NAILBA Perspectives - July/August 2014 - (Page 14)

SOCIAL SKILLS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, BGAs can tap into the latest trends in their industry as well as chatter among their target audience. LET'S GET SOCIAL Want to get social with NAILBA? Connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/nailbahq TWITTER www.twitter.com/nailba LINKEDIN www.linkedin.com search "NAILBA" in groups 14 perspectives JULY/AUGUST 2014 somewhat of an industry celebrity. "At the first NAILBA annual meeting following the launch of my blog, I was most often greeted with 'Hey Frank. How are you? Love your blog!' You can't buy that." McIlwain says social media offers endless advantages to businesses, including: ■■ Better awareness of news and trends: "Social media gives individuals a keen awareness of cultural buzz, and it's also a great avenue for knowing what is going on with your industry and prospects." ■■ Insight into your target demographic and competitors: Through social media, BGAs can tap into the latest trends in their industry as well as chatter among their target audience. "Think of yourself as the James Bond of the Internet minus the Aston Martin. Social media provides a spy-like experience without putting your life in danger." ■■ Lead intelligence: Social media also allows you to pinpoint common experiences and interests you might have with producers, allowing you to create stronger connections. "Common experiences, interests, and goals can spark conversation between two parties that may have had little to no exposure with each other," McIlwain says. "Social media allows you to unveil these similarities without the other party even knowing about it." ■■ Ability to create valuable alerts and feeds: McIlwain points out ■■ that you can use social media to "weed out the junk" and tap into the online content that is relevant to you. "You can do this by setting up RSS feeds of your favorite blogs and news sources and by setting up Google Alerts," she explains. A view into who influences the influencers: "Social media, either on a personal or professional level, gets people invested and involved with content you are pushing out. Through this network, you are able to follow the influencers of the social media world, learn what attracts attention, and apply it to your own feeds." Social Media Etiquette: Do's & Don'ts Although many businesses now realize that social media offers boundless benefits, most BGAs haven't quite cracked the code when it comes to leveraging these tools. "Everyone is developing a social presence, but I don't know if anybody really has an effective strategy for it," says Phillips. McIlwain says bringing your business into social media without a strategy in place is a lot like diving into the deep end when you don't know how to swim. "In order to be successful in using social media, you have to learn, or employ the services of an expert," she adds. You should also adhere to common social media etiquette and keep the following social media Do's and Don'ts in mind: DON'T use social media as an advertising platform "Using your company's social media accounts to engage in shameless self-promotion, advertising, or irrelevant activities will deter your brand from sending out the right message," says McIlwain. "You will not only attract the wrong following, but you will also lose the interest and connection of the audience you are trying to attract." Gencarelli echoes this sentiment. "Don't hawk and hustle your wares [on social media]," he warns. "It's off-putting and destroys credibility. An occasional plug is fine, but almost as an aside." DO be a good listener Instead of blabbing on and on about yourself in social media outlets, encourage others to speak up and share interesting details about themselves. "You cannot build strong relationships without listening skills-especially in the financial services industry," McIlwain says. "Listening also involves engaging and prompting people to talk about what matters to them." You can accomplish this by "Liking" or commenting other people's posts, asking your followers questions, conducting polls, sparking conversations, and responding quickly to private messages or posts about yourself. DON'T break compliance rules As a BGA, you have to be particularly careful when it comes to social media. "You're walking a tightrope as it relates to compliance-and if you're marketing a product or a concept, you've got to be careful," Phillips advises. He points out that most advertising compliance rules apply to social media as well. DO provide rich content Gencarelli says it's important to serve up valuable content and pay http://www.facebook.com/nailbahq http://www.twitter.com/nailba http://www.linkedin.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - July/August 2014

NAILBA Perspectives - July/August 2014
Contents
Chairman’s Corner
CEO Insights
Social Skills
NAILBA 33 Preview
NAILBA Charitable Foundation
Life Happens
The Remote or Virtual Office
Member Profiles
Mooers Award Nominations
Agency Successor Networking Group
Agency Resources
BGAs Leading Technology Through Connections
Reading Ahead
Calendar of Events
Index of Advertisers

NAILBA Perspectives - July/August 2014