Maximize Your Social With Neal Schaffer

Today Neal is mixing it up with an interview as he gets ready to hit the road again in the next couple of months. He’s talking to someone he’ll be meeting at the upcoming Social Tools Summit in Boston, Jay Shemenski, who is the Digital Manager of the Harvard Medical School. Listen in to hear him talk about how he got to Harvard Medical School, what his goals are in managing their social, and what he’s looking forward to talking to at the Social Tools Summit.Key Highlights [01:09] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Jay Shemenski[01:36] Jay's Journey To Social Media Marketing[05:18] Getting Experience In Google AdWords, PPC, and  SEO[07:16] Jay's Advice For Social Media Practitioners[09:43] The Use Of Harvard Medical School In Social Media[11:26] Who Are Jay's Target Audiences?[12:03] Elements To Look At To Decide Iff A Program Is Possible[13:52] Social Tool Summit Session That Jay Wanted To Be On[16:22] Tips On Developing Visual Content[18:50] Connect With JayNotable QuotesI mean, even now looking a

Today I'm talking about something that I haven't talked about before: growth hacking. Growth hacking is basically how to quickly create a robust social presence on a newly launched effort in a short amount of time. I have had a few companies reach out to me for advice on this subject, and was recently asked what my first steps to start building a big presence would be. The ten tips I'm talking about today are great not only for social media newbies, but also for folks who maybe need to take a step back and make sure they haven’t missed these important steps.Key Highlights[02:51] 10 Steps Approach Improve Your Social Media Growth[03:13] Creating Social Media Strategy Based On Your Business Objectives[04:06] Determine Your Target Audience[05:36] Determine Your Primary Content[08:34] Leveraging Hashtags[11:00] Prepare An Editorial Calendar[11:59] Create A Branded Voice And Image[13:03] Prepare A Week's Worth Of Content[13:33] Start to Engage![15:27] Curate Content From Your Targeted Users[16:

Today’s show is about something I'm very passionate about both for my clients and for my own brand: taking social media seriously. Social is becoming a bigger part for businesses large and small, and they are spending more and more resources on it, but it’s important to take it seriously and look at what you’re getting out of it. Putting processes in place can help you streamline your social media program and examine what is the best strategy for your business, which will in turn provide more ROI.Key Highlights[01:25] Take Social Media Seriously[03:36] Think About Your Processes And Protect Them[05:19] Find The Right Time For You[05:32] Re-read Maximize Your Social[07:14] Improving Your SEO[07:58] Re-doing Your Approach To Email[08:35] 2 Ways Of Looking At The Actual Social Networks[09:31] Look At Your Role Models[11:09] Look At Your Facebook Insights[11:47] Working on Pinterest[14:29] My Snapchat Presence[14:51] Own Your Hashtag[15:11] Loom At The Resource Part[15:50] 4 Ways To Scale[16:22] Leverage You

Not long ago, Neal was on an “Ask Me Anything” on Product Hunt, a website that showcases new products, apps, and startups. Today he’s sharing some of the questions he answered during that session because he thought maybe if one person is asking this, other people are having these same questions. Listen in to hear Neal talk about everything from the best platforms to be on, tools to be using, advice for startups, and tips for fundraising for your new social business.Key Highlights[03:09] The Most Underrated Social Platform That Businesses Often Overlook[07:20] How I Discover My Love for Social [08:58] How Socials Are Used in Different Countries[11:33] Advice for Startups[12:38] Best  Rate for Traction[13:45] Which Paid Ads Should You Use?[15:13] The Social Media Strategy I Admire[16:36] The Other People in Social You Should Follow[18:04] Twitter's Biggest Challenges and Opportunities[19:42] My Favorite Social Media Tools[21:27] My Opinion On Social Selling ToolsNotable QuotesBut in order to get a larger f

Happy new year and welcome to the first solo episode of 2016. I've been thinking a lot about skills of the best social media marketers, and what I should be focusing on this year. The answer is focus: social media marketers wear lots of hats, and the only way to maintain a strategic approach is the ability to focus and keep on track. Listen in to hear how I keep focused, and why focusing on your business objective is crucial to your success.Key Highlights[02:19] Focus, Focus, Focus![03:41] Create More Vidoe Content[04:10] The Way I Focus[05:22] "Big Content"[05:57] "Other Content"[06:18] Optimizing My Tools[06:54] Idea Of Monetizing[09:03] You Need A Product Or Service[09:53] Becoming An Influencer Or Brand Advocate[11:55] Influencer Platforms Examples[13:29] Launch New Brand[15:36] Social Media Is About Having An Objective[16:46] Performing Audits On Your Social MediaNotable QuotesAs social media marketer, we wear a lot of hats, right? Whether it's content creation, engagement,

