When you hit a speed bump, Remember..

Nothing is a waste of time.

The more people we follow, the more people we know.

The more conversations we generate, the more they know about our product.

Every conversation should be looked at as an opportunity.

We are not losing anything except a small amount of time by having conversations

Conversations are what social media is all about.

Without talking to people, your social media pages will fall flat.

The key goals for social media are as follows:

Lead generation

Increased client/prospect engagement

Stronger brand awareness

All of these things involve conversations.

Even if a sale does not work out, our name is still out there.

Reach is expanded regardless of profit.

In fact, expanded reach IS a form of profit.

I have goals to meet. I am determined to meet them.

We are new to this game. And we are small fish in a gigantic pond.

We must try everything and anything until we develop a consistently successful strategy.

Nothing works without optimism and perseverance. 

Without those two things, then yes, twitter will seem like a waste of time.

But you must constantly remind yourself that it is worth it.

We are far behind in the social media rat race.

It shouldn’t discourage you, it should motivate you.

We will surpass our competitors.

We will generate leads.

We will get our name out there.

We will not be wasting our time.

Social marketing is time well-spent.

The only time we waste is that which we spend having a negative attitude.

Success does not stem from negativity

Don’t waste your time on it.

Optimism. Perservance. Success.

Think it, Live it, and try again when it fails.

Rules of Engagement

      Through effort, trial, and tribulation comes an understanding of the obstacles you are facing.. with any endeavor.  By making attempts, whether they succeed or fail, you become more aware of the path that you should be taking. This can be said for relationships, careers, skill-driven hobbies. The same also holds true for social marketing. In a sense, it is a bit of a guessing game at the beginning – all of which gets sorted out once a solid strategy is established. Although social media can be a bit overwhelming, and a bit of a clusterf*ck, it is important to remember that there is a method to the madness. Establishing rules of engagement is one way to keep your social media success rate in check.

     I may be a baby in the world of social marketing, but I have created five rules of engagement that are intended to steer you towards a healthy and thriving relationship with your followers. 

1.       Always say “Good Morning”.

Everyone has had that special someone who they fall asleep thinking about, and wake up only hoping that they have already received a “Good Morning” text – it’s not sappy, it’s honest! We as human beings crave genuine affection. Nowadays, everyone from every angle is throwing advertisements in your face. Buy this! Try this! Limited time offer! - We hear it and see it so much that we tune it out. However, when someone stops to say “Hello, how are you?” before attempting to make a sale, they will at least have a better shot of catching your attention. Show curiosity about your followers, show kindness, and be their “Good Morning” text. More often than not, someone will stop scrolling, smile, and favorite the tweet. Just like that, you have expanded your reach.

2.       Ask for opinions.

As difficult as it may be to believe, people do want to hear what you have to say. Even more than that, however, they like to be asked about what they have to say as well. Any time you are trying out a new product, social platform, anything at all, simply ask, “Hey! What do you think?” It is a great way to spark up a conversation and will almost always trigger a response.

3.       Speak your mind. (Honestly!)

Like I said before, people DO want to hear what you have to say. Especially if your account is geared towards business – people are always resorting to social media for the latest, greatest tips. Whether it is insight on strategy, lead generation, marketing, even just insight on life. You have the insight, and your followers are following you to receive it. Let them know what you know. It is okay to speak your mind, as long as you are being honest. The internet is host to enough actors and plagiarizers – make sure you are staying original.

4.       Pay attention to trends.

Knowing your current events and society’s daily hot topics will always help you stay ahead of the game. Every once in a while it is important to weave these events into your social content. Staying relevant is key. Chances are, if you start talking about what everyone else has been talking about, quite a few people will chime in, or will appreciate the information you have to share.

5.       Never assume, and always be new.

Everyone knows the common saying, “To assume things makes an Ass out of you and me.” Never assume one method to be better than another. That’s not to say your content should be sporadic and unorganized – you should always have a curated plan – but try different plans, and keep it fresh. Just because a particular content strategy works successfully for business A, that doesn’t mean business B can execute the same strategy to receive the same success. Try new things. Don’t assume a plan will fail simply because another person or company appears to have a “better” plan than you.

