OK, I’ll hold my hands up and admit that the featured image isn’t the best fit for this article. I like the lovely social gathering atmosphere that really can’t have been at Yalta during the Second World War when the Allied hierarchy met. I wonder if Josef Stalin would have embraced Twitter in the way that his esteemed US counterpart of today has done? I’m sure Churchill would have loved it!

Anyway, we’ve been busy lately at TrainStorm Media HQ. Like a lot of web agencies, we used to outsource our social media, but we found that the results were really quite dry and unengaging. We’ve always done our own social media, and although time’s sometimes been against us where this activity is concerned, we’ve always found that we get far better results than those who were recommended in the past. So – we made a big decision and started to offer our services as a social media manager and were surprised at the uptake. So much so that our own social media suffered for a little while. We’re back on it again now though, don’t worry.

We don’t have any magic wands or secret potions, just a few golden rules.

Rule #1: We manage social media accounts properly
This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but it isn’t always as obvious as might be imagined. Lots of SM identities out there are either totally ignored, or even worse, abused by product / service bashing or irrelevant / inappropriate content posting.

Rule #2: We develop a human facade
Sometimes a business can seem quite faceless online. The bigger online companies are usually followed because they’re big, whereas the best of the smaller entities deliver fresh and engaging content and engage with their audience in an interactive and responsive manner. We also think it’s imperative to initiate an immediate reply to messages or inform the client where messages need a specialist response. We therefore aim to do this within 24 hours.

Rule #3: We take the time to understand the character of each client’s business
It’s important when representing a client to first determine the relevant business sector and to identify the company’s offering. We never guess. If we’re unsure, we ask.

Rule #4: We raise favourable awareness of the business
Again, not as straightforward as it may seem. Lots of businesses come across as pushy, one-dimensional or just dull. It’s really important to establish social media platforms relevant to the business, as well as establishing a consistent brand and uniform message across all platforms relevant to each specific business. We tend to utilise lesser known engagement methods in order to engage with like-minded individuals and businesses and aim to deliver constant, regular coverage rather than sporadic, gappy updates that epitomise good-intention social media project management.

Rule #5: We promote products / services sensibly
There’s nothing worse than having the same message pushed across the table again and again; “buy this”, “on sale”, “last chance”! By employing inventive (yet legal) methods and interspersing product or service calls sparsely, we find that the engagement rate of these sales posts are much more favourably received.

Rule #6: We free up essential business time for our clients
You probably employ specialists to carry out specialist tasks. Why pay these people to do something that isn’t in their remit?

Rule #7: We are discrete by crediting the client
Your name’s on the screen. It’s your business. Why should our name be there instead?

We’re not reinventing the wheel. Simply using common sense, a bit of inside information and a lot of experience. Our aim is to amplify social media following and therefore increase traffic to your website. We know that 10,000 followers doesn’t equate to 10,000 customers, but we also know that those 10,000 followers are conservatively likely to have over 1,000,000 contacts.

Perhaps you’re happy to manage your own social media, and perhaps it works well for you, but if you’re struggling, give us a call.