Today Neal is sharing an interview he did with Marylin Montoya of Sociabble. Sociabble, one of the sponsors of the 2015 Social Tools Summits, is an employee advocacy platform that uses content marketing and social media networks to connect relevant content to employees in order to showcase their company’s brand. Marylin is sharing her insider perspective and offering valuable information and advice based on lots of experience helping large clients plan and implement employee advocacy programs. Listen in to hear her talk about the value of employee advocacy, why your employees are your best assets, and why enterprise-wide employee advocacy is a natural progression of social business.Key Highlights[00:35] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Marilyn Montoya[02:48] What is Sociabble?[05:17] Why Employees Are The Company's Best Assets?[09:21] Ways Employee Advocacy Benefit Company[11:50] Evolution of Employee Advocacy Internally[15:16] How Sociabble Helps With Training The Company Set Up Employee Advocacy Program[

The Social Tools Summit was a couple of months ago now, but I am still sharing some great conversations I had around the event. On today’s podcast, I'm talking to Chad Abbott, the CEO of Abbson Live, the company that provided all of the live streaming for the Social Tools Summit. Listen in as I go a little deeper with Chad, discussing how and why live video is an essential part of content marketing.Key Highlights[01:57] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Chad Abott[02:59] What is Live Streaming?[05:15] How Live Streaming Relates to Broader Marketing Strategy[09:47] Creating Exceptional Content[11:13] Starting Your Live Streaming Strategy[12:58] Chad's Suggestion for Consumer Facing Brands[14:31] How to Leverage Video for Social Media Marketing Services[17:01] Connect with ChadNotable QuotesI think video and especially live video has a power to captivate an audience online, like other forms of media do not. I think the brands that are being successful with live video right now, are the ones who sort of h

Today on the podcast, Neal is sharing an interview he did at the Social Tools Summit in San Francisco with Chad McCaffrey and Daniel Hebert of PostBeyond. Listen in as they talk all about employee advocacy. This episode is full of great reminders for any company thinking about establishing an employee advocacy program, reasons to start one, and tips to help convince your team or executives internally as to why it’s time to try it.Key Highlights[00:44] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Chad McCaffrey and Daniel Hebert[01:45] How SHould Company View Employee Advocacy Now?[02:43] What To Do Next After Launching Employee Advocacy Program[05:23] Relevance of Content in Employee Advocacy Program[07:16] Internal Involvement Needed For Successful Employee Advocacy Campaigns[09:13] Engagement With HR Professionals[11:05] What To Teach Employees To Think About Employee Advocacy[12:35] Use Content To Fuel Relationships[14:58] The Business Value of Employee Advocacy[20:06] Final Thoughts[20:45] Connect With Post BeyondNotab

Here's my advice on how to reach out to bloggers, influencers, and anyone else you want to talk about your company. It’s important to remember that bloggers and influencers are busy people being pinged by lots of other brands, so if you’re asking them to take time to use your product, and maybe even post a photo or blog about it - time isn’t free! Listen in to learn how to build a connection, what you can and should offer them, and how to make the relationship last by involving them in your content and programs.Key Highlights[03:44] How to Reach Out to Bloggers and Social Media Influencers[06:05] Time Is Not Free[06:30] Step One In Reaching Out To Influencers[07:04] Step #2[08:12] How You Should Start A Pitch[08:58] Step #3[09:54] Get Feedback![10:17] Christopher Columbus Approach[11:49] The Fifth Phase[13:07] The Common Sense Of 2015[13:43] SummaryNotable QuotesSocial media gives you the ability to listen and engage with anybody that's on social media, whether they're influencers or average pe

Neal recently visited South Africa and was interviewed on South Africa FM. Last week, you heard the first half of that interview. This week, listen in to hear a continuation of the conversation about social media for business, and what it might be like if we could start over with social media. What would we do differently? Would we change our priorities? You’ll also hear more about Neal’s story and how he got to where he is, as well as an entertaining countdown of questions.Key Highlights[01:59] Changes In Social Media Platforms[03:06] Can I Use All Platforms At The Same Time And Effectively?[04:23] Spray and Pray[05:02] What Did Mark Zuckerberg Do To Outperform MySpace?[07:22] What I Do To Help Businesses[08:32] How I Got Into Digital Marketing[11:00] The Story Of How I Wrote My First Book[12:07] Acknowledgements I Have Received[12:57] South African Digital Market[14:04] Beat The Clock QuestionsNotable QuotesThey need to make sure that you want to stick to it, the information you find is new, it's inter