     At the end of the day everyone is going to view social engagement and content strategy differently. Some people will tell you it’s a crap shoot, while others will tell you if you put the man hours in, really develop a plan and go for it, then you will see the results you are seeking. It may not happen over night, but that is why consistency is the absolute key.

     Let me know if these five tips help you on your way to improving social engagement online! Feel free to share some of your own advice in the comments below.

Oh, the perils of social media engagement!

Profile page: Check.
Initial follower base growth: Check.
Relevant Content: Check.
Interaction: …. Hello, Is anybody out there? Can you hear me?

Once the page is up and running, how do we remain consistent with engagement? I notice myself getting tangled up in the stress of curating content, seeking out followers and writing memorable posts – So much so, that I forget to develop relationships with the few that are paying attention so far. I am working on developing a routine to stay engaged with my followers and those who I am following, but so far it has been easier said than done.

I started first, as you should with any plan, by establishing goals and metrics. I thought to myself, “Okay, I will follow a certain amount of new people every day,  I will favorite 1-2 tweets, I will respond to 5 tweets, etc.” This seemed like a simple way to maintain my social media relationships, but really what it all boils down to is commitment. Can I truly commit to this every day? Well, I don’t exactly have a choice, and I knew I needed to step my game up. So I changed my goals.

Instead of measuring how many people I responded to, I decided to set goals for the number of people I wanted to respond to me. It doesn’t matter how many people I answer, although the more, the better. I was way more concerned with the level of responses I receive. From there, I decided to pinpoint my strengths and weaknesses.

My response rate is much higher via DM’s than it is with public tweets. I realized this was because I have a tendency to address people via DM’s more so than publicly. This needs to change. From today forward I will make it a point to address people through tweets in order to extend my content reach. The more people who see me interacting, the better my chances are of engaging with them as well. In case you haven’t noticed, I keep going back to that notion: More is BETTER. You can always do more with social media, and unless you are blatantly spamming people, it will never be considered too much.

From here on out, for every ten tweets I send out, I aim for at least a 50% response rate.  Continuous conversations are more beneficial to me than just a One and Done message and reply, so I want to make sure I have something valuable to say, that is worth a discussion. I want to be thought of, instead of getting lost in the tornado of tweets spiraling down my newsfeed. I want someone to stop scrolling when they notice I post a new blog. I want them to reply when I ask a question. And when I tweet “Let’s Chat!” I am hoping that someone, once in a while, latches on for a quick conversation – and even more than that, I hope we keep in touch.

What are your tactics for establishing and maintaining social media relationships? If you have any tips, leave them in the comments below. So, can anyone out there hear me? Because I am here, and I would love to talk marketing with you.

P.S. Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Making a Name for Yourself: The Reason Behind the Title

                In the world of social media, it is beyond easy to get lost in the shuffle. How do we differentiate from the crowd when the crowd is so gigantic? For every social marketer, there are millions of other social marketers. For every prospect client, there are millions of competitors battling for the same ones – and the list goes on. My point is, when it comes down to the bottom line, we are all a bunch of handles in a whirlwind of content and profile pages struggling to make our names unique. Hoping that it is well known, simple to remember, and not easily overlooked. It’s really important to not only make a name for yourself, but to make a memorable one at that. Some of you may wonder why my blog title is “Social Media Mini,” so I decided to write a fun post to explain my name.

My real name, as you know, is Elizabeth Pasquito.  I love it, but for social media it is not a great fit. It has too many syllables, and fifty percent of people who pronounce my last name do so incorrectly. But this is beside the point. Upon taking my internship, my new boss and I joked endlessly about the similarity of our names. We are both Elizabeth’s, both with the last initial “P.” Aside from that we are very similar people, with to-do lists for days and a constant need to be attentive to our tasks at hand, although there is usually ten different projects at a time. (We would work in our sleep if we could!)  Whenever someone called for Elizabeth, we would both respond. Almost immediately we realized that I needed a nickname so things would be less confusing at the office.

We toyed around with a couple things –Elizabeth II, Elizabeth Part 2, Little Elizabeth..but nothing stuck, and everything was too long. Finally, the president of my department began to call me Mini. After one department meeting, the name stuck! I began signing my emails with Mini, and responding any time someone called to me across the office.  I even created a newsletter which was distributed to my department called, “The Mini Scoop.”

