Get Outta My Head

Who’s Really Not Being Social?

Brian Nowak — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:13:20 +0000

There is always talk about how businesses don’t have a grasp on the full potential of Social Media. We talk about their lack of engagement, their commercialized message, delayed responses. We talk about how annoying it is to see the same scheduled tweet over and over each day, and how they frankly, need to become more social. If we could get more businesses to become like us, Twitter would be a better place for all. I have no problem putting my voice in the same group of Twitter enthusiasts that make these comments because, I do in fact agree with them. However…

Tweeting for several different businesses, I have been able to see a shift over the past year. The shift has become the lack of response from the personal accounts when a business is making efforts to be engaging. There are a few reasons this could be happening. 1) for the obvious reason that they have been spammed so many times, they just don’t care to have a conversation with businesses anymore. 2) They’re using custom lists to read tweets which means the businesses tweets aren’t being read. 3) They are not getting a notification when being mentioned by someone they don’t follow 4) They would prefer to only talk to people who benefit their cause 5) Well, I could go on and on.

The point here is that there are businesses that make strong efforts to be engaged with their audience. They are following the demands that we have asked them. They are quick to respond. They are retweeting from their fans. They are thanking everyone that mentions them. They are jumping into conversations. They are trying to being social. Yet, more often than not, they are getting blown off, most likely from reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. It makes you now wonder why so many businesses opt to take the easy route of becoming automated with their Social Media. It’s less work and still helps with your search results. At least they are getting some benefit from bothering you with their uniform tweets vs. trying to be social and being ignored.

So we as personal users need to think about what we are asking of our business tweeters and then support them when they are doing it right. Get on board, respond to their “good afternoon” tweets, thank them for the RT’s, tell them that we appreciate them being real, and engage back with them. Remember, these are real people who run the business accounts, so tweet them how you would want to be tweeted.

Business tweeters, I understand your struggle. Some days are hot and others are not. We have to continue proving to ourselves that being a real person on twitter is more important than being a robot. Keep tweeting, keep asking questions, keep supporting your followers and community, and keep being yourself. It’s the right thing to do for your fans and they’ll get it.

Brian Nowak

Who Is Behind The Mask

Brian Nowak — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:15:05 +0000

Since I started my Social Media business I have always had the insight to not make my list of clients openly public. Sure there are some close friends, family, and trusted colleagues that know who I tweet for or that I am the one responding on behalf of a business on Facebook, but for the most part, I don’t want people to know.

This can cause some confusion in the Social Media world however. Does Get Outta My Head really have clients? Is Brian just another person who claims to be a real Social Media specialist? Where is the proof? I want to know! Well, the simple answer to that is yes, we do have clients and we are a real business. As for the proof, you’re going just have to trust me.

My philosophy has always been to put the client first. They are brand that is being promoted, not me. They are the name that people want to talk to, not me. They are who should be getting the compliments, not me. But… When the client sees the attention they are getting via Social Media, who do you think they give the praises to? Yep, me!

But why keep is such a secret? If you think of a client as a mascot, it may make this idea seem easier to understand. We all know that there is a real person behind masks of Sparky from ASU or Baxter from the Diamondbacks or Goofy at Disneyland but we don’t know who they are and I don’t think we care. But what if I were promote my own name or business name as being behind the mask of all 3 mascots? Don’t you think that each would lose good amount of mystery or interest because now you feel that you are no longer talking to Sparky, Baxter and Goofy but me instead. The voice, the personality, the branding is all removed when you take that mask off.

So for me and this business, we will continue to keep our clients in hush mode. If someone else wants to speak out about our accounts, they are welcome to do so, us however, we’re keeping it quite. Sure it may be harder to build our business without flaunting our personal client successes but our integrity, commitment, and professionalism to these clients is what builds our reputation. From there, it’s business owners word of mouth that is making us successful. Slow and steady wins the race and this race is not close to being finished yet.

If your business is in need of Social Media advice, someone to assist with your Social Media campaign, or you just plain want to talk about Social Media and how it’s worked for you, give us a call. It’s what we do, it’s what we talk about, it’s what we love. 602.790.7392

Get Outta My Head in the News

Brian Nowak — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:11:53 +0000

Okay, maybe it’s not the actual “News” but more of an article in an online magazine. Yes, we were asked to contribute some thoughts to an article about Social Media in the current issue of Scottsdale Business + Life Magazine. For us at Get Outta My Head, this is kind of a big deal. We are not far off from hitting our 2-year anniversary as a business and in this time, the biggest challenge has always been getting the word out about who we are. With a marketing budget that could barely buy an Iced Mocha from Starbucks (no whip), we have always counted on word of mouth for the growth of our business. Sure we could tell you how great we are (and we try) but hearing if from someone you already know and trust, has an established credibility that a stranger trying to sell you something will never have. So being asked to participate in this article was amazing. What a great opportunity for us to get the word out about our business to a new audience of trusted readers. We have lots of dreams we are working on here at Get Outta My Head and I think it’s safe to say, this was one of them.

