If you’re a Twitter user, chances are you’ve heard of Samantha Kelly, aka @TweetingGoddess. Samantha is a social media strategist who has her fingers in many pies. As well as running her successful Twitter account, she is the co-founder of the Women’s Inspire Network and the founder of Social Media Summit Ireland, which is back for its second year.
Social Media Summit is a two-day event, taking place in Croke Park on April 11th and 12th. The conference seeks to bring together social media users and some leading marketing professionals who can pass on their wisdom. Mari Smith, #4 on Forbes’ Top Social Media Power Influencers list, is just one of the experts who will take to the stage.
Speaking to Newstalk.com Samantha Kelly explains why she established Social Media Summit.
“I set it up because I could see that businesses were making a lot of social media mistakes, especially on Twitter. They were using it purely as an advertising platform when actually it’s a wonderful platform for building relationships, showing you are the expert in what you do and creating great content that will be shared by others. It was hugely frustrating me so I thought ‘what is the problem here?’,” explains Kelly.
“I realised after doing a quick twitter poll that most people didn’t understand social media, its uses and benefits, and needed to learn how to implement it properly. Also, there was a great deal of fear around it. People only seemed to remember the negative stories but didn’t realise that there were so many powerful positive stories out there," she continues.
Kelly says social media can be used as an excellent tool for those looking to place their businesses in front of the right people.
“If you are serious about getting your business in front of the right audience - your potential customers - then you need to be on social media. You also need to figure out which platform is the correct one for you. So at the Social Media Summit you will learn all about the various platforms and how to make them work for you. Get real, tangible tips from leading experts who work in the social media space and discover the high profile success stories from the people behind those stories.”
Advice
Having built up a strong social media presence herself, and advised a number of businesses on how to do the same, Kelly happily shares some nuggets of wisdom with Newstalk.com.
“Add value, engage and be nice! I know what it’s like starting out and also being a business owner so I think it’s important to build communities around you of like-minded people and also share your knowledge. You don’t have to give everything away, but help others and you can be sure when you need a retweet or a helping hand with something, they will be there to reciprocate some day. The whole beauty of Twitter, in particular, is if you can show that you are the expert in what you do, people will actually do your marketing for you.”
If you’re new to Twitter, @TweetingGoddess has a list of ‘Amazing Irish People’ to get you started.
Tickets for the Social Media Summit cost €395 and are available here.
