NYC’s Social Media Diva, Nikki Beauchamp’s Advice:
Go Mobile
“Thanks for the info re: app … if you have plans to present in the future, would love to know/attend!” Rhonda and other rave reviewers comment after native Manhattanite and New York City real estate agent Nikki Beauchamp’s panel discussion on “Apps to enhance productivity for real estate agents” at REBNY. Scrolling through her page made me want to take notes of all the great ideas for posts and questions. Nikki has it dialed in, but what I really wanted to know was what her advice would be for businesses and professionals to get going on social marketing?
Nikki’s immediate response was, “I’m all about efficiency, so for me #1 is being mobile”.
My initial reaction was, mobile = expensive and teeny tiny text. Nikki explained the gap between those who can’t seem to get moving on the social web and those who are not mobile. They do go hand in hand. If efficiency is key, then the ability to operate away from the office, which now includes everything from email to keeping tabs on posts, comments, likes, tweets, and updates, while on the go is essential.
Don’t worry, she didn’t leave us hanging there… she did add a #2 to her words of wisdom for social marketing…
#2, Refer back to #1. Efficiency is key. Use tools to help you tame technology, take the power back and don’t allow it to run your life. (Don’t just rely on Facebook or Twitter.) As Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and others took off running, new and equally agile runners joined the race. Some have been sprinters (disappointing apps that have come and gone) but many are in it for the distance and have become almost a replacement tool.
Nikki often relies on Roost’s Social Marketing Platform to schedule out posts and create campaigns. It came as no surprise that she would be one of Roost’s first users on the iPad. “I was so excited about Roost on the iPad, not sure if its Christmas in July, or an early birthday present!” exclaimed Nikki, “I checked it out and thought wow, now its truly a bonus as I can adjust as needed from anywhere… not needing to be tethered to my computer.”
Nikki describes that even if she has created a campaign, she can always go into Roost to tweak it, change it, or add something to it if something more relevant came up (which happens so often in today’s up to the second news cycles). “The fact that you have a feed and can customize it, you can do almost everything from one place. As an example, I have my blog, my broker’s blog, and several other favorite news sources pulled into it- I really don’t have to go far.” Focusing on 3rd party tools that are functional will be your key to efficiency. Start off with learning new ways to attack the problem, which, for most is limited time.
“People have to figure out how to be efficient and make it work for them. The problem with not using 3rd party tools like Roost is that you don’t have multiple hours
throughout the day to dedicate to marketing yourself.” So really #1 is #2… both lead you back to efficiency and taking control.
Using Nikki’s advice, find tools to spend a minimal amount of time, whether its once a week or every few days and schedule out your content. Then use mobile technology and 3rd party tools to keep on top of it to remain connected and engaged with your followers. Figure out a system that works for you and get resourceful, otherwise, you will loathe social networking and view it as a chore. Once you get yourself into a rhythm, you will see that the benefits of social marketing outweigh the amount of time it takes to keep it going…. and you just may discover that it is actually a lot of fun along the way too!
Visit Nikki’s Facebook Page or Follow Nikki on Twitter
About Terra Khachooni