Neal is back! You’ve heard him talk about keeping it real in your social and your content, and he wants to keep it real. Neal’s goal is always to do this podcast regularly, but everyone’s busy! Since the last podcast, he’s traveled a lot, successfully launched the second Social Tools Summit in San Francisco in October, and spoken at a conference in South Africa. This episode is part one of a radio interview he did while he was there, and focuses on the value of social media and taking a step back and looking at the big picture.Key Highlights[04:44] Introduction[05:26] Why Business To Be Made From Going Social[06:27] How I Help Businesses[07:18] How Small Businesses Can Use Social To Grow Their Businesses[08:07] The Essence of Social Media[08:32] How to Start Using Social Media for Business[10:39] Social Media As A New Channel[12:38] How To Balance Social Media With Voice of the Company[13:17] The Advent of Employee Advocacy[14:06] Tomorrow's Talk[15:27] How Much Time Should You Allocate To Social Media?[

Today Neal is coming to you from Clearwater, Florida, where he actually did this podcast episode as a Periscope broadcast. And while he does talk a little bit about Periscope in this episode, what he’s mostly discussing is his new ebook which just came out on Kindle. It’s called Maximize LinkedIn for Business, and it came about from his visit to the LinkedIn Headquarters over a year and a half ago. Listen in to today’s episode for a rundown of what you can find in the ebook, and where you can get access to it.Key Highlights[01:17] What Is Maximize LinkedIn for Business Is About[03:10] Table Of Contents[03:17] How LinkedIn Is Being Used By Corporations and Professionals Today[04:49] Two Important Things You Need to Know[05:44] The Importance of Connections[05:56] Tactical and SEO Benefit of Having Connections[08:34] The Value of Network[09:05] Establishing Credibility[09:25] What Are Recommendations[10:20] Understanding Skills and Endorsements[10:57] How to Make LinkedIn Profile Private[12:44] Pulse Feature[14

Neal has been in Japan these last few weeks, and he’s been thinking a lot about the power of mobile. This week Neal is talking about the social network that you can only engage in from mobile: Instagram. It’s important for businesses to find their visual voice and be original and organic on this platform. The beautiful thing about Instagram is it’s power to connect with people. So remember, don’t go for the hard sale on Instagram - instead, focus on personality, engagement, and authenticity.Key Highlights[00:53] My Thoughts on Instagram[03:47] Every Company Needs A Visual Voice[05:50] A Case Study of A Company Doing Well With Visual[08:57] Why Your Visuals Should Be Connected to Your Brand[09:11] Quote Images[12:04] Posting Event Images on Instagram[13:47] Videos As Part of Visual Voice[15:27] Popular TacticsNotable QuotesSo as I like to say, whenever I speak, every company needs a visual voice. And that visual voice is is the visuals that are going to represent you in Facebook, Twitter, and obviously, you kn

This week Neal is coming to you from Japan, and he’s talking to Dennis Owen, from Cathay Pacific. The two are talking about Cathay Pacific’s extremely successful employee advocacy program, which Dennis launched simultaneously with their brand campaign “Life Well Traveled.” Dennis explains how he got the higher ups behind him, the platform they use, what kind of content is successful, and the rewards they give for engaging in the program. This is a great episode to listen to if you’ve been trying to figure out how to factor an employee advocacy program into your business plan.Key Highlights[00:30] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Dennis Owen[03:05] How Dennis Got Into Employee Advocacy[05:40] How Employee Advocacy Started in Cathay Pacific[09:46] The Lack of Understanding in Employee Advocacy[10:36] The Planning Process[13:34] The Approach on Rewards[17:24] Measuring KPIs[20:18] Final Thoughts[22:57] Connect With DennisNotable QuotesAnd I think the main reason I wanted to do it is because it ties very nicely to

When Neal first started speaking and blogging about social media, he focused on LinkedIn. But the platform has changed so much since the beginning, and of course the interactions and recommended use of it have evolved too. Today, Neal is talking about editing your LinkedIn connections. Not only is it important to comb through your current connections to edit out people who may not be relevant for you, but it’s also good to have some guidelines for accepting new requests. You want your LinkedIn to be curated so it’s productive, fun, and adds value to your life and business.Key Highlights [012:03] My Upcoming Free Ebook On LinkedIn[02:27] What Should You Do On Random Connection Requests?[03:02] LinkedIn Lions Defined[03:54] The LinkedIn Connection Policy[04:31] Why I Am No Longer A LinkedIn Lion[05:47] Time To Prune Your LinkedIn Connections! [06:15] Instances When You Can Accept Connection Requests From Strangers[07:20] Biggest Power of LinkedIn[08:34] What To Do If You Are Unsure About A Connection Request[09

