|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
First there were paper-based media: newspapers, magazines, etc.
Then came electronic media: radios, television.
Now, social media carries our messages, from news to advertising to communicating with our friends.
Pleasanton resident Katie Lance was already in marketing, working mainly with real estate agents, when social media exploded — and she immediately grasped the impact.
“Newspapers, postcards are one-way marketing,” she explained. “Social marketing is a two-way conversation. I fell in love with the whole idea.”
She noted that businesses need to blend the personal and professional part of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to build relationships because everyone likes to do business with people they know, like and trust. When it is done right, social media is one of the best ways to build that trust, she added.
“The biggest mistake a lot of business owners make is just talking about business on social media,” Lance said. “You can sell on social media but a lot is how you do it, how you come across. Be educational, provide value, use videos. Create great content.”
Lance recently published her ideas in the book, “#GetSocialSmart,” which was named the No. 1 hot new release in marketing on Amazon.
“It’s a pretty quick and easy read,” Lance said. “I wrote it so you could sit down and read it from start to finish if you are looking to get your arms around social media. Or you can turn right to the section on Facebook or Twitter. That’s how I like to read a book.”
At the end of the book are a number of case studies, compiled from interviews she’d done with clients about how they used social media to generate business.
Lance travels frequently to make presentations at conferences, often as the keynote speaker. She said she was often asked if she also had a guidebook, so she decided to organize her material into this easy-to-use book.
“It is for any kind of small business owner, an entrepreneur, individual mom and pop stores, someone who’s got their own service company,” Lance said. “It is for small business owners trying to figure out how to use social media better for their own business.”
She emphasized the importance of a business having a website, noting that she will do an online search for anyone she wants to engage, such as a contractor.
“If you don’t have a presence online, there is a perception that you are not really in business,” she said.
When she launched her business, Katie Lance Consulting, in 2012, she did so quickly and only had a Facebook page for about the first year.
“Then I worked with a marketing firm on designing my website,” she recalled. “Having a website is important for a home base, for if you want to blog or have information about yourself.”
Lance also blogs for Huffington Post, Social Media Examiner and Women 2.0.
Through Katie Lance Consulting, she helps business owners figure out how to use social media effectively, and she presents her strategies on effective use of technology.
“My husband (Paul) quit his corporate job a year ago, and we run the business together,” Katie Lance said. “We also have two other employees, and five other team members.”
The business has worked well for her family, she said, as she and Paul are available for their sons, 9-year-old Owen and 6-year-old Luke, who attend nearby Donlon Elementary.
“It’s great,” Lance said. “It allows freedom and flexibility, we have a lot of quality of life, we are available for our kids.”
She previously worked as chief strategist for Inman News, a publication for real estate professionals. Its founder, Brad Inman, remarked on Amazon.com: “Katie Lance leads the way in real estate, empowering an entire industry to get connected through their social relationships.”
Others on Amazon observed her ability to break down the confusing matrix of social media into a simple strategy for its use.
“A lot of people get overwhelmed with social media and technology,” Lance said. “I focus on helping business owners figure out how to do social media and how to get smarter about it.”
“My big message is I really believe in helping people get more intentional about how to use social media,” Lance said.
I follow Katie Lance, and have even had the pleasure of meeting her in person. She is an expert to the highest degree! If you need help with navigating social media for your business, she’s your guru!!