The steps any business professional - from novice to pro - can take to continuously grow their use of social media over time.

1. Business Professionals:
Climbing the Social Media
Growth Curve

2. Social Media Growth Curve
Sophisticated
tools
Goal:
be
find-able
Basic tools
Novice

3. Novice
• Goal: be find-able.
– People who use social
media are easier to find.
– LinkedIn profiles rank
high in Google search.
– Being present in social
can build your
credibility, showing that
you’re someone who is
in step with the times.

4. Novice
• Pick one and create a public-facing profile:
Start with LinkedIn. It always ranks high in search engine results;
most professional platform; most forgiving if you set it then
forget it.
Move on to Twitter next. Can maintain professional image; great
for listening to what others are saying; easy to post updates to
Twitter at the same time as LinkedIn.
Your personal network can be your greatest advocates. Don’t
talk business, but do share helpful content; if you want to talk
business, create a separate business page.

5. Social Media Growth Curve
Sophisticated
tools
Goal:
learn how best
to connect
Goal:
be
find-able
Basic tools
Novice
In-Training

6. In-Training
• Goal: learn how best to
connect with your network.
– Social is a powerful tool to connect
with clients and prospective clients.
– They’re on Facebook and LinkedIn
on a daily basis, and prefer these
platforms because they’re less
intrusive and cluttered vs. email.
– You can also start to see who’s
connected to your connections,
and use social as an opportunity to
gain an introduction.

7. In-Training
• Take a course, read articles and books,
learn from the pros:
There are many companies that offer training both online
and in classrooms. Some even offer professional credits.
Follow online resources, especially ones specific to your
profession, with constantly updated tips, suggestions, case
studies for using social media.
Read books, especially ones specific to your profession,
with guidance on how to get started, and how to make the
most of your social efforts.

8. Social Media Growth Curve
Sophisticated
tools
Goal:
become a
trusted advisor
Goal:
learn how best
to connect
Goal:
be
find-able
Basic tools
Novice
In-Training
Active

9. Active
• Goal: become a trusted
advisor.
– Posting consistently in social
media gives you the opportunity
to demonstrate thought
leadership.
– You build credibility as a trusted
expert by sharing timely, helpful
content.
– You stay top-of-mind with your
connections, increasing the
likelihood that they’ll reach out
to you when the need arises.

10. Active
• Sign up for content alerts from sites that publish
content relevant to your industry, like BrighterLife.ca:

11. Active
• Get a basic social sharing tool like Buffer, to make
sharing and scheduling posts easier while you’re
surfing the web:

12. Social Media Growth Curve
Goal:
invest in
relationships
Sophisticated
tools
Goal:
become a
trusted advisor
Goal:
learn how best
to connect
Goal:
be
find-able
Basic tools
Novice
In-Training
Active
Pro

13. Pro
• Goal: invest in relationships.
– Stay aware of what’s going on in
people’s lives, and look for life
events, to reach out and make a
meaningful connection.
– A recent McKinsey study shows
that knowledge of just 3 life
events resulted in a huge
production gain.
– And remember this applies to
friends, not just clients and
prospects – friends can be your
best advocates!

14. Pro
• Use the alerts and search functionality in the
social platforms.

15. Pro
• Use the alerts and search functionality in the
social platforms

16. Pro
• Get a social media management tool like Hootsuite
or enterprise software your company provides, to
manage all your activity from one dashboard:

17. Monitor key life
events in your
networks, use
them as
conversation
starters:
Social Media Growth Curve
Sophisticated
tools
Take a course,
read articles
and books,
learn from the
pros:
Consistently
provide useful
content,
cultivate your
networks:
Pick one and
create a
profile:
Basic tools
Novice
In-Training
Active
Pro
Goal:
be
find-able
Goal:
learn how best
to connect
Goal:
become a
trusted advisor
Goal:
invest in
relationships

18. Good luck!