Maximize Your Social With Neal Schaffer

This week is a special episode, recorded at the CeBIT Global Conference (CGC) in Hannover, Germany. Neal Schaffer spoke and participated in this great event, and had such a good time sitting down to speak with Ingo Stoll about the role information technology can play in social media. This episode takes a step back from the usual more applicable advice and looks at the bigger picture, including the current state of social media, and the future of the industry.Key Highlights[00:25] Introduction to the Interview with CGC Radio[04:24] The Future of Social Media is Now[05:36] Evolution of Social Business[05:58] Social Media is a Two-way Conversation[09:09] Disruptive Technology[11:40] The Importance of Keeping Your Employees Happy[16:05] Change Agent[18:09] Lessening the Gap Between Consumer and BrandNotable QuotesSo it's less about speaking and getting 1000 questions or about people tweeting you out, but it's more about the audience is extremely influential.So instead of thinking about the future, it&ap

Many companies invest in using a customer relationship management tool, or CRM, such as Salesforce. But there’s a free tool at your fingertips that you need to take advantage of: LinkedIn. LinkedIn has plenty of functions like searching and tagging that allow you to keep track of and maintain your professional relationships, sometimes better than CRM tools that are already out there. After collecting boxes of business cards for many years, Neal Schaffer decided it was time to take the plunge and use LinkedIn as his CRM. In this week’s episode, he explains why you should do the same.Learn More: Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/ Learn about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/cmo Download My Free Ebooks Here: https://nealschaffer.com/freebies/ Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer All My Podcast Show Notes: https://podcast.nealschaffer.com

Some people say that guest blogging is dead, but Neal Schaffer disagrees. Content curation is a great way to have enough content to share, and it’s beneficial for both business and the content creators. How? This week, Neal talks about the importance of building those relationships between brands and influencers: how organizations can strategically partner with bloggers, and work with them to create a mutually beneficial relationship that leverages each of their networks. Key Highlights[01:40] Two Parts of Social Media[02:09] What is Guest Blogging?[02:36] Why Blog Owners of Businesses Want to Have Guest Bloggers[03:17] Looking at Guest Posting in Two Different Aspects[05:35] The ROI of Blogging[07:00] Save Your Best Content for Blog[07:32] What to Look for in a Guest Blogger[08:56] Why I Created Maximize Your Social Business[10:40] Stick to Unique Content[12:18] Guest Blogging for Brands[12:37] It's All About Food ChainNotable QuotesWe all know that social media is the convergence of information and com

I get a lot of requests from various businesses saying, “We’re behind on our social media, and we need help.” A lot of these calls for help are coming from people with small businesses, so today I want to discuss some of the options that are available for you, such as working with consultants, agencies, and virtual assistants. We know that social media requires its own set of skills, so it’s important to be willing to dedicate the time to educate and the money to get you access to resources that can help take your business to the next level.Key Highlights [02:20] The Business of Social Media[03:13] The Challenges That Businesses Have with Social[07:27] Where Do I Fit In the Challenges?[07:35] Services I Offer[10:05] Why I've Been Doing Social Media Consulting[11:21] The Reality of Social Media Consulting[12:16] My Response to Businesses Reaching Out to Me[13:12] My Philosophy on the Business of Social MediaNotable QuotesYou know, social media is not like SEO, or web design where it's purely technica

Neal has talked a lot about the benefits of social selling and some of you are farther down the road of creating a successful social selling program than others. Social allows you to create connections faster and contact prospects you otherwise might not have been able to. If you haven’t started your social selling journey yet, this week Neal wants to help you begin. It can seem overwhelming, but Neal breaks it down, starting by creating the infrastructure and leveraging LinkedIn profiles, connections, recommendations and groups. Key Highlights[01:18] What Is Social Selling[04:45] 5 Things You Should Be Doing For A Successful Social Selling Infrastructure[04:57] Why Your LinkedIn Profile Is Important[05:53] Connecting Your Database[07:16] Get Recommendations![10:26] Rules for Endorsements[11:25] Setting Up Your Infrastructure GroupNotable QuotesSocial selling is not social media marketing, you know, selling marketing sort of the same. It is equipping your salespeople with using social media as another tool in

