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I first met Robin, a social media manager, last year at one of the Tweet-ups she hosted and have since stayed connected with her via (what, else?) social media. Read this second interview in the Social Media Series to find out her insights.

How did you get started with social media management and did you encounter any struggles when you first started?

I started working with social media when I was a Marketing Specialist in the corporate world about 15 years ago. I have been running my own marketing communications business with the core focus on social media management for over five years now. Of course, there were struggles when I first started out, and that was mostly around the pricing structure.

If you had to choose, what is your favourite social media platform and why?

I would have to say that Twitter is still one of my favourite social media platforms. It is real time and gives you the opportunity to connect with people and business around the globe that you would not necessarily have direct access to.

What is one common misconception business owners have with respect to using social media for their business?

One of the big misconceptions is that just posting a message is enough.

What are some of your favourite brands that do social media well and why?

Mabel’s Labels does a great job with social media. They get that the key part to social media is social. They do a great job building relationships and engaging with their followers. Another company doing it right is Eva’s Original Chimney’s. They do a great job of having their customers be their brand ambassadors!

What are some of your predictions for social media and emerging trends in the next 5-10 years?

I predict that we will see AI become more mainstream.

There are many people who love social media and embrace it. Whereas there are other people who have this great fear and overwhelm towards it. What are your thoughts on this?

I think that in order to overcome the fear and overwhelm it comes down to understanding it. Social media can be overwhelming. The key to overcoming that is to have a strategy. When you have a plan in place and know what kind of value you can offer your audience the less overwhelming and scary it is!

What are some of your favourite social media tools for analytics and monitoring?

There are many great tools out there and they come with varying price tags! As for monitoring, my tool of choice is HootSuite and they also provide some great analytical reports. For a smaller business or entrepreneur that is budget conscious, the native platforms (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.) provide great analytic insights for free!

In your opinion, do you feel that social media is making us more anti-social or the opposite?

In my opinion, you get out of it what you put into it. There are some that hide behind social media, and there are others that use it as a tool to build relationships. I host occasional meetups/tweetups to take those online conversations offline and socialize in person. Most of the companies that I do business with and some of my best friends I met this way!

Why do you think so many businesses are so hesitant to use social media even though it has many benefits?

Because it is a lot of work! They either don’t have the time, talent or resources to manage it themselves. One thing they must understand is conversations are happening online about their business with or without them, so why not be part of the conversation? If it is too much to handle, I would recommend looking into outsourcing social media management to a reputable social media manager.

What makes a social media strategy successful?

Delivering content that is valuable to your audience, being authentic and being relevant.

You can follow Robin on Twitter and Instagram: @socialrobin