A Social Media Career? Four Steps to Reaching Your Goal

• Hey, these are good for any business

 

Every day I look out at this soccer field. Players of all ages get pretty excited when they score a goal. Announcers and professionals too. I grew up playing hockey. Decades later, I still dream about some of the memorable goals I scored. Goal scorers sometimes slide into the land of excessive expression – we love our moment of fame.

Business people reach similar celebratory levels when sales targets are met when profits grow, and when popularity breaks new barriers. We should stack our wins and remember the goals scored.

Consider though, all that occurs before the goal is scored. It rarely happens by accident. It doesn’t happen without effort. There is work to be done before you reach your goals. Here are several of the important steps to goal-scoring. I will apply them to my business field – social media management – but you can easily translate into your area of commerce, service, or entrepreneurship. I don’t think there is any need to prioritize but I do believe all are necessary.

1. TIMING: In sports, we talk about taking advantage of ‘the opening’ – The right place at the right time. The internet is here to stay. Very few businesses have not jumped on board. However, not all businesses have equally optimized the opportunities. Technology changes rapidly. The platforms often modify monthly. There is no time to sleep. Social media utilizers must be ready to act, able to pivot quickly, always evaluating, always revising. Social media managers have tools in their arsenal to know the best times of day to post. They know the best days of the week to send out campaigns. Convenient scheduling applications and detailed analytics are precise.

 

2. TEAM: The overused cliché remains true: ‘there is no i in team’. Goal scoring, goal reaching, is a shared effort with shared glory. I think leadership philosophy has changed to take this into account. We see much more emphasis on ‘servant leadership’ and a higher value on collegial initiatives. I belong to a social media group that epitomizes support. If I have a question, I can go to a Facebook community to get an answer within minutes. If you are starting a career in social media, make sure you get into the right tribe as soon as possible. If you hire/contract for social media management, pursue the matter in your interview. Don’t be afraid to ask about the team behind them.

 

3. TALENT: I often joke, but my family and friends know it to be the truth: keep me out of the kitchen! I will never be your gourmet chef. You don’t want me in goal on your hockey team – I fall down and get up a day later! But I could play forward. You can’t be a social media manager if computers intimidate you. And you have to have a creative flair too. Skill and passion work together. People who want to succeed in a certain field should usually be placed in that field.

 

4. TRAINING: A team does not just show up on the soccer pitch and play the game. There are strategy sessions in the clubhouse and technical drills on the field. At a young age, athletes learn and perfect the skills. Natural talent and passion will take you a long way, but without training, the chances for success are significantly reduced. A person stepping into a career in social media needs to choose the best instructor with the best content. The internet is flooded with courses and presenters. I know. Before I settled on my program and mentor, I looked at length. I found many who tried to sell me on a ‘get rich fast’ scheme. They seemed more eager to get me to sell their program than to actually train me in skills, strategy, and success. I was fortunate (perhaps wise enough) to settle on a training program that was comprehensive. Even more importantly, my teacher was clearly committed to my success. While confident, competent, and enthusiastic, there was no trace of ego. Those of you jumping into this life, please don’t be tempted to compromise with your training.

 

These four factors are key to your success in the social media industry. Actually, in most industries.  Feel free to contact me for more information on my journey – message me by email.