You’ve heard about Neal Schaffer’s Social Tools Summit that he’s launching this May in Boston, but maybe you haven’t heard why he’s creating this event. Aiming to educate organizations about the social tools that are available, the goal of this event is to close the gap between customer understanding and company potential. By bringing vendors, CEOs, and potential clients into the same room, everyone can gain insight into the value of these tools and how to leverage them. In this episode, delve into the importance of in-person interaction, sharing stories, and showcasing your subject matter expertise.Key Highlights[01:50]  Why I Am Doing Social Media Conferences[03:14] Real-time Interaction Between People Is Better [05:07] The Other Side of Content Marketing That I Was Doing As A Salesperson[06:38] Get Your Stories Out[07:04] The Gap I Found[09:44] Scaling Through Tools[11:53] A Greater TruthNotable QuotesAnd just like, you're not going to learn everything from reading one book, you're if you read bo

What is the relationship between social selling and employee advocacy? Neal goes deep into describing the evolution of social business and how it is bringing sales and marketing together with the emergence of these new trends, together with practical advice on how to align your sales and marketing departments for social selling success.Key Highlights[01:01] Different Types of Convergence of Trends[04:19] The Evolution of Social Media[05:41] What We See Now[06:01] Where Employee Advocacy Began[07:02] How Should We Use Employee Advocacy[08:13] Sales Methodologies[09:11] What Happens in Sales Trading[12:26] One of the Things I Learned About Sales and Marketing[14:53] Everything Needs to Be CraftedNotable QuotesI always talk about community managers being like the ultimate quarterbacks in your organization, having to strategize where to throw the ball, do I hand it off?And, and now what we see as more and more professionals are using social media, and we're all probably using it a little bit more professiona

Where should you focus your social media efforts and budget in 2015? In this episode, Neal Schaffer encourages you to start the year by analyzing your content and process. This means helping you find more places to share your content, explaining the importance of internal education and ownership, and advocating for systems that help you amplify your strategies, like paid social and automation.Key Highlights[02:01] My First Social Media Conference -- Social Tools Summit[03:10] My List of 9 Things You Should Focus Your Social Media Efforts On In 2015[03:40] Number #1: Content[04:07] A Positive Move In The Evolution of Content Marketing[05:47] Central Content[07:05] Type Of Visual Content You Can Use[08:42] Why Mobile Personal Line Is Emerging[10:35] Have A Process If You Want To Scale[12:09] My Advocacy[12:49] What's Fueling Employee Advocacy Storm[13:56] Ownership[16:14] Start Exploring Paid SocialNotable QuotesAnd what I'm going to be talking about is really an extension of that, because some things

Is your social media strategy stuck in "2011 social media?" Let Neal help guide you through how to re-measure your social media ROI and reallocate your precious resources for your social media program in 2015.Key Highlights[02:53] The Market Is Becoming More Fragmented[03:20] Think ABout Your Social Media On A Channel By Channel Basis[03:50] Calculate Your ROI From Each Platform[04:24] Simple Exercise to Calculate Your ROI[05:57] Start Reaching Out To Other Networks[07:30] Top 15 Platforms In The United StatesNotable QuotesBut, you know, I really want you to calculate what is your cost per whatever to acquisition, cost per engagement, cost per new follower, whatever it is, we can calculate a few metrics from our own participation in social media.And that data really should be your data for 2015. And this is what's going to help you get unstuck. Because at the end of the day, your activity on social media channels should almost be like a dashboard, you're going to be raising a lever that, y

Neal introduces the how, what, and why of the first social media event in which he will be curating and co-producing to serve the social media industry: The Social Tools Summit in Boston in May, 2015.Key Highlights[02:05] An Announcement of A Big News[03:23] Why I Enjoy Speaking[04:08] My LinkedIn Group[04:33] Social Media Conferences that I Have Attended[07:33] What Is My Favorite Tool?[08:18] Tools Are Important[10:08] First Social Tool SummitNotable QuotesBut I'll talk about that I realized the need, you know, what, what do you want to do when you grow up? What well, how can I help companies and social media? What do I want to do? What am I passionate about? And it's really a combination of two things, strategy and education.But speaking is one of my favorite things, because I have the ability to really interact with a lot of people over a little bit of time, and know that I'm helping people on scale, right, which with a one to one coaching session is just a different feel, although that&apo

