Making people and ideas findable
Social Media Novice
You might know me, and might also know that I am currently handling the social media for my agency on my own (on top of the many other things in my job). It's invigorating, stressful, difficult and fulfilling all at the same time. Why not be excited to have a project all to yourself? But, then there's the real issue at hand. How far can one person really go with social media?
I have hope that my agency will learn from my progress and mistakes. Maybe they'll start to realize that we need more staff for social media and that we need to take this seriously. Unfortunately, I do not see it happening any time soon. I say that not only because of the economy, but because it took years for our agency to get started on email! And they thought email wouldn't last...
That being said, sometimes I have problems in discussing social media with others because so much of it has been a learning experience for me. How do I know who to read-up on, what to invest in and what not to invest in, or how to budget for web presence? My goal is to get my agency into social media with blogging and Twitter to show that our consumers are already out there, and we need to be, too. But then there's the technical side of things I don't understand, like SEO and keywords and other issues that seem to be controversial in the social media field. I can't graphically design our blog with our branding nor can I work as fast as those with more experience than I.
I'm not giving up, just ranting from the perspective of a fish in a sea of sharks. It's tiring, but it's worth it in the end, seeing something move from the ground up. Any thoughts?
I have hope that my agency will learn from my progress and mistakes. Maybe they'll start to realize that we need more staff for social media and that we need to take this seriously. Unfortunately, I do not see it happening any time soon. I say that not only because of the economy, but because it took years for our agency to get started on email! And they thought email wouldn't last...
That being said, sometimes I have problems in discussing social media with others because so much of it has been a learning experience for me. How do I know who to read-up on, what to invest in and what not to invest in, or how to budget for web presence? My goal is to get my agency into social media with blogging and Twitter to show that our consumers are already out there, and we need to be, too. But then there's the technical side of things I don't understand, like SEO and keywords and other issues that seem to be controversial in the social media field. I can't graphically design our blog with our branding nor can I work as fast as those with more experience than I.
I'm not giving up, just ranting from the perspective of a fish in a sea of sharks. It's tiring, but it's worth it in the end, seeing something move from the ground up. Any thoughts?
Add a Comment
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Comment by Rick Wilkerson on October 5, 2009 at 1:28pm - Sara, you are most welcome. i wish you much success!
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Comment by Sara Croft on October 5, 2009 at 8:23am -
Hi Joh, I sent you an email this morning. Hope to hear from you soon!
Rick, thanks for your help. I do appreciate your time and input in this!
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Comment by Joh Padgett on October 4, 2009 at 1:03pm - Definitely, you got time for late lunch this week? 1 or 2 pm wherever you like to meet?
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Comment by Rick Wilkerson on October 4, 2009 at 12:21pm
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hey, Joe. great to see you here, too. let's meet up one of these days, would love to know more about what you're doing.
best,
rick
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Comment by Joh Padgett on October 4, 2009 at 12:01pm
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Hey Rick, I'm glad you're on here for Sara to talk to. Sara, Rick is an old friend and he knows his stuff. That said, I hope neither of you mind if I chime in here as this really is my field of endeavor these days.
I have had great success as a web developer specializing in Wordpress and SEO optimization, as well as developing social media strategy for a number of local political campaigns. Politics is where some of the most advanced marketing techniques are used via social media like blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms to gain attention from voters. Voters are also consumers, and a lot of the techniques used to reach voters can be turned into marketable techniques for reaching consumers.
My approach is to either work as an outsourced specialist for the campaigns I work for or to work as a consultant that will set up your social network and then coach a team member to do the heavy lifting and teach how all of it works together to unify your messaging.
I'd be happy to discuss this further if you are interested. I can be reached by clicking the widget below to call me or via email at joh@johpadgett.com.
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Comment by Rick Wilkerson on October 2, 2009 at 6:19pm
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Sometimes your web developer is well schooled in SEO and the technical aspects of traffic, keywords, etc. Sometimes, not at at all. I would start there.
Beyond that, there are many excellent people here on Smaller Indiana who would be good resources for metrics and SEO. Doug Karr, Kyle Lacy, Colin Clark and Andrew Gouty are some names that come to mind right away.
While stacking the SEO deck in your favor is certainly advisable, I still think that content should be driven primarily by what your organization wants to promote or communicate. Promote your blog with email marketing, connect your blog to Smaller Indiana, Facebook and Linked In with RSS, and that will help get the word out to your network.
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Comment by Sara Croft on October 2, 2009 at 6:04pm
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They don't expect me to do the web development or graphic design part. I can with Google Blogger but not with Wordpress. We work with a company here in Indianapolis who does the site design for us. However, analytics and feedburning and all that jazz has been on my own. It just seems necessary for writing blog posts. If you can't understand who is reading, then how can they understand or find you? Maybe that's not exactly true, but I find myself wondering why we would mess with a blog if we did not want it to be successful, since we are a non-profit.
Luckily, we are getting an intern to help me write blog posts, which takes a lot of time off of my shoulders!
Who are the social media people that you trust? Where do you look for information about this?
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Comment by Rick Wilkerson on October 2, 2009 at 5:59pm
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sara, i think your experience is a common one.
i suggest that you focus on your strengths and that which seems easiest. Most people in social media are very giving and helpful, so you can learn a lot by just showing up and asking questions. Twitter and Smaller Indiana are both good for this.
If your company is expecting you to do social media/SEO/web development/graphic design, that's a lot to expect.
It's not expensive to outsource a basic Wordpress blog/website with good design and branding that will achieve decent search results, so that you you have a solid platform from which to promote your business.
i'm happy to talk with you about this if you like. rick@media-indiana or 430-3874.
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1. Please use your real name (first and last) when you sign up, or we cannot open your account
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3. Events should be posted in the events calendar
4. You can post pretty much anything you want on your own personal page (self promotion, etc), and you can change the style of your personal profile page to reflect your corporate identification if you so choose.
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If you witness or experience any issues, please contact admin@smallerindiana.com and we will look into the matter.
6. Smaller Indiana is supported by its members, and by corporate sponsors. If you're interested in learning more about sponsorship, please call Pat Coyle at 317 332 7878.
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