I must have read hundreds of articles about why I should spend time on social media. And I have spent time reading articles about new tools that makes me save time and maximize my presence in social media to make it profitable. One of the most common questions I get is: “What is the return on investment on this initiative?”

There is a tendency to compare apples to pears, so I believe it is important to define “profitable”. Is it the number of new clients, increased revenue and profit as well as conversion of leads beyond traditional marketing only? Or should we even add things like number of referrals, percentage of returning clients and idea generation for new products and services as well?

Could it even be defined as profitable to be perceived as an authority within your area of expertise, to become the GO-TO-PERSON attracting new business opportunities through more PULL than PUSH? I believe so, and the challenge lies in the traditional calculations of return on investment. It takes time to build a trustworthy social media presence, and to be seen as a savvy social media player, you need to make the media you select support your unique position as a professional.

I understand that people might be hesitant to start blogging or using social media when there is an expectation to come up with something new all the time. Is this really necessary to be perceived as a contributor and effective social media user? From my own experience after supporting more than 100 professionals in embracing social media for themselves, there are 3 main reasons why some succeed and others don’t:

First, savvy, successful social media players are brave enough to share personal information without being private. Second, they are confident in what they want to use social media for and communicating this consistently. Finally, the savviest, most successful ones are the ones who share and acknowledge other people’s content whilst adding their own perspective to it.

People appreciate sharing, acknowledgement and new perspectives. And they want to do business with other people, not brands. This is what makes your social media investment profitable or not. In which way can you apply this in your professional situation?

More hints and tips on this will be available as part of YourVirtualArena.

The post The 3 secrets that make it profitable to be a savvy social media player appeared first on Katy Caroan.

So what is it that is new? I belong to the group of people who would claim that everything has changed, yet nothing has changed.

Everything has changed because more businesses and individuals than ever have access to technology and new communication channels only reserved for the few in the past. Everything has changed because in theory, a single individual or a small business owner can reach out and attract opportunities anywhere as long as there is an internet connection available. Along with the access and opportunities come the risks of becoming more visible and accessible to others, often not monitored and managed on this level before.

Yet nothing has changed. We are still humans with a variety of values, limiting beliefs and preferences in the way we communicate, collaborate and act with confidence when using the technology and the new communication channels.

This is why it’s never enough to learn the “HOW TOs” of social media, it needs to be combined with the authentic version of the communicator, listening, sharing and responding in a trustworthy way. It takes courage to share your own story, let your view become public and set the digital footprints representing the authentic version of yourself.

The catalyst to me personally was when I understood how I was perceived by others professionally. It wasn’t what I believed to be true. It was the essence of my professional reputation as seen by colleagues, managers and clients which gave me the confidence to continue setting digital footprints and take more risk than in the past.

So, in order to create lasting results on the social media scene, we should focus first on answering the key questions about ourselves, our professional reputation and what we are looking to accomplish when entering the scene. Then the “HOW TO’s” can be addressed more effortlessly.

The post Decoding the social media scene for lasting results appeared first on Katy Caroan.

Today, I have the privilege of supporting others in discovering limiting beliefs and strengthen their instrumental beliefs, the beliefs that will help them nail their own WHY and make it easier to lead and inspire others. No doubt, the more superficial WHY will change from time to time, but the REAL WHY, the reason we are here to contribute will probably not. It just takes some time to declutter the scene. There are plenty of people to get inspired by, just watch the video once more, or reflect about what your best manager ever did to inspire you into action and why…

I am sharing some of my instrumental beliefs in the attached presentation. Are you prepared to share yours with your world?

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