How has Janice Gordon utilized social media for business growth?

I've used social media extensively to grow my business. I started social selling on day one of my business, tweeting and blogging back in 2011. Over time, I've built a community and a brand, with people recognizing me and telling me they've been following me for years. This has allowed me to turn these prospects into buyers as I've built trust and credibility over time.

I didn't start with a total social selling strategy; it evolved over time. I use Twitter, which now generates 50% of my website traffic. I also use LinkedIn to connect and engage with business people, Facebook to give my business a personality, and Instagram for creating a visual personality. I use Google+ for improving my SEO score and post my videos to YouTube.

I use Google analytics to track all of my activity. I manage all my Tweets through Buffer and Hootsuite. For Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Facebook I make sure to use hashtags to make content searchable, and I always drive traffic to bespoke landing pages. I try to use video content whenever possible, as a speaker this works for me.

The key learning from my experience is that it takes time to build rapport within the community and for others to understand the picture you are painting. Be authentic and your tribe will find and connect with you. Have a clear strategy of what you want to achieve from each social channel. Be consistent with your message and your postings. Use the tools (analytics) to monitor your performance and effectiveness. Use keywords hashtags to search and engage with like-minded people. On Twitter, always thank and follow back; eventually I unfollow people that do not follow me.