Margie Dana

One day last week I played hookie from work. Sort of. I attended NEDMA's annual conference (that's the New England Direct Marketing Association) to learn all I could about marketing strategies.

Attending this event was one of the best things I did for my business this year.

I was happy to see many exhibiting sponsors representing the print industry (so smart!), and I ran into several old friends from the industry who were there to learn, just like me.

Armed with my iPad and wireless Logitech keyboard, I took mucho notes – a sign, BTW, that the stuff I heard was wisdom worth keeping, remembering, and sharing.

The problem with these conferences is that you're forced to choose one session among many – oh, the agony! In any event, I give NEDMA two thumbs way up. The program was stellar. The hall was packed. The speakers I heard were wonderful.

One fabulous session was a panel on “Social Media Strategies, Shortcuts and Secrets.” Presenters were Bob Cargill (), Craig Blake (), Myles Bristowe () and Carla Gates (). Each covered one particular SM opportunity, and this format worked very well.

Because you deserve to learn these strategies, here are the highlights:

Bob Cargill covered Twitter. He gave us these 12 reasons why you should use Twitter as part of your marketing strategy:

1. Learn more about the industry in which you work
2. Establish yourself as a thought leader
3. Share knowledge
4. Build a network
5. Keep up with new tools and technologies
6. Extend your reach to new audience of constituents
7. Develop a bigger/better brand
8. Attract new leads and sales
9. Get found online more frequently
10. Manage your reputation
11. Track your influence
12. Cozy up to stars!

Craig Blake covered Linkedin

A few stats worth noting, folks:

– There are currently over 175 million people in 200 countries on Linkedin
– A new member joins Linkedin every second
– On average, we spend 2.7 hours each day socializing on the web

What are the key reasons to be active on Linkedin? To engage your customers and also be viewed as a thought leader. Use Linkedin to have fun and to provide valuable content (that can definitely lead to engagement).

Remember these 10 things:

10. It's your brand, or as Craig called it, “The brand called you.”
9. It's a team effort. Get your team to participate on Linkedin.
8. Do a proper introduction when you want to connect with someone. Don't use the standard LI copy. Make it personal.
7. Leverage your network.
6. Remember to think “cross platform.” Content doesn't live just on Linkedin. Publish or link it across many platforms.
5. Linkedin groups are a great way to share content.
4. Use recommendations and endorsements, which Craig says are the most powerful thing on Linkedin. (I like that he called endorsements the “lazy man's recommendations.”)
3. Check out the new tagging feature.
2. Use this site to share articles, posts, etc.
1. Have fun.

Myles Bristowe spoke about Blogging:

Clearly this man knows whereof he speaks. Myles is the author of “Today's Marketing Cookie,” a daily blog based on fortunes from fortune cookies. He's written this blog for over a year. Now people from all over the world send him their fortunes from cookies, which he then features in blogs. (Bob told all of us to send Myles our fortunes from cookies.)

One extra delight within Myles' blog is his “Learn to Speak Marketing” feature. For example, in one blog (check it out on www.commcreative.com), he writes: “Saying: “Super sticky tape.” Translation: “Sticks best to fingers.” I love the design of his blog, which always includes visuals.

Carla Gates spoke to my heart. She focused on Content.

“Content is the heart of social media marketing.” I will be quoting her early and often.

Did you know that 80% of decision makers prefer to get information via articles, not ads?

Did you know that 70% of decision makers said that content makes them feel closer to a company?

Carla talked about “how to create content with heart:”

1. It must be relevant to your audience.
2. It must be timely.
3. It must be personable – consistent, authentic, humor is good to use.
4. It must be visual – put images everywhere. Content gets so much more engagement than just text.
5. It's not all about you!

Tactics for generating good content include using videos; getting your employees involved; using lots of images, including maps, infographics, etc.; always tell a story; try holding contests.

If I weren't already so active in all of these strategies, I'd jump in immediately. I agree with the advice shared by this panel, and I know from personal experience that daily engagement in social media – and regular blogging – helps expand your reach, grow your reputation, and it secures new clients. The icing on the cake? Learning from your network. Oh, the possibilities.

Thank you NEDMA. It was a fabulous event. This session was so good. And then there's Nancy Harhut (@nharhut). Stay tuned for another post: she's a creative genius!

Now go get social.

PS: Which social media strategy works best for you?