Breakthrough Social Media Success: Interview with Peg Fitzpatrick

Ever wonder what it takes to create a stellar online presence?

A presence so powerful that it commands attention?

Then you're in for a treat!

Today I begin a new interview series designed to invoke passion and purpose into your online presence.

I'll chat with today's most successful business owners, savvy entrepreneurs and powerhouse professionals.

Each one has had breakthrough social media success and has proven to use social media in a fresh and unique way, positioning their business or personal brand at the top of their game.

The goal is to give you a sneak peek into the life of an online marketer. Plus, actionable tips, tools and techniques that you can infuse into your business.

I couldn't think of a better way to kick off the series than with a woman I love, adore, and respect, Peg Fitzpatrick.

If you've had the chance to meet Peg or interact with her online, you know what an incredibly energetic, cheerful and passionate woman she is.

I know you will find the wealth of information she shares to be incredibly valuable, so lets dive in!

Getting Social with Peg Fitzpatrick

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Rebekah Radice and Peg Fitzpatrick, El Compadre in Hollywood, CA[/caption]

Rebekah:

You are a master at leveraging multiple social channels. Can you share three quick ways social media can support and promote anything from a product launch to a service-based business?

Peg:

That’s a nice compliment – thank you! Three ways that social media can help launch a product (or anything)

1. RECOGNITION:

By using social media, people will know who you are and become interested in what you do.

2. BUILD TRUST:

Seeing you on many social media platforms in different settings will let people see different sides of you.

For example, all business on LinkedIn and a more personal side on Facebook. People like to do business with people that they know and trust.

3. RELATIONSHIP:

If you want people to become interested in you and what you do, you need to build a relationship with them.

Through social media, you can tweet people about their day, comment on their blog post or recommend them on LinkedIn.

Is it Friday?!? RT @thedomesticexec: Hello Superstars!! Have an amazing Friday EVE!! xoxo @JodiOkun @Tribe2point0 @RebekahRadice

— Peg Fitzpatrick (@PegFitzpatrick) February 20, 2014

Reciprocity is one of the currencies on social media. You want to fill up the bank by doing good things for others so they’ll want to help you when the time comes. This is one of Guy Kawasaki’s principles from "Enchantment."

Rebekah:

You create amazing graphics. What’s one secret you can share about properly using images to promote any marketing campaign?

Peg:

One secret for great images is knowing what size works best on each platform and preparing them in the right way.

• Blurry or stretched images send the message that you don’t care and looks unprofessional.
• For Facebook I currently use 1:1 aspect ratio at 1000 pixels x 1,000 pixels. (example http://on.fb.me/1m2CBIf)
• For Google+ and Pinterest, I use images at 800 pixels x 1200 pixels. This vertical image gets lots of visual real estate and looks fantastic!

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CLICK to Pin It![/caption]

• On Twitter, use the 2:1 aspect ratio . I use 876 pixels x 438 pixels. Tweets with images receive a significant amount more retweets than those without images.

How to Get Organized with an Editorial Calendar - it's Easier than you Think! - http://t.co/TwUxtFFrME #blogtips pic.twitter.com/TaYIQ20CvH

— Peg Fitzpatrick (@PegFitzpatrick) February 14, 2014

• You can resize photos using PicMonkey in their free version if you don’t have Photoshop.
• Staying up-to-date on each social media platform image guidelines is crucial – follow people who share the latest updates so you are on the ball if you aren’t a social media professional.

Rebekah:

Google+ and Pinterest are two of your favorite platforms. What’s your top tip on how to use them together?

Peg:

Yikes! Can I give two? I love to use the #PinofTheDay to help people find my content on Google+. People know when you share something with #PinofTheDay that it’s your most important piece of content that you’re sharing that day.

People will check to see what other people have posted with the hashtag as well. So you can use it to curate other people’s best post of the day as well.

I also like to use the Pin it for later call to action to remind people to pin my post and also share the pin so people can find it. A call to action is important since you want people to take some action from your post: pin it, share it, read it, etc.

Rebekah:

What’s your best advice for anyone eager to grow their email list using social media?

Peg:

The key to growing your email list is ASK! Ask people to sign up for your email list by:

• Adding it to your email signature. WiseStamp creates a rich email signature that I like to use.
• Asking at the bottom of your blog post.
• Tweet the link to your email list on occasion.
• Put the signup in your social media profiles.
• Create a pin on Pinterest with your email list.
• Create a pop up on your website for email signup.
• Let people know why they should sign up for your email list.
• Give away special content or a product in exchange for an email signup.
• Ask people to share your newsletter at the bottom.
• Make it as easy as possible for people to sign up for your email list.

Rebekah:

What’s the biggest mistake you see businesses making on social media and how can they fix it?

Peg:

One mistake businesses make is starting off like gangbusters and then abandoning their social media accounts.

I’ve seen this happen when businesses hire someone unqualified to manage their social media.

When you hire a social media professional to manage your social presence, make sure they:

• Have experience.
• If they are on Twitter, how many times have they tweeted? It’s not just about having 10,000 followers; there must be substance to their social media presence. Are they active? Do people talk with them? Do they talk back?
• Ask for references as well as check their social media. Look at their LinkedIn profile.

Businesses need to make sure they don’t bite off more than they can chew with their social presence. Start small and build on it. One great presence on one platform is better than three social presences that fell flat.

Rebekah:

If you had one do-over in building your social media presence, what would it be?

Peg:

I think my social media presence has been a slow build out to a pretty decent social media presence.

I’ve taken time to learn platforms as I went and experimented with lots of ways to do things.

So, if I had one thing to do over, I would have started to build my email list sooner. It’s growing, but I wish I started it on day one of my blog.

Rebekah:

If you could have one social media superpower, what would it be?

Peg:

Superhuman Speed: the ability to receive updates on all platforms when they hit so I can absorb them and move on.

Staying on top of rules, guidelines, and changes is really important to doing well on multiple social media platforms.

They aren't one-size-fits-all and your social media shouldn't be either.