Delegate

courtesy begintoshift.com

I am a firm believer in the power of delegating. That’s not simply true because I like to tell people what to do, I also like to get a lot of things accomplished. It’s amazing how effort is compounded when you enlist folks to help you out.

It’s not easy to let go and have other people handle things for you. Sometimes you have to prioritize. For example, I wish more than anything I had the time to handle our landscaping. My time is better spent doing what I do best. The economic term is “comparative advantage.” At work, you may think of delegating to your administrative assistant your filing, setting up your meetings or making travel arrangements for you so you have more time to set your organization’s communication strategy.

Courtesy rightattitudes.com

The other thing I’ve learned about delegation is that – in most instances – as long as the delegatee knows the precise end result you want to see, you can let them do it however they want to. It’s the end result that matters. Don’t micro-manage them, let them complete the task however they wish. If you dictate the terms and watch over their shoulder you may as well do it yourself. Besides, often people will come up with a better way to do something than you could have envisioned.

Are you a good delegator? Why or why not?

I’d love to hear from you.

-Tina

Sorry sweetheart, your personal Facebook page isn’t social media experience

Courtesy ChadKaser.wordpress.com

This seems pretty obvious but I’m willing to bet that there are some knuckleheads who get into this because they are prolific personal social media posters. They think, “How hard can social media for a brand be? You just post stuff and get likes. I’ve got 862 friends on FB and 1637 followers on TW, I’m a freaking natural.”

So what’s the difference?

• You need a Strategy to reach communication goals. You don’t post just because the urge strikes. You don’t post just because you see something funny you want to share.
• You’ve got to Research your audience. What do they want to hear? When do they want to hear it? How do they like to hear it?
• You should be Crafting a message based on your strategy and research. Just throwing out slop loses the respect of your intended audience. When you lose the respect of your audience you lose their attention. When you lose their attention often enough, you lose your job.
• Posting comes back to strategy. Don’t post when your target won’t hear it. Don’t post where your audience won’t see it. Don’t post what will lose/alienate your audience.
• You’ve got to be Listening to your audience. It’s not just what they say, it’s what they do. Look at your metrics. What do people respond to the most? When are they responding and where?
• If you’ve been listening, you will certainly need to make Tactical Adjustments. That’s your life now: making adjustments – All.The.Time. Social & digital media move so fast that everything you do will be about adjusting to changing responses from your audience, changing conditions on the Interwebs, and changing technology.
• Revisit Strategy.
• Continually Research.
• Always Be Crafting new messages.
• Ad infinitum into this ouroboros thing where the head swallows the tail – no beginning or end. (look it up)

When was the last time you did research on your personal followers before you posted that picture of the ultimate ice cream sundae on Instagram? Do you know your strategy for your tweets about your displeasure at a college football game? What message are you consciously crafting for Pinterest?

See the difference?

Have I left out any considerations or steps in this social media cycle? Which step do you like best? In which step are you weakest?

I’d love to hear from you.

-Tina