This week on the podcast, Neal is sharing a new project with you. In his social media consulting business, he gets very broad and occasionally vague requests all the time, and there’s just no way he can help every person that reaches out. So Neal has decided to repackage the content he creates for trainings and make it available to more people. The first version of this is a 9-day online video workshop, complete with videos, worksheets, and a forum where you can chat with Neal. In this week’s episode you can learn more about why he’s starting this project, what this first version will be all about, and how you can join the party.Key Highlights[02:58] Role of Social Media[03:36] Questions You Need to Answer If You Want to Reach Foreign Audience[04:41] Always Have A Process In Place[05:18] The Social Media Center of Excellence[06:45] Understanding the Role of Content in Social Media[07:03] Content is the Game Changer[07:28] Different Types of Content[08:32] The Importance of Visual Content[09:00] The Role of Co

Neal is at the Corporate Social Media Summit this week, speaking and leading panels on all things social media and content creation. In this episode, he chats with Saul Leal, the Director of the Family Share Network, a group of Facebook pages, websites, and other social media accounts. They discuss how to create engaging content, how to monetize social media content and drive traffic to a website, and why publishing is more of a dialogue now than a monologue as it used to be.Key Highlights[01:07] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Sal Liao[01:41] Who is CompTIA[03:17] Sal's Business Model[04:33] The Concept of Alignment[07:45] How to Create Content that Feeds Special Moments[08:12] Concept of Passion Pages[09:04] Importance of Having Content that Resonates Audience[10:30] Connect with SalNotable QuotesBut the first thing is understanding the passion, the passion of our team, the passion and the vision of the organization, and ultimately, the passion of the consumer. And once we understand that passion, it&ap

After talking with people all over the world about social media, today Neal is talking about content. Yes, content is important, but with an oversaturated market, it’s important that the content you are creating and sharing is legendary! So why not leverage successful content you’ve already created and used in the past? This week is all about why you shouldn’t be scared to repurpose old content, and how to best go about using what you’ve already got.Key Highlights[03:51] The Traditional Approach on Content Marketing[05:21] Every Content Should Be Legendary[07:58] Look At What You Have[09:41] The Strategy[12:47] The Execution[14:38] Killer Functionality of Post Planner[18:07] One of The Easiest Thing To Do To Scale[18:53] Easiest Way to Start Influencer Marketing ProgramNotable QuotesYou always want to keep your eye on those other networks and see where your community is. We know that social media marketing is not content marketing content in of itself is its own art. But in order to engage in social media, wh

This week, I am coming to you from Victoria, British Columbia, in Canada where I keynoted Social Media Camp. At the event, I ran into my friend Mike Gingerich of TabSite. TabSite is a great tool that helps you run contests and capture leads, mostly on Facebook, but also on the web. It integrates with tons of common platforms like MailChimp, Infusionsoft, Canva, and Hootsuite, and it’s so easy to use. It’s a great way to grow your following, get shared on social networks, and engage with people. Learn more in this episode!Key Highlights[00:53] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Mike Gingerich[01:29] What Is Topside?[03:12] How to Filter Out The Selection[04:17] Sweepstakes vs Sweeptakes Plus[07:24] Integration With Go To Webinar[09:04] Promotion Tools[09:40] Analytics Tool[10:57] Pricing[12:03] Mike's Advice on How Business Can Use Topside for Running Facebook ContestsNotable QuotesContests are a way of it's a way of engaging with your fanbase on a regular basis using all these different types of apps ex

Coming to you from the Women’s Business Symposium, sponsored by Comerica Bank, and benefitting Girls, Inc., this week Neal is discussing when to listen to advice, and when to ignore it. Last week, he held the event that he’s been talking about for months, the Social Tools Summit. It got him thinking about why it’s important to be unique in the world of business and social media. When planning the summit, Neal got lots of advice from his peers about how to run the event. Yes, it’s good to listen to advice from peers and role models, but it’s also good to know that you don’t always have to take that advice.Key Highlights[02:02] Creating the Idea for Social Tools Summit[02:41] Ignore Everyone Else[03:06] Why I Think the Social Tool Summit Was A Success[03:22] My Approach to Business and Social Media[04:42] Social Media Replaces Nothing But Compliments Everything[05:36] Data-Driven Approach[05:47] Leveraging Social Media As A Tool[06:36] You Need to Do Something Different[07:27] Lead Through Innovation[09:02] Soc