Now that you see the value in publishing on LinkedIn, should you simply republish your blog's content on LinkedIn? Or ... ? Neal responds to the question point-blank with advice to help you better understand, leverage, and maximize your LinkedIn content marketing.Key Highlights [01:07] Should You Publish the Same Content On LinkedIn As You Do On Your Website?[02:09] Why Numbers Are Important[03:23] The Potential of LinkedIn[04:42] Where Thought Leadership Begins[06:00] How You Can Replicate Your Content[07:00] Why Copy-Pasting Is Not A Good Idea[07:57] The Danger of Publishing Everything On Your Linkedin[08:30] Customize Your Content for Each Platform![10:48] What You Should Be Thinking When Creating Content Marketing on LinkedIn[11:34] Join My Facebook Group!Notable QuotesAnd the numbers are important, because when you do the analysis of blog posts for your own website, how many views are you getting?With LinkedIn, you have a very, very lucrative demographic that may find you as well. It's a demogr

Neal gives a preview of his upcoming one day workshop in Bucharest, Romania by focusing in on those advanced social media marketing concepts that you need to dive into to help you raise your social media to the next level.Key Highlights [02:23] One Day Social Media Event in Bucharest, Romania[03:27] How I Help Businesses Get to the Next Level[04:02] Elementary Workshop[05:38] It All Starts With the Content[06:00] Your Content Should Always Be Aligned With Your Brand Objective, Identity, and Culture[06:15] Think About Your Social Voice[07:21] Social SEO[07:56] Ways to Use Paid Social[08:49] Experimental Social[09:17] Revamp Your Social Media Strategy[09:57] Analyze Your Social[10:22] Importance of Having Baseline Metrics[11:30] Social Selling[12:33] Expanding Social Media Through Advocacy[12:46] 3 Big Ways of Looking at Advocacy[13:27] Talking About Employee AdvocacyNotable QuotesThat's, you know, social media at the beginning of its evolution is just something that you do because everyone else is doing i

Neal shares best practices with social media campaigns by showcasing Passion Planner's Kickstarter campaign and what can be learned from it.Key Highlights [01:40] What's the Best Social Media Campaign for Me?[02:45] What Are the Best Practices in Creating Campaigns?[03:45] The Passion Planner[05:58] One of the Things I Like About The Passion Planner[07:54] The Kickstarter Campaign (Mini Version)[10:05] Why I Think The Passion Planner Is A Great Tactic[10:37] Other Interesting Things About the Passion Planner[12:38] The Social Good Component[13:56] My View on Social Media CampaignsNotable QuotesSo you know, what that brings us to is that people are the best sellers, people associate the best with people. And it's the people centric part of this, which really draws people especially if you are trying to attract consumers, I guess it will work for b2b as well. But so it's the person and it's their story. And they go through why they created this product, how it helped them how they think

This episode goes into depth on what a pre-sales social media consulting call would look like, and with that six ideas to improve your social media that go above and beyond social media.Key Highlights[02:04] Importance of Social Proof[03:10] What Should You Do to Acquire More Followers?[03:37] Let's First Work on Your Message[04:24] People Need to Have A Crystal Clear of What You Do When They View Your Website[05:18] What I Find In A Lot of Startup Businesses[05:52] Utilizing Your Employee Through Employee Advocacy Program[06:50] What is Affiliate Marketing[08:02] Integrating Affiliate Marketing Into Your Website[08:42] Step #3: Build Your List[09:35] Step #4: Blog[10:07] Leveraging the Visual[11:08] Paid SocialNotable QuotesI'd rather have a small army of passionate fans than a large army of crickets.And you may see success stories of some companies that were lucky in the right place at the right time had that one special person find their content and share it to their million followers. But for 99

Neal talks about the launch of his new Social Media Center of Excellence Facebook Group and what he has learned building a new community in social media - and how you can leverage Neal's experience.Key Highlights[02:14] My Own Facebook Group[02:41] What to Expect When You Join My Facebook Group[04:24] How  Started My Group[05:42] Deciding On Who You Opt-In Your Group[06:13] How to Get More Followers and Engagement?[06:45] "Cross-Pollination"[07:19] Your Group Should Serve Utilitarian Purpose[08:59] Utilitarian Part of a Facebook Group[11:10] The Advantage of Engagement on Facebook[11:58] The Other Side of the Equation: Engagement[13:02] The Challenge on Engagement[13:21] The First Thing I Do Whenever We Have a New Group Member[14:09] Create Rules![14:54] Have A CombinationNotable QuotesNow, obviously, numbers are not everything. It's more about quality versus quantity. I want the right people into the group.So who would you opt in? Right I'm totally against opting people and I think i