It provides you with a sense of security when you have a nickname. It sets you apart from the crowd, and makes you feel a little bit more special than when someone calls out your actual name. I really felt like part of the team. I'm not saying it is crucial for you to come up with an alias, but it certainly gives you a sense of confidence when writing. After all, how many Elizabeth's are there in the world? But how many of them call themselves Mini, or Social Media Mini as it is now? Probably just me, and that's exactly how I like it to be. It may not be crucial to have a nickname, but it is crucial to stand out in a crowd, and that is one way to do it.

So, in case you were wondering where the title came from, that’s basically it! I am a mini version of my boss – name, work ethic, and all. So here I am: Mini. I like to think that if I find success with my blog, and social marketing insight, that one day I will be known in the marketing world as Social Media Mini. What better way to remember that swell feeling than writing a blog about how it all began?

Building A Follower Base

     Hello again- Checking in for my second post. Thank you kindly for the views, it is a great feeling to know that I have friends to embark on this social media journey with me. That's what it's all about, right? Followers? If only it were as easy to attract followers as it is to click the button to follow someone else. In fact, this has been my biggest struggle so far, being that I am still in the beginner stages of Twitter for business. How the hell are you supposed to attract your ideal audience, especially when there are millions of accounts to sort through, and people from all over the world to meet?

     I believe that you can read all of the articles, books, and blogs in the world to gain insight and tips on how to establish a hefty following, but implementing that information successfully is another story. YOU have to know that audience. YOU have to know what they want. YOU have to pick the right content, catch their attention and reach out to them. The key word in all of this, as I have so blatantly hinted at, is you. Social media always comes back to personal skill. Either you have it, or you don't. And when you don't have it, you pay an automated site forty dollars and buy the followers that you lack. I'd like to think that eventually I can buy them with my words, instead. 

     Although my skills for obtaining followers are not quite developed, not even entirely successful yet, I am learning some things along the way that have proven to be helpful. I am also trying out a few strategies of my own. The first thing you do when you create any social media account is seek out followers. okay, so how do we do this successfully?

    The simplest way to start is always to start with what you know - or rather who you know. After vamping up my Linkedin and professional Twitter, I targeted familiar faces before anyone else - co-workers, sorority sisters with similar career interests, and  well known faces in the industry. I knew I wanted to target any and everybody involved in social media, but I had to start small. From there I fell into a rabbit hole of suggested accounts to follow, and the whole process seemed a little lighter on my shoulders. Currently I am averaging 15-30 followers per day, and they usually find me before I find them. 

     The  account I created for my company's product, Wealth Window,  was a completely different story. With a much more defined audience, it has been harder to weed out all of the irrelevant accounts that come flooding into the twitter news feed. Therefore, with the Wealth Window page I broke it down like this: followers need to include competitors, co-workers, clients, potential clients, and anyone who works for a company that appeals to our ideal audience. We do have multiple markets - philanthropy, financial services, luxury travel, luxury goods, etc. - and this made it easy to define my target. Along with having such a well defined audience comes the challenge of finding them within the pool of  millions of accounts that are completely irrelevant to our social media goals.    
     To sort through them, you must understand what you are trying to accomplish through your followers. I want to generate leads. I want to increase brand awareness and engagement. I want to expand our content reach passed international borders and across the world. So I only want to find those followers who can help me to achieve these goals.

      Once I grew a small following, I began tweeting, and relentlessly at that. I made sure to respond to every one who followed me. If they favorite a tweet, I thank them. If they DM me, I make sure to respond as quickly as I can. I post content that seems "re-tweetable." The further my content reaches, the more people will see it, and the more likely they will be to follow. With both the product page and my personal page, I don't ever put pressure on social media users. If I don't get the following or response I want, I move on. As I mentioned before, there's MILLIONS of people tweeting. That's not to say that everyone isn't important, but some people are going to be more important than others when it comes to promoting your business.

