[Tweet “Are you feeling overwhelmed by apps and networks?”]This article is not about the social media black hole. If you find yourself being sucked into that vortex simply because you are addicted to sharing (or watching) and, while you might need a good shrink, I’m not going to be able to respond to your plea for help.
Let’s also dispel the rumor that being on social media is automatically a time suck. You will invest some time getting set up and comfortable with the platforms and tools but, once you get organized and establish your rhythm, you can be highly successful with social media in probably less than an hour each week. Quality trumps quantity. Now, if you are seeing great success rates in that one hour, if it’s me, I’m thinking why not invest two?
Ooooh, pretty!
Apps, apps, and more apps. When are too many apps … too many? The same holds true with social networking sites. There are more of them than there are rocks to toss their way. If you have shiny bauble syndrome (like me) … this spells big trouble. The result of all of this is that we spend so much time exploring and evaluating new apps and sites that we never are able to fully leverage any of them. It’s a vicious, time-consuming, and costly cycle.
My bookmarks folder is a virtual graveyard of discarded apps and networks. Assuming that you are honest, you probably have your own cemetery of wasted time. I know that I have spent (not invested as there was no return) 100’s of hours, that I can never again recover, looking for the BBD’s (Bigger Better Deals) that never panned out.
Let’s start with, “what are the network essentials?” In terms of major social networks (according to “The CMO’s Guide to the 2014 Social Landscape”), you can choose from …
- Google+
- YouTube
- SlideShare
Make it manageable
I challenge you to choose only two or three social networks but, how can you do that? The simple answer is … where are your customers and your potential customers? After that, what does your content lend itself to and then how do you personally feel about each?
I have found that my customers are by and large on LinkedIn, I am comfortable with the site and its members, and my messaging works well on this platform. YouTube has also proven to be valuable as has Twitter. Google+ and SlideShare may have potential but, I do not have the time, or the need, to invest in these presently. I’m on both mind you but, that’s about all.
Your goals define your needs
Next, what are your goals? Define your goals and then first learn how to leverage your chosen networks themselves in order to achieve these goals. You will find that the individual networks may just have the built-in functionality to effectively achieve these without the need for any additional apps. If you don’t have any goals, stop reading now and go back to playing Angry Birds. It’s perfectly okay to continue to flop around like a landed fish in the bottom of a boat.
New apps are being introduced daily (maybe even hourly). There will always be a tendency to look for the BBD. I would say that if you find your existing apps to be lacking, go ahead and take a look around. However, if you have not maximized that which you already have, that which you have invested valuable time in, why are you venturing elsewhere? So that you can make another half-hearted attempt to use a new app that may or may not have the ability to meet your goals?
Still, the entire reason for social applications is that the networks themselves may not allow you to perform everything you want to do efficiently. Go back to your goals, look at where the networks are falling short, and then choose an application(s) that will best assist you in reaching these goals. Most often, a simple Google search that says “I want to do this”, will uncover a bevy of possibilities. Bonus points if one application can satisfy multiple needs. Take the time needed to evaluate any app closely, upfront, and then stick with, and master, that app. As examples:
- I want to find, and organize, influential people on Twitter. This would also include people who have the potential to do business with me. Therefore, I need search and I need list creation and, frankly, Twitter does poorly with both tasks. So, I need an app and one that would do both would be a plus. Take a look at SocialBro, Twtrland, or Tweetbe.at.
- I’d also like to find and organize potential connections (prospects) on LinkedIn. These are not people that I am 1st degree connected to. You might think that you need an app for this but, you don’t. You can do this with tags which will allow you to create connection groups (prospects, suspects, customers, referrers, etc.). The secret is that you must click the star on their profile to save them first. You will now be able to tag away!
- However, it would also be nice to be able to find these potential connections on LinkedIn and them be able to capture those, organize them, and maybe even export them to my CRM. Exporting 1st degree connections to a CRM is ez breezy however, you cannot export only one tag or even create an export that includes tags and, while you can export email addresses, you cannot include their phone number. Therefore, our tagging efforts are lost.
There is an app called SalesLoft/Prospector which will allow you to create contact groups and, in many cases, also discover email addresses and phone numbers, for anyone on LinkedIn and then export of all of that to your CRM. Strong magic but, not cheap. You can try it with a free account (very limited) but, premium accounts start at $325 per month for up to 5 users. Still, how many additional sales would you need to make in order to justify the service? Unless you sell snow cones for a living, probably not many.
Time for change?
If you have to invest some money in order to accomplish what you really need, then do that. Let’s face it. There is an awful lot of great free stuff for us to choose from. As a result, we are free-conditioned and yet even the thought of spending what amounts to a couple of beers every month is somehow distasteful? You must be willing to invest when needed and you should then expect a return several times over when you do. Would you invest $100 in order to get $1,000 back? I would hope so. Spend money to make money.
When it comes right down to it, other than the social networks themselves, I rely on …
- Nimble as my Social CRM and social dashboard
- Buffer for sharing
- Feedly for keeping up on the news
- Evernote for organizing articles and projects
Certainly, I have other apps that are used occasionally for specific tasks but, over 90% of my efforts are spent with these. With the exception of Feedly, I have premium (paid for) versions of the other three. Since I purchased an app for my iPad to manage Feedly, that makes me four for four.
Stop chasing rainbows. If you have a defined need, great. If not, why? Sure, you might find a pot of gold but, you will likely lose a much larger bag of coin in the process. Find what works and then work it. There is absolutely no way to manage dozens of apps and networks effectively and to attempt to do so is not only folly, it’s costing you sales.
This post was brought to you by IBM for Midsize Business and opinions are my own. To read more on this topic, visit IBM’s Midsize Insider. Dedicated to providing businesses with expertise, solutions and tools that are specific to small and midsized companies, the Midsize Business program provides businesses with the materials and knowledge they need to become engines of a smarter planet.
Craig M. Jamieson
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