As your company's social media presence grows and you begin to yield "influence" in social media, you will be faced with those who copy your content as well as attack you. Neal shares his own experience as to how he deals with these issues to help prepare you and your business for what may lie ahead for you.Key Highlights[01:35] Who Are Considered As Influencers?[02:21] Content Creator Perspective[03:37] How to Find If Other People Is Copying Your Content?[03:57] Tools for Plagiarism[05:32] Taking It One Step Further[08:48] Why I Don't Upload My Content to SlideShare[11:32] How I Found Out My Ebooks Were Copied and Uploaded to SlideShare[12:41] Always Embed Internal Link Into Every Single Blog Post[13:39] Strategy on Creating Extremely Shareable Content[15:17] Why I Think Publicly Confronting Someone Is An Attack[16:50] You Got To Have Tough Skin[21:10] Dealin with Disagreears[22:17] It's Okay to Block PeopleNotable QuotesAnd this is really what businesses want to become more should w

Have you had a bad experience on a social network and refused to venture back into it? That's not good business sense. Perhaps it has happened to you by being opted-in to several Facebook Groups without your permission. Now is time to join Neal in rediscovering the potential business value of Facebook Groups.Key Highlights[02:47] Do A Reset On Everything You Do[03:30] Facebook Statistics[04:24] The Biggest Social Network[05:55] Adapt and Change Your Way[06:31] Facebook Groups[07:45] My Facebook Group Experimentation[08:35] Disadvantage of Facebook Group[11:58] My Facebook Community[14:03] The Challenge[14:53] Creating Group Rules[15:09} What To Do TO Increase Engagement[15:18] How to Join My Facebook GroupNotable QuotesYou need to be with your audiences. And you need to figure out a way to engage with your audience to make yourself more successful. But I have immense respect for the platform and the people behind the platform. They really are building something that, you know, is in essence, sort of revo

As Instagram continues to gain in popularity, many haven't started to leverage the opportunities that Instagram provides businesses. Neal introduces his own story of the why and how he is transitioning to use Instagram as a more integral part of his social media marketing - and why you should as well.Key Highlights[01:35] The Rise of Visual Social Media Marketing[02:19] Where Does Instagram Fall?[03:19] Brands That Do Well On Instagram[04:31] How To Use Instagram?[06:32] My Issues With People Who Are Just Posting Quotes All the Time[07:54] Authenticity in Instagram[09:22] Tools for Utilizing Instagram[11:38] Social Media Productivity[12:38] Taking the Step Above Beyond Brand Awareness[14:03] Retain Authenticity with InstagramNotable QuotesWith the ability to photo tag, I immediately thought of Instagram as really, if you're a brick and mortar that might be the second best place you want to be after Facebook.I'm all about trying to contribute original value to social media. So you know, there&ap

Neal interviews Glenn Gaudet, CEO and founder of GaggleAMP, and talks about the history of employee advocacy and the challenges that face companies that try to launch such a program internally.Key Highlights[00:51] The Primary Use of GaggleAmp[01:32] Introduction of Podcast Guest, Glenn Gaudet[02:42] How Glenn Got the Idea of the GaggleAmpNotable Quotes[06:52] How the Market Evolved[07:47] What Lacks in Understand Social Media[08:19] Why You Need to Understand the Value of Social Media[10:38] The Trap into Employee Advocacy[12:54] Free Trial[13:34] The Power of Feedback[14:26] Why Companies Sometimes Get Disappointed in Employee Advocacy[19:59] How GaggleAmp Works[20:43] Connect with GlennNotable QuotesAnd then from that was really the idea of having a platform that was designed to do this in a way that it was super easy for the employee to share the content, yet maintain their privacy, and provide rich tracking information for the company and to balance all those different pieces.And what was lacking in that

A first look at the newest social network Ello. Should you sign up? Spend much time there? Use it for your business? Listen to Neal's advice and gain some rational perspective on what value Ello might be able to provide you and your business.Key Highlights[01:15] New Social Network - ELLO[02:07] Remain Holistic on Your Approach on Social Media[02:45] What is ELLO?[03:56] Experiment on ELLO![04:17] How ELLO Works[06:15] Keep An Eye on ELLO[06:58] One of the Cool Things About ELLO[07:28] Another Thing You'll Notice on ELLONotable QuotesWhile yes, it is growing in certain circles, we have to take a and remain you know holistic about our approach to social media.And it really is going to depend to see what ello does in order to bring value to businesses who want to leverage it for marketing, even though ellos already said we are going to be an ad free network, which makes sense, I still think that they could offer, you know solutions for businesses.There's a lot of artists, a lot of creative types