Anna aka @crimsoncup and @aharperhess

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to speak on a social media panel at Sparkspace as part of their Social Media Summer Camp series along with @smorty71, @romeothecat, and @clunk6.

Although I’ve been rocking out the Crimson Cup social media strategy for a while, I was a bit nervous about speaking to a group of newbies. I feel like I am still in the process of learning how to make our social media strategy better.

My fellow panelist and Mark, the moderator

Once we got into the discussion my nerves calmed and I think I was able to add some valuable info to the conversation. For those of you who missed the panel, here are the audio files for both sessions. For those of you who don’t have the time to listen to the full audio, here are the top three things that have helped me gain social media success for Crimson Cup:

1. Be authentic. Your followers will appreciate sincerity and transparency more then a sales pitch.The more approachable you are, the more brand fans you will gain.

2.  Listen, listen, listen. Listen to what your consumers and customers are saying. These are the people who will guide your social media strategy. Take their ideas and opinions into account and always respond graciously. You can also track what people are saying about you or your company by using google alerts or twitlerts. These two tools have been very helpful to me in the past.

3.  Develop a strategy. Once you have your feet wet and you’ve figured out what’s working and what’s not, develop a strategy that works for your business.  Each business model is different, and it’s up to you to find out what works best for your organization.  If you’ve listened to your followers/brand fans, and you know your company goals this strategy will come naturally.

Thanks again to Mark and the Sparkspace crew for inviting me to participate! I had a great time!

Mark rocking his best Summer Camp outfit.