     Don't get me wrong, the internet is a bountiful resource with an infinite number of tools and websites that make chores such as this much easier to handle. Two of the tools I am currently trying include the Socedo app for audience segmenting and reporting, and SproutSocial for analytics. So far, I am impressed with how easy it is to track my progress on both. Part of me, however, is always going to be nervous that I have not selected the right tools. Like I said.. bountiful resource.. infinite number of tools. (Sometimes the internet confuses things more than it facilitates them.) With all of these tools, how do you decide which one is the best tool for your situation? Any Sales or Help representative that you speak to is going to tell you that their website is the go-to tool for managing social media. Although Socedo has helped me gain followers and allows me to automatically tweet them, I plan on trying several other sites before I commit. I feel responsible for finding the best of the best to manage my company's accounts with.


     If you have any suggestions on tools to help manage twitter and grow followers, please leave a comment below. If you have any tips on gaining followers or targeting an audience, those comments are appreciated as well. Also, I was silly to forget this in my first post, but if you aren't already following me, tweet me @EPasquito. If you speak B2b social content strategy, then you're speaking my language.

My Journey into Social Marketing

     Upon Taking a position as a marketing intern for ALC, a direct marketing firm, I have graciously been given the opportunity to establish and execute a successful social content strategy. Although social media provides you with limitless options, directions, audiences, and competition, it has proven to be one of the most interesting learning processes of my life. Not only am I figuring out how to interact with brevity and quickness, but I am fine-tuning the relevance of my words as well.

     I must admit, it is not an easy feat to gain the attention of hundreds, let alone thousands or millions of social media users. That is why I thought it would be interesting to re-dive into this blog I created in college-- which I had since forgotten about, until a Google search directed me to reunite with my old writing. After a few hours of procrastinating and reading papers from college, a dazzling idea flew into my head. Why not continue? Why not embrace this blog-finding as a chance to re-develop my writing skills and track my personal journey into the world of content marketing? And so here I am.

     I feel it is only appropriate to catch you up on the steps I have taken so far - this involves the deletion of former personal accounts, as well as the creation of a professional Twitter, and a vamped up Linkedin profile. Although I miss my old Twitter (only slightly), let's be honest - We don't post the most relevant, necessary, or informative things when we are in college. That is a period of time when social media is exactly that- social.

     Flash forward two years, as I am getting down and dirty with B2b content marketing strategies, it began to overwhelm me that I even had private accounts. Regardless of the privacy policies, the internet is public, and there is always a way to find that information you have hiding. I didn't want to make private accounts. I wanted public accounts. I wanted to be insightful, I wanted to meet people, and I wanted to provide a valid contribution to the social media world. I also used these new accounts as a means to test out my newly learned social marketing strategies. (I target an audience of social marketers, I form thoughtful and informative posts, and I make sure to engage with at least a few people on a regular basis.) What happens when they do not respond? I reach out to one of the millions of other social marketers. As with any new business endeavor, you're going to get the cold shoulder a lot more in the beginning as opposed to when you have thousands of followers years later and everyone is begging for a Retweet. In other words, I don't believe you can fail with social media - you may just need to adapt your strategy differently until you notice a successful trend.

     With my personal account thriving in the first few days, I was excited. I thought to myself, "at this rate I will have a thousand followers by the end of December!" This was not the case, and my following growth came to a rather unfortunate halt at 93 followers. However, my chin remains up, and I continue to reach out to people, follow accounts, and tweet regularly. Every once in a while I get that response that makes everything feel worth it. I decided to take this knowledge and freshly born feeling of social media confidence and security to the next level. With the permission of my manager, I launched the first social media page for the company at which I work: a product page on Twitter for Wealth Window, one of our luxury marketing services. Needless to say, it has a decent amount of competition that has already established a decent presence on social media, and I was nervous.

     Although it is off to a slow start, with only 40 followers and several less retweets and favorited tweets than my own account, I have high hopes. I am working to employ new strategies on a daily basis, which I will explain more deeply in my next post. I plan to use this blog to track my progress, and let it serve as a sort of "Social Media Diary" from here on out. One day I will look back on it and think, "Damn, only forty followers for the first week, and look at how far I have come."

Stay tuned! And feel free to comment any insight you have to offer regarding social media marketing or content strategy, specifically for the B2B market!