To read the entire article, please visit Scottsdale Business + Life.

If you need assistance with running your businesses Social Media strategy, call Get Outta My Head right away for a FREE consultation. 602.790.7392

Social Media Tip for March 23rd

Brian Nowak — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 23:25:59 +0000

Social Media is an excellent way to market your business but not in the traditional sense. It’s important to remember people want to know about your business but just like on TV, they will change the channel if the commercial break is too long. Keep your fans interested in your show by giving them content that is both entertaining, informative and fresh. If your fans begin to notice that your page is just playing the same commercial over and over, they will have no desire to come back.

Have a great weekend!

Social Media Tip for March 9th

Brian Nowak — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:12:10 +0000

What is more productive for your business? 1000 employees standing around watching 5 employees do all of the work or 30 employees that are all working? Hmm… But what does this have to do with Social Media?

Social Media is NOT about who has the most likes or the most followers. It’s how the fans you do have are interacting with your brand. Sure, 1000 Facebook likes may look like a successful page but if no one is interacting with your brand then what’s the point. Wouldn’t you rather have 30 Facebook likes by fans that ALL want to participate on your page?

This weeks tip is simple, focus on the fans you do have. If you are building the relationship with them, others true fans will come and want to join in.

(Everyone may say they are a fan but if no one shows up, does it matter?)

Social Media Tip for March 2nd

Brian Nowak — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:24:09 +0000

Quick question: Who would you rather be friends with? A) An individual person with unique/interesting dialogue and conversation, or B) A robot that is only using the same 5 phrases and does not respond.

If you chose B, well, maybe Social Media isn’t for you or your business. For everyone else that chose A, I think we can agree that your Facebook fans are choosing the same answer. People like to see a humanized page, they like being responded to and they like feel part of the “club”.

Make sure that you are checking your Facebook page throughout the day. Say “thank you” to the people who are commenting, answer questions that are asked in a timely manner and don’t just post commercials, add some entertainment value for your fans. Give them a reason to continue to come back and they will.

SOCIAL MEDIA TIP FOR FEB 24TH

Brian Nowak — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:38:05 +0000

Keep it simple! If you haven’t noticed, as technology has grown bigger, attention spans have gotten smaller. Keep your posts to the point, add some humor and if you’re asking a question, allow for answers that don’t need time to think about. Yes or No, True of False, or even Fill in the Blank each allow a quick response from your audience. The longer it takes to think about how to answer a question, the higher the chance that your audience will become distracted and move on to something else.

Social Media Tip for Feb 17th

Brian Nowak — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:00:52 +0000

Sometimes it may be tough to remember but Social Media is about building relationships as a human and not just selling your business. A great way to incorporate the human element into your posts is to add photos that your customer can relate to. Anything from behind the scenes of your business to work related events to a cute puppy dog that you saw in the park are some examples that will bring your brand to a more personal level.

Remember, business is built on relationships and Social Media is a valuable tool to discover and maintain these relationships, when done correctly.

(Did this picture grab your attention?)

But We Were Just Learning About Facebook Finally.

Brian Nowak — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:04:05 +0000

We haven’t talked much about Pinterest at Get Outta My Head however all of our clients do have their own unique boards. I think that the reason why we haven’t gone far into explaining it vocally is, although the site is blowing up with new users and has a great deal of value to our clients, there are still struggles in getting potential clients to understand the value of a properly run Facebook page. And these businesses, are our number one focus.

In our industry, we work with these type of tools on a full-time (if not more) basis so they do come naturally and we can see the value nearly immediately. However, if we look though the eyes of the businesses that we are trying to help, sites like Pinterest seem to just add more to the list of confusion when trying to understand the basics of building a Social Media strategy. Let us help with getting your business up to speed with the basics, once this is done, then we will introduce you to the much larger world of Social Media. Including Pinterest.

The value is there, you just need to know how to see it. luckily for your business, we do see it.

If you are looking for assistance with building your businesses Social Media Strategy, please call us. 602.790.7392

Social Media Tip for Feb 10th

Brian Nowak — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:05:07 +0000

‎Get Outta My Head‘s Social Media Tip of the week:

If you are looking for more interaction from your Facebook audience consider using a call to action. Integrating phrases like “Hit the like button” “Share with your friends” or “Leave a comment” into your posts give your audience a direct message on what you would like them to do.

Also, don’t forget to follow-up with anyone who responds.

Hit the Facebook button below if this makes sense. (see what we did there?)