Mentoring to Learn - Social Media
Be open to learning from anyone.
I go into every mentoring relationship with the intent to gain as much knowledge as I share. This outlook demands that I listen, be aware, understand my own limitations, and be open to learning. One of the most apparent opportunities for me to learn from young entrepreneurs is in Social Media. I have never been an active social media participant; it was never a high priority, and it wasn’t integral to my work. Now, in my business, it is a necessity. And that means changing the way I work, play, and interact with my world.
I talked to Social Media, SEO, and Marketing specialists. I read blogs, books, magazine articles, “best of” and “how to” posts, even hired an agency to take me through the development process. From all the reading, research, and advice seeking I’ve done recently, I have learned that much like in most other aspects of life and business, the best approach is to stay focused, be clear, and above all, be consistent.
- Be consistent with your time. Don’t try and post every day if you can’t maintain it every single day. Your followers will get used to how often you post, and will lose interest if you’re not meeting those expectations.
- Be consistent with your design. Keep the colours, layout, typeface, images, and structure as similar as possible across platforms.
- Be consistent with your message. Stick to what matters to you. If you care about what you’re saying, others will too.
Like most people, I am learning as I go, getting the best advice I can, and most importantly, getting content out in the world. Some of it will be great, some of it not so great, but the key is do it. One of the best things you can use a mentor for is to distill information. To help you gather data, sift through the noise, and make decisions on what are the best actionable steps. In essence, every mentor is simply focusing all of their experience and knowledge into lessons and advice that can be passed on. Listen. Be aware. Be open to learning. That goes for mentors too!
Follow me on Twitter, connect on LinkedIN, see how my messaging evolves and offer suggestions. I am always open to discussion for how I can improve what I’m doing.
Ben Beveridge
VP, Business Development
Archer Business Development Solutions
CYBF Mentor
www.twitter.com/ben_beveridge
www.linked.com/in/beveridgeben
ben@archerbds.com
