For each one you have, give yourself a high five. For each one you don’t have, go get it! And when you do get it, give yourself that hive five!

1. Strategy: Define why and what you’re doing in social or it’s not worth being in there at all.
2. Measurement: If you’re not measuring your results, your results can’t do anything for you.
3. Training: You can learn how to do anything. You can learn how to use the tools faster and easier with help.
4. Content: Create compelling and regular content that is interesting or no one will care.
5. Time: Social takes time, end of story.
6. People: Unless you’re superman (you’re not, are you?) you can’t do it all yourself.
7. Focus: There are an overwhelming number of sites you could be on…focus only on the ones that drive results.
8. Budget: In the absence of 5 & 6, this can help. Actually, having a budget to spend helps in general.
9. Passion: We’ve had this debate; skill is important but passion makes it happen.
10. Commitment: If you’re not going to stay in it, don’t start in it. Abandoning halfway through can be more detrimental for your brand than ever starting.

How many social high fives did you get?

A fully updated profile: More often than not, profiles are missing at least one of the 5 key elements:

• An avatar that actually shows your face, and personality. Smile, people!
• Links to your websites and other social profiles. Make it easy for people to connect further!
• A well written and thought through headline. Even if you’re not looking for a career, your headline is important.
• A summary that solidly explains your experience and who you are as a person. Both are important.
• Complete work history and recommendations. (more details on recommendations later in this post)

Post status updates: Yes, LinkedIn has status updates. Click on home, and just to the right of your picture is a box where you can update your status, share a link, etc. When you do, it shows up in the news feed of the people you’re connected to. I recommend updating your status at least twice a week – just like on twitter or facebook, choose something easy to reply to or comment on. And, like other networks, you’ll get more out of updates if you comment on other people’s as well.

Participate in groups: There are groups about pretty much any topic on LinkedIn, which means no matter what you want to talk about, you’ll probably find it. LinkedIn makes it even easier once you’ve started adding groups to find new ones with the “groups you may like” search. Once you’ve joined a group, get involved. This does NOT mean promote yourself, this means reply to questions, post questions and get involved with topics you find interesting.

Ask for recommendations: Who better to talk about your work than people who you worked with or for? If you have a client who comments to you that they are so appreciative of your work, politely ask them for a recommendation on LinkedIn. Once someone creates one for you, it can be displayed on your profile. These are one of the easiest ways to display your success and expertise without having to brag yourself. Remember, recommendations go both ways though. If you have had a great experience with someone, write a recommendation for them! Receiving a recommendation without a request can make a day amazing.

Build your connections: If you’ve explored LinkedIn much, you’ll notice some users with a LION in their profile. These are LinkedIn users who are open for connections, even with people they have never met. This strategy is not right for everyone, but the concept of connecting with a wide audience IS a good idea. My recommendation? Connect with anyone that you think is interesting, or might have a connection to your industry or business futures.

Are you getting the most out of LinkedIn?

What do you find difficult about the platform?

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Every day, you are bombarded by advertising. As an average American who utilizing technology daily, it is absolutely impossible to avoid. Your magazines are filled with them, TV is swallowed by them and your social sites are absolutely crawling with them. But, these ads are not all about buying things anymore. Advertisers are getting smarter (damn them!) and know that it doesn’t take hard sells to convince you to buy – it takes connections, engagement and personality. Because of this, traditional advertisers are looking for unique ways to reach through the clutter and get you to listen to what they have to say. In the last few years, this has meant a shift in messaging from ‘buy our products’ to ‘connect with us on social’. The traditional media brands are working on their humanization – providing you incentives for connecting, ways to engage, and opening themselves up to the consumers in ways that were impossible 10 years ago.

Case in point? This advertisement was found inside of a Glamour magazine, promoting the the Glamour Facebook page. Rather than promote fashion, makeup or beauty, which Glamour is known for, they chose to utilize a very adorable puppy to convince you into liking them. It is a simple tactic: pull at the readers emotional side and get them to like the page. They weren’t concerned about you buying anything at this point, all they wanted was the access to you – achieved through you becoming a fan of theirs.

BUT! This tactic is an interesting one – it’s one thing to ask someone who is already online to click on a link, it’s a whole other thing to ask them to go from a print ad and take an action online.

So the question is…does advertising like this (print, asking you to go to the web and take an action) actually work as well as they want it to?

You tell me:

Well, if the Mayan’s are right, this will be the last New Year we’ll ever experience.

Just in case, I think it’s a good idea to make sure your social is really awesome in 2012.

So, here’s a month-by-month breakdown of how you can rock it out (And hey, if it doesn’t end, you’ll be just that much further ahead of your competition!):

January – Jump start your strategy with a content calendar. Now is the time to take what you’ve wanted to do and make it a reality. Not sure where to start your content calendar? Well, your content calendar is like the stiff martini you fixed over New Years!

February – Facebook Advertising isn’t cheap; however, it is one of the most successful ways to build your brand on the platform if it’s done right and targeted correctly. If you’ve never ventured down the FB Ad path and your brand has some budget room to test out some unique strategies, this one is worth testing out. Make sure you work with someone experienced in FB Ads, A/B testing and targeted marketing to get the most from your money.

March – Meet your fabulous fans! Planning an event and promoting it through social is a great way to get your fans further involved. Whether it’s a large event that you’re just attending or a special event you put together, make this month all about the fans!

April – Analyze what’s working, what’s not and make some changes. While we’d prefer if you analyze your results on a more regular basis, at the minimum you should be doing so 4 times a year. April marks the start of the 2nd quarter, so it’s time to double check what you’ve been doing and adjust where you need in order to make the rest of the year successful.

May – Make twitter more fun with a twitter contest. Everyone likes to win things, and running a contest on twitter is a simple and effective way to get your brand out there. Take it to the next level with a custom #hashtag for the contest and let’s get you trending!

June – Join 4 new groups on LinkedIn that center around your target industry and has open discussion. Make sure that each of the groups accomplishes a different goal for your brand and that you stay engaged with the community. It’s an easy way for your new business team to make sure people know their name…just be careful about getting over promotional!

August – Add a new social network to your repertoire. If you’re already into the big ones (twitter, facebook, linkedin, youtube), it might be time to venture into some of the smaller channels. Check out tools like scoop.it, pinterest, or twlyah

September – Start a blog for your business. Whether you choose an internal or external facing blog, add one! If it’s externally facing, it can paint your brand as an expert in the industry. Internally, it gives the brand itself a chance to grow and strengthen from the conglomeration of ideas.

October - Offer something unique for the end of the year. If you have a product or service that can benefit from the biggest spending season, then find a way to make sure you’re name it out there! Discounts are not always the best option…try something a little more spectacular that captures attention and you’ll beat the competition without cutting prices.

November – Nurture the social relationships you’ve built. The easiest way to lose a fan, follower or connection is by ignoring them once you’ve made that connection. Instead, work hard to keep on top of what’s going on with the people who interact with you the most and make sure those relationships stay strong throughout the year.

December – Decide to have a better 2013, and how to make it happen. Every year it is entirely possible to be better than the one prior. Keep what works, discard what doesn’t, repeat what does and test a few new tricks.

What can you do in 2012 to be more successful?

What is the 1 tip YOU learned from the video?

What questions would you have asked after the presentation?

The above video is only one of over 100 recorded sessions from BlogWorld Los Angeles 2011. You can get all of the videos — plus nearly 100 bonus interviews and other bonus content — by picking up the entire BlogWorldExpo Virtual Ticket!

While some people feel like social is fun when you wing it, I believe that is not only dangerous, but an extremely silly waste of your brain power. I am not suggesting that everything you send be planned, but the types, how often and to where should have more than a “wing it” plan.

The solution? A social content mix

I look at a social content mix like a really awesome martini. It takes a steady hand, a solid recipe and a perfect ingredients to make it work. And everyone has their own mix. Vodka or Gin? Dirty or extra dirty? Dry or extra dry? Onions, olives, or a lemon twist? Personally, I prefer my martini dry, extra dirty with Belvedere vodka and blue cheese stuffed olives. But that might be an awful mix for you!

With me now?

Social content mixes are the same way. Just like a martini, there are “usual” contenders in the content field: shared content, promotional content, replies, dialogue, personality, etc. But everyone has their own way of putting these blends together.

Let’s look at a the content mix on twitter for two brands I work with at Social 5150:

Each mix is unique – and each mix has space for “freedom”. These are simply guidelines for the types of content we make sure is sent out each day. Of course, every social channel is unique and the social mix that works for twitter rarely works across facebook or linkedin as well.

Want to know more about how the social strategy mix feeds into your complete social campaign? Catch the rest with me this week at Blogworld, 2:45pm Thursday, the 3rd (use the code BWEVIP20 for 20% off)! Can’t make it in person? Grab a virtual ticket!

Do you have a social mix or is your martini just vodka, straight up?

Why? Because I know my brand inside and out, and I know that everything I send out matches my brand statement or it doesn’t go out.

But, many businesses have those days in business and social media.

Why? If you have a team, manage employees or have multiple people to report to, you know what I mean. How many times have you sent a second email confirming reception of the first? How many times do you have to answer the same question for 5 different people because they can’t communicate? While this can make a corporate structure brutal to be in, if it also moves into the social media world, it can be absolutely detrimental to a brand.

The biggest problem is many of these large companies are doing social media on their own. They assume because “we have marketing interns” that they don’t need social media specialists. So, they assume they can plan content, prep the intern and get it up and running. But, social doesn’t play nice and it’s guaranteed your intern is going to have a tweet, FB comment, linkedin update (or 10) that they don’t have pre-planned content for. When this happens…they’ll reach out for help but because the right hand isn’t talking to the left still, the intern will be unable to reach someone quickly for advice. So, rather than wait and let the opportunity to respond and engage pass them by, they’ll play it off the cuff. And that can be very dangerous for someone who is new to the social game, or not fully engrained into your brand.

I know the argument coming: “social media is still so new, how can you claim anyone is really a specialist”? Really? We’re still playing the “new” card? Based on launch dates, we just past the 8 year mark for Facebook and LinkedIn, the 6 year mark for Youtube, and the 5 year mark for twitter. While I will consider the major social platforms young, they are definitely not new anymore. Realistically, early adopters on all tools could have solidly 5 years of experience under their belt, which for tools like these is quite a bit. Mix in a background in marketing with that experience and I think you can definitely find “social media specialists” (or a team of them!).

So where am I going with this?

If the right hand and left hand in your business have trouble communicating just in normal business aspects, why would you take that publicly into a forum like social media? Instead, hire someone (or a team of someones) who can take control of the communication, clear up the confusion and make sure when it comes to your social media strategy, at least, the right and left hands understand each other.

Are you letting miscommunications in business screw up your social media success?

WHAT!?

This story reads like fantasy, but is completely true. Not only did the Crockpot Girls do something very few brands have been able to do, they did it without any budget or any marketing. They took a very simple concept: “A few of us moms had been talking about how much we loved using our crock pots, [we] decided here was a great way us moms can exchange crock pot recipes”, and have turned it into a mecca for crockpot parents (I can’t help but snicker at that one).

So, how did they do it? How did these women become Facebook legends overnight? I think it succeeded for three reasons:

1. They’re not trying to make money. Not only are they not selling anything, they are actually giving away tons of free info. They have provided what the audience wanted (a place to share crockpot recipes) and made it easy (through facebook)
2. They opened the community to any one. There is no criteria for gender, ethnicity or age (other than over 13, per FB regulations) to be a part of the community. The only requirement for the group? The desire to cook with a crockpot or learn more about it!
3. They put the community on one of the largest platforms in the world. Rather than just setting up a small website & hoping people would join, they created it where 750 million people already visited daily! This allowed for easy sharing between friends and the exponential growth.

How can what they did help your facebook page?

1. Don’t focus on selling. The more you can make your branded page a community vs a sales page, the more people will want to get involved and be connected.
2. Allow an open flow of communication. I know some brands have regulatory issues, but the more you can allow the people on the page to share their own thoughts, stories and opinions, the better the page will be.
3. Use the platforms where your fans are! If your fans are on facebook and twitter, you better be there and be active too! Provide the place for them to gather and they will find you.

Okay, your turn: Why do you think the pull of a community like this is so powerful?

Finally, to the Crockpot Girls? I’d love to hear from you about the Facebook page, the website & your next steps! (& if you’re looking for some help in running the community and adding twitter, well, I’d love to talk about that too!)

*img from the Crockpot Girls

This article was originally published on my OC Social Media Savant blog for the OC Metro, but I felt it was worth sharing as I have been getting this question a lot more frequently recently.

First, I don’t treat social media like something that I have to “fit” into my day -I treat it an an inherent part of my day. The sooner you can teach your brain to understand that it is marketing, strategy, business building and conversation, the sooner you will realize how easily it fits into your normal routine. In order to demonstrate what I mean, I’m giving you a glimpse into a day with me, and how I get work plus my social media strategy all done. This is based on a day with no meetings. When I have meetings, it is re-arranged a bit. But, even with meetings, I can still tweet and manage my social media.

9am – Finish my workout and turn on my computer in my office (I work from home)

9:05 – Send out my first tweet, usually the link to my post from the day before or replies to tweets I missed from the night before

9:05–9:30am – Scan emails, sort them into the appropriate folders (clients, follow up, read later, etc). Deal with any emergency emails right away (usually 1 per morning)

9:30am-11am – Writing time. First things first, this is when my blog post for the day will go out. Then, I spend time working on future blog posts for myself, do research for client’s blog posts, and do any strategy planning I need to for clients. During this time, I work for 30 minutes, and then take a 10 minute break to browse twitter, send tweets, reply to messages, etc and check facebook for interesting things to comment/share.

11am-12:30pm – I send out email responses, make phone calls, leave messages, etc. This is when I handle all the emails that need my attention and return client phone calls. If I deal with email all day it is too distracting.

12:30pm-1pm – Feed me. I eat in front of my computer and use this time to read blog posts, comment on posts update my business facebook status, check on linkedin and digg a few articles. I will also tweet out some that I like, and reply to a few people.

1pm-4pm – Design time. I am the most creative in the afternoon, so here is when I work on any design projects that I have. If I have no open design projects, I will do more writing and strategy. Again, I take a 10 minute break every 30 minutes to check on twitter and facebook for updates. I make sure to send out the link to my blog post again to get more traffic.

4pm-4:45pm – During this time, I focus on my emails and clients again. I will send out updates on projects, respond to any incoming messages and requests for pricing. I will also go through my to-do list and make sure that anything that was marked EOD (end of day) was done and ready for the client.

4:45-5:15pm – This is the end of the day for many people, and twitter gets very active as people are wrapping up their days and want to chat. So, I spend 30 minutes really participating in the conversations. I also send out the link to my blog post again to get more traffic.

5:15-6pm – Back to either writing or design time, depending on which projects are the most pressing at the moment. This is uninterrupted time, I don’t check any social media.

6pm-6:30pm – Check emails one more time and respond to anyone that I haven’t dealt with that day, or mark them for following up the next day. If emails have been light for the day, I will jot down notes on potential clients to contact.

6:30pm-6:45pm – Plan out my to-do list for the next day on my whiteboard in office. Remove anything that is done and re-organize anything that needs it. This is the end of my day.

Please share you social media strategy – what works for you?