Every day more and more entrepreneurs are breaking out by using social media for business. You hear the success stories everywhere you turn.

But how are they doing it?

Is it really that easy to market yourself using social media?  

Is there a formula to it?

Or are they just using the old “post and hope” method?

Simply put, yes it can be done. No, it’s not that easy. Yes, there’s a formula to it or should I say a strategy. And posting and hoping will only get you but so far.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to help you first learn the basics for navigating the social media waters. Today, we’ll start with something simple. By teaching you the foundation for how to use your expertise to grow and convert your community into paying clients.

You’ve spent years preparing for this moment. And you feel confident about what you know.  You’ve studied and successfully applied your knowledge to the point where you call yourself an expert. Great. But how do you get others to call you an expert? And how do you get them to call on you for your expertise?

Simple. You start using social media marketing as a platform instead of just a place for socializing. And you can do this over time so not to shock your current community all while continuing to expand your audience. Here are 5 easy steps to help you get started.

1. Use keyword searches to strategically join and start conversations based around your expertise. Make each word count. Be sure that whatever you’re adding to these conversations is valuable to others. Leave them with little nuggets that make them appreciative and wanting more.
2. Be strategic about where you spend your time online. Linkedin and Facebook are great places to focus on conversations. Instagram can be great if you have the visuals to communicate. Point is, don’t just be hanging around on every site. Make sure that each social media site that you use has your people on there too.
3. And remember, you don’t have to always have something to say. You can use news stories, articles and things like that to share with your community. Using other people’s content is a great way to be consistent in your posting without being overwhelmed by always trying to find things to say.
4. Get video friendly. Video is all the rage right now and it is top priority with social media algorithms. By using products like Facebook Live, your content automatically goes to the top of your community’s feeds. Use these live features to teach others how to do something, share tips, give demos, go behind the scenes of your business etc. The ways are endless.
5. Last but not least, remember you are the expert in your industry. You’re not expected to be an expert at marketing overnight. So lighten up on yourself. Give yourself time to learn the ropes.  You can succeed at this just like others are doing. But as with most things, it takes time and practice.

See? That wasn’t so bad. Do these 5 things and they’ll help you get on your way. Soon you won’t have to call yourself a subject matter expert. Your community will do that for you. And not only will they call you an expert but if you use your social media tools the right way, they’ll be calling on you for your expertise.

Be sure to check back in. Next, we’ll be talking about objectives, strategies and tactics. Without them, you’ll be like a hamster spinning in a wheel. We can’t have that, can we? So stay tuned.