for several reasons.

If all the firm’s managers end up on LinkedIn, they can check each other out and get a better understanding of their various backgrounds and skills.

This could make it easier to assign the right people to projects.

It may also uncover special talents in the workforce the company never knew it had.

This client recently merged. I believe LinkedIn will foster harmony through understanding between members of the two former (and quite different) firms.

It’ll also help my client keep an eye on retrenched staff who may try to ‘augment’ their LinkedIn profile dishonestly by claiming false titles and expertise.

On the other side of the coin, my client could start an ‘alumni’ of good, friendly ex-employees his firm would be glad to have back if their circumstances changed.

This would be very much cheaper than searching for strangers from scratch with recruitment firms.

I’m sure plenty of more options and benefits will reveal themselves. The important thing is to be involved.

If you’re a biggish organisation (public, private or not for profit) LinkedIn is a good, professional forum for your people to gather in.

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

This is how some marketing managers see me. Photo by bbaltimore.

I’ve long found that when it comes to (internal and external) communications, fortune truly favours the brave.

Most clients take my advice to do bold and exciting new things. Yet some worry about their team’s reaction.

The most common backlash sources are:

1. Fear of the new (by inflexible or incorrectly skilled staff).
2. Loss of power or prestige (by letting a freelancer do the work of permanent IT, OD, QC, HR, PR, admin or marketing professionals).

To counter these anxieties, I tell my clients to blame the ‘copywriter bogeyman’. Something like:

‘If you think these ideas will meet resistance, put my name at the bottom of the page. That way, staff won’t resent you and I can duke it out with the naysayers for the entertainment of the go-getters.’

Some clients prefer to blame the bogeyman when change is needed.

Others involve their workforce from the outset.

Though I realise not every team is full of bright sparks, I naturally prefer the second approach. Especially if the client wants to get into something as people-centric as social media.

Consultation and collaboration also mean you get more brains working on this pivotal area.

And grass-roots movements have much greater force than top-down directives.

The bottom line is, I can work any way you want.

